reconnect

Was trying to figure out what to have for lunch today and reconnected with Yonehachi's okowa bento

I like when they have the sakura okowa & chestnut okowa to choose from

What was interesting in this bento was the white thing in the top right corner.

I thought it might be pickles but it was konnyaku with yuzu...so different and ono!

I'm glad I reconnected with this and will check on this kiosk from time to time 

taiwan 101

While roaming the basement of Tokyo station, we were looking for something for dinner.

Kat decided to try Taiwan 101's onigiri bento

it came with lu rou (braised pork) sauce fried gyoza, onion shumai, karaage (fried chicken), kurage (jellyfish) and fried tofu with chives in a black bean sauce

the fan tuan (onigiri/rice ball) was filled with lu rou (braised pork), peanuts and a quail egg

different from the one that I often buy from Tokyo Doujiang Seikatsu

This was quite a hefty onigiri, but I enjoyed the crunchy peanuts in there

Though the other items were quite salty, and the chicken karaage super hard,  I hope to try other items here

Taiwan 101

JR Tokyo Station Gransta Tokyo B1

Hours: 8:00-22:00 (21:00 on Sundays)

reconnect

Reconnected with Omma Foods’ yangnyeom chicken

This bento was 580 yen (tax included) 

The price has gone up a little since the last time I posted about it on the blog

I think this time the chicken was just cooked instead of deep frying then coated with the sauce

I prefer K-sozai’s version but since they are no longer in business, this version will have to do

The sides of the bento were hijiki & I think spinach

I'll try to walk out this way more often while the weather is cooler

super cheap eats

I don’t know about you but whenever I see a discount sticker on stuff, I almost always buy it...

like this bento from Origin, it had a 30% off sticker on it.

2 pieces of fried fish, 1 chikuwa tempura, a little kinpira and 16 grain rice with nori and katsuobushi

360 yen - 30% plus 8% tax...272 yen total.

I wished they had given a little more kinpira but cannot grumble too much, this was super cheap eats!

This bento would be too small for Satoshi but it was the right size for me

delista suehiro

Whenever I go to a new (to me) area, I like to check out their grocery stores.

When I was in Saginuma, I stopped into a tiny shop, Delista Suehiro that is a butcher/meat shop, that also sells prepared foods made with their meats

They also had different types of bento, and a little area with produce and snacks

I purchased their gyusuji-ni for our dinner, beef tendon is simmered until it is melt in the mouth tender in stock, shoyu, mirin 

This was super oily, but the beef tendon was super tender 

There was also some daikon and carrots in there as well.

I’m glad we got to try this

Delista Suehiro

1-19-5 Kodai, Miyamae-ku

Kawasaki, Kanagawa

Closed: Sundays

Hours: 9:00-20:00

*cash only

ahodori bento

Been wanting to try Ahodori Bento after seeing them on "7 rules", a television show about females in various business genre and their "7 rules in life", not sure when it was broadcast, maybe during the pandemic?

Anyway, this bento shop does catering for television/magazine shoots and other events. But if you go to the shop you can usually buy their other types of bento.

They are closer to Ikebukuro, so I was happy to hear that they would be selling two types of their bento at Shinjuku Takashimaya on Wednesdays.

This is a limited time pop up, so I made sure to try to go during the dates.

We tried their maru (circular) wappa bento...1815 yen each  (tax included) (the other bento had less veggies and only a piece of fish)

this is the roughly translated menu: 

salmon saikyoyaki (grilled miso)

ninjin shirishiri (cooked grated carrots)

eggplant miso

myoga su (vinegary myoga)

grilled watermelon radish 

grilled chicken (cumin & pink pepper)
su gobo (vinegary burdock)

shishito okaka itame (shishito stir fried with bonito flakes)

pumpkin cranberry croquette

shiitake umani (simmered shiitake)

pickled lotus root

simmered sweet potato

turnip namul

ume tempura

nitamago (seasoned egg)

So delicious (hefty) and colorful! I'm glad we got to try this and hope to get to their shop to try other bento in the future

Ahodori Bento

1-10-7 Kanamecho

Toshima, Tokyo

Closed: Saturdays & Sundays

Hours: 11:00-14:00

mimosa & deli

Had Mimosa & Deli on my "to try" list for awhile, finally got to try them yesterday when I happened to walk past and they were open!

buy your tickets from the machine and give them to the chef/owner

I was looking for the pudding (flan) button, but accidently bought a different ticket..oops!
 

I purchased the chicken nanban bento 790 yen (tax included)

By the time I walked home, the chicken had soaked up the sweet sour sauce, so it wasn't too crisp, but this had really good flavor.

The tartar sauce was a bit "dry" 

The pudding (flan) 300 yen (tax included) each

So rich and creamy! and the caramel sauce was a little bitter (and a little hard at the bottom) we enjoyed this.

I wouldn't mind trying other items on his takeout menu, I'll be back.

Mimosa & Deli

1-28-9 Nakarokugo

Ota, Tokyo

Closed Sundays and Mondays

Hours: 11:30-14:00 (lunch takeout), 17:00-19:00 (dinner takeout Tuesdays & Wednesdays), 18:00-22:00 (dinner service Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays)

*cash only

inakazushi

Stumbled on this tiny bento shop near my dentist called Inakazushi

Order at the window and pay when your bento is made

Prices are all reasonable
 

was cool to see all sorts of sushi in the window

I ordered the nori bento...620 yen (tax included)

This was hefty with all sorts of goodies like bamboo shoots, kinpira, fried fish, lots of rice.

I wouldn't mind trying other items on their menu, I'll be back.

Inakazushi

2-13-7 Tamagawa

Setagaya, Tokyo

Closed Sundays

Hours: 7:00-14:00

back to kitchen croquette

Friday, went to pick up lunch at Kitchen Croquette.

This shop is one we discovered during the pandemic.

I got the daily bento...Cod with lemon leek sauce.

Tarekatsu (fried pork with a sweet salty shoyu based sauce)

Roast chicken (the meat was dry (probably breast meat) but the skin was crispy and had the right amount of salt)

Hijiki

Daigaku imo (sweet potato coated with a caramel sauce)

I forgot that they can switch out white rice for mixed grain rice (it costs a little more too), so I ended up with white rice...at least I asked for a smaller amount of rice and they took off 20 yen...630 yen (tax included)

I also got their milk pudding for us to try...it comes with a coffee black sugar sauce...170 yen (tax included) each.

Both the bento and pudding were delicious...the coffee black sugar sauce was a little bitter but still a little sweet and got the thumbs up from Satoshi.

The owner had been sick earlier this year, so I'm glad I was able to have their bento again.

The shop is not too close to where we live, so I'll try to walk out here whenever possible. 

yesterday

Yesterday, Satoshi had a meeting in Kofu, Yamanashi prefecture.

Since he wasn't allowed to take the Shinkansen (bullet train), he wanted to bring something for lunch, but didn't want to lug his bento box around afterwards.

So, I made him a tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) with some edamame in it and also put a little kugini on the side, then put it into the basket that some blueberries came in.

I also gave him some yakiimo (roasted sweet potato) and two musubi with "gohan desu yo" (nori tsukudani (laver sheets simmered in soy sauce, sugar & mirin)) in it.

He was impressed with the blueberry basket and instead of throwing it away, brought it home to reuse it…so, I guess he could’ve lugged his bento box around, yeah?!

torikyu

Tried Torikyu's tokusei bento on Saturday...800 yen (tax included)

It comes with a negima yakitori (chicken stick with leeks), chicken katsu, karaage (fried chicken), tsukune (chicken meat ball) and potato simmered in a shoyu mirin sauce.

This was filling and delicious.

The katsu was a little dry because I think they use breast meat…everything else was delicious.

The potato and tsukune was so so good...sweet salty and super tender.

The back story:  I wanted to try their nori bento but they didn't have it on this day.

So, while standing in line I was going to get my favorite, the kiji bento instead which is grilled chicken, but the lady in front of me bought all that they had left! (which was 2 bentos)...boo!

Having to think quickly as to what to order, I tried something different, their tokusei bento.

I'm glad I did because now I know how ono their karaage, potato and tsukune is.

kitchen croquette

We tried a new (to us) bento place, Kitchen Croquette.

They have been in business for over 40 years.

Matsuko Deluxe even ate there (there is a photo of her on the door)

Satoshi and I both got their daily bento which had 5 different bento items...white fleshed fish with tomato & clam sauce, chicken katsu with parmesan cheese, eggplant nibitashi (braised), pan fried ham, harusame (glass noodle) salad, cabbage and tsukemono...650 yen (tax included)

For 50 yen more you can change the white rice to multi grain rice...so that is what I did.

And since the shop is called Kitchen Croquette, we picked up two of their croquette to try...120 yen (tax included) each.

The croquette was perfectly fried, creamy, delicious!

And every item in the bento was flavorful and delicious.

My favorite item was the fish.

I'm glad we tried this shop and will definitely be back whenever we are nearby.

Kitchen Croquette

4-35-8 Oomorihigashi

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.5471.2751

Closed Sundays

Hours: 11:00-14:00 (lunch), 16:00-20:00 (dinner) 

the trip back

For our trip back to Tokyo, we picked up some bento at the Kyoto station.

Satoshi's chirimen sansho bento.

My nori bento.

Loved my bento and gave some to Satoshi, he said the rice in my bento was tastier than his because it had “stuff” mixed in.

I looked at who made both of our bentos and it was the same company in Kyoto, Nomura Tsukudani.

It rained the night before and luckily it stopped when we made our way to the train station.

It was cloudy at the start of our ride but we were lucky to see Mount Fuji.

Enjoy this short video. 

Hoping we can all travel soon.

josui

Yesterday, Mother Nature threw us back into winter with cold rain all.day.long.

We tried a new (to us) bento shop, Josui.

They apparently sell okazu (pre-made foods) too, but when I went, they only had bento on their shelves.

I tried their yurinchi bento..540 yen (tax included)

The chicken was still crispy when I ate it and the leek sauce had ginger, was slightly sweet and was shoyu based.

There was a lot of veggie side dishes too.

Satoshi’s bento was salmon and 594 yen (tax included) he had lots of veggie side dishes also and he said the piece of salmon was quite big.

I’m glad we tried this place and look forward to trying other bento in the future.

Josui

7-18-1 Nishikamata

Ota, Tokyo

Closed Saturdays & Sundays

Hours: 10:00-22:00

omma foods

Been wanting to try Omma Foods for awhile and finally got to the other day.

They are a bento place that serves mostly Korean foods.

I ordered the samgyeopsal bento...820 yen (tax included).

This was my first time trying samgyeopsal..the bento was hefty and filling.

Everything except the spinach and kinpira was tasty and the pork very tender.

The spinach and kinpira were mushy.

I'm glad I got to try this and look forward to trying more thing on their menu, like their spicy chicken or bi  bim kook soo

Omma Foods

5-12-10 Kugahara

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6410.2233

Open daily 10:00-20:00

out for a walk

Since it rained all day on Friday...Saturday we went out for a walk....up to Myokendo...

down through Yogenji...

spotted a plumeria tree along the way...

lunch was a noriben from Soki...only 350 yen (tax included).

This one was their deluxe...since everything was boxed already, we figured out the "deluxe" was the addition of an egg and a karaage (piece of fried chicken) after we opened up our lunches.

Too much rice for me, but loved all the okazu (premade foods) and the price!

We'll be back to try other bento.

Ugh...the humidity has started...

Soki

4-11-8 Omorinishi

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6423.1139

Closed Sundays

Hours: Mondays-Fridays 8:00-20:00, Saturdays 10:00-18:00

kimura-tei

Down the street from Kirin Coffee, is Kimura-tei.

They sell all sorts of bento (even curry rice!) and their shop has been used in several J-dramas (Japanese soap operas "Our sister's soulmate" & "Plage")

I tried their nori bento...350 yen (tax included).

Fried fish, kinpira, takuan and a tempura fried chikuwa.

This was filling and not salty.

The rice was a little too soft for my liking, but everything seemed like it was made that day.

Satoshi had their makunouchi bento...480 yen (tax included).

Saba (mackerel), tonkatsu and karaage, nimono, kiriboshi daikon..he said enjoyed this and that the karaage was super tender.

Super cheap eats.

We'll be back to try other items on their menu.

Kimura-tei

7-7-14 Omorinishi

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3765.6110

Closed Sundays

Hours: 10:45-20:30

bento original

Up the street from Bakurry, is Bento Original...a teeny shop selling bento.

The woman running the shop was a little gruff .

I tried the nori bento (small)...380 yen (tax included).

There was teriyaki beef, kinpira, sausage & tamagoyaki (rolled omelette)...two layers of nori and rice.

A bit on the salty side, but cannot go wrong with the amount of food for the price.

Satoshi went with the kinpira bento...400 yen (tax included).

Rice on the bottom, kinpira and teriyaki beef on top.

He said his food was also salty, but also a bargain for the amount of food.

We will be back to try other items on the menu when we are in the area.

Bento Original

3-1-20 Omorinaka

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3761.3846

Closed Sundays

Hours: 10:30-18:00

wednesday

Yesterday, Satoshi had the day off and we had an errand at our ward office.

Afterwards, I went to see if Torikyu had the bento I have been wanting to try.

Luckily, they had it.

Grilled chicken, tempura pumpkin and tempura shishito, a tender seasoned bamboo shoot, tsukudani, picked ginger, nori and shibazuke.

So good! The grilled chicken reminded me of the teriyaki chicken my Dad used to grill for dinners.

I'm glad I got to try this and hope to get it again in the future.

On our way home, this tree caught my eye.

It was an early blooming sakura (cherry).

The weather has been so warm that I guess a lot of trees have started to bloom.

Hope there will be some sakura to see in March as well.
 

torikyu

Whenever I walk through a shopping arcade near the JR Kamata station, I've often seen the line to buy bentos from Torikyu.

A shop specializing in everything chicken that has been apparently been in business since 1928!

We looked at their menu beforehand unfortunately I went before 10:00 and found out that our choices were not available...boo!

I chose the soboro bento...minced chicken seasoned with shoyu, sugar, mirin.

Delicious! and filling.

Since Satoshi had the day off, I purchased the salmon bento for him...besides the salmon there were some nimono (simmered veggies), a meatball, a piece of karatatsu (karaage + tatsutaage) chicken as well as pickled ginger and some tsukudani.

Because it is the start of the New Year, they also gave me a furoshiki.

Apparently an artist, Okamoto Kohei created the furoshiki.

"Kansei" is written on the right hand side and roughly means that during the winter, almost all the trees are "white", their leaves have fallen and dried up but only the matsu (pine) stays "green".

This saying was revered by actor Ken Takakura who tried to live by this phrase.

I know that there will be a lot lost in translation, but I believe this means that no matter how hard things are in life, we should be kind to others, believe in the good and continue to emit positive energy. 

We'll be back.

Torikyu

5-16-1 Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3738.5736

Open daily 7:30-17:00

p.s. Since we have had 1200 and 1500 cases over the past two days...eep!

Tokyo and some of the surrounding prefectures are FINALLY headed for a shutdown. 

I think they will declare it tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted as to what will happen.

Take care everyone.