Wonderful Kichijoji

Away from the chaotic crowds of Shibuya and Shinjuku is the overlooked neighborhood of Kichijoji. A lot of travelers would be familiar with other big places that are serviced by the Yamanote line or by the Tokyo Metro. Kichijoji, on the other hand, is a little quieter and has its own Bohemian feel about it. It is located in Musashino, outside Tokyo's 23 special wards, but just less than half-an-hour's train ride away from either Shinjuku or Shibuya. 

Kichijoji is most well-known for Inokashira park, which the fennel bulbs think to be one of the prettier parks in Tokyo. A lot of performers come here to show off their craft, and a lot of artists and painters also come to this park to sell their works or to just find inspiration. 

And a neighborhood as interesting and lively as Kichijoji is impossible without a selection of very good restaurants and cafes. In fact, some of these need reservations in advance as weekday nights are often very busy, and it is quite often that walk-in customers get turned down. 

A nice restaurant which is frequented by younger people is Medewodine. Another branch does exist in Jiyugaoka. The set menu is moderately priced between around Y1,200 - Y2,000, which includes a cup of soup, salad, and non-alcoholic drinks. For this particular dinner, the fennel bulbs ordered grilled pork fillet with vegetables (豚とろ野菜セット). 

The salad was good, and the dressing resembled the taste of hummus, probably with the use of sesame seeds. The corn soup was a bit anti-climactic however, being served on a simple lightweight cup. 

The grilled pork was delicious. The flavor was mild, as the cooking method is Japanese. The pork meat was also delicious and tender, and the field vegetables blended well with the sauce. The sauce is soy-based and tastes much like Wafu sauce (和風).

Medewodine has a competitive selection of desserts, and since it was almost Christmas time back then, the yuletide apple pie was ordered (1,000Y). The taste was good as it seems visually. The pastry was flaky and the consistency of the baked apples was also very good. 

Another nice restaurant which serves Japanese food is Donburio. The choices are all limited to donburi (rice bowls) only. The most interesting point about the restaurant is its very contemporary interiors with its clean lines and the use of natural surfaces, most notably wood. The fennel bulbs ordered tofu and kelp with soup bowl (豆腐と昆布のスープ丼), Y800. 

Soft tofu was used, and it blends well with the green onions, grated ginger, and the slight saltiness of the kelp. The soup is a bit gelatinous and must have been contributed by the cellulose of the kelp. This is a complete meal in itself as there are 2 side dishes (sweet potatoes and mixed burdock and seaweed). A dessert made of soy with a sweet brown sugar sauce and topped with sesame ends the meal. 

Kichijoji is also home to a lot of bakeries, including Tanakatei which has excellent bread and cookies. The cookies are priced fairly at around Y150 - Y200 per pack (1 pack contains 2 cookies), and as the sticker says, its taste really warms the cockles of the heart. 

But more than the cookies, Kichijoji is a place to warm the cockles of the heart, indeed. :-) 

*Kichijoji can be easily reached from Shibuya through the Keio Inokashira line (17 minutes) and from Shinjuku through the JR Chuo Line (12 minutes). 

Full Moon

Another restaurant near Little Tokyo that's very much worth mentioning about is Mangetsu (萬月), which playfully translates to full moon (満月). This restaurant is near the old Sango's burger restaurant in Mile Long Building along Amorsolo Street in Makati. 

And the fennel bulbs would commend Mangetsu as one of the best Japanese restaurants in town. The offerings in the menu are formidable, and the variety of sushi is quite good. Also on the menu is gratinated rice, and more traditional Japanese staples like rice bowls and sukiyaki. 

 

On the picture above are baby squids with chili miso sauce (Php350). The squids are tender and not at all tough, which is usually the problem with eating squid. The real thrill is in the sauce which is just a harmonious blend of sweet and spicy. There is also a strong hint of sesame. 

 

Next is beef packed with egg (Php300), cooked and served on a huge Japanese bamboo ladle. The dish is served piping hot, and the sauce resembles that of sukiyaki, only more copious. It's on the sweet side, probably with liberal dashes of rice vinegar and sake. The beef is also tender, and overall, a delightful dish. 

Next is assorted sushi (Php420). Included are sashimi balls, which are very visually appealing. Not to mention, the quality of the salmon and the tuna are very good. The flesh literally glimmers when lit. 

 

Next is tofu gratin (Php380). It's an inventive dish. Mozzarella cheese is used. Soft tofu is used and it all melts in the mouth. The dish is mild and quite delicate, and one can sense the milk in every spoonful of it. 

 

Lastly is the sweet potato ice cream (Php165). Homemade vanilla ice cream is topped with pureed sweet potatoes. The taste of the sweet potatoes totally complements the vanilla ice cream, and the result is a heavenly dessert that is truly comforting.

A delightful experience at Mangetsu, from appetizer all the way to dessert. :-)

 

Pot and Noodles

It's time to visit one of the fennel bulbs' favorite places for quick and cheap eats that are nonetheless delicious. One of them is the Pot and Noodles restaurant in the fourth floor of SM Megamall's Building A. This restaurant is totally candid and almost frill-free, if not resembling a shabby hospital canteen. But the flavors of its food and the culinary traditions it has upheld since when it opened (which almost is ten years from our food lovers' memories) is definitely beyond skin-deep.

A glass mirror on the restaurant's facade reveals a busy subsection of the kitchen - the subsection for dough and noodle-making. It definitely takes a fair amount of talent and lots of skill to pull noodles just as easy as it is to blow bubbles. Hand-pulled noodles are also better in terms of texture and taste as opposed to dried noodles that are boiled and cooked. There's a certain richness to freshly made noodles that is quite difficult to find in dried noodles. 

The Chinese call these noodles La-Mian (拉麵）which literally translates to pulled noodles. One can more or less read the history of the noodles on the information below the glass (in the picture above). La-Mian is a pervasive Chinese cultural and culinary export that is present in many Asian cuisines. And a bit of linguistics reveals that the equally famous Japanese ramen (ラーメん）is actually a direct phonetic transcription of the Mandarin Chinese La-Mian. 

The fennelbulbs' favourite La-Mian dish at Pot and Noodles has got to be the Szechuan cold noodles (Php160) as they find this dish utterly comforting. 

This dish is not as cold as its name seems to suggest. The fact that it's served not warm also seems to suggest that it is more or less an appetite-whetter, but the servings and the heaviness of the noodles already make it a meal in itself. The noodles are dressed in spicy peanut oil and pickled vegetables are added on top with a drizzle of sesame and crushed peanuts. Several slices of julienned cucumbers are added and texturally enhance the dish. The pickled vegetables justify the temperature of the dish as well. Overall the taste is redolent with garlic and the heat of the oil puts in a fairly strong, but not overwhelming, jerk to the palate. 

Another classic definitely has to be the oyster cake (Php250), which is a dish peculiar to Fujian province and Taiwan. The local Chinese call the dish uwaa-tsan (牡蠣煎蛋) and resembles an omelette stuffed with oysters, coriander, chives, and bean sprouts. 

The taste is hearty, rich, and downright filling. The dish is rather on the greasy side and this can't be avoided as it is fried. It's crunchy on the outside and the hot oysters and greens inside add a completely different dimension. It is always served with a sweet red sauce very much resembling catsup. Its size (which fills a whole plate) is good enough to satiate 2 people. 

Last but not the least is black tofu sauteed with kuchay (chives) greens. (Php175). Black tofu is made from dark soy beans which makes its skin grey and its flesh a bit darker than the regular tofu. The texture is harder and its taste nuttier than the white variety. 

The dish seems to have been sauteed in soy sauce. The strips of tofu actually taste much like mushrooms and are texturally similar to it. The chives and the soy sauce work hand-in-hand to produce a very delicious and well-balanced dish. With a cup of rice, it is more than enough to constitute a healthy vegetarian meal. 

With its affordable prices and down-to-earth menu of good and comforting Chinese food, Pot and Noodles Restaurant is indeed a place the fennel bulbs will come back to every so often.