Cafeteria Spice Jaya

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price:  2160 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Chicken pho, two curry meal set
English Menu: Yes (digital vending machine)
Smoking: No

After church on Sunday my wife and I walked around the area a bit looking for a bite to eat.  We came across Cafeteria Spice Jaya and were intrigued by the thai green curry and chicken pho on the menu.  The ordering system is a digital vending machine, with the option to switch languages to English, so that was nice and easy.

Green and japanese curries

We got a chicken pho, and a mixed curry set with both green and Japanese chicken curries.  We also added a little empanada like thing that turned out to be stuffed with something like keema.  It was delicious.  The place has serve yourself water, coffee, tea and soup, which was nice.

Chicken pho

The chicken pho was a disappointment, being pretty bland and not very pho like.  The curries however were both very good, with a good bit of spice in there too.  I would definitely not mind coming back and getting a full portion of either.

The place had a nice small shop vibe and we enjoyed eating our meals to Japanese interpretations of Disney classics being sung in the background (there may have been some singing along...).

Katsuan

Rating: OK
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price: 1770 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Rosukatsu and menchi teishoku, Katsudon teishoku
English Menu: Yes (kind of)
Smoking: No

Menu

Instructions for the tablet

Katsuan is a new tonkatsu restaurant that looks like a well established chain.  The key difference here is that it has a parking lot along 16 that is very accessible, making it a much easier drop in affair than, say, a mom and pop shop, or even Wako's (which is usually tied to Aeon malls).  And it's cheap and fast.

Rosukatsu + Menchi

The menu is interesting in that you use an ipad like device to enter in the numbers from the Japanese menu (which is nicely illustrated).  The device then shows you the item in English along with the options.  You add your orders to the shopping cart and then send in your order, which is brought to your table along with the bill.  So even though the menu itself isn't in English, there is a way to find out what it is you are ordering.

Katsudon

My wife had her favorite:  katsudon (egg, onions and katsu on rice), while I went for the rosukatso and menchi special.  We both upgraded to the clam miso soup as well.  Unlike Wako's, you have to order as much up front as you want to eat (size of rice, amount of shredded cabbage, etc...) as there are no free refills.  The tonkatsu itself were tasty enough, if a bit greasy, and the menchi was pretty much what you'd expect.  The clam miso was good, though not as good as Wako's.  Overall it was just a notch down in quality from what you'd expect at Wako's, which I rate as a Very Good, so I'm giving this place a high Ok.  As my wife said, if this is what passes for Japanese fast food, we'll take it!  That, along with the parking lot and very cheap price, make this place a pretty good bet if you are in a car looking for a quick and tasty meal.

Benkei Curry

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner
Price: 600 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Beef curry
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Wall menu

So I've begun taking the train short hops from downtown Yokosuka to nearby stops to start reviewing farther afield for my weekly (usually Wednesday night) review nights.  I'll be focusing on the Kenritsudaigaku station for the near future.  There are a handful of places worth checking out near the station.  I met a friend who lives nearby and we walked a quick circuit to pick an initial place to try out.  We ended up settling on Benkei Curry, a brightly lit yellow sign proclaiming Japanese Kare available on a cold night.

English menu

We went in and it is counter seating only, a pretty small place.  There were English menu options available along with the usual wall mounted Japanese.  It's a simple menu, and we went with the Beef Curry for a mere 600 yen.  It consists of rice with beef curry on top.  There are some curry pickles (a staple) and the chef offered us some extra spice if we wanted to put it on top.

Beef curry on rice

It was warm and filling, perfect on a cold night.  Not fancy, not even the best curry I've had, but the uniqueness of the place, the price and environment raises it up from a Not Bad to an Ok.  The chef is a really nice guy and speaks a little English too.

Koushou

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch
Price:  1460 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Pork dish on rice, cold chicken with sesame sauce, accidental extra rice
English Menu: No
Smoking: No...I don't think...

Heading home from visiting a new Church yesterday, I grabbed lunch at this Chinese restaurant.  It was pretty hopping inside, with all Chinese employees.  The food looked pretty good, and aside from accidentally ordering an extra rice I did not need, I enjoyed the food.

Turns out (after looking it up on Google) that this was a Taiwanese restaurant, which may account for the difference in food and taste.

Sesame cold chicken

Pork rice dish

Kudouya

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner
Price: 1700 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Special Ramen, extra egg, gyoza, pork don (oops)
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Last night I went hunting for a new place to eat in Yokosuka.  I walked far and wide, and other than some uninspiring Izakayas and Italian restaurants, I couldn't find anything.  I knew there were a few restaurants up the road behind Chuo station, so I walked down there, finally stopping at Kudouya, a ramen restaurant.

It is pretty standard for ramen...nothing special to recommend it.  Honestly, the food was pretty disappointing, but perhaps because I am used to ramen now.  I ordered too much, accidentally ordered a rice bowl when I thought it was going to be just extra slices of meat.

Giving it an Ok because my temptation to give it a Not Great is probably just due to being jaded when it comes to ramen these days.

I think its time I stopped actively looking for new spots in Yokosuka.  In the future I plan to hop on the train and make my way up and down the Keikyu line.

La Cuisine de Kazu

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch
Price:  2450 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Lunch course including chicken pate and Japanese beef with red wine sauce
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Last Saturday I found myself near Chiba city way just about directly due north from Yokosuka, but across Tokyo Bay.  I was waiting for a meeting to start and it was lunch time, so I wandered about a strangely western feeling grid of apartment blocks, looking for a spot for lunch.  I saw this French restaurant and decided to give it a shot.

Chicken pate with bread

For lunch there were two courses available, and I chose the cheaper one.  I had to pick an appetizer and an entree, which ended up being chicken pate and Japanese beef cooked in red wine sauce.  I was given a hunk of bread with the pate which came on a bed of lettuce.  It was delicious.  Next came the soup of the day which was onion, also delicious.  Then the main dish, which was also...you guessed it...delicious.  Lastly the dessert, which was a slice of cheese cake with some ice cream, again very good.  It was finished off with a cup of coffee that was...terrible.  Seriously...it was like battery acid.  Not sure how they could get everything else so right, and that so wrong.  Anyway, it was the one fly in the ointment, otherwise I might have been tempted to give them an Excellent.

Onion soup

Anyway, very pleasant place, with really good food.  Due to the distance I may never eat there again, but still nice to know places like this are out there in even the most unexpected locations.

Japanese beef in red wine sauce

Cheesecake with ice cream

The world's worst coffee...

Cafe Terrace

Rating: Not great
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price: 2700 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Shirasu rice, ham and egg sandwich, berry waffles
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

My wife and I returned to Yokosuka just in time for lunch so we stopped in at a cafe located in the middle of the Saikaya department store building.  This was definitely just for the review as I was pretty sure we wouldn't be impressed, but it did have a nice view, kind of.  Like the rest of the building, the place feels like it was nice and sparkly back in the early 80's, but the decades have not been kind.

Ham and egg sandwich

I had the shirasu rice (tiny fish mixed in) and my wife the ham and egg sandwich.  Both were...less then enjoyable.  My wife did like her berry waffle though.

Shirasu rice

Berry waffle

Tandoor

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner for 2
Price: 2646 yen (including drinks)
Payment: Credit cards accepted I believe
Dishes: Mutton curry, naan, rice, samosas
English Menu: No
Smoking: Yes

My wife and I were making our way to our hotel after watching an awesome Rakugo show and it was late and we wanted to eat something.  Unfortunately it's amazing how even in Tokyo everything seems to shutdown pretty early, with most restaurants calling it quits between 10pm and 10:30pm.  We eventually stopped at the Ebisu station and walked around looking for something, and finally came across an Indian place called Tandoor that didn't close til 11pm.  Even so, they tried to warn us off, but we said we'd be quick and they let us sit down and order.

Mutton nut curry

We weren't very hungry so we only got a few things.  I got a nut based mutton curry and some rice, while my wife got a naan and some samosas.  The samosas were pretty good, and the curry sauce was quite tasty, but the mutton was pretty chewy.  It was a bit better flavor all around than the usual Indian spots, but not significantly.

Singapore Seafood Republic

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch
Price:  2220 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes:Coconut shrimp curry, spicy morning glory, rice
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: Probably a smoking section somewhere

Singapore Seafood Republic is a very large restaurant located across the street from the enormous Shingawa train station.  I happened to be in the area last Sunday for lunch and stopped in.

free "salad"

I'm not a huge Singaporean food expert, but I have been there and I mostly recall enjoying all the food that came to Singapore from other countries.  They have all the usual "local" dishes like pepper crab and chicken rice.  Everything seemed pretty spendy to me, but I guess that makes sense as there aren't many Singaporean restaurants in town.

Curry on the left, morning glory on the right

I opted for a shrimp coconut curry and spicy morning glory.  The shrimp curry tasted ok, but the flavor didn't really pop.  The flavor of the morning glory was much better, but the vegetables themselves were very tough and took quite a lot of chewing to get down.  On the whole it averaged out to a pretty low Very Good rating and I did consider dropping it, but given the large menu and the enjoyable atmosphere, I was fine leaving it there.

Diner

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner
Price:  2160 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Pork steak, deep fried pork "mille-feuille" (I have no idea how to pronounce that), Sapporo beer
English Menu: Yes
Smoking:Yes

Wednesday night eating out, I walked down to the street that has the most untried restaurants and found another:  Diner.  Not very descriptive, but this izakaya is quite welcoming, with an English menu, staff that speaks pretty decent English, and very upbeat feeling.   The menu is quite interesting, with lots of different options.

Pork steak with amazing sauces

I went with a pork steak and something that looked like layered thin meat deepfried in a golden crust.  The pork steak came with 3 sauces:  wasabi, ginger and miso.  I was blown away by the flavor in those sauces, and I swear the wasabi was fresh as I haven't tasted that flavor since I visited a wasabi farm near Nagano.  The mille-fuille was as delicious as its picture looked, and with some leftover of the 3 sauces plus a tonkatsu style sauce, they went down real easy.

Pork mille-fuille

I have to say the overall experience and quality of the food was quite a surprise, and it's nice to have a place like this to come back to and try more of their items someday.