'I have found chap fan in Tokyo!', I declared to my parents as we walked by a shokudo (cafeteria in Japanese) on the way to Shinjuku Gyeon garden. Fascinated, we ended up having lunch at the place after the garden visit.
In typical cafeteria/canteen fashion, you pick the dishes you'd like from the rack, select the rice portion you'd like and then select a seat to have your meal. This cafeteria had mostly salarymen and office workers at lunch time and we were the only foreigners in the entire shop.
The dishes were very reasonable for a food place in Shinjuku area, ranging from 105 yen (for korokke) to 350 yen (for half a grilled fish).
They even had a large variety of pickles for you to select from, I was super fascinated by this Japanese chap fan concept and wished that we bumped into more of them.
I picked mapo tofu, sweet soy braised saba with vegetables and a korokke while Dad picked simmered beef (by accident, he doesn't actually eat beef) and half a soy braised saba.
The bill only came up to 1565 yen (including 3 small rice) which was easily the cheapest meal we had in Tokyo. Tea was free. We were a bit dumb for not knowing that the dishes were meant to be reheated but it tasted delicious albeit a bit cold. A waiter will take note of the dishes you've picked as you have your meal and hand you your bill as you eat. Pay at the cashier as you exit the shop.
I'll probably make the effort to take note of shokudo(s) like these. It's nice to be able to pick and mix dishes like chap fan back home though this chap fan will cost you about RM19 per person! Still a delicious meal at portions you can control (you can even opt out rice!) at a reasonable price in the heart of Tokyo.
A list of branches are available at their website if you're able to read Japanese. Also, check out Wow Japan's list of affordable shokudo(s) to visit. I wished I had found it sooner.
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Every time Ookini cafeteria Shinjuku 1-chome cafeteria
Japan, 〒160-0022 Tōkyō-to, Shinjuku City, Shinjuku, 1-chōme−10−4 新宿1丁目ﾋﾞﾙ