Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 2-14-16 Map - See the Tokyo Food Page's map Telephone - 5272-8819 Menu - In Japanese and Chinese Credit Cards - No

Note:
Yesterday I posted a positive review of this restaurant: in less than 24 hours I am forced to change my sentence.

I like Malay food and especially Lakhsa, a kind of spicy ramen with coconut milk. Alas, good Lakhsa is hard to find, and so far the only place where I have found it was right here in Ogikubo, where I live, at Malayfu Kobishoku.

There's a Singaporean restaurant in Takadanobaba I used to like, and which until January was rather good, or so I thought. It's Big Land's Tree, a small place right across the street from La Taverna, and one that initially I had wanted to visit for a long time, but that was always full. As usual, it's a Chinese-Malaysian restaurant rather than simply a Malay one, so most of the dishes were indeed good, but much less exotic than one would expect. Still, they were Chinese but with a pronounced local accent, spicier and with a clearer taste. For the sake of the food I forgave a certain general grubbiness I didn't like.

To me the most interesting section of the menu was the Malay one anyway. It was small, but well represented. As I had ample time to verify yesterday, things have changed at Big Land's Tree, and food is nothing to write home about. Also, there's next to nothing Malaysian on their menu, so I am forced to say I from now on will go to eat somewhere else in Takadanababa.

April 2006