Outline

Wheat flour is the main constituent of various Japanese dishes.
In Kansai, “Okonomiyaki”, a savory pancake made of flour, cabbage, egg etc. is the popular dish, where as in Kanto, many prefer “Monjayaki”.
Tsukishima area of Tokyo, is the single most famous place for monja. Nishi Naka-dori shopping street is even referred to as the “Monja Street”, and attracts many tourists from both inside and outside Japan.
Here, you will be able to find many interesting monjayaki including dessert monja, and snack monja with candy inside it.

Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside! Addicting Monjayaki

Monjayaki is made with flour, cabbage, Worcester sauce and other ingredients of your choice. It is quite liquid-y, but will gradually form a solid shape. This is the secret to the crispy outside and mushy inside.
Some people say that this local Tokyo dish doesn’t look appetizing, but then are completely amazed by its deliciousness.

Other than monjayaki, most Tsukishima restaurants also offer okonomiyaki. Make sure to try the two!

In most of the restaurants, it is the customer that does the cooking of the monja or okonomiyaki.
From the cooking process to the eating, you can enjoy the whole experience with friends and family.

Make your pick from the over 60 monja restaurants!

Tsukishima holds over 60 restaurants that serve many different kinds of monja.
The kind I particularly recommend is the “Kaisen-iri Monja”, or seafood monja. It has all the popular seafood from shrimp, squid, octopus and scallop.
If you like spicy food, I recommend flavors like “Mentai Mochi Cheese Monja”.
The ingredients include piquant mentaiko (spicy cod roe), chewy mochi made of rice, and cheese. All together, these ingredients create a spicy, yet creamy taste. It is exceptionally delicious.
Both of these menus are quite popular. You will most likely find them in all monja restaurants.

There are many restaurants in Tsukishima Monja Street.
You can taste the “Mentai Mochi Cheese Monja” at the long established “Iroha Honten”, or try the “Gyoza Monja”, monja with bits of dumpling skins in it, at “Noto Honten”.
It might also be fun to go from restaurant to restaurant, trying out the unique menu of each place.

writer：Nozomi