AKASAKA/Akasaka-Mitsuke: Korean Restaurant "Koka'an" (REVISITED) for amazing Tenjan Chigae

So tempted to go for the great 850yen Chicken-Kalbi-Teishoku from my last visit but thought I'd go for something lighter since it was a Friday... need to save some space for beeru tonight.

The Tenjan Chigae lunch set was 980yen (compared to 1200yen in the evenings).

Arrived towards the end of the 11:30 - 2pm lunch period and it was empty this day.  Almost had the entire space to myself!

The waitress said the Tenjan Chigae is a "Dentouteki" meal in Korea... think that means very traditional.  It came with a total of 4 dishes... 

Green vegetables seasoned in spicy kimchee sauce

The Tenjan Chigae Korean miso soup... smelled excellent.

And finally a basket full of greens and a bowl of rice with some spicy Korean paste.   If given no direction I would simply eat the veggies separately (there was no dressing on it), scoop some of the rice and dip it into the Chige soup... very basic and its what I always do with Sundubu Tofu Chige. BUT!!

The super friendly waitress gave me directions.  First place all the greens into the bowl of rice and mix it well... then add the Chige soup to this bowl until the greens become soft. Wow, it was kind of like cooking lessons... a bit fun.

Everything mixed in...

Chige contained firm portions of cubed Tofu.  In Japan its all about the Sundubu Tofu Soup with very soft uneven pieces of Momen Tofu... very rarely will you come upon Tenjan-Chigae or this firm Kinu tofu.  The firmer it is the less water it releases and less dilution to your chige soup... But if you are interested there normally 2 types of Tofu sold at supermarkets called Momen (silky texture) and Kinu (firm texure).

The Tenjan Chige was simply sooo tasty on its own... perfect balance of Korean miso flavor ad spice. I can't recall the last time I had Tenjan this good.... and I closed with some Chosen-Carrot drink.

If you are bored you can read about my Tenjan Chigae (Deon Jang Chigae) at MaMa's House inside of Chicago's Mitsuwa Supermarket (hint: It stank)... http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=nCVxCbU44w5pYSS_40MlEg

My Previous Chicken Kalbi Entry:

http://tokyobelly.blogspot.com/2012/03/akasaka-korean-family-style-restaurant.html 

Shop: KOKA'AN - Korean Family Style 

Foodie website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130801/13005023/

Hotpepper: http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000240450/

Address J: 東京都港区赤坂3-20-8 臨水ビル Ｂ１Ｆ

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Akasaka 3-20-8, B1F
MAP:

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AKASAKA: Korean Family Style Restaurant "Koka'an"... great lunch!

I really don't know what else to recommend in Akasaka other than Korean food and of course The best Hawaiian Restaurant in Tokyo "Ogo's"

KOKAAN has one of the highest Korean rankings among foodies in the Akasaka so I had to go!  Their daily special and brand new on the menu was "Tori Kalbi Teishoku" for 850yen..

Lots of items to choose from.  The Yakiniku Salad Teishoku was a huge hit with the ladies having lunch in this place... brought out in a gigantic bowl.  But after asking the super kind waitress what she recommended she said go for the Chicken Kalbi Lunch because its very good.   Sounds good to me!

Very cool chopsticks... they were very long and pointy and quite fun to use.

There it is!  A great value for 850yen.

This was kind of like a beef stew with korean spice... The potatoes and carrots were extremely tender and seasoned, the chicken very tasty and the stew base had a sweet/spicy flavor.  It really did taste like home cooking... sooo good.

Closed with a tiny cup of Chosen-Ninjin (Korean Carrot) Milk?

There seems to be alot of choices for dinner but this was the only page with pics other than the lunch menu so if you go make sure to brush up on the Japanese.  

There were quite a few pretty ladies and unusually several foreigners having lunch here...  All tatami seating.

I can't remember the last time I saw these cool rubber Korean slippers (used to goto the restroom).... must have been when I was attending Taegu American Elementary School!  It was sooo nostalgic. 

Lots of magazine coverage

The entrance is very subtle so have an eye out for the 1st floor Yello TODOROKI Ramen Shop.  Overall the service was just super friendly, the food sooo good and the atmosphere was sooo comfortable.  If you are on the look out for Korean this place is a must in Akasaka!

Shop: KOKA'AN - Korean Family Style 

Foodie website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130801/13005023/

Hotpepper: http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000240450/

Address J: 東京都港区赤坂3-20-8 臨水ビル Ｂ１Ｆ

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Akasaka 3-20-8, B1F
MAP:

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