Chirori @ Okayama

August 24, 2019 Dave Perry

***Pan-fried lotus root with blue cheese***

***Omori tofu and Bizen vegetable sesame salad***

***Bisei beef cheek with soft boiled egg***

***Italian style claypot vegetable risotto***

Although to the casual passerby Chirori appears to be a Showa era coffee shop, closer inspection reveals a cozy Japanese bistro with an inviting retro interior.

Specializing in farm to table Bizen (Okayama) vegetables and fresh caught seafood from Shimotsui Fishing Port, the menu offers an interesting array of Japanese and European inspired dishes ranging from simple, clean tasting vegetable risottos to rich, saucy curries and stews.

Chirori

086 207 2273

Canvas Tokyo @ Hiroo

August 14, 2019 Dave Perry

***Flat white, blood orange juice and soya Nico donuts***

Popular among tourists and hipster cafe aficionados for its ‘instagenic’ facade and minimalist interior, Canvas Tokyo is an 'open concept store' comprising a svelte cafe and exhibition space.

A range of coffees (including flat whites sporting great latte art) is available, as well as organic teas, soya-based smoothies and fruit juices.

The food menu offers a small selection of sandwiches (purchased by weight, the pulled pork sandwich is delicious), croissants and salad lunch bowls; our favourites being the chili con carne and tender beer-stewed pork varieties.

The sweeter toothed can enjoy chewy soya donuts from Azabu-Juban's popular Nico Donuts - the magical pairing of which with a soya smoothie is an Instagram #canvastokyo institution.

Canvas Tokyo

03 6432 5700

Hirakuya x Osteria @ Midorigaoka

June 30, 2019 Dave Perry

***Burdock and devil’s tongue gorgonzola salad***

***English style battered cod and chips***

***Jalepeno peppers stuff with cream cheese***

Set amidst a quiet residential neighbourhood, Hirakuya x Osteria’s open facade and pet-friendly terrace face on to the charming ‘green route’ between Midorigaoka and Jiyugaoka.

The warm, polished wooden interior’s rich red and green wine bottle tones and collection of 60s and 70s vinyl sleeves evoke a Scandinavian lodge.

Offering a mix of lightly grilled, fried and simmered dishes encompassing Hokkaido, Italian and English cuisines the Euro-Japanese menu expands upon the casual dining theme of the original Jiyugaoka sister shop with a more focused (although less variable) offering.

Hirakuya Osteria

03 6459 5585

Itasoba Kaoriya @ Ebisu

April 22, 2019 Dave Perry

***Dashimaki omelette with scallions and grated daikon***

***Soba with onsen-boiled egg and perilla-wrapped chicken tempura***

Itasoba Kaoriya is a popular (30 minute queues are not uncommon) soba-ya specializing in country-style soba praised for their flavour and fragrance.

Amidst the comfortably rustic interior, eager customers sit at crowded communal tables enjoying a range of side dishes, such as the fluffy dashimaki tamago or juicy yaki-kamo, while awaiting generous portions of flavoursome, al dente ‘itasoba’ buckwheat noodles.

Served in traditional wooden ‘itabako’ storage trays, the noodles come in one of two ways; regular or thick cut (we prefer the thicker cut for its chewier texture), with soba tsuyu (soy) or gomadare (sesame) dipping sauces, accompanied by assorted tempura and takikomi gohan.

Itasoba Kaoriya

03 3449 8498

Sanchan Shokudo @ Shin-Maruko

April 12, 2019 Dave Perry

A Shin-Maruko institution, Sanchan Shokudo has been delighting customers with its quintessential Showa dining experience for over a half-century. Since its inception in 1967, Sanchan's mission statement has been to provide cheap, fast, delicious, large food - something it achieves with aplomb.

Although its origins as a ramen and gyoza canteen (this is no izakaya) catering to local workers and students are still proudly displayed on the noren hanging before the entrance, over the decades the offering has expanded to cater to patrons’ changing tastes. The result as an expansive menu of classic Japanese and ‘Chinese’ comfort foods. The aji fry, chicken cheese roll and fried rice are our favourites, although the shop speciality is undoubtedly the voluminous yakiniku ricebowl.

The retro decor (complete with topless calendar) and happily inebriated, chain smoking clientele combine to create a lively old school atmosphere. Hugely popular, weekends tend to be especially crowded with brief waits for a seat at one of the long rows of trestle tables to be expected.

Sanchan Shokudo

044 722 2863