Trying Yamachan and Tsubame Milk and Bread - Crispy Wings and Soft bakes reviewed

At nagoya, I tried two very different food spots — a lively izakaya experience at Sekai no Yamachan and a quieter, more comforting stop at Tsubame Milk & Bread.

Both couldn’t be more different, but each had its own charm.

Sekai no Yamachan — Peppery Wings & Izakaya Bites

3 Chome-9-16 Nishiki, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0003, Japan

I first visited Yamachan, famous for its Nagoya-style chicken wings, and it definitely lived up to its reputation — at least for the wings.

Fried Chicken Wings (Tebasaki)

The highlight of the meal.
The skin was super crispy, and what really stood out was the heavy punch of black pepper. It’s not your typical saucy wing — more of a dry, spice-forward flavour. If you enjoy bold seasoning, this definitely hits the spot.

I paired it with an umeshu soda, which turned out to be a great choice — refreshing with a slight sweetness that balanced the strong peppery kick nicely.

Fried Garlic Rice

This one was a bit underwhelming.
The rice lacked fragrance, especially for something labelled garlic fried rice, and the texture was slightly wet, which made it less satisfying overall.

Fried Squid

The taste reminded me of Old Chang Kee-style fried squid — crispy, familiar, and comforting. Nothing particularly fancy, but still enjoyable. I was told this is a seasonal item, so it may not always be available.

Cherongi Salad

This leaned heavily on one ingredient — spring onions.
There were only a few pieces of lettuce, along with some sesame seaweed, but overall it felt like a spring onion dish. The onions gave it a strong, slightly spicy bite, which might not be for everyone.

Fried Pork Skewer

This was… interesting, but not really my type.
The pork itself tasted quite plain with no marinade, making the flavour feel a bit one-dimensional. While it’s something different, it didn’t stand out compared to the other dishes.

Yamachan has a classic Japanese izakaya vibe — lively, noisy, and very social. It feels more like a place to hang out over drinks than a quiet dinner spot.

Pricing-wise, it’s generally reasonable for casual Japanese dining, making it a good option for group outings.

Tsubame Milk & Bread — Soft, Comforting & Simple

Japan, 〒450-0002 Aichi, Nagoya, Nakamura Ward, Meieki, 4 Chome−26−25 メイフィス名駅 1階

On another day, I visited Tsubame Milk & Bread, a very popular breakfast spot — and the crowd really showed it.

We arrived at 9:40am, got queue number 103, and there were already 64 people ahead of us. The queue was quite terrible, so we decided to skip dining in and go for takeaway instead.

One thing to note — the fluffy scrambled egg sandwich I wanted only starts selling at 11am, which was a bit disappointing.

In the end, we grabbed some off-the-shelf bread and coffee and just stood by the side of the road to eat. Not the most ideal situation, but at least we managed to try it.

Food

The bread itself was decent, though a bit different from what I expected.

• Slightly more dense than typical soft milk bread, likely because it’s made using natural yeast

• Texture-wise still soft, but with a bit more structure

My favourite was the tuna-filled bread —savoury and more flavourful compared to the plain options

Overall Experience at Tsubame feels like one of those places where you go more for the hype and experience, but you do need to be prepared for:  long queues and limited items available at certain times