Monthly Archives: April 2013

YAMANOCHAYA (Unagi restaurant)

by Bianca

You immediately forget you are in bustling Tokyo upon entering the bushy gate of Yamanochaya, a vintage restaurant specializing in unagi (eel) dishes. There aren’t that many restaurants in town that can boast such tranquility even if you can see a parking lot beyond the trees.

IMG_3643

You will need to walk up a significant flight of stairs to get to this restaurants that’s been around for years and years. I tried googling and it says that they have been around since early 20th century and our hosts explained that the last time they ate at this restaurant was 30 years ago. So, Yamanochaya has been around for while.

IMG_3647

Lovely ladies in beautiful kimonos guided us to a fake tatami room. The ones with holes under the tables to slide your legs in for comfort.

IMG_3650IMG_3652

Now I might have mentioned that I am not actually crazy about unagi. I don’t mind eating it, but I won’t go out of my way to dine on it. Imagine the look on my face when this dish was placed in front of me.

IMG_3657

I did not dare ask what it was until I gulped it all down and then discovered that it was the inner parts of the eel (whatever that is). Not the most delicious thing in the world. It had a nasty after-taste that I didn’t like but my husband loved it.

Before long, this dish came along….

IMG_3659

Now this dish actually tastes better than it looks. It is called the shirayaki which is white eel grilled over charcoal with a little salt. I had to think of other things not snake related to gulp it down and then decided that it didn’t taste too bad.

A small bowl of miso soup came before the main course.

IMG_3662

Followed by the main course which was some unagi grilled in a sweet sauce with rice and pickles on the side. This I loved. The unagi was tender and not as oily as others I’ve tried.

IMG_3668

My husband is a big unagi fan and he thought this was one of the best unagi restaurants he had ever tried so if you are in for a challenge, I say give it a try too.

Prices are on the expensive side . Lunch is about 10.000 yen and up. Dinner is about 13.000 yen and up.

YAMANOCHAYA. 2-10-6 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku. Phone : 03-3581-0585

ABURA SOBA

by Bianca

Let me introduce you to my new favorite ramen!. I visited their tiny restaurant in Ginza and fell immediately in love. Abura soba’s noodles are different. They might call themselves soba but the noodles are actually from the ramen family and instead of the usual hot broth, they come lathered with different oils and sauces.

IMG_3566

The restaurant only has a 10 seat bar counter so there is usually a line outside but the waiting time is very short. You order your noodles from the machine at the entrance. Of course everything is encrypted in kanji so ask for an english menu, it is available. You have a choice of salty or spicy miso. I love the spicy miso and I add an extra half boiled egg to it. I then mix the noodles until they look like this…

IMG_3569Absolutely delicious !!!.

Abura soba has a few outlets but the one in Ginza is 2 streets behind the Matsuzakaya department store and this is how the facade of the restaurant looks like.

IMG_3564

A bowl of noodle with extra egg is about 1000 yen. I am so in loveeeeee….

Price : $

 

 

 

KEAT’S HOUSE CAFE

by Bianca

IMG_3590

After the endless stream of guests visiting Tokyo over cherry blossom season and nights of extensive dinners, I was so ready for some healthy food. A friend recommended this place called Keat’s House in Yutenji. I haven’t heard about this area not far from Nakameguro until today and thought it fun to do some exploring.

IMG_3592

Named after the famous British poet John Keats , I was expecting a somewhat European decor with maybe a touch of aristocracy but was pleasantly surprised by the old Japanese timber lodge that greeted me in a corner of busy Komazawa-dori. The place had a cozy, rustic feel to it. The front of the cafe had two tables and a bakery.

IMG_3593

The main dining area was at the patio with four rustic wooden tables. I imagine it to be chilly to dine there in the winter even with the portable heaters, but today it was perfect.

IMG_3595

The lunch menu is simple, uncomplicated and very reasonable. A lunch set is around 1.000 yen. Keat’s house is not a vegan restaurant but most of its food are on the healthy side. They have a set menu of brown rice with assorted condiments on the side like some grilled fish or meat with vegetables. I tried the vegetarian bibimbap and it was flavorful.

IMG_3601

My friend tried the eggs benedict.

IMG_3603

 

What you definitely should not miss are the whole wheat waffles that come with whipped butter and honey. This was absolutely delicious.

IMG_3607

The lovely lady who served us spoke excellent english and suggested that we tried their ‘misukara’ or wheat drink mixed with soy milk.

IMG_3599

The drink had a very ‘interesting’ taste. I’m not sure it would be everyone’s cup of tea but I liked it.

I’ve never been that much into vegetarian and healthy food. I would pick meat over vegetables any day, yet I liked the bibimbap and I loved the waffles, and I loved Keat’s house atmosphere that I will definitely be back for more.

Price : $

KEAT’S HOUSE. 2-8-12 Yutenji, Meguro-ku. Phone : (03) 6312-2003

 

 

 

 

 

TAKUMI OKUMURA

by Bianca

2013-03-11 13.24.38

I am going to take yet another detour today and write about this lovely little restaurant in Kyoto where I had a uniquely wonderful lunch a few weeks ago. Everything about this restaurant from the adorable wooden building in the Gion district of Kyoto to the intricately prepared meal was absolutely breath-taking. I don’t say ‘breath-taking’ a lot in my reviews, but Takumi Okumura is in a class of its own. A friend recommended this French-Japanese style restaurant for my day trip to Kyoto and I will be forever grateful.

2013-03-11 11.39.51

A most elaborate tray of tiny appetizers in various designs and colors was presented to us and I simply could not stop marveling over the creativeness of this display.

2013-03-11 11.46.24

2013-03-11 11.45.41A sensational dish of seasonal fish with a crunchy freshness followed.

2013-03-11 11.58.15Then came a lovely cup of cawan mushi (egg custard) in delicate blue and white china.

2013-03-11 12.05.19Succeeded by another seafood dish of fish and clam.

2013-03-11 12.15.36And no, we are not done yet, another lovely cup of cream soup came afterward.

2013-03-11 12.27.36And no, we are still not done, the last and main course was some luscious beef accompanied with the most decent bowl of curry rice.

2013-03-11 12.37.09Our waitress then came with a wondrous tray of dessert from which we were supposed to pick our dessert of choice. When I told her I wanted everything, she offered to give me mini portions of everything to which I joyfully accepted.

2013-03-11 13.00.18Thus, our delicious meal ends and I have to say this splendor actually came at a somewhat reasonable price for Japan. Lunch for 4 was around 32,000 yen.

I hope you noticed the ever-changing exquisite plates in which our food was presented in. I loved them. I loved our meal and I love this restaurant.

Price : $$$

TAKUMI OKUMURA: 570-6 Gion Machi Minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku,Kyoto. Phone : 075-541 2205.