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Monday, March 4, 2013

KICHIJOJI: Jingle Jangle Hawaiian Dining... Hawaii meets Classic Movie Posters

After hitting up 2 different locations in Kichijoji it was time to find a relaxing spot... Childhood friend Kawika lead us to Hawaiian Dining "Jingle Jangle."


Left side of the entrance there is a tiny table for 2 and further back booth seating for a group of 4-5 people.  Nice and cozy.

Free nuts.


Interior is plastered with magazine cutouts, old movie posters and some hand made decorations. At first it was such an interesting theme but after an hour the interest turned into thinking this place was sooo busy on the eyes.

Had to take a video of the restroom and all the artwork inside.  





Garlic Octopus... suuuupe garlicy.



Taco Rice that tasted less like taco seasoning and more like umeboshi seasoning.  It was a nice change... but I got my shops mixed up.  Upstairs is an Okinawan restaurant... shoulda tried something more Hawaiian.


Overall an interesting place with jolly service.  BGM was a mix of Hawaiian and 70-80's Japanese hit songs.

Shop: Jingle Jangle 
Shop Website: http://www.jinjan.jp/
Address J: 東京都武蔵野市吉祥寺本町1-23-7 B1
Address E: Tokyo, Musashino-shi, Kichijoji, Honcho 1-23-7, B1
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KICHIJOJI: Moskow Standing Bar... great atmosphere and tasty lasagna.




Wine bottles started at 2,300yen up... huge list of reds and whites but items in stock are very limited.

Nama-ham plate (prosciutto).

Cheese plate... a bit tiny or perhaps the dish was a bit too big.

This older lady (possibly the owner?) was all smiles and chatting up the customers as she was tending the cooking area.  

Steel roof interior.


The perfect corner spot for people watching... all sides are glass windows.

Huge Beer Glasses.



First time ever... Apple pizza with maple syrup!  Interesting...


And the Lasagna! Rarely do I get to have this in Japan... nice nice!

A nice balance of customers (see the 3 full on Rasta guys in the back), main Russian waitress was super friendly and overall a nice place to enjoy a few glasses of wine.  

Shop: Moskow Standing Bar
Address J: 東京都武蔵野市吉祥寺本町1-1-9
Address E: Tokyo, Musashino-shi, Kichijoji, Honcho 1-1-9
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KICHIJOJI: Te-chan Yakitori in the alleys of Kichijoji... poor service average food.

Te-chan seems to be one of the more popular Yakitori spots in the side alleys along the main shopping mall "shotengai."  Lots of couples on this chilly Sunday evening.

Sticks started at 100yen and went up a bit from there...

Tebasaki (chicken wings).


Always a favorite Motsu-Nikomi (stewed intestines with tofu)... very very tender and a hit.  We had to order another tiny bowl.

If you sit near the Yakitori Chef its a really smokey mess with the occasional white charcoal flakes floating around and landing on ya... kinda like a light charcoal snow storm.

After an hour my butt hurt... rotation rotation.

Lots of fresh ingredients in the glass fridge.

With each order they will add a chip to your tiny silver bowl.  At the end of the meal the waiter will count and let you know the total price but you won't get any receipt... and had a strange feeling that they over charged us for the very little we had to eat.  Our main waiter behind the counter was a Chinese guy that spoke in broken Japanese and a very unfriendly aura with unusually rude customer service... perhaps its a cultural thing.  I probably won't return as there are a great selection of Yakitori spots in this town. 

The owner of this shop and over 10 others that employ many foreigners... perhaps he doesn't train them well thus the poor service this night.  Its all about the training managers and owners... realize I can't really fault the foreign employees.


Shop: Te-chan
Address J: 東京都武蔵野市吉祥寺本町1-1-2 ハモニカ横町
Address E: Tokyo, Musashino-shi, Kichijoji, Honcho 1-1-2, Harmonica Yokocho
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Friday, March 1, 2013

ROPPONGI: Ma'chan Izakaya for 180yen Beers/Hi-Balls and great Avocado Rolls!


A good friend just has his first baby girl and he requested cheap beers!  I've been to 210yen Nakanishi Izakaya in posh Omotesando,  100yen Koike Izakaya in Ikebukuro and after all these years I finally hit up 180yen Beers at Machan :).  These sister Izakaya's are scattered around Tokyo and the menu's are identical... beer prices vary with the neighborhood. 

When you sit down the automatic Otoshi arrives... 300yen or so.  




A must is the Toro Avocado Rolls (Toro-Avocado-Maki) and the Ebi (Shrimp)-Mayo was great too... 

Everyday except Friday and before national holidays on the weekday beers and hi-balls only 180yen otherwise its 290yen.




Some Chinese dish with an appropriate plate.

Okinawan Goya Champuru.


Service is extremely quick!  Just ring the button at your table.


Looks like a reservation board.

We had alooot of food but the most popular was definitely the Toro Avocado Roll and the Ebi-Mayo.  And with 180yen Beers plus the speed that my friend Kiyo was drinking and ordering for us we were pretty much toasted in the 2 hours of dining and catching up. 


My iPhone GPS just couldn't pinpoint this back alley hidden residential area of Roppongi but its a spacious well worth the hunt.  I'm a regular at the sister branch Koike in Ikebukuro but this will definitely be a new watering hole and a spot to invite visiting guests from abroad.  Oh, the crows was a mix of young stylish couples, foreigners in their 20's and not really the salary-man crowd of other spots.  

Shop: Machan Izakaya Roppongi
Address J: 東京都港区六本木7-13-11
Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Roppongi 7-13-11
MAP:

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