Kushi Waka Maru, Naka-Meguro, Tokyo

Our last visit to Kushi Waka Maru in Naka Meguro in 2012 was one which left a very deep impression on us. As a result, during our subsequent trip to Tokyo, we set aside one night to head back there for dinner. The key landmark for me has always been this fish pancake shop, so if it moves, I'm not sure what I'll do for subsequent visits!

A glimpse of the drink menu - I always think it's impossible to go to an izakaya without drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

They always start you off with an appetiser of whitebait and grated daikon, which is super yummy with a little bit of shoyu drizzled in

Sake in bamboo cups to start with

The place was packed, but we managed to get reservations thanks to my now-very-fluent-in-Japanese-especially-when-it-comes-to-making-reservations sister.

Slurrrrp

We started off with grilled shishito, or little green Japanese peppers

Followed by tebasaki, nankotsu and gingko nuts

Grilled to perfection

A salad to make ourselves feel better

Lovely Japanese tomatoes

Daikon salad

Yet more food - grilled beef skewers, bacon wrapped around mochi, and tsukune

Another view of the beef skewers

Then we had bacon wrapped around asparagus and ham with tomatoes

A closer look

Super juicy and sweet tomatoes grilled with ham - this was amazing

Various skewers of squid, pork belly, leek and garlic - by this time, we started sharing everything.

There's always a steady stream of people and a queue outside - without reservations, there's simply no chance.

The bill for 3 people came up to 11,000Y, or around S$50 per person. Such incredible value, only in Tokyo.

Contact details of the shop can be found in previous post. It's also possible to walk there from Shibuya and Daikanyama stations, but unless you know where to go, it's just much easier to take the train to Naka Meguro and walk along the canal, which is amazing during sakura season. Shopping tip - walk slightly further along the canal away from the station, and you'll find Don Quijote which is an electronics store, department store, pharmacy and supermarket all in one location which is open 24hrs.

Home Made Truffle Scrambled Eggs

As a result of the amazing truffle degustation dinner that we attended at Chiara, we each went home with one truffle that we knew we needed to save for a special occasion. The time came when we were staying over at a good friend's place, and had time to prepare breakfast. 

We had never handled an entire truffle before.

We put it in an airtight box with eggs for 3 days to allow the truffle aroma to infuse the eggs before scrambling them. 

And when we opened the cover - WOW. The truffles were super fragrant.

Ready to be shaved, but no of course we were too cheap to buy a truffle shaver. So we used a vegetable peeler instead. 

If the internet could transmit smells, this would be one photo that would need to be transmitted. The truffle smell had completely gone past the shells into the eggs. It was awesome. 

I beat the eggs up, then added some milk. Cream would have been perfect but we didn't want to buy any since we wouldn't have known what to do with the remainder. 

Getting the eggs cooked was super simple - just stirring them non stop in a non stick pan, with butter, watching the heat constantly to make sure that the eggs didn't overcook. 

And this was it - absolutely perfect scrambled eggs. Point to note from us cheapskates is that a vegetable peeler just won't do. Don't stinge on the truffle grater. The truffle slices were way too thick!

 

Not the best shot of our brekky, but it was a pretty amazing meal, with smoked salmon and dill on the side and toasted sourdough bread. 

Hellenic Republic, East Brunswick

I went through my photo archives and realised with horror that I had forgotten to blog about one of the most memorable meals I had at Hellenic Republic earlier this year. As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in March, there had been a Home By The Sea degustation dinner at Hellenic Republic that I had enjoyed immensely. At $95 with almost free flow wine and ouzo pairing, how was it possible not to jump on the bandwagon?! The only thing I was sad about was that I had left it too late to take a tram, and had to drive - meaning I had to ration the alcohol.

George Calombaris is pretty well-known for his appearances on tv as a MasterChef judge, but I didn't quite have high expectations of the dinner after eating at Mama Baba, his somewhat schizophrenic (or bipolar?) Greek/Italian restaurant in South Yarra which closed early this year - it reopened shortly after as Le Grand Cirque, which soon closed after it was revealed that GC's group ran into money trouble.

But back to Hellenic Republic, which is a restaurant I sincerely hope will stay open for much much longer, because they deserve to succeed if they can maintain consistency and quality.  Once we got in, seeing the menu got us all excited.

  

The chargrilled octopus that we started with was superb. I have no idea how they managed to get it so tender, and it was cooked to perfection with a smoky flavour.

The fava - split pea dip with some truffle oil and capers. Such a cheap trick to use truffle oil, which sad to say, I lapped up and thoroughly enjoyed. I was trying to go slow on the bread so it wouldn't fill me up too much, and I blame premature fullness on the fava.

Barrel aged feta with herbs and olive oil which was so, so good and tasty.

Olives, which left me most upset about my inability to drink too much.

The dudes at the kitchen keeping their calm under pressure, churning it all out for a full house.

Sardines with peppers and vinegar

Pickled vegetables

Battered whitebait - so sinful and irresistible

With aioli. This was amazing with the wine.

Greek salad with yet more feta

Eggplant and zucchini chips

Egg pasta with mussels, saffron and mullet roe

I wasn't too sure about the mullet roe, which I felt was a bit fishy, and the mussels were slightly underdone for me, but this was a small blip in an otherwise perfect meal. I also agree that it could have been amazing to someone else

And the ouzo, which arrived at the table looking clear

And turned cloudy once water was added. How that worked, I have no clue.

The mains arrived shortly after. The grilled calamari was pretty much perfect, with the right balance of chargrilled flavours and chewiness without getting too burnt.

Stuffed tomatoes

Veggies tossed with olive oil and salt, amazing with lemon drizzled on top. So simple yet so good.

Grilled fish and prawns served with skordalia

Desserts came - watermelon with feta, rosewater, mint and almonds

Kataifi pastry with custard, ice cream, sour cherries and pistachio. All in, a fantastic meal where it was impossible to walk straight after finishing - not sure whether it was because of the quantity of food or alcohol!