A note on the words: kinmedai (splendid alfonsino) is a deep-sea red fish prized for its tender, fatty meat, here prepared as nitsuke (simmered in a rich, sweet soy broth). Kobachi are small assorted side dishes served with a traditional set meal, including simmered squid, pickled vegetables, and dashimaki tamago, a savory rolled omelet flavored with dashi.
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Hitotsugi Chikurin So on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. In Akasaka-mitsuke, on the 5th floor of a multi-tenant building across from Shirotae, the well-known Akasaka cheesecake shop, sits a Japanese cuisine restaurant: Hitotsugi Chikurin So. I walk down this street quite often, yet I had never noticed its existence at all! Has its score gone up recently, I wonder? It popped up when I searched, so I decided to check it out. Taking the elevator up to the 5th floor at lunchtime, it was popular enough that four or five people were waiting. Can you reserve by phone at lunch, I wonder? I saw a group of five or six local office workers walk in with a reservation, ha.
Grilled fish set meal — 1,600 yen
Simmered fish set meal — 1,700 yen
Sashimi set meal — 1,700 yen
Daily special set meal — 1,700 yen
Kaiseki bento — 3,000 yen
For both the grilled and simmered fish, it seemed you could choose from various kinds of fish.
While every option was tempting, I thought kinmedai simmered in sweet soy (nitsuke) sounded great here, so I chose kinmedai (splendid alfonsino).
After placing my order, looking around the restaurant for a bit, there were two people in the kitchen and one on the floor.
With a crowd of customers, they seemed quite run off their feet. Well, with this many people coming, lunch rush must be hectic. Just watching them serve briskly and efficiently was somewhat entertaining.
First came the tray, and small side dishes (kobachi) arrived one after another. After waiting a little while…
All set!
There are simply so many small side dishes.
Simmered squid, sashimi, and an ohitashi of komatsuna and abura-age (thin deep-fried tofu) (abura-age), maybe?
The simmered squid was fairly large and felt quite substantial. Delicious.
Pickles (tsukemono), dried shredded daikon (kiriboshi daikon), a rolled omelet (dashimaki tamago), and potato salad. A strawberry for dessert came along with them as well.
The dashimaki tamago and kiriboshi daikon were delicious.
And then, the kinmedai nitsuke.
Flaky and tender, yet with firm flesh that holds together nicely, characteristic of a red fish like this.
Juicy and rich with fat, pairing with the sweet simmering broth to taste amazing. Ah, no wonder this place is so popular.
So the simmered fish was absolutely delicious!
By the way, rice refills are free, but since the bowl comes piled high right from the start, you might not be able to eat that much, ha.
Honestly, the volume of this lunch is unbelievable. You could get full on the side dishes alone. Light eaters might want to be careful, and it might even be wise to ask for almost no rice right at the beginning, ha (though since the staff seem so busy, it might be tough to get a word in).
Hitotsugi Chikurin So (Japanese Cuisine / Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Nagatacho Station, Akasaka Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
