The happiest thing about my so "new" passed me down i-Phone was that Mr. Yim installed this application called "30 Mins" for me.
The first "app" that I spotted on my new i-Phone was "30 Mins" because its icon is a burger cartoon which alarmed my "food" antenna.
A click of that i-con determined my future destiny!!!!! Kind of exaggerated here a bit.....
It is an app where "foodies" or "eaters" comment on the local restaurants that they recently visited. The beauty of this site is that you can search by stations which made my life a lot easier in finding a "good" place to eat.
Thanks to C's recent kindergarten hunting activities, I got to visit Kyoudou (経堂) a lot lately. Naturally, I searched in "30 Mins" for restaurants near Kyoudou area and I found "Macina Mecina" マッシーナ・メッシーナ.
2 things attracted my immediate attention. 1. The price (of course of course! $$$ talks!). 2. Comments by eaters. Both passed my initial screening test so I gave it a try and persuaded Mr. Yim to come with me.
On the way there, Mr. Yim kept complaining about, "Why did you choose such a place? Do they have the proper food license to run the business??? etc...". His concerns stemmed from the following, Macina Mecina, isn't really a proper restaurant. It is a "home" restaurant more like a private kitchen in Hong Kong. A couple run their "canteen" at home.
Ok Ok Ok... I am so very used to his cynical comments and complains and kept my mouth shut all the way. I kept my fingers crossed and wished sensational food will come out to "shut" him up!
However, when we arrived, I almost wanted to turn back! It was a normal residential house, on top of it, a foreigner (I didn't realize the owner is a Guinean!!!) greeted us at the door.
I am definitely not RACIST!!! Not even a bit, but my sixth sense is telling me Mr. Yim will blame me for the rest of my life! Gosh, there's no way of return! The owner came out, he said, "Irasshaimase いらっしゃいませ" (meaning welcome)..... got to go in.
Yup, it is a residential house! It is..... As soon as you walk into the house, you feel like going into your friend's house than a restaurant. The owners transformed their living room into a "canteen" where there is a long table in the middle, a side table near the window and a "Hori Kotatsu ほりこたつ" (the dug down tatami table) at the other side of the living room.
The menu is simple. There are only 5 items and I ordered Masala Kheema Curry (キーマカレー) for Mr. Yim and the daily Japanese lunch set (和定食) myself.
I asked the owner, "Is the curry spicy?", he said, "No!" A simple and straight forward answer! It was kind of fun to see him work. Very lay back, no excessive greetings, not very Japanese style of hospitality. Honestly, I quite like it! You can relax and be "yourself" in such atmosphere.
The curry was not spicy as he confirmed, the portion was HUGE! It was indeed a very nice curry. Noted the facial expression on Mr. Yim's face, a slight surprise came out. Perhaps it way passed his expectation.
Mine Japanese lunch set was huge, too! Multigrain rice (雑穀米）, Miso soup （味噌汁）, Taro cooked in sweet soya sauce（里芋煮） , egg plants cooked in miso and vinegar （なすの酢味噌）, curry burdock （カレーきんぴら）, Edamame Tofu （枝豆豆腐）, Japanese mustard spinach with soya and bonito dressing (小松菜と鰹節醤油合え）, potato salad (ポテトサラダ）, Japanese sweet thick omelet (厚焼き玉子）, firefly squid (蛍烏賊）, Mackerel cooked in Miso sauce (さばの味噌煮）, Corn beef hamburger (コーンビーフバーガー)・・・・・・・・
I worked very hard to finish off everything! Not to mention rice and miso soup are free refill!!! For the price of 1000 yen, this IS really something of very good value.
I couldn't finish it all and asked Mr. Yim for help. He said, "I wanted to eat the Japanese set more than this curry because I can never eat Japanese at home....", that's true.... so I offered, "Let's swap, I will eat your curry." He said, "No need, NEXT TIME I will order the Japanese set..."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NEXT TIME???????
SO, who was the one complained about this "canteen" at the first place????? Trust me! Trust me in FOOD..... My food antenna rarely malfunctions! Wah Ka Ka......
Even the tea came in a pot......... Nice!
They were even nominated the Best Recommended 2010 restaurant by a famous food blog!!!
Who said Japanese isn't used to foreigners!!! At the other table where two ladies set by the window, the owner simply gave his pointer a few flicks at her coffee cup and she immediately said, "Onegaishimasu お願いします" (Please). Put it in words, he meant, "Would you like more coffee?" . The lady answered, "Yes, please."
So, minimal verbal messages were exchanged but both understood their meaning.
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