三つ子のうりぼう
I really like the special Yaeyama soba and the papaya ilichie & red sweet potato croquettes here, and I have used this restaurant several times. The access is good behind Alta, so it's usually quite crowded on weekends. On this day, after watching a movie at Piccadilly Shinjuku, I made a reservation and visited for the first time in a while. On this day, I ordered the following items. ★ indicates especially recommended items: 1. Somen Champloo: I usually order the special Yaeyama soba, but this time I tried the Somen Champloo, which was recommended as a light option. I was surprised to find that it only had thinly sliced ham and green onions as ingredients. I usually expect Somen Champloo to have some vegetables like bean sprouts or onions, but maybe they intentionally kept it simple. The flavor of the noodles was really delicious, but I was disappointed by the lack of ingredients. It made me realize that I should stick to the special Yaeyama soba when I come here. 2. Crispy Pork Stick: This was fried spam which was decently tasty, but nothing extraordinary. It came with both grain mustard and ketchup, which was nice. 3. Mimiga (Ponzu): A perfect appetizer. It had a mild flavor, making it easy to eat with ponzu sauce. 4. Sea Grapes: Fresh and with a delightful popping texture, this is a great snack to have with drinks. However, I felt like the portion was smaller than before. 5. Fried Pork Cartilage: It was drier than before. I preferred the previous version. ★ 6. Red Sweet Potato Croquette: This was incredibly delicious as always! The crispy coating and the sweet and sticky red sweet potato inside make it a favorite of mine. I would eat about four of these if I could afford to gain weight. It's even more delicious with the accompanying sauce. 7. Soki: The limited tender cartilage (salt) was sold out that day, so I opted for Soki, but it was a bit dry and not very good. I should have chosen Rafute instead. ★ 8. Papaya Ilichie: I love the gentle flavor of the papaya ilichie here. It was consistently delicious this time too! I would eat about two plates of this alone because I love it so much. 9. Pork Tamago: The pork tamago omelette had absolutely no seasoning and was disappointingly plain. In my experience, it's rare to find a pork tamago omelette with no seasoning, so I was a bit let down. Additionally, many places serve pork tamago with both ketchup and mayonnaise, but here it was only ketchup, which was also disappointing. Overall, I used to think that all the dishes at this restaurant were delicious, but on this day, they were a bit underwhelming compared to before. It's a shame that the image of the restaurant has changed. However, the prices are reasonable for a restaurant in the heart of Shinjuku, so that's still a good point. (I also had quite a few drinks this day, which I forgot to take pictures of.) Next time I come, I will definitely stick to the fail-safe special Yaeyama soba, my favorite papaya ilichie, and red sweet potato croquettes.