Louise R.
Yelp
Fucha Bon is a wonderful example of Japanese vegetarian cuisine - known as shojin ryori. There is just nothing like it I've tried anywhere in Australia.
Serving a subset of shojin ryori known as fucha ryori, Fucha Bon specialises in the cuisine of Zen Buddhist monks originally from China, brought to Japan about 300 years ago. Fucha means "drinking tea together", and also is used to mean a meal eaten in Chinese style, where each dish is served from it's own bowl, and which begins and ends with tea.
Ask your hotel to ring Fucha bon and book your meal. When you book, you will need to give them your advance order from their menu available on their website. We opted for the Fucha Lunch Box (3,450 yen tax not included), and opted to dine at lunch time in order to make finding the restaurant easier - following directions to a new restaurant in Tokyo is challenging enough without the cover of darkness!
At Fucha Bon, you are greeted at the door with by one of the traditionally robed waitresses, in kimono, 2-toed-socks and wooden geta sandals. With much bowing you are led to your private tatami mat dining room. Shoes off of course. Luckily the tables here have sunken floors beneath them, making siting on the floor a breeze.
We ordered beer and a "sakura" dry sake, served cold.
At the same time we were presented with their take on "tea ceremony" with a tiny chestnut flour cookie and a small cup of tea, with puffed roasted rice and a small preserved plum.
Soon after, out came our truly exquisite lunch box. Really an edible work of art, any concern that it looked better than the taste was soon forgotten as we explored each item.
The bottom left compartment contained perfectly cooked Japanese rice with a topping of chewy mock-meat granules with the taste of soy. This felt like a humourous nod to having soy dipping sauce as an accompaniment to rice, and was indeed delicious. Small pieces of delicious pickled vegetable added a bite, also with the taste of soy.
In the top right, the waitress explained that it was soy-meat eel. With nori at the back, it did indeed have an ocean briney flavour as well as sweet miso and a nice grilled texture outside, with soft shredded texture inside.
In the bottom right compartment, there was a variety of cooked & fried dishes.
The top left compartment had no less than seven perfectly prepared, unique and delicious components.
A small savoury & mild soup was served with the lunch box. Mild herbaceous green leaves, a light & fluffy tofu ball, a piece of shitake and sliver of yuzu skin added to the subtle base.
The next course was presented in a beautiful individual terracotta pots. Inside was a gel textured soup with a mild savoury flavour. Suspended in the soup were potatoes, grated daikon, black fungus, leek, a big piece of chewy mochi in the bottom. Mochi is rice that is pounded into a smooth, stretchy, sticky dough. Hiding under the mochi was a herby meatball, a big black bean (sweet inside!), and a ginkgo nut. This dish was subtle and all about the discovery of flavour & texture.
Chilled house-made fettuccine style rice noodles followed, served chilled on ice, with a soy based dipping sauce, grated ginger and spring onion. Clean, clear and pure flavours combined with the cool temperature and slippery texture of the noodles.
Then perfectly salted crisp tempura, including an intruiging edible fan - made possibly from rice or enoki mushrooms. Sweet carrot tied together with nori, broccoli, and a white sweet potato cube, rounded out the tempura.
The last course was a simple and fresh dessert. A soy milk jelly cube was served with fresh mint and seasonal fruits, including the beloved winter strawberry.
Dessert was served with a pot of hojicha tea, the perfect after meal soothing beverage.
Fucha Bon's lunch box was far more than a lunch box, actually it was more like an exquisite six course gastronomic delight. It is unbelievable value at only 3,450 yen. Not to mention polite & friendly service, historic surroundings, and a relaxing atmosphere. Highly recommended.
Access: 10mins walk from exit No.3 of Iriya Station on the Hibiya subway line. When you take exit 3, continue straight up the large street. At the first traffic light, turn right. Follow the directions to Fucha Bon on the street lamp posts along this street, about 1km up this street then a short left hand turn and Fucha Bon is on the left about 75m along.