Japan Spring 2018 Food-Otaku Adventures

[Mockngbrd]

For the Katsu fans

 

 

 

 

It was a day of Katsu as we headed to Tonkatsu Yachiyo in Tsukiji for breakfast and Tonkatsu Maisen over in Omotesando for dinner. Two rather different places, both serving Katsu.

Of course, part of this Katsu dining experience wasn’t exactly planned as we were really heading into Tsukiji early in the morning for the sole purpose of a Sushi breakfast at Sushi Dai. But it was not meant to be, even though we trotted out into cold early morning and reached Dai at 5:45 in the morning, an enormous queue had already formed and it looked like another 3-4 hour wait before we could even get close to the entrance. I sure remember it wasn’t like this just a couple of years ago, perhaps Dai just got even more popular (as we noticed many in the queue had tourist guide books with Dai featured), or maybe the impending closure of Tsukiji just made people more motivated to hit Dai one last time.

Not wanting to endure another (rather painful) 3 hour standing line, Jamie suggested we try out the Tonkatsu joint i had previously raved about and visited on my last solo trip. Good idea.

Tonkatsu Yachiyo (八千代) is located smack bang in the middle of Sushi Daiwa and Sushi Dai, so it really is not too difficult to find. There are actually two katsu joints sitting side by side, the one on the right is Yachiyo. On most days, you will usually find locals dining inside, which is of course a big plus sign for authenticity, or maybe they also just don’t want to join a 3-4 hour line for sushi.

Inside, it’s all very utilitarian, nothing fancy. Some old flooring, rickety stools and a table that has seen better days. You go in, order your food, eat, and leave.

But the food, oh such delicious yummy food. Usually in a Tonkatsu joint, they serve mostly Pork, but over here, the specialty is deep fried seafood. Very fresh deep fried seafood. The menu is on the walls but because everything is in Japanese, it can be a little daunting for the casual visitor. But to make things easier, there are sets you can choose from. All dishes come with a serving of JDM rice, vegetables and miso. Perfect for those cold wintery mornings.

The A-set i ordered (and easiest to order since it was featured in an article stuck to the wall) consist of a big sized prawn, fish and a nice plump scallop, all fried to crispy perfection and served with a dollop of very-tasty-i-am-still-thinking-about-it tartar sauce.

Jamie had the oysters, 5 fat and big oysters fried just right to retain the oyster’s creamy texture. It was fookin good.

Breakfast at Yachiyo was so delightful it turned out to be one of this trip’s foodie highlights. Though we might have missed out on Sushi Dai, having some tasty seafood katsu in the morning with time to spare for a nap back in our Airbnb apartment sure made up for most of the initial disappointment. Yachiyo also serves up a very limited char siew tamago dish but i’ve yet to try it. I hear it’s good.

As we headed back to our apartment after grabbing a quick beef bowl (yes we were just being greedy), i grabbed one last parting shot of Tsukiji. This time next year, it will sadly be no more.

Over in Omotesando in the evening, we managed to get in through the doors of Maisen just before it was time for their last orders. We had both read about this place online and given the rave reviews from other visitors, we had pretty high expectations. With prices averaging about ¥3,000-¥4,000 per person, this would also be one of the more pricier Katsu places we’ve visited. Definitely higher end than our breakfast hole in the wall.

It was, not as great as i wanted it to be. To be fair, we reached rather late and as it turns out, Maisen serves up a limited number of their “Special Pork” each day and unless one was to reach there early, chances are, you’d be stuck with the more ordinary but still very good cuts of pork. Don’t get me wrong, the food was fantastic, and the crispy bits of the Katsu was very light and fluffy. It was also probably the best Tonkatsu i’ve had, but i’m not sure it was really worth the price premium. Would i return? Only if i get to try out one of their “specials”. For now, my Tonkatsu dreams are made of Seafood and Tartar sauce.

[Lala81]

i had katsukura at shinjuku taka when i went. It's good, yes also best tonkatsu i had before, but nothing mind blowing. But the miso soup was super good haha  i still remember the miso soup better than the pork 

 

For the Katsu fans
It was, not as great as i wanted it to be. To be fair, we reached rather late and as it turns out, Maisen serves up a limited number of their “Special Pork” each day and unless one was to reach there early, chances are, you’d be stuck with the more ordinary but still very good cuts of pork. Don’t get me wrong, the food was fantastic, and the crispy bits of the Katsu was very light and fluffy. It was also probably the best Tonkatsu i’ve had, but i’m not sure it was really worth the price premium. Would i return? Only if i get to try out one of their “specials”. For now, my Tonkatsu dreams are made of Seafood and Tartar sauce.

 

[Tohto]

i had katsukura at shinjuku taka when i went. It's good, yes also best tonkatsu i had before, but nothing mind blowing. But the miso soup was super good haha i still remember the miso soup better than the pork

Can't wait for all the good Japanese foods end of the years. Edited July 2, 2018 by Tohto

[Mockngbrd]

Sometimes i like to revisit places

 

https://garage36.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/tokyo-food-otaku-familiar-locales-ivys-place-the-roastery-and-bear-pond/I’d like to think, part of the charm of Tokyo is that because the city is such a vast metropolis, there are always interesting new places to discover, explore and taste! But sometimes, there are just some places which have charmed us so much that we make it a point to drop by whenever we land in Tokyo. Rokurinsha ramen in Tokyo station is one of these places but there is only so much ramen one can write about. (Best thing in the World after a red-eye flight though!)

I had previously written about the cars spotted in Daikanyama T-site but cars are not the only reason why we return to T-site. If you are a doggy person and don’t mind having a rather tasty breakfast or brunch with an occasional pooch sitting alongside your table, you cannot go wrong with Ivy’s Place.

The food is excellent, the outdoor seats are lovely (especially in the right weather), and the coffee is from Tokyo’s highly regarded Nozy Coffee. On my previous visits, i had their pancakes which were great but might be a tad much on the serving portion.

This time i opted for their Eggs Benedict and they were fantastic! I know some people out there might label this dish as a tad pretentious (can’t blame them really, with so many cafes serving rather sub-standard but still pricey variants of this dish nowadays), but really, those that i had here were hands down the best ever. Simply because they replaced the boring old english muffin base with a buttermilk biscuit. I LOVE ME SOME BUTTERMILK BISCUITS! Break those egg yolks and scoop them up with some tasty buttermilk biscuits! Happy tummy indeed.

And then Jamie’s order (Vegetable curry and poached eggs over rice and nan) arrived and immediately, food envy started creeping in. It looked really good and tasted even better. Seriously if more vegetarian food tasted like this, going vege-only might not be so bad. Everything here was just right.

I will be back again Ivy, i will be back! Do take note that Ivy’s place does get crowded later on in the day and long waiting times are not unheard of, so it is best to arrive early. We reached around 8 in the morning and had no problems getting a nice outdoor table.

Unlike Ivy’s Place. The Roastery is at once familiar and not at the same time. Mainly because it is a place i had always walked by on my previous visits since my Airbnb apartment was less than a minute away, i must have gone by this place more than a dozen times but never stepped inside. This time though, with some time on our hands, we stopped by for a cuppa in the morning.

With beans also provided by Nozy, our morning brew was quite enjoyable but since i’m not an expert in the art of drinking coffee, there is really no point elaborating. Service is friendly and we also observed a crowd here towards the late afternoons so they must be doing something right!

Over in Shimokitazawa, we once again popped into the Bear Pond for what we consider the best Tokyo coffee we have tasted so far. I love looking at the flowers on sale during Winter season. So colorful!

There was an art gallery just opposite the cafe, i didn’t go in.

It was a somewhat quiet day here so we got to relax a little while Tanaka-san and his wife chatted among themselves. Unfortunately we got there slightly after 1pm so no espressos anymore. Maybe next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When in Japan. Always good to have some cow! Satou currently ranks as #02 on the steaks i've eaten :)

 

 

After an entire morning worth of touring around the fantastic and lovely Ghibli Museum (well worth visiting if you can get hold of the tickets), we trekked through Inokashira park on our way to meet this holiday’s Meat of destiny, Matsusaka beef in Steak House Satou!

Though the park was especially beautiful at this time of the year, we were on a mission and so had to give up this small bit of sightseeing.

A short nine minutes (yes i timed the walk) later, we were here, Steak House Satou. A humble double storey establishment with the restaurant on the second level and a butchery on the ground floor. A long queue can be seen formed right outside but this queue was really for their fried beef balls sold from the butchery. We didn’t get to try any but they looked great.

Onto the main event and up the stairs we go! Or at least we tried going up, turns out there really was a short wait for the restaurant lining the narrow steps up. No bother, as the wait was less than half an hour.

Unlike many big chain steak houses and restaurants, Steak House Satou is not exactly big in size and seats are set quite close together. But then, this is Tokyo and with some top quality meat on the menu, all is forgiven.

Having traveled all the way here, i opted for the Matsusaka. The price tag was on the high side when you consider the rest of the items on the menu, but such is the price of a happy meaty indulgence. I’m also pretty sure that something similar will cost me twice as much back in Singapore, so why not?

For those ordering the Matsusaka, the chef will first run down the stairs to fetch the prized meat and present it to you before it hits the Teppan-yaki grill. (You will also get a fancier looking salad on a fancier looking plate.)

The term “melt in your mouth” has often been used but that really is the best way to describe the experience on chow down. The moment all those marbled fats ooze out their juicy flavor is truly memorable. A return visit will be in order.

Just before we left, i picked up an additional two slabs of Matsusaka for a BBQ back home. At just slightly over ¥8,000 for both, it was in my mind at least, incredible value!

Edited July 13, 2018 by Mockngbrd

[Jamesc]

Please come Japan. I need the bonus.