There is good news and bad news in today’s post. To the good, I have reconfirmed that, by bicycle, one can get practically anywhere on the east side of Tokyo in 20 minutes. Today I went from the office to Kappabashi (Christmas present shopping, I think you know what I mean), faffed around on the […]
lunch
Sobakichi, Marunouchi (ソバキチ,Shin Maru 7th)
新丸七 蕎麦は中々 カレーだめ Wow, 5 syllables is hard in Japanese 03-5222-5133
- curry
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Loup de Mer, Kanda
You call it Loup de Mer, I call it sea bass. Maybe you call it suzuki, maybe you call it a Bar de Ligne, any way you call it, there’s precious little obvious connection with Japanese-style curry, which is what’s on offer here. It’s a branch of the Perignon empire (8 locations in Tokyo plus […]
Katsuman, Kanda （勝漫、淡路町）
Is fratricide acceptable in the pork community? According to reliable sources, the chef of Yamaichi used to work at Katsuman before leaving to open his own tonkatsu restaurant. 1 block away. With a similar menu and style. Personally, I’d be pissed unless there was some kind of blessing or compensation involved. Honestly, the style of […]
- Asakusa
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Waffle Cafe Y, Asakusa
Waffles and wine, wine and waffles. Sign of the times – by day we serve waffles, at night we convert to a Spanish restaurant. Y has the advantage of being one of only a few restaurants just off the Kappabashi restaurant-supply strip, in addition to the obvious advantages of being new (18 months), pleasant and […]
Sakura (The Prince), Hakone
Well, as I always say, when life gives you lemons, write an extended blog rhapsody about the simple, pure life you’re living in Tuscany and how essential a simple squeeze of lemon juice is to your everday enjoyment of the finer foods in life. Is the sarcasm coming across? I had to go away for […]
- Otemachi
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Ding Dong Dining, Otemachi
Well, it’s not really called Ding Dong, but it IS called Din Don, and that’s close enough for me. Puts me in mind of an expression I learned in Australia to describe a pitched sporting contest – a ‘ding dong battle’. Ahhhh, the fun we had, with the kangaroos hopping gaily about, and the utes, […]
- Kanda
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Jangara Ramen, Kanda
Would you believe that this was the first time I’d been to an outlet of the famed Kyushu ramen chain Jangara? It’s famed for having really strong, porky soup. In fact, I didn’t think the soup was that strong. Or that good. I had the one advertised with green on the soup-types board (it said […]
- Chinese
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Good Times China Express, Otemachi
Dyn-O-Mite!!! is not something you’re going to hear said frequently around Good Times. Part of that’s because it’s in Otemachi, and there’s not a lot of English spoken there (especially by black people!). Another part of that is on account of the food is naff. I had one of those periodic cravings for ankake noodles, […]
Chinmaya, Otemachi （陳麻家）
This place seems to specialize in tantanmen (spicy sesame-and-pork noodles) and mapo tofu (tofu and pork in sauce heavily spiced with red pepper and prickly ash). I sense some thematic similarities there. In keeping with my recent capsule reviews of noodles places: – I like noodles like this in ramen – thin, straight, light. They’re […]