Oyakodon is is chicken meat and egg in seasoned broth over rice in a bowl. Oyako means parents and children, like chicken and egg, and don (donburi) means a bowl. I have always found it a cruel name. It is a simple dish good for lunch sets and quick dinners and it was purportedly invented in Tokyo.
I had it in Michelin-recommended restaurant in Akihabara called Toritsune Shizendou, the only venue that got recommended (Bib Gourmand) for this dish.
The visit
I went by the restaurant, housed in an independent building in a back alley near Suehirocho metro station, right after their afternoon closing time and I was able to speak to a lady and make a reservation for the same evening.
When I arrived I was seated at the counter. At 6pm I was one of the first customers. They also had some private rooms upstairs. But the place got busy pretty quickly, even if I think a walk-in for an individual customer may have still been possible. An English menu with pictures was available, but I think there were more options in the Japanese menu.
I had their signature Oyakodon that included a miso soup and some pickles. It was indeed delicious. All the elements were perfectly amalgamated together and every tiny piece of chicken was flawless (no cartilages or weird textures ruining the flavor).
But the restaurant also serves many other chicken-based dishes. I tried their chicken cutlet.
It was made out from one of the most perfect chicken breasts I have ever had.
Finally I had a specimen of their skewers with the infamous chicken dark meat. Again, the meat was flawless and very satisfying.
I can attest that all ingredients were top-shelf. According to their website, the owner-chef Mr. Sasaki handpicks whole chickens with internal organs and judges them. The reason for this is that the meat quality deteriorates faster if you remove the entrails (which is standard practice). The restaurant mainly uses female exemplars that are well-fattened, just before starting to lay eggs, 160-180 day old.
The check
Quality comes at a price. For these three dishes I paid almost 4,000 yen (36 USD). The bowl was 1,648 yen, the cutlet just 618 yen and the skewers a whooping 1,648 yen (there were also some other skewers similarly priced). It is a pity that the skewers had such a high price point, otherwise I would go back just for those and the cutlet.
Where in Tokyo:
5-5-2 Sotokanda.
Website: https://toritsuneshizendou.gorp.jp.