IKEBUKURO: Yakiniku Gyu-En for some god awful Sundubu Chige

I'm a huuuge fan of great Korean Chige's and my stroll thru the side streets of Ikebukuro led me to this menu on the road... 650yen for Sundubu Tofu Chige.  How could I go wrong!

Ashtray... not good.

It was simply dead empty at 12:45pm on a weekday... highly unusual as most other restaruants were busy with the weekday lunch rush. Plus Rikkyo University (Saint Paul's University) was right around the corner... bad bad sign.

And my much anticipated Korean lunch arrives!

Kimchee was definitely grocery store bought... the seasoned bean sprouts just tasted all wrong, like it was just old. 

Now for the Tofu Chige.  Boiled water with red oil... it just tasted like red water.  Honestly... this is the WORST Sundubu I have had in my life.  Very little tofu, the clams still had sand in them and whats up with all the little skinny mushrooms?  

The egg that is normally cracked fresh into the Sundubu had already been boiled solid.  

The sandy clams... I have to admit they were generous with this.  Possibly 4-5 pices.

After 15 minutes I just felt sick... Did my best to finish the Kimchee but forget about the rest.  I simply got up and left. 

The attraction to this restaurant might be the all you can eat 980yen Yakiniku and nothing else.  But I did see them bring out the meat to another customer... meat was all frozen who knows where they source it from.

I am usually one to NEVER randomly walk into a restaurant without checking the foodie rankings but how could I have gotten Tofu Chige so wrong.  Wish Gordon Ramsey could visit this spot... its just sh*t.

Shop: Yakiniku Gyu-En

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130501/13131799/

Address J: 東京都豊島区西池袋3-29-2 三原ビル 4F

Address E: Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Nishi Ikebukuro 3-29-2, 4F
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SHIN OKUBO: Groupon is your friend at Little Korea's "Goon" (Military Base).

Even in Japan Groupon can be your friend in a land of great public transportation that leads to drinking a bit too much.  Found a great 4,500yen course deal with all-you-can drink for 1,900yen.  I used my US Paypal account so no worries if you don't have a Japan issued credit card. 

The name of the Korean restaurant "GOON" reminded me of the word "GUUN" or Military Base in Japanese... a term I have been very familiar with since childhood due to my summer vacations on Okinawa.

And when I entered it fell into place... this was a full on war-zone.  Really guys?  I can almost postively say that Shin-Okubo (Korea Town) is visited primarily by K-Pop and K-Drama loving Japanese ladies... But my Korean friend did mention that the popularity of this town has fallen so perhaps this new restaurant was trying to stand out.

My seat was right under the crotch of this full on gas masked terror.

Shop sure does like gas masks.

This was our full course... not quite what was pictured on Groupon but most of our damage was to come in the form of all-you-can drink.

Portion wise it was just enough but the munchies will definitely hit you a few hours later.  We were pretty much done with the meal in the 1st hour then the 2nd hour was devoted to trying out several different Mekchu's, Soju's and Beer.

The waiter helps out with the cooking.

Overall if I had to pay 4,500yen x 2 for this course then there is no way I'd be back because the volume seriously lacked if I'm paying nearly $100 for the meal... but at $20 or so a person with all you can drink then it was a great 2 hours of light eating and heavy drinking.  Interior was a dark depressing battlefield and I really don't think this interior will attract many women into becoming regulars... but the service was spot on great.

Thanks Groupon and good luck GOON!

Restaurant: Goon Korean Dining

Gnavi with Coupon: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/gcrg700/

Shop Blog: http://ameblo.jp/goon-japan

Address J: 東京都新宿区大久保1-12-27

Address E: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Okubo 1-12-27
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