Kathmandu Gangri, Meguro カトマンズガングリ、目黒

Specializing in Tibetan as well as the usual Nepalese fare, Kathmandu Gangri’s menu offers more than you might usually expect from such a curry house.

Lunches, dinners and party plans are all reasonably priced, as are the drinks. As well draft Asahi and bottled Yebisu, the Nepal Ice proved to be a tasty beer. The service is reasonable too, although the staff could spend more time waiting the floor rather than lurking in the kitchen.

The décor, although new and therefore clean, leaves much to be desired. This basement restaurant is ruined by a spartan interior of bare white walls, wood floors and pale wood furnishings. Not a single picture or hanging rug adorns the walls. Clichéd it may be, but I expect my Nepalese restaurants to be bedecked in the familiar ethnic tat. The chairs seem to have been sourced from a church – the cross motif and Bible shelves on the back of each being a dead giveaway. This decorative deficit results in a lack of character and atmosphere, which is probably one of the reasons that the place seems always to be empty. 

Such gripes aside, the food is good. Certainly up there with Manakamana in terms of taste, portions and freshness of ingredients, although the garlic naan didn’t compare favourably. Overall, the food at Kathmandu Gangri has a stronger focus on herbs as well as spices, creating an aromatic flavour that sets it apart. Although delicious looking, many of the Tibetan dishes appeared to be rehashes of tired Chinese takeaway favourites.

Alu Ko Achar – a dry, spicy potato curry with a somewhat gritty texture. The vinegary flavour was quite memorable.

Suimai – cute, open topped dumplings with oily meat curry at the bottom of each compartment. Sauces are dropped in to taste.

Saag Paneer – thick, rich and flavorsome. Plenty of spinach in this and most welcome after the culinary travesty that is Magic India.

Chicken Curry – succulent pieces of chicken with rich, spicy sauce. 

Himalayan Shyabhale (“Himalayan Pizza”) – a stodgy pastry base with a herb infused meat pate between base and cheese, tomato and herbs topping. Delicious.

Chicken Saag – delicious, less spinachy than the paneer version.

Prawn Curry – Good, but the prawns were a little lackluster.

Chicken Stir Fry – basically a kind of sweet and sour dish.

03-3493-4712

Kathmandu Gangri

T.G.I. Friday’s, Harajuku 原宿

As the redevelopment of the backstreets nestled between Meiji Dori and Kiddy Land proceeds, most of the familiar watering holes have disappeared. Plenty of interesting looking bars, cafés and patisseries are replacing them, but are so popular that at lunchtime there’s no choice but to get in line and wait for a table. Hardly advisable at this time of year.

The only place that didn’t have a queue outside it was T.G.I. Friday’s, and so (being in need of a drink) that’s where we ended up.

Along with the appallingly slow and ill-timed service (my dining partner and I had thought eating lunch together, at the same time, might have been nice), and the weak G&Ts, the food wasn’t up to much either.

The Philly Cheese Steak Wrapper turned out to be bland, and the fries quite awful. At least the Sizzling Shrimp was plentiful, if nothing else.

03-5774-6855

T.G.I. Friday’s

Tachikichi Gyōza, Shibuya 立吉餃子、渋谷

The gyōza at Tachikichi Gyōza are fantastic. Hefty, juicy and delicious, whether boiled or fried. Certainly in a different league than the rather paltry dumplings served at the immensely popular Harajuku Gyōza Ryō.

Tachikichi’s gyōza differ from the norm by not having garlic in the meat mix. This allows the flavour of the pork to come through. For those, like me, who love the taste of garlic, quite excellent garlic gyōza are available. The gyōza skins have a thicker more succulent feel than usual, akin to Chinese dumplings.

Prices are good – about ¥100 a piece, with discounts when ordering in sets of five or ten. A range of other simple izakaya classics are available although apart from the cabbage and shio kombu salad I’ve yet to sample them. Beer at ¥390 isn’t bad, but the glasses are small.

Friendly staff and customers – a nice mix of young and old, male and female, smart and scruffy – make for a relaxed, cozy atmosphere at this hole in the wall eatery.

Funky decoration and ornaments add some flavour to an otherwise plain interior.

The location works well, too; on Meiji Dori, just a few minutes from the east exit of Shibuya station over the pedestrian bridge.

The open front allows for a spot of people watching while quaffing beers and tucking into the tasty dumplings. Perfect for lunch, a light dinner or just a beer-break on your way to the station.

Update 17/10/11: A recent visit at lunch time revealed the lunch sets to be of excellent value. Three gyoza, along with some kimuchi, leaf salad topped with potato salad, soup and finished off with sweet tofu desert. 

My dining parnter ordered a plate of ten gyoza as an extra, only to find his eyes were bigger than his belly. 

Furthermore, a recent attempted visit revealed that Tachikichi is closed for refurbishment. From the glimpse I caught, the planks of wood clamped to metal frames that once served as tables are being replaced with purpose built furnishings. Great to see the place doing well enough to be more permanantly fitted out. Just hope none of the charm of the place is diminished in the process! 

UPDATE 26/10/11: Revamped and renamed "Kitchen Tachikichi," the interior fittings are better, the wall mounted counter-tops, especially, much improved. The playfully kitch deocrations are sadly no more, and with them much of the atmposphere has disapeared, too. In all fairness, Kitchen Tachikichi now feels like a blank canvas, perhaps more a work in progress. With luck, the young masters will add some of the old sparkle atop the new lick of paint.   

But - Honolulu starbright - the food remains the same.

03-3486-1269

http://www.tachikichi.net/index.html

Harajuku Gyōza Rō, Jingumae 原宿餃子楼、神宮前

Recently the old side street off Omotesando in which Harajuku Gyōza Rō resides (next to Kaffir Lime) has become much changed. Back in the day my dining partners from the old country and I wasted inordinate amounts of time in the bars and tabehōdai shabu-shabu joints that once lined the opposite side of the street. Alas, they are no more. Replaced with “enterprise spaces” of glass and steel – still vacant – for some time now.

After a hiatus of several years, a recent visit to Gyōza Rō, was somewhat disappointing.

My dining partner and I queued for twenty minutes or so, as is customary. Once seated we become duly excited, took in the bold, brash menu, downed a couple of beers and enjoyed watching the bustle and steam in the open kitchen around which we were seated.

By the time our lunch arrived – sui and fried gyōza stuffed with Chinese chives and garlic, rice (poor) and soup (uninspired) – our expectations had been raised to such levels that, truth be told, the ensuing disappointment (the dumplings being neither bold nor brash) should have been expected.

The draft beer was as usual, but these days anything over ¥400 seems like robbery. The food was cheap, “no frills” and tasty, but if memory serves (which it most likely does not) has suffered a serious decline in terms of volume over the years. The dumplings' filling was less robust and meaty than I remember.

It's still worth a visit, and a place to show visitors. Ultimately, however, the gyōza here are not a patch on those prepared at Ueno’s Shoryū 2, and to one for years spoiled with homemade dumplings, barely worth reporting.

03-3406-4743

Kaasan, Nishi-Shinjuku かあさん、西新宿

Kaasan (“Mum”) is an interesting chain of izakaya dotted around the city in major transport hubs and business districts.

The theme is simple, yet successful. Focusing on down-to-earth home style cooking and presentation, these izakaya are staffed by teams of middle-aged motherly ladies who bustle around taking orders, relaying them at high volume to the kitchen, and pouring sake and kindly – if somewhat direct –  words for their customers.

The interiors seem to vary little between the handful of Kaasans I’ve visited (although I mostly end up in the Nishi-Shinjuku store, on the street behind the Yodobashi Camera honten); worn wooden floors, heavy set wooden tables and benches and long counter before an open kitchen, upon which huge bowls and dishes containing simple, robust dishes are displayed. Usually to rear of the shop, fridges chill a nice selection of sake, while beer kegs congregate around the till for some reason. In other words, it’s all intended to hark back to simpler times.

Tired as this approach can appear, it actually does serve to pull the heartstrings of older salarymen. The veneer of home, of the tender wife setting pickles and beer before him when back late from work, or else distant memories of his own mother back home in the mythical furusato. I doubt these images now resonate much with younger Japanese. The clientele seems mainly to be middle-aged men and women at any rate, with perhaps a smattering of younger “nostalgia” seekers.

They might get a dose of the good old days, but not much in the way of fine dining. Kaasan isn’t really about the food. Which is not to say it’s bad – it’s not. It’s just unpretentious, basic, hearty and yet decidedly average stuff. Fish and chicken, fried and grilled mainly, as well the kuroke are usually gracing most tables. Seasonal vegetable dishes usually make an appearance, but tend to suffer from being over cooked. Chunky, low-grade sashimi, potato salad and all manner of pickled, deep-fried and stewed dishes. Although way to oily, the deep-fried gobo (burdock) is a personal favourite. Prices are very reasonable, bordering on cheap. So too for the beer.

Although, Kaasan is more about sake than beer. They have plenty of the stuff, covering a surprising variety of regions and makers. Sadly, the sake is less aggressively priced than the food and beer. What seems like a cheap meal can soon turn out otherwise if you, or one of your dining partners, have a thirst on.

Still, the (usually) lively atmosphere and simple surroundings (not to mention large tables) make a nice change once in a while.

03-3344-0771

http://www.kasan.jp/

Shakey's Pizza, Ikebukuro シェーキーズピザ、池袋

This chain is more or less all over the place, although you may not notice them. They just tend to blend in to their surroundings (despite often garish facades), or else are outshone by more youthful offerings. Over the years, and despite being aware of and reported to regarding Shakey’s, I’ve managed (thankfully?) to avoid venturing across the threshold of any of their eateries. Until now that is…

Having navigated the semi-deserted streets my dining partner and I skulked in to entrance and down the flight of steps to yet another basement Ikebukuro establishment. Busy, despite the threat of radiation and repeat earthquakes, it was still clear that having any empty tables at all was an unknown phenomenon for the young staff.

We paid our ¥850 upfront for the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch, although we passed on the opportunity to “size-up” with drinks and salad bar. Swiftly seated in a bland corner of the cavernous interior, we soon navigated the queue and piled our plates with fresh, and not so fresh, pizza – all the usual varieties, as well oddities such as the Kit-Kat Crushed Pizza (the least vomit-educing example, believe me…) – utterly tasteless pasta, one seemingly all about bacon, the other garlic and some Japanese mountain weed. Curry and rice, too, graced our table if not our sensibilities.

Apart from either slightly dry or slightly soggy, yet equally bland, pizza, the only other thing on my mind was, “how can you make pasta that tastes of nothing?”

This chain, and all they offer, has clearly seen better days.

03-3983-4818

www.rkfs.co.jp

Yukari, Harajuku ゆかり、原宿

The subdued, dark stained wood and narrow steps of Yukari’s entrance belie the three floors of roomy, if spartan, izakaya within. Besides the aluminium air ducts, bare lighting and coat hangers adorning the wall, an assortment of beer posters and hand written menu excerpts are all that brighten the otherwise instantly forgettable décor and dinner-hall atmosphere. 

My dining partners and I arrived early, a little after 6pm, to find each floor sparsely populated and unsettlingly quiet. As time wore on, thankfully, our floor – the third – did indeed become busier as a mix of middle-aged salarymen, students and Harajuku libertines settled in. For these patrons, at least, the food was secondary to lively chat and chain-smoking… We reeked of stale smoke by the end of the evening. 

For us, the food (and talk?) was secondary to the guzzling of beer. Cheap beer. ¥180 beer. We managed to polish off two-dozen of them and a good amount of food between the three of us, with the final tab coming in at just under ¥3,000 per head. In terms of price, this was almost American territory… Only with less vomit…

Although bags were provided for the overly ambitious among the young drinkers that frequent Yukari. 

Service was prompt, delivery for the most part swift – although a couple of our orders disappeared into the nether only to return after our gentle admonitions. Clearly, you’ll not be visiting here for the cuisine. It’s all about the low price, bucket loads of beer and/ or highballs, and cheap, oily and defrosted standards to line the stomach.

The evening’s fare commenced with an otoshi of bean sprouts and enoki mushrooms. Ravenous as we were, these dishes followed in quick succession, allowing barely enough time for them to be hastily snapped before the next arrived. By time we were done, repeat orders were the all we had the will to muster.

Avocado, unadorned, dipped in soy sauce, was soft and creamy, and just a tad too cold. The shioyakisoba topped with cabbage, leak and bacon was just what the doctor ordered and, according to one of my dining partners, a vast improvement upon the sauce-smothered variety.

Maguro sushi and minuscule nigiri tipped a hat at the bounty of the seas and two fingers at conservationists. If you are serious about your raw fish, don’t bother. The maruyaki ika, sadly, did little to impress. Not as soft and recently-defrosted as the stuff they cast before you at the American, but still not quite right either.  

Inevitably, the beer tally required balancing with carbs. We needed to look no further than the fried potato wedges smothered in molten cheese and then drowned in Tabasco. The fried cabbage with konbu was actually quite enjoyable, too. We made short work of it at least, although the neighbouring table managed to make a bowl of the stuff last all night. 

Although neither too greasy nor too fatty, the chicken karaage was average at best, yet filling. The fact that I enjoyed the limp, unadulterated garnish of lettuce leaves as much as anything else served for us speaks volumes.

Yukari is all about the beer, and nobody pretends otherwise between the hours of 5pm and 5am, for ¥180, Monday to Thursday. 

03-5785-4100

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130601/13050072/