A note on the words: Nagoya Cochin is a named breed of Japanese chicken, raised slower and firmer than the usual bird, and shops that specialize in it say so on the sign. Oyakodon is chicken and egg simmered together and poured over rice — the name means “parent and child.” Tebasaki are chicken wings; karaage is Japanese fried chicken, marinated and coated lightly rather than breaded. Chicken nanban is karaage doused in a sweet-vinegar sauce and topped with tartar sauce. Yakitori is chicken grilled on skewers. Shichimi is a seven-spice blend, chili-led, that you shake over a rice bowl at the table. And a set, or zen, is a tray meal: the main dish plus rice, soup, pickles and a couple of small side bowls.
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Nagoya Cochin Ichio Akasaka Icchou on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hey, this is Hangover Meshi. There’s a new shop on the ground floor of Akasaka Sacas for the first time in a while, so off I went! “Nagoya Cochin Ichio Akasaka Icchou.” This is where BIKINI used to be. I never once made it to the BIKINI at Sacas before it closed, which is a little sad, but this time the draw is a Nagoya Cochin place — so, oyakodon maybe, or tebasaki, or yakitori? Looking forward to it!
It only just opened, so there are congratulatory flowers out front. Inside it’s packed! It was lunchtime and I only just squeezed in. Lucky.
Premium Nagoya Cochin Oyakodon Set: 2,000 yen
Icchou Classic Set: 2,980 yen
Nagoya Cochin Yakitori Box: 2,500 yen
Icchou Signature Set: 2,800 yen
Miso Hot Pot Set: 3,800 yen
The miso hot pot set! 3,800 yen, lol. Pricey, but it looks good…
I’m probably not going to be back here all that often, so I went with the Icchou Signature Set to try the house dishes across the board.
There’s a yakitori menu posted up inside the shop too. If you worked in Sacas or nearby, this would be an easy place to stop for a drink on the way home.
After a bit of a wait, the signature set arrives!
Wow, this is quite a lot of food, lol. I expected it, but seeing it in front of you still lands with a thud.
Oyakodon, open!
Oh, that gloriously runny egg looks good!
It’s not as if a deep yellow yolk is proof of a good egg, but that color certainly makes it look delicious. One bite and…!
The fluffy egg wrapped around the silky, barely-set white is so good. And the chicken has real spring to it — properly bouncy. I didn’t know chicken could be that springy. Fluffy, silky and bouncy all in one mouthful is a really interesting bit of texture. The seasoning itself leads with sweetness, which goes perfectly with the rice. A light shake of shichimi, a Japanese seven-spice blend, felt just about right.
And here are the deep-fried Nagoya Cochin wings.
Maybe it’s because the tendons are so firm, but they’re bent stiffly into shape, lol. I got stuck into the meaty part — springy. Yes, the chicken flavor comes through clearly and it’s delicious. There’s salt on the side, but the seasoning in the batter alone is plenty good without it.
This is the chicken nanban set, available on weekdays only. This size of portion is just right.
And weekday-only or not, it comes in under 1,000 yen, so it could work nicely as an everyday lunch.
So, for the people working around here, I’d say a good oasis has just opened up. The lunch menu runs from cheap weekday options up to dishes that would hold their own in the evening, so it’s easy to pick from. The chicken was really good, so I suspect the yakitori at night would be excellent skewer by skewer. If I get a chance to come in the evening, I’ll drop by.
Nagoya Cochin Ichio Akasaka Icchou (Izakaya / Akasaka Station, Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Tameike-sanno Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
