Little China in Roppongi

If you are craving for authentic Chinese food at authentic Chinese price, this all-night 24hour open Peking duck restaurant is the place to be. It is one of the best Chinese-food bargains in Tokyo. They attract a crowd of young Japanese club-goers and Chinese patrons of all ages. The food, the price, and service are very authentic (some employees do not understand Japanese), and this place offers quite a contrast to the more posh cafes and restaurants of Roppongi Hills just across the street.

When I walked into the restaurant I was well impressed by the atmosphere. Fantastic decor, atmosphere was buzzing, the drinks were being poured, there were a lot of food on each table. The dining room is huge, with some big communal tables, more small tables in a back dining room and tables on the balcony which is open during the summer. Some of the erotic artwork (probably for fertility charm?) decorating the dining rooms is a bit unusual for a restaurant but it's certainly fun.

Their spaciality is Peking duck - which they charge just 3,680yen for a whole duck, including soup, a stir-fry, and the usual pancakes and condiments. I actually did not try the duck this time, so I cannot comment but it looked delicious. Most of the customers had the Peking duck on the table.

Instead of the Peking duck, what we went for is the huge menu of appetizers to accompany warm Chinese liquor. There are more than fifty small-plate dishes priced at just Y200 a plate. You can try anything from stir-fried garlic, pickled lotus roots, duck egg, sauteed cucumber and pork ears, BBQ chicken, rice noodle salad, to fried peanuts. At these prices you can try whatever looks interesting without worrying about the wallet. Then there's the amazing sui-gyoza (steamed dumplings) priced at just Y100 for a plate of three. They all incorporate the meaty filling and a dollop of hot broth inside the dumpling skin. These come in 26 different varieties, choices of dumplings with shrimp, garlic, scallop, tomato, spinach and others but it there was no drastic difference in flavor among them.

There are more substantial dishes as well - noodles, clay pot items, sauteed vegetables, fried rice and so on, most priced well under Y1000.

The good news is that the menu is in English, Chinese, and Japanese and I believe some of the waitors understand English. This is a perfect place to dine like a king with very little money. And you would know what I mean once all your orders have arrived at your table!!

Address: Nishi-Azabu 3-2-13, Court Annex 2F, across from Grand Hyatt Map:http://www.mapfan.com/index.cgi?MAP=E139.43.50.9N35.39.23.0&ZM=9

Phone:03-5414-5708

Simple and modern wine bar Bongout Noh

Here is another wine bar that was opened by an owner of successful Izakaya. Casual, stand-up bars in French bistros have a long tradition, so when the popular Shibuya stand-bar Buchi decided to open a branch featuring wines rather than sake, it kind of made sense. Rather than just serving a handful of snacks to go with their wines, the kitchen here offers nearly 100 different items, with consistently high quality. You can also choose from more than sixty wines, with some twenty by the glass. And the fun keeps going every night till 3am, perfect for late-night clubgoers and other neighborhood nightowls. The wine list comprised of mostly French wine with few others and are reasonably priced, nearly all the wines run between Y2500 and Y4500. Food is priced mostly around 700yen and the menu include various French and French inspired food: duck terrine, zucchini fritters, grilled game bird served with yuzu-kosho and spicy miso, grilled white asparagus, frog's leg,... etc

The decor at Bongout Noh is simple and modern, with a roomy counter bar and a few tables facing floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the street. A couple of corner tables include railings that you can perch on, and if you get tired of standing around there's a full-service dining room in back, with slightly higher (but still very reasonable) prices and an even bigger wine list of over 100 bottles.

Address: 2Fl Miyagi Bldg 1-10-12 Shibuya Shibuya-ku
Website:http://www.gatai-psd.co.jp/noh/

Map:http://www.mapion.co.jp/c/f?uc=1&grp=all&nl=35/39/27.774&el=139/42/35.809&scl=5000&bid=Mlink

Tel: 03-5464-0858

Hour:17:00~27:00

Japanese Izakaya's French sister

"When Tokyo dreams, the city dreams in French"

Japanese admiration and fascination for France can be observed anywhere from the countless posh French restaurants, luxuriously decorated hotel lobby, the Channel and Louis Vuitton flying around Tokyo to the new French-maid fantasy cafe that emerged from Akihabara, an Otaku mecca. Relations between Japan and France have long been friendly, and exchanges take place in a wide variety of fields from politics, economy, art, culture and gourmet.

So it is quite natural that the owners of Izakaya Fujiya, a popular spot for after work salarymen, opened its sister store Winebar Fujiya. 2 years ago, the owners renovated their original liquor shop into a fashionable wine standing bar. It is quite a small pub and it gives off a warm comforting atmosphere. Since it is located just 2 minuites walk from the Shibuya station, there is always a diverse crowd of people.

Although the food, atmosphere, and the crowds are completely different from the original Fujiya Izakaya, one thing that the wine bar and the izakaya have in common is the price. This wine bar Fujiya serves descent wine and delicious appetizers for very reasonable price. Glass wine (300yen~), bottle wine (1300yen~), appetizers such as german potato, cheese plate, prosciutto, italian salad, and stewed pork are all priced 300yen or 400yen, with the exception of Miyazaki Beef Steak 1300yen.

Address: Shibuyaku, Sakuraokacho 2-3

Tel: 03-3461-2128

Hour: Weekday 17:00～23:00 Saturday 17:00～22:00

Recommendation: prosciutto (300yen) , Guinness (550yen), Stewed pork (500yen)
Map:http://www.mapion.co.jp/c/f?uc=1&grp=all&nl=35/39/13.604&el=139/42/17.827&scl=5000&bid=Mlink

Japanese Otsumami 101

So you walk into a nice Japanese Izakaya, greeted by energetic "Irasshaimase", find yourself a seat, clean your hands with the warm wet towel (oshibori) and order a glass of beer.

Great.

Now what to order...

Most of the Izakaya do not carry English translated menu, and it is often difficult to understand what it is that you are going to eat, or even what it is that you are eating!!
Most Otsumami are realtively simple dishes flavored with salt or soy sauce that stimulates your thirst.
However, there are certainly more complicated otsumami that uses parts of fish that you have never heard of or peices of meet that you never thought you would put it into your mouth.
So in this article, I woud like to give you a lesson on Otsumami -the tapas of Japan- 101, giving a basic sense of Japanese drinking food

Beginner's course: The most basic, safe, deliciou otsumami

• Edamame （えだまめ） : One of the most popular snack items in the beer party and Japanese restaurants. This simple boiled Edamame soybeans flavoured with salt goes very well with Japanese beer
• Yakitori （やきとり）: Grilled chicken speared on sticks. It is usually served with salt or tare (BBQ sauce) All different parts of the chicken, thighs, skin, liver, etc. can be used for yakitori. The most classic most loved yakitori is "Negima", a combination of chicken breast and negi scallion
• Chicken Karaage （からあげ）: Japanese chicken nugget. Quite different from the western fried chicken for flavor and texture. Should be tried
• Coroquette （コロッケ）: Japanese style coroquett made of potato and beef
• Asazuke　（浅漬け）: Japanese pickles of eggplant, cucumber, Japanese daikon radish, carrot,...
• Tempura　（天ぷら）: Some izakaya carry large variety of tempura of vegetable and seahood
• Kushikatsu　（串かつ）: Kushikatsu is a dish made up of pieces of pork and vegetables fried on a skewer after being coated in bread crumbs.
• Hamukatsu　（ハムかつ）: Fried thin peice of pork
• Potato salad　（ポテトサラダ）
• Kimchee　（キムチ）: Korean spicy pickles smothered with red hot chilly pepper
• Atsuyaki Tamago　（厚焼き玉子）: Japanese style omlet eaten with soy sauce
• Tebasaki　（手羽先）: Japanese style buffalo chicken
• Tofu　（豆腐）

Intermediate course: A little more adventurous flavor

• Oden　（おでん）: Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku (yam cake) and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth. Ingredients vary according to region and between each household. Karashi (Japanese mustard) is often used as a condiment
• Toriwasa　（鳥わさ）: Sashimi of chicken and parsley with wasabi
• Itawasa　（板わさ）: Sliced Kamaboko fishcake served with wasabi
• Shishamo　（ししゃも）: Shishamo, a smelt, is a dried fish about 15 cm long. Their season starts October 10, but the most delicious ones are caught around November 10, when the eggs in their bodies are about to hatch. Shishamo is broiled and served as an appetizer with sake. It has a simple taste, bit salty with the eggs.
• Gyu-tataki （牛たたき）: Gyu-tataki is essentially marinated thin slices of raw beef (perhaps imperceptibly seared), served with a dipping sauce. Sometimes appears on menus as "beef sashimi".

Advanced course: For the real (courageous) food lover

• Motsuni　（もつ煮）: Motsuni-Nabe is mostly pork and cow and pig intestines stewed in miso based soup, which sounds disgusting but some claim a cup of sake and a bowl of Motsuni is all about life. It's a very popular dish in Japan.
• Shiokara　（塩辛）: Fermented squid meat with ink
• Geso Karaage　（ゲソ）: Deep fried soysauce marinated Calamari usually served with mayonaise.
• Nankotsu Karaage　（軟骨から揚げ）: Fried chicken cartilage are definitely not for the middle of the road diner but the adventurous will savour the crunchy-chewy joints
• Surume　（するめ）: It is a dried squid which undergoes very complicated process of cooking. A squid gets gutted, eyes removed, split and dried. Then afterwards boiled, pressed, and dried again, after seasoning