たまそとペアと合同メニュー見酒延長線！
After 6 Junction 2 (アフター6ジャンクション2) and Engawa (縁側) joined forces for a "menu minum" — a drinking-show format where participants browse real restaurant menus on air and declare what they would order, without ever leaving the studio. Hosts Tama-san, Yoshiki-san, Tomiyama-san, and Uta-san embarked on an on-air three-stop crawl through Gyoza no Ohsho, Toritoki, and Kushikatsu Tanaka. No money changed hands at stops two and three, yet the conversation was as lively as any real izakaya night.
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What this episode answers
What were the six dishes actually selected at Gyoza no Ohsho during the menu minum?
The six dishes were bang bang chicken, spring rolls, one plate of garlic-free gyoza, sauce yakisoba, offal stir-fry, and Gokuō (極黄) mapo tofu — a rich, heavy lineup that the group called their "grand design," because the mapo tofu's heat would make everyone thirsty and lead naturally to a second stop.
What was identified as the first dish a Toritoki newcomer should order?
The free-refill cabbage platter was the top pick — drizzle on sesame oil, use it as a palate-cleanser between bites of meat, and you can drink endlessly, according to a self-described Toritoki heavy user.
What manners should regulars observe at snack bar karaoke?
Check the remote control's song history first to read which tracks the bar's regulars favour, then pick something that doesn't clash; songs over five minutes kill the mood and may be cut mid-track.
How does Kushikatsu Tanaka's "DIY feel" show up in its menu?
The potato salad — brought out unfinished so you mix in your own egg at the table — and a make-your-own takoyaki option were the main talking points; the cast called it "a place that makes you do the work" and promised a real visit to cook the takoyaki themselves.
How did the participants sum up the menu minum after finishing all three stops?
"Just looking at the menu is enough simulation to have a great time" and "the air-snacking is incredible" summed up the verdict; the closing line — "getting this much enjoyment without spending a single yen feels like theft" — captured the appeal of the whole format.
The Menu Minum Recap: Stop 1 – Gyoza no Ohsho (餃子の王将)
The broadcast opened as if the group had just returned from Gyoza no Ohsho, looking back on the six dishes they had "ordered": bang bang chicken, spring rolls, one plate of garlic-free gyoza, sauce yakisoba, offal stir-fry, and, to close, Gokuō mapo tofu. The cast acknowledged the lineup was "pretty heavy when you lay it all out," but framed it as intentional — the mapo tofu's heat would make everyone thirsty and force a second stop. They called this the "grand design" and the "master plan." Listener mail weighed in too: one message suggested that sauce yakisoba lands best when a single serving is split four ways as an opener; another argued that carbohydrates are simply necessary for alcohol metabolism.
Snack Bar Karaoke Etiquette
Before moving to the second stop, the hosts revisited a topic from the previous week: unwritten rules at snack bar karaoke. Rule one — check the remote control's history before picking a song, get a read on what the regulars at that particular bar tend to sing, and avoid clashing. Songs running longer than five minutes are said to stall the atmosphere; one host admitted to cutting tracks mid-song at their own bar to keep the room moving. The ideal, they said, is "a hip-hop quick-mix feel — keep things spinning." The conversation even surfaced a type of regular who deliberately queues long songs *hoping* to be cut off. The whole etiquette was wrapped up with the proverb: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
The Menu Minum: Stop 2 – Toritoki (鳥貴族)
The second on-air stop was Toritoki. One participant self-identified as a heavy user and said "Toritoki got me through my university years," also expressing a deep attachment to the Mega Kinmugi (メガ金麦). The five dishes chosen were: fried knee cartilage (customisable with salt and pepper), the cabbage platter (free refills, sesame oil on request), seseri (chicken neck) with salt, momo-kishoku-yaki (もも貴族焼き — thigh meat and spring onion alternating on a skewer, negima-style), and potato fries.
The cabbage platter inspired near-religious fervour. "It is not an exaggeration to say I go to Toritoki for the cabbage," one host declared. The logic: using cabbage as a chaser between bites of meat means you can drink endlessly. A suggestion to bag the leftovers in a Ziploc was floated — and immediately shot down.
Ordering seseri with salt sparked a salt-vs.-tare debate. One host insisted, "Salt is salt; for skewers you go tare." The group resolved it by ordering the momo-kishoku-yaki with tare and agreeing that "you can't compare unless you try both." A bonus piece of industry knowledge emerged: chicken skewers are round so they rotate and cook evenly on all sides; pork offal skewers use square sticks for different reasons.
The Menu Minum: Stop 3 – Kushikatsu Tanaka (串カツ田中)
The final stop was Kushikatsu Tanaka, a first visit for at least one participant. The potato salad drew an immediate reaction — it arrives unfinished, and you mix in your own egg at the table to complete it. "I was genuinely moved," someone said. The discovery that the menu includes a make-your-own takoyaki option drew even more excitement; the cast promised a real-world visit on the spot: "Let's actually go next time and grill the takoyaki ourselves." They summed the place up as "a restaurant that makes you do the work — very DIY."
The group moved through the menu with a "hands up if you want it" system that kept energy high. Horse sashimi, asparagus pork roll, and squid kushiage passed unanimously. Red ginger kushiage had a passionate advocate but couldn't get every hand in the air. The garlic skewer squeaked through on "I'm off tomorrow, so I don't care" logic. Autumn-special ginkgo nuts were deliberately deferred — "if we finish those we'd have to leave, and we don't want to leave" — while quail eggs finally got all four hands up and closed out the night to a chorus of cheers.
Wrapping Up
With all three stops complete, the menu minum came to a close. "Just looking at the menu is enough simulation to have a great time." "The air-snacking is incredible." The hosts noted that Stop 1 at Gyoza no Ohsho had cost real money, while Stops 2 and 3 were on expenses — giving rise to "the drink you put on expenses always tastes best." The evening signed off with: "Getting this much enjoyment without spending a single yen feels like theft" — a fitting tribute to the format itself.
Takeaways
- Four hosts from After 6 Junction 2 and Engawa completed a three-stop on-air "menu minum" — hopping between Gyoza no Ohsho, Toritoki, and Kushikatsu Tanaka without spending a yen on the final two stops.
- Toritoki's free-refill cabbage platter was crowned the must-order item, while Kushikatsu Tanaka's tableside DIY potato salad and make-your-own takoyaki stole the show at the third stop.
- Snack bar karaoke etiquette — reading the remote history, avoiding songs over five minutes, and keeping the rotation brisk — was shared as the unwritten code for regulars.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.