【Ikebukuro Adventure Chronicles! Part 85】(Today, let's try attacking the South Exit! 1/3) Today, as usual, I went on an adventure in Ikebukuro with my acquaintance senpai. The first place we aimed for today was the restaurant "Delicious Fish", but when we arrived at 5:00, we were surprised to see a sign saying, "We are currently fully booked due to reservations. We look forward to your next visit!" We decided to look for another place. After exploring the nearby area for a while, we came across "Yakiton Tsukubaenya"! A sudden change from fish to meat? My acquaintance senpai is amazing at making quick decisions! We visited the restaurant at 5:20. The restaurant was about 70% full, with some reserved seats available. Surprisingly, it seemed to be a thriving establishment! We looked at the menu and ordered the following: [Menu for Today] - Draft Beer (medium) 199 yen - Highball 199 yen - Hoppy Set 490 yen - Hoppy (medium) 200 yen x2 - Teppo (intestines) 180 yen - Abura (fatty meat) 180 yen - Shirokoro Horumon (intestines) 180 yen - Homemade Thick Fried Tofu 430 yen We toasted with happy hour draft beer and highball! Cheers to another day of hard work! Oh, the highball was surprisingly clear! We then shared a Hoppy set. [Grilled Skewers] This restaurant also had miso-grilled skewers! Delicious! [Teppo (intestines)] It's not exactly the rectum, but a similar part. Thick and flavorful, it passed the test. [Abura (fatty meat)] This one was mostly lean meat! It didn't have a rough texture. [Shirokoro Horumon (intestines)] I've never seen this style before! The slightly spicy miso paired well with the fatty Shirokoro. Delicious! [Homemade Thick Fried Tofu] The tofu is fried in-store with a crispy and soft texture. Freshly fried tofu is always delicious. [Recommended Dish] - Shirokoro Horumon skewer! The Shirokoro skewer was the most delicious! [Editor's Note] - Visit Time Food Score: 3.07 - The staff at the restaurant are efficient. - There was a group of women having a party in the back! Many families with babies and children were also present, with loud conversations and a strong sense of hierarchy among the women. - Maybe I'll try looking for the next place for fish again! [Rating for Today] Overall: 3.3 Taste: 4 Service: 3.5 Atmosphere: 2.5 Value for Money: 3 Drinks: 3 [Personal Rating Outside of Foodie Standards] Will Visit Again: 3 Accessibility: 3.5 Companion Rating: 2.5 Thank you for the delicious meal. Until next time, when I visit for some meat dishes. I'll be back.

I have used this restaurant several times. The entrance is easy and the staff are friendly. Sometimes the food delivery is delayed (or forgotten) but when we call a staff member to let them know, they apologize. Despite this, I find it easy to enter the restaurant so I will definitely use it again in the future.

Ikebukuro is quite close by. It's a two-story place that always seems to be busy. I usually drink the Mega Jokki for a good deal. When I'm not sure where to go, I often end up at Chikuzenya. I remembered to take a photo this time. It's cheap, good value, and a lively place so you can easily drop by.

Today, I took a bus to get around. It was cold this morning, but during the day it reached 17 degrees Celsius, so it was unexpectedly hot. Gotta be careful not to catch a cold as it gets chilly at night if you let your guard down. It's been a while since I moved around, so my lunch time got a bit off track. I was so hungry! I was drawn in by a delicious smell and ended up at a grilled pork restaurant. It was almost empty at this time (lol). Right now, you can order from the menu using a QR code and even pay at the same time. Now, I want to eat, so I tried something called "adult TKG" (raw egg over rice). And then, some grilled pork! When in doubt, go for the assorted platter. And a ham cutlet too! I love it (lol). First, I dug into the TKG! Bonito flakes and stem wasabi on top of the rice, mix the egg in a separate dish and mix it well with the rice. One bite!! The spicy taste of the wasabi is excellent. The ham cutlet arrived! It's thick, dip it in ketchup... so delicious. Can't resist it! Alternating between TKG and ham cutlet, I enjoyed every bite. And then, the assorted grilled pork platter?! I tried it with the sauce, looks delicious. This is the kind of dish you can't stop eating. I adjusted my rice intake while enjoying it to the last bite. I would have liked to eat more, but I have plans to go out after this, so I saved some room. Thank you for the meal. #Chikuzenya Ikebukuro store #Tokyo lunch #Tokyo gourmet #Tokyo grilled pork

Chikuzen-ya may have the image of being cheap, but the food is delicious no matter what you order. The seasoning is strong, so it's a recommended place when you want to eat heartily! The restaurant was crowded with many women, and the staff were cheerful, making it a fun time.

I felt like having yakitori and motsunabe, so I happened to enter this Chikuzen-ya restaurant. There were only two seats at the counter, with one person, and they were taking good measures against COVID-19. Lately, I've been really enjoying the rare liver steak that they serve. The food was served quickly and was delicious.

I felt like having yakitori and motsunabe, so I happened to enter this Echizen-ya restaurant. The first floor was full, but the second floor had seats available. I ordered octopus Karaage, yakiton with pig's head and cartilage. Motsunabe requires a minimum order for two people. For drinks, I chose the Goro Goro freshly squeezed lemon sour, which came with 3-4 quarter-cut lemons. The motsunabe ingredients included cabbage, burdock, leeks, garlic, tofu, and plenty of motsu. It wasn't spicy at all, so I added my own ichimi spice for some heat, which made it delicious. The restaurant quickly filled up with customers in about an hour since I arrived, around 7 pm. The infection prevention measures were not great, as the seating was not socially distanced, and customers were quite close to each other.

Yakiton Chikuzenya is a chain restaurant known for its grilled pork skewers. The Ikebukuro location is open for lunch on weekends and holidays, so I decided to visit. This time, I was looking forward to trying the Shibuya Khao Man Gai! The pink Khao Man Gai is popular in Shibuya and there is speculation that it is operated by the same company as Chikuzenya. It's great to have Khao Man Gai available at an izakaya. Here are my thoughts on the dishes I tried: - Limited Toro Tan & Teppo: The salt sprinkling wasn't evenly distributed, but it was still delicious. - Low-temperature cooked liver sashimi: The liver sashimi was cold due to the low-temperature cooking method. It would have been better if it was served at room temperature. I noticed that they also offer low-temperature cooked heart and skirt steak sashimi on the menu. - Shibuya Khao Man Gai: Delicious! This pink Khao Man Gai is made with chicken broth and chicken oil, giving the jasmine rice a nice flavor. The special sauce is strong in taste, so it's best to drizzle a small amount and adjust as you eat. I love Khao Man Gai, so I was very satisfied with this dish. It's so exciting to find Khao Man Gai at an izakaya!

After finishing work, the drinking enthusiast headed to Ikebukuro. Today, they went to "Yakiniku Hormone Takeda" with their drinking buddies! With some time to spare, they decided to have a quick drink at "Chikuzenya". They ordered a Mega Hoppy (black) and enjoyed Avocado Sashimi and Meat Sashimi Harami as their snacks. The creamy Avocado Sashimi was delicious.

I visited this restaurant right after the lifting of the state of emergency. The shop allows smoking outside, so smokers may prefer the seats on the first floor. The shop has counter seats and table seats, and the spacious interior is bustling with many energetic staff members. As it is a yakiton (grilled pork) restaurant, the salted yakiton was good, but the special miso sauce was also delicious. The menu includes typical izakaya dishes such as Chorogi salad and potato fries, all of which were tasty. The lemon sour drink was also delicious. The shop closes at 11 pm. It was a long time since I last visited an izakaya, and I was able to leisurely enjoy my time there.

The simmered motsu (offal) was delicious. I used to think motsu was tough and not tasty, but the motsu simmered here was tender and very delicious. The yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) was a bit pricey, but had a good amount of saltiness, making it a good appetizer. Despite the state of emergency, this is a recommended restaurant that is one of the few open for business.

I visited Chikuzen-ya for the first time and found it to be a clean establishment that had closed all its stores for a long period during the state of emergency. It is a chain izakaya with a wide variety of drinks and dishes on the menu, and offers counter and table seating suitable for all ages. I mostly just drank alcohol, but the food was also delicious. I ordered the following: Low-temperature cooked liver sashimi for 350 yen, a plate of cabbage for 280 yen, and grilled pork with miso sauce. This time, I only ordered a little because it was for tea time (snack) after lunch. Thank you for the meal!

Today, I had a drinking party with my friends in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. We gathered at a izakaya called Chikuzenya that my friend had made a reservation at. Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, it has been several months since we last met. It feels somewhat nostalgic. We toasted with draft beer and ordered some dishes: - Liver (120 yen) - Pork belly (150 yen) - Head meat (150 yen) - Tongue (120 yen) - Heart (150 yen) - Chicken neck with sansho pepper sauce (180 yen) - Octopus with wasabi (380 yen) - Stir-fried leeks and eggs (380 yen) - Tsubugai (whelk) with wasabi (380 yen) - Deep-fried eggplant with grated daikon and ponzu sauce (380 yen) - Macaroni salad (380 yen) - Corn butter sauté (380 yen) - Grilled ramen (480 yen) All the dishes had a decent quality typical of chain izakayas. Especially, the chicken neck with sansho pepper sauce was delicious. After the draft beer, we enjoyed highballs, shochu, sake, and other drinks while quietly getting excited. We want to adhere to the "Five Small" recommendations by Governor Koike to avoid causing trouble to those around us, but it's difficult to limit it to just one hour. Thank you for the meal.

Used for coordinating time with friends. The staff are all young girls, which is nice. Started with a beer (Super Dry) for 490 yen, a bit pricey for a regular izakaya, could end up with a high bill if you let the staff upsell you (lol). Switched to a Hoppy Big Size Black set (790 yen) to save money. The skewers were: Harami (160 yen) - average, Shishamo (160 yen) - average, Toro Tan (190 yen) - average, Negi Tama (280 yen) - huge, Pork Tongue with Sansho Pickles (280 yen) - no pork tongue taste. Ended up ordering more Negi Tama because they were good, had 4 drinks in total even though it was just a quick stop, ended up being expensive for a first round.

The nearest station is Ikebukuro Station. It is located near the east exit, behind Komeda's Coffee. I was intrigued by the menu item "Hamidebuta" after seeing MyRebi's review, so I decided to try it. I ordered the "Hamidebuta" lunch set (900 yen) from the three available options and chose the large size for free. It came with black oolong tea served in a jug, which was a nice touch. The dish consisted of a bed of tightly packed rice topped with sliced omelette and a large piece of pork overflowing from the container. Despite its appearance, the pork was tender enough to be easily cut with chopsticks. It was seasoned with a sweet and savory sauce. I enjoyed half of it as is and the other half by transferring it to a separate plate, adding condiments, pouring broth over it, and eating it like ochazuke. Lunch options at izakayas often tend to be the usual fried chicken, ginger pork, or curry, so it was refreshing to try something different like this. The portion was generous, and I left feeling satisfied.

I visited the izakaya chain restaurant "Yakiton Chikuzenya". I heard a lot of rumors from young people about their "Baka Mori" (foolishly large portion) and other things. The general opinion is that it is cheap, moderately delicious, and fills you up. This time, I went for lunch. I noticed a menu that seemed to carry on the spirit of "Baka Mori", so I decided to visit. This was my first time at this restaurant, and I only had a vague memory of once lightly interacting with the people in Itabashi before. I ordered the "Hamidebuta" (900 yen) with an additional "Natto" (70 yen) and "TKG Set" (70 yen) as shown in the photo. The rice was free to upsize, of course, upon request. The Hamidebuta indeed overflowed. It was cooked in a slightly sweet sauce, quite delicious. It goes well with sansho pepper and mustard (although I reused the mustard that came with the natto). I started by eating it as a pork bowl, then enjoyed it as a dashi chazuke in the style of hitsumabushi, and also tried the TKG. The "Hitsumabushi Set" that came with the meal was nice, but the additional "TKG Set" for only 70 yen was amazing. It came with a mountain of bonito flakes, nori, and a raw egg. The dashi chazuke was subtly flavorful, but the natto TKG with pork was the best. The black oolong tea that came with the lunch was also a touch of luxury. Yes, I felt like I found a great place for a meat-based izakaya lunch. Thank you for the meal. The staff were cheerful, energetic, and gave off a polite impression. Especially during lunch, it's most uplifting to receive energy from the smiles of such staff members. Thank you very much. (By Kyonatsu Shuusora, 2020.10.17) (14 reviews, 3.04 rating)

This was my first time at Chikuzen-ya. I arrived around 7pm on a Wednesday and the restaurant was about half empty. I ordered the following: - 3 oolong highballs (\1170) - tongue (\160) - beef cheeks (\160) - skirt steak (\160) - white miso (\130) - potato salad (\380) The skewers were a bit on the pricier side for a chain restaurant, but each skewer had a decent amount of meat on it. However, the flavor was lacking that rich, juicy taste that you expect from grilled pork. I always order potato salad with my skewers at any restaurant. I'm tired of fancy potato salads with mashed potatoes or strange vegetables mixed in. The potato salad here was creamy and decent, but I don't think it needed the mayonnaise on the side. The counter seats were spacious and there weren't any loud customers, so I was able to relax and enjoy my meal alone.

There is a chain restaurant near the station with counter seats, so it's okay to drink alone. I started with a draft beer and simmered dish. The simmered dish had plenty of broth and was thick and hearty. It had various types of offal in it. The skewers I chose were pig's head, tongue, and white large intestine. There was also a miso-flavored option, but the sauce was delicious. The pig's head was especially cooked to perfection, with a firm texture and juicy. I also ordered deep-fried small shrimp and Hakkaisan sake, which totaled over 2000 yen. It may be difficult to drink cheaply, but the quality of the food is high, so it is a satisfying restaurant.

Went to Chikuzenya with a group of heavy drinkers!! It was just before 8 pm and the place was starting to get crowded. Be cautious with ordering the large portions of fried chicken and potatoes, they are really big and meant for sharing with a group. Unfortunately, we missed out on trying the boiled sashimi this time. The grilled pork tongue was delicious, with just the right amount of sauce. Be careful, the bill can add up quickly if you drink too much. Thanks for the meal!!

Disney movie "Aladdin" was released! "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" "Arabian Nights" is a story from "One Thousand and One Nights", but actually, it is an "addition" that is not found in the old "original text". Contrary to popular belief, "Aladdin" is not from Arabia, but actually from China! It's like mistaking "The Little Match Girl" for a Christmas Eve story. In simple terms, Disney's "Aladdin" is a result of "misconceptions", "image strategy", and "rebirth". Today, I went on an art museum tour in Roppongi, starting with a lunch at a new restaurant in Ikebukuro. The lunch scene in Ikebukuro has been unreliable lately, with menus changing frequently and prices and portions unpredictable. When I heard about the lunch at "Chikuzen-ya", I couldn't believe it. I grew up in Fukuoka, near Chikuzen, but I didn't know about "yakiton" (grilled pork skewers). "Yakitori restaurants" were not common where I grew up. In Japan, there are many "yakitori restaurant clusters", but even in Fukuoka, there is no "headquarters". Even the legendary shops in Hakata have no secret recipes. "Chikuzen-ya" was offering lunch, which was surprising. When I arrived at 12:30, the place was almost empty. If you're dining alone, they seat you at the counter. The lunch menu was quite large, with options like beef yakiniku set and fried chicken set. The daily special was written in red and white. I chose the pork ginger set for 880 yen, which seemed a bit pricey for an "izakaya lunch". The table had "Tosa soy sauce", which was strange. Why not use "sweet soy sauce from Hakata"? The "soy sauce" is essential for the flavor. The pork ginger set arrived with a thin corn soup. It was not as rich as the corn soup from another place. There was no barley miso, which was disappointing. They had shichimi but no yuzu pepper from Hita. Overall, the experience was underwhelming, and the restaurant lacked authenticity.