Monja-yaki in Tsukishima

Tsukishima, an area of reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, is famous for "monja-yaki" (commonly called just 'monja'). There is a whole street in Tsukishima dedicated to this food, and everywhere you look you will see monja restaurants. On our recent visit to the area, we chose a place called 'Shinanoya' due to the good online reviews it had received.

Monja-yaki is similar to okonomiyaki, but the batter is much more runny, so the consistency is less like a pancake and more like melted cheese. I must admit that it doesn't look all that appetizing, but the taste is much, much better than its appearance! Monja is eaten directly from the grill using a small metal spatula to cut and serve it. As you are eating, the portion remaining on the grill continues to cook, and the brown crispy underside is to die for! This is a meal best enjoyed with 3 or 4 people, so that you can try a variety of toppings (see below).

Like okonomiyaki, monja is cooked on a grill in the middle of your table. You can attempt to prepare it yourself, or you can leave it to the experts to whip it up in front of you, which is what my friends and I did.

The menu at Shinanoya consists of many different monja selections, to which you can add various toppings, and there are also a variety of okonomiyaki and teppanyaki options available as well. There were three of us dining, and we chose three different monja: Pork (with cheese topping), Prawn (with soba topping) and Mochi (also with cheese topping—mochi means rice cake). We finished off the evening by sharing an 'anko maki'—anko is the Japanese sweet red bean paste, and this dessert is also prepared on the hotplate. First a thin crepe is made on the hot plate, and then it is spread with anko and rolled up. It is served with kuromitsu (a dark sugar syrup).

Shinanoya also serves a variety of alcohol to accompany your meal, and the staff are very welcoming. If you can get past the look, I promise you will fall in love with the taste!