Kobe Beef in Tokyo

I have always heard about the magical beef in Japan, and how the farmers play music and feed chocolate to them and how tender their meat is, and the one always (mostly) talked about was Kobe beef.  Hence, when I visited Kansai region for the first time in 2014, I made it a point to travel out to Kobe to try their famed Kobe beef & boy, was it good. More about that here. Then I blogged about the cheap kobe beef in Osaka (which was good too!) here. Then this year I went to Kobe again and tried another restaurant. More about that here.

The thing is, I have tried Kobe beef in Tokyo last year as well (seems like Japan is the only place I ever travel to now, since I only travel overseas once a year anyway :x) and it certainly tastes as good as the ones they have in Kobe, the restaurant I visited in Tokyo served it steak style though while the ones in Kobe & Osaka that i visited were served teppenyaki style.   So, when I went to Tokyo with my friends last year, we went to eat Kobe beef in Tokyo as one of my friends wanted to try it. 

We went to Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511 located at Akasaka.
More info here.
They serve cheap Kobe beef hamburger - 1,500 yen. People who are familiar with Japan hamburger will know that it is thick beef hamburger patty served with rice and sauce etc (not actually served with buns and all).



We ordered the 12,000 yen 150g lunch set instead of the lunch set which start at 3,800 yen as the staff told us that it was rump meat (less oil) which means it might not be as tender. The set came with tea (not pictured), rice, pickles, side dishes, soup etc.



See that thing on top of the beef? That is solidified shouyu, which will melt when it comes in contact with the beef. It COMPLEMENTS the beef so damn well. This is obviously very different from teppenyaki style Kobe beef, I must say I love this a lot because you get to eat, like a whole big piece of beef and it is just so satisfying.

This is a definite must-try if you are in Tokyo and love beef. You can try the hamburger set or the lunch special Kobe beef, but whatever it is, just go try Kobe beef or Japan beef in general. Totally life changing beef for us. My mum who does not like to eat beef loves Kobe beef, so you can imagine how good it is.

Anyway, when dining in Japan, it is a point to note that while restaurants may serve the same food for lunch and dinner, it is usually more expensive during dinner. For example, a 150g kobe beef steak might set you back at 7,000 yen during lunch, but it will be 15,000 yen or more during dinner. Hence, it is best to eat expensive food (eg sushi, Kobe beef etc) during lunch and food with fixed prices all day  (eg. ramen/ udon/ soba/ gyudon) for dinner instead.

As usual, reservation is recommended.

Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511
Website: here
Address:  B1, Dear Plaza Akasaka, Akasaka 4-3-28,
Minato Ward, Tokyo 107-0052
Tel: 03-6685-0511 Fax: 03-6893-0511
Opening hours: Lunch 11:30～14:30 (L.O. 14:00)
Dinner: 18:00～23:00 (L.O. 22:00)
Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays

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Delicious ramen in Tokyo

I guess most of us love ramen. While there are many choices - ichiran, ippudo, rokurinsha etc...

The one in Ikebukuro - Mutekiya is absolutely delicious, if you love thick chashu and tonkotsu soup base, this is the place to go. Plus the fact that it is affordable - 1,050 yen?

More info here.

Coupon here (free 1/2 ajitama - ramen egg). 

The good thing about mutekiya is that it opens till like 4am, so you can always go for late dinner after all your shopping since shops close so early (imo). The downside will be that there is always a long queue cos everyone thinks the same T^T. We visited close to 10pm and there was a long queue omg. 

No regrets queuing tho. The chashu was so thick with the right amount of fats. The noodles are thick and springy, just the way I like it. Fans of thin noodles will probably prefer Ichiran noodles but I think the soup base here is way thicker and more delicious than ichiran (my opinion), but ichiran is delicious in its own way too. If you prefer thin noodles and lighter soup base, I doubt you will like this. However, if you are a fan of tonkotsu, then you have to try this. 

We ordered the gyoza to share as well and it was pretty good as well. 

Shop name: Mutekiya

Address: Japan, 〒171-0022 Tokyo, Toshima, 南池袋1丁目17-1

Operating hours: 10am - 4am

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