Category Archives: 07:本郷・根津・湯島・上野

Bistro Grasso

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焼鮎と枝豆のリゾット、￥１０００。
Grilled Ayu(sweetfish) and Edamame(green soybean) risotto. Comes with bread, salad and coffee.
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Free little dessert(pumpkin pudding and fruits) only on rainy days.
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コンビネーションプレート： 牛グリルと、海老＋トウモロコシのピッツァ、￥１０００。
マグロとししとうのスパゲッティ、￥１０００。
Combination plate: Grilled beef, prawn and corn pizza.
Pasta lunch: Spaghetti with tuna and shishitou pepper.
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コンビネーションプレート： トマトと茄子のオーブン焼きと、木の子・生ハムのリゾット、￥１０００。
ほうれん草のカルボナーラ、￥１０００。
Combination plate: Oven grilled tomato and aubergine, mushroom and ham risotto.
Pasta lunch: Spinach Carbonara.

The food is generally good but the portion is tiny. The salad is so small that you just wonder why they would even bother. This restaurant is particular about their olive oil and they give you a big plate, but there is really no point because the bread is no good. The coffee is diluted and the little cookies are stale… They do all these little things which are not necessary anyway, but they don’t do them very well. The main(pasta, risotto, pizza, meat) taste good and I always wish they would cut all those extra stuff and just make the portion of the main dish bigger. Anyway, the restaurant is always very empty and the seats are comfortable, so I find myself coming back again and again, when I am not too hungry and want to have a peaceful quiet lunch.
Menu(J): 1, 2, 3, 4.
Bistro Grasso
Add: 3-9-11 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3835-1184

おでん処 こなから＠御茶ノ水 (Konakara)

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Oden dinner! Very popular place, all counter seats and must reserve. You can only stay for 2 hours. Opens at 6pm which is too early for us so we booked for the second round from 8:30pm. 2 hours is quite enough for oden as the food comes quickly, though some of the stuff have run out already when we got there.
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カキおでん。
はんぺん、いわしつみれ、さつ栗さん（さつま芋と栗）、さと丸さん（里芋とえび芋）。
Oyster oden.
Hanpen(bottom left), sardine tsumire(bottom right), satsuma taro and chestnut(top right), sato taro and ebi taro(top left). All are tasty! Especially love the oyster and the sweet chestnut one.
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だいこん、餅きんちゃく、かぼ丸さん（かぼちゃ）、椎茸しんじょう、京がんも。
あんこ玉さん。
Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Daikon(radish), Mochi-kinchaku(Rice cake wrapped in tofu pouch. Standard oden but very nice!), pumpkin(with raisins in it!!!!), shiitake mushroom shinjo(also fish cake but has more fine and smooth texture), Kyo-gamo(Kyoto-style tofu patties with bits of vegetable).
Red bean cake, which is not sweet but savoury!! Very nice~.
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ごまだれ ごますり 出世 うどん。
おこげさん（米）。
Sesame udon. You ground the sesame yourself, add it into the sweet miso sauce, mix it and pour it over the udon.
Grilled rice ball, slight salty, strong yukari(red shiso) taste.

Except the udon which is 1000yen, everything else is 300yen a piece. Maybe a little upscale for an oden place, but the atmosphere is casual and the madam is friendly and patient in explaining the menu. Half of the stuff are standard oden, but many are original in this shop. Not in pictures but fish roll with burdock root（こぼう天） is very good too.

Menu 1, 2. There is one more non-oden menu which I didn’t take picture of.
こなから

上野の杜 韻松亭(Innsyoutei)

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This Japanese restaurant is inside Ueno Park. Lovely view! Must be amazing during Hanami season.
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Sat on the second floor. So comfortable~
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花籠膳（雪）、茶碗蒸し、豆御飯付き、１８９０円。
Hana-kago-zen: translated to “flower basket meal”. It is often said that “Japanese eat with their eyes”. So right on! Taste is secondary, celebrating Japanese aesethics comes first. Most of the pretty things in the basket are veggy and tofu, all cold. Chawanmushi and rice with beans(this is so good) and miso soup are of course hot. Rice and soup are refillable. Will come back for tea and sweets!
韻松亭

鳥つね 湯島天神前店 (Toritsune Yushima)

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060110 001しんじょ揚、７００円。
親子丼、１６００円。
Minced meat croquette. Oyakodon.
This is a branch of a famous oyakodon shop here. I actually tried to go to the original shop before when I happened to be in the neighbourhood but it was closed. Both the original shop and the branch get quite a lot of publicity on TV and magazines so I always wanted to give it a try. Met up a friend for dinner. First shock : 700yen for just two teeny-weeny croquettes?! Second shock: the egg in the oyakodon was a bit too cooked to my liking and the sauce was too strong and too much that it soaked through all the rice. Final shock: there was this incredibly rude guy(possibly the owner?) who refused to give us time to look at the menu and asked us 3 times in a row “Still not ready to order?”. He literally chased us(and the couple next to us) out of the restaurant once we finished the food and were still drinking the tea. We were only there for like 50 mins….
鳥つね 湯島天神前店

みつばち (Mitsubachi)

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栗ぜんざい、７００円。小倉あんみつ、５７０円。
Kuri-zenzai – chestnut, shiratama(sticky rice balls), red bean, millet paste, and black honey at the bottom. Served hot. Quite nice though a bit sweet.
Anmitsu with red bean ice. This place is famous for being one of earliest to sell red bean ice-cream. A big pot of honey on the table for you to add to the anmitsu yourself.
みつばち

上野藪そば (Ueno Yabu Soba)

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鴨せいろ、１７８５円。せいろ、６８３円。
Seiro Soba with hot, duck based, dipping sauce. Seiro Soba with tsuyu dipping sauce. The duck is thickly sliced and very soft, love it! The soup has strips of yuzu in it. The soba is great but such a small portion! Everyone around ordered L size for a reason. ^^;; A bit embarassing but I ordered an extra portion of the soba on its own, hoping that additional order would be cheaper, but obviously there was no such thing and the normal Seiro came with tsuyu and wasabi and everything….
上野藪そば