What's New Restaurants: Tetsu and Kotetsu
On the ground floor of an unremarkable grey office building, a new pair of cozy one-room restaurants, Kotetsu and Tetsu, typifies the unaffected intimacy that separates Beijing’s Japanese from many of the eateries dotting the city. Under a dozen tables to each and with not even a hallway between the facing doors, waitresses with whiskey and sodas in hand shuttle easily between the two.
Through the doorway to the left, Kotetsu specializes in motsunabe (RMB 50-128) – an offal-based hot pot, here made of beef intestine, as is most common. More recognizable Japanese fare – teppanyaki and grilled fish, also appears. The lunch menu is limited largely to ramen (RMB 45-58) and curries (RMB 35-58) with a dozen options for toppings such as tonkatsu, chicken, hamburger steak and beef croquettes.
Next door on the right, Tetsu goes big – with thick udon noodles in abundance. Hot udon, cold udon, udon in curry, “fusion” udon, and “winter-summer special” udon, each category containing a smattering of different variations. For summer, a small heap of cold udon with bits of deep-fried tempura batter (RMB 38) will be a welcome deviation from the steaming broth with which we are familiar. Rice with hash, omelet and sausage (RMB 58) recalls memories of a student canteen breakfast in Hong Kong and might have been better skipped. But then, amid a flurry of middling fare, the kitchen surprises with the crispness of the thin batter on the chicken tempura matched with cinnamon notes in a mild curry udon. For more than just noodles, come in the evening when the menu broadens to include yakitori and other grilled dishes.
The food does not astound, yet strangely, there is something slightly comforting in this. It is satisfactory and familiar – exactly what you want in a neighborhood joint.
Tetsu and Kotetsu
Daily 11.30am-2pm, 6pm-1am. 1/F, Longbao Building, 36 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang District (186 1133 2968)
朝阳区麦子店街36龙宝大厦1层
550m southeast of Liangmaqiao station (Line 10)
Also try: Suzuki Kitchen, Toriton
Photo: Ken
