TOSHIMAEN: Mantendo for a belly full of Fried Chicken and a new FB Friend... Chef/Owner Mr. Nemoto~

I really had no intention of eating Fried Chicken Karaage but one this rare occasion I noticed below the Japanese lunch menu there was a nice attempt at an English menu... had to support this place for the effort.

I entered and Mr. Nemoto directed me to the English Menu... but one catch its only a fraction of the menu and later I regretted not ordering the butter garlic karaage teishoku.

For 850yen (for some reason I was charged 950yen) you get 6 pieces of chicken topped with 3 different seasonings.  Liked the Chilli Oil the best.

Most of the pieces were juicy tender and fried to order.

Its a very easy in easy out lunch spot if you are ever in the area.  Not too sure if I could spend a few hours here drinking... a bit dark and the interior kinda depressing.  But Owner/Chef Mr. Nemoto is very friendly and will actively chat you up... and he says he has an ear for English :).  Foreign client base seems to be Westerners and Chinese.

Restaurant: ManTenDo

Mantendo website: http://www.mantendo.jp/

Foodie Tabelog: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1321/A132102/13134084/

Owners Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tome.kr.m.to.me

Address J: 東京都練馬区練馬4-18-15

Address E: Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Nerima 4-18-15
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/RjRVH

満天堂, まんてんどう, 鳥料理, 豊島園, Japan, Japanese, yakitori, foodie, Tokyo, panasonic tz60, yelp, tokyobelly, lunch, cheap,

EKODA: YELP at Kissa Port (Coffee Bar)... with a thimble of Cajun Gumbo. Weak weak weak sauce~ ;)

I'm a huge fan of Yelp Tokyo and was so happy to hear they selected Ekoda for a foodie event... it's almost in my neighborhood.  

The event was themed "elp Elite Event "Yelp in Ekoda! Step into the world of Coffee in Kissa Port"

The owner of Kissa Port explaining in detail the 10 questions we had as a quiz all relating to Coffee.

A tiny tiny cup that reminded me of a little dixie cup you use at the dentist to rinse your mouth... This cajun gumbo tasted a bit like heavy Tsukemen (dipping noodle) soup.  Unfortunately if we wanted more we would have to pay Hello Old Timer for a plate of this.

https://www.facebook.com/hello.old.timer

1 hour later and now it was time for the booze!!  But it was actually a sampling of what best went with Coffee... so as hard as I tried I just couldn't get a buzz.

Meet Dean looking a little buzzed as he put 2 scoops of alcohol into each tasting... 

This Frangelico was sooooo tasty.  

A nice long layout.

Check out all the event Flickr foto's here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/yelp/sets/72157650495872291/

I guess I've been spoiled with Community Manager Rika's awesome Awa-odori, Honey Ham Christmas and a great Bar Kitsune event but I guess its nice to have something relaxing like this.  The Coffee Bar's floor place had a little bit of everything... a public table seating area, seats for 2 along the wall, counter seating and more tables in the back... The shop owner was extremely knowledgable about coffee and if you like a cozy cafe this might just be your spot.

Restaurant Cafe: Kissa Port

Yelp Link: Kissa Port Link

Tabelog Foodie: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1321/A132101/13168252/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/port.ekoda

Address J: 東京都練馬区栄町31-10 ハラサワビル 3F

Address E: Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Sakaecho 31-10
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/2nEfG

喫茶ポルト, 喫茶店, バー・お酒, カフェ, 江古田, Japan, Japanese, foodie, tokyobelly, Tokyo, canon s120, Pentax MX-1, Pentax K-01, sake, liquor, whisky,

SHIBUYA: Nonbei (Drunkard) Izakaya for a bit of Okonomiyaki and fresh oysters...

I need to visit Shibuya more often but had a dinner plan with 2 friends that wanted to eat some Okonimiyaki - Monjayaki but little did I know that what would normally be a reasonable bill turned monstrous with 2 fresh oyster luvin girls... oh my.

The automatic Otoshi (appetizer) was potato salad.

I rarely eat raw liver but this tasted so clean and perfectly seasoned with sesame oil.

Lightly seared little mentaiko eggs.

Now I had just 1 of these Oysters and it hit the spot... the girls together must have had like 30!  Since I don't eat oysters it was an educational experience to find out how much they really cost.  Ouch

The atmosphere here with its high ceilings and cozy Japanese Izakaya style was really comfortable... definitely a place to take your foreign visitors.

Counter seat with one old timer dining alone.

Honestly minus the Oysters I think our bill would have been like 3,000yen per person but this ballooned to around 6,000yen per person... need to either start keeping up with these ladies or drink more.  Anyways a very central place and I'll probably be back.

Restaurant; Nonbei

Tabelog Foodie: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13108287/

Gnavi Coupon: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/ga25500/

Address J: 東京都渋谷区道玄坂2-6-7 ナビ B1F

Address E: Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Dogenzaka 2-6-7
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/IhEJ9

呑兵衛, お好み焼き, 鉄板焼き, 居酒屋, 渋谷, Japan, Japanese, foodie, yelp, canon s120, sake, beer, tokyobelly, 109,

OIZUMIGAKUEN: Tokyo Laugh Story Izakaya... very reasonable but you won't get change unless requested :(

There was a Izakaya called Buchi here that was always empty... but on January 2nd with limited choices of restaurants we discovered a newly opened Tokyo Laugh Story izakaya.

Ordered a bottle of red wine and a bottle of Japanese imo-jochu sake.

The staff here was very friendly and attentive... we chatted up some customers and shared our red wine.

Beware ladies... the restroom is a converted hole in the ground type.

The bill was very reasonable for what we ordered but my pilot friend took care of the bill and as he was leaving the waitress had several bills in her hand asking us if we needed change... after a night of drinks I wasn't thinking straight.  Anyways the waitress probably kept a few thousand yen herself...  highly unusual that this would happen.  But I'm sure we will be back again soon.

Restaurant: Tokyo Laugh Story Oizumi Gakuen Branch

Gnavi Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/6319eawr0000/

Address J: 東京都練馬区東大泉6-52-11

Address E: Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Higashi Oizumi 6-52-11
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/px4Qp

東京ラフストーリー 大, 泉学園店, Japan, Japanese, wine, sake, foodie, canon s120, yelp, tokyobelly, yakitori, Tokyo, nerima,