YOTSUYA: Onaga-Ya Okinawa Shokudou... great Okinawan on a budget!

After having a disastrous Okinawan Soba lunch at Yanbaru in Shinjuku it was a pleasure to stumble upon this new Okinawan Restaurant across the street from Sophia University. Opened on April 16, 2012.

Daily lunch specials begin at 600yen and most surprising was the So-ki Soba and Rafu-te Soba were both only 600yen.. these usually command a premium as the beef used is very good.

Arrived at 1:45pm on a Saturday as lunch was winding down.

Grand opening sale... Okinawan dishes that range up to 600yen are all only 300yen til April 28th.

Went for the So-Ki Soba lunch set for only 600yen!

Little side dishes.

Spice for the Okinawan soba... think it consists of Awamori with little peppers inside.

Meat was extremely tender... yum.

Noodles consisted of both skinny and chunky noodles...  fun to eat.  If you want Oomori (extra) noodles its free!  But after gaining 2 kilo's in the past week on consuming waaaay too many carbs I went for the regular portion... it was still so much!

2 slices of Kamaboko.

Nice cozy interior... playing Okinawan music on the BGM.

Dinner menu.

A great little discovery in the basement of this building... My image of places in these locations are not very positive... normally mediocre franchise style shops but Onaga-Ya was a pleasant surprise.  Value is simply hands down great.  Highly suggest it if you are craving Okinawan on a budget.  You'll get stuffed!

I went back a few days later to try their 700yen Taco Rice Lunch... it was a salty disaster!  Stay away from this and stick to the great Okinawan Soba lunch set :)

Shop: Onaga-Ya Okinawa Shokudou

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130902/13140486/

Address E:  Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kojimachi 6-6, B1F

Address J:　東京都千代田区麹町6-6

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YOTSUYA: Sakura Izakaya for 600yen Lunch... a hidden treasure in the side streets of Yotsuya! So glad to stumble upon you~

After living in Yotsuya for about 1.5 years never have I found such a reasonable and delicious lunch spot!  Prices were in the amazingly yasui (inexpensive) range of 500-600yen... simply wow!

I went for the "nikomi hamburger"... nikomi is used when preparing food within a sauce... in this case the burger was grilled in a bowl of Japanese gravy.

Lunch comes with Hot Tea in a very nice cup.

Just too stunned... all this for only 600yen!?  An absolute deal.

My burger was cooked to perfection... absolutely juicy and so tasty.

Salad had a great korean style dressing on it... a bit of shoyu, onion and salt dressing is my best guess.  Soooo good.

Hot Miso soup

I was seated at the "L" shaped counter that can seat about 8 people.  But there were also private booths and tatami style seating behind the counter.

One thing I absolute don't like during lunch... ash tray spotting.  A guy was smoking bu luckily he was seated at the far end of the counter.

Seems draft beers and mixed drinks are only 300yen... as compared to the normal 500yen price point.

The staff was incredibly friendly and "irashyaimase/arigato" resounded thru the shop.  The 2 Chefs and waitress were Indian in this Japanese style Izakaya... I will definitely be back next week for another lunch. 

Shop: Sakura Izakaya

Fellow Foodies Blog: http://nao0522.blog100.fc2.com/blog-entry-1067.html

Address J: 東京都新宿区三栄町1-2 ＣＳビル１階

Address E: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Saneicho 1-2

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YOTSUYA: Taiyaki Wakaba... about a 15minute wait for traditional sweet azuki Taiyaki's

After shopping at my favorite Monday supermarket Maruei for 105yen vegetable/chicken specials I noticed a line down the street from the market.  

Taiyaki Wakaba... like was about 10 deep and most customers from salarymen to older oba-chans were ordering 15+ fish taiyaki's.  

Outside you can pickup some sweet red azuki bean paste seems to be filled with lots of vitamins.

2 guys make the fish shaped Taiyaki's with individual metal holders, a little old lady cuts the burnt outsides with scissors and one older guy handles the register.  There are 2 types of Taiyaki shops in Japan... HIIRAGI TAIYAKI in Ebisu that uses a large pan with multiple fish impressions and those that use one metal gear to make them individually... think the latter is more of a traditional style.

Seating in the interior.

And there it is... each only 140yen.

The outside dough has a very nice chewy texture.  The beans are unusually sweet compared to other Taiyaki shops in Tokyo... so I highly suggest...

...having a seat inside and pouring a little cup of free...

...Japanese green tea!  Was a perfect fit that balanced out the very sweet beans.

Had a second cup of Green Tea~.

If you are in Yotsuya give this little place a try.  It seems to have been around for quite some time and a little piece of Japanese history for only 140yen.

Looks like we are getting some brand  new green grass at Yotsuya Station... 

Shop: Taiyaki Wakaba

Very Old Skool Shop Website: http://www.246.ne.jp/~i-ozawa/

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130902/13000848/

Address J: 東京都新宿区若葉1-10 小沢ビル １Ｆ

Address E: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Wakaba 1-10
MAP: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130902/13000848/dtlmap/

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YOTSUYA: Okinawan Restaurant Wattoko... can food really be this boring?

I'm always a big fan of Okinawan food and given the chance I will try any spot in Tokyo...  I've seen this shop Wattoko on my walks around Yotsuya and decided to wander inside with my friend.

The automatic otoshi arrived (usually 300yen per person added to your bill)... one of the most boring dishes I've seen.

Some daily specials...

Started with a 390yen Asahi draft beer~.

Food menu but nothing really stood out....

... so we asked the super friendly Chinese waitress what she recommended and it was...

...Cruly Fries!  She was the sweetest waitress but who recommends Curly Fries at an Okinawan restaurant?  God help her...

Ordered some seasoned cabbage to start..

Okinawa standard dish Tofu-Champuru that was just so boring... the tiny bits of spam were so hard to find amid all the Tofu... this dish was 680yen but I could easily make it for around 100 yen at home.

Think the best thing we had all night was the liver-yakitori to the very right of this picture... 

Chef's recommended Taco Rice!  I'm a huge fan but this was waaaaay too spicy for the average diner...

Nice TV on the counter... don't really know why it was there. 

Closed the night with some sweet and smooth Hakkai-san.

Honestly... I don't know why I even bother to add this entry to the blog... perhaps its just to warn you that entering this restaurant will leave you extremely unsatisfied and wondering why you ever entered.  I won't be back and the 5,600yen we dropped into the register will surely be missed... But there was just one silver lining in this shop, the service was excellent.

Shop: Watoko Okinawan Restaurant

Hotpepper Coupon: http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000762185/

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130902/13100418/

Address J: 東京都新宿区四谷1-7-18 アクトワールドビル2F

Address E: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Yotsuya 1-7-18
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