My Week in Tokyo: Favorite Eats / April 2015
I love Japanese food. When most people think Japanese food, they default to just sushi but there is so much depth and variety within Japanese cuisine that I also think about ramen, kaiseki (traditional seasonal multi-course meal), oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl), tonkatsu (pork cutlet), and izakaya (pub food, small plates).
Armed with friends’ suggestions and google, I created a culinary itinerary of places to try during my week in Tokyo and these were my favorites.
Notes: Credit cards aren’t accepted at most places, especially smaller establishments. Some ramen places use vending machines for payment but you can ask staff to help if needed. Tipping is not customary in Japan.
Tsukemen at Fu-unji (風雲児)
During my research, I happened upon this article listing The 5 Ramen Places You Should Visit in Tokyo in David Chang’s Momofuku magazine, Lucky Peach, by Ivan Orkin, chef/owner of Ivan Ramen. I am realizing now that is a ridiculous mouthful of ramen name dropping in one sentence. Anyway, I ended up making it to three from the list and Fu-unji was the one that still to this day, stays with me.
Tsukemen Deluxe at Fu-unji. Seated at 10:55am, served at 11, finished and left by 11:10
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To preface, I have never been a huge of tsukemen but I have only tried a handful in my lifetime and Fu-unji’s stands out above the rest.
Tsukemen is like a decomposed ramen, in that the noodles come plated separately from the much-thicker soup base for you to dip into and enjoy. The soup base comes slightly warm with lots of pork bits, an egg, seaweed, and topped with a heaping mound of dried fish powder. After mixing thoroughly, I didn’t find the fish flavor to be off-putting and it was more a solid depth of umami. I’m not a noodle slurper either but tsukemen almost forces it, and I’d even go as far as to say that it made the overall taste better.
The tsukemen here will set you back only ¥800 for the regular portion or ¥1000 for the deluxe. Cash only.
Tonkatsu at Butagumi (豚組食堂)
Premium Tonkatsu dinner with an Yebisu beer. #foodporn #tokyo #japan #butagumi
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Suggested by one of my friends, Butagumi serves delicious tonkatsu and has several locations. I opted for the “cafeteria” location located in the basement level of the Roppongi Hills North Tower since that seemed more suited for dining solo. The basement level itself may look like a food court but once you pass through the split-curtains, you get transported to a beautiful space with long counter-seating made with reclaimed wood.
I chose a small portion of premium tonkatsu and thought a nice cold Yebisu beer would pair well with the fried pork. As customary with most tonkatsu sets, it comes with some side dishes, miso soup, sliced raw cabbage, and rice. You can usually get as much rice or cabbage as you want but the initial portions were enough for me. Along the table are condiments and some ginger salad dressing that deliciously flavors the cabbage and serves as a welcome crisp break between salty bites.
The pork was delicious. The higher quality is distinctly noticeable compared to the drier and cheaper iterations you get at an average restaurant. To accompany the tonkatsu, there is tonkatsu sauce (thick, tangy, slightly sweet sauce similar to Worcestershire or A1), Japanese mustard, and some Himalayan Pink Salt. My favorite pairing was with the Himalayan salt as it really accentuated how succulent and flavorful the pork was.
Total for the meal and beer was ¥2400 (~$20). Credit card accepted.
Omakase Sushi at Sushi-sho Saito (すし匠 斎藤)
I knew it would be hard to snag an Omakase (translates literally as “leave it to you”) sushi reservation given my lack of planning and some places only accept reservations from residents or high-end hotels. On my second day in Tokyo, I decided to try anyway and asked my hotel concierge to help call a few places to see if there was any availability that week and was lucky enough to find a space at Sushi-sho Saito.
Located nondescriptly on the second floor of an office building in Akasaka, Sushi-sho Saito was a modern oasis with a L-counter table able to accommodate 12 people. There was a large party from Singapore already seated that was lively, and created a fun atmosphere that evening. Chef Saito was very friendly and also spoke English well.
I ordered sake to enjoy throughout my meal but also switched to some tea near the end of dinner. A nice touch was that they made sure that the tea was very mild so that it wouldn’t detract from the tasting.
The 22-course dinner service was around 1.5-2 hours long. Highlights included snapper with broiled skin, katsuo bonito sushi, aji horse mackerel with shiso sushi, and an entire sea urchin paired with a thickened dashi that was so fresh that the spines from the shell were still moving. The spectacle and the shock of the uni still moving took a solid minute to get used to. I could actually do without it because I felt rather uncomfortable eating its innards while it was waving at me.
When the regular menu ended, Chef Saito asked how full I was. I pressed on with the desire to try some other things so I said I could probably eat two more. I’m glad I did because those two bites were two of my favorites of the night: another aji mackerel sushi, and an uni cone.
The meal officially ended with dessert, which included some interesting options like Earl Grey ice cream and Sudachi sorbet (Japanese lime). I opted for the Sudachi sorbet since I had never tried it before and it was very refreshing.
My dinner total came to ¥24,000 (~$200) and I left full and happy.
Credit card accepted.
Desserts at Q-Pot Café
Q-Pot started as a food and fantasy-themed accessory brand but has since spawned a café recreating edible versions of its own designs. I knew nothing about the brand or the café but my friend had yet to go and I’m so happy I came along.
Dessert at #QPotCafe in #Harajuku. #Tokyo #Japan #cafe #cheesecake #cupcake #cake #dessert…
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The space itself is so adorable, a great place for both kids and the kid in all of us. The table was designed like a cookie. Desserts are carefully placed on plates to resemble jewelry. The “Cheese Cake” I ordered was made to visually resemble a yellow block of cheese, holes and all. And it was delicious — light, fluffy, and perfectly tart from the lemon. I would much rather have this cheesecake than a New York one. Credit card accepted.
Notable Mentions
Tori Paitan Soba at Kagari (篝)
Creamy Paitan Soba with seasonal vegetables. #foodporn #ramen #soba #chicken #tokyo #ginza
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Located in Ginza, a significant line formed before its 11am opening. With only 8 seats, it did take some time before I was seated.
I got the regular portion (nami) of the Tori Paitan Soba (literally chicken white broth noodles), which all the people around me got as well (¥950) though the larger size was only ¥100 more. Although listed as soba, it was not the darker buckwheat noodle you might usually think of and it did resemble more of a traditional ramen noodle.
The soup was really solid. The creaminess was interesting and I’ve never had that in ramen before. It was a bit milky, very smooth and slightly frothy. And as odd as it sounds, it sometimes tasted almost like I was having Thanksgiving dinner with the poultry base and creaminess reminiscent of mashed potatoes.
The base bowl of soba came with sliced chicken topped with yuzu peel and delicious seasonal vegetables (mine were green beans, bamboo shoots, cabbage, and a pickled sakura blossom). The texture of the sliced chicken was so smooth. It felt similar to that of a sous vide or brined chicken, and it also came slightly pink still, which is not uncommon in Japan. There’s even chicken sashimi served at some restaurants.
The soba also came accompanied with a dish of garlic/ginger and fried garlic. If you’ve ever had Cantonese chicken with the gerng yung (ginger scallion condiment), the combination with the soup ends up tasting like that. The fried onions were a great touch as well for some texture and added saltiness. Cash only.
Special Curry at Little Shop
This insane curry with #karaage, #katsu, #egg, #veggies, #cheese and #tomato was only ¥800…
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There are only two prices at Little Shop: ¥700 or ¥800. If you want only a specific topping like katsu or vegetables, you can get it for ¥700. If you want every topping they offer, it’s only ¥100 more.
I got the special because at only ¥100 more, it seemed silly not to get it. But that was a mistake because it was so huge. I’m still baffled by how much and how fast locals eat, while still appearing quite skinny.
The curry itself has so much depth and variety in spices. I wouldn’t call it spicy-hot but definitely one of the spiciest in terms of flavor notes. My favorite topping was actually the bell pepper that was fried and brought out a nice sweetness. The katsu was pounded really thin and went well with the curry. The fried chicken wasn’t battered and I felt I didn’t get too much flavor from it — but it is hard to get any subtlety when paired with such a strong curry. My least favorite topping was the seaweed as it added too much fishiness, which I had left until the end when I was already battling to finish the plate. Cash only.
Luida’s Bar (ルイーダの酒場)
Luida’s Bar is a video game themed bar based on the popular Dragon Quest RPG series. Themed restaurants and cafés are common in Japan usually centering around cosplay or gaming but has also recently expanded to include spending time with cats or owls. I knew I wanted to go to one just for the experience and it was a nice short detour having food and drink that visually resembles monsters from the game. I also got an adorable slime meat bun to go.
Of note, the staff at the time did not know much English, if at all. Cash only.
Onigiri (Rice Balls) from Convenient Stores
Best 7-11 dinner: katsudon and salmon onigiri and Asahi beer. The appropriate first meal after a First Class flight
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My first meal after arriving in Tokyo on my first class JAL flight was none other than snacks from the local convenient store (called conbini for short in Japanese). With most open 24 hours, chains like 7–11 or Lawson conveniently provide cheap liquor and food whenever your tummy craves. The onigiri come ingeniously packaged with plastic between the seaweed and the rice so that the seaweed does not become soggy. There is a tab you can pull from the top corner down and around, allowing you to pull the separated sides apart. Onigiri are offered with a variety of fillings but my favorites are always tuna or salmon. They also had a katsudon (pork cutlet and egg on rice) inspired onigiri that was delicious. Depending on the filling, onigiri prices typically range from ¥100–150 each. Credit card accepted.
Ebi-Fireo (Filet-o-Shrimp) at McDonald’s Japan
Late dinner at #McDonalds with Ebi-fireo, Sakura-nori fries and Sakuranbo milkshake.
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Living in NYC, I always think it’s strange when tourists frequent the Olive Garden or TGI Friday’s. Those are not the things I want to eat when I travel, especially in an amazing food city like NYC. That being said, I actually love going to McDonald’s in every new country I visit. And Japan’s is my favorite by far because of its ebi-fireo (think Filet-o-Fish but with a shrimp patty). It’s absolutely delicious referencing the ebi-furai (fried shrimp) popular in bentos and curry. I also tried some of the seasonal sakura items like the sakura-nori (cherry blossom, seaweed) fries and the sakuranbo milkshake.
Depachika (デパ地下)
Strolling through the Depachika (department store basement) food basements is always fun. It reminds me of being at a Costco but much nicer. There is so much variety at your fingertips and quite a bit to sample as well. Some also have rooftop spaces that are great places to take your meal or snack up to for a picnic.
I visited quite a few during my week there but always between meals so I was never hungry. But I did buy some adorable pastries to have for breakfast.