Tokyo Belly

Friday, December 7, 2012

NERIMA: Ramen Dai... A refined Jiro'esque with a hint of Mexico!

After another long night I was on a hunt for some great ramen in Nerima...

You'll have to pay for most of the toppings... all color coated chips.

Top left as usual! But the light blue is Shio-Ramen and red is Spicy Ramen... they also have Tsukemen.

If you want smaller portion of noodles or fat then pick up one of these labels.

When a spot opens up just place the chip on the counter.

All counter seating and this night was packed before, during and after my meal... mind you its was near 1am. Also a nice mix of women that you will rarely see at Ramen Jiro.

Just before you ramen arrives the Chef will look at you... Free toppings! Veggies (little bit, regular, a bit more, more and "Mashi" (Huge portion like a giant mountain!), Garlic, Shoga (that red stuff that usually comes with Curry), Abura (fat) and thick soup.

I went for the little bit of veggies, garlic and abura (fat that just looked too beautiful and tasty!). Oh, the ramen chef looked at me and assumed I didn't speak any Japanese so he was showing me the toppings to see what I'd like... staff here was super polite.

My Video!

The noodles are solid! Super chunky and a bit on the al'dente side.

Now this ramen was excellent. The flavor was very similar to Ramen Jiro but more refined.

This is really all you need to accompany a massive ramen... just one slice of tender pork.

And thus the Mexico... Habanero spice (the tiny bottle)! It gave the ramen a very nice kick half way thru my meal. Oveall I'm absolutely sure I'll go out of my way to close out the evening with Ramen Dai again... It was a pleasant environment and for 650yen a veeeery good deal!

Shop: Ramen Dai Nerima Branch

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1321/A132102/13091900/

Address J: 東京都練馬区豊玉北5-32-9 フォレストヒラキ　１F

Address E: Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Toyotama-Kita, 5-32-9

MAP:

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

IKEBUKURO: Tonchin Ramen (Original Shop) for a late night ramen run

After having a few tooo many 100yen whisky hi-balls at Koike Izakaya I honestly can't quite remember too much about this ramen spot.

Remember... top left corner is shop recommended item. 650yen for small, medium or jumbo ramen... and of course the top left has to be JUMBO!

Thats a good think... a brand new shop opening up in Asakasa-Mitsuke. Guess this place is good.

What I most remember was this curly type of ramen noodle... I try to avoid this style at all cost because it reminds me too much of the 22cent Walmart Maruchan Ramen... But my friend said that soup tends to cling on to this type of curly noodle.

Yup... I added the fresh puree garlic and in the morning I could still taste it... ugh.

Tonchin has a very solid foodie score of 3.52 points and it was fairly crowded on a Thursday night at 11:30pm... so I guess you can't go wrong for standard ramen here with their very very reasonable 650yen price point!

Shop: Tonchin Ramen - Original Shop

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130501/13003977/

Shop Website: http://tonchin.foodex.ne.jp/index.html

Address J: 東京都豊島区南池袋2-26-2

Address E: Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Minami Ikebukuro 2-26-2
MAP:

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IKEBUKURO: A section for dining alone! 100yen Koike Izakaya.

So after helping out a friend pick his first DSLR... the Nikon D7000 with 18-105 lens kit we were off to Koike Izakaya the 100yen beer spot! My other DSLR suggestions were the Nikon 7D and Pentax K-5iis.

Mr. Toyoda. If you are ever in need of a digital camera/DSLR definitely hit this guy up. He was all smiles and had a great personality plus he can discount items if you are ready to buy!

http://www.yamadalabi.com/i-souhonten/floorguide/index.html

EVERYDAY 100yen except Friday's and days before holidays.

I found out from my friend that he occasionally comes here alone... and if you look in this picture there are small tables for 2 but as u can see a lone woman and a lone dude are dining alone... SO! Its really no longer necessary to have a beer or two at a bar that charges 500-1000yen per drink~ you can just chill here.

Ootoshi... automatically get charged 300yen~. I never really understood the concept of this.

My ice cold 100yen beer

One of my absolute favorites... Avocado tuna cucumber roll 380yen.

100yen whiskey Hi-Balls.

This is where all the magic happens...

And so its Christmas season and downloaded my free stickers on LINE.

http://line.naver.jp/en/

The damage... half on drinks and half on food for two. Anyways when I think beer I think Koike. You all have to check this place out! Oh there are branches around Tokyo and even Roppongi called Ma-chan service 180yen beers http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13009737/

Shop: Sushi Izakaya Koike

Foodie website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130501/13133702/

Address J: 東京都豊島区東池袋1-20-18

Address E: Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 1-20-18

MAP:

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Monday, December 3, 2012

SHINJUKU/KABUKICHO: Okinawa Paradise... Great music, tasty food and live music. Can't go wrong here!

My second visit to Okinawa Paradise and once again they delivered! Great assortment of Okinawan food, quick service with a smile and Master's live shamisen music got everyone up and dancing~.