A note on the words: Hachijojima is an island south of Tokyo. A noren is the short split curtain hung across a shop’s entrance while it is open, usually carrying the name. Ankake describes a sauce thickened with starch until it turns glossy and clings, and it is what keeps a dish hot; tanmen is a bowl of noodles in a salt-seasoned broth topped with stir-fried vegetables. A teishoku is a set meal built around a main dish with rice, so ordering something a la carte means taking the dish without that rice and its accompaniments.
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Nanaya on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. When I come to Hachijojima there is a Chinese set-meal place I drop into fairly often. Its name: “Nanaya.” It is near the airport, so it is relatively easy to swing by, but the real point is that the food is pretty good. So this time too I paid a visit at lunchtime. You basically cannot get there without a car, and when I pulled up the parking lot was almost full, ha. Talk about popular.
It has been five years (in Japanese), but the noren curtain has not changed a bit. ^^
Ramen — 780 yen
Miso ramen — 850 yen
Tanmen — 850 yen
Ankake fried noodles — 900 yen
Fried rice — 650 yen
The Previous Boss’s Stir-Fried Meat and Vegetables — 950 yen
Every item comes in under 1,000 yen, which is very reasonable.
I was not all that hungry, so I was looking for something good without rice, and then I spotted the words “The Previous Boss’s Stir-Fried Meat and Vegetables”! Ah — perhaps the shop has passed to the next generation. Since I was here, I asked for the stir-fried meat and vegetables a la carte, plus, as it was a bit cold, an egg soup. That choice, however, was going to make me suffer later. ^^
Well then, while I was waiting for it to be made, there came the crisp clang of the wok.
And customers were arriving without a break — the place was thriving. Wonderful!
Egg soup!!!!
Ohhhh, I had let my guard down. At 500 yen I had assumed it would be more of a mini size, and instead here was a full ramen bowl brimming with egg soup. And the ingredients are astonishing! It is packed with the makings of a vegetable stir-fry, as much as they could get in there. Huge in volume and it looks delicious.
One mouthful and it is a fairly strongly seasoned soup that would go with rice. In fact, this plus rice would be a complete set meal on its own.
In terms of quantity, half of it would have done me, but well, since they had piled it up for me, I gratefully ate it.
There are a great many vegetables, and the thickened soup keeps itself piping hot no matter how long you take. And this is 500 yen. Astonishing.
Honestly, I am glad I went with the a la carte version.
This is the stir-fried meat and vegetables, distinguished by a slightly sweet seasoning.
This one too is in a glossy ankake state, and it is loaded with vegetables. The kind of seasoning that would obviously go superbly with rice.
It is delicious eaten on its own as a plate, but it also pairs perfectly with the soup. The ingredients inside are, I think, more or less identical between the soup and this stir-fry. If I had made it a set meal with rice, I might not have been able to finish it at all.
That is the sort of volume we are talking about.
Although — perhaps if I had ordered the set meal and asked them to leave out the rice, the soup would have come in a small bowl and the balance would have been just right.
That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but asking for fussy extras at a busy set-meal place like this is a bit much, is it not!
Well, let us call it fine as it was!
So, having come back to Hachijojima after about five years, it is a real pleasure that a place I visited long ago is still properly there! It has carried on through a change of generations, so next time I come to Hachijojima I think I will stop by again! If you find yourself wanting Chinese food on Hachijojima that is generous, reasonable and good, I recommend it!
Nanaya (Chinese / Hachijojima)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.6
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
