A note on the words: karaage is Japanese fried chicken, marinated and coated in starch so the crust stays light. A tachinomi is a standing bar, where there are no seats and you drink at a counter. Otoshi is the small dish put in front of you when you arrive, and the small charge for it works as a cover charge. Shiokara is seafood cured in its own salted innards, a sharp, briny thing to drink with. Beni-shoga is the bright red pickled ginger you see on yakisoba and gyudon, and shio-kombu is kelp simmered in soy and salt and cut into threads. A highball is whisky and soda, the standard Japanese long drink.
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Toritatsu Roppongi on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, Hangover Meshi here. Today, a light drink. Let us go eat karaage for the first time in a while! — so off to “Toritatsu, Roppongi,” right in front of Roppongi Hills. I had not been for some time, but it is still going strong! Wonderful. It is a tachinomi, and there are not many standing bars in the dead center of Roppongi where you can drink reasonably with karaage as the main event. It gets fairly crowded, so this time we met up at the shop a little early.
I have the feeling it has been here at least ten years. Staying the same, forever, matters!
Thigh, soy sauce, 2 pieces: 150 yen
Thigh, salt, 2 pieces: 150 yen
Thigh, garlic, 2 pieces: 150 yen
Herb salt, 2 pieces: 150 yen
Chicken wings: 150 yen
Fried chicken cartilage: 400 yen
It is not on the menu, but there is a beni-shoga one as well!
I decided to drink a beer and just order as the mood took me.
First, a beer.
The otoshi was shiokara with a crunch to it! Maybe because I came right after opening, it was still half frozen.
Cabbage has been expensive lately, after all. Even hearing 350 yen, I just think, well, fair enough.
Under the thick coating is juicy chicken — a fairly simple karaage.
The moment it goes in your mouth, the fragrance of toasted soy sauce spreads along with the full savor of the chicken. Tender but with a springiness to it — the mark of a practiced hand, perhaps. Simple yet deep, it is, I would say, a perfect hundred-point karaage to drink alongside.
What a bold combination!
Karaage wearing the vivid flavor of beni-shoga is a genuine adventure for the palate. The ginger is not as strong as I imagined, but the way its little sting and clean sourness fall into step with the juicy thigh meat is impressive! This is the one to order if you come here!
Personally, the garlic might be my favorite. Outstandingly good!
That punchy garlic aroma is irresistible! Which is why I ordered a highball to go with it.
We drank for a while and made our exit around the time the place started filling up!
Karaage really is good. They do takeout here, too. Maybe next time I will buy some to take home. It had been a long while since my last visit, but the reassurance of a place that is always there, and a taste that does not change, is what keeps hold of the people who come.
I will drop by again the next time I have a moment.
Toritatsu Roppongi (Bento / Roppongi Station, Nogizaka Station, Azabu-juban Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
