I had a tempura rice bowl. It had shrimp in it and the flavor was quite strong. The batter was fluffy and didn't hurt my mouth. It was delicious! However, I was a little disappointed that most of the tempura was made of sweet potatoes... About half of it was sweet and tasty, but in the second half, everything tasted like sweet potatoes. Since it was tempura, I wanted to enjoy the taste of the vegetables a bit more.

The lunch menu at Izemasatei in Kyoto's Nishiki Market offers four options: Obanzai set meal for 1500 yen, Ebi (shrimp) Kakiage-don for 950 yen, Yuba (tofu skin) Ankake-don for 1150 yen, and Asagari Tori (morning-pulled chicken) Oyako-don for 1150 yen. The portion of the kakiage was surprisingly large, making me wonder if I could finish it all, but it was crispy and delicious with tasty ingredients, making it easy to eat. The Oyako-don was also quite good, and I look forward to trying the other two options next time!

Today, I stopped by Nishiki Market for a light meal. I went to a vegetable shop called "Ikemasa" located right in the middle of Nishiki Market Street in Kyoto, and had a meal at their dining area called "Ikemasa-tei". The entrance is a bit hard to find, so I often pass by it unintentionally. I recommend the daily obanzai set. You can get a set of three dishes for 500 yen, with each dish priced at 300 yen. I ordered two sets of the obanzai with shochu. The small dishes included green vegetables like Mizuna, celery, and leeks. The menu doesn't have typical Kyoto dishes, so it may not be the best for tourists, but it's a nice place for a casual drink with a small group.

I visited Ikemasatei in Kyoto's Nishiki Market. Originally a vegetable shop in the market selling Kyoto vegetables, it has now become a popular restaurant known for its delicious and high-quality dishes. It supplies Kyoto vegetables to various high-class traditional Japanese restaurants in Kyoto.

The lunch business starts at 11:30, but when I arrived around 11, a friendly guy said, "We're open when we're ready," and let me in. The lunch menu includes set meals for around 1800 yen or rice bowls for 1080 yen (with toppings like tofu skin in sweet and savory sauce, chicken and egg, or tempura). The set meals looked delicious, but seemed a bit pricey for lunch, so I ordered the tofu skin in sweet and savory sauce. It came with grated ginger, miso soup, a side dish, and pickles on the side. I was expecting a light taste with the sauce, but it was quite strong and sweet, a bit too heavy for my liking. Sprinkling the ginger on top helped a bit, but it was a bit monotonous with just the tofu skin. I ended up finishing it by trying some of the sansho pepper that came with my friend's chicken and egg rice bowl. Most people who came later ordered the set meals, so maybe I should have gone for that instead.

"Seared mackerel and blowfish with bird skin in ponzu sauce"

Light flavor!! The chestnut rice was especially delicious.

I added a side of nasu dengaku to my parent-child rice bowl for lunch. Everything was delicious, but the dengaku was exceptionally tasty. The yuzu miso flavor was so good that I wanted to get seconds. There was a sign in the restaurant advertising takeout dengaku miso, so I plan to buy some to take home next time.

We went to IkeMasa-tei in Nishiki Market, Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward for lunch on October 15th. This famous store, originally a vegetable shop, offered a delicious meal experience. The menu changes monthly, and for October, they had a Matsutake mushroom rice set for 1850 yen. The food was fresh and tasty, with the Matsutake rice and tempura being highlights. The cozy atmosphere and friendly service made it a pleasant dining experience. We left satisfied and would definitely return for another meal at IkeMasa-tei.

We were shopping in Shijo, Kyoto and discussing where to have lunch. We had wanted to try "Ikemasa" at Nishiki Market before, but couldn't find it, so we decided to go there this time. When we left Takashimaya, it was 1:30 pm and the lunch was until 2 pm. I called the restaurant and they said it was okay to enter by 2 pm. The place was crowded, but we finally found it. There were many people inside and we were seated at the counter. There were only 3 table seats. There were 3 lunch options and we chose the 1850 yen one. When the rice arrived, it seemed a bit small, but the thick shiitake mushrooms were amazing. It was my first time trying them and I was impressed by how delicious they were. There was also sashimi and simmered dish, full of Japanese taste. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was bustling, but it felt like we were eating in Nishiki Market.

I want to have a delicious vegetable dish, so I went to Ikemasatei in Nishiki Market. It is a dining place located in a vegetable shop called "Ikemasa" in Nishiki Market, where you can enjoy home-cooked dishes made with plenty of seasonal vegetables. The restaurant has table and counter seats, with a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. For lunch, they offer a monthly changing set meal (1,850 yen) and a set with tempura rice bowl (870 yen). The monthly set meal includes minced lotus root tempura, assorted simmered dishes, matcha tofu soup, conger eel rice, and pickles. The flavors are delicate and the vegetables are beautifully cut. The lotus root tempura is crispy and delicious. The tempura rice bowl with plenty of shrimp is a popular menu item. It has a generous portion and is very satisfying. The restaurant is run by a family, and you can feel the warmth and love in their home-cooked dishes. They also serve Kyoto vegetable dishes for dinner. It's a recommended place for a meal in Nishiki Market.

Umekyu Ike Masatei Date: 07-13-2014 Time: 08:30:00 Theme: Kyoto: Japanese Food At Nishiki Market, you can enjoy seasonal dishes from the vegetable store Ike Masatei. It seems like it was also featured in a magical restaurant. They offer only two lunch options, and in the evening, you can enjoy a light meal with sake. Shrimp and vegetable tempura rice bowl set for ¥870. It comes with a side dish of pickles and miso soup. The tempura is thick and delicious, with a sweet potato sweetness and shrimp inside. The sweet and savory sauce blends well with the rice. This month's menu is ¥1850, featuring minced lotus root stuffed and fried, assorted simmered dishes, clear soup, and rice. The stuffed lotus root has a great texture and juicy minced meat. The eel rice is a luxurious touch, and the simmered dishes are refreshing and perfect for the hot summer. This cozy restaurant offers home-cooked dishes with seasonal vegetables. The entrance is small, so make sure not to miss it. Thank you for the feast!

It's been almost a year since I had the tempura rice bowl for lunch on December 2013. Time flies, and it's already the end of the year again. The bustling Nishiki Market has started to show signs of activity. I decided to visit the Masudaya Building in Gojo, which I had wanted to go to for a while, and after exploring the mini shops, I enjoyed dinner in Shijo. My companion expressed a desire for "something with dashi," so I checked my mental list of restaurants and decided to try "Ikemasa," a nearby place. At 6 o'clock in the evening, the lights were on at Nishiki Market. It was still crowded with tourists. As we made our way through the crowd, we finally found the small sign for Ikemasa. The son of the owner greeted us in the small shop. It seemed like they were quite booked up with reservations, but fortunately, they had space for two. We ordered some sashimi and then decided to start with the assorted side dishes x2. To our surprise, we were served six different green vegetables, each prepared in a different way. From sesame dressing to spicy sauce and yuba mixed with them, we enjoyed a variety of flavors. The mashed shrimp and crispy fried sweet potato dish was our favorite of the night. The combination of the chewy texture of the shrimp and the crispy sound when digging in, along with the slightly sweet sauce, was delightful. We switched to hot sake midway through the meal and tried the codfish miso hot pot. The vinegar miso topping on the yellowtail was a unique flavor. And of course, the vegetable tempura was a must. Dip it in the tempura sauce and enjoy the sweetness of sweet potatoes and root vegetables. The tempura at this place is truly the best. We ended the meal with a sake made from blowfish fins. My companion was thoroughly satisfied. After enjoying a colorful pickled dish, we had a night full of vegetables from the greengrocer. As we strolled through the quiet Nishiki Market on our way home, we reflected on how lucky we are to have been born in Japan.

I was originally thinking of going to Pontocho area, so I was walking from Shijo. I like Nishiki Market, so I thought I would pass through there on my way. As I was leisurely walking, I saw a small sign. It seemed like a place where you could get obanzai, so I thought I would make it my first stop and went in. The inside of the restaurant had a few tables, a counter that could seat about 8 people, and seemed to be run by a vegetable shop. There was no fancy decor, and it was a bit messy, but it was still comfortable. The handwritten menu had about 6 types of obanzai listed. Each item was 300 yen, and a set of three was 550 yen. I wanted to try a variety of dishes, so I ordered the set of three. I also ordered a side dish. Since it was just my first stop, I ordered lightly: "Kinpira of Kyoto burdock," "Celery and asari clam dish," and "Simmered fresh yuba and lotus leaf." The kinpira had a strong flavor on the roughly washed burdock. The dishes were light in flavor, so it was a good combination. The side dish had a lot of ingredients like taro, Kyoto carrot, nanjing, mizuna, and fresh fu... It was nice to be able to try a little bit of everything. I prefer warm dishes, but these were served cold. I was having beer while eating, and it was so delicious that I couldn't stop. I wanted to eat a little more, so I added oden and one more obanzai. The oden was served in a pot with a mountain of ingredients. In addition to the typical ingredients like daikon, shirataki, and grilled tofu, it also had burdock, yuba, and fresh fu. It was delicious, with a flavorful broth. I thought it would be light because it cost around 800 yen, but it had more than 10 ingredients and was satisfying. In the end, I was quite full, so I decided to end my meal there without going to a second place. There were also seafood and meat dishes on the menu. The variety of the menu was not as wide as "anything goes," but there were enough options, and the dishes were well-prepared, so I was very satisfied. The head chef, who seemed to be a very well-built man, was the main person. He looked stern at first glance, but he was very polite in serving. I would be happy if this kind of restaurant could continue in this way. As for the overall atmosphere of the restaurant, the only downside might be that it doesn't have a "Kyoto" feel, except for the menu. If you are concerned about the storefront and interior, this place may not be a candidate. I don't mind, so it's totally fine for me. I now have one more thing to look forward to when I go to Kyoto. However, I think I should make a reservation before going next time.

I stopped by for lunch. The entrance is very small, through a narrow alleyway, as the place was renovated a few years ago. A sturdy gentleman outside was trying to attract customers, but without him, it would be easy to miss this hidden gem of a restaurant. Inside, I was seated at the counter and given the choice between an 1800 yen set meal and an 850 yen tempura rice bowl. I chose the tempura rice bowl. Note: there are only two lunch options available. The interior has 7 seats at an L-shaped counter, two tables for four, and one table for two, making it a cozy space. After about 5 minutes, my tempura rice bowl arrived. It was delicious, with plenty of sweet potatoes and shrimp, and the tempura was thick and satisfying. The portion size was generous, and after finishing the meal, I felt very satisfied. The cost-performance ratio of 850 yen was excellent. There is nothing to complain about.

In April 2011, this is my third or fourth visit to this restaurant. The first time I visited, I was lured in by the autumn matsutake mushroom steamed in a pot that was featured on TV (lol). The monthly changing set meal for 1800 yen or the two types of donburi for 850 yen? are available. When I saw this month's menu posted outside the restaurant, I was a little disappointed because I had imagined something like bamboo shoot rice or mountain vegetable tempura for spring (lol). I had never had delicious bean rice before, but for the first time!! I had delicious bean rice here!! The saltiness was just right, and the rice was delicious. The side dishes were elegant too. For the main dish, I chose between Kamo eggplant and Thai fish head stew, and when my companion and I each chose one, the fish head was small, and I thought, "Is this it?" But then, as I was sharing the eggplant, they brought out another piece of fish head for me (lol). I want to visit again in the fall~＾０＾ In October 2012, I visited for the first time at night. The vegetable shop was closed, so it seems to be a place for food and drinks only. I knew that it changed from daytime to nighttime, but with such solid walls, I was sure it must be just for food and drinks... so when I first looked for it, I thought it was a different place (lol). It seems like the son is in charge, maybe. The man who seemed to have been running the vegetable shop also came in. The food was very easy to eat, and at first, I chose three out of the six side dishes (three-item plate for 550 yen), but I also got the other three served. Ah, it goes well with alcohol. By the way, I didn't take a picture of the alcohol, but the restaurant's name was on it. Also, the grilled fish with ginkgo nuts was delicious.