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 fragrant
Grilled chicken wings
An amazing array of sashimi with a bit of everything wonderful
Yakitori with negi
Home-made tofu
A salad dish that came looking a bit like a flowerpot
Mochi wrapped in bacon - this was very interesting, with a soft chewy centre
Fresh wasabi and grater
We ordered a serve of seiro soba, freshly made
Grilled onigiri with pickles
This was either a grilled saba or hamachi.
Almond tofu to end off with
The 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 crunchy
And 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 daikon
One 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 negitoro
The other side - this was so decadent, with all the amazing flavours in one dish. I wish we could have ordered another one
Our 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 slices
We also had a clam and scallop soup in dashi stock.
The clams and scallops were very sweet, and every drop was licked up
Salmon 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
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 crunchy
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

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
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 with
The 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.
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

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.

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.
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
http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/en/ivy
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