Kineya

A traditional Japanese snack shop in historic Azabu Juban shopping street.
I really love this newcomer that really helps add new flavor to the old Azabujuban neighborhood.
Tradition meets modern design.
The store owner masterfully blends old school art of Japanese rice cracker sembei snack with new concepts like fried pasta. Inside the store, you will find a sembei grilling station caged by glass shielding. If you are lucky, you will see the store owner grilling sembei over charcoal fire. Yep, no gas grill here. He uses real «sumi» (charcoal).
While this is a gem of a store and I fell in love with it, I do worry a bit about this location. The turn is so fast. Before Kineya, there used to be a gyoza dumpling shop called Ebisu Gyoza. Before that was a sweets shop. For this reason, I really want to support Kaneya. I hope they become a lasting institution in this fun neighborhood. Perhaps one day, they will become as famous as Mamegen just down the street.
How do you enjoy Sembei?
They pair really well with Japanese rice sake. Why? They share the common ingredient of rice.
Kaneya’s friend pasta goes well with champaign.
Some of their other products pairs really well with Shochu (Japanese vodka made from either potato or buckwheat).
Hey, when you are in Japan, stay off of potato chips and Doritos. Munch on some sembei and arare rice crackers.