九段一茶庵 (Kudan Issaan)

Posted on August 19, 09 by seat

A fantastic soba place located somewhere between Kudanshita and Jimbochou. Absolutely crazy about the soba here. Been going back again and again since last winter and tried everything in the menu. A lot of items are seasonal and only available for a few weeks or so. I think they have MORE variety during summer, probably because soba is actually a seasonal food that doesn’t taste as good in summer so they offer more variety of toppings to compensate.

For all the hot soba with soup, you can choose between regular soba(“seiro”) or thick soba(“inaka” or “country”). For the other soba(e.g.cold soba), you can change the soba from “seiro” to “inaka” for a charge of Y100. I love inaka soba so I always ask them to change it for me. “Oomori”(large size) is plus Y500.

五色盛りそば（￥１８００）：　季節そば（さくら）、黒ごま、田舎、せいろ、けし。
5-colour soba(Y1800): seasonal soba(sakura), black sesame seed, inaka, seiro, keshi(poppy).

つくねそば、￥１５００。たまご焼き、￥８００。
Tsukune(duck meatball) soba, Y1500. Tamago-yaki, Y800.

おろしそば、￥１１００。焼き味噌、￥５００。
Oroshi(grated radish) soba, Y1100. (Inaka +Y100)
Grilled miso(with soba flour), Y500.

鴨南蛮、￥１５００。揚げゆば、￥７００
Kamo Nanban(duck), Y1500.
Fried yuba(tofu skin), Y700.

辛味もちそば、￥１２００。茄子田楽、￥５００。
Grated radish and fried mochi(rice cake) soba, Y1200.
Nasu Dengaku(grilled aubergine with grounded meat in miso), Y500.

胡麻だれせいろ（冷）、￥１３００。つくね煮、￥６００。
Cold seiro with sesame seed sauce, Y1300. (Large +Y500)
Simmered tsukune, Y600.

ねぎそば、￥１２００。ぶっかけ、￥１３００。
Negi(leek) soba, Y1200.
Bukkake, Y1300. Default is inaka soba.

夏野菜かれいせいろ（冷）、￥１５００。竹の子そば、￥１３００。
Summer vegetable curry seiro, Y1500.
Bamboo shoot soba, Y1300.

なす茗荷そば、￥１４００。すずしろせいろ、￥１１００。
Aubergine and myouga soba, Y1400.
Suzushiro(shredded radish) seiro, Y1100.

湯葉とじそば、１３００。赤なす揚げ煮せいろ、￥１４００。
Yuba and egg soba, Y1300.
Fried red aubergine stew seiro, Y1400.

そばとろ、￥１３５０。
生のりと梅もずくの冷かけ（冷）、￥１４００。
Soba toro(grated yam), Y1350. (Large +Y500) (Inaka +Y100)
Raw seaweed and sour plum mozuku cold soba, Y1400. (Inaka +Y100)

一本穴子せいろ、￥１９００。豆乳坦々せいろ、￥１５００。
Anago seiro, Y1900. (Inaka +Y100)
Soy milk tantan seiro, Y1500.

仙台地鶏とたたき長芋のぶっかけ（冷）、￥１５００。
梅ぶっかけせいろ（梅干、大葉、茗荷、三つ葉、カツオ節）、￥１４００。
Sendai chicken and Nagaimo(long yam) Bukkake, Y1400.
Sour plum Bukkake seiro, Y1400.

天ぷらせいろ、￥２２５０。
沖縄島オクラとじゃこヘイヤ（冷）、￥１５００。
Tempura seiro, Y2250.
Okinawa Okra and dried fish and Molokheya, Y1500.

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

九段　一茶庵　本店(Kudan Issaan)
Add: 3-6-6 Jimbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tell: 03-3239-0889

勝漫 (Katsuman)

Posted on July 20, 09 by seat

This tonkatsu place is only a block away from Tonkatsu Yamaichi(The nearest station is Awajicho but it’s less than 10 mins walk from Akihabara). The chef of Yamaichi used to work here so the style are quite similar. Katsuman is a bit more expensive than Yamaichi for the same menu but the portion is also bigger. I find the crust of the tonkatsu much lighter and more delicately fried in Yamaichi, but Katsuman is more generous with the portion and the ingredients. Both are very good tonkatsu restaurants.

大かつ丼、￥１６００。帆立のクリームコロッケ、￥１５００。
Large Katsu-kon, Y1600. It only comes in large size, but you can ask for less rice. It’s nice but I prefer Yamaichi’s Katsudon.
Scallop cream croquette, Y1500. The croquettes are massive and there are generous amount of scallop chunks inside(such that the crust can barely hold up the stuffing ^^;;). I like it more than Yamaichi’s version.

特ヒレかつ、￥２３００。ヒレかつ、￥１８００。
Left pic: Special pork filet cutlet(Toku-hire), Y2300.
Right pic: Regular pork filet cutlet(Hire), Y1800.
Both Hire are not as good as Yamaichi.

特ロースかつ、￥２１００。
ロースかつ、￥１５００。＋帆立コロッケ、￥４００。
Left pic: Special pork loin cutlet(Toku-rousu), Y2100.
Right pic: Regular pork loin cutlet(Rousu), Y1500. Extra order: Scallop croquette, Y400.
Rousu are, on the other hand, better than Yamaichi. Very juicy and has right amount of fat.
There is a side menu from which you can order from one piece.

串かつ、￥１４００。メンチかつ、￥１０００。
Skewered pork and vegetable katsu, Y1400. About the same quality as Yamaichi.
Menchi-Katsu, Y1000. More meat than Yamaichi…and nicer!
Menu(J): 1, 2.

勝漫(Katsuman)
Add: 1-6-1 Sudachou, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3256-5504

讃岐うどん野らぼー (Norabou)

Posted on July 18, 09 by seat

Sanuki udon(thick type of udon from Kagawa Prefecture) chain restaurant with a couple of branches in Kanda area. Left pic is Jimbochou branch and right pic is Nishikichou Honten(original shop near Awajicho subway station). The udon is soft and springy here, not the hard chewy type I usually crave but I still love it. The large variety of udon and tempura available, and the reasonable price make it one of my favourite lunch spots.

冷玉生醤油うどん、￥５７０。いか天、￥１８０。ささ身天、￥２００。
Chilled udon with raw egg and fresh soy sauce, Y570.
Squid tempura, Y180. Chicken breast tempura, Y200.

山菜春うどん、￥７５０。玉子天、￥９０。しい茸天、￥１３０。
Spring mountain vegetable udon, Y750.
Half-cooked egg tempura, Y90. Shiitake mushroom tempura, Y130.

味噌けんちんうどん、￥７８０。
さつま芋天、￥１００。茄子天、￥１００。ごぼう天、１２０￥。
Miso Kenchin(miso soup with root vegetables) udon, Y780.
Satsumaimo taro tempura, Y100. Aubergine tempura, Y100. Gobou(burdock root) tempura,Y120.

本日の定食：しらすご飯（温玉のせ）＋讃岐うどん（鯛天付き）、￥８００。
Today’s lunch set: Shirasu(baby fish) rice bowl with half-cooked egg, Sanuki udon with Tai(sea bream) surimi tempura, Y800.
For lunch set, you can choose the udon from the basic menu: hot, cold, or mix(hot soup + cold udon).

鶏天おろしうどん、￥７８０。エリンギ天、￥１３０。おくら天、￥１２０。
Chicken tempura udon, Y780.
Eryngii mushroom tempura, Y130. Okra tempura, Y120.

本日の定食、鶏すき丼と讃岐うどん(高菜付き)、￥８００。
赤ちくわ天、￥１３０。アスパラ天、￥１５０。
Today’s lunch set: Chicken Sukiyaki rice bowl and Sanuki udon, Y800.
Red chikuwa tempura, Y130. Asparagus tempura, Y150.

おろしぶっかけうどん、￥６５０。豚肉丼（温玉のせ）、￥３５０。
Oroshi(radish) Bukkake udon, Y650. Pork rice bow with half-cooked egg, Y350.

ごまうどん、￥７８０。のり天、￥９０。いんげん天、１５０￥。
Goma(sesame seed) udon, Y780.
Seaweed tempura, Y90. Green bean tempura, Y150.

釜チーズカレーうどん、￥７５０。たまごかけごはん、￥１９０。
Kama(straight from the boiling pot) cheese curry udon, Y750.
Rice with raw egg, Y190.

釜玉スパイシーチーズうどん、￥７２０。かぼちゃ天￥１００。イワシ天、￥１８０。
Kama egg spicy cheese udon, Y720.
Pumpkin tempura, Y110. Iwashi(sardine) tempura, Y180.

釜肉ぶっかけうどん（生玉子入り）、￥７５０。海老天、￥２５０。
Kama Niku(pork) Bukkake udon(with raw egg), Y750.
Prawn tempura, Y250.

辛みそ釜玉うどん、￥６００。切り餅天、￥１２０。
Spicy miso Kama egg udon, Y600.
Mochi(rice cake) tempura, Y120.

冷やし茄子おろしうどん、￥７２０。
たけのこ天、￥１００。まい茸天、￥１３０。
Chilled aubergine oroshi udon, Y720.
Takenoko(bamboo shoot) tempura, Y100. Maitake mushroom tempura, Y130.

辛口カレーうどん、￥６７０。豚肉小丼、￥１５０。
Spicy curry udon, Y670. Small pork rice bowl, Y150.

田舎きつねうどん、￥６７０。カレー丼、￥１９０。
Inaka(country) Kitsune(fried sliced tofu) udon, Y670.
Small curry rice bowl, Y190.

きつねおろしぶっかけ、￥６７０。鳥つくね・厚玉丼、￥３３０。
Kitsune Oroshi Bukkake, Y670.
Tori(chicken) Tsukune(meat ball) rice bowl, Y330.

冷やしゴマダレサラダうどん、￥８００。まぐろ中落ち丼、￥４００。
Chilled goma-dare(sesame seed dressing) salad udon, Y800.
Maguro rice bowl, Y400.

梅しそ若布うどん、￥６７０。親子丼、￥４００。
Ume(sour plum) shiso wakame udon, Y670.
Oyakodon, Y400.

Most of the rice bowls above are only available in Jimbocho branch. The rice bowls are included the udon set(together with a basic udon), but you can also order the rice bown on its own and choose the udon from the menu.

My favourite udon(excluding the seasonal ones that are only available for a short time) are chicken tempura udon, Goma udon and Kama Niku Bukkake udon(with raw egg).

Lunch menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
Side dish menu available at dinner time: 1, 2.

讃岐うどん野らぼー(Sanuki Udon Norabow)

神保町店 (Jimbocho Branch)
Add: 2-12-3 Jimbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3221-5070

錦町本店 (Nishikichou Honten)
Add: 1-8-11, Nishikichou, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3295-5121

Poppoya (ぽっぽっ屋)

Posted on July 15, 09 by seat

The owner of this ramen shop used to work in Jiro, which explains the resemblance to Jiro in taste and style. I’ve tried the Suidoubashi branch near Tokyo Dome(left pic) and the Nihonbashi honten(right pic) which is the original shop. The two shops are similar in quality – Nihonbashi branch is a little bit more expensive(talking about ~30 yen difference), and Suidoubashi branch is less shabby and is easier to go in for female customers.

I really love the thick and chewy noodles here. The soup is Tonkotsu(pork bone broth) and soy sauce based, which is nice but I find it too salty to drink on its own. So rather then soup ramen, it’s more like ramen mixed with sauce. Just like Jiro, it’s free to ask for extra vegetable(mostly beansprouts), extra onion, extra pork fat, stronger taste, and garlic.

In the following, left pic is from Suidoubashi, right pic is from Nihonbashi.

海の塩らーめん、￥７８０。＋味玉子、￥１００。
Umi no Shio(Sea Salt) Ramen, Y780. Ajitamago(boiled flavoured egg), Y100.

油らーめん、￥７８０。
Aburamen(Y780) is the most popular item. Left one has garlic topping. Right one has ajitamago topping(I didn’t know Aburamen would come with egg already!).

らーめん、￥７００。＋味玉子、￥１００。
Regular Ramen, Y700. Ajitamago, Y100. Left one has garlic topping.

つけらーめん、￥７８０。
Tsukemen, Y780. Left one has extra vegetable topping.

冷やしサラダらーめん、￥８５０。
Chilled Salad Ramen, Y850. I only tried it in Suidoubashi branch, not sure if it is available in Nihonbashi. Pretty nice but gets a bit salty towards the end – too much dressing. Right pic is a branch in Yushima(near Ueno park). I just walked past but didn’t try.

Suidoubashi Branch’s menu here and free topping menu here.

English review here.

ぽっぽっ屋 (Poppoya)

Nihonbashi Honten
Add: 16-12 Kodenmachou, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-3666-2151

Suidoubashi Branch
Add: 2-21-11, Misakichou, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-5211-8556

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

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

pig out diary

tokyo food blog

Category Archives: Good Cheap Eats