Sushi-Go-Round, Katsu Midori @ Meguro, Tokyo

Once in a while..., no, more often, I become to want to eat Sushi. I love Sushi, as I had written it as my best favorite food in my elementary school composition... 
たまに...いや、しょっちゅうお寿司が食べたくなります。私、お寿司大好きで小学校の作文にも一番好きな食べ物として書いてありました...

At Meguro, close to our Kimono Photo Studio, there is a conveyor sushi restaurant "Katsu Midori," and it always has lines in front at lunch time and dinner time. Plus, this restaurant is reasonable and delicious! One dish from JPY100~.
着物フォトスタジオのある目黒にいーっつも行列のできている回転寿司やさん、活美登利があります。しかも安くて美味しいんです！一皿100円から～。

Finally when you can have a seat, take one tea cup on the conveyor and make tea with tea powder and hot water on the table. Soy sauce, ginger, chopsticks, menu etc are all on the table and counter. You can pick up and  eat sushi on the conveyor belt or you can order by writing what you want on the order sheet and pass it to the sushi chef. Please see this link for more details, too.
とりあえず席に座ったら前のコンベアに流れている湯のみをとってお茶を作りましょう。醤油、ガリ、お箸、メニューなど全部カウンターの上にあります。お寿司は回転しているものを取っても良いし、カウンターにある紙に書いて板前さんに渡してもOKです。


Today's special Platter B (5 pieces) - Fatty Tuna, Fresh Fat Salmon, Yellowtail, Jumbo Sweet Shrimp, Fresh Flatfish. JPY650. 
中トロ入り五貫盛B - 中トロ、生トロサーモン、はまち、大赤海老、平目　650円




Chyanko Soup - JPY200　Big miso soup with various vegetables.
名物ちゃんこ汁 - 200円




3 pieces of Blue Backed Fishes - JPY200  Sardine, Saurel (Horse Mackerel), and Mackerel
光り物三貫 - 200円 いわし、あじ、さば





















It might be a little difficult for foreign travelers to order and eat at this sushi restaurant, but they have English menu and English speaking staff, so please try!  See this blog, too.
外国の人にはちょっと難しいかもしれませんが英語メニューもあるし、英語の話せる店員さんもいるのでぜひ行ってみて下さい。


7 Sushi shops in Tokyo and Yokohama area.
http://katumidori.co.jp/

Sushi-Go-Round, Katsu Midori - Meguro Shop
Atre Meguro2 1st floor, 3-1-1, Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
1 minute from Meguro station
11:00~22:30 (Last order 22:00)
Price Very Reasonable
Good for solo, couple, with friends, family (Both counter and table available)
English menu and English speaking staff available

Experience Japan!

Dipping Noodles, "Jurumen Ikeda," @ Meguro, Tokyo

I came to "Jurumen Ikeda" for lunch. "Juru" is the sound of noodles when Japanese people slurp them. This ramen noodle shop is very popular in Meguro, Tokyo. Sometimes we see lines in front of the shop at lunch time. 3 minute walking distance from our studio.

今日は目黒で人気のつけめん屋さん、づゅる麺池田に来てみました。時々店の前に行列までできちゃうお店です。私たちのスタジオから歩いて3分です。

Buying a ticket with the vending machine and come inside. I recommend to eat "Dipping noodle, or Special ramen noodles limited offer." 

店の前にある自動販売機で食券を買います。ここのお勧めはつけめんとその時々で変わる期間限定ラーメンです。















             

The shop owner's declaration.
- All natural and safe ingredients
- No chemical seasoning
- All ingredients are made in Japan
- All soup and noodles are original and made by ourselves
- Always seeking delicious noodle's sound "Juru!"

あんしん宣言

Ajitama-Tsukemen (Dipping noodle with a boiled egg) JPY930. The noodles are made from 3 kinds of Japanese wheat, and they are chewy. The soup is mainly made from chicken, with some seafood, and it is thick. They match together very good. Squeeze a slice of lemon after you eat some noodles and change the taste light, too!

味玉つけめん930円。3種の国産小麦粉で作られたもちもちの麺と鶏をメインに魚介のうまみを効かせたとろみのあるスープがおいしいです。途中でレモンを絞ってさっぱりさせて食べてね。




This shop was opened in 2006 and the owner chef had used to work at Thai restaurant. So this ramen shop offers various noodles with Asian taste as limited offer, and they are very popular, too. Thai, Szechuan, Myanmar noodle... They offered "Cilantro noodle" JPY850 when I went there.

2006年にオープンしたこのお店はオーナーがタイ料理出身。期間限定のメニューはタイ風、四川風、ビルマ風などいつもアジアンなオリジナルラーメンが出されてこれがとても人気なんです。私が行ったときはパクチーラーメン850円でした。

 

Juru-men Ikeda
じゅる麺　池田
1-6-12, Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Lunch Time 11:30 ~ 15:00
Dinner Time 18:00 ~ About 22:30 (They close the shop when they run out of the soup.)
No scheduled holidays 不定休
4 minute walking distance from Meguro station
Price Reasonable
Good for solo, couple, with friends (Counter seats only at 1st floor)
NO English menu available





Experience Japan!

Ramen @ Meguro, Menya Fujishiro

My lunch place today is "Menya, Fujishiro," Ramen noodle bar in Meguro, Tokyo. This Ramen place is famous for "Toripaitan" soup, which was made from mainly chicken meat and bones cooked long hours, and contains much collagen. This shop was shown on magazines and TVs many times. The bar is a little difficult to find, located on the 1st floor of a building though it is very close from Meguro station.

今日のランチは麺屋藤代へ。ここはテレビや雑誌で紹介された鶏白湯スープで有名なラーメン屋さんです。目黒駅から1分もかからないところにありますがビルの1階の奥まったところにあるので少し見つけにくいかもしれません。

The chef used to work at Italian and French, and Ramen restaurant and finally opened this bar. The soup also contains broth of roasted beaf, and cooked 8 hours. Of course, MSG - free. (No chemical seasonings.) All ingredients and toppings are considered the Ramen to be perfect!

オーナーはフレンチ、イタリアン、そしてラーメン屋さんで修行されたそうです。厳選された具材を長時間煮込んで作られたスープ、化学調味料不使用というのが良いですね！

You buy this Ramen at the ticket machine in front of this bar, and come inside. The bar has about 10 seats. They have English menus.

オーダーは外にある券売機でチケットを買って中に持っていくシステムです。カウンター１０席くらいのお店です。英語のメニューもありました。

Ramen with boiled-egg, JPY850. Green onion, laver, roast pork are on top. The soup seems light, but rich tasting！
煮卵入り、850円。九条ネギ、チャーシュー、のりがのってます。スープはあっさりに見えますがコクがあって美味しい！

You can add ginger lemon, red and black pepper, and/or garlic during the meal. I liked ginger lemon very much! Enjoy the taste change in the middle. 

途中でカウンターに置いてある生姜レモン、にんにく、胡椒等入れてみて味変してください。個人的には生姜レモンがお勧めです！

Menya Fujishiro

Mon ~ Sat  11:00 ~ 15:00 / 18:00 ~ 22:00

Sun 11:00 ~ 18:00
Address: Sanfelista Meguro 1F, 2-27-1, Kami-osaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo

1 minute walking distance from Meguro station
Price Reasonable
Good for solo, couple, with friends (only 11 seats)
English menu available

Experience Japan!

Hiroshima-yaki @ Meguro, Tokyo

Hiroshima-yaki is literally coming from Hiroshima, the city in western Japan. It is like Okonomi-yaki, which is famous in Osaka and looks like pancake but not sweet, Japanese people eat it as a meal. Hiroshima-yaki looks more like crepes, and noodles and cabbage are cooked between them.

I went to "Issenbo," Hiroshima-yaki restaurant today at lunch time.  You can choose from 5 different toppings - basic (meet, egg, and noodle), with squid and green onion, with cheese and corn, with shrimp, and with kimchi. I chose the basic one - A set.

今日はJR目黒駅すぐ近くにある一銭坊という広島焼きのお店にランチに行ってきました。ランチはトッピングが選べて５種類。

The chef cooks your Hiroshima-yaki on a big hot place in front of you. 

店内にある大きな鉄板でマスターが焼いてくれるスタイルです。

When it is served, put mayonnaise and ginger as much as you like, and cut with the scraper and eat it.
マヨネーズと紅ショウガをのせて頂きます！



The sauce taste like the mix of Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. I like this taste very much. I got full with this big Hiroshima-yaki.
私はこのお好みソースの味が大好きです。関西出身なので？やっぱりもんじゃよりこちらです。ボリュームもあっておなかいっぱいになりました。

Issenbo (Hiroshima-yaki (Okonomi-yaki) restaurant)
Mon ~ Sat 10:30 ~ 23:00
1 minute walking distance from Meguro station
Reasonable
Good for solo, couple, with friends (Not so big)
No English menu, but I think easy to order with sample photos.

Check your mouth and teeth, a small piece of green laver might be on...  
食後、歯にのりがついていないかチェックをお忘れなく...



Experience Japan!

Spaghetti Alla Pescatora - delicious frozen food in Japan

Our customers often tell that Japanese foods are delicious, so I think Japanese frozen foods are probably not bad as well. I would like to write about frozen foods in my blog sometimes. If you get hungry at night, and have microwave at your hotel, please try Japanese frozen foods during your stay.
日本の食べ物は美味しい！とよくお客さんに言われるので多分冷凍食品も美味しいんじゃないかと思い、日本で人気の冷凍食品をちょくちょく紹介していこうと思ってます。小腹がすいてホテルに電子レンジがあったらやってみてください。

This is "Spaghetti Alla Pescatora" of Oh'my Frozen Pasta. Squid, cram, and shrimp are mixed with Italian tomato sauce. The good point of this product is the pasta is already in a tray so you do not have to look for a dish after cooking.
今回はオーマイプレミアムの海の幸のペスカトーレ。いか、あさり、エビが入ったトマトソースのパスタ。これの良いところはトレー付きなのでお皿に移す手間がかかりません。

Pasta in a tray is inside the outer package.

トレーに入ったパスタが入ってます。

Open a bit till the dotted line to release hot steam...

電子レンジに入れる前に点線まで少し開けて...

Microwave 5 minutes with 600 watts.

６００Wで５分加熱すればできあがりです。

All the seafoods were soft and tomato sauce was delicious with sour taste. Mix well after microwave and eat it.

いかもあさりもエビも柔らかくてソースは酸味が利いていて美味しかったです。

よく混ぜて食べてね！

It was JPY390 at the supermarket close by. Do no forget to ask a fork, otherwise you might have to eat it with pens like me... 

私はスーパーで買いましたが３９０円でした。フォークを貰うのをお忘れなく。忘れると私みたいにボールペンで食べるはめになります！

Experience Japan!

Japanese Lunch at WANOKA @ Meguro

Happy New Year 2016! I would like to update my blog more often in this year. 
あけましておめでとうございます！今年はブログをもっとアップして行く事が目標です(笑)。そして、日本語も載せる事にしました。どうぞよろしくお願い致します。

Today, I came to a Japanese restaurant near our studio for research. Many customers ask us the good places to eat, but I am not professional around here, so... I will go and show you many restaurants around Meguro station more in this blog.
さて、今日は近くの日本料理のお店にランチを食べに行ってきました。スタジオに来るお客さんにしょっちゅうこの辺の良いお店を聞かれるのですが、こんなおしゃれな町、目黒には疎いのでリサーチあるのみです。

The restaurant's name is "Wanoka," literally means "scent of Japanese." Wa is the same word of our studio name, Kimono Photo Studio WA. So I like this name, haha. 
お店は「和の香」です。私たちのスタジオ名「着物フォトスタジオ和」と同じ「和」なので勝手に親近感を覚えてます。




The restaurant is close to Meguro station, about 3 minute walk, and you can find the sign even though  it is located underground. 
お店は目黒駅から３分くらい、地下にありますが看板があるのでわかります。





Here is Today's  Lunch Special.
All are JPY850. You can choose from Tofu and meat set, baked salmon set, deep fried sakura shrimp and vegetable bowl, and cooked fish (teriyaki taste) set. All sets comes with a small appetizer, small salad and miso soup.
今日のランチメニューは肉豆腐定食、焼魚定食、桜えびと冬野菜のかきあげ丼、煮魚定食でした。すべて850円。

I wanted a deep fried shrimp bowl, but I chose baked salmon because I wanted to eat "Nanakusa-gayu," literally means  rice porridge with 7 kinds of winter vegetables. This is traditional Japanese food, which you eat on 7th of January to supplement vitamin with these vegetables in winter because vegetables were not enough long time ago in Japan. Also, this is eaten now as well to relax our stomachs which had too much feast in new year holidays. 

かきあげも惹かれたのですがごはんが七草がゆを選べたので焼魚にしました。英語で七草難しい...スーパーの広告見て簡単に書いてみました。胃を休めるのもありますが昔は冬に野菜が不足するためビタミンCを補う為に食べていたんですね。





The porridge was very mild and the salmon was delicious with salt and sake lee taste. I went there before noon, it was almost full around noon, should be popular restaurant around here.
おかゆは思った通りの優しい味でした。銀鮭もほどよい塩加減で美味しかったです。お昼前に行ったのですが１２時にはほぼ満席でした。人気のお店なんですね。

You see many Sake bottles back of the counter because this restaurant has Sake sommelier. Full-course Japanese style dinner is served in the evening with special sake. Also, they serve a dish, which a famous Samurai, Heizo Hasegawa, loved in Edo period about 200 years ago. 
このお店にはきき酒師さんがいて夜はコース料理になるそうです。食通だった鬼平犯科帳の長谷川平蔵が愛した江戸時代の再現料理もあるそうです。今度は夜に行ってみたい！


I would like to come in the evening next time! 

WANOKA (和の香）
Address: 
Nakagin Meguro Ekimae Mansion B1
2-18-20, Kamioosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Open: 
AM11:30~PM2:00 (only Mon-Fri)
Dinner: PM6:00~ PM12:00 (Last Order PM11:00)
Holiday: Sunday and National holidays
No English menu, good for couples or solo.
http://www.wanoka.com/free1.htm

Experience Japan!

Spicy Ramen @ Meguro, Moukotanmen Nakamoto



If you like spicy food and ramen noodle, you should eat at Mouko Tanmen Nakamoto. We went to one of their ramen restaurants in Meguro, Tokyo. The restaurant is very crowed at lunch time and weekends, some time people make a line at the front.

It is only 2 minute walking distance from JR Meguro station, easy to find because it is chili spice color, Red! The shop curtain says "Makoto" means faith, and the business started in 1973. Two vending machines are next to the curtain... for the people want to make neutral in their mouths after.

The menu shows how much the ramen is spicy... with the number of fire mark. The spiciest ramen here is Hokkyoku Ramen, means "North Pole Ramen noodle." Sounds cold, but it is really spicy and hot! Be careful, not for beginners.



Buying the ramen ticket from the vending machine, and pass it to the staff. They are really energetic and friendly. You can ask how much the meals are spicy, too. They also have English menus, and it shows the grade of spices with the number. 

I ordered Miso Tanmen (vegetable noodle) JPY780, spicy level 3 because I am not that strong for spicy food. This is spicy for me but still can taste flavor and deliciousness in hot soup. The noodle is think and big volume with various vegetables. I got sweaty but the ramen was tasty.

My friend loves spicy food, and she ordered Gomoku Mouko Tanmen (Tofu, vegetable, meat, egg, etc noodle) JPY880, spicy level 6. It looks very spicy enough even though the level is 6! She likes ramen here, it is spicy and delicious.

If the chili pepper is not enough, you can add... I don't think so !☆♪♯!!

Even though their website is in Japanese, it is funny, take a look!
http://www.moukotanmen-nakamoto.com/

Mouko Tanmen Nakamoto - Meguro
2-13-45, Translink Bldg., 3, 1F
Kamiosaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo
03-3446-1233
No holiday, 10:00~24:00

And do not forget to take gorgeous kimono photo at Kimono Photo Studio WA!
Experience Japan!

Bakery @ Meguro, HOBS

You will see many bakeries while you are visiting Japan. Please find your favorite one. A fancy bakery shop is also near our studio, Kimono Photo Studio WA, and It is next next to our shop building. It is about 3 minutes walk from Meguro station, and the bakery name is HOBS.


When I went there at lunch time, there are many people and I realized that this has been very popular bakery even though I did not know before. At the shop, you will smell good bread has just baked!

At a Japanese bakery shop, usually I hold a tray and tongs and choose my favorite bread. Then take them to the cashier and make payment.  At HOBS, the price is about from JPY150 ~ JPY300. It is really hard to choose one because they all looks very delicious.

Here are the bread and sandwich I chose today.


Left - Iberian pork croqutte sandwich, JPY290. All Japanese people love croqutte!
Top - Mentai France, JPY210. The shop girl said this is popular. Mentaiko is salted cod row with red pepper. If you would like to challenge, try it!
Middle - Uncured ham and cheese sandwich, JPY320. The ham was very tasty.
Bottom - Bear bread, JPY200. Coffee taste and whipped cream in the middle, the nose part is made of a piece of cookie. Very cute isn't it?

I went there again. The left one is Sweet bean paste, cherry blossom flavor. The right one is Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) sandwich. 















If you have a chance to come to Meguro, Tokyo, please try bread here, and of course, Kimono Photo Shooting!

HOBS
2-24-10 Kamiosaki Shinagawa Tokyo
Open : 11:00 ~ 19:00 ( Mon ~ Fri)
TEL: 03-3491-4350




Experience Japan!

Ramen@ Meguro, Nokatahope

Kimono Photo Studio WA, at which I work, is located in Meguro, Tokyo. In fact, Meguro is not very famous with international travelers. However, there are many good restaurants around here. I would like to write about delicious foods in Meguro more often.

 

First delicious food is Ramen noodles.  "Nokata Hope" is one of the famous Ramen shops and there are 7 shops in and around Tokyo. Their Ramen is "Tonkotsu" ramen, which is pork soup noodle with a pork bone broth. In addition, Nokata Hope adds vegetable and chicken soup, and makes their secret soup. The taste is soy source base, and you can choose the amount of backfat on it.

 



 

 

This is "Nokata Hope Ramen," JPY740. Roast pork fillet, green onion, seaweed, and cooked bamboo shoot. It looked fatty, but the taste was not fatty and actually was very tasty and could have the soup itself. (It maybe good not to drink the soup all... if you really care about salt and fat, though.)

 

You can choose how much you want to add the backfat, very fatty, fatty, normal, light, no backfat.

They have English menus, too! The restaurant has table seats as well as counter seats, so you can take your time to enjoy ramen.

 

Here are toppings on ramen, enjoy your taste!

 

 

 

Nokata Hope
1-5-16, Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 03-3494-7736
Business Hours: 11:00 ~ 4:00 (in the morning)
Closed on new years holidays

Experience Japan!

Hot Cake at Jinguen in Harajuku

Do you like pancake? It is very popular now and many foreign style pancake shops are opened in Japan.  Harajuku is famous pancake battleground, you will see many pancake shops especially Hawaiian style, and some have long lines in front of the shops.

 

But, I would like to show you very Japanese style pancake, which is called "Hot Cake" in Japan. If you go to a Japanese cafe, there must be "Hot Cake" in the menu, and the style is various in each shop.

 

Art Gallery Cafe, "Jinguen" is located between Harajuku (Meijijingu-mae) and Omotesando in Tokyo. When I went there, there is no line and the cafe had only 3 customers at 11:30 am on weekday. There is a passage with arts toward to the cafe door.

 

I order homemade Hot Cake with tea, which was JPY680 + JPY200 for tea.

 

 

 

Look! This very thick pancake is famous one here. The cake is crispy outside and moist and soft inside. You can adjust the sweetness with maple syrup. Delicious! 

 

 

 

 

Art Gallery Cafe, Jinguen

3-14-17, Jingumae,

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

TEL: 03-6804-3536

Open: 11:00 ~ 19:00

http://www.jinguen.com/cafe.html
Note: Smoking is available at this cafe.

 

There are many Japanese style cafes which serve Hot Cake, please check when you visit them and try it.





Experience Japan!


 

Delicious SUKIYAKI, Imahan

Once in a while, I feel like eating delicious beef.  This time, I went to Imahan, one of the famous beef restaurants in Ginza.

Imahan was established in 1895 and it offers high-ranked Japanese marbled beef as Sukiyaki and Shabushabu in Tokyo. Lunch time meals are comparably reasonable, and you can use a single room without extra charge at lunch time. The room is Japanese style, and has tatami mat and alcove. You can feel Japanese atmosphere!

Imahan mainly uses Japanese black beef and serves them at the best timing with their aging methods. 

We ordered Imahangozen, which includes appetizer, steamed egg custard with assorted ingredients, Sashimi (sliced raw fish), small-size Sukiyaki, rice, and dessert.  The price was 3,564 JPY per person. The photo below is serving for 2.

The waitress in Kimono cooks and serves for you. What you need to do is just watching and waiting for the delicious beef to be cooked! The taste is Teriyaki taste, with soy source and sugar, and maybe something special. It is Japanese style to dip the beef and vegetables in stirred raw egg and eat them. The beef is very very soft and tasty.  After, the waitress cooks the egg left and served it with rice... the small egg bowl is delicious, too, because the egg has the beef flavor.

The dessert was orange sherbet.

IMAHAN, Ginza
Kojun Building 5F, 6-8-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 81-3-3571-5333
Hours AM11:30 to PM10:00
No holidays, Closed for New Year Day
http://www.imahan.com/e-guide/ginza_shop.html




You should taste thin sliced marbled Japanese beef.
Experience Japan!