Tokyo Food Page

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Kurofunetei/
Ueno: Yoshoku
▼3837-1617
▽Data

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For the past 10
years the order of
business at Kurofu-
netei has been
yoshoku - elegant
renditions of hearty
Japanese-Western
classics. Yoshoku's
origins lie in the
Meiji era, when
Japanese chefs began
creating their own
versions of Western
cuisine, producing
now-classic dishes
such as omuraisu (a
fried-rice omelet -
nowadays dressed
with a generous
dollop of ketchup,
courtesy of the
post-war inrush of
American products).

At Kurofunetei, the
omuraisu is a plump
and comforting blimp
of just barely set
tender egg encasing
mushroom-studded
fried rice. The kani
kurimu korokke (crab
croquettes) are
crisp and grease-
less, with a creamy,
vermouth-scented
filling laden with
chunks of sweet
crab.

But the major draw
of the place is
hayashi raisu - beef
braised in a dark
demiglace sauce,
ever so lightly
drizzled with cream
and served over rice
with a few bits of
sweet, crisp oshinko
pickles for
contrast. In its
humbler manifesta-
tions hayashi sauce
often gets its
thickness and sweet-
ness from ketchup,
but not here. The
demiglace is sim-
mered for over a
week to achieve its
dark chocolate color
and savory inten-
sity. At any given
time, about half the
diners in the place
are digging into the
stuff with apparent
relish. For an extra
800 yen, you can opt
for the special
hayashi raisu, with
the added indulgence
of tender wagyu.

But that's not all -
Kurofunetei also
does brisk business
in seafood curry,
hamburger steak,
cheesy cabbage
rolls, and an exten-
sive appetizer se-
lection. To make
things easier for
the indecisive, many
dishes can be or-
dered as half por-
tions, or are fea-
tured in sampler
plates that combine
tastes of several
items. The portions
are large - we found
ourselves fading at
the finish line when
we tackled the B-
bento, which in-
cludes a cup of
kabocha potage,
salad, and an ele-
gant version of the
TV-dinner compart-
mented tray contain-
ing crab korokke,
hamburger steak
bathed in mushroom
sauce, a mini omu-
raisu, and red wine-
infused braised beef
tongue.

On weekends the
place is always
crowded with dating
couples and fami-
lies, particularly
at dinnertime. So
reservations are
advised, or be pre-
pared to wait in
their cramped en-
tranceway. If you
get impatient, the
hayashi sauce (with-
out rice) and pork
cutlet sandwiches
are available to go.

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▼Photo (large)
▼Map for AU phones
▼Map for DoCoMo

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◎Ueno 2-13-13,
Kikuya Bldg 4F. [on
the corner of
Shinobazu-dori and
Chuo-dori, upstairs
from McDonalds (en-
trance is on
Shinobazu-dori)]
◎Open 11:30am-10pm
(LO) daily.

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