Successor to Akihabara eatery serves up a great chashu teishoku.
To most foodies in Japan, as soon as they hear “chashu” they immediately think of ramen. That’s because the most common way, by far, for chashu roast pork to be served in Japan is as a ramen topping.
Chashumen (ramen with chashu) is undeniably delicious. If you’ve got chashu cravings yet aren’t in the mood for noodles, though, you’ll want to get yourself toa branch of Tokyo restaurant chain Nikumeshi Okamoto, which serves an amazing Chashu and Egg Set Meal.
▼ Poster for the Chashu Egg Teishoku, as the set meal is called in Japanese
If the name Nikumeshi Okamoto sounds vaguely familiar to you, you might be thinking of Nikumeshi Okmuraya, a branch of casual restaurants that served up meaty rice bowl dishes in Tokyo, with one of their best-loved branches located near Akihabara Station. Nikumeshi Okamuraya’s last branch closed down in the summer of 2021, but thankfully Nikumeshi Okamoto is carrying on their legacy with a similar menu, while also adding some new dishes of their own, like the Chashu and Egg set.
Priced at 1,089 yen (US$7.40), the set meal gives you two thick cuts of chashu pork, a fried egg, stir-fried bean sprouts, stewed tofu, a bowl of miso soup, and white rice.
The chashu is so beautiful we’re tempted to use a photo of it as our phone or PC wallpaper. It does more than just look pretty, though. The meat is tremendously tender and deliciously flavorful, with a touch of sweetness to the seasoning that was perfect for alternating with mouthfuls of white rice to cleanse the palate and set our taste buds up for another round of meaty goodness.
The stewed tofu and bean sprouts were excellent too, hearty without being overpowering.
The egg is cooked in the style called hanjuku in Japan, meaning the yolk is left soft. We decided to break ours open over the rice, creating a great, gooey mixture that left us feeling full and happy.
The Chashu and Egg Set Meal was just added to Nikumeshi Okamoto’s menu last Wednesday, and it’s unclear whether it’s only going to be available for a limited time or is getting a permanent spot. We’re hoping it’s the latter, since this was everything we wanted/could fit in our stomach, and a meal we’d be happy to repeat. If you’re extra hungry, you can add even more chashu to the set meal for an additional 330 yen, and if you need even more pork, and actually would like some noodles too, don’t forget about Tokyo’s MEGA Roast Pork Ramen either.
Related: Nikumeshi Okamoto location list
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