A note on the words: oden is a pot of assorted things — egg, radish, tofu, fish cake — simmered slowly in a light broth, and dashi is that broth, usually made from kelp and dried bonito though here it is made from chicken. Dashi-wari means a spirit cut with that broth instead of water or soda. Shochu is Japan’s clear distilled spirit, made from barley, sweet potato or rice. Chikuwabu is a chewy wheat-gluten stick shaped with ridges, mochi-kinchaku is a pouch of fried tofu tied shut around a lump of sticky rice cake, atsuage is thick deep-fried tofu, and daikon is the long white radish. Karaage is boneless chicken marinated, floured and deep-fried; toriten is chicken in a lighter tempura batter. A chicken tulip is a wing drumette with the meat pushed down to one end so the bare bone stands up like a handle. Chazuke is rice with broth or tea poured over it, eaten at the end of a night. Champon is the Nagasaki noodle dish of pork, seafood and vegetables in a milky soup.
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Toribaka on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hey, this is Hangover Meshi. I was drifting around Roppongi looking for somewhere to drink when I spotted a place I didn’t recognize. Hang on — wasn’t this a Nagasaki champon shop before?! But it looks like an izakaya (Japanese pub) has moved in and taken over the fittings as they stood. Oden in chicken dashi. It’s a bit warm out for it, but doesn’t that look good! So I peered inside, and the counter was full but there was a seat free at the back! Lucky.
The smell of chicken dashi fills the whole place and it’s wonderful.
The air conditioning is on inside so it isn’t all that hot — you’d be fine here even in summer.
Toriten 650 yen
Seared liver 730 yen
Chicken tulips 600 yen
Toribaka karaage 680 yen
Toribaka salad 550 yen
Toribaka chazuke 570 yen
Toribaka assortment 1,600 yen
Seriously pungent cilantro Toribaka platter 1,840 yen
Quite a range, isn’t there. Every one of them just right as something to pick at over a drink.
The first thing I ordered was the dashi-wari! What on earth is a dashi-wari!? I asked, and it turns out it’s sake or shochu cut with the chicken dashi.
This is what turned up when I ordered it, lol.
It’s been warmed, obviously, but the fact that it arrives in a kettle is just great. And then you pour it into the empty glass some mystery liquor came in and sip away, ha.
Lovely. One mouthful and it’s seriously good. Or rather, the dashi is so good that the sense of it being alcohol fades away, lol. This goes down far too easily, and I could tell it’s the sort of thing you must not gulp. Being able to drink this alone makes the place worth coming to.
Oden, nicely arranged!
It’s hot outside but cool in here, so I can eat this no problem. In the bowl: chikuwabu and mochi-kinchaku, daikon and egg, atsuage and so on. I’d already tasted the chicken dashi in the dashi-wari, and it really is delicious. Gentle, but with something punchy sitting down underneath it. That kind of oden.
Then I ordered the tulips.
And these are good too. The sauce has soaked right into them and yet the surface still has a crunch. I could eat these forever. I somehow held the line at one, but they were seriously delicious.
The last thing I ordered was the Toribaka karaage.
Personally the tulips surprised me more, but this fried chicken is juicy and delicious as well!
So: starting with the dashi-wari, then the oden, then the tulips — everything that came out was delicious! The drinks list is generous too, and you could easily use the place as somewhere to have a quick drink with some oden and fried chicken and then head home. I got the feeling this is a place I could get seriously hooked on. I’m definitely coming back, ha.
Chicken-dashi Oden Toribaka Roppongi (Izakaya / Roppongi Station, Roppongi-itchome Station, Azabu-juban Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
