12 September 2009 - 11:30 (Saturday)
Taiyo Tomato Noodle
Ate at the branch near Toyosu Station
Various branches around Japan.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tokyo - Galali
11 September 2009 - 19:30 (Friday)
Galali
3-6-5 Jingumae Shibuya-ku
Tokyo, Japan 150-0001
Tel: 03-3408-2818
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tokyo: Standing Sushi Bar + Amazing Ramen @ Shimbashi
14 March 2009 - 19:30 (Saturday)
I was actually planning to blog our culinary adventures in Japan based on chronological order which would have meant that this would be the last Japan blog entry cos it was the last good meal we had in Japan but my good friend Meng is preparing for his trip to Tokyo and i figured i better do this one up first... only because it was the best damn meal we had in Japan!
The concept of the Standing Sushi Bar makes complete sense in a built up area like Tokyo. Small cramped shop where diners stand at a counter to eat so that you do not need to pay extra rental cost and you do not need to transfer that rental cost to your customers via higher priced meals. And it's great for those who are just knocking off from work where they want a quick, nothing fancy bite before heading home. A meal can be had in 5 to 10 mins if you are in a rush.
But as a tourist, you are never really in a rush so even in a eatery like this where most people are rushing for a quick meal, you can take your leisurely time to just enjoy the chef's showmanship, enjoy the food and smirk away at how the other customers are running out of time whilst you have all the time in the world. Nice!
As the food here is so awesome, i'm going to take that extra effort to guide those of you planning a trip to Tokyo on how to get there.
First, you wanna get on the JR Line and get to Shimbashi Station. At the station, there will be a couple of different exits out so you want to get to the Karasumori Entrance of the Shimbashi JR station (See above). Easy enough right?
Next, take a few steps out of the train station and the below scene should greet you. When i mean a few steps, i mean like 4 or 5 steps.... if you've like trodded for 15 mins and still can't see the scene below, you went seriously wrong somewhere...
When you see the above signage, you are definitely on the right track. Just walk along the street and the Standing Sushi Bar should be on your left. It's not easy to miss, the signage is in purple and the English words "Standing Sushi Bar" will be screaming at you. If it helps, just opposite the Standing Sushi Bar is this sex shop called "Santa Fe". For some of you men out there, it might be easier to look for a purple signage with lots of sexy women silhouette and the words "Santa Fe" :p
Now, when you are inside the Sushi Bar, indicate to the chef how many are there in your party using your fingers and he will direct you to where he would like you to stand. Don't worry if you can't speak a word of Japanese. Why? Cos everything they serve is displayed at the counter so all you need is to point to what you want and tell the chef how many you want, again using your fingers.
Do take note that everything comes in 2.... they do not serve their sushi in odd numbers. So if you point to the salmon and show the chef 2 fingers, he will serve you 4 pieces.
When you are standing at the counter, you will notice that the counter has 2 levels. The first level is where your condiments will be placed. The second level will remain empty until the chef serves you your sushi and that is when he will place the sushi on the second level. Remember.... only the sushi should be on the second level. Do not put your sauce dish, tea cup, wallet, sex toy you bought from the shop oppsite, etc on the second level. the second level is like a display counter, only the chef's work is worthy of this location.
I can't begin to tell you how good the sushi here is. The rice is served warm, not cold. Some of you might already know this but for those who don't, sushi is best served with the rice at the same temperature as the human body temp... 37 degrees. And that's what they do over here. I wasn't expecting the sushi to taste any better than those i had in Tsukiji market because the simple idea of seafood is fresher at Tsukiji market was ingrained deep in my little pea brain. I was wrong.... the seafood they serve here are uber fresh and plus the fact that the rice is served warm..... unbelievable!
Ok, i'm going to give some recommendation which you would otherwise might have missed out on. When at the Sushi Bar, you gotta try the Uni Sushi.... out of this world.
The other thing you need to try is the ebi (Prawn) sushi. Here's their specialty.... first they put the body of the prawn on rice and serve you as sushi... then they take the prawn head, flambe it and then serve you on a plate and what you need to do is put the open end of the head to your mouth and suck the prawn's head like there's no tomorrow. This may sound disgusting but i am telling you, you WILL get a high from the taste of the prawn head. That few seconds that i was sucking on the head, it's like..... angels doing the swan lake ballet on your tongue... a heavenly moment!
I'll leave you with pictures of some of the other wonderful sushi we had... pictures do the food no justice but trust me.... u will not leave this place unsatisfied :)
The sushi were so good we had in total 100 sushi pieces between the 4 of us... yes 100! That's like 25 sushi per person. And the damage? Approx... S$120 in total... YES! That's like S$30 per person for 25 pieces of sushi! And the most expensive Sushi was the Tuna Belly Sushi at like approx. S$2 per piece.
Seriously, at that price, for that quality of sushi, you can't even get like 5 pieces over here in Singapore! We were well pissed off that Kev and Pauline brought us here only on our last night in Japan. Their arguement? "If we had brought you guys here earlier, you will be here every night and you wouldn't have enjoyed the other wonderful eateries Japan has to offer"
Ok, forgiven...
Under normal circumstances, 25 Sushis would make 3 full meals. But good o' Kev had to go "So guys, it's your last night in Japan.... now that you have tried the best sushi, are you ready to try the best ramen.... it's just 3 shops down....."
What a F**ker.... How do you say no to such a proposition?!?
So just 3 shops down of The Standing Sushi Bar, is this ramen shop...
What can i say.... it was the best Ramen i have ever had....
Wen prefers the ramen we had at Omotensando. Still, it's a close fight and just to prove how good the ramen was..... check out the below picture... and that's after 25 sushis.....
Positively one of the best meals i've had in my life. It's been a month since we came back from Japan but in our hungry moments, we crave nothing other than the sushi from The Standing Sushi bar.
Meng my bro, this one is for you.... eat your hearts out when in Tokyo!!!
Standing Sushi Bar
3 Mins walk from Shimbashi JR Station
Kyoto - Kiyomizu Dera Tofu & Red Bean Dumpling
3 March 2009 - 13:00 (Tuesday)
Kiyomizu Dera (Pure Water Temple) is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. Founded in 780 (Note the 3 digit year...), it stands in the wooded hills of eastern Kyoto. This temple was added to the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites in 1994.
In my opinion, it's one of the most beautiful places that Japan has to offer BUT NO.... this is a food blog, not a temple blog so i won't waste any more alphabets describing how beautiful it is, how it's heaven on earth, how the view from the temple top is magnificent, how everyone should visit this temple at least once in their life time..... It's seriously a DIE DIE MUST GO place when in Japan but NO..... i'm not wasting any more of my time writing about such an amazing place cos this is a food blog..... :P
Outdoor seating...
Nestled in the midst of Kiyomizu Dera is this little eatery that has both indoor and outdoor seating and they are famous for serving the silkiest of Tofus (Soy Beancurd). If you don't already know, Kyoto is famous for their Tofus... they taste so much better than what you get in other parts of the world. Why? Apparently it's cos Kyoto has a large number of underground springs and it's the spring water that makes the Tofus softer and silkier in texture.
We had the luxury of watching snow fall from the sky when we were at Kiyomizu Dera and it was one of the most beautiful sights we've ever seen in our lives. Temperature was 0 degrees and when we reached this Tofu eatery, what did we do? We chose to dine on Tofu.... Al Fresco style! Think all the Japs were looking at us and thinking "These crazy Chinese will one day rule the world..." Something like that...
The Tofu is served in a wooden bucken with very very hot water. See that little ceramic pot at the top of the bucket?it's base actually extends through the top of the bucket into the hot water. The ceramic pot contains some soya sauce for the Tofu and the sauce is kept warm by having the base of the pot dipped into the same hot water as the Tofu. So cool!
The Tofu simply took both Wen and my breath away. It was as how legend has over the centuries described it... so Soft, so silky.... Nice!! What you do is place some of the sauce into your bowl, next scoop the Tofu from the bucket into your bowl via the metal netted ladle, top it with some green onions on it then you have an option of either sprinkling it with the spicy powder or the magic salty powder. Yummm!
Being the alcoholics that we are, what's Tofu without Sake right? :)
Now, i'm not sure if Kyoto is famous for their Red Bean dumplings but these dumplings has got to be the BEST BEST BEST BEST BEST dumplings i have ever sunk my teeth into. Wen doesn't like Red Beans ever.... just that it was so cold and she wanted something hot going into her system. She drank some of the red bean soup, took a bite of the dumpling and her whole face lighted up like the 4th of July. The Tofus were fantastic but these Red Bean Dumplings.... DIE DIE MUST TRY!!!
If you are ever in Kyoto, please please please for the love of mankind.... go visit Kiyomizu Dera and then have some Tofu and Red Beans Dumpling. I'll personally castrate my best friend if you do not enjoy that experience.
Kiyomizu Dera
Kyoto
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