神田まつや (Kanda Matsuya)

Posted on March 16, 08 by seat

大ごまそば、￥８５０。
Famous soba place established in 1884. The present building – dated from 1925 – is one of the historical architectures in Tokyo.

そばとろ、￥９００。天丼、￥１９００。
Soba toro(grated yam). Tendon(rice with prawn tempura).

かしわ南ばん、￥９５０。力うどん、￥９５０。
Kashiwa(chicken) Nanban. Chikara(grilled mochi) udon.

にしんそば、￥１０００。鴨南ばん、￥１６００。
Nishin soba – soba with smoked sweet-flavoured herring(Kyoto origin). The fish tastes like the canned ones…not my cup of tea.
Kamo-nanban(Duck soba). Very good!

親子南ばん、￥１０００。花巻、￥８５０。
Oyako(chicken and egg) Nanban. Hana-maki – soba with seaweed.

鴨せいろう、￥１６００。カレー南ばん、￥９５０。
Kamo(duck) Seiro. Curry Nanban.

鍋焼うどん、￥１０００。
Nabe-yaki udon – udon hotpot.

おかめとじ、￥１０００。おかめ、￥９５０。
(Right)Okame soba : soba with Yuba, tamago-yaki, shiitake mushroom, kamaboko, bamboo shoot, seaweed, spinach.
(Left)Okame-toji soba: Okame soba with egg on top. Very good!

寄せ鍋うどん、￥１２００。小田巻きむし、￥１１００。
Yosenabe Udon. Super delicious! So many ingredients(including my beloved mochi) in it.
Odamakimushi: chawanmushi with udon(just a little bit) at the bottom. Need to wait for 15mins but totally worth it.

かき揚天丼、￥１０００。雛そば　くさきり、￥１０００。
Kakiage-tendon. Not only kakiage, but also two prawn tempura. The prawns are smaller than the more expensive “Tendon”, but tasty enough.
Soba made with yomogi(limited period).

Not only soba, udon is good too. Tsuyu(soup) is delicious. Nothing I ordered was disappointing but yosenabe and okame-toji stand out the most. Portion is not big, so I always order L portion, which is an extra 100yen(the price quoted above are all for regular portion). The staff are very friendly but they don’t keep very good track of who ordered what. I always order L size but they never remember that – I have to remind them to charge me 100yen more each time. ^^;;

Look at the queue during New Year holiday…normally it is crowded and you may have to wait a bit and share a table during busy lunch hour, but I’ve never seen a queue like this outside a soba place…
Menu(J): 1, 2.
神田まつや
Add: 1-13, Sudacho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-1556

板前心菊うら (Itamaegokoro Kikuura)

Posted on August 4, 07 by seat

5250yen dinner course. They only have one prefix course, plus some a la carte menu.
Appetizer: Prawn, abalone, ginger, cream cheese with ika no shiokara, bream and aubergine roll.

Suppon turtle chawanmushi. This is so good!
Maguro, karei, squid sashimi. Very fresh.

Uni is not included in the dinner course. Side order is 1500yen.
Grilled Tachiuo and summer vegetables. The fish is smooth and juicy.

Fried suzuki(sea bass) and aubergine, with ume(sour plum) ankake sauce. Miso soup has fish in it, which makes it sweet.

Dessert is panna cotta and almond pudding. Almond pudding is better.

All the food are delicious. I have come here about 3 years ago(see tag) and really loved the experience, so I am glad that quality and value haven’t dropped. I sat in the private room last time while I had the counter seat this time. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, there is a waiter who can speak a little English and is willing to explain the menu to foreigners.

Itamaegokoro Kikuura（菊うら）
Tel: 03-5389-5581
Add: 7-16-3, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Five minutes walk from West Exit of Shinjuku Station
Open: 11:30-14:00, 17:00-23:00

霞町すゑとみ (Kasumicho Suetomi)

Posted on April 24, 07 by seat

あん肝の茶碗蒸し（お酢のあんかけ）。
I was expecting some stylish and upscale Japanese washoku place, so I was a little taken back by the entrance which is impossible to spot and far from pretty. Inside is very basic and small, with only 10 counter seats. Forgot the exact price, but the cheapest lunch course I ordered was about 3000yen.
Ankimo chawanmushi. Absolutely delicious!! Has a hint of vinegar.

穴子の飯蒸し。タラの白子のお吸い物。
Anago steamed with rice.
Cod shirako osuimono(clear broth). The shirako is so creamy and rich~.

蓮根まんじゅう（くずのあん）。
焼き魚のハチウオ。
Lotus root manju. Very mochi-mochi.
Grilled hachiuo. Fatty and juicy fish.

おじゃこのごはん。蓮根もち。
Jako(little fish) rice. Miso soup is very good. Dessert is lotus root cake. Reminds me of chinese dim sum but very good.

The environment might not be up to much but the food is to die for. Good value for this kind of proper kaiseki-ish washoku too.
霞町すゑとみ (Kasumicho Suetomi)
Add: 3F, 4-2-13 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5466-1270

Warasou 和楽惣

Posted on April 2, 07 by seat

６０００円のディナーコース。
豆腐。メジマグロと鯛。
6000yen dinner course(the cheapest course in the menu).
Homemade tofu. Meji-maguro and tai(bream).

サバ、胡麻和え。揚げ茄子とそぼろとチンゲン菜。
Mackerel with sesame seed.
Fried aubergine and minced meat.

白子の茶碗蒸し（もちと海苔入り）。豚のスペアリブ。
Shirako chawanmushi(mochi and seaweed in it).
Simmered sparerib.

サワラの塩焼き。鶏のたたき。
Grilled sawara fish with salt.
Chicken tataki(seared).

穴子のフライ。肉じゃがカレーご飯。
Fried anago. Nikujaga and curry rice.

Some of the dishes are very much the common souzai(惣菜) – Japanese side dishes that you eat with rice. Indeed I craved rice desperately, especially when having the aubergine and the sparerib cos they had strong taste. Overall the food is great. Love the chawanmushi. A lot of meat for a Japanese course.

The waitress didn’t know anything whatever we asked her about the menu. The waiter did seem to know but wasn’t quite eager to tell us much. They charged us 2000yen more than they should have…lucky my friend noticed it. No apologies from the staff about the mistake whatsoever. Have to conclude that the service is spotty at best. Shame though cos the food is good…
和楽惣

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Tag Archives: chawanmushi

神田まつや (Kanda Matsuya)

板前心菊うら (Itamaegokoro Kikuura)

霞町すゑとみ (Kasumicho Suetomi)

Warasou 和楽惣