kyo-chabana

i was ready for bed since husband said he was tired and didn't want to go anywhere. i thought i would save some energy since the next we were planning to go to arashiyama. but then as i was ready for bed, husband said he was hungry. so he strolled tripadvisor looking for place that was still open that time. it was around 8 pm so most places were about to close and probably wouldn't take any order soon. and he found one. so we went there. but i was craving for ice cream, so we stopped at baskin robbins near yodobashi and then looking for the shop. there were two branches, and luckily one of them was closer to our hotel. but it was a small shop so we had to rely on google maps to find it.  if you wanted to read it on tripadvisor, you can read it here.

so it was a small shop but it was on the side of the road, so it was not that hard to find. there were only small banner to indicate that we arrived on the right spot. there were 2 floors, but we didn't know how the second floor looked like since we got space in the first floor. but i guessed it was meant for group of people. when we arrived there, we came head to head with a group of japanese, about 6 or 7 of them. since they could speak japanese, they talked to the head chef and he told the waiter about it. then they were allowed to go inside and headed straight to the second floor. the first floor was pretty small. basically it was a big counter with all the seats surrounding it. there was a big cooking space behind the counter and there were only two people did the cooking, the head chef and a female waiter. then there was a long heating plates where the chef would serve our order. the heating plate was long and surrounding the counter as well. and it was hot. the seats were small round seats and quite high as well, so i didn't think it was suitable for children.

the chef and waiter couldn't speak english, but they could understand simple english. there was an english menu as well. basically, their menu was quite simple. there were okonomiyaki and variations of okonomiyaki, yakisoba (fried noodle) and yakimeshi (fried rice). there were some side dishes as well, but i couldn't remember any. the drink however was limited. it only served orange juice, soda and liquor beverage. we didn't try to ask for water, so we're not sure whether or not they would serve water for free. i picked okonomiyaki with squid topping and husband picked yakisoba.

what we didn't prepare for is the waiting time. the cooking time was quite long, and it was hot in there since there were no proper ventilation (there were windows but it remained closed). the door was also closed most of the time. all the cooking added more smoke and heat inside, and the heating plate in front of us was also on most of the time, so you would feel your face got hot due to all that reasons. there were no mini size, so another surprising fact was the portion size. everything came in big size. we were not sure whether or not we could share so both of us ordered one dish each. and we had trouble finishing it.

the okonomiyaki had thick batter and it had lots of veggies in it. compared to the one we had at mizuno later on, this one had lots of cabbage and batter, and the topping was not enough compared to the amount of batter. there were lots of green onions as well. then they would pour the okonomiyaki sauce all over at the top, put the flying bonito and then it was up to us whether or not we want some mayonnaise. they didn't offer mustard unlike mizuno. the taste was okay, but the sauce was quite strong and bit tangy since there was a lot of them. more than the one we had at mizuno, so it was a bit too much sauce for me.

okonomiyaki
(sorry but i forgot to take picture of the yakisoba)

the yakisoba however, was okay. it tasted okay, and it was cooked faster than my okonomiyaki, so i ended up eating some of it first. they also put a lot of veggies in it. the sauce was quite thick and pretty strong but it was the one that make it tasty. i just wish it had less veggie and more topping. but it was delicious though the portion could be eaten by 2 people.

i think their specialty was the white-sauce okonomiyaki. it is said to be a bechamel sauce, but looking at the size of the okonomiyaki, i didn't think i could eat that. it might be too creamy for me, so fortunately we just ordered the ordinary okonomiyaki. it was rude not to finish the meal, so since i couldn't finish mine, husband ended up eating the rest so he was too full by the end we went back to our hotel. i also took a step outside quicker since i couldn't stand the heat. i just hoped it didn't insult the chef since i went outside even before my husband was finish with the meal. i just needed a fresh air. price wise, i think it was very affordable for a fulfilling meal.

overall, if you're looking for a nice and fulfilling meal without breaking the bank, then you should try it. later on, i found out that it had several branches all over japan (i found one in osaka), so made sure you find out if there was one near you. but if you're looking for a family friendly restaurant, i didn't think this one was family friendly. perhaps if your kids were almost teenager (around 10-12 years) might be okay, but little kids were not safe in that environment. it was a nice meal, but i wish for more ventilation so i could stand the heat.