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Sunday, June 29, 2014

EBISU: Tankaippin Ramen... nice creamy ramen soup plus Kimchee set!

Its wonderful to have a place to dine after the last train zooms on by... met up with a few friends at a new DJ bar called MOTEL for their 11pm-5am special event.  Yup, a loooooong night for me.



Went for the Pork Kimchee Stir Fry, rice and Ramen set... 936yen!  Lots of calories... ugh.



Always the friendly late night staff



This place has a great bowl of ramen that will satisfy even the most picky ramen connoisseur and they are open til late. Located just a minute from the JR Ebisu Station or Hibiya Line exits.

Restaurant: Tenkaippin Ebisu Branch
Tenka Ippin Website: http://www.tenkaippin.co.jp/
Address J: 東京都渋谷区恵比寿南1-1-9
Address E: Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Ebisu South 1-1-9
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/vOVMw

天下一品 恵比寿店, てんかいっぴん, ラーメン, 餃子,  恵比寿, Japan, Japanese, noodles, tonkotsu, ramen, foodie, tokyobelly, cheap, lunch, dinner, sony rx100,

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

IKEBUKURO: Jyuni Men-Bo Ramen... Tonkotsu meets Spicy TanTanMen meets Grouchy Waitress~ fun mix this day! Thanks Groupon!




A very expansive menu for a ramen spot... but the more I started looking around this must have formerly been some kind of restaurant that was converted into a Ramen spot.

A Chinese waitress came around to take my order... easy easy... then the guy next to me quietly asked the other Chinese waitress to refill the water jug on his table.  She seemed pissed off... refilled it and dropped it in front of him.  This was the same for his ramen order too.  Most Ramen shops have young Japanese employees who are always so polite... Manager needs to train these gals the way of the ninja.

Smoking allowed in a Ramen shop? How soooo very unusual... this fan was used to keep the smoke from entering the non-smokers side.  For realz?


My ramen arrived... can't recall having the toppings on a separate plate at any other tsukemen shop before.  

Oh this is what I ordered... The Groupon pic looks so much more tasty!  In the photo looks like they used a red spicy oil but for mine there were tiny shards of red pepper.


The soup very addictively funky... Tonkotsu meets Spicy TanTanMen... It was nice and flavorfully thick.

Noodles were very thick and chewy.  The waitress will ask how you want your noodles... cold or hot "atsumori."  This is Atsumori.

The square cuts of pork were very fatty and cold... nothing impressive here.

The soup clinged so well to the noodles.

And when you are done with your meal ask for "Soup-Wari."  They'll add hot water used to boil the noodles into the bowl and you can enjoy a nice hot bowl of ramen soup.  Although the waitress was hella grouchy I did my best to say "arigato" with a smile each time I asked her for something and by the end of the meal she lost that grouchy look and almost broke a smile.  I guess she isn't happy working here.

Maserati Granturismo spotting under a suspicious add promising high income.


Restaurant: Jyuni (Twelve) Men-Bo Ramen
Address J: 東京都豊島区西池袋1-43-9 アミューズ池袋本社ビル 1F
Address E: Tokyo, Toshima-ku, West Ikebukuro 1-43-9
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/OYnCs

十二麺坊, ジュウニメンボウ, ラーメン, つけ麺, 池袋, Japan, Japanese, Tokyo, noodles, lumix lx5, foodie, tokyobelly, gyokai, tonkotsu, thick, creamy,

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

IKEBUKURO: Karaoke 747... this place is in shambles... go elsewhere please~

After the Obic Seagulls vs Fujitsu Frontier football game we headed off to Ikebukuro and one of those karaoke "catch sales guys" asked if we wanted to sing Karaoke... My buddy's home ground and he managed to bargain the down from 1,500yen for 1 hour of all you can drink to 980yen.... but the deal was we'd have to goto another 747 Karaoke location... and it was in shambles.






The ceiling of our room was taped with duct tape... guess everything was falling apart.


Tiny microwaved pizza's turned hard after a few minutes... eat quickly!

They have blankets if you are chilly

Room itself was in the basement and very dated... if it wasn't for the company of friends and all you can drink plan this room will truly get u depressed.


Toilets were out of date with lots of damage...

Unfortunate how dilapidated this 747 Karaoke was but if you really really want to enjoy an amazing time at Karaoke in Ikebukuro you MUST goto Karaoke-kan with thier huge windows overlooking the town.

Restaurant: Karaoke 747 Ikebukuro East Branch
Address J: 東京都豊島区東池袋1-4-2フラワービルB1F
Address E: Tokyo, Toshima-ku, East Ikebukuro 1-4-2
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/BUXwK

カラオケ, 747, 池袋, 池袋東口店, Japan, Japanese, singing, beer, izakaya, foodie, Tokyo, cheap, songs,

IKEBUKURO: Yasube... Massive Oomori Tsukemen for only 760yen... it was a monster 440 grams!



Nice bench seat waiting area...

Waiting for a spot for 4 people...




The Chef at Work!


With the influence of a little beer and my love for cost performance I in my pride and glory went for the largest available portion for 760yen.... the DAI tsukemen!  There are 4 levels... small, regular, medium and large.  Please refrain from the Large as I needed my friend to help me out with the noodles.


I always prefer "Atsumori"... hot noodles.  But there is a great al'dente'ness to the regular noodles that are immediately washed with cold water to keep its texture.

Normal size versus Dai 440 grams... it was visibly a huge difference.



Restaurant: Tsukemen-Ya Yasubee Ikebukuro Branch
Yasube Website:  http://www.yasubee.com/
Address J: 東京都豊島区東池袋1-12-12
Address E: Tokyo, Toshima0ku, East Ikebukuro 1-12-12
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/rebQh

つけ麺屋, やすべえ, 池袋, つけ麺, ラーメン, 居酒屋, Japan, Japanese, noodles, ramen, foodie, tokyobelly, sony rx100, sony as10, Tokyo, tonkotsu, gyokai, cheap,