Tokyo Food Page

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★Waka/
Roppongi 1-chome:
Chanko-nabe
▼3568-4507
▽Data

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The sign that greets
you at the top of
the stairs leading
down into Waka pret-
ty much sums up the
experience that
awaits - Japanese
tradition taken to a
very modern extreme.
What sets Waka apart
from the typical
trendy Roppongi
dining bar is that
it happens to be a
chanko-nabe restau-
rant. Which happens
to be owned by the
famous sumo wrestler
Wakanohana, now
retired and going by
his civilian name,
Masaru Hanada.

Chanko-nabe is fa-
mous as the food
that gives the sumo
wrestlers their
heft, though it is
not particularly
fattening in the
quantities that
normal people would
eat. What isn't well
known about Chanko-
nabe is that it
really isn't a style
of cooking; rather,
it is a style of
eating.

What makes Chanko
different is the
broad variety of
foods thrown into
the nabe hotpot -
mixing various kinds
of meat and seafood
is okay, and while
you're at it, you
can throw in practi-
cally anything else.
Like entire meat-
filled gyoza dump-
lings, followed by
various fish-paste
specialties from the
realm of oden. At
Waka, these extras
are called "top-
pings" and if you
aren't careful when
ordering them, they
can quickly "sumo-
size" both your meal
and your bill.

Servings are 2,400
yen per person, with
a two-person mini-
mum. We recommend
you only order one
optional "topping"
for each person. We
ordered two huge
clams (650 yen) and
tsukune meatballs
made of ground duck
(1,200 yen). At the
end of your chanko-
nabe, you have the
option of ordering
ramen noodles or
porridge rice to
throw in the pot
(680 yen for two
portions), but we
suggest you plan in
advance to skip this
and instead order a
few of the delight-
ful small dish items
on the menu as appe-
tizers to precede
your chanko-nabe.

Naturally, this is
superb food for
sake, and there is a
good selection of
the higher-grade
sake varieties at
prices in keeping
with sake specialty
bars (most are over
1,000 yen per 180
ml). The selection
changes frequently;
I recommend picking
one in the lower
price range because
turnover is greater
and the sake will
more likely come
from a recently
opened bottle. Of
course, beer and
even wine are also
available.

Open not quite a
year, Waka has
created a new stan-
dard for chanko-
nabe, successfully
pulling it into the
21st century while
adding a huge dollop
of style to the
experience. Even if
you pass up the
chanko-nabe in favor
of the many good
izakaya-style
dishes, Waka is a
fine destination
that offers superb
food at fair prices,
even when taking the
10% service charge
into account.

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

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◎Roppongi 4-1-9,
Bellza Roppongi B1F.
◎Open 6pm-4am (LO).
Closed Sundays.

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