22 September 2011

Sayonara & A Quick Visit to Menya Oiden


Street Food is off to Tokyo to fall in lunch and solicit pats at nekobukuro. We warm up our tastebuds with a quick pre-trip feed at Menya Oiden.







What happened to McDonalds? Once upon a time you'd nip in for a quick QP-With and be out in 30 seconds. Now you have to order, go stand in a corner like a naughty child as they microwave it for you, and hope that nobody nicks off with your lunch and you have to start again, as has happened to us before. A busy Maccas is stressful and we have found ourselves waiting 10-15 minutes for crap we really didn't want in the first place. Screw you Ronald.

A bad Maccas experience earlier in the day highlights just how freaking good Menya is. Now this is fast food! It's just such good value - less than $5 gets you a bowl of rice and beef. It's quick and organised. And if you can possibly avoid all the deep fried extras it's kinda healthy.

The new Menya Oiden has opened right next door to the much loved Menya Mappen. We stopped in for a quick blood-sugar top-up before a gig (hail Sebadoh!). Sorry we weren't arsed taking a million pictures of the decor,  for a more comprehensive rundown checkout foodblog queen Grabyourfork's post....



Tuna tataki bowl  $5.90 (medium). A blob of mushy fish putty on rice.



Beef bowl - $4.90 (medium). Slow cooked finely sliced beef with sweet slow cooked onions. Alison reckon's it's the best in town but Shawn much preferred the beef bowl at Kimama Kitchen in Eating World. But for $5 it has to be one of the best value feeds in town.



Deep fried eggplant - $1.50. Alison liked it while Shawn though 'meh' - mabye the old fart was just in a grumpy mood.



Lemon tea - joy!



We'll be away for about 10 days of typhoons, earthquakes and radiation on a  fast dropping Aussie dollar. Wish us luck.

Menya Oiden on Urbanspoon

10 comments:

  1. I wish I worked in the city so I could try places like this for lunch. They don't seem worth a special trip, but would be a nice way to break up the work day.

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  2. McDonalds current system (made for you) is idiotic. I worked at one while they transitioned from the old system to the current. Originally one had to make a minimum number of each burger which were kept on the warmer. As long as the workers/manager followed the correct procedure and timers all burgers were pretty good. In high turnover places it was always really good.

    The made for you changed it so all meat is precooked though burgers are assembled to order. This is awful as the meat is the only ingredient which freshness matters. Thus you have to wait longer for a worse burgers. Also as the burger does not sit in the hot plate the cheese usually does not melt and the crew are usually under a lot of pressure to make it really quickly so are more likely to stuff it up. Also as a customer it gets very confusing as the separation between those waiting to order and those waiting for food is quite confusing and not properly dealt with at most stores.

    The whole set up is just an illusion to make customers feel like they are getting fresher food and a more personalised service.

    If you ever care to have a half decent burger from there ask for fresh meat or order a chicken burger or something which doesn't make a difference.

    Have a great time in Japan a wonderful place to eat.

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  3. Haha. I was just there the day before and last night I went to try Menya Mappen. This is literally at my doorstep! I can slowly eat my way thru the entire menu. Looks like I might have just walked past you guys without knowing! Hahaha.
    Well, have a good trip in Nippon. And eat heaps. Looking forward to your photos.

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  4. Ah Mr Shawn I thought that was you I spotted at Metro food court yesterday with a bag of Maccas - and then I thought "nah, that's not the kinda foodcourt grub Mr Shawn would eat"...but I was wrong. Enjoy Japan...and no Maccas for your for the next week!

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  5. Well we do have to visit Maccas in Tokyo...

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  6. And we expect you to do the same in New York...

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  7. If you stay around Tokyo, you should go to Ramen Museum at Shin-Yokohama.
    http://www.wretch.cc/blog/miya0217/482659
    You can try all of representative ramen of each area in Japan there.
    You had better not eat Tokyo ramen because the further you go from Tokyo, the more delicious ramen becomes as I said before.

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  8. ooooh I've read so many posts on mappen and oiden but I still haven't had the chance to go yet ><

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  9. Lord that sure looks tasty...

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Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).