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.

Satsuma Reprise

The last time we were at Satsuma was more than 3 years ago, and it was only a late Friday night at work that brought us back there for a very late dinner recently. We were pleased, however, to discover that the quality was as good as we remembered. The only problem was that everything came too quickly, and that we didn't have enough time to finish one dish before moving on to the next, which to me, is pretty important for an izakaya where you want the breadth and space to enjoy one dish without worrying about the next one getting cold. We gave this feedback to our (very friendly) server, so let's hope they take it on board.

The usual starter of fresh veggies with miso dip.  

Looking nice and colourful up close

Mixed mushrooms with garlic and butter. Yummy but not so good once cold.

Fried rice with seaweed and octopus. Yummy, but not so good once cold.

Short rib skewers - one done medium to the husband's liking, the other medium-well to my liking. Excellent.

Grilled chicken wings were as good as we recall. Crispy skin with moist meat. Top marks.

Chicken thigh and tsukune - these were fairly standard. But not nice once cold (you're getting my drift).

This was fabulous- mentaiko tofu baked with cheese on top.

Perhaps the yummiest dish of the evening. But not good once cold.

We also had a grilled fish - I can't recall what this was, but I think it was a spanish mackerel since they had run out of yellowtail. Decent, fresh, but perhaps not the best fish for grilling.

Grilled squid- plain, decent, but not nice when eaten cold.

All the dishes came out in the space of about 20 minutes, which was crazy since the 2 of us were struggling to identify which could be eaten cold and which dishes absolutely had to be eaten hot. The table also ran out of space. This was a perfectly good, yummy, high-quality izakaya meal that was marred by the memory of rushing to finish the food, which was a pity because dinner set us back $150. Hopefully things get better next time round.

Tokyo: Tofuro at Ginza Itchome

We went to an izakaya called Tofuro for a last blast with the entire family, and thankfully the sister managed to wrangle us a private room which meant freedom from cigarette smoke. Chicken cartilege - fabulously crunchy

This was really good - minced otoro with sesame sauce, avocado and ikura.Tsukene with a raw egg yolk in the dipping sauce

Bacon-wrapped cherry tomatoes Grilled ika - so fragrantGrilled chicken wingsAn amazing array of sashimi with a bit of everything wonderfulYakitori with negiHome-made tofuA salad dish that came looking a bit like a flowerpotMochi wrapped in bacon - this was very interesting, with a soft chewy centre Fresh wasabi and graterWe ordered a serve of seiro soba, freshly madeGrilled onigiri with picklesThis was either a grilled saba or hamachi.Almond tofu to end off withThe entire meal was absolutely enjoyable, and there wasn't a single item that we didn't fancy. As usual, the only regret was not being able to order more. For directions, see http://www.tofuro.jp/en.html and http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g223622/lang/en/ - we went to the Ginza-Itchome branch, which was about 10 mins walk from the JR Yurakucho Station

Tokyo: Uoshin Nogizaka

On the recommendation of my sister and a friend who had gone to Uoshin before, we set off on a cold Friday night searching for the restaurant. Thanks to a friendly Midtown Roppongi staff, we found the place fairly easily. Thankfully the sister had made bookings - the last one available for the night - and we scored the last table on the open rooftop verandah. We were pretty excited to see the place looking very busy and noisy, which is always a positive sign.
It was absolutely packed with people drinking, smoking and eating
Fortunately we were on the open deck which meant we managed to avoid most of the cigarette smoke. It started hailing about an hour later, but that's another story for another day. The clever sister had told the waiter to prepare heaters and blankets, which was a stroke of genius since we really needed them.

The more extensive menu was mostly in Japanese - which we completely couldn't understand. But we managed to get hold of an eigono picture menu, and lots of fingerpointing ensued.
This clam sashimi platter was the first to arrive - it was a pretty exciting looking plate with 4 types of clams that we couldn't quite identify completely
I think this was geoduck
Akagai (ark shell)
No idea what this was, but it was pretty crunchyAnd this must have come from a pretty big clam - I loved the crunchy texture, and was most annoyed that I couldn't even ask for its name for future reference.We ordered a tamago yaki - delicious with grated daikonOne of the 2 grilled fishes - can't recall what it was but it was amazingly fresh. I loved the grated daikon. The second grilled fish which we enjoyed - again, no idea what it was!The Must-Order dish is the Nokezushi (¥1,500), which is a normal sushi roll with cucumber in the middle, heaped to overflowing with kani, uni, ikura and negitoroThe other side - this was so decadent, with all the amazing flavours in one dish. I wish we could have ordered another oneOur other sashimi platter came, and the husband instantly declared this fresher than what we had eaten at Tsukiji market upon arrival. I think the flavours were amazing but I wasn't so keen on such thick slicesWe also had a clam and scallop soup in dashi stock.The clams and scallops were very sweet, and every drop was licked upSalmon ochazuke - a lovely way to end the meal
When the bill came, we had another pleasant surprise - for 6 adults, dinner came up to less than S$150. This was a fabulous meal, and the value for money factor was simply amazing. I think it was a pity we didn't manage to order whole fish because of the language barrier, but we were quite happy nonetheless. Bookings are absolutely, absolutely essential, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. It's pretty easy to get to - just get to Midtown Roppongi, face the main road and turn right and walk down the road, and it's about 200-300m away.
9-6-32 Akasaka, Minato-Ku, Tel: +81-3-3405-0411 Open 5.30pm-12.30am Mondays to Saturdays Closest stations: Nogizaka and Roppongi