Tag Archives: travel eats

Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory

Studio Ghibli and My Neighbor Totoro fans can now fawn over Totoro cream puffs. Yes, a Totoro cream puff factory does indeed exist! It was opened in 2008 by Shirohige, also known as white bread in Japanese. Sources says this factory is also owned by the Miyazaki family. Hayao Miyazaki is the founder of Studio Ghibli and director of My Neighbor Totoro. Miyazaki also created a pig nosed animation of Shirohige, the baker.

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This will also be the cutest place you visit. The inside is adorned with everything Totoro and Studio Ghibli. Even the bathroom has a Totoro smiling at you. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures.

You can buy your Totoro cream puffs downstairs if you choose to consume them later. If you choose to eat them there, there is a cafe upstairs. However, they do require each person to buy one drink minimum.

The flavors are seasonal and are indicated by the type of decoration Totoro adorns.

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I got the strawberry cream (pink flower) and matcha green tea custard (yellow hat). My favorite was the strawberry cream because there were chunks of fresh strawberry in it.

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Hello my neighbor Totoro! 🙂

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The factory is located in Setagaya, about a 20 min train ride from Tokyo. When you get out the Setagaya station, make a right. Pass Lawson and make another right into the neighbor and follow the path until you reach Shirohige’s.

(5 Chome-3-1 Daita, Setagaya-ku, Tōkyō-to 155-0033, Japan)

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)

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)

Maisen Tonkatsu

Maisen Tonkatsu, owned by the Suntory group, is an upscale dining version of tonkatsu. Is it worth it? Yes! Never had I had pork so tender and juicy that it reminded of filet mignon. The pigs they use comes from different regions of Japan and are raised with special conditions i.e. being fed a special diet of green tea or yams or raised for seven years. The menu goes into detail about each pig. Be sure to ask for an English menu to truly know what you are selecting.

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Above on the left is the Chamiton fillet with curry. It was the only curry option they had. They probably frown upon dousing the rich meat in curry but I was really craving curry that day. The Chamiton pig is raised with a diet of green tea. I wanted to try their specialty Kurobuta black pig so I ordered a small fillet on the side. It is juicer and meatier than the Chamiton. They also offer a special apple flavored sauce for the Kurobuta. If you want their Kurobuta meal set, go early as they only sell five sets a day. The Chamiton was about 1950 yen while the Kurobuta was about 3950 yen.

Like all good things in Japan, Maisen is a chain and can be found all around Tokyo even in the food halls in the basements of department stores.

The location I went to was Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 4-8-5.

Ippudo

Served at Ippudo is the Akamaru Modern (pictured above). It has a tonkotsu pork broth with handmade thin noodles with a splash black garlic oil. It’s topped with three slices of pork, scallions, fungi, and bean sprouts.

The broth was intensely rich in flavor. The noodles were firm and the chasu was delicious!!!

They serve a strong barley tea to compliment the ramen. On the table are pickled bean sprouts, veggies, and ginger to snack on while waiting. They also have garlic and a garlic mincer at the table if you want your soup to be more garlicky.

Ippudo is a chain restaurant and can be found all over Japan. However, the stores are discreetly hidden and hard to recognize. Be on the lookout! You don’t want to miss out on their decadent broth.

Below is a map of Ippudos in Japan and New York.

Clinton St. Baking Company

Posted in New York, Tokyo by

Clinton St. Baking Company is my favorite NY brunch spot. When I discovered, they had branched out to Japan, I did a happy dance and ran straight to deliciousness.

Smoked salmon potato pancake– This was okay. The quality wasn’t what I expected maybe due to the difference in the potato? The salmon had a hint of fishy smell. I did enjoy the lemon creme fraiche.

Blueberry Pancakes- These were my favorite in NY, and they were as good as I remembered them to be. Light and fluffy with a dunk in the maple butter sauce. Happiness in one bite. A must try when going here.

The Tokyo location is located at:5-17-1, Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, (“kotto street”) Tokyo 107-0062. New York is the original location.