吉野鮨本店 (Yoshino Sushi Honten)

Posted on June 13, 09 by seat

にぎりずし（大）、￥２３１０。
Nigiri-zushi(regular rank, large size), Y2310.

にぎりずし(上)、￥２１００。
Nigiri-zushi(upper rank, regular size), Y2100.

ちらしずし（大・上）、￥２３１０。
鉄火重、￥２１００。
Chirashi-zushi(upper rank, large size), Y2310.
Tekkajuu(Maguro on sushi rice), Y2310.

ちらしずし（上）、￥２１００。
Chirashi-zushi(upper rank, regular size), Y2100.

Pretty nice and fairly reasonably priced sushi place right behind Nihonbashi Takashimaya. I really like the Chirashi-zushi here. Nigiri set is also good. Don’t recommend the Tekkajuu though.

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

吉野鮨本店(Yoshino Sushi Honten)
Add: 3-8-11, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-3274-3001

インドレストラン　マンダラ (Mandara)

Posted on May 16, 09 by seat

チキンバターマサラ（トマト味のチキンカレー）。
Chicken Butter Masara(Chicken curry with tomato flavour).

Fruits yogurt.

I LOVE this Indian restaurant in Jinbocho! I don’t usually crave Indian food but the curry and the naan here have me completely addicted. This restaurant was featured in a popular Japanese comic about gourmet food called Oishinbo which I haven’t read unfortunately. From the website, this restaurant seems to be under the same group as this and this Thai restaurant, both of which I tried long time ago and didn’t really like. The chef of this Indian restaurant in Akihabara used to work in Mandara, but the quality is nowhere near it.

Mandara is opened for lunch everyday of the week. Lunch B(Y1155) consists of one curry of your choice, naan, saffron rice, and fruits yogurt. Lunch A(Y1575) is Lunch B plus 1pc of Tandoori Chicken and 1pc of Sheekh Kebab. You can choose the spicy level. Level 1 and 2 aren’t hot enough so I always choose 3. I think I’ve tried all the curries available at lunch time. I can’t actually pick a favourite cos everything is so nice but the most famous one is Chicken Butter Masara.

ヌールジャハニカレー(骨付チキンとレバーのカレー)。
マサラチャイ(マサラティー) 、420円。
Noorjahani(Chicken and Liver curry). Masala Chai, Y420.

ベジタブルカレー（季節の野菜カレー）。
ミニ甘口ラッシー、￥２１０。
Vegetable curry. Mini Sweet Lassi, Y210.

シュリンプバターマサラ（トマト味のエビカレー）。
マッシュルームカレー。
Shrimp Butter Masara(Shrimp with tomato flavour).
Mushroom curry.

マトンカレー（羊肉のカレー）。
Mutton curry. I don’t really like the saffron rice here so I always mix it with the leftover curry after finishing the naan.

サグチキンカレー（ホウレン草味のチキンカレー）。
エッグカレー（ゆで卵入りカレー）。
Sag Chicken Curry(Green spinach cooked with onion and spices).
Egg curry.

キーマカレー（挽肉のカレー）。シュリンプカレー。
Keema curry. Shrimp curry.

ダールマカニカレー（3種類の豆のカレー）。チキンカレー。
Dal Makahni(Curry with 3 kinds of beans).
Chicken curry.

フィッシュカレー（メカジキのカレー）。
Fish Curry(Sword fish).

Menu: lunch set, Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat01, Sat02, Sun01, Sun02, Sun03.

インドレストラン　マンダラ (Mandara)
Add: B1, 2-17, Jinbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3265-0498

九州じゃんがら (Kyusyu Jangara)

Posted on May 7, 09 by seat

九州じゃんがら（角肉・味玉子入り）、￥９００。
Honten(original shop) in Akihabara.
Regular Kyushu Jangara ramen(tonkotsu or pork-bone broth) with ajitama(flavoured boiled egg) and buta-kakuni(stewed fatty pork) for toppings, Y900.

ぼんしゃん、￥７００。からぼん（全部入り）、￥１１５０。
Bonshan, Y700. The straight Tonkotsu broth has a really strong pork smell which is a bit too much for me.
Karabon (zenbu-iri), Y1150. A spicy version of Bonshan. The spice covers up the pork smell perfectly so I enjoy it much more than Bonshan.
“Zenbu-iri” means “with all the toppings”. The ajitama is hard-boiled so I’m not so crazy about it. Other toppings included are buta kakuni and chashu(roasted pork) and mentaiko(spicy cod roe).

きのこむぎちゃん、￥８５０。チャーシュー、￥２００。味玉子、￥１００。
肉そぼろごはん、￥２５０。
Mugi-chan with mushroom(autumn menu), Y850. Additional toppings of chashu(Y200) and ajitama(Y100). The regular Mugi-chan without the mushroom is available all year round. Mugi comes from a slightly sweet Mugi(barley)-miso which is blended into the soup.
On the right is Niku-soboro-gohan(rice with chopped and seasoned meat), Y250.

九州じゃんがらみそ、￥６５０。ドライカレー、￥１８０。
Kyushu Jangara Miso, Y650. The miso used is the regular kind and is not as sweet as the one used in Mugi-chan.
Dry-curry rice, Y180.

こぼんしゃん、￥７００。めんたいマヨごはん、￥２５０。
Kobonshan(Garlic flavour), Y700.
Mentaiko and Mayonnaise rice, Y250.

スプリングじゃんがら（カレーと春野菜）、￥６８０。
レッドじゃんがら（激辛）、￥７００。
Curry and spring vegetable(spring menu), Y680. I really like this one. Too bad it is not available anymore.
Red Jangara(super spicy and has tomato flavour), Y700. It is the seasonal menu available at the moment…..but it is so spicy that I can’t taste anything after a while….

ホットつけちゃん（魚貝風味の醤油味）、￥８００。
The branch near Kanda station.
Hot Tsuke-chan(fish and soy sauce based soup), Y800.

コールドつけちゃん、￥７８０。
Cold version of Tsuke-chan is available in summer, Y780. Plus Kakuni topping.

Ironically, my favourite ramen after trying all the variations in Jangara is Hot Tsuke-chan, which is NOT tonkotsu broth that Jangara is specialised in or Kyushu ramen is famous for. ^^;;; The noodles for Hot Tsuke-chan is thicker and more chewy compared to the thin noodles for other menu(thin noodles is Kyushu style though). Somehow when I order “kaedama”(additional portion of noodles to add to the leftover soup, Y150), the noodles is a lot harder and much nicer. Unfortunately I find it a bit embarassing to ask for “katamen”(hard noodles) from the start because it’s embarassing enough to be the only female in the shop, but if you are a guy and you like al dente, I suggest you request for “katamen”.

I tried a couple of side rice bowl but they are nothing special. Better to save stomach space for kaedama.

There are a couple of branches(e.g. Harajuku, Akasaka) and each of them has only a few variations of ramen available at a certain period of time(e.g. at night only). I managed to try all the variations by visiting the Akihabara original shop, the branch in Kanda, and the branch in Nihonbashi. Do check what is available in each branch from their homepage.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

九州じゃんがら (Kyusyu Jangara)

Akihabara Honten
Add: 2-17-6 Soto-Kanda 3-11-6, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-4059

Kanda Nishi-guichi branch
Add: 2-11-8 Uchi-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03 -3251 -4905

二代目つじ田味噌の章 (Nidaime Tsujita Miso no Shou)

Posted on April 30, 09 by seat

玉子入り味噌らーめん、￥９００。
Miso ramen with half-cooked egg, Y900.

玉子入り辛味味噌らーめん、￥１０００。
Spicy miso ramen with half-cooked egg, Y1000.

I had just posted an entry of the soba shop opened by my favourite ramen shop Tsujita only a while ago, and I was a bit surprised to find out that the soba place has already closed down and the same location has now turned into a new ramen shop also run by Tsujita. The new ramen shop specialised in Hokkaido miso ramen – regular miso or spicy miso. I’ve tried them both and I really like them! Usually Hokkaido-style miso ramen is too salty and oily for me, but Tsujita’s version is mild enough that I can actually drink the soup without feeling ill afterwards. I also like the finely-chopped seaweed – apparently Yamagata-style – that you are supposed to mix into the soup bit by bit.

Location is about 10 mins walk from Akihabara. Open on Sat and Sun too. There is no queue yet even on weekends.

Menu here.

二代目つじ田味噌の章 (Nidaime Tsujita Miso no Shou)
Add: 1-1, Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku

Le Petit Tonneau Kudanshita (ル・プティ・トノー＠九段下)

Posted on April 25, 09 by seat

豚ほほ肉赤ワイン煮　チョコレート風味、￥１８００。
Pork cheek meat red wine stew with chocolate flavour, Y1800. This one is the best lunch I had in this place. I tried a couple of stewed meat lunch after this but they didn’t taste as good.

I think this place is pretty well-known among foreigners living in Tokyo. Its nearest station is Kudanshita but it is less than 10 mins walk from Jimbocho. I’ve had dinner here before long time ago(see tag). This post is made up of entirely weekday lunch visits when the menu is cheaper than the weekends’. On weekdays, this place is packed with Japanese salarymen and OLs, occasionally you see groups of foreigners or old Japanese couples who seem happy to talk to the foreigner staff in French.

Food-wise, I must say the quality varies depending what you order. The Y1050 spaghetti/short pasta/risotto lunch are very standard and not bad for a workday lunch. The Y1800 meat/fish lunch can range from “delicious!” to “hmm okay” to “…..terrible”. The portion also depends on the day. I guess if you come here for >10 times and you average out all the lunches, you will get a rating somewhere around “not bad”.

豚挽のトマトファルシ　サラダ添え、￥１８００。
Tomato Farcie with grounded pork, Y1800.

豚バラ赤ワイン煮　白いんげん豆添え、￥１８００。
Pork belly red wine stew, white kidney beans, Y1800.

シュークルート、￥１８００。
Choucroute, Y1800.

桜海老　トマトソーススパゲティ、￥１０５０。
黄桃のタルト、￥３００。
Sakura-ebi(prawn) tomato sauce spaghetti, Y1050. Yellow peach tart, Y300.

的鯛とケッパーのリゾット、￥１０５０。
Matou-dai(fish) and caper risotto, Y1050.

仔羊のロースト、￥１８００。
Roasted lamb, Y1800.

牛ホホ肉のビール煮込み　赤キャベツのブレゼ添え、￥１８００。
Cow cheek beer stew with red cabbage braiser, Y1800.

いとよりのブレゼ、岩のりのリゾット添え、￥１８００。
Itoyori(fish) braiser and seaweed risotto, Y1800. I think fish lunch is generally better than meat lunch.

鮮魚のポワレムール貝のスープ仕立て、￥１８００。
Pan-fried fish with mussel and soup, Y1800.

かさごのポワレかぶとベーコンのクリーム煮、￥１８００。
Pan-fried Kasago, turnip and bacon cream stew, Y1800.

かきクリームのスパゲッティ、￥１０５０。
Oyster cream spaghetti, Y1050.

仔羊肉とキャベツのショートパスタ、￥１０５０。
Baby lamb and cabbage short pasta, Y1050.

目鯛のポワレキャベツのブレゼ、￥１８００。
Pan-fried Medai and cabbage braiser, Y1800.

ステーキ　フリット、￥１８００。
Steak and frites, Y1800.
Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

Le Petit Tonneau – Kudanshita (ル・プティ・トノー＠九段下)

太陽のトマト麺 (Taiyo no Tomato men)

Posted on April 4, 09 by seat

A chain ramen shop near Tokyo Dome that promotes LOHAS(heathy + environmental friendly). Usually I try not to go near chain/franchise food joints simply because of the high chance of having a 21-year-old part-timer cooking in the kitchen, but this shop is alright even though the cook is different depends on the day of the week and all of them are pretty young. Their homepage says the soup base is low-fat chicken, the noodles have soy milk blended in, the vegetables are low in agricultural chemicals, and organic tomatoes from Italy are used(why not use local ones? ). Healthy claims aside, I think the food is not bad in general, and it does feel good to have a bowl of noodles that is not oily or salty and has a lot of tomatoes in it. Plus it is cheap, it is non-smoking, and it opens all day, everyday of the week.

太陽のチーズラーメン、￥８３０。らぁリゾ、￥１５０。
Cheese ramen. “Risotto” that you can put into the leftover tomato soup.

鶏パイタンＢランチ（鶏パイタン麺＋鶏めし）、￥７８０。
Lunch set available during Mon-Sat lunch hours. Chicken paitan(white soup) ramen + chicken rice.

太陽のボンゴレ麺、￥８８０。唐揚げ、￥１００。
Vongole-men. The clams are just toppings. Kara-age(fried chicken). This one is juicy but I had a really dry one before.

太陽のエッグラーメン、￥７８０。にんにくネギめし、￥２８０。
Egg ramen. Garlic and spring onion rice.

鶏パイタン麺全部のせ（にんにく・味付玉子・アオサのり・ねぎザル盛）、￥９３０。
チーズの包み揚げ、￥３８０。
Chicken Paitan ramen with all the toppings(garlic, seasoned egg, seaweed, spring onion). Fried cheese dumplings.

太陽の茄子ラーメン、￥８００。替玉たまご、￥２００。
Aubergine ramen(slightly spicy). Kaedame-tamago(extra portion of noodles plus a raw egg to put into leftover soup).

アサリ野菜炒め、￥４８０。炙り鶏チャーシュウ麺、￥７８０。
Clams and vegetables. Chicken charshu-men – the chicken is heated with a burner.

太陽のＡランチ（太陽のラーメン＋ネギめし）、￥８５０。ランチ味玉、￥５０。
Lunch set available during Mon-Sat lunch hours. Taiyo no ramen + spring onion rice. Plus a seasoned egg topping(Y50 at lunch time)

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

太陽のトマト麺 (Taiyo no Tomato men)
Add: 2-17-8 Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3239-4343

メーヤウ神保町店 (Meyau)

Posted on April 4, 09 by seat

トロトロ豚の三枚肉トロトロポークカリー、￥８００。サラダ、￥１００。
Pork curry(fatty pork, potato). Salad. The fatty pork is delicious!

エスニックグリーンカリー、￥８００。
タイ＆インド風まなかい生まれのカントリーカリー、￥９００。
Green curry(pork and veggy).
Country curry(veggy and coconut milk).

ロール白菜のグラタンカリー（プレーンカレー）、￥１０００。
Chinese cabbage-roll gratin curry.

激辛チキンカリー、￥８５０。
具たくさん野菜たっぷりベジタブルカリー、￥８５０。
Super spicy chicken curry. Too hot for me…
Vegetable curry.

ココナッツたっぷり南国レッドカリー、￥８００。ココナッツアイス。
Red curry(chicken, bamboo shoot, raddish, coconut milk).
Coconut ice-cream(free dessert for ladies on Monday).

ボリューム満点鬼もりカリー、￥１２００。ラッシー、￥２５０。
Ono-mori curry(large size pork curry). Lassi.

This curry shop has a few branches and seems quite popular(even has a fan site!) but I must say I am not so crazy about its curry. The menu sounded interesting so I tried everything…but the soft fatty pork is the only thing I like. The curry is very spicy(all the ones that are bright red in colour) but I find it a bit lacking in favour other than chili. It is very cheap though, plus you get a Y100 discount coupon everytime.
Menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

メーヤウ神保町店 (Meyau Jimbocho-ten)
Add: 2-2-6 Sarugakucho, Chiyoda-ku.
Tel: 03-3233-0034

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