Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Tabehodai-ing in Kyoto
Those of you who have been to Japan will know of the fabled tabehodai. It is a miraculous phenomenon that has somehow only managed to grasp American hearts in the form of cold, rotting Chinese buffets. What is the tabehodai, one may ask? ALL YOU CAN EAT!!! Till you drop. Japan is amazing at making these - and here are some of the best picks I've found so far in Kyoto.
Korean Barbecque
Chifyajya (チフャジャ) - I think that's its name anyways. It is a popular chain that can be found anywhere - two locations include Nijo-eki and Sanjyo-Kiyamachi. You pay about 2200 yen for all you can eat Korean barbecque, and you can pay an added 780 yen for all you can drink. The food part starts out with a set menu of various meats (beef and chicken) and after the set menu, you can freely order (more beef and chicken, scallops, squid, pork, various animal parts, etc). You can also get kimchi, rice, bimambop (or whatever its called - hey I'm studying Japanese, not Korean!) and several other side dishes. After it all, you get to pick an ice cream dessert! The drink selection is not as wide, and is mainly soda-mixed drinks and very little hard alcohol. I find the chu-his very delicious though.
You have 90 minutes until your last order, and 2 hours to eat it all. Great place for a large party - we fit about 30 people at one occasion! Beware: if people come late, their time is not extended, and everyone at the same table has to have the same order setup (if one person drinks alcohol, you all have to do all-you-can-drink!)
Shabu-shabu / Sukiyaki / other meats
Gyuzen (牛禅) - There is one store in Gion, and one at Shijo-Karasuma. It looks a bit fancy and is used often for business parties, but from what I remember it cost about 2500yen. There are many options of all-you-can-eats. We had shabu-shabu : basically Japanese meat hot pot. The selection is not as wide as Chifyajya - you can either order more plates of meat, more plates of veggies, omochi, or noodles. No desserts, no choices of meat (all beef!). A good atmosphere and yumminess. There is an additional nomihodai (all you can drink) option for some more yen, and there is a similar 90 minutes until last order time limit.
Pizza
Shakeys - This is along the tented shopping area at Sanjo-Kawaramachi. Just go straight back from the big Kappazushi （かっぱ寿司）. It costs something around 800yen and is all you can eat pizza. There is also curry rice, salad, and sometimes a dessert pizza (like pudding and chocolate on pizza). You can pay a little extra for all-you-can-drink soda. Honestly I felt it was just like a dining hall, and the pizzas were rather cold, unflavored, and not Western at all (too much corn and mayo!). The highlight was only the dessert pizza for me. If this had a time limit, I sure didn't need to find out.
Dessert
Sweets Paradise - This is on one of the upper floors in a tall building (the hankyu was it?) at Shijo-Kawaramachi. This place is amazing! There are about 20 different types of cakes - all cut very small so you can sample many. It includes short cake, green tea cake, chocolate cake, cream puffs, tiramisu, pudding, jello, fruits, a chocolate fountain, and ice cream. For those of you who want some nutrition, there's also a salad, curry rice, and about 2-3 choices of pasta. All of this for only about 1400yen. However, this place is so popular that, as a rule, you have to put in your name at least 2 hours ahead of time, and there's a usual 60 min or so last plate time limit.
Random
??? - I haven't checked this place out, but there's a semi-fancy, western looking place between Nijo eki and the Nijo subway. It has different special tabehodais on different days, so pay attention to the signs in front of it to see what's coming up. In recent weeks, it's had a sushi tabehodai for about 1900 yen and a steak tabehodai for about 2700 yen! It may require reservations, however.
Not-quite-tabehodai
Kappa Sushi (かっぱ寿司) - Runner up is Kappa Zushi! Not quite a tabehodai, but an amazing conveyor-belt sushi place that I recommend taking any sushi-loving tourist. Every plate, unless a specially marked side-dish, is 105 yen - which lets you pretty much gorge yourself at the price of a tabehodai anyways. Yes, you'll find rather low-end stuff here, but the place is amazingly fresh and has a pretty impressive selection for $1 plates. You will even find uni, some fish caviars, and scallop - depending on the ingredients at the time. Recommendations for the not as adventurous eater include the shrimp tempura roll (3 pieces!), the yaki-sake (lightly braised salmon), anago (yummier than the unagi here, I think), and the vanilla cake.
I hope this guide was helpful! I will let you know as my culinary adventures continue!
Korean Barbecque
Chifyajya (チフャジャ) - I think that's its name anyways. It is a popular chain that can be found anywhere - two locations include Nijo-eki and Sanjyo-Kiyamachi. You pay about 2200 yen for all you can eat Korean barbecque, and you can pay an added 780 yen for all you can drink. The food part starts out with a set menu of various meats (beef and chicken) and after the set menu, you can freely order (more beef and chicken, scallops, squid, pork, various animal parts, etc). You can also get kimchi, rice, bimambop (or whatever its called - hey I'm studying Japanese, not Korean!) and several other side dishes. After it all, you get to pick an ice cream dessert! The drink selection is not as wide, and is mainly soda-mixed drinks and very little hard alcohol. I find the chu-his very delicious though.
You have 90 minutes until your last order, and 2 hours to eat it all. Great place for a large party - we fit about 30 people at one occasion! Beware: if people come late, their time is not extended, and everyone at the same table has to have the same order setup (if one person drinks alcohol, you all have to do all-you-can-drink!)
Shabu-shabu / Sukiyaki / other meats
Gyuzen (牛禅) - There is one store in Gion, and one at Shijo-Karasuma. It looks a bit fancy and is used often for business parties, but from what I remember it cost about 2500yen. There are many options of all-you-can-eats. We had shabu-shabu : basically Japanese meat hot pot. The selection is not as wide as Chifyajya - you can either order more plates of meat, more plates of veggies, omochi, or noodles. No desserts, no choices of meat (all beef!). A good atmosphere and yumminess. There is an additional nomihodai (all you can drink) option for some more yen, and there is a similar 90 minutes until last order time limit.
Pizza
Shakeys - This is along the tented shopping area at Sanjo-Kawaramachi. Just go straight back from the big Kappazushi （かっぱ寿司）. It costs something around 800yen and is all you can eat pizza. There is also curry rice, salad, and sometimes a dessert pizza (like pudding and chocolate on pizza). You can pay a little extra for all-you-can-drink soda. Honestly I felt it was just like a dining hall, and the pizzas were rather cold, unflavored, and not Western at all (too much corn and mayo!). The highlight was only the dessert pizza for me. If this had a time limit, I sure didn't need to find out.
Dessert
Sweets Paradise - This is on one of the upper floors in a tall building (the hankyu was it?) at Shijo-Kawaramachi. This place is amazing! There are about 20 different types of cakes - all cut very small so you can sample many. It includes short cake, green tea cake, chocolate cake, cream puffs, tiramisu, pudding, jello, fruits, a chocolate fountain, and ice cream. For those of you who want some nutrition, there's also a salad, curry rice, and about 2-3 choices of pasta. All of this for only about 1400yen. However, this place is so popular that, as a rule, you have to put in your name at least 2 hours ahead of time, and there's a usual 60 min or so last plate time limit.
Random
??? - I haven't checked this place out, but there's a semi-fancy, western looking place between Nijo eki and the Nijo subway. It has different special tabehodais on different days, so pay attention to the signs in front of it to see what's coming up. In recent weeks, it's had a sushi tabehodai for about 1900 yen and a steak tabehodai for about 2700 yen! It may require reservations, however.
Not-quite-tabehodai
Kappa Sushi (かっぱ寿司) - Runner up is Kappa Zushi! Not quite a tabehodai, but an amazing conveyor-belt sushi place that I recommend taking any sushi-loving tourist. Every plate, unless a specially marked side-dish, is 105 yen - which lets you pretty much gorge yourself at the price of a tabehodai anyways. Yes, you'll find rather low-end stuff here, but the place is amazingly fresh and has a pretty impressive selection for $1 plates. You will even find uni, some fish caviars, and scallop - depending on the ingredients at the time. Recommendations for the not as adventurous eater include the shrimp tempura roll (3 pieces!), the yaki-sake (lightly braised salmon), anago (yummier than the unagi here, I think), and the vanilla cake.
I hope this guide was helpful! I will let you know as my culinary adventures continue!
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