Category Archives: Restaurant

{  Cucina Buona Italiana Knock  }

Cucina Buona Italiana Knock
Cucina Buona Italiana Knock
Cucina Buona Italiana Knock

yummmm this Italian restaurant is a popular lunch spot on the weekdays amongst Roppongi workers but it’s also an easy going local hangout on the weekends. The photos above are from a recent trip I did over a weekend for brunch. They have a brunch menu where you can order an “Antipasto Party Plate” plus a main dish from the menu and it starts from 1680yen (depending on which main plate you choose). We got the ‘Lasagna Gratinata’ which is a lasagna with summer veggies and the Spaghetini with olive, capers, dried tomato & rucola. The antipasto plate was amazing! I mean look at that photo above (tip: if you go with 2 people, just get 1 “antipasto party plate” set since it’s big enough to split!). Everything was delicious. My olive pasta was a little on the salty side but the lasagna was excellent. I would come back here in a heartbeat.

Address // 3-2-11, NishiAzabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3478-8220
Website // Cucina Buona Italiana Knock Website

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{  Kohien 香妃園  }

Kohien 香妃園
Kohien 香妃園
Kohien 香妃園

Kohien is an old-school Chinese restaurant that has been around since 1963 and has somehow survived in this mostly modern part of town (Roppongi). That explains the retro feel of the interior and the atmosphere of this place. This place was introduced to us by a friend who has been coming here for a while. Why this place? Well, it’s famous for their chicken broth noodle soup that has a lot of collagen in it (it makes your skin literally glow the next day…). It’s like a woman’s dream soup and because of that, models and celebrities are often spotted here.

The noodle soup is very mild but has a suprisingly good flavor to it — kind of like a really good chicken noodle soup. Every single table ordered this dish and it’s clearly their staple. The shrimp egg roll was not that impressive but the fried rice noodle was good. They supposedly have a secret menu item which you’d never suspect if you look through the rest of their menu. It’s actually “Curry”… but i’m not sure if I’d order curry at a Chinese restaurant. Anyhow, this place is open till 4am(!) so you can come here if you missed the last train, or if you’re hungry for something in the middle of the night.

Address // 2F, 3-8-15, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3405-9011
Website // n/a

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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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{  Ondoru — おんどる  }

Ondoru
Ondoru
Ondoru
Ondoru

Finally found my Korean spot!! This was such an exciting find that my friend and I came back here 3 weeks in a row… This place is in Shinokubo which is known as the Korea Town of Tokyo. I’ve been dying to check out this little town in search for some good Korean food so when I finally came here and discovered this restaurant I was really excited. One thing to keep in mind is that this place not exactly a hidden gem, it’s VERY popular amongst all sorts of age groups, couples, and families. There’s constant long waits even during week days so be prepared to stand in line.

Anyhow, although I still want to go back and try more things on their menu I have to say that hands down their samgyeopsal (1180yen per person) is amazing. The meat that they use is thicker than normal, and do you see the tilted pan that has kimchi at the bottom? The pork fat starts dripping down the kimchi along with the garlic and the other ingredients. When you finally wrap everything in the lettuce leaf and dip it into their sauce… it’s SO good. I also loved their naengmyeon (980yen) which is a cold noodle dish. A lot of places don’t do this dish right but this place does it well and it’s perfect for the hot summer in Tokyo right now.

I will be back here in no time.

Address // 1-3-20 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3205-5679
Website // http://www.e-ondoru.com

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{  Mar-De Napoli Pizzeria  }

Mar-De Napoli Pizzeria
Mar-De Napoli Pizzeria
Mar-De Napoli Pizzeria

I’ve been passing by this pizza place a few times and wanting to try it for some time so we finally went and checked it out. It seems like it’s actually a chain pizzeria but the one I went to in Setagaya-ku (by Yoga station) is the original store. Packed with families and couples, there’s always a long line during lunch-time but it circulates pretty fast so the wait is not too bad. As soon as you walk into the restaurant, the dessert display looks quite delicious and you immediately notice the well designed atmosphere. I really like how they put together a cute pizzeria in this quaint little town.

Anyhow, the food (Pizza) was actually just ok. I’ve had some really amazing pizzas lately at other restaurants I’ve already posted so I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re looking to have the BEST pizza in town. However, it’s a nice and easy place to come to with family and friends with a great atmosphere so in that sense, I recommend it :)

PS: This place has free parking!

Address // 2-29-20, Yoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3707-0511
Website // www.mar-denapoli.com

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