freecia

I do have a soft spot for St Marc Choco Cro. Something about choco cro being warm and small-ish makes it a nice treat.

evergrn

I can't make the frozen Ajinomoto comparison since I don't eat it.
But Hidakaya and Oushou are way better than most cooked gyozas you buy at supermarkets and depachikas.
The skin texture is perfect at Hidakaya and Oushou. The filling is very tasty and soft with more veggies than meat which is how I personally like. There're too many gyozas with fillings that are dry or bland. You also can't beat their prices.
I do think Gyoza no Oushou is a little better, but that might just be in my head.

LapLap

Thanks, evergrn. A photo isn’t always worth a thousand words, so thanks for the review. LapGirl is nuts about gyoza so I’ll keep both those options open as a place for a quick snack for her (she has little interest in burgers).

kaka

i agree. not fast food but i would call it a cheap restaurant. they stopped offering unlimited rice topup here in hong kong - i bet some people brought Tupperware for taking rice out.

LapLap

It’s nearly twice the price in Hong Kong, isn’t it? The mackerel set is 98HKD (currently 1,370yen). In Japan it is 800yen.

Coco Ichibanya has just opened in London. With basic (non meal set) menu items starting at £10 (1,430yen) and most of the offerings priced at around £13 (1,900yen), that’s going to affect people’s perceptions of Coco’s as belonging in the fast food category.
My daughter is interested in going, but I’ll hold off and let her try Coco’s in Tokyo.

mjm

Today I ordered Chicken three ways (katsu, stewed, and fried) substituted beef sauce for pork as you get good chunks of beef (free choice), added vegetables, added cheese, bumped it up to 400g rice and level 6 spiciness. Ordered a side of rakyo as well. All in 2010 yen or £14. If you only get a basic menu item for £13, it starts to feel like a scam. Would likely skip CoCo in London and head to a pie & mash shop anyway.

LCUF

I have never heard of or saw Hageten while I was in Tokyo, weird! I guess I could give it a try haha.

We have Coco Ichibanya in the US and I went to the Torrance one (near LA) a couple of times. If I remember correctly the prices were higher than Japan for sure, but not quite the twice as expensive (well, until you add the tips and what not?).

There's also Yayoi-ken in the Bay Area that I tend to go whenver I crave Japanese family style food. They opened quite a few branches since the first branch in Palo Alto (at least for the Bay Area). I think the prices are also higher, but hey, they are actually one of the few ones that do Japanese style billing (you pay the price + tax, but no tips!). I never checke out Yayoi-ken in Japan though. There's just too many to choose from LOL.

There are just too many B-class / C-class gourmet restaurants / fast food chains in Japan for everyday dining.

LapLap

I dread to think what that would set you back in London. I guess Coco’s are relying on a central location on the tourist circuit to snare customers. Then again, dining out is expensive here and the price is in line with similar establishments (eg Tombo in South Kensington & Soho). But it is a little hard to justify a visit when a popular and prolific British chain (Wasabi) offers chicken katsu curry and rice for £6.29.
Hard to beat pie and mash for volume and value, I agree. It’s a dwindling tradition though.

Thank goodness for the amazing lunch menu deals, available in Tokyo and other cities in Japan. Thanks to lunch deals, my budget doesn’t limit me to the kind of restaurants showcased in this thread. I’m pleased to see a list of them, and to learn other people’s opinions, but they are solely places to go to when I have to eat at an unconventional time.

kaka

yes. but 800 yen equiv in HK (60HKD) you're looking at half a notch up the basic fastfood places (or 1 dish at a chachanteng style place for dinner), esp rent in HK is quite a bit higher than most parts of Japan.
now for things in london, yes, I've only had japanese food at Misato back in student days (Hare and Tortoise and Wagamama is too fake to call Japanese, obviously). I've had ramen and some bento stuff in the City because of my mates since but that's a totally different price point.

I've just had a look at Tombo - wow, I'm surprised it's at where it is now (it's on the way of my daily commute for 3 years). Not surprised in this time and day but I wouldn't have expected there's a Japanese shop non-Wasabi there 10 years back.

nutwpinut

How about Pepper Lunch? I think it's good for "fast food" but it's not as cheap as normal fast food.

kaka

talking about pepper lunch, ikinari steak! fast food, not CHEAP nominal, but cheap steak if you start ordering japanese beef

LapLap

Isn’t this the chain famous for no seats?

If so, it represents the antithesis of the family restaurant concept. Perhaps that is the appeal.

The real deal breaker for me with Ikinari Steak and Pepper Lunch is the paucity of vegetables. I’m content with a plateful of finely sliced cabbage, but I don’t feel the same way about de-cobbed sweetcorn.

lobsterdog

I think most branches of Ikinari Steak (which is owned by the parent company of Pepper Lunch) have seats nowadays, although a few are still standing only.

kaka

FlitBen

Yoshinoya, Coco Ichibanya, Ippudo, Tenya, Pepper Lunch, etc., they're found in most big (especially Asian) cities in varying quality, and usually up-scaled as well.

I'd check out chains with a more local bent like Matsuya or C&C curry, or even 'chinese' Hidakaya. Anyone tried Katsuya tonkatsu?