Sushi-no-Midori 寿司の美登利 is one of the most popular mid-range sushi chain in Tokyo. They have numerous outlets scattered across the city and notable for long queues during the peak hours.
By the time we checked out of our hotel and dropped by their Shibuya outlet, it was slightly past 2pm. I innocently thought that since there was no queue outside the restaurant, we might have avoided the lunch crowd. Turns out you need to collect a queue number at the machine and wait for your turn. The notice stating “…we have no place for taking customer’s baggage.” is a tell-tale sign that this might be a popular spot for tourists – who wish to grab their last sushi-meal before they leave Tokyo?
While waiting for our queue number to be called, the staff checked to ask if we prefer counter seats or table seats. Apparently counter seats are more popular and needed a longer waiting time…
We settled for table seat and the table next to us were likely tourists from China judging by their accent. Ordering is relatively simple as they have a menu book with pictures of the dishes and listed in multiple language.
They also have these summary menu to help diners who are lost for choices in making quicker decisions. Notably, the Standard Sushi Assortment starts from as low as ¥800 (US$7.30). At such price point, its really value-for-money.
After having a late breakfast, we were actually not too hungry. Instead of the set menu, we went ala-carte so that we could curate a selection of our favourite nigiris. Including fresh snow crab, flounder, Shirako which we did not get to try while dining at Daiwa Sushi in Toyosu market the day before. Also a grilled scallop each.
The ingredients were fresh and it would be perfect if the rice balls were slightly smaller.
Made a booking to dine at Inua Restaurant once the reservation is opened which is about 2 months in advance. With an array of fine dining restaurants and a limited 2 night short stay in Tokyo, it meant that we had to be selective on the places that we plan to dine at. It was an easy decision to shortlist Inua Restaurant – a place started by Chef Thomas Frebel, who was previously appointed as Noma’s head of R&D.
Noma famously conducted a series of pop-up around the World, including Tokyo in 2015 and Sydney in 2016. While we failed in our attempt to snag one of those coveted seats, we managed to dine at the Copenhagen home base in 2016 (post). It was truly an once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience, with no certainty that I could ever revisit them since securing a seat there was akin to hitting a jackpot.
Learning that Inua serves Nordic-influenced dishes with Japanese ingredients was the key motivating factor in my choice as I longed to be able to somewhat relive the wonderful memories of Noma.
Unknown to me at the time of my booking, was that Inua gained much fanfare after Frebel served as a consultant for a Japanese TV series – La Grande Maison Tokyo (English title) starring Takuya Kimura. The TV series premiered via Starhub only on 17 Jan 2020. I managed to complete watching the series just before departing for my Japan trip and dine at Inua in Feb 2020. I soon realised that the dishes served in the fictitious competitor restaurant Gaku in the show were Inua-created. Interestingly Chef Shuzo Kishida of Quintessence (one of the first fine dining restaurants I visited in Tokyo way back in 2013) was the consultant for the design of the menu items served in the drama’s namesake restaurant.
The dining hall exudes strong Nordic influences and style. The round table without table cloth, the greyish colour and style all resembled the Noma 1.0* we visited in Copenhagen. *Since the relocation, the restaurant has reinvented itself as Noma 2.0.
For the meal we opted for one juice pairing (J) and one wine pairing to go with the 13-course menu.
Nordic style cuisine focus greatly on fresh ingredients from sustainable food sources: the sea, the forest and the earth. Japan possesses similar conditions and ticked all the right boxes. It would be interesting to see the type of dishes presented here at Inua.
The unmistakable jaw skeleton on the plate gave a clue as to where the ingredient came from – Monkfish. Instead of the flesh of the fish, here we have the Aerated monkfish liver terrine, natsuhaze (oldham blueberry) crisp. Some diners dislike eating organs for fear of the flavour and texture. No such problem when it gets transformed into a frozen parfait with absolutely zero resemblance to its original form here!
Paired with the refreshing honey kombucha, sunset oolong and kihada for both (J) & pairing. Kihada is the Japanese word for the amur cork tree. Not sure if they used the Kizashi Kihada tonic water in this drink or they infused the yellow inner bark of the Kihada into this drink themselves.
The next dish featured an ingredient harvested from earth: Seasonal citrus cured with kanzuri, roasted kelp oil. The roasted kelp oil (in green hue) at the bottom is made from kelp from Hokkaido. While the Kanzuri is a traditional condiment, a paste that is made from chilli, yuzu and koji, made in only Niigata Japan.
Hailed as Japan‘s “national fungus”, koji is the pillar to many Japanese food production from miso, mirin to sake. I still remember touring the compound of Noma 1.0 with lots of koji fermentation experimental boxes/jars around, it was used widely in their dishes. It’s understandable that Chef Frebel would be pushing boundaries in exploring innumerable ways of using koji to elevate flavour profile of his cooking.
While I didn’t quite catch the name of the citrus fruit (from Nagasaki), it looked and tasted like pomelo/buntan. This dish is an amalgamation of flavours: Sweet, sour, slight spiciness and rich in umami flavour.
A familiar ingredient was showcased in the next dish – Maitake 舞茸. It is very popular and widely cultivated in Japan. Despite only spending 1 night stay in Kusatsu, we had 2 soba meals with maitake tempura there. The strong earthy flavoured fungus truly lives up to its name of “dancing mushroom” when people danced with happiness upon finding it in the wild.
Being the signature dish of Inua, it is not surprising that no effort was spared in preparation of the hen-of-the-wood fungus before presenting it as Aged and smoked maitake, braised in a pine dashi with salted sakura. The maitake was aged for 5 days and then smoked. When the broth was poured tableside, guests get a whiff of the aroma. We were invited to take a bite of the mushroom first in its original taste, before using our hands to crush the salted dried sakura and sprinkle them over the dish for a different taste (perhaps for the cinematic effects too).
This is a palate cleanser – Dried fallenfruitsPear and beet berry wrap. The filling was made with wild Japanese mountain berries and young pine shoots while the wrap outside was caramelized beetroot and pear. Topped with flower petals, long pepper, lavender and lemon thyme.
Served in a claypot which was sizzling hot with a faint crackling sound was Warm stew of black truffle, grilled roses, lotus seeds and fermented pumpkin seeds.
It comprised of fresh pumpkin and lotus seeds, as well as fermented pumpkin seed tempeh. The tempeh water was then mixed with miso, added with grilled coriander, grilled rose petals and topped with a few freshly sliced fresh truffle.
Before we dig in, we had to concoct the “magic potion” by first stirring the truffle paste into the soup, followed by infusing the soup with the bouquet of herbs for 10-15 secs. Final step was to squeeze a few drops of the citrus into the soup.
Paired with: (J) Sorrel, passion fruit and lemongrass 2014 Interval 102, Slobodne Vinarstvo, Zemianske Sady, Trnava. A wine from Slovakia which is a Riesling that is dry with high acidity to cut the richness of this dish.
Next up, the visually stunning beauty is named Pillow of koji and caviar. My first impression of this dish was it reminded me of the quilted pattern of Chanel bag~ Of course the caviar add a touch of luxury to it as well.
The white base was actually made from udon flour dough. It was flattened, inoculated with koji, fermented for 2 days and ~voila. The surface turned into a velvety texture as a result of yeast cells growing on the dough. Sitting on top were a spoonful of caviar with a dollop of blackcurrent wood fudge – made from danish butter mixed with an oil infused with blackcurrant wood.
To eat it, we would bring the two opposite sides of the dough together with our hands (like folding) to bring the two elements together, before bringing it to our mouth. The udon flour dough had a chewy and delicate elasticity texture – almost like mochi. Love this!!!
Paired with: (J) Cold infused jasmine and oolong tea Niida Kaoruyama, Niida Honke, Koriyama, Fukushima. “Kaoruyama” is made with Shizenmai (non-fertilization / pesticide-free rice) shiro koji (white rice malt), natural water and natural yeast starter. Matured in an oak barrel used for storage of red wine. Delicate pale rose color. Light taste like rosé wine.
Up until now we did not have any meat yet. So the next dish was a portion of duck which was presented to guests earlier.
Wild duck cooked over charcoal, kayanomi nuts (Japanese nutmeg) sauce and grilled lemon thyme. Duck breast aged for two weeks and finished over charcoal grill, plated with pine leaves, pistachios and natsuhaze crisps around the side.
Paired with: (J) Matsubusa berry and spices (saffron and cardamom)2017 Waiting for Tom, Rennersistas, Gols, Neusiedlersee. A wine from Austria. 55% Zweigelt, 30% St Laurent and 15% Blaufränkisch.
While I was still immersed in the marvelous dinner, I heard the service staff said “This next dish would be your last savoury dish for tonight…”.
My OS: What?! It’s almost finished?!
Anyway my eyes quickly focus back to the pot on our table, and the staff introduced it as Nanatsuboshi rice, beechnuts and wild duck. There were two components to this dish. One was the freshly cooked rice topped with generous serving of beechnuts, sunflower seeds, fresh pine etc. Another was a bowl covered with a crisp, with a duck print, made with duck stock and chicken stock. Underneath the crisp were some of the trimmings from the duck we had previously.
After giving the rice a good mix, the staff placed a portion of it on top of the crisp. I really liked the multitude of textures, the nutty aroma, even down to the fluffiness of the rice. For a moment, I forgot that I’m actually dining in a Nordic-style restaurant. This is so typical of a Japanese donabe rice dish!
Paired with: (J) Kiwi, fermented rice and thyme 2016 Abeurador (2) Amfora, Mendall, Tarragona, Catalunya. The house-made non-alcoholic “Amazake” (Japanese fermented rice drink) using their own koji. For the wine, the grape variety is Macabeu (Viura). I found it familiar when I saw the unique bottle label. We had the wine from the same producer before, while dining at L’Effervescence a couple of years ago.
Last bit of the trimmings from the wild duck was finger-licking good.
You know its really gonna be the end when they serve you the dessert wine… 2016 Afruge Ma Cherie, Kidoizumi Shuzo, Isumi, Chiba. It is an aged taruzake (sake which has been stored or aged in a wooden barrel) like a sherry.
Blackened barley koji ice cream and pine cones preserved in honey – they caramalized the koji very slowly for 12 days at different temperatures and make it into a paste and served it as a dessert mixed with ice cream. In the middle was oil infused with the wild cherry wood. It’s a savoury ice cream with hints of sweetness and nuttiness from the pine cones.
Another unlikely ingredient made its appearance in the dessert section – Wakame. They created Caramelised seaweed mille-feuille with yuzu cream sandwiched inside. The baked “Hirome” seaweed was flaky and crisp, a good replacement for pastry sheets!
The last dessert was more conventional – Fresh atemoya and almond shell-infused oil. Atemoya (from Okinawa) is a fruit which is a hybrid of the sugar apple and the cherimoya. It was simply seasoned with almond shell oil.
Round up our meal with Sarunashi kiwi and forest flavours. Although they had the name kiwi, these tiny kiwi berries (about the size of olives) had a totally different texture from their namesake cousins. They are also known as Kokuwa in Japan. It is definitely not commonly found in supermarkets.
Kudos to the procurement team of Inua restaurant for sourcing a wide variety of ingredients from the Northernmost island of Hokkaido to the Southernmost islands in Okinawa.
Similar to Noma, guests at Inua were given a kitchen tour where we got to see what goes on behind-the-scenes and more interestingly the R&D kitchen where we found Chef Thomas Frebel hard at work. For ardent fans of Le Grand Maison Tokyo, you may even recognise that a part of Inua‘s back kitchen was used for one of the scenes in the show. Hint: where they shot the equipment used for fermentation.
Note:Inua closed permanently in Mar 2021 due to various compounding factors.
Established in 1834, Sembikiya is Japan‘s oldest fruit shop. But they are famous for other reason – insanely expensive high-end fruits which are often bought as gifts. You would likely do a double take when you glance at the price tags. A musk melon easily cost between $120 – $275 each. Walking through the brightly lit shop floor felt as though I’m looking at exhibits in a museum.
Instead of buying the whole fruit, the best way to have a taste of the pricey produce is to visit their fruit parlor. The café serving an array of elaborate ice cream sundaes and fruitscapes was luxuriously decorated. Service staff decked out in smart suits waiting in attention while we browse through the menu.
A plain fruit dessert platter starts from ¥1,265 (US$12) whereas an IG-worthy Strawberry Chocolate Parfait like the one we ordered cost ¥2,090 (US$26).
Compared to the dazzling red strawberries, the Musk Melon Parfait looks like the plain Jane cousin. But it actually cost ¥3,300 (US$40). Naturally we took some time to admire the beautifully arranged parfait before digging it.
Muskmelons are highly priced partly because of the meticulous efforts the farmers go through to nurture and grow them. I recalled watching an episode of “Trails to Tsukiji” featuring Muskmelon. You can try googling it to watch on Youtube. It’s fascinating how committed the Japanese are in researching on the growing techniques and the TLC required to produce the most perfect fruit. It is said that the finer the reticulation (the brown netting pattern), the sweeter and juicier the melon would be.
If you chanced by Yubari melon, be sure to give it a try. I personally liked Yubari more than Muskmelons. Tried it in Hokkaido (post) and was mesmerised by its alluring fragrance and sweet taste.
I visited another fruit parlor in Tokyo prior to this visit to Sembikiya. I must say if you are willing to splurge and have time to leisurely enjoy your afternoon break – go for Sembikiya. They offer a better ambience that makes you feel like a tai-tai~
After spending total of 7 hours in the queue (accumulated queuing time for 2 attempts) to visit Sushi Dai while they were at Tsujiki market in 2017, it was clear to me that I would try Daiwa Sushi this time (both shops shifted to Toyosu market since 2018).
Based on my past experience of spotting long lines to dine at these popular sushi joints when they were at Tsujiki, I was mentally prepared for at least 1-2 hours wait to get into Daiwa Sushi (note that my average waiting time for Sushi Dai was 3.5hours and Daiwa has always been reported to have a shorter and faster moving queue – affirmed through my own observation too).
Amazingly when we arrived at Daiwa Sushi‘s shop front located on the 1st floor of Block 5 “Fruits and Vegetables Building”, there was no queue (at 10.30am). I did a double take to check that we were at the right shop!
Happy to be seated immediately! Look at the fresh seafood on display.
They serve an omakase set so all you need to do is sit down and start enjoying the freshly prepared nigiris that the Chef serves up.
A key difference between Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi is that the former only serves up the next nigiri only after you finished your earlier piece. Whereas at Daiwa Sushi, the Chef serves up the pieces at his pace. For slow eaters like us, we end up having a platter of sushi standing on the tray. While we were still busy taking pictures of the much-cherished sushi, we saw one local Jap (who looked like a regular) chomping down the nigiri the moment the Chef placed it on the tray.
As for sequence, we were served the Chu toro, Shrimp, Uni, Salmon then Maguro maki.
They served up the soup which comes with the set, followed by a series of nigiris in fast and furious manner. A white fish which I didn’t catch (could be Tai?), Akami, Anago, Ark shell and Tamagoyaki.
The friendly Chef asked if we would like anything else and I requested for Aji which appeared swiftly. It took just 30 mins to finish this superquick breakfast. And we were one of the slower guests…Hence it is understandable that Daiwa Sushi has a shorter waiting time than Sushi Dai as their turnover is faster.
Compared to Tsujiki market, I find Toyosu less accessible although it is linked to the Shijo-mae station. I did not use the Yurikamome Line but took a bus from Shimbashi station instead. I wouldn’t mind making my way to Toyosu for great sushi again if the waiting time is more reasonable now. Or perhaps I got lucky on the day of my visit or there were less tourists due to the emerging Covid situation? We saw a short queue outside by the time we were leaving at about 11am.
For those who don’t mind the long queue and interested to visit Sushi Dai at Toyosu, do note that they are located in another block across the road (on 3rd floor of Block 6 “Fisheries Intermediate Wholesale Market Building”).
Check out the Toyosu Market Map here. Also remember to check the market calendar before you make your way down.
Our regime of visiting yakiniku restaurants in Japan started only in 2017. Since then we try to schedule at least 1 yakiniku meal when we plan our itinerary for Japan. Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara is one of the names that often appear when we looked for yakiniku places to book. More importantly they serve the trending #wagyusando.
Hidden on 9th floor of an unassuming building, you would be greeted by this spacious dining hall once the lift doors open. As with many other higher end yakiniku restaurants, there are no trace of any smoky BBQ smell.
Having booked a course menu, I have no idea how many courses would we be having and we basically went to the restaurant with mindset of enjoying an omakase meal. We commenced our meal with a creamy Potato with beef consommé where the beef consommé were in gelatin cube form.
Yukhoe raw beef with egg The soft and tender beef was coated with silky egg yolk that accentuates the natural flavour and sweetness of the beef. A simple yet delicate dish.
Legendary Tongue: Tan-Moto (rear), Tan-Saki (tip) and Tan-Suji (tendon) in 3 different cuts. This is the most popular item on the menu and must be pre-ordered.
From here onwards, the stove was finally heated up and we get to hear the light symphony of meat sizzling on the wire gauze. All the offal/beef were grilled by chef at the table as they are the experts in controlling the heat and time, ensuring that every single piece of offal/meat is cooked to perfection.
You could see the beautiful cuts made on the gyutan before grilling to tenderize the cut, allowing sauces or marinades to penetrate deeper into it. It had a nice chewy texture with a slight crunch.
Up next was a Saladwith 20 types of vegetables harvested from Ibaraki Prefecture including yellow carrot, paprika, cactus etc.
After the short vegan dish interval, we were back to our carnivore feast. Starting with this fabulous Sirloin.
Topside(inner thigh/uchi momo) and dry aged bone-in ribeye (?) (didn’t catch the cut) – both were lightly seasoned with a dash of salt and pepper. Beautifully marbled, the cooked meat were tender and juicy. It’s served with yuzu pepper and garlic soy sauce as condiments.
We took another break from the meat as we were served Oxtail soup and the variety of side dishes.
Excited to see more meat presented, Chuck(Kata Rosu) and Rib Finger(Nakaochi Karubi).
This piece looks like bak kwa from its squarish shape.
Large intestine (shimacho) and first of the four stomachs of the cow (mino). Served with yuzu kosho, grated radish and tare condiment. The mino has a chewy texture like cooked squid with a light crisp on the outside. The shimacho is named for its striped form fat, so it was fatty yet chewy. I prefer the mino over the shimacho.
Up next was one of the highlight of this meal – Beef fillet sandwich. There are two course meal options when you make a reservation, so you would have to choose the larger course menu if you wish to have this sando!
It is served with the Bernard Dark Lagerfrom Czech Republic. An unpasteurized beer brewed from four types of malt, with a distinctive full flavour and a light bitterness.
No regrets to stuff myself with this nicely toasted bread with a juicy beef katsu!
If you are still not full yet, fear not as up next is a mini-size Gyudon.
To round of the meal we finished with cold Somen. This is my favourite part of yakiniku meals – to slurp down the cooling fine silky noodles. During my earlier yakiniku venture at Yakiniku Jambo Hanare, we spotted other diners ordering the cold somen at the end of the meal and found it interesting. However being noobs, we were too full from the beef feast. Now I appreciate ending the grilled meal with a icy cold noodles to soothe the throat.
Last but not least – the ice cream.
We finished the course meal within 2 hours, which was pretty quick. Perhaps having a dedicated chef serving us throughout the meal helped. In honesty, there was still some stomach space for more meat. At ¥20,570 (S$250) per pax for the course meal WITHOUT the sandwich, I think there are other more value-for-money places offering yakiniku which might be just as satisfying to folks with ordinary tastebuds like me.
The ¥24,805 (S$300) per pax course meal INCLUDING the wagyu katsu sando is what most diners came for. Afterall this place is the real OG. Once you tasted the wagyu katsu sando here, its hard to find another one that beats them.
Wagyu katsu sando aficionados can also check out Wagyumafia. Their Nakameguro outlet serves up sandwiches starting from ¥1,000 (minced beef), up to ¥23,000 (Kobe chateaubriand) or even the ¥35,000 (Kobe dry aged) if you want to try their top range high-end sandwich. Do note that the outlet is decked out in a casual setting, not a restaurant.
For this trip, we stayed near the Tokyo train station which is filled with a huge variety of stores selling confectionery.
Arriving on a Saturday morning, we went around town to do some sightseeing before heading to stock up on our snacks in the evening. To our disappointment, NY Perfect Cheese was sold out for the day (around 6pm)!!!
Having learnt our lesson, we returned to the shop the next morning before we start our sightseeing trip to ensure that we could get our hands on one of these precious goodies. Although there was a queue, it moved pretty quickly and the staff were very efficient in processing the orders.
We bought a box of the Langues de Chat which has a piece of gouda cheese wrapped inside with white chocolate cream and cream cheese. The gold coloured box looks really chic and elegant, making it a very presentable gift if you are considering to buy omiyage for family. The only downside is the box can be quite bulky as the cookies can be pretty fragile and hence has to be protected in the box.
I’m so in love with the crispy cookie paired with the savoury cheese and cream combination. Can’t wait to buy more of these next time I’m in Tokyo.
The other popular store at Tokyo station is Press Butter Sands. This store is right opposite the Newyork Perfect Cheese, both stores have a perpetual queue whenever we passed by them.
Although this had a similar sweet/savoury combination as the Newyork Perfect Cheese, this is more buttery. I found this cookie slightly too “heaty” for me.
My favourite Tokyo Banana (I liked the original flavour) in Banana Yogurt Cream (Panda) and Coffee Milk flavour (Sea otter). This time round I also bought the Castella Cake. The confectionery products from Tokyo Banana are all individually packed, so the items are kept fresh until opened and we don’t need to gouge ourselves to finish all at one time. They make a perfect snack for quick bites in the morning before we head out for a proper meal. They are also handy to carry around in the backpack to fill our stomach while on-the-go.
Not sure if these Starbucks drinks bought from the convenience stores were seasonal flavours or permanent range? I found them slightly too sweet.
Finally managed to find this Blue Bottle Coffee Cold Brew Can during this summer trip as it is a seasonal item. Had visited the cafe in Aoyamapreviously but this product was not available back then. The fresh brew coffee are nicer than these canned ones though.
Another Michelin ramen restaurant – Konjiki Hototogisu Ramen produced cup noodles version. The stock of the shio (salt) ramen is made with hamaguri clams and tai (sea bream), hence it is has a briny note. Not your typical type of ramen – certainly not my cup of soup. Noted that the noodles itself was the fine type and resembles chinese thin noodles.
My main aim of this trip is for flower viewing. Visited the Hitachi Seaside Park for the Nemophila (Baby blue eyes). Grabbed a few products at the souvenir store such as the tea and mochi.
Photos taken at Hitachi Seaside Park:
Wanted to visit New Zealand for the lupins but this was just as great.
What we were here for! Came at the right timing where the Nemophila were still strong.
The park is really massive and spacious, with different sections filled with different flowers. There are other facilities such as cycling paths, mini-golf course games, ferris wheel ride available.
Not forgetting to get the baby blue soft serve at Hitachi Seaside Park. After this we visited the Ashikaga Flower Park for the wisteria flowers and had the lavender coloured soft serve.
Other photos taken at Ashikaga Flower Park:
We entered the park at around 5.30pm so that we could enjoy the flowers under some daylight and enjoy the scenes when there is night light-up after dark.
It was pretty therapeutic watching the wisteria flowers swaying gently when there is a breeze.
The park is filled with a huge variety of wisteria with different colours (white, pink, light purple, dark purple etc.).
The photo below doesn’t do justice to the actual sight (my bad), it was actually a wall of flowers with the reflection off the pond.
The park got more crowded as night fall, we had to leave by around 7.30pm as the journey by JR train back to Tokyo would take about 1.5 hours.
Which species of wisteria flower is your favorite? I personally prefer the longlish thin silky type (pictured in the background) over the ones pictured in the foreground.
Didn’t purchase much wisteria-related products here as they are largely similar in nature to the other park e.g cookies etc. albeit printed with wisteria flowers that looked like grapes
Ever since our first visit to a Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) restaurant in Osaka (Matsuzaka-gyu Yakiniku M), we always try to include a visit to a good yakiniku restaurant for juicy, quality Japanese beef.
Many of the restaurants don’t really take in reservations over internet and much effort is needed to secure a table like our reservation at Yakiniku Jambo Hanare where we had to go through a concierge for our table. Increasingly some restaurants have opened up reservations via officially appointed third party websites to make it easier for foreigners to make bookings on the internet, albeit offering a higher priced menu. This was the case for our visit to Yoroniku Ebisu. They offered a normal course reservation and a special course reservation via two different links. We opted to go with the normal course at ¥10,000 (around S$120) per pax.
We started with appetizers of Assorted kimchi & namuls. It might seem odd for the iconic Korean side dishes to make appearance in Japanese yakiniku restaurants but the grilled beef style in Japan was brought in by Koreans. The pickles are a good companion to the grilled meat as they helped to cut through the oiliness. I enjoyed the 3 types of kimchi: Spicy korean pickled cabbage, cucumber kimchi (my fav!) and dice cut daikon kimchi more than the namuls of spinach, soybean sprouts and royal fern.
Next we had Cold beef dishSashimi, Beef tartare, 3rd Stomach The spicy miso flavoured 3rd stomach was chewy with a slight crunch texture (I would relate it to Chuka Hotate – seasoned scallop).
While we were savouring the first two dishes, the staff toasted the brioche on the grill before mixing the raw egg with the beef tartare and top it off on the warm and crispy brioche.
There was also a salad with salt dressing included in our set but in my excitement to capture the photos of the tantalising beef variety, I didn’t snap a picture of the greens…
All the cooking are done by the staff right before our eyes at our table, so they were all cooked to perfection. We started the grilled meat with Salt based beefThin tongue with green onion, thick tongue, outside skirt I love the springy texture of the thick beef tongue, somewhat like meat with cartilage.
Next we moved on to Sauce based beefLean meat of the day and Tenderloin with lovely marbling~
After browsing the set menu, we were certain that the beef included would not be sufficient to satisfy us so we decided to order add-on ala carte order. First item that caught my eyes was the Tokujyou NigiriToday’s special beef sushi. The beef laid over the sushi was so thin and delicate that it melts in your mouth as you chew the supple rice roll.
Included in the set was also a Japanese clear soup which was followed by the highlight of the meal: Rare parts Chateaubriand and Silky loin. The staff explained that the chateaubriand is rare as there is only 600 gram available from a 800 kg cow. The beef they used is from Yamagata.
Second ala-carte item we ordered was the Kalbishort rib.
Special partsSirloin and Shoulder loin “Sukiyaki” style
Round up our meal with a light and refreshing Cold noodle (Somen) Awa Style.
While there are many Takano outlets (including specialty fruit stores) in Tokyo, their flagship fruit salon is located in Shinjuku. Located on level 5 of the building is this popular shop serving parfaits and fruits.
Once you step out of the tiny lift, you would walk along a narrow hallway till you reached the end where there are 2 eateries with different concepts: Fruit Bar and Fruit Parlor. The Fruit Bar offers a fruit buffet while the Fruit Parlor focuses on parfait creations.
We went to register with the service staff at the Fruit Parlor before realising that there was a long queue of people waiting in line for their seats. After recording our names, we were asked to join the U-shaped queue.
I was surprised at the number of people in line at 4.30pm…By the time we were seated, would it be almost time for an early dinner for some? Not a problem for us cos our dinner reservation was at 10pm.
We forgot that it was the 2nd day of Japan‘s Golden Week holiday. 2019’s holiday was made even longer due to the additional holiday on 1st May for the new Emperor Ascension. And because the law stipulates that any weekday sandwiched by national holidays will itself become a holiday and 3rd May is already assigned as national holiday, 2nd May also became a holiday. This resulted in an unprecedented 10-day Golden Week holiday from 27th April 27 to 6th May 2019.
The above photo was taken when we were at the half-way mark, reaching the part where we could finally rest our legs!
I’m not sure if the fruit parlor is always this crowded but based on online reviews there were comments that there is always a line. I can’t help but felt amazed that the dining hall remained very spacious. In many Asian countries, any shrewd businessman would probably try to pack in as many tables as possible and maximise every available seat by requesting diners to share table. Not here.
However it is also noted this place does not have any fancy decor. So this is not the place for instagrammable cafe photos, in fact it looked more like a staff canteen.
We tried the Fruit Sandwich with Fruit Yogurt and the Shizuoka Muskmelon & Domestic Strawberry Parfait. At the time of my visit, Takano was celebrating its 100th anniversary since it first started selling muskmelons so this was a special edition with the ‘100’ biscuit topping.
The fruits were very fresh and juicy. The fruit sandwich was refreshing and light. Attention was even paid to the quality of the soft bread used. After this satisfying tea break, I’m energised to go shopping in Shinjuku area!
Earlier Photos Taken:
We made a 1.5 hours trip to suburb of Tokyo area to visit Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple. The azalea garden here is of much bigger scale than Nezu Shrine (located within Tokyo city which we visited the day before) and has a different ambience too.
The highlight was the towering Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, statue at the hilltop with a blooming azalea bushes in the foreground.
The slopes here are less steep compared to the compact Nezu Shrine and you will be rewarded with this unblocked view at the hilltop. It felt relaxing taking a walk here and there was a sense of peace. The visitors to this garden are mainly local Japanese families with their young children and elderly parents all in tow.
Both Nezu Shrine and Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple are worth a visit if you have enough time to spare as each has its own character. The flower bushes at the former are more concentrated and vibrant while the sheer number of bushes covering the landscape makes it a sight to behold.
Florilège has been on my to-eat list for 2 years. We passed by this restaurant while we were on our way to Den which is just further down the corner.
Having read that the restaurant showcases French cooking, I was expecting the usual white linen, square tables formal setting when instead where we were led to was a large, U-shaped counter facing an open-kitchen. There were only two empty seats while the other guests had all commenced their dinner. We weren’t late but the restaurant last order time is 8pm – which is our default dinner reservation time when we visit other restaurants.
With only 1 fixed menu, we quickly settled down for our first dish of the night – Sweet Potato.
The sweet potato was hidden under the pile of perceived dried leaves but made easy for guests to find with the “twigs”. I know it’s probably an insult to compare this sweet potato to the ones we buy from Donki (or Don Quijote in Japan), but it is a well-known fact that Japan produces quality sweet potatoes that are starchier and sweeter.
Second dish was Turnip, KARASUMIKarasumi (salted mullet roe) is said to be one of the three major Japanese delicacies alongside with Uni and Konowata.
Next we had the Shiitake-Mushrooms Shiitake dashi chawanmushi, fresh shiitake, nagano cheese and summer truffles. The mushroom-cheese combination was something unique and it worked out really well.
Enjoyed our meal with cocktail and wine pairing.
Sustainability : Beef is the restaurant’s signature dish. It is sustainable beef carpaccio made with meat from Miyazaki cows that are slaughtered at 13 years old (that’s four or five times older than most are when they meet their maker, allowing them to calve five or six times before they go to slaughter). I was impressed by the exceptionally tender texture of the beef, Chef must have found the magic technique to tenderise and transform the texture of the meat.
Two types of bread was served: steamed bun and whole wheat bread.
Other than the beef, there was the other dish which I enjoyed the most – Bonito bonito tartare with sour cream sauce and beetroot puree. If you do a google search, some sources mentioned that Chef Shigefumi Tachibe, a Japanese-born, French-trained chef, was credited with inventing tuna tartare in USA. The dish was invented as some diners at the restaurant said they do not take beef so Chef replaced it with fish. So I found it befitting that Florilège serve this tartare after their beef carpaccio.
Bamboo Shoot, Scallop sheets of bamboo shoot layered in between delicate scallop mousse topped with watercress and kombu powder. Bamboo shoot is a well-loved vegetable in Japanand there must have been many recipes on how the Japanese cook this Spring delicacy. For me, fried bamboo shoot with pork, mushroom and chilli, is one of my favourite canned dish. This was the first time I got to taste bamboo shoot paired with scallop – both are ingredients that I enjoy. Although this dish looked slightly plain, it made up for it through the delicate flavours delivered.
The first main was Fish Japanese rockfish, fish sauce, tomato juice, pickled ginger finished with saffron oil. With abundant supply of fish from the surrounding ocean, the fish dishes in Japan are always top notch. Same for this firm textured rockfish which was absolutely on point.
To Share: Pork rack of pork served with slightly charred glutinous rice. This dish somewhat reminds me of the Slow-cooked Pork we had in Quintessence in terms of the texture of the pork, although the version here is less “jelak” (overwhelmingly rich) due to the smaller portion.
By the 1.5 hours mark we were ready for our desserts. First up was a refreshing Kumquat kakigori (shaved ice), followed by Mugwort. Yomogi (mugwort) is a traditional spring herb used for making Mochi in Japan but surprised to see it take centre-stage here as the key ingredient for this dessert.
The final dessert was Gift: Amazon cacao. We didn’t get much info about the dessert dishes as the restaurant got more lively into the night and it was challenging to hear the staff’s brief explanation from across the wide countertop.
Final petit-four was Glazed Japanese strawberries.
Round up our meal with a pot of freshly brewed Ocha.
It was closed to 10pm when we left and the kitchen was already empty – except for the lady chef who was preparing desserts for the last few remaining diners. Admittedly we felt underwhelmed after the dinner course, in part due to the limited reservation slots which were hard to snag. While the dishes here were well-executed, I felt that interaction between Chefs and diners was an area for improvement. Perhaps due to language barrier we didn’t get to learn much about the dishes presented.
Earlier Photos Taken:
Some Nemophila flowers found in Hibiya Park, this is just a sneak preview of what we would be seeing at Hitachi Seaside Park.
First stop of our flower viewing trip to Tokyo was to Nezu Shrine. Awed by the vibrant azalea flowers even before entering the compound.
Shake Shack opened its first Singapore outlet in Jewel Changi on 17th April that saw snaking queues with wait of more than 2 hours for their burgers… The queue was still going strong at 9.30pm when we passed by the outlet before our flight to Tokyo.
We first wanted to try Shake Shack‘s burger in 2017 at the Meiji-Jingu Gaien outlet but was also put off by the massive crowd at the ginkgo tree-lined park during the autumn leaves viewing season.
Fate has it that there is a Shake Shack outlet within walking distance from our Tokyo accommodation! As we touched down in the morning, our room was not available for check-in, we decided to head over to the outlet which opens at 11am to have our Brunch.
There was also a queue, of about 200 metres, when we arrived as they are not opened yet. But it cleared up quite quickly once they started taking orders.
In total we spent 30 mins from queuing to getting our hands on the food. The portion of ShackBurger (single) was just nice for a small eater. The bun was amazingly good, soft on the inside but with a nice smooth surface. Not too sure if the buns used in Japan are imported from US. But the buns used in Singapore are reported to be baked locally by the Paris Baguette bakery café chain using the same American recipe.
The Crinkle Cut Frieswas crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside. No sight of soggy fries here. We also tried the refreshing Peach Lemonadeand creamy Chocolate Shake. Ideally we should be sipping the ShackMeister Ale since we are on holiday! I held back since it’s only Day 1 of our trip and I was feeling sleepy from the red eye flight… better exercise some control first…
Earlier Photos Taken:
Obligatory shot of the fountain at Jewel Changi since it’s the newest attraction to open recently. Spent less than 5 mins in the viewing area and was almost trapped inside as they restricted entry/exit for crowd control just before the show was about to begin…
A not-so-satisfying in-flight meal from SQ… Moral of story: if you want to eat Jap cuisine onboard the plane choose to fly ANA.
Clear traffic on a Saturday morning saw us arriving at our hotel faster than we anticipated.
to go with the 13-course menu.
YummyDelight 