Amiyakitei, Chitose-Funabashi あみやき亭、千歳船橋

If you happen to be in the Chitose-Funabashi area, and both Hisaya and Sazaya are closed – or even Zanpa no Kaze for that matter – you might (and it’s a BIG might) want to give Amiyakitei a try. Housed in what used to be one of those box-like Royal Host family restaurants, Amiyakitei is a roadside yakiniku-ya on Kampachi Dori, about 10 minutes from Chitose-Funabashi station. It’s big, green and has plenty of parking spaces underneath it, making it perfect for families with those big white people carriers to pull up and feed their hungry kids.

It feels pretty much like a family restaurant. Lots of tables, semi-private booths really, done in dark faux-marble with the grill set into them, and even a raised tatami area that seems popular for parties. The size of the place makes it feel somewhat uncomfortable, like being in a big factory cafeteria I suppose.

Just inside the entrance, near the drink, salad and cake bars (sounds like a Harvester doesn’t it?) are posted upon the wall certification of the meat being served that day. It gives the region from which it originates and an official tracking number, so that all may be assured that they are eating good honest Japanese cow, and not anything imported from dangerous foreign farms (no, not those in Miyazaki prefecture…) that might cause mutation – or worse – if ingested.

The service is fairly brisk, allowing the place to deal with a lot of customers. As mentioned, it’s popular with families, so there are plenty of kids and thus plenty of noise. Bizarrely, your first order must be made by filling in an order slip. You just tick the boxes and hand it to the staff. Perhaps they use this data to analyse customers’ preferences. From what saw, most have a preference for the all-you-can-eat salad bar, complimented by several plates of oily, fatty meat, and followed up by several visits to the all-you-can-eat cake bar.

The menu provides the usual yakiniku staples as wells as plated of vegetables and rice dishes such as bibimba. Each table is provided with a dizzying array of dipping sauces and condiments, along with helpful instructions on which sauces go best with different cuts of meat, and how best to mix them. I suppose this says something about the declining knowledge of national food culture among younger generations…

When I visited, back in October of last year, the place had only recently opened and as such they were throwing away promotions with reckless abandon. I ended up with a voucher entitling me to a full-sized bottle of shochu, Satsuma Kobiki, on my second visit. Not particularly good, but free is not a bad thing either.

The salad bar offers up lettuce, daikon, seaweed, sweet corn, potato salad, egg salad, tomato, cucumbers and some fruit, such as pineapple. All, except the fruit, were a little too vinegary. It’s tabehodai, although they politely request you eat all that your pile your plate with, so as not to cause waste.

Prices are reasonable, although to my mind the cuts of meat were on the small side. At the time, I felt Amiyakitei didn’t compare favourably with Genkaya, but in recent months even that once splendid yakiniku-ya seems to be trying to increase profits by serving less.

And what of the meat? The tongue was bland, and even the lemon juice failed to bring out any flavour. The sanchu, big green leaves in which to wrap your freshly grilled meat, were not the freshest I’ve seen, although there was plenty of it. The rosu and karabi were both adequate, but too oily. The salmon onigiri were very salty, and no better than those bought from a convenience store. The cake bar, offered “cute” little cubes of cheesecake, and other flavours such as chocolate and strawberry.

Not the best yakiniku I’ve had, but then again not the worst either. Not in any rush to go back.

Tel:03-5799-2929

Sazaya, Chitose-Funabashi さざ家、千歳船橋

Should you happen to be in Chitose-Funabashi (Odakyu line), or nearby for that matter, and especially if the excellent Hisaya is closed (usually on Sundays – indeed some Hisaya patrons will only visit Sazaya when the former is closed, so as not to offend!), you’d do well to dine at Sazaya, a small relatively new izakaya a few doors up from the aforementioned Hisaya. Relatively new actually means just over a year old, from what I could gather, and yet the attention to detail – in terms of service and cuisine – suggests an ardent desire to provide a quality dining experience on the part of the proprietors.

In recent years, the previously non-descript street in which Sazaya is located has witnessed a boom in new izakaya, nomiya and cafes, indeed now offering a far greater choice of interesting destinations than should be expected in such a neighbourhood. Sazaya offers a simpler, cheaper menu and atmosphere than that of Hisaya, but succeeds for just this reason. Relaxed, unpretentious, easy to enter. Its simple, unassuming facade belies the care and attention being afforded the endeavour.

The interior is tastefully rendered, not in the least overdone, being mostly polished wood, simple tables and chairs and a long, broad counter overlooking the open kitchen. Low-level lighting creates a suitably intimate ambience. Busy, friendly staff and chefs go about their work while casting attentive eyes upon their hungry wards. In the background, jazz classics fill the air while the younger, earnest waiting staff do their best to please while attempting not to trip over the wicker baskets, provided to contain diners’ bags and coats, strewn upon the floor.

So, let’s try to avoid the usually sprawling, meandering post and get to the point…

To some up, the interior is simple, tasteful, clean and yet appealing. The service never fails to please. The menu is well-packed with the usual izakaya fare, each rendered just a cut above the norm that the price and location would suggest. A reasonable, and frequently changing supply of interesting sake is available, their names hanging on the wall.

And the food? Rather good. Very good actually.

The o-toshi are better than the usually miserable specimens, being fresh, wholesome and fairly sizable. One in particular – consisting of fried bacon, cabbage, erengi mushroom and greens was delicious, as was another of soft, fatty anago with pickled cucumber and nagaimo topped with sesame seeds. At this early stage in the meal it is worth mentioning that all the plates, bowls and dishes are suitably wa-fu without labouring the point.

Salads are large, dynamic in form and glistening. The tofu, lettuce, tomato (big, fat juicy segments) and cucumber one is good. Hardly earth shattering in its originality, but just what most (hungry) doctors would order. You can’t visit an izakaya without sampling their sashimi. Indeed, after o-toshi and pickles to compliment the initial beers, sashimi is more or less the usual setting off point in the menu and a good way to judge the quality of the izakaya’s kitchen.  Sazaya’s sashimi moriawase is excellent, possibly even noteworthy. Big, fresh, well presented and value for money. The two we sampled included hamachi, kampachi, uni, hotate, maguro, saba, ebi, hamo, kani and negi toro (that was great, not at all just a way of using up the leftovers of the fish) and other shellfish whose names I’ve never known and probably never will, presented upon a comfortable looking bed of shiso, shoga, cucumber, daikon, ikura, and shiraga-negi.

When in season the takenoko-yaki is a must. Lightly baked, so as not to be overly dry, topped with yuzu miso and thoroughly delicious with a texture both waxy and crunchy at the same time. So simple, yet something you will order again and gain.

We didn’t talk about the sake yet did we? It’s pretty good, although unlikely to excite the hardcore fancier. No matter what you order you’ll be offered a choice of o-choko, not a Sazaya first but a nice touch all the same. My memory of the sake is hazy, at best, although I can recall a light, somewhat sweet nama-zake, the Ippongi, and the Ice Breaker, a sake brewed in Kyoto by an Englishman, heaven forefend! This was interesting, tasting, although served in a glass, like sake served in a wooden masu, almost as if the barbarian brewer had decided that the taste, and scent, of sake in such a masu is just what sake is all about. Interesting, and yet vaguely annoying. Probably deserves further investigation, despite the crap label. 

A stir-fried dish of garlic stalks, bean sprouts and teriyaki chicken was crisp and strong tasting, Chinese cuisine I’m guessing. The tempura, on this occasion aubergine, sweet potato and fuki no to (a bitter tasting vegetable only available in Spring), was light, not too oily and crisp.

Three deep-fried fish, possible kasago, crispy as hell – you eat it all head, bones and all – served with lemon and salt. Gorgeous!  Two delightful rice dishes followed. One consisting of shiso (thinly sliced) irigoma (sesame) and chirimen jako, the other consisted of takana-zuke, and sesame again. Both a welcome change from boiled rice or onigiri.

Flat, juicy, chewy zaru-udon noodles (i.e. not served in a soup), served cold and topped with nori went down very well, especially in this muggy weather.

The chicken karaage is also a cut above the norm, the batter being less oily, and somehow more textured than most. The chicken itself was succulent and not a single gristly, chewy part had to be endured. Better than that, however, was the maguro karaage. A delightfully wholesome dish. Warm, filling, succulent – something to sink your teeth in to.

Hamachi kama, the jaw of a Hamachi don’t you know, was also gorgeous, served with daikon oroshi and lemon. Wish it had been a little bigger though. The niratame (a kind of green, stinky leak in egg flavoured with dashi) was also enjoyable, although a little slimy. 

Sazaya is refreshing reminder of just why so many of us become obsessed with izakaya. The staff try hard to create a pleasurable experience for their patrons, who in turn can enjoy that experience effortlessly. Not a single dish disappoints, and all are reassuringly familiar while still providing interesting variety. This is an izakaya that deserves your business, and deserves to thrive.

Tel: 03-3427-1107

Hisaya, Chitose-Funabashi 久弥、千歳船橋

Situated about a minutes walk from the Odakyu line’s Chitose-Funabashi station, Hisaya is a small, local izakaya specializing in quality izakaya fare with a focus on fish and tempura. Having dined there several times over the years, I can safely say that the quality of the food remains consistently good.

From the simple wooden shop front, sliding door with noren hanging before it, to the narrow counter, open kitchen and few small tables in the main room everything

about this izakaya is understated. The one feature that stands out – besides the food – is a raised koshitsu, with tatami mat flooring and two low-level tables, at the rear of the shop. Admittedly a little cramped and harsh on the legs, it is nevertheless an enjoyable position from which to enjoy a meal. Indeed, for groups of three to four people it is probably the best, if not only, option. The décor overall is looking a little dated, wallpaper in pastel pinks and peaches for example, but then again this is not the kind of place one visits in search of Tokyo chic. My one real complaint would be the music played. Although quiet, it is pretty awful. So much so, that my mind seems to have blocked it from memory, though it was some definitely out of place in this kind of izakaya.

Hisaya is very much a family affair. The master, Hisashi-san, manages the place with his wife, and table service is provided by one of their young relatives, a niece I assume, who is usually to be found clad in yukata. Hisashi-san worked for some years in a famous restaurant here in Tokyo before striking out on his own and establishing Hisaya. It is his formal, high-end training and experience that set his shop’s food apart from that usually encountered in neighbourhood izakaya. Many locals assume that the izakaya is named after Hisaya Morishige  – a famous actor and TV presenter who lives locally – but the name is actually derived from parts of the master’s and his wife’s names.

The menu offers a nice, although perhaps somewhat limited, selection of izakaya classics as well as a similarly limited selection of sake, shōchū, beer and umeshū. On this particular occasion we commenced the evening with several glasses of draught Sapporo beer, after which the ladies enjoyed some of apparently excellent homemade umeshū which contained huge swollen plumbs that when eaten can cause sudden drunkenness. The men, once tired of beer, moved on to sake, with the Koshi no Kagetora, produce of Niigata, being rather enjoyable. Suitably dry, but not too much so, it went down a little too easily… When sake is ordered the waitress brings a basket of o-choko (sake cups) from which you can choose one to your liking.

With our initial drinks, an attractively presented o-toshi of three small appetizers was served upon a “walled” lacquer tray. These dainty morsels were: A small, jelly-like cube of tofu and uni (sea urchin) in some kind of stock, which although pleasant in terms of texture and appearance tasted too “fishy” for my liking; a fantastic tasting dish of shungiku (garland chrysanthemum) with sesame; and some pink tarako (fish eggs), which although not something I’m overly fond of was edible all the same.

The first dish of the meal proper was also probably the best. An absolutely faultless sashimi-moriawase, beautifully presented on a tsuma (the bed of leaves, vegetables etc. upon which sashimi is served) of shredded daikon, carrot and shiso leaves. Five slices each of seven different fish were presented: saba (mackerel), tai (sea bream), aji (jack), kanpachi (amberjack), maguro (tuna), kohada (medium-sized gizzard shad) and ika (squid). All were superb, being fresh, tasty and perfectly prepared. If I had to choose, then the tai was my favourite and, surprisingly, I’d say the maguro was the most disappointing. At around ¥2,000 this sashimi was truly excellent value.

A selection of pickles – cucumber, Japanese ginger, turnip, yellow pickled radish (takuan) and zasai (seasonal vegetables) – complimented the sake and gave us something to nibble until the tempura arrived. Served in a bamboo basket, it consisted of delicious, light tempura of shiso, mushroom, renkon (lotus root), shrimp, sweet potato, shishito (little green peppers) and aubergine, with a dipping sauce of bonito stock, soy sauce and grated daikon. Another excellent dish, though (and as with all the others that followed) in terms of size it is intended for one or two people and as such barely suffices for larger parties.

A plate of lightly seared kamo (duck) came next. Thin slices, the meat itself a mouth-watering purple-pink and the flamed skin salted, served with grilled leek, sliced daikon, cress and lemon. Highly recommendable, but yet again I wish there had been more of it! The iwashi no bainiku hasami age, sardine and mashed plum wrapped in seaweed and fried in a light batter, was superb. This was served not only with lemon and small green peppers, but also the deep-fried spines of the fish, which are delicate, crispy and utterly moreish. We concluded the meal with steaming bowls of kishi-men, flat noodles in a spicy soup containing bonito and leaves. The rich spicy taste was a welcome change, although the soup was near scalding when served and took sometime before it was safe to eat.

So, not a bad dish among them. Carefully prepared and presented, fresh and tasty. A little on the small side, but as they are intended to serve one or two, rather than a group, this can be forgiven. Indeed, overall Hisaya is more suited to a relaxed evening of drinking and light dining on select dishes than a heavier meal for larger groups. The atmosphere is calm and fairly friendly, although the master, his wife and waitress tend to concentrate on preparing and serving the food rather than banter with customers. Not exactly cheap but hardly expensive either, when the quality of the food is considered Hisaya is very good value. The sashimi-moriawase alone is worth the visit.

Tel: 03-3420-3492

Zanpa no Kaze, Chitose-Funabashi 残波の風、千歳船橋

Having never, yet, visited Okinawa, my experience of its food is limited to that which I have tried here in Tokyo. Say the words “Okinawan food” and I immediately think of spam, goya and eggs. That and the potent fumes of Awamori, the local drink. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed Okinawan restaurants, more that the dishes served always seem the same. Despite such bias, I recently made a visit to this small Okinawan izakaya in Chitose-Funabashi, a few minutes walk from the station in the direction of Soshigaya-Ōkura.

It was only a matter of time before I visited Zanpa no Kaze; it always looks so inviting. Peeping through the small window, the narrow counter, adorned with small toys, ornaments and an Okinawan doll in a glass case, is always crowded with happy looking customers any day of the week. The Japanese love their food, and do not long frequent any establishment that fails to satisfy their taste buds.

Pushing aside the noren hanging before the rickety sliding door my dining partner and I stepped into the narrow entrance, filled with coats and a shelf full of keep-bottles of Shōchū, to find a small izakaya dominated by a narrow L-shaped counter around an even smaller kitchen. To the right three small tables, and the at the end of the counter, polished wood overflowing with ornaments, three large earthenware jars of Awamori topped with cloth covers bound tight with string. Welcomed by a tiny, barely out of school it seemed, waitress we were promptly seated at the counter and while admiring the cute decoration and summery strains of The Boom’s “Shima Uta”, we made our choices from among the simple menu, commenting on the rustic, island charms of the small pieces of coral used as chopstick rests.

Being somewhat daunted by the prospect of 45% proof Awamori I opted for the safer 25% Zanba, on the rocks, accompanied by a salty o-toshi of poached egg in cold, wet, slimy awasa seaweed. Gulped down oyster-style it complimented the strong tasting drink well. Another Zanba and, you guessed it, a good-sized portion of goya champuru, an Okinawan staple, consisting of wonderfully bitter tasting, crunchy goya, egg, tofu and spam. Not having had it for a while it was actually more enjoyable than I had expected. A small offering a kimuchi, not really hot enough, followed and then the thoroughly delicious rafutē, more or less identical to buta-kakuni, (stewed pork with mustard) although less salty and perhaps a little less fatty. A third Zanba promised a headache next morning, and feeling still hungry we ordered the bland, orange and yellow papaya and onigiri (rice balls) filled with salmon, slices of pickled takuan resting beside.

An enjoyable meal, polite service, very reasonable prices and the warm, cozy atmosphere make Zanpa no Kaze recommendable, if you happen to be in the area and have not yet tired of goya and spam.

Tel: 03-5477-0107