Three Days of Eating Tokyo

[Prawncrackers]

Hot on the heels of our own illustrious Peter Green, my wife and i have just arrived back from holiday ourselves. At the start of our trip we spent three oh so short days in Tokyo and i wanted to share some of our gastronomic endeavours with you all. Now i'm sure you are all thinking what kind of maniacs schlep their arses half way around the world to spend such a brief amount of time in Tokyo. Well, the initial motive was to visit our relatives in Fukuoka and Hong Kong so shoehorning any amount of time in one of the gastro-capitals of the world is pure bonus.

We've been to Tokyo before and done all the major sights so this time round there was some serious eating (and shopping) to do!

Took so many photos, so whilst i'm sorting and uploading them here's a teaser. Prizes for anyone who recognises the view and the fantastic restaurant it is taken from. Probably the best restaurant meal of my life so far....

[Peter Green]

Took so many photos, so whilst i'm sorting and uploading them here's a teaser.  Prizes for anyone who recognises the view and the fantastic restaurant it is taken from.  Probably the best restaurant meal of my life so far....

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Do I get points for saying it's nowhere I ate?

A view. Man, the only view I ever had was of Scud (I still kept my appetite).

I'm looking forward to this.

[MoGa]

Hmmm... if it only it was a liiitle bit clearer. Even so, no landmarks I can make out from that picture at all.

It wasn't from the Hotel Century Southern Tower (ほり川 Horikawa)

view: http://blog.tokiobleu.com/image/horikawa3.jpg (from Shinjuku towards Ginza/Tokyo

And I don't think it was from anywhere else in Shinjuku. You definitely weren't in Shingawa.

From Shibuya looking Westish??? (I can't help but suspect you were enjoying a typical view from Tokyo of Mount Fuji)

Edited May 17, 2008 by MoGa (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Places to eat with a view are at a premium in this town that is for sure. That day was a little hazy but on a clear one you can supposedly see Mount Fuji from this restaurant. In fact the location was one of the big factors in choosing to eat here. That and the fact it was so easy to book ahead in English. So many clues!! This was lunch on Day Three so you may have to wait a little for the answer...

[nakji]

Well, I've seen views like that from the Ebisu Garden Place, but really, it could be anywhere...you're not looking at either Shibuya or Shinjuku, so you're probably in one or the other. If you could potentially see Mount Fuji, then you must facing west...

I dunno.

But I'm looking forward to your report.

[thelobster]

Kozue obviously. Nondescript view + "best meal of my life" = Park Hyatt. (Although I've been wrong before!)

[Prawncrackers]

Correct!!! Give that lobster a battering. Though that nondescript view does have great sentimental value to me, we stayed at the Park Hyatt for our honeymoon. So for me whenever i think of Tokyo i picture the vista from that particular hotel

[Prawncrackers]

Day One - Wednesday 7th May - Part I

We'd actually arrived at Narita airport the previous night of the 6th. But having caught the last airport 'limousine' at 2145 we arrived at our hotel some time close to the witching hour. No late night ramen or soba to be found near our hotel so we settled for a few snacks and confections from the local convenience store. Both of us slept like teenagers that first night and in the morning awoke with great determination to eat as if for Queen and country.

Our hotel was at the South-west of Ginza, equidistant to the Shimbashi, Shiodome and Tsukijishijo stations which i at least thought was handy. After reacquainting ourselves with the area and in my wife's case with the designer handbags in Mitsukoshi & Matsuya department stores, we ambled to our first dining stop; Ten-Ichi (天一) for Tempura. I think they have couple branches but i believe this one a couple of streets north of Chuo Dori is the original. Here is a picture of the lovely wife in front of the place:

It was almost exactly noon when we arrived, inside were at least three traditionally dressed female servers, one of which lead us into the bamboo, wood and stone decorated room at the back. There was the chef in the centre of the room surrounded by a bar, operating one pot of frying oil with items to be battered to one side of him. We were sat to the right of him and the only other customers in the place were a couple of very respectable looking ladies on the other side of the bar:

Our server handed us a Japanese/English menu and i could see exactly why the ladies opposite looked so very respectable, this was pricey Tempura indeed! I must now confess that my Japanese is non-existent though i do recognise the odd Chinese character. So it is with some certainty when we both chose the mid-priced Hana (花 - "Flower") option. I must also beg forgiveness if some of the descriptions are a little vague, i did try to make mental notes but most of the time i was to busy enjoying the experience. You know how it is! Hopefully some of the more expert out there will correct me or add a little more detail.

After bibbing-up by the server we were presented with our eating stations. Salt & lemon, fresh lettuce & radish salad, wetter enoki/seaweed/bonito salad and the tempura dipping sauce.

First up was the a pair of prawn heads, followed by the prawn tails themselves, small butterflied white fish (?), asparagus, cuttlefish, lotus root, pike and to finish a big cake of chopped up scallops & prawns.

I think in the middle somewhere was another fried root possibly Burdock, forgot to take a snap at the time as i was too busy enjoying the meal. I'd certainly never had tempura like it, it was light and incredibly clean. Not interfering with the taste of the ingredients at all. Needless to say the ingredients themselves were incredibly fresh. For me the most delicious element surprisingly was the thick chunk of cuttlefish. It was unbelievably soft and yielding. We finish with the meal with obligatory rice, pickles & miso soup. Now to my surprise and delight when i stirred up my soup it was actually filled with tiny little clams, is this a seasonal thing? It was such a joy to hear them rattle around my chopsticks.

By the time our meal was done another group had just started theirs and we were lead away to a separate room to enjoy some sweets and green tea. This was a nice touch, to get away from the oil fumes (however clean), freshen up and get ourselves together to leave the place.

All in all a very satisfying start to the day.

Next... giant macarons!

[MoGa]

Correct!!!  Give that lobster a battering.  Though that nondescript view does have great sentimental value to me, we stayed at the Park Hyatt for our honeymoon.  So for me whenever i think of Tokyo i picture the vista from that particular hotel 

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And our main reason to go to Tokyo is to actually be in that non-descript area neither I nor my husband could recognise.

http://bp1.blogger.com/_n1sjt7SfiAw/R5jnjC...00-h/walk22.jpg

[Hiroyuki]

Welcome to Japan!

The white fish looks like kisu (sillago) and the "pike" looks like anago (conger eel) to me. I don't think little clams (shijimi, I suppose) are in season now, but I did see the same clams in one of Peter's meals too. The last item you described as cake is called kaki age.

Looking foward to the next batch of pictures!

[insomniac]

Correct!!!  Give that lobster a battering.  Though that nondescript view does have great sentimental value to me, we stayed at the Park Hyatt for our honeymoon.  So for me whenever i think of Tokyo i picture the vista from that particular hotel 

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you were looking out????

[Prawncrackers]

you were looking out????

well, you have to take a break sometimes

Thanks for the clarification Hiroyuki, that tempura meal built up nicely to the kaki age - it was quite substantial hunk of deep fried goodness.

The little clams in miso soup is such a good idea. If only i could find them here. They make such a nice surprise when you stir for the first time as you don't expect your sense of hearing to be stimulated. Then of course they taste so good too.

[Prawncrackers]

Day One - Wednesday 7th May - Part II

The wife wasnt crazy about the sweets at Ten-Ichi so whilst doing another sweep of Ginza high-street she'd locked on to some giant macarons at the Wako cake shop opposite Mitsukoshi. Now i have to admit to certain soft spot to those soft centred delicacies so i was quite happy when she bought a whole box of them back to devour back at the hotel room. Besides i was happy because i'd just bought my one big ticket item from Bic Camera - new 300mm lens - and couldn't wait to test it out:

In between mouthfuls, we both happily declared that the strawberry one was the best macaron we'd ever tasted. Perfectly crisp, chewy, rich, light, creamy and jammy all at the same time. Little did we know that it wasn't even to be the best one of the day....

Later in the afternoon, we went to Roppongi to sample that hitherto unexplored area of the city. Stepping out of the intersection you do get a different type of atmosphere. Guys hanging out there actually look right at you, checking you out, sizing you up. It's the only time i've ever felt even slightly uneasy visiting this country. Am i exaggerating here Peter? You stayed around here on your visit did you get the same feeling? Anyway, we hurried on to Roppongi Hills as there's the observation tower and the Turner retrospective to mooch around. I can't say i'm big fan of British modern art but i do get a certain enjoyment at how utterly ridiculous most of it is. Whilst rummaging around some of the boutiques we stumble along L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. I kinda had my eye on this place already and thought if the mood took me, we'd eat here. It was about 6:30pm, pretty quiet and it looked quite inviting in a cool, dark, relaxed yet broody way. The wife was equally interested in the adjoining Robuchon boutique patisserie. Ah why not eat here then? It'll be nice to sample some Western cuisine too. We were perched midway along the long bar and was served by a single lovely young friendly Japanese lady. I like the idea of the servers here almost being like a personal barman. Once again we both alighted upon the mid-priced Printemps menu (Springtime) after some scrambled French-Japanese-English-Hand signal translation between ourselves and the lady. There was also a special 5th year anniversary menu but we decided that the budget certainly wouldn't stretch that far. I also wish i could remember to take a picture of the menu sometimes, i never seem to.

First up was some Iberico Ham, simply one of the best things you can put in your mouth:

My only objection was there wasn't enough of it but then that would always be the problem!! The bread basket was generous however and had a couple of briochy types that were delicious - no butter though...

The next dish of dressed White Asparagus was a little dull. I much prefer the green variety, this dish of white was just a little bland. It wasn't bursting with juicy sweet liquor that i was expecting:

Shitake Mushroom tart with Lardo put the show back on track. This was utterly delicious. The pastry was so buttery crisp, the shitakes so flavourful and meaty. The lacy covering of lardo added an extra layer of unctuousness:

I will be attempting this dish at home as soon as i can.

Dainty little frog legs, perfectly crumbed and juicy, with garlic and watercress sauces. My wife really enjoyed this one:

Fried Saint-Pierre (Red Snapper?), although well cooked this was a little on the dull side too. Though it could be that i was still thinking about the shitake tart:

Wonderfully cooked and deliciously tasty best end of lamb. I've eaten some good lamb at home recently and this compared favourably:

A little pre-dessert palette cleanser of Basil Sorbet, berries and lemongrass syrup - very nice indeed:

Whilst waiting for our dessert i joked that maybe it would be another huge strawberry macaron! Of course if we'd read and memorised the menu properly we wouldn't have been so surprised and delighted when one did show up Strawberry Macaron with Pistachio Cream, Strawberry Sorbet & Jelly etc:

We both happily declared for the second time that day that it was the best macaron we'd ever tasted!!

It was overall a good meal, for me let down by the asparagus and fish dishes. The Shitake tart and dessert were both fantastic though. Would i eat here again or at any of the other L'Ateliers around the world? Probably not, given the ingredients i think i could prepare just as satisfying dishes myself at home. It's my style of cooking, simple, unfussy and tasty. When i eat out i usually want to try something i would never attempt at home.

Next - Thursday

(yes, that was just Wednesday!)

[Bu Pun Su]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful Tokyo experiences as well as the pictures

I ate at Tsunahachi Shinjuku for the tempura and it's very good. The line is very long, but somehow our concierge manage to get us a reservation. However, I heard that Tenichi maybe the best place for tempura in Tokyo. Look forward for the next pictures ...

Edited May 19, 2008 by Bu Pun Su (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Thanks Bu Pun Su, i read your winter reports and some of dining experiences that you had were amazing. Hopefully i get the rest of my report together when i get home from work tonight.

[Prawncrackers]

Day Two - Thursday 8th May

There was an early start to this day as we'd booked a personal tour of the fish market starting at 7. Not too early by Tsukiji standards as i know we were going to miss the BTAs but once you've seen one giant tuna you've seen them all i reckon. Besides i find the middlemen stores much more interesting, the sheer scale and variety of what's on offer just makes my heart sing. It truly is a wonder of the world.

Before we went i took so many photos of the market from our hotel room, "Look!" i kept saying excitedly "we can see the market from here!!". "Yes dear" she would respond flatly. But you really can, look....

Took this handheld with the new lens, just checked the distance on Google Earth - it's over half a kilometer away!!! Wow i can't wait to use this lens constructively (ya right).

Anyway i've started with a digression. We met with a our guide and after exploring in awe the inner and outer markets, picking up a couple of knives on the way we came across a charcoal grill vendor serving up various stuff. I picked up one of these shelled oddities:

Looked like a massive winkle, tasted sweet and slightly bitter at the same time. The remaining liquor in the shell was like nectar though. I did ask our guide what this was but completely forgot what she said because at that very moment i was distracted by big fried crumbed objects on sticks:

It was whale meat and it was surprisingly delicious with a lick of brown sauce. I could have happily eaten another round of both but wanted to save some room for sushi.

Now the eternal question: where does one eat sushi at Tsukiji market? Well after strolling past half a dozen places our guide recommended Iwasa Sushi:

It was ideal, as close to perfection as i can appreciate. It's sushi like this that makes me yearn for Japan. I find myself eating less and less sushi here in the UK, it's just doesn't compare. Our guide says that the place is owned by a middleman and she likes the female manager a lot. I would wholly recommend it, i initially wanted to eat at the famous Daiwa sushi but our guide informed us it a little overrated and can't understand how it has become so well-known. There were two new items that i'd never tried before: squilla(?) nigiri and tiny baby squid in gunkan maki. The baby squid was the best item of all i think, so fresh, are they prepared in any way? They're so sweet and they literally burst with flavour in the mouth. What is the Japanese name for them?

We lamented with our guide Tsukiji's upcoming fate and how she explained that kids nowadays avoid the 3Ks - Kitsui & Kitanai & Kakkowarui (tough, unclean, uncool). Hopefully we can return here before it moves for good. Aha and here's the least blurry photo of me that i can find, taken by my guide - she must have been admiring the tuna!!:

Good to put a face on finally - hello

The rest of day we spent wandering around Asakusa and Kappabashi, mostly snacking on bits and pieces. The frankfurter in sweet bun had a line sweet curry sauce hidden under it and was fantastic!!

This elderly gentleman was cooking up a kind of crispy pancake. The missus thought it looked delicious but when she tried one it was actually a rock hard rice cracker type affair:

We had an early the evening as the jet lag was seriously kicking in. On the way back to our hotel we popped into one of ticket machine soba places. So cheap yet so satisfying, i had a mystery meat curry rice and soba noodle combo. My wife had tonkatsu rice. Love these fast food places, lined with salarymen stood up slurping their noodles with alacrity. How i wish there was one near my workplace.

That's it for day two, food wise it was completely different to day one. A lot cheaper too but not any less memorable. Which goes to show that you can eat fantastically here whatever the budget may be.

Next - Day Three Lunch at Kozue and more snacking!!!!

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks for the next batch of photos.

The shell looks like sazae (turban shell), and the sazae cooked this way is called sazae no tsuboyaki (turban shell cooked in its own shell). Visit my "Local Sushi Shop in Niigata" thread, and you will see some photos of sazae. Note that some sazae have well-developed projections on their shells while others do not.

Squilla? You mean mantis shrimp (shako in Japanese)? I can't see shako in that photo of sushi, though.

Baby squid? That's hotaru ika (firefry squid). It's in season! Again, visit the thread above, and you will see some photos.

The soba you had looks like sarashina because it's whitish. There are other types of soba, such as yabu and inaka.

You had whale meat!! Lucky guy!!

[Prawncrackers]

Squilla? You mean mantis shrimp (shako in Japanese)?  I can't see shako in that photo of sushi, though.

Alas the gaps that you can see in the great wall of sushi are the results of our impatience. I wanted to let the chef finish the two sets before taking a photo but it was getting a little cramped and awkward. The shako was the one of the first to snaffled up by wife to the left!!

You had whale meat!!  Lucky guy!!

I was surprised by one stall in the middlemen market, they had huge lumps of whalemeat for sale:

Our guide mentioned something about plenty quotas and i remember raising an eyebrow at the time about it. Is whalemeat not so common? The little morsel that i had tasted good i wouldn't hesitate to eat it again if the opportunity arose.

[Prawncrackers]

Day Three - Friday 9th May

We'd been looking forward to revisiting the Park Hyatt again so it was with great anticipation we caught the subway to Shinjuku. The original plan was to eat at the New York Grill again as we'd done in our previous stay, but as i was making reservations the week beforehand the thought struck me to try one of the the hotel's other restaurants. Didn't fancy the French Girandole so the Japanese Kozue it was:

We arrived 12 noon on the dot and aside from us there are two other Japanese couples. The setting, vista and decor are stunning, i would've have taken a wide angle shot of the spacious elegant dining room but didn't want to disturb the tranquillity of the other diners. During our meal, about the same number of diners arrived. So there was a very relaxed atmosphere this 80 seater room. Service was supremely warm and unhurried. We stayed for almost 2 hours and savoured every minute of it.

I had the Fuji meal, the wife had the Kozue bento set. I think i may need a little help with the descriptions here as there were so many new elements that i'd never encountered before, we tried our best to ask our fantastic servers and take notes but there was just so much wonderful stuff going on we were in a spin! Our appetisers arrived first and i was delighted to find the hotaru ika/firefly squid (thanks Hiroyuki) again, this time with broad beans, fig and in a sweet/salty liquor. This time the squid were a little larger but not any less delicious and juicy, the broad beans were incredibly sweet almost as if they'd been candied, the fig was so soft yet not sweet all. It was such an exciting dish to eat. The wife appetiser was a double header of bamboo mousse and jelly with poached egg (wonderful textures) and a salmon dumpling in clear soup:

I also had a clear soup next, pike eel in a clear broth with an amazingly plant called watershire (sp?). It looks like a large rolled up tea leaf wrapped in tough transparent membrane but the texture is difficult to describe. The membrane itself feels tough and is very slippery but pops very easily. Incredible, has anyone has tried this?

The wife's bento box now arrived and she was totally enamoured with it. I have to admit that it looked pretty mouthwatering from where i was sat too:

My next course was sashimi of bonito, prawn and a firm white fish i couldn't identify. Wonderful presentation but i thought the dish itself was only really adequate. I expected a little more.

The next course was a selection of seasonal delicacies. This for me was the highlight of the meal, every morsel was sensational. Starting from the right as right-handed chopsticks would eat them from top to bottom was (from what i can remember) green peas and carrots in sweet broth, cognac & mustard, bonito mousse and jelly, kelp wrapped in gourd (?), type of long clam similar to razorfish, juiciest sweet tofu top with egg, fried fish with garlic & braised leek and at the far left a bamboo wrapped piece of sushi:

There were two little river fish "ai-ou" i thought they were called. Very nice from the still smoking brazier and a green vinegar dipping sauce.

Next up was a shabu-shabu of beef, delicious with the japanese pepper (very similar to sichuan pepper). I asked what kind of beef it was and was told "yurizawa", is that a prefecture does it ring any bells with anyone? Anyway the peppers were so aromatic, i had to stop myself from drinking the whole soup up after finishing the beef:

To finish was a Kaki age ( ) of scallop and soba noodles:

Now the wife's dessert was a cider jelly and to my surprise a sorbet of Japanese pepper. This was a taste sensation, it worked beautifully. I had most of this as she is allergic to alcohol and she had most of my black sesame mousse which was good but not as good as the cider/pepper combination:

What can say? I don't consider myself a restaurant gourmet, i've always enjoyed cooking at home more and spending my cash frugally. So i may not have the wealth of experience to judge this meal but in my mind this is has easily set the standards by which all restaurant meals shall henceforth be measured by. Simply astounding and outstanding!!

The rest of the afternoon we spent in Shinjuku (just love Isetan's food department) and picked up a load of snacks. Including this pair of interesting seafood items, the one on the left i think were sliced whelk and uni, the right one was a spicy cockles. Now that's what i call a midnight night snack.

That's it, that was three solid days of eating. We caught the Shinkansen to Fukuoka first thing Sat Morning. I might have missed the odd pastry out but all in all didn't we do well?

[Hiroyuki]

also had a clear soup next, pike eel in a clear broth with an amazingly plant called watershire (sp?). It looks like a large rolled up tea leaf wrapped in tough transparent membrane but the texture is difficult to describe. The membrane itself feels tough and is very slippery but pops very easily. Incredible, has anyone has tried this?

Yes, junsai in Japanese.

There were two little river fish "ai-ou" i thought they were called.

Hm...... Ayu (sweefish)?

Next up was a shabu-shabu of beef, delicious with the japanese pepper (very similar to sichuan pepper). I asked what kind of beef it was and was told "yurizawa", is that a prefecture does it ring any bells with anyone?

Hm....... Yonezawa in Yamagata prefecture? Yonezawa gyu (= beef) is very popular.

Japanese pepper (sansho in Japanese) vs. sichuan pepper: Aren't they the same? Young leaves of sansho are also very often used in kaiseki meals.

The soba you had this time looks like cha soba (buckwheat noodles containing green tea powder) to me.

[Hiroyuki]

Whale meat: As I said elsewhere, back in 1960s, when I was small, whale meat was the cheapest source of animal protein in Japan. It is now one of the most expensive. The reason? I can't talk about it without violating the eGullet guidelines!

[Shelby]

Squilla? You mean mantis shrimp (shako in Japanese)?  I can't see shako in that photo of sushi, though.

Alas the gaps that you can see in the great wall of sushi are the results of our impatience. I wanted to let the chef finish the two sets before taking a photo but it was getting a little cramped and awkward. The shako was the one of the first to snaffled up by wife to the left!!

You had whale meat!!  Lucky guy!!

I was surprised by one stall in the middlemen market, they had huge lumps of whalemeat for sale:

Our guide mentioned something about plenty quotas and i remember raising an eyebrow at the time about it. Is whalemeat not so common? The little morsel that i had tasted good i wouldn't hesitate to eat it again if the opportunity arose.

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Gosh, I almost thought those were beef steaks, the meat is so red! Can you describe what whale tastes like? Is it "steak like" with a hint of fish?

[Shelby]

I really enjoyed your pictures--that Bento box looked SO good.

[insomniac]

brilliant report PC, doesn't Japanese food appeal on so many different levels, and I curse you and yr wife for your hyperactive Chinese metabolism.....if I had one wish......however for me the downside of being reincarnated east of Suez would be that pesky inability to metabolise alcohol

ps. went to a whalemeat resto in Narita long,long ago...delicious; guess that was before rationing!

[Simon_S]

Fabulous report and pictures. Thanks PC!