Vietnamese lunch in Yurakucho

Sunday saw me in Yurakucho for work-related reasons, but once I was free, I decided to look around the brand new Yurakucho Itocia shopping complex which opened just last Friday.

It didn't take long to establish that most of the shops were places I wouldn't usually visit, but it was fun to look around nevertheless. In the basement area there were various eateries or food to take home, including Krispy Kreme with its almost obligatory 2-hour plus queue. I found a wine shop where I bought a nice Medoc, which was on promotion, as well as a tasty but pricy chunk of Comte cheese.

After that it was time for a late lunch, and I joined the queue (thankfully just a few minutes unlike the doughnut place) at the Vietnamese restaurant called Banh Xeo Saigon. Banh Xeo is a dish described on the menu as a Vietnamese-style okonomiyaki. In other words, it's a kind of thin crepe cooked with a topping (there are three choices on the menu), which you eat wrapped in a selection of leaf vegetables. I had the pork and shrimp version, which was great. It looked huge, but was remarkably light.

For this food alone, Yurakucho Itocia is worth visiting again.