Stamina Pork Bowl @ Sutadonya, Ueno, Tokyo

Also known as the "Legend Beef Rice" shop according to Google Maps, this great shop was also discovered after a stroll around the iconic Ameya Yokocho Market. The market has alot of things in store (literally), whereby fresh grocers sell their produce, genuine sneakers are displayed and also alot of food options. It was a bit unfortunate that alot of it seem to cater to tourists. So after a wander around, it seemed that we discovered a place that fit our needs: a butadon (豚丼) restaurant.

Condiments aplenty, enough to customise your dining experience.

Sutadonya is a chain that sells various local Japanese dishes, with a special emphasis on rice bowls. Gyudon galore! But as gyudon is quite accessible from where I live, I opted for the butadon set instead. Order was made via a ticket machine. First order of business is you select your order by touching the screen, then place your money into the feeder. A ticket will be dispensed and that will be like an order chit. Your food will come over when it is ready. Note that some shops require that you hand over your ticket so they can verify your order. That was not my experience wit this one. For that particular meal, I had a pork bowl and gyoza combo. That combo came with a side salad of grated cabbage and a raw egg. And what a combo it was. 

One of those moments where playing your food is acceptable

It looked delectable when it was served on my table but there is a pre-eating ritual, of which the egg is combined into the pork and rice. So, my patience was somewhat tested. The pork was freshly grilled on a teppanyaki grill. Most of the pieces strewn were fatty with some streaks of lean meat in it. The heat from the freshly cooked pork and rice cooks the egg as you stir it in, which becomes like a binding agent of sorts, holding all the ingredients together.

Gravely satisfying before the messing up

Flavourwise? Well,the usual sweet and salty combination of mirin and soy is very prevalent. It was very satisfying and pleasing. The flavours of the pork seeps into the rice perfectly and the egg puts it all together well. This was a very dense bowl of carbs and protein, so it filled me up really quickly. But of course, there is always room for side dishes.

Parcels of magic, really.

The gyoza dumplings came later. They were fried nicely and had a unique crispness. The filling was juicy, to which I suspect it to be pork with garlic and chives. The flavour elements remind me of soup dumplings, or xiao long pao for some. Dipping it into vinegar like said dumplings definitely elevated the flavour profile of those delicious parcels. The shop also has a honey and garlic dipping sauce, which was quite tangy and zesty. A great condiment to the dumplings as well. 

Final words? Great value and very filling meal. Definitely worth the ¥900 spent. Not too bad for a chain shop. In fact, this can easily go head to head with my gyudon go to Yoshinoya (whereby a post on that will be saved for another day). And just in case you didn't notice, Sutadonya got its name from "Stamina" and "Butadon", as the pork bowl is said to improve your stamina.  If you would like to try this place out, its definitely worth the visit.  If you would like to drop by to the specific shop I went to for lunch,do note the branch I went to is in Ueno. The address is as follows:

 〒110-0005 Tōkyō-to, Taitō-ku, Ueno, 4 Chome−3, 上野4-3-10

An easy place to spot.
And its near to an American burger outlet,
famous for its red and yellow exterior.