Tokyo Eats: Katsuya

After a day's worth of shopping in Akihabara, Hubby and I were tired and hungry.  It was our last night in Tokyo too, and I didn't want to leave Tokyo without getting a taste of their authentic tempura.  My first choice for tempura in Tokyo would be Ten-Ichi, but it was all the way in Ginza.  So we stepped into the next restaurant that had tempura photos on their window display:  Katsuya.  

Mixed Set

This is more of fish and prawns.  Crunchy... but nothing major.

Ebi Tempura

The batter was crisp, and the prawns were succulent.

Katsudon

Sadly, this one failed my katsudon test.  It was not tender enough, and the sauce was practically non-existent, leaving the rice beneath as dry as the desert.

So the verdict?  Katsuya was not disappointing... yet it was not amazing either.  I guess when I said I wanted tempura, I was pertaining to the other kind.  Katsuya's was panko-crusted, but the panko, although crunchy, was too firm to bite into that it left me and Hubby's gums a bit raw.  Their katsudon was also less impressive than the local ones I've had here in Manila.  2 out of 5 stars.

Katsuya is at 1 Chome-4-11 Sotokanda,Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Eats: Coco Ichibanya Curry House

Prior to arriving in Tokyo, my friend KL requested me to buy her some pre-packaged curry from Coco Ichibanya Curry House, should I come across them.  "They're easy to find, practically everywhere in Tokyo" she said.  And as luck would have it, on the day we went to Akihabara to look for Hubby's toys, this was the first store we saw as we exited the subway.  What coincidence too that it was already lunchtime, so we decided to hit two birds with one stone: make our tummies happy AND buy KL's pre-packaged curry.

Coco Curry House

Cream Croquette

Cream Croquette Insides

If I'm not mistaken, I think this is the crab cream croquette.  It was good, but I find it too mashed up.  Would've wanted something that I could actually chew on.

Pork Cutlet Curry

Oh my.  This must be the softest pork cutlet I've ever tasted.  And I've tasted a lot.  Beats every single one of them.  I'm in pork cutlet heaven!

Cheese-filled Hamburger Curry

Insides of the cheese-filled hamburger

They had us at cheese-filled.  Just look at the second photo.  Imagine creamy cheese oozing out of a really soft and flavorful hamburger patty.  Drool-worthy, yes.  Good?  Heck yeah!

So how was it?  The Pork Cutlet and the Cheese-filled Hamburger are both to die for.  The curry?  Not so impressed.  It was okay, but it lacked that oomph.  Ironically, the best curry I've had can be  found in Tokyo's Family Mart.  Yes, the convenience store!  That being said, I still loved my experience in Coco Ichibanya Curry House.  4 out of 5 stars!

Coco Ichibanya Curry House is at 101-0027 Tokyo, Chiyoda, Kanda Hirakawacho, 4

Tokyo Eats: Menya Musashi

One late evening in Shibuya, Hubby and I were on a lookout for something to eat.  He wanted to find someplace random, I didn't.  I wanted to eat in one of the restaurants on my restaurants list, but I didn't have anything in Shibuya.  Grudgingly, I followed him to this restaurant that we chanced upon in some unknown alley.

Menya Musashi

Curiosity got the best of Hubby, because he saw quite a number of people going in and out of this restaurant.  If a lot of people were lining up, then it must be good right?

Inside Menya Musashi

After going in, we found out that this was a ramen/tsukemen shop.  Again?!  I thought to myself.  I almost backed out.  But the stomach was growling, so this had to make do.  If you've read about my past post about Fuunji, I didn't quite enjoy my first tsukemen experience in Japan.  But Fuunji is Fuunji.  This was an entirely different restaurant.  No harm in trying right?

Menya Musashi's ticket dispenser

As with Fuunji, the ordering process is the same.  You press your selection at the ticket dispenser, pay, get your ticket and wait for your seat.  We had a bit of help from one of the English speaking staff in Menya Musashi, since they didn't have an English menu.  We asked for their bestsellers, and chose two from the top (the ones with the photos).

Shoyu Ramen

This is my bowl of Shoyu Ramen.  The pork was OMG-drop-dead-now soft and the Aji Tamago was perfect.  The only thing not so perfect?  Didn't like the soup.  It wasn't bad, it just wasn't spectacular.  Just your normal soy-sauce based soup.

Tsukemen

Tsukemen dipping broth

As for the Tsukemen... $%&#@*!!!  OH MY.  This was one of the best noodles I've ever tasted!  The pork was the same one as my ramen, only this time, the tsukemen broth was fantastic as heck, and totally not normal at all.  It was all kinds of flavorful, without the added saltiness.  As a matter of fact, it erased all my memories of Fuunji and replaced it with an absolute love for tsukemen.

Gotta give it to Hubby, I wouldn't have discovered Menya Musashi had he not insisted on trying it out.  I will 100% be back for the Tsukemen.  What the heck, it's haunting me right now as I type this!  5 out of 5 stars! 

Menya Musashi is at 2-8-5, Dogenzaka, Sibuya-ku, Shibuya Tokyo

Tokyo Eats: Ikinari Steak

For our first night in Tokyo, Hubby and I were too tired to venture out to eat.  Blame it on the extra early flight that made us look and feel like zombies.  LOL.  I guess you can call us lucky, because right below our hotel is Ikinari Steak.  And we can never say no to steak.  Specially Japanese steak!

Ikinari Steak

Ikinari Steak is a Certified Angus beef restaurant.  So you're sure that it's nothing but one of the best beef.

Standing Room Only

There are no chairs in this restaurant.  Everybody eats their steak standing up!  Guess a little suffering for a good steak can't be that bad, right?  LOL.

Menu

First step:  Choosing your steak.  Ikinari Steak serves four kinds of steaks.  And they charge by the gram.  So it can either be small for light eaters or extra huge for a big appetite!

Cutting Station

Step two:  The cutting station.  After you choose your beef, the server will usher you into this small corner and show you the beef.  Here, it will be cut to your preferred size and measured in a weighing scale in front of you.

Look at that glorious piece of steak!

Oooh la la!  That is one nice looking steak!  Makes my mouth water just looking at it, and it's not even cooked yet!

Grilling Station

Step three:  The grilling station.  Here the chef grills your steak according to the doneness you want.

Japanese Black Beef Rib-Eye Steak

Ta-dah!  Here's our Japanese black beef rib-eye steak!  Look at all that juice!

Cross Section of the Japanese Black Beef Rib-Eye

Doesn't it look divine?

Hubby enjoyed our first Ikinari experience so much that he began craving for it right after the first night.  So I gave in to his request and went for it again on our fourth night in Tokyo.  Here's what we had:

Tenderloin Steak Beef with Less Fat

Having already tried the Japanese black beef rib-eye steak, we got the tenderloin this time.  And a bigger piece too! 

Cross Section of the Tenderloin

It looks so tender, even from the pictures!

So the verdict?  I give myself a pat on the back for choosing Ginza Bellevue Hotel this trip because we love Ikinari Steak!  The Japanese Black Beef Rib-Eye Steak was juicy and smelled so good.  And the tenderloin?  So soft!  Even though our hearts (and tummies!) still belong to Matsusakagyu Yakiniku in Osaka when it comes to steaks, Ikinari Steak is pretty good too.  Not bad at all.  4 out of 5 stars!

Ikinari Steak is at 1/F, Ginza Bellevue Hotel, 6-4-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 Japan

Ginza Bellevue Hotel, Tokyo

Based from experience from 2014's Tokyo trip, more or less I could already tell which hotel would be better for our itinerary.  While our stay in Sotetsu Fresa Inn last time was not bad, we felt it could be better.  So Hubby and I opted not to stay at the same hotel and just pick another one.  I guess staying in Ginza last time spoiled us.  It was more familiar too, so we chose another hotel in Ginza for this trip:  The Ginza Bellevue Hotel.  

Fast forward to the day of the trip - we booked the same flight as last year's at 5:25am.  The only difference was that the flight got delayed (BOO!) and by the time we got to the hotel, it was already check-in time.  I guess the delay also worked to our advantage - it gave us a bit of time to rest before venturing out to explore the city. 

Corridor

The entire room

The room from another angle

Cabinet with all the essentials

Working table

Bathroom

Toiletries

Finally, I got my Shiseido bath products!  LOL.  Everything the hotel used - from the shampoo down to the hand soap - was Shiseido.  Yay!  

So the verdict?  Location wise, Ginza Bellevue Hotel is fantastic.  A yummy steak place and a spa is just right downstairs, and there's a 7-Eleven AND a Starbucks a few steps away.  Not too far from the subway too.  The best part?  Ginza shopping district is about two minutes walk away.  From a shopaholic's point of view, it can't get any better than that!  While the hotel's interior might be a little bit older than expected, it was clean.  As for the size.. oh well we know how tiny Japanese hotel rooms always are, so that's expected.  But it fit the both of us, so it's all good.  4 out of 5 stars!

Ginza Bellevue Hotel is at 6-4-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 Japan

Outfit of the Week: Boom!

Been a long while since I've posted an outfit post huh?  If you're wondering why I'm wearing such a cold-weather outfit when it's so hot here in Manila, well...  It's because this was taken in Tokyo.  Yup, another travel post!  Just got back from Tokyo last week, and did my best to finish all the Australia posts so that I could finally get on to the Tokyo ones.  Sorry, please bear with me!  

Anyway, on to the outfit!  This is me, standing right outside my hotel, sleepy as heck (hello, 5am flight!) and freezing my buns off!  Tokyo during January, as it appears, is about 2 degrees Celsius.  Brrrrrr!!!  But I'm not one to complain about the cold, since I've had enough of warm weather living in a tropical country like ours.  So freezing weather, bring it on!   

When flying, I make sure to wear something comfortable.  It's amazing because who would've thought that faux leather joggers would be comfortable, right?  But I swear, it is!  They give you movement of PJs, yet it looks a hundred times more chic.  As for the top, have had it for more than a year now, with the Target x 3.1 Phillip Lim collaboration (love, love, love collaborations!).  Had nowhere to wear it until now.  I was only too happy to break it out of the closet.  Can you tell I'm in love with winter?  LOL!  Do look forward to a couple more cold-weather outfit posts!  xoxo

Top:  3.1 Phillip Lim for Target
Pants:  H&M
Bag:  Givenchy
Shoes:  Sperry Top-Sider

Tokyo Eats: Fuunji

And finally, we've come to the last part of my Tokyo series.

Ah, Fuunji.  The first time I came across this name was when I read about it online.  Hailed as Tokyo's best tsukemen, I came to see (and taste!) for myself.  But first, what exactly is tsukemen?  Tsukemen is also known as "dipping noodles".  The noodles are served cold and separate from the broth.  Directions when eating?  Grab a few strands of noodles, dip it into the broth and chomp. chomp, chomp!  Repeat as desired.

Reading about the long lines from those who have already tried it, I was ready to brave Fuunji's line just to taste authentic tsukemen.  Never mind that the whole day was spent walking and I was dead exhausted.  I needed to try out Fuunji before we bid Tokyo goodbye.  Well, the tsukemen gods must be smiling upon me because when we got the Fuunji, there was no line at all!  That, and because we were early.  LOL.

Fuunji from outside

Fuunji's ticket dispenser

As with Ichiran, Fuunji's mode of ordertaking is with a machine.  I pressed on the ¥1000 tsukemen, got my ticket, had my seat and waited for my order to be served.

A view of the open kitchen

Noodles

Broth

I've had tsukemen here in Manila, but Fuunji's version is something different.  The broth was thick, creamy and rich - which was great except that it was way to salty for me, even after I dipped the noodles with as little broth as possible.  Can't deny the fact that it's really flavorful though.  If only the salt levels were turned down, this would have been perfect.  Oh well.  3 out of 5 stars.

Fuunji is at 2 Chome-14 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Tokyo Eats: The Gindaco

Takoyaki (according to Wikipedia) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan.  It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (tako), tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion.  Takoyaki are brushed with takoyaki sauce, similar to Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise.  The takoyaki is then sprinkled with green laver (aonori) and shavings of dried bonito (katsuobushi).

Takoyaki also happens to be one of my favorite snacks of all time.  These little glorious balls have always had a special place in my (fat) heart ever since I tried the not-so-authentic-but-still-so-good Samurai takoyaki back when I was in still in kindergarten.  Since then, whenever I find myself in front of a takoyaki stand - be it in a school fair, a foodcourt or a restaurant, I just had to order one.

I had my first taste of The Gindaco takoyaki a few years back in Hong Kong when they still had a branch in front of Times Square, Causeway Bay.  Much to my dismay, they had already closed the following year when I went back.  So when I saw The Gindaco again after all these years, you can bet I'll find time to savor these yummy balls. 

Nomnomnom.  Not all takoyakis are made the same.  The Gindaco's version is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Plus points for huge octopus chunks that you can actually chew on.  The only thing I'm not too happy about is the fact that they also incorporated some ginger into the balls, and ginger is not my friend.  LOL.  Other than that, I'm a happy camper!  4 out of 5 stars!

The Gindaco is at 1 Chome-14-24 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001

Tokyo Eats: Sushi Dai

When in Japan, one must eat sushi.  MUST.  And if you want real good sushi, then Tsukiji Fish Market is the way to go.  This is the place where the freshest sushi is available, coming from seafood that were caught just a few hours ago.  But fresh sushi comes with a price.  The night before, I made sure to do all my research regarding Tsukiji and discovered three things:  First, visitors are welcome to watch the auction happening daily, but you must be there before 3AM.  Second, the two best sushi places in Tsukiji Fish Market is Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi.  Rumor is that Sushi Dai is owned by the father and Daiwa Sushi is owned by the son, with them competing among themselves as to who can produce the best sushi from the freshest catch of the day.  And third, if you want to try either of the famed sushi places, then you must be there and in line before 5AM.  Come any later than that, and you'd risk falling in line for 3 hours.  WHAAAAATTT...??  So yes, we woke up at 4AM for this.  And since our hotel is quite near to Tsukiji, we decided to walk the 2kms towards the fish market.  

According to different sites, there is not much difference between Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi.  Both are equally superb.  But some claim Sushi Dai is better.  And since we only had one chance to try one sushi restaurant for this trip, we decided to go for Sushi Dai. 

The line outside Sushi Dai

We arrived at a little past 5AM (blame it on getting lost again) and was relieved to see that there were only about 15 people in front of us, not a hundred!  At 5:30AM, we were ushered in.  We were then asked if we wanted the day's special set.  We didn't know anything about their sets, so we just said yes!

Oh hello there, sushi master!

Ok confession:  I don't eat sushi.  Well, not the raw ones at least.  I do love my unagi (eel) and tamago (egg) though.  But that's about it.  So this Sushi Dai experience is really for Hubby, who is a sushi monster and will eat anything and everything sushi. 

And since I don't eat sushi, please forgive me if I was not able to take down what was served.  Seriously, the number of sushi that were plopped down in front of me was overwhelming!  I did, however, take photos of each and every piece served.  Hope that makes up for forgetting their names and what they are.  LOL.  Enjoy the food porn!

After every piece from our special set was served, the sushi chef asked us if we wanted anything else and handed us the menu.  Of course!  There was only one thing Hubby needed to complete his sushi experience, and that is the toro.  For those who are not familiar, toro is also known as the fatty tuna, or as Hubby describes it, "the wagyu of sushi". 

Toro (very fatty tuna)

So how was the experience?  Hubby loved it!  This is probably the best sushi place in the whole world (his words, not mine).  And judging from the long lines snaking towards the back when we got out, I'd have to say everyone agrees with him.  5 out of 5 stars!

Sushi Dai is at 5-2-1, Tsukiji Fish Market, Chuo-ku, Tokyo