Teinun - Thai Ramen
Waseda and Akasaka
Addresses -
Waseda : Shinjuku-ku, Nishi-Waseda 2-18-25
Akasaka : Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Akasaka 3-6-6, Akasaka Tarui Bldg
Opening Hours - 11 am to 11 pm
Telephones -
Waseda : 03-3202-1865
Akasaka : 03-3586-3258
Menu - In Japanese and Thai with pictures
Credit Cards - No
If you didn't know it's a Thai Ramen shop, you'd think Teinun was simply one of the countless cheap restaurants in Waseda. In a sense, this already tells you what to expect: simple stuff prepared hurriedly. The authenticity of the food and the simplicity and homeliness of the place are nonetheless attractive, and Teinun is well worth a visit. I cannot recommend it though unless you are specifically interested in Thai Ramen. Other Thai dishes are better eaten at Kao Tai (see review) even though they cost as just as much.
Teinun in Waseda is easy to find. Take Waseda Dori from Takadanobaba station and walk towards Waseda on the right side of the street. After Meiji Dori, keep your eyes open, because you will find our restaurant few meters after the headquarters of Amnesty International. Here is a picture of Teinun. Might come in handy.
The Akasaka branch is, coming from Akasaka station, two blocks after TBS Bldg on the left.
Papyrus - Egyptian
Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Nishiwaseda 2-4-26, Egyputo Koukogaku Bldg. 1F
Telephone - 03-5292-8737
Papyrus is a restaurant opened by Mr. Yoshimura Sakuji, a rotund, mustachioed Waseda University professor you might have seen on TV, where he is a frequent guest.
The man is a famous egyptologist who tries to make as much money as he can from his various ventures so that he can dig more and deeper holes in the Egyptian desert. In this case, therefore, we don't know if this restaurant is Egyptian as Anwar Sadat or rather as King Tut. Note the address of the restaurant: "Egyputo Koukogaku Bldg" means "Egyptian Archeology Building". The folks working at Papyrus are mostly his students: there are no living or dead Egyptians that I know of in the kitchen. Further, the menu includes stuff that has more to do with tastes in Waseda than with Egypt: Japanese style hamburgers, for example.
Sounds attractive? No? I thought so.
Malabar - Indian ****
Takadanobaba and Waseda
Addresses -
Takadanobaba : Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 1-25-29
Waseda : Shinjuku-ku, Waseda 3-15-5 K2 Bldg
Opening hours - 11:30 am to 11:30pm
Telephones -
Takadanobaba : 03-3209-4903
Waseda : 03-3208-4453
Menu - In Japanese and English
Credit Cards - OK
Malabar in Takadanobaba belongs to the same group as the two Kao Tais, but strangely enough it's not nearly as interesting. I don't have the heart to put it in my Shit List, because the guys there really do not deserve it, but their food is singularly undistinguished. Over the years cooks (because I have known Malabar for a very, very long time) have come and gone, but the food is still the same, well prepared, attractive and bland. The sets are convenient, though, and for 500 yen you can have an "Indian burger", that is a shish kebab wrapped in half a naan. That's also bland.
To go there, walk from Takadanobaba station towards Waseda for about 300 meters. Malabar is on the right side of the street right after a school.
Since 1999 there's another branch in Waseda on the right side of Waseda Dori. Smaller and cheap-looking, but inviting and friendly, it "feels" right. I will tell you what it's like after I will have eaten there.
March 20, 2000
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