Category Archives: Cheap and cheerful eateries

A Singaporean affair at ANTHEMBLE

by Bianca

Ecstatic is the perfect word to describe my feelings about discovering this restaurant tucked in a corner of the third floor of the Marunouchi Brick Square Building. Anthemble has the perfect mix of ingredients that makes a restaurant great ; authentically delicious food, good location, warm interior, cheap prices and good service.

You almost forget you are in Tokyo upon entering this restaurant with its warm wooden floors and dark furnishing. The perfect view towards the Marunouchi Brick Square makes you feel you are somewhere in Europe instead of the midst of bustling Tokyo.

Their set lunch menu costs 1000 yen and you have five choices including laksa and Singapore style chicken curry. The highlight is their Hainan chicken rice. You have choices of steamed or roasted chicken. The roasted one seems to be more popular since it was sold out when we arrived around 1 pm.

I chose the steamed Hainan chicken rice and to be honest, I was expecting a mediocre attempt at Singaporean food whose blandness would be nicely swallowed by the restaurants wonderful surroundings. I was however quite mistaken. The food was actually very good. I am Asian, so I know my Asian food. The chicken rice was tasty and the chili sauce spicy. My friend ordered a Laksa and that too tasted authentic.

I almost passed on desert since I finished the whole set of chicken rice but could not resist their almond jelly. Thank God for that, because their almond jelly with avocado puree is simply out of this world. I don’t think I’ve ever used so many mmmmm’s and yummmm’s in one dessert helping. It really was absolutely exquisite. If you aren’t into Asian food than drop by at tea time for this. It’s really worth it.

So today, I have an intensely happy tummy, which makes me intensely happy.

Price : $-$$

ANTHEMBLE Phone : 5220-1923 . Marunouchi 2-6-1, Brick Square 3F. Open 11am-10pm daily.

 

CHAO JANG Dim sum

by Bianca

This little chinese restaurant just opened a few months ago in Meguro. I’ve passed by many times making mental notes that I should drop by whenever my craving for Asian food arises. This afternoon it did, so we decided to drop by this little joint. I was pleasantly surprised. Their dim sum menu was quite extensive with many different choices and they had an english menu.

We tried ordering some of their non-dim sum dishes which were not that bad but I’d stick to the dim sum. Their noodles were excellent. I tried their tan-tan ramen and it was really fresh and delicious.

The prices were very reasonable and their chili paste deliciously spicy. Unfortunately I forgot to jot down their address and phone number but will post it shortly.

I will definitely come back to visit.

Price : $

EATALY Daikanyama

by Bianca

This cozy eatery in Daikanyama is the perfect place for some simple, good Italian food. The compound is designed like an Italian piazza with a supermarket, bakery and restaurant. The supermarket sells a variety of Italian food, cheese and bread. I always enjoy browsing through their shelves as I wait for my pasta.

Eataly’s menu consists of a variety of pastas and wood oven pizzas. The pastas are good and fresh. And my favorite dish in the restaurant is their lasagna.

Coffee is also good so whenever you’re in the area, you should drop by.

Price : $

EATALY Daikanyama

Address: 20-23 Daikanyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Telephone: 03-5784-2736

 

The new HANDS CAFE in Shibuya

by Bianca

It’s about time Tokyu Hands opened a cafe in their Shibuya store. The cafe is conveniently named Hands cafe. Now, I won’t have to stand idly in a corner for hours while my guests shop their massive store. Now, I can just head up to the 7th floor and enjoy a cup of coffee while waiting.

The interior of the cafe was a pleasant surprise. Unlike the rather sterile and supermarket-like interior of the store, the cafe was warm with lots of wood and accessories that created a rather cozy and homey feel. It somehow reminded me of the Muji cafe. There was a round table for share in the middle and some tables on the side.

Outside, a small terrace adorned with cactuses for sale added some intrigue to the interior.

The menu was simple, composed of some sandwiches and waffles, and the prices were reasonable. I tried the tuna sandwich and banana waffle which was good, as was the coffee.

I actually really like the place. A perfect place to hangout in Shibuya.

Price : $

12-18 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Chao Bamboo !!!!

by Bianca

I love this little place hidden in a corner of an alley in Omotesando. It has become my go-to place whenever I crave Asian food. I wouldn’t really call it a restaurant. Its more like a food stall with tables and chairs, and the rather ‘dirty’ and un-Japanese vibe kind of reminds me off the food stalls back home.

Their menu is quite extensive and has all sorts of rice and noodle dishes from South East Asian countries.

My favorite are their noodle dishes. The Pho is delicious. When I’m in the mood for rice I go for the Indonesian Fried Rice (nasi goreng). The food is greasy and spicy just the way I like it and most important of all, almost everything on the menu is under 1000 yen.

I would not recommend paying this food stall a visit in summer. I tried it once and left drenched in sweat like I’ve just stepped out of a sauna.

To get to Chao Bamboo walk past the Chanel building in the Harajuku direction and turn left on the second alley after the Chanel building. You’ll see the sign at the end of the alley.

CHAO BAMBOO
Shibuya-ku, 6-1-5 Jingumae
Telephone - 03-5466-4787

Price : $

A taste of old Japan at YABU SOBA

by Bianca

Update on April 12,2013.

Sadly this charming restaurant was burnt down in an unexpected fire a few months ago and is now closed. They say they renovating to reopen in a year or so. I really do hope so.

 

One thing I love about Tokyo is that everyday you have the chance to stumble upon something new, something unexpected. Today, I planned to have a soba lunch at a place called Muto in Nihonbashi but it was closed even when the website stated that it was opened for lunch on Saturdays. A quick google search for other soba places around the area brought us to Yabu soba.

I did not expect to find this old style little Japanese house surrounded by a wooden fence in an alley in Kanda (near Nihonbashi). It was the kind of restaurant you’d find in Kyoto, not hidden somewhere near the financial district of Tokyo.

It even had a cute little Japanese garden you had to walk through before entering the restaurant. There was a line waiting for tables but it did not take long before we were quickly ushered to our seats. The restaurant had a tatami section and a table section with low chairs, and was quite sizeable for Tokyo’s standards.

What immediate struck me when I entered was how the staff all greeted you and shouted out your orders in some sort of chant. It had a melody to it that was quite amusing.

They had an english menu available and since it was cold outside most of us opted for the hot soba. I ordered soba with fish cake and the rest of the group ordered soba with duck meat and the tempura soba.

The tempura soba

I have to say that so far, this is the best soba I have tried in Tokyo. The soba was delicious and the soup tasted just right. It definitely was much tastier than other soba noodles I’ve tried. The portions however are quite small, so if you enter this establishment with an empty stomach you should order two portions like most of the male patrons of the restaurant did.

The fish cake soba

We also ended up ordering two extra cold soba dishes which were exquisite.

I did a little research after our delightful lunch and found that Yabu soba first opened its doors in 1880 and their soba are served “seiro” style which means firm noodles made from ten parts buckwheat flour to one part wheat flour, which are then dipped in a tasty broth and enjoyed.

Well, for me, finding this place was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Address :2-10 Kanda Awajicyo, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Phone :03 3251 0287

Ramen makes you happy at IPPUDO ramen, Yoyogi.

by Bianca

And it certainly did.

I decided to drop by this ramen place for lunch today because this branch of the famous Hakata ramen chain is the first to specialize in miso broth instead of the usual tonkotsu kind.

The design of the place was actually rather funky for a ramen establishment although they did try to incorporate some of the old-style Japanese ramen shop details into it. Hip music was playing in the back ground as we entered and you were to order your ramen on this machine…

Red or white ? I chose the red hoping it would be the spicier choice.

Then came this huge red bowl filled with a myriad of things that would definitely make me happy. The miso sauce was delicious although I have to say, rather safe. Maybe because of the red bowl I expected something really spicy it would make my ears hurt. Not saying it wasn’t good though, I finished the whole thing and did walk out of the place happy.

Ippudo Miso
5358-2033
Yoyogi 1-45-4. Open 11am-1am daily.