Category Archives: Japanese

{  Shamoji  }

Shamoji
Shamoji
Shamoji

Visited Kamakura with some friends and ate at this Teishokuya (Japanese diner), which we all enjoyed very much. Highly recommend it if you are headed to see the big Buddha near Hase(長谷) train station.

Kamakura is famous for their shirasu, a tiny fish, and I had the lunch set at the top called “Kamaage Shirasu-don Teishoku” for 1260yen which was delicious. The side dishes were also yummy and I couldn’t have asked for a better balanced meal for lunch. The second photo you see is the Sashimi lunch set for 1050yen. If you are not a fish person, they also have a dashimakitamago lunch set as well as a fried chicken lunch set so you’re in luck.

In case you missed my previous post on Kamakura, you can check out some of my favorite places to visit when I’m in Kamakura –> here.

Address // 1-15-2, Hase, Kamakura-shi, Kanagawa-ken, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 0467-24-5888
Website // http://shamojikamakura.blog.fc2.com/

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{  Shokkan — 食幹  }

Shokkan
Shokkan
Shokkan

Shokkan is located In the basement floor of a random building in Shibuya but let me tell you this place was awesome. We went during lunch time and we knew it would be good as soon as we noticed the wait outside the door before it even opened and how it was completely packed within a few minutes after opening. This Japanese restaurant serves three options during lunch: Tsukemen, Today’s Fish Set, or Today’s Meat Set (each for 1000yen).

I highly recommend their Tsukemen. The quality is quite high considering that it’s not officially a tsukemen or ramen house. The tsukemen comes in 3 different flavors: Soy, Sesame Miso, or Curry. We ordered the soy and I really loved it. It’s nice that it comes with all sorts of toppings and also includes a choice of rice or rice crackers so you can eat it as a porridge at the end. Their other dish is a Fish of the day plate and it was Shrimp and Eggplant on the day I visited. It was good as well but the tsukemen was the highlight. Looks like they have this restaurant at Soramachi too with a different menu. Check it out!

Address // HAKKA B1F, 3-5-5, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3797-1911
Website // http://www.discovery-t.com

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{  Warito — 和利道  }

Warito 和利道
Warito 和利道
Warito 和利道

I haven’t really found my favorite tsukemen spot because I’m more of a ramen person… I LOVE ramen but I think I’ve found the first tsukemen place that I actually want to go back to. This place was introduced to me by my friend who loves it and once you go it’s easy to see why.

The ambiance is Japanese modern, the service is great, and most importantly the tsukemen is really good. It seems that they serve pork broth soup for lunch and chicken broth soup for dinner. The broth is thick but not to the point where it’s too heavy. As my friend says, it’s a “hearty soup” and it just gives you the feeling of something like home.

Anyhow, I ordered the “Ajitama tsukemen” which comes with the flavored egg. I chose the cold noodle over the hot noodle (atsumori) and got the 250g. You can choose between 200g, 250g, and 300g and the price is all the same (tip: hard core tsukemen fans tend to order the cold noodles because they don’t want their noodles to get soggy). Since I eat slow, my soup cooled down and with the cold noodles on top I was regretting not ordering the atsumori. But then a nice surprise happened — the staff came out with this super hot black stone that looked like a black egg. You basically put that into your soup and it instantly heats it up again! I was really impressed with their noodles as well, they had a nice firm texture with good flavor. Turns out their noodles are actually made by Murakamiasahi-seimen, a famous noodle maker in Japan.

Hope you get to try this place out!

Address // 3-7-10, Aobadai, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5456-0278
Website // n/a

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{  Mother’s Shokudo  }

Mother's Shokudo
Mother's Shokudo
Mother's Shokudo

I’ve been wanting to dine here for a while now and I finally got to check it out. This restaurant is in Roppongi Hills and although it looks super fancy from the outside, the concept is “Mother’s homemade dishes”. And they literally do bring out very common Japanese home-style meals including 2 small side dishes of your choice. It also seemed like they hired elder mom-like ladies to bring out the food to make you feel like you’re at home?! The name of the restaurant actually means “Mother’s Dining Room”.

Their lunch menu is rather simple and has everyone’s favorite dishes such as curry, tonkatsu, fish, hamburg, etc and they are all under or around 1000yen! There’s also a “healthy lunch” option so if you are on a diet, you can still eat here. It’s really a great deal in this high-end building and beautiful space. The juxtaposition of the concept and the ambiance is a little ironic but it’s a nice and easy place to grab a meal so check it out if you’re in the area.

Address // 5F Westwalk, Roppongi Hills, 6-10-1, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5413-9577
Website // www.mothers.jpn.com

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{  Gari gari kun Festival  }

Gari gari kun Festival 2012 Summer
Gari gari kun Festival 2012 Summer
Gari gari kun Festival 2012 Summer

It’s getting real hot and humid in Tokyo these days, the summer has definitely arrived. On days like this, I crave for ice cream, shaved ice, and popsicles. One of the famous popsicles here is called “Gari gari kun”. They have many flavors such as Soda, Grape, Pear, Grapefruit, Orange, Cola, etc, but their current most popular flavor is Pear. I happened to try the pear and it was so good and refreshing.

Anyhow, they are currently having a gari gari kun festival at Shibuya Parco and they have 7 selections of popsicles for only 100yen each. They also sell some accessories if you are a gari gari kun fan so if you happen to be in the area, stop by! The festival is from 7/14~7/25. If you can’t stop by the festival, you can still pick up your popsicle at most convenience stores and super markets :)

Gari gari kun Festival 2012 Summer
Event Info: http://www.parco.co.jp/parco/garigarikun/

Address // Parco, 15-1, Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3464-5111
Website // http://www.garigarikun.jp

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