No. 1 ・ Chinaroom
Location📍Japan, 〒106-0032 Tokyo, Minato City, Roppongi, 6 Chome−10−3 グランド ハイアット東京 6階
Rating
Price - under １００００円
Notes - Located above the Roppongi Hills Hyatt Hotel, Chinaroom is a dim sum restaurant that is akin to the Din Tai Fung's of the world, except more elevated in quality. The pictures are from an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) lunch course where you can order as many as you'd like from a list of around 27 dim sum choices, but they limit you to three dim sums at a time to prevent over-ordering. As part of the course and not part of the AYCE list, peking duck and spare ribs are served as well.
No. 2 ・ HIROKI Okonomiyaki
Location📍Japan, 〒155-0031 Tokyo, Setagaya City, Kitazawa, 2 Chome−14−14 ハニー下北沢 1F
Rating
Price - under ４０００円
Notes - A 20-30 minute subway ride from the center of Tokyo, Shimokitazawa is like the Brooklyn (specifically Williamsburg) of Tokyo. Sitting in the middle of this emerging, hip neighborhood is a small restaurant that specializes in okonomiyaki and has been doing so for many years. Their flavors have made it a cornerstone of the neighborhood attractions. In the word okonomiyaki, "yaki" means cook with fire, and "okonomi" means "your choice". Sort of like crepes, okonomiyakis are a type of street food where you can put whatever you like on it (hence "okonomi") as long as it fits inside. At HIROKIs, we tried the seafood varieties with octupus, shrimp and squid. It looked like a lot at the start but by the end everything was eaten and I felt contented.
No. 3 ・ 水内庵 (Minochi-an)
Location📍〒107-0052 Tokyo, Minato City, Akasaka, 1 Chome−12−32 Ark Mori Building, 3階
Rating
Price - under ２０００円
Notes - In a row of lunch spots each with alluring shopfronts, Minochian can be found at the far end with its sliding doors shut and its name unenthusiastically scribed over one of them. Their menu looks like it was drafted up using Microsoft Word's default font style and size. Other spots in the row at peak hours have lines outside. Minochian has neither lines outside nor peak hours. It's a slow day, every day. But if you're in the mood for big portions at low prices with some good flavors, this is the place for you. Check it out, or don't.
No. 4 ・ 格之進F (Kakunoshin F)
Location📍〒106-0032 Tokyo, Minato City, Roppongi, 1 Chome−4−5 ARK Hills South Tower, B1F
Rating
Price - around １００００円
Notes - The underground Roppongi Itchome station is attached to a court of expensive restaurants that would make the average subway rider lose their appetite. While I identify myself as one, fortunately, I had the chance to have dinner at 格之進F, courtesy of my benevolent father. Biggest learning point from my meal here (ribeye, medium-rare) was how incredibly well-paired the wasabi can be as a condiment to a savory piece of flame-grilled fatty beef steak.
No. 5 ・ 天 (Ten)
Location📍〒104-0061 Tokyo, Chuo City, Ginza, 8 Chome−8−8 Ginza 888, スリーエイトビル）6F
Rating
Price - around １００００円
Notes - Unlike the exported version of teppanyaki, or as America calls it, "hibachi", the kind you find in Japan is far from being a circus show of fake ketchup bottles and onion ring volcanoes. Instead , it's simply another style of counter cooking where the cooks prepare food from a visible space behind a counter, with other examples being sushi, tempura and ramen counters. Counter cooking is prevalent all over Japan and has been for hundreds of years, where the chef behind the counter, "itamae", runs the whole thing. In the case of teppanyaki, "teppan" means steel grill and as such this style of cooking is food cooked on a large steel flat grill. For these counter-style restaurants, the chefs being behind the counter and in front of the customers is not for show, but it's a method that has been organically developed out of necessity, and passed down by tradition. The chef can greet, cook and serve food from one place, at the same time provide transparency to the customers for how the meals are being prepared.
Notes cont. - 天 is a teppanyaki counter that also has regular tables. Located in Ginza, often visited by westerners, this place is inviting to foreigners, especially the American "hibachi" folks, by cultivating a scintillating atmosphere, while not compromising integrity. The young spatula-wielders' adroitness was on full display for the crowd. The head cook was the quirkiest of the bunch (as seen in the video), which created a fun environment for everyone at both sides of the bar. His best bit was his imaginary conversation between a live lobster before ending its life. Other than that, a fire show was the extent of the gimmicks. I've also included photos from my previous visit in 2019.