Tokyo - Soba & Sake

Hidden away below Palace Hotel in Tokyo, 蕎麦と酒 稲田屋 パレスビル店 (Soba & Sake Inataya Palace Building) is a great find and offers delicious and simple food that would definitely fill up your stomach. 

Oyakojōdon, or its literal translation meaning parent and child donburi is a rice bowl that is filled with comfort and warmth. The parent represents the chicken and the child represents the egg in the dish. They are cooked together and simmered in a broth and served over rice. Additionally, there would be soy sauce, onions, and other ingredients to make it a perfect combination. Its sweet and savory chicken and eggs served over rice is the perfect combination.

There are various versions of where it originated from, but it is believed that a customer at Tamahide, a restaurant in Tokyo that would serve gamecock dishes, which were roosters that were trained for fighting, used to eat the leftover meat with egg and rice. In 1891, the wife turned this into a one-meal dish, which was believed to be the first original oyakojodon. As it was scrumptious, it changed into something that was loved throughout many places. 

In  蕎麦と酒 稲田屋 パレスビル店, almost every dish is served with soba, which is a dish that originated from China into Japan. Not only would you get the warm meal of oyakojodon, but you would also get a cold plate of soba. There is the option of a hot bowl of soba, but personally I prefer the cold version. The simplicity of a noodle with soy sauce surprises me because it shows that you don’t need fancy materials to have a good meal. 

An Oyakajodon with Soba on the side costed around 3500 yen.

In this restaurant, I have made fond memories with my dad and brother. We ate together and shared the meal with laughter. I will always remember my dad trying to give us the shrimp tempura but we didn’t want it so he tried to eat it. He ended up spitting it out because he is allergic to it. Additionally, that day was the day when I gave my brother the flu and my brother was just sitting up straight on his seat sleeping. 

This restaurant holds the definition of being Japanese. The main ingredients in Oyakojodon, the chicken and the egg, symbolizes the harmony of family ties in Japanese culture. The parent and child coming together in one comfort bowl. The soba’s length represents Japan’s longevity and simplicity. Being made of buckwheat, it is made of natural flavors, reflecting Japan’s appreciation for simplicity and purity in food.

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