Sunday, June 10, 2012

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

Saturday, June 9, 2012

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

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tokyo: Ippudo Ebisu reprise

After having such a wonderful meal at Ippudo the last time, we decided we had to make another pilgrimage back, and it had to be the Ebisu branch. So we walked for about 20 mins in the freezing cold, albeit part of the way under cherry blossoms. And what joy when we finally arrived, to find that we didn't have to wait for a seat.
I love the jars of free flow taugay...no I just love the taugay full stop. Spicy and crunchy.
We got there around 9pm and it wasn't too crowded so we didn't have to wait for a seat


We had a serve of gyoza to start off withThe husband's ramen - the Akamaru New for 800Y, a "combination of powerful yet refined flavours" (?!) in a tonkotsu broth. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

These noodles were thin, chewy and were so good with the rick pork stock

I had the Hakata Tsukemen (850Y), with thicker noodles for dipping.The super rich and flavourful dipping sauce



Check out the texture- this was fab!It was a wonderful meal, especially with the chilly temperatures. Wished we could have eaten another bowl.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Ivy Place Cafe at Daikanyama T-site, Tokyo

It's been a while. It's been a crazy busy month, and there's been no time to do stuff I wanna do. Still I am grateful for what I have, and am trying to be thankful for everything and to count it all joy. Sigh.

Continuing with the Japan posts - we had breakfast one Saturday morning at a really nice cafe that had opened somewhere around the neighbourhood.
It's at Daikanyama T-site, and I'm convinced it's developed by Tsutaya who is the anchor tenant.


Check out the crisscross Ts in the facade



Ivy Place is further in from the main road - lovely sunny spring morning


The entrance to the cafe beyond - it's amazing how, in central Tokyo, they are able to provide so much space with such low densities. Suppose it's a developer's choice.



They also kept the existing trees within the site. There's no way these trees could have grown to that height in such a short span of time.


We had scrambled eggs on toast


And a stack of pancakes with more fruit on the side

Only 2 dishes. With 4 coffees, the bill came up to S$50.

Not quite the best value for money, but a pleasant place nonetheless.
http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/en/ivy