Kokaiya, Tokiwadai 航海屋、常盤台

Kokaiya ramen are famed for their chashu ramen in particular, and also their “double” soup, which successfully blends chicken and fish stock to create a robust broth in which the equally tasty ramen swim

At some point, several years ago judging by the fading photos, the jolly fat guy and debuya star off the TV visited, along with a whole gaggle of “talent” who followed after him.

There are five Kokaiya stores: Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Asagaya, Numabukuro and Tokiwadai. I did the later, which just happens to be located next door to the ramen shop Men Don Fuku-Iken.

The tonsoba were quite excellent. The tasty soup aside, the ample slices of pork and firm, juicy noodles proved to be deeply satisfying.

03-3959-9050 

Kokaiya

Men Don Fuku-iken, Tokiwadai 麺・丼 二・一軒、常盤台

Fukuiken is one of several reasonable ramen shops in Tokiwadai. It’s located on the main shotengai on the south side of station, next door to another ramen shop (the name escapes me) instantly recognizable for the window full of photos of various TV “talent” and other famous visitors. 

A family business, Fukuiken closes at 6pm on Saturdays – plenty of hapless souls were turned away whilst I wolfed down a ¥900 ramen set consisting of a good-sized bowl of shoyu ramen, three paltry little gyoza (which after lunching at Kitchen Tachikichi earlier in the day were laughable) and a nice mound of cha-han.

The gyoza aside, both the fried rice and ramen were good, although after seeing the less generic ramen ordered by other customers I got the feeling that those included in the set were probably the most mundane on offer.

03-5966-6164

Men Don Fuku-iken

Lemon & Fromage, Kichijōji レモンアンドフロマージュ、吉祥寺

Italians and Chinese may be of different opinions when it comes to which came first – spaghetti or noodles? – but Lemon & Fromage gleefully combines rāmen with elements of Italian cooking and manages to produce some interesting results. 

The honten, Due Italian, is in Kudan-minami; my dining partners and I visited the recently opened looking Kichijōji iteration. Very clean, “well appointed,” and squarely in the “popular with ladies” category. Indeed, ladies get to swap normal noodles for super healthy (12kcal) konyaku noodles free of charge.

Although smart; with white walls, nice tables and chairs, and a vaguely espresso bar feel to it this is still a rāmen shop, and so the level of service, etc., isn’t really worth mention. As is often the case, you simply select your meal from a ticket vending machine before being seated.

Average prices, smallish servings. The two bowls we tried, the lemon, and the fromage, rāmen were both nicely turned out, with the strangely clear broth creating a light, “healthy” appearance. The lemon variety might have been healthier, the fromage one certainly not. The huge dollop of gooey cheese slowly permeating the dish surely cancelled out any benefit to the waistline that might accrue from the konyaku noodles.

Both were enjoyable, mainly for the novelty factor and clean presentation. The lemon flavour became overpowering eventually, and would benefit from being taken down a notch or two. Conversely, the fromage rāmen were delicious, but would be even better if the taste were stronger. It would certainly benefit from being supplied in bigger portions. However, and despite being adequate, neither the pork nor noodles will appease the indignation of rāmen purists.

0422-23-3375

dueitalian.media-sp.jp

Menya Tenhō, Nakaitabashi 麺や天鳳、中板橋

Having been cooped up for several days in an attempt to avoid possibly dangerous levels of radiation that may or may not be permeating the city, I really needed a walk. By which I mean more than the two-minute stroll to the local supermarket with its barren shelves and dreary lines of hoarding, panic-buying obatarians. Rāmen and a look around some bicycle shops (preparation for my flight to hills when the current gaijin exodus turns into a rout) seemed like a fine idea.

Nakaitabashi is just the right distance, and from what I’ve seen has just the right amount of mildly interesting looking noodle sellers. I chanced upon one of the Menya Tenhō chain, which not only enjoys a spot not far from the station, but also sports a rather kawaii noodle-slurping piggy motif. Inside, the usual ticket machine, wooden counter and salt-of-the-earth types manning the steamy stainless steal kitchen and assorted pots and pans. Above the counter a sign suggesting that diners request the preferences, for example firm or soft noodles, strong or thin tasting soups and large or small portions.

Feeling hungry, I worked my way through the tonkotsujōyu zenbuiri rāmen, i.e., the pork and soy sauce broth rāmen with all the works. The works, in this case being four leaves of nori, four good slices of pleasingly lean roast pork, a sprinkling of negi and healthy piles of beansprouts and menma, neatly framed with two halves of boiled egg.

The chef served the bowl with a beaming smile, clearly proud of his creations. All ingredients were delicious, and the veggies nice and crisp (although you have to wonder how regular deliveries of vegetables have been recently). My only niggles were that the first mouthful of menma was somehow sweet tasting, and the egg yolk could have been just a tad firmer. The noodles themselves were firm and slightly wavy. The soup, too, was delicious and the floating globules of fat kept to a minimum.

My dining partner had the tonkotsujōyu (same base broth as above) negi chāshū rāmen, topped with a teetering pile of beansprouts and shredded nori, and lesser amounts of all the ingredients I had enjoyed, with the exception of the egg, and adorned with scattered sesame seeds for good measure. Here too, both quality and quantity were apparently adequate. Certainly not a peep – complaint or otherwise – was heard for a good ten minutes or so.

To fill the corners (as Hobbits are wont to put it), complimentary bowls of rice were served (between 11:30am~3pm). A wholly unnecessary touch. I’d visit again, and you should too if you ever pass that way.

03-5375-1081

http://menya-tenho.jp/

Kōya, Ikebukuro 香家、池袋

Continuing in the Chinese chain shop vein, Tokyoeater mentioned a recent visit to Kōya via the Twinterweb and so, as we happened to be in the area, my dining partner and I decided to take a look at the Ikebukuro iteration. It’s conveniently located in the Esora building, a brief walk and an escalator ride or five away from the South exit of the station, and cooks up a simple line of Hong Kong style dishes.

I remain blissfully unaware of the persuasion of Esora’s tenants, but from what I glimpsed they sell the usual spread of ladies accessories, shoes, apparel and sickly-sweet cottagey European teapots and assorted kitchenware.

Pre-meal research had caused us to worry – quite needlessly as it turned out – that Kōya would be heaving of a Friday night and, moreover, that the Ikebukuro Esora store is particularly “girly.” It was neither. There were four other customers at best, and only one of them was female, and not at all girly at that.

Most department store/ mall-enclosed dining spots leave me despairing at the best of times. Utterly lacking in character and authenticity, they seem best left to lunches rather than precious evening hours. Unfortunately Kōya did little to persuade me otherwise. Both food and service were passable. Not outstanding in any way, I had hoped for more, somehow, and thus felt a pang of disappointment. Not sure what I’d been hoping for… Maybe a little more spice, a punchy taste or richer “ethnic” flavours. Whatever I’d wanted it wasn’t supplied in sufficient style.

Sticking to beer, we made short work of the appetizer, the negi to chāshū no piri kara. Enjoyable enough, but the negi was somewhat overpowering. My dining partner, being determined to take a hit of spiciness, had the oni tantanmen, which although certainly spicy overplayed its hand a little, so as to catch the back of throat. Volume and presentation (clean) were both fine, although the thin noodles were lost amidst the strong taste.

My shirunashi tantanmen shōrompo setto did indeed lack soup and come accompanied by small dumplings, the twain completing the set. The dumplings were steaming, soft and a little dull. The noodles, topped with spicy minced meat were very, very dry, so as to clog the mouth, and relied over much on fresh cut negi set all around. The taste of which detracted from the peppery flavour of the noodles and smacked of budget “bulking out.”  A shame really, as given less negi and more of the noodles I’d have happily devoured more of this, provided I had the beers to wash it down.

My views on these kinds of places – or rather locations – remain unchanged. Kōya makes for a reasonable lunch, and represents fairly good value for money even if the food itself lacks subtlety.  Not worthy of an evening visit though.

Tel: 03-5944-9158 

Web: koya.co.jp

Mango Cafe, Ebisu マンゴカフェ、恵比寿

A sunny Sunday afternoon in recently chilly Tokyo and long-missed friends were visiting from the old country, sunny Sheffield to be precise. As they had their freshly unwrapped bonny boy with them an akachan friendly venue was the order of the day. 

Despite having my sights set on an extremely tempting, relatively new gyoza-ya near Ebisu station it turned out to be closed on Sundays.  At a loss, not being one for lunches generally (hard to excuse a liquid fixation at such an early hour in public and in the company of the young), I readily accepted one of our party’s suggestion to look for somewhere among the various restaurants housed within Ebisu station’s Atre building.

Having not investigated its interior much, save when sent on missions to purchase ladies' hair ornaments, the chance for a gander was no bad thing. In the end we chose Mango Café, a mainly Thai-themed Asian eatery offering reasonably comfortable surroundings, service – of a kind – and reasonably priced, if slowly delivered, lunches covering a decent range of food types from rice, curry and noodles to veggie and meat heavy dishes.

After much rearranging of tables to accommodate the bonny boy’s buggy (I want one… A buggy that is, not a bonny boy, yet…) we settled in, ordered drinks and scanned the menu.

Orders made, we got on with the business of the day – catching up. The food arrived and all looked delighted. All except myself, as my plate didn’t arrive until a good ten minutes after all the others, and only then because I inquired as to the reasons for the tardiness of its delivery.

Overall it was all tasty enough, came in respectable portions and didn’t offend the wallet – but then lunch rarely does in Tokyo. Mine was the Gay Yang BBQ Chicken Combo Plate, which although long in name, was short in the devouring.

Tel: 03-5475-8349

Chao Thai, Shibuya チャオタイ、渋谷

I’m not on a quest for Thai food but, as mentioned before, at times spicier dishes are needed. As time goes by I’ve ended up associating other Asian cuisines with crisper, stronger tastes and a greater variety of vibrantly colourful vegetables than provided when dining at the majority of izakaya. No doubt that which is available is oozing with nasty additives, but the change is at times welcome.

Chao Thai, a small chain scattered across Shibuya (two restaurants, I’ve visited the Dogenzaka one), Ginza, Kawasaki and Yokohama, is worthy of recommendation. First off, it’s cheap and the food is plentiful. The menu is not only heaving but also supplied with an abundance of colourful “oishisou” dishes, described in Thai, Japanese and English.

Prices are exceptionally good, especially if you take in to account the quality of the food (fresh, tasty, reasonably well presented and a little fast-food-y without verging on family restaurant processing) and the quantities in which it is served.

The drinks menu isn’t going to excite a connoisseur, being filled with cheap and cheerful brands and a good selection of lethal tipples, such as the Vietnamese whisky.  The two nomihodai plans, one for ¥1,500 the other for ¥1,800 (offering an extended choice) provide two hours of swilling that when combined with the low cost of the food affords the opportunity to become suitably inebriated and stuffed for under ¥4-5,000. Not bad.

The place is always pretty much packed. Booking helps, or arriving early, say before 7pm. The interior is nothing special, but does the job; clean, tidy, with a sprinkling of Thai art and bamboo without trying to do the “ethnic” thing. Service, all provided by real life Thai people is also okay, fairly swift and for the most lacking in surliness. The staff do get a little too snowed-under at times, and you might find your drinks arriving less promptly than they ought, but a nod and a wink, followed by a pat on the bottom (never) helps speed things up a little. Alternatively, you can just ask nicely.

There was a nicely spicy orange-red soup, packed with vegetables and served in a sturdy earthenware pot, that managed to maintain its flavour rather than packing nothing more than a hot punch to the tongue such as did much of that I ate at Krung Siam. Warming, tasty and not too salty, although a little on the greasy side to my mind, this was particularly welcome now that winter is taking hold.

Roast pork with the usual spicy Thai dipping sauce and piled with lightly fried garlic was both succulent and surprisingly light. No horrid fatty, gristly bits and certainly not dry in that awful re-heated way that the wise come to dread.

The Pak Bung Frie Dang (stir-fried morning glory with chillies, red peppers and something else) provides a good start in terms of vegetation. Makes you feel good, a bit like eating spinach, although less soggy and a great deal more satisfying.

A noodle-y, vermicelli-type dish packed with vegetables and squid was interesting, although the various tastes seemed muddled. The Popia Tod (deep fried spring rolls) are certainly robust, if a little starchy, and provide ballast which is probably much needed if you take on the nomihodai menu with any serious intent.

Rice never hurts, and the fried variety is fun in that it reminds me of post-pub “flied-lice” takeaways when I was still in high school.  This one came topped with slices of omelette and tasteless cucumber.

Some delicious Gai Yang (barbequed chicken) strangely came once on the bone and at the second order as succulent slices. I hate eating with my hands, and love a bit of breast, so the inconsistency was no bad thing. As one of my dining partners has a fetish for tomatoes, we had some topped with onion and garlic in some rich, thick sauce. Not much to say about this but, as with everything else, plenty of it. 

Equally enjoyable was the Hoy Shell Pad Nor Mai Farang, a nice mix of soft, not too chewy, stir-fried scallops, something akin to asparagus, mushrooms and peppers in oyster sauce. The Pad Thai worked for me too, although it verged on fast foodiness.

So where does Chao Thai fit in the ranking of those Thai joints so far posted? In the middle I’d say. Krung Siam seemed more authentic, and certainly the ingredients were better, but the food there was too spicy at the expense of the flavour. Siam Talart was better presented, probably healthier, but lacked excitement. All out do Kaffir Lime, but that's got plenty going for it in a different, funkier way. Chao Thai on the other hand is cheap and cheerful, providing plenty of no-nonsense satisfying dishes, booze and a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere at very little cost. Due to the large portions, ample menu, and cheap prices I’d suggest that in order to sample enough of what’s on offer it’s best to visit with a crowd.

Tel: 03-3463-4000