Tamaki

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Updated:  1/4/2018

Sadly, Tamaki closed a few months back.  However, a new Vietnamese restaurant called Bamboo Vietnam Kitchen opened up in its spot, so yay!

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Rating: Very good
Meal:  Lunch
Price:  800 yen
Payment:  Cash only
Dish:  Minced Tuna Bowl with cold soba
English Menu: No
Smoking:  Possibly

Izakayas commonly server a small snack

Tamaki is an izakaya (Japanese bar) on the same block as our apartment building.  I've never eaten there before today, but I've been wanting to forever.  I found out recently that they are open for lunch, and since I am home from work today with a sketchy back, I figured I'd check it out.

I picked #1...next time will be #2

First of all, I'm not terribly fond of izakayas, because honestly I'm more interested in the food than the alcohol.  But this place seems to be about the food too, so that's fine with me.  It's very Japanese inside, and I didn't see any sign of an English menu.  The menu I did see was all in Japanese with no pictures...so a bit tricky to navigate.  Thankfully there was a lunch special menu with 3 options, so hard to go too wrong.  I picked the tuna bowl with cold soba (you can have hot or cold soba).  Unfortunately, I didn't recognize the word that followed the kanji for tuna, which is tataki (minced).  I am not fond of minced tuna...the texture isn't my favorite.  But oh well, live and learn.  Next time I'll opt for #2 - mixed tempura.  The 3rd option was ika (squid) which is not my favorite unless cooked adobo style (adobong pusit...how I miss thee).  There were lots of other pages where presumably you could order variations on tempura and soba noodles.

Great ambience

Judging from their flyer, they take their soba very seriously, and it was delicious.  Chewy in texture, round in flavor.  The sauce was good too, with a nice smokey undertone.  One odd thing was they didn't give me the noodles separate from the sauce.  I *think* I was asked if I wanted that, but they probably guessed I'd do better with a simple bowl with sauce and noodles together.  A pity...I do like dipping.  Next time.  The minced tuna wasn't terrible, aside from the texture, but the amount of rice was miniscule, so I got some dessert afterwards (see Tokoroten).  There was a special bottle of soy sauce for the fish and rice, which I dipped into.  It was...soy sauce.  Guess my tastes in that area have yet to be refined.

Minced Tuna Don with cold soba

Overall, I was very pleased with the place, despite my poor choice.  Despite that, I really enjoyed it and am confident it deserves the Very Good rating I'm giving it.  I'm looking forward to returning and trying their various other items.