Asakusa is such an old neighborhood that it’s full of long-established famous restaurants, but today I didn’t come for any of those. I came all the way here to eat hamburg steak. There’s just one reason: the hamburg steak place that appears in episodes 6 and 7 of Osen is in Asakusa.
The place is called Mont Blanc.
It’s really easy to find. Just head straight left from Kaminarimon, the gate in front of Senso-ji, and you’ll come to it.
Apparently it’s been featured a lot in magazines and on TV.
Can you spot Yu Aoi?
Okay… shall we review the drama at this point?
Yocchan and Osen get a flyer like this at the start of episode 6.
They say it’s made from 100% domestic beef loin. Six kinds of sauce, and so on… In reality they weren’t handing out discount coupons.
Front shot…
It feels completely different from the drama. I guess that’s the gap between reality and TV…
At the start of episode 7 there’s a scene where they eat a hamburg steak like this.
Inside the shop
Osen and Yocchan eat their hamburg steaks.
There’s someone getting in the way, but… anyway…
The interior, in my own shot
In the drama it looked like a café, but in reality it has a student-cafeteria vibe. A bit hectic. The service isn’t bad. A group kept hogging the seat where Yu Aoi sat – the left side of the photo, that is – so I couldn’t even take a souvenir photo and just left. I’m seriously wondering whether I should go back again.
Japanese-style hamburg steak
850 yen + 5% tax. In the drama it seemed to come with demi-glace sauce, but I ordered the easygoing Japanese style. It was small for the price, so at first I was a little disappointed. But one taste and I understood.
Cross-section
The juices just run right out. Tasting it, it’s a whole different level from cheap frozen hamburg patties, as you’d expect from a specialist. If there were a Western-style diner like this near me, I’d go all the time. And unusually, the noodles on the side weren’t soggy either and tasted good.
Rice
This rice is a work of art. They say it’s Koshihikari from Niigata – how do they cook it so well that it whets your appetite like this… It’s far tastier than at most well-known set-meal places. Rice doesn’t come free, you have to order it separately, so it’s an extra 250 yen + 5% tax, but it’s this good so I’ll forgive them. The total came to 1,154 yen.
After a good meal, I take a walk along the Sumida River and head home.
There were a lot of homeless people, but the view wasn’t bad. Strolling in the river breeze felt nice too. There seem to be a lot of hidden gems around here, so I should drop by now and then.