Samosa: One Kitchen, Two Restaurants

Late one night last a couple weeks ago, we stopped in a tiny little Indian restaurant called Samosa in the shadow of the JR train tracks by Kanda Station. I’m not sure you could even call it a restaurant — it consisted of a kitchen, a counter, and about six stools. We made our picks from the menu on the wall, told the cooks, and took a seat. Pretty good curry (I went with the stand-by yasai karee) and delicious nan. But we had realized as we were waiting for our food that on the other side of the kitchen was a window, and on the other side of the window was a full restaurant. So when we decided to go back for dinner last night, we circled around the block and found the other entrance.

It was much nicer than the other side — but unfortunately, as we learned upon opening our menu, it had prices to match. While we had paid around ¥700 or ¥800 for a curry-and-nan set at the counter, the curries alone cost over ¥1,000 here and the nan was extra. And the food was coming out of the same kitchen. I was further disappointed when I ordered the aloo baigan and ended up not liking it much at all; it just had an overpowering taste of coconut and something else that overshadowed the actual ingredients. Mitch said his chicken butter vindaloo was fine, though we both agreed that our dishes were a bit heavy on the oil. As I said, though, the food was coming from the same kitchen as the previous time we ate there, so it was either because of the particular things we ordered or maybe the cook who was working. Either way, I wasn’t happy that we ended up paying nearly ¥4,000 for virtually the same dinner we’d eaten for about a third of that. It all depends on whether your priority is price or atmosphere and service. For us, the next time we decide to eat at Samosa, it will definitely be on the budget side.

The locations we visited were Samosa Kanda Station and Quick Kitchen Kanda Station — which, as I’ve said, were two spaces on either side of the same kitchen (click here for my map). The “Quick Kitchen” space is literally under the train bridge, while the door to the full restaurant is on one of the streets that run along the train line. Other locations are listed on their website: http://www.samosa.co.jp

Ramen (Hold the Meat)

(Another update: ramen may — in fact, generally does — contain more than just dashi. Unless you don’t care what’s in your broth, you’ll want to read this post.)

A couple of nights ago, my boyfriend ate dinner at the ramen-ya across the street from our apartment and reported back that the curry ramen he ordered could easily be made vegetarian. The meat was the last thing added, he said, and it was just a few pieces set on top rather than being mixed in. The broth almost certainly had dashi in it, but I’ve decided that’s a compromise I both can and rather need to make. So tonight, having eaten an early and light dinner around 6:30 and finding ourselves hungry again around 11:00, we went back there together.

We sat around the counter that wraps around the kitchen area, and the cook looked happy that Mitch had come back (and brought another customer, no less). The server gestured to the menu, which was posted on the wall, and after a quick scan didn’t show any more promising options than the curry, I asked if I could have it without the meat.* The cook whipped up our orders as we watched. First the curry base was thrown into the bowl, then the noodles fresh out of the giant cast iron pot, then the broth, and finally the steaming vegetables. It was an interesting little dance to watch, actually, because the guy had obviously done this so many times that he could put a dish together with his eyes closed. Getting the food for both of us ready took a total of maybe two minutes.

It was a pretty big bowl of food (and only ¥600), though since it was designed to have meat in it, none of the ingredients were all that substantial: bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, cabbage, onions, seaweed, and a few carrot shavings. It was pretty good though, and the sheer quantity meant that it still pretty much filled me up. I’m not sure if the way they did the dish here, with the meat thrown on top, is standard — but if it is, that opens up a whole type of restaurant where I can actually eat. While I was eating I also noticed that they had vegetable ramen on the menu, though I have no idea if that’s just vegetables or if there’s meat or fish in it too.

Either way … a much more successful outing than last night, when we did find a Japanese restaurant where I could eat, but it ended up being rather expensive and very light fare. Cheap + filling = happy people! The ramen-ya, 鶴の恩がえしTsuru no On-gaeshi), is a red-and-yellow-fronted place across from the New Central Hotel in Kanda-Tachō (not to be confused with the nearby Central and Grand Central Hotels), next to the post office and just a few doors away from Sunkus. You can see a view of that part of the street here.

(UPDATE: We went back and I checked out the vegetable ramen. I asked if it had meat and the waitress said “Just a little,” but once again I asked for the dish without and it wasn’t a problem. It was kind of bland — if we go back I’ll order the curry again — but not bad, and even though it was a plain broth, I couldn’t really taste the dashi.)

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* I keep meaning to look into how to say “without” or “hold the such-and-such,” but since I wasn’t sure, I said “Niku ga taberarenai kara, niku o irenaide-moraemasen ka?” (basically “I can’t eat meat, so could you please not put the meat in?”). I’m not sure how correct that was language-wise, but the server understood just fine and didn’t even seem all that taken aback to be placing a hold-the-meat order. Success!

Eating Indian in Tokyo

TheLadyAmalthea

As is the case all over, Indian restaurants are one of the best bets for vegetarians in Tokyo. They’re at least as plentiful as in the U.S., if not more, and the places I’ve been to so far have all been good. Most of the staff have seemed to speak more English than Japanese, and many have bilingual or semi-bilingual menus. If it’s Japanese-only and you don’t read the language, looking for “vegetable curry” is always an easy bet: bejitaburu karee (ベジタブルカレー) or yasai karee (野菜カレー in kanji and やさいカレー in hiragana). Curries are served with either rice or nan, the delicious Indian flatbread that in the States is only a side dish, but here — and in India I would guess — is used to eat your meal. Click here for what a typical meal looks like.

While staying in Azabu-Juuban, south of Roppongi, we ate twice at a little place called Hathi, just steps away from the Azabu-Juuban station. (I’m not sure which exit it is, but it comes out right by a Tully’s coffeeshop and a McDonald’s — Hathi is between the two in a basement-level space.) Pretty good food, including an entire section devoted to vegetarian curries, and dinner set menus starting from ¥1500. The first time we went, I had mango juice to drink, and it was AMAZING; it tasted like they had just squeezed it themselves, which they very well might have. My boyfriend had the iced oolong, which was equally delicious.

We’ve now moved into the apartment in Kanda, Chiyoda-ku (just blocks from Akihabara), and there’s a cramped little place called Ronak just off Sotobori Dori (map) that has great, cheap lunch sets at just ¥750 a person. Only one vegetarian option at lunch, but it’s quite good, and I think they have other vegetarian curries during dinner.

Along the main drag in Akihabara, next to Mos Burger, there is also the two-story Akiba Karee-kan (アキバカレー館) location of a chain called Siddique (シヂーク). We were lured in by the delicious curry smell, and since it turned out to be an Indian rather than Japanese curry joint, I could actually eat there. They’re quite reasonably-priced — dishes starting at ¥550, even during dinner, most being about ¥750 — and their lunch specials go until 5pm. (By total coincidence, I came across a photo of someone’s meal at Akiba Karee at the end of this blog post that was mostly dedicated to Hokkaido cuisine.)

If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments below!