Tag Archives: food

Yamaga Honten (山家)

Posted in Tokyo by

Izakaya is a popular informal Japanese cuisine for those looking to enjoy good food and drinks after work. Meat is cut into bite size pieces, placed on a skewer, and grilled. The type of meat can range from chicken to cow to parts like hearts, gizzards, and liver.

The food here is tasty but the menu is only in Japanese and the staff only speaks Japanese. So I trusted Google translate to decipher the menu. Boy, was I in for an cultural experience.

We ordered the kobe beef but didn’t realize it comes raw. We ate it anyways. 

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The bacon wrapped asparagus were delicious.

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We ordered a combo skewer set of chicken wings, chicken liver, chicken skin, chicken thigh, and chicken heart.

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I enjoy eating chicken heart so I wanted another skewer of hearts. On the menu, it says chicken hearts (5). When I placed my extra order with the waiter, he asked if I wanted 5 and I said yes. I thought that it mean 5 hearts on a skewer. When the chicken hearts came out, I soon realized it meant 5 skewers of heart, which the waiter was trying to that explain to me.

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On second thought, these look to big to be chicken hearts despite what google translates says. Either way, I forced myself to eat three skewers out of respect for my mistake. 

(1-5-9 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)

patisserie Sadaharu Aoki

Despite having traveled to Paris before, I never heard of patisserie Sadaharu Aoki until now. Aoki was born in Tokyo but moved to Paris to learn the art of French baking. He opened his own shop in Paris before expanding in his homeland. I give him an A+++ for mastering French baking. Above is the matcha eclair incorporating the French pastry with his Japanese background. The eclair is filled with a matcha custard and topped with a matcha ganache. Aoki did a wonderful job in bringing out the true matcha flavor. It was so supremely divine that to this day, I still dream of having another bite.

Look out for it at the Shinjuku Isetan on level B1F.

The location I went to was Japan〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku 新宿3-14-1, but there are plenty of other locations in Tokyo. See the map below.

Mentsu-Dan (東京麵通团)

If you’re a noodle lover like me, I highly recommend Mentsu-Dan. The fresh handmade noodles will elevate your udon standards. The noodles are chewy and have the perfect bite. I haven’t been able to appreciate udon anywhere else after this. Being the tourist I am and willingness to try new things, I ordered natto with a fresh egg. I soon learned natto was fermented soy beans. I don’t recommend this unless you are a fan of fermented soy beans. It was difficult for me to overcome the fermented flavor despite how great the noodles were. I recommend the beef udon with broth instead. The beef is yummy, and the broth is clear and easy on the taste buds.

After you get your udon, head over to the tempura area where you can select from the vast varieties of tempura. I got the squash, katsu and squid. Overall, the freshness of the noodles makes this a must go when in Tokyo.

(7 Chome-9-15 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan)

Ichiran

Like everything else in Japan, Ichiran is a chain restaurant. They specialize in ramen with tonkotsu broth. To order, buy your meal ticket at the vending machine. You have the option to add more pork, green onions or an egg for additional costs. Once you’ve purchased your meal ticket, the hosts will guide you to an open table. You have the option to sit at individual booth like eating area or at open tables. At the table, you fill out a form customizing your broth and noodle preferences. The broth was porky but not deep in flavor. The noodles were the perfect chewiness. One dislike was that they forgot our egg until I remembered at the end of meal. Overall, it was a satisfying bowl of ramen.

I went to this location Japan〒542-0084 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Souemonchō, 7中央区宗右衛門町７−１８, however they have lots of locations through out Japan.

Hop Chou a la Creme in Shinsaibashi

Posted in Osaka by

Next to Dotonbori is Osaka’s shopping mecca Shinsaibashi. You can easily get lost in the never ending row of stores selling clothes, souvenirs, and jewelry. Beware of the hordes of tourists. I was expecting the tourists to be in Tokyo but soon learned they were all in Shinsaibashi.

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Lured by the sweet fresh out of the oven smell of a cream puff, I stopped at the Hop Chou a la Creme stall for a chocolate cream puff filled with matcha custard. The shell was crispy and the matcha cream was sweet and delicious.

(3-12-3 Minamisenba, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture)

Aizuya

Aizuya is the birthplace of takoyaki. Tako means octopus and yaki means to fry or to cook in Japanese. Due to food shortages in the twentieth century, wheat flour was sent over to Japan by the US as a relief after World War II. It became more popular than rice, which wasn’t sustainable until recently. Endo Tomekichi used the flour to create choboyaki, bite sized balls of batter cooked in a special hemispherical grill. At the same time, in Akashi, akashiyaki was developed. It is a piece of octopus surrounded by loose, eggy batter and then is dipped in dashi, a clear fish broth. Tomekichi combined the two recipes and created takoyaki to be sold in his first takoyaki shop, Aizuya. Takoyaki is now one of the staples of Osaka. It is popular on the streets of Dotonbori. Japan’s Universal City Walk also includes a Takoyaki Museum for takoyaki lovers.

Below is the original takoyaki. The original recipe does not include sauces or toppings.

Below is a set of six made of takoyaki batter with green onions and another set of six made of meat and green onions.

Aizuya also sells akashiyaki but is sold as part of a meal set. All around Osaka, there are chains of Aizuya shops, even in metro stations. We traveled to the original location in Osaka, next to the Osaka JR station, only to realize there was a closer shop near the Namba station that we were staying close to.

Kyoto Ramen Koji

Posted in Kyoto by

Kyoto’s JR station is an architectural beauty one stop shop for transit, shopping and food all in one.  An Isetan department store is located within the station.

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Amazing view of Kyoto Tower.

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Go up these stairs to the 10th floor to find Kyoto Ramen Koji, also known as Ramen Alley. There are eight restaurants that cook up ramen from different regions of Japan. 

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Read the boards to select the type of regional ramen you would like to try and head over to its corresponding location. To order ramen, buy a ticket from the menu vending machines in front of the restaurant. Most of it is written in Japanese but there are pictures. Once you’ve selected the ramen you want, wait in the queue forming along the side of the restaurant.

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I tried Menya Iroha’s (麺家いろは) glass shrimp, salt seasoned egg ramen. The broth was clear and the medium curly noodles were perfectly chewy. However, they are famous for their “Toyama Black” broth made from boiling fish sauce for many hours until the flavor mellows out. I didn’t try this but definitely will next time.

(Kyoto Station, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan)

Matsubara Dori

Posted in Kyoto by

After enjoying Kiyomizu-dera, I suggest walking down Matsubara Dori. Brace yourself for the hordes of people.

It’s worth it to try out the snacks and tea the shops offer to lure the tourists. One shop sold flatten mochi, which was chewy and delicious. In another, I picked up a snack sized bread filled with custard for only 60 yen. After consuming it, I wished I had bought more.

The machine in the back makes these bite sized snacks.

Ganko Sushi

Posted in Kyoto by

After wandering around Kyoto all day, we were starving and on the hunt for good food. After much research, we settled on Ganko Sanjo Honten. Like all good food in Japan, it is a chain so you don’t have to travel all the way to Kyoto to try it. I noticed them in every city we visited. They also have branches that serve only ramen or gyoza. It’s easy to spot as the tough Japanese chef is their logo and their entrances are known for its overwhelming displays of plastic food.

We sat at the counter and had an fun experience communicating with the chef as he only spoke Japanese and we knew little to none. 

Toro, boiled crab, and salmon. Despite its appearance, the salmon was smooth and fresh; I ordered it twice. 

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Negi toro roll was nothing special.

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I noticed everyone ordered eel, so I too had to try and it was deliciously sweet and toasted! The unagi had gone through the toaster twice. The uni in the back was mediocre. Sadly the chef served us from the bottom tray of uni, which didn’t look as nice as the top display tray.

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Overall, the sushi was mediocre. Some were amazing, like the salmon and unagi, but nothing to fawn about.

(Japan 〒604-8004 京都府京都市中京区中島町京都府京都市中京区三条通河原町東入中島町１０１)

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream

Kyoto is known for it’s love of desserts. Where ever you go in Kyoto, you will find plenty of shops selling matcha green tee ice cream. I didn’t catch the name of this place but it was on the way to Kiyomizu-dera.

The little old man that runs the place was adorable as he was the front man of the shop and also the behind the scenes man. He had to keep taking his shoes off to run to the back of his shop to fill up a cone. It was selling like hotcakes that the owner had to turn customers away because his ice cream machine broke down.