Lunch Bancho Hitomi - Ch. 4 - A Serious Showdown In Shibuya With A Napolitan That's More Serious Than Serious (Part Two)

[MangaDex]

 

[Magatsu-no-Imouto]

she's married?

 

[soidish]

Thanks for the translation! I hope the real-life reviews keep coming, even though I probably won’t get to visit those restaurants myself.

 

[mFachrizalr]

Hello again! As mentioned on previous chapter's comments, I am considering trying it again. Shibuya is one train away from my place and has been my favorite place, so finding the place was an easy feat.



So Ponten (also written as Pon10) is a cafe-izakaya-restaurant hybrid in Shibuya. I checked and they have lunch time until 5 PM, and after that they have seating charge of 500 JPY per person just like izakaya, which is a bummer.



The interior is exactly as illustrated, and you can see that this has strong cafe and restaurant vibe, but the sake bottles on top shelf indicate the izakaya business. They also have English menu and digital menu so you can order without language problems.

So I ordered the exact order with the manga. Serious Naporitan Pasta, 150 gram, with fried egg on top.



I am surprised by the accuracy of the depiction. Even the plate is exactly the same! They also provide shredded cheese and Tabasco which is rare nowadays.

Regarding the review: Hitomi is, once again, accurate. The pasta is indeed thicker and chewier than usual pasta here in Japan. Not sure if it's durum or wheat, but it DOES taste different than pasta you get anywhere else (I'm not connoisseur enough on pasta, I'm more on Cola). Not sure if the pasta is in-house or they get it from somewhere, but it's definitely impressive. The tomato sauce is insanely good, it's actually taste fresh and doesn't feel artificial or ketchup-y, maybe they actually use fresh tomatoes for this. The onions are also indeed crunchy, which is unusual as usually they are not crunchy in Naporitan.

It's all good taste-wise, but 1200 JPY for a mere 150 gram feels more like a "cafe food" and on the expensive side of price, I personally think it's not pretty much a good deal. But you can justify it by its location, in the very center of Shibuya, literally one of the hotspots.

Overall, the name of "More Serious than Serious Naporitan" really hold its name. Quality and taste wise, very impressive.

EDIT: Holy shit, I actually sat in the exact chair and table as Hitomi, just realized it now. Also did tell the staff about the manga, they are also astonished and happy to hear they gets covered by this series. Oh and the pasta is actually in-house indeed, no wonder it tastes unique and different.

 

[joeykent290025]

Thanks for the translation!

 

[soidish]

Hello again! As mentioned on previous chapter's comments, I am considering trying it again. Shibuya is one train away from my place and has been my favorite place, so finding the place was an easy feat.

View attachment 36603

So Ponten (also written as Pon10) is a cafe-izakaya-restaurant hybrid in Shibuya. I checked and they have lunch time until 5 PM, and after that they have seating charge of 500 JPY per person just like izakaya, which is a bummer.

View attachment 36606

The interior is exactly as illustrated, and you can see that this has strong cafe and restaurant vibe, but the sake bottles on top shelf indicate the izakaya business. They also have English menu and digital menu so you can order without language problems.

So I ordered the exact order with the manga. Serious Naporitan Pasta, 150 gram, with fried egg on top.

View attachment 36609

I am surprised by the accuracy of the depiction. Even the plate is exactly the same! They also provide shredded cheese and Tabasco which is rare nowadays.

Regarding the review: Hitomi is, once again, accurate. The pasta is indeed thicker and chewier than usual pasta here in Japan. Not sure if it's durum or wheat, but it DOES taste different than pasta you get anywhere else (I'm not connoisseur enough on pasta, I'm more on Cola). Not sure if the pasta is in-house or they get it from somewhere, but it's definitely impressive. The tomato sauce is insanely good, it's actually taste fresh and doesn't feel artificial or ketchup-y, maybe they actually use fresh tomatoes for this. The onions are also indeed crunchy, which is unusual as usually they are not crunchy in Naporitan.

It's all good taste-wise, but 1200 JPY for a mere 150 gram feels more like a "cafe food" and on the expensive side of price, I personally think it's not pretty much a good deal. But you can justify it by its location, in the very center of Shibuya, literally one of the hotspots.

Overall, the name of "More Serious than Serious Naporitan" really hold its name. Quality and taste wise, very impressive.

EDIT: Holy shit, I actually sat in the exact chair and table as Hitomi, just realized it now. Also did tell the staff about the manga, they are also astonished and happy to hear they gets covered by this series. Oh and the pasta is actually in-house indeed, no wonder it tastes unique and different.

Did you see the Cuckoo clock?

 

[mFachrizalr]

Did you see the Cuckoo clock?

I did, but it's quite far from where I seated.