Sometimes you just want to hole up in your room and just watch anime/blog while eating junk food which is what I did for most of the day – rice crackers and BOSS coffee.

Come dinner time, I wanted something nice though and walked to Butagumi Nishi-Azabu (my second visit after my first visit in 2007). It was early and I managed to get a seat without a reservation. In fact, I had a table of four to myself.

Appetiser of yama-imo and Suntory Malts draft beer (JPY 600); the potato didn’t really taste of anything just had a mildly pleasant palate-cleansing sort of  feel, the dashi that it was cooked in was very sweet in that umami sort of way though. Suntory Malts is probably my favourite draft beer out of all the commercial brands – such a pity we don’t see much of it back home in Singapore.

Meishanbuta (Plum Mountain Pork) set with aka-dashi (small clam) soup, pickles, cabbage and rice (JPY 3,800). Tonkatsu sauce, salad dressing (with chilli and dried rosemary), pinkish salt and mustard.

The elderly waitress recommended the pinkish salt and it was spot-on, not too salty but enhanced the meaty flavour of the pork which was beautifully cooked with a still pinkish centre. The breading was so thin and yet was stuck firmly to the meat. Despite being deepfried, it was incredibly light and not oily at all. Truly grateful to AW for recommending this place to me four years ago and glad to see that it is still so good.

There were free refills of rice and cabbage but overall the portion of pork would be considered quite small – I was still satisfied as the meal was a thing of exquisite beauty in the mouth.

For dessert, I dropped into Burdigala mainly because I LOL’ed when I saw this sign… Her Excellency Leonmitchelli beckoned me!

I’ve always figured Captain Droppy Ears to be plain cream (not even vanilla) with a touch of mint but the eclairs (JPY 310) were like Ford Model Ts – you can have any flavour as long as it’s chocolate. Not that I dislike chocolate or that this was not good because it was good.

Quick and early lunch at Sushi Misakimaru Hiroo which was pretty average and Umeoka Ginza beats them hands down in terms of freshness while charging similar prices. The fish in the Kenzaki set (JPY 950 plus extra JPY 200 to substitute the miso soup with the Aosa seaweed soup) seemed a bit tired and even the colour was not as appetising though it’s still much better than anything you can get for this price back home in Singapore. Main drawback of this place is that, unlike Umeoka, they don’t serve sets for dinner so an evening meal will be much more expensive. Also their non-smoking hours are only from 1100 – 1400 hrs.

One of my shopping rules is to never shop on an empty stomach and I became pretty hungry when considering whether or not to buy the Infinite Stratos BD set from Traders Akiba. Even though it was still mid-afternoon, the winter sun was already setting so I went to Kitchen Jiro (which is apparently mentioned in the Steins;Gate game) for an early dinner. Tried the Stamina Fry (stir-fried pork belly) with Menchikatsu ‘Stamimen‘ combi (from the JPY 890 combi menu) and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the latter which is a hamburger patty (with beef mince and onions as the main constituents) breaded and deep-fried – there wasn’t any gristle or unpleasant fillers in the patty and it was juicy and moist while the breading wasn’t oily at all. Nicely rounded out with the hearty pork soup, fresh chopped cabbage and rice though I imagine if you were really hungry, you’d probably want more rice. Also nice that they open throughout the day from 11am to 9pm everyday (will they be open on Jan 1!?).

Supper at Tairou Hiroo – tried the Su-ra-tan-men (JPY 780 | sour and spicy dan-mian)  and I confirmed that I still don’t like Tairou’s noodles. But at least the relatively mild soup was pretty refreshing and all the various bits like bamboo shoot slices, black ear fungus, pork were nice. Those went well with my draft beer which was a very reasonably priced JPY 300. As did the coupon gyoza haha.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and best wishes for the New Year

Went to Chofu to meet Aniki Ken and his family as well as R1 and her family. Aniki brought me to the park around Jindaiji where we had a soba lunch, in Monmae – just one of many soba restaurants in the park – with a side of oden. I finally tried the tororo soba where you mix the cold soba into the yam paste (with a raw egg yolk). Aniki warned me to avoid getting any of the tororo onto the areas just outside the lips as people have been known to develop rashes (if and only if it’s the real thing, probably a reaction to the oxalates in the yam).

Somehow I ended up pitching in for the Christmas Eve dinner preparation. Due to R1 forgetting to buy some ingredients, the meatloaf was converted to meal balls in tomato sauce. But it was great fun and I’m glad that my memory of this recipe was refreshed when I used it about two weeks ago after a long hiatus of at least 2-3 years.

Boiled vegetables with a yuzu-negi whipped cream dip

Plum onigiri to follow the starters of salmon w fresh mint leaf, capers and olive oil (also prepared by me) as well as tinned sardines in olive oil, brie and a horseshoe cheese

Mains of chicken drumlets in a balsamic vinegar and honey sauce (I did the checking of the chicken's done-ness and reduction for the sauce), meatballs in tomato sauce w a cheese topping

An incredibly delicious vegetable soup cooked in under five minutes in a pressure pot by Mrs Ken who spent more time chopping the vegs!

A Christmas cake w ginger, spices and walnuts made by R1's and Mrs Ken's mom

Phew, no raisins!

Stayed over and was treated to a wonderful Christmas morning breakfast of fruit salad in yogurt, buns, croissants as well as a warm potato salad

After making my way back to central Tokyo, did some tiding up and then went for a quick lunch at Tairou Hiro-o near to the station. I don’t really like their ramen but their rice dishes, like this meat and veg fry-up (JPY 780), are pretty nice and the voucher for free gyoza (x3) keeps me coming back – I’m so cheap haha.

Met up with Syd and Tive and another two of Tive’s Japanese artist friends and went to see the Kuniyoshi Utagawa ukiyo-e exhibition at the Mori Art Museum. Coffee at the Galaxy Cafe at Roppongi Hills where I got a free coffee by showing them my Samsung Galaxy S. Played around with the 7 inch Galaxy Tab and the general feedback was that it was too plastic-ky and the size was neither here nor there (I can’t decide whether it’s a phone or a tablet!). Had a nice Caesar salad (JPY 800) but I forgot to take a photo. Onwards to the Tokyo Tower on foot to see the light-up which was much more subdued due to the March tsunami and Fukushima used to supply some of the electricity here.

Back to Hiro-o where I bought a half of Hermanos Grilled Chicken (because apparently chicken, particularly KFC, is the thing to have for Christmas in Japan) with potatoes (JPY 1,300). A little salty for my taste and some of the potatoes were not cooked through completely. Also because Kobeya were having a 30% time service sale, I bought their last Christmas Fruits Cake (JPY 2,400 before discount):

Not leftover cuz I bought you!

C&D recommended the Akasaka-Mitsuke branch of Yu Soba but I chanced upon in Hiroo so I finally managed to try it yesterday just after it opened at 11am; in addition, it being a public holiday Friday (Japanese Emperor’s birthday), this was the first time I have not seen this place packed to the rafters. This was the first time I have ever eaten soba which is yellowish, thick cut and served with vinegar and chilli oil and the various toppings… like cold ramen or tsukemen. I purchased the tickets, via the vending machine, for a normal size (JPY680), negi-goma (JPY 100) and shiro-negi (JPY 100). But the texture and the taste of the noodle is definitely buckwheat soba… very strange but also very nice. The high schooler seated next to me at the counter was also initially wondering – is this really soba? But after a few mouth-fulls, he was telling his friends that this was umai, maji umai (delicious, really delicious!) Another great C&D recommendation!

Steak House Satou in the Kichijoji shopping arcade is so famous on the internets that they even have an English section of the menu and the waitresses are trained to ask, in English, “how would you like your steak done?” Got the Christmas Special Set which consisted of approximately 150g of deliciously medium rare Matsuzaka beef, salad, rice, miso soup, pickles and a full glass of a light fruity red wine at just JPY 5,500 all in – incredible value for money.

The setting is also so charming. From my corner set at the counter, I could see the comings and goings of people out and about in the shopping arcade just across from the train station.

Also always like counter seating – I’m tend to be a lone ranger who enjoys cooking at home so this provides added entertainment and education.

Surprisingly, for a public holiday Friday evening,  the small space was not crowded at all (there are just two tables behind the counter for two and four). But perhaps it was already quite late and close to last orders. I arrived around 8pm when several groups had just paid their bills and were leaving.

It’s a bit of a steep climb up into the loft-like space of Steak House Satou so this is not really the kind of place you can bring really elderly folks or others who have mobility problems.

They are located above their butcher’s shop which was closing up when I finished dinner. My seat was just to the left of the main black Satou (in bull) sign on top.

Heard so much about Izuei Honten’s unagi (eel) that I went to Ueno for an early lunch; had some trouble finding the place because I made a wrong turn after coming out of Ueno Park so I had to ask for directions from a mawari-san (patrolling police officer) who did knew what I wanted even before I could finish my question! Went to the more modern Shinobazutei branch which is just 70 metres or so away from the more traditionally styled original homebase Honten and had a view of the lotus lake. Ordered the service lunch set (limited to just 20 a day apparently) for JPY 1,890 consisting of a single unagi on a bed of seasoned rice, with a cold salmon and bonito flakes and vegetables starter, pickles and hot clear soup. The colour and consistency of the unagi was more like anago (which is wild rather than farmed) and together with the subtle seasoning which did *not* massacre the eel with a double sweet and salty combo, this was very enjoyable unagi. The service lunch portion might be too small for most people though and larger portions at this restaurant start at around JPY 6,800 and can cross JPY 10,000. On the way back to Ueno Tokyo Metro station, I passed the koban (police box) at the corner of Ueno Park and saw the policeman who gave me the directions standing at attention there – thanked him with a quick bow which he acknowledged with a curt head tip of his own.

After my visit to the Washinomiya Shrine of Lucky Star fame, I stopped by Ootori Chaya – the tea house just outside the shrine gates – and had the daily cake and coffee set (JPY 500) amidst the clutter of L*S memorabilia scattered all around and then visited the radio show broadcast room on the second storey.

Back at Akihabara, dinner was at one of the outposts of the Negishi chain of beef tongue restaurants. Ordered the yotandoro set (JPY 1,480) which comes with three “white meat” part of the beef tongue sliced into six thick-cut pieces, rice, pickles, clear beef tongue broth with lots of freshly sliced eponymous leek (negishi) slices and a bowl of dororo, a sticky fermented bean porridge which is like a milder and less viscous form of natto. The billboards for this restaurant always feature the cheapest sets which range between JPY 800 to 1,200 but almost no one orders those as the portions are really small and the cuts are really the cheapest. Lots of people come here to fill up their bellies to the max because refills of rice are FOC and you can even ask for “oomori” (extra large) refills to go with the salty grilled tongue slices. I didn’t have any though as I tend to prefer to take my carbo in liquid form.

Lunch on the run – bought this Shanghai yakisoba and ebi-fry from the Green Gourmet outlet at Mitaka Station (JPY 1,081). I’ve realized that most takeaway in Japan is meant for consumption at home or at the office pantry so the food is prepared with microwaving prior to consumption in mind. Everything was cold and thus not great, couldn’t finish the noodles – also because I was already slightly late for the 2pm slot to enter the Ghibli Museum with Syd and Tive.

After our visit to Miyazaki Land, Tive suggested we come to this little cafe in Inokashira Park instead of indulging in Ghibli hotdogs and ice-cream.

Warming Inaka Shiru – rice mochi in red bean soup – at JPY 400 a bowl. What made it really interesting was the side of pickled wasabi leaves, the sour and spiciness gave a real lift to the soup whenever one felt that the red beans was starting to get cloying and added some crunch to contrast with the uber stickiness of the mochi.

Finished with a cup of ama-zake (JPY 300 each) – a warm, unfiltered rice sake.  Just a hint of alcohol as most of it has already evaporated in the course of warming, a mild sweetness from the residual unfermented sugars and broken down starch, smooth silky texture of the unfiltered rice bits making this a very pleasant form of rice broth which hits the spot on a cold, windy winter’s afternoon.

Tive met Funi-san at Ginza to go over some logistics for a project and afterwards she wanted sushi so I dragged everyone to Umeoka where we queued outside for almost half an hour (Syd, being a purely tropical species, was almost frozen solid by the time we got in). Everyone ordered the same special set so it was served up altogether instead of individually – quite a spectacle! Funi-san also ordered an additional platter. Needless to say, we were all stuffed at the end of this dinner.

Whereupon Funi-san brought us to Drake, a very cool bar at 7-5-16, B1 Floor, Ginza, Shuho Bldg which was run by his school-time friend. Menu features Italian-style food and we were treated to a selection – smoked salmon, carpaccio, shellfish and vegetables, all washed down with draft Asahi super dry.

Lunch at Umeoka Sushi Ginza – huge value-for-money JPY 2,100 Super Special Selection set. Nigiri sushi topped with white fish (yellow tail?) x1, chuutoro (tuna) x2, scallop x1, crab leg x1, prawn x1, anago x1; maki sushi with roe x1, sea urchin x1 and a handroll of toro scraped off the bone. A real treat at a very reasonable price.

What makes this extra special is how generous the portions are and, of course, it is all fresh and high quality. Also comes with (no extra charge) green tea, a tiny salad topped with some crab meat and crab miso (brain), chawamushi (steamed egg white with sea food), a miso soup made with crab broth.

Had a bit of trouble finding my way there but somehow managed to chance upon it. Take Exit C2 out of Tokyo Metro Ginza Station, you’ll see the Sony Building across the road. Turn around 180 deg and walk towards the elevated railway tracks until you hit Ginza Corridor Dori and then turn left and walk up the street until you see Umeoka.

For dinner I took Hinano‘s advice and bought a ben-to (not half price service time yet though haha) from Mitsukoshi Food Garden (B4) which has a bewildering array of luxury-looking ben-tos are not so luxury prices – chose a Hotel Okura omu-rice with beef stew (JPY 1,260), making good use of the (non-gel-banana-producing) microwave in the service apartment  and matched it with a salad made up of lettuce, tomatoes and radishes that I bought from the grocery section of Meidi-ya. Somehow eating omu-rice without a meido to write “WORLD CONQUEST” or something on your omelette in ketchup and performing the moe-moe-kyun ritual feels… kind of lacking. But it’s also definitely much cheaper.

Daily set lunch at Akatsuka – rice with grilled horse mackerel (aji), fried pork slices in ginger and soy sauce on a bed of chopped raw cabbage, cold boiled long beans with garlic slices, pickles, white miso soup and green tea.

Met Three Dimensions Sydonai for coffee at Mister Donut (chocolate, double chocolate, golden chocolate and strawberry – last was my favourite by far), showed him around – his favourites were Mandarake Akiba and a video game shop which had Microsoft Flight Simulator 2008. As we watched a FF XIII-2 trailer, Syd’s opinions on differences between US and Jp styles of animation include “pose to move” vs. “move to pose” (US: poses that are easy to transition, in-btw vs. Jp: everything is for the sake of a cool pose), technical vs. control (e.g. falling rocks – US studios will deploy a physics engine, Jp will animate every single stone to get the final product they want). Coffee again at Starbucks Atre Akiba 1. Went to Shibuya to meet Tive of the Conversation’s Stroke and then I left for my own dinner.

The Master said he remembered me the moment I stepped back into Hakushu. He also remembered that I was from Singapore (asked about the weather there in contrast to here in Tokyo), that I had a DSLR (where it is today?), am I going outside Tokyo to see anything else (reference to the trip to Washinomiya that I told him about during my previous visit), that I was staying in the same general area as the last time (Hiroo). Wow, I’m pretty amazed.

Dinner this time was even better than my first time in August – perhaps it’s because I was the first customer at 630pm and Auntie’s Power Reserves were still high as she fried up the food as I started on my salad of mixed greens (iceberg lettuce based) with home-made orangey (in colour) vinegarette dressing: roasted vegetables of pumpkin, onion, aubergine, mushrooms, 180g of Kobe fillet steak grilled and flambéed with brandy, bean sprouts fried in the rendered fat and crispy bits of the steak.

Rounded off with teppan-toast (shokupan bread which had been collecting all the beef juices) fried in rich Hokkaido butter.

Dessert of light, fragrant and refreshing peach sorbet. Finished with another draft Sapporo.

When I pushed open the sliding door of this restaurant, I was greeted with the usual greeting of Irasshaimase! followed by the routine query of Nanmei-sama desu ka? (“How many guests?” Apparently SaiNano learnt this bit of Japanese via the sex machinegun song Family Restaurant Bomber in GuitarFreaks which must be one of the most hilarious rock songs ever) and then a hesitant pause. I didn’t have a reservation and I wasn’t a regular customer.

One of the staff manning the counter showed me the menu and it had no prices written on it. That’s never a good sign. He pulled out another copy which did have prices on it to make it clear that this restaurant was not like the Negishi chain which also does beef tongue but as set meals ranging from JPY 1,000 to JPY 2,000. The set dinner here was JPY 10,000. I thanked him for his consideration and told him that I came here on the recommendation of friends (C&D) whereupon he immediately took my orders for the set dinner and a beer, relieved that I wasn’t going to be shocked by the final bill. And what a luxurious meal it was.

Two types of beef tongue sashimi and a bowl of tubey-looking offal seasoned with spring onions and chilli powder.

Salad and the first serving of gyu tan (beef tongue)

The first serving was tender and smooth like a fillet cut of meat while this second serving was fatty and slightly more chewy like a well-marbled ribeye. I was having a mouthful of this when the counter guy (one of three) asked me how was the taste and although I didn’t verbally say anything in reply because my mouth was full at that moment, what must have been my facial expression of utter bliss and satisfaction caused all three counter guys to bow deeply in my direction and bellow ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!!!

Onsen tamago (whole egg poached in warm bath, the centre’s still slightly runny) with dashi (soup stock) jelly

Asparagus baked in foil with rich and fragrant Hokkaido butter

After all that rich food, this hot porridge with sour plum, herbs and pickles really hit the spot

Macha (green tea powder) ice cream and green tea to wash it all down

After the salad and dipping sauce and salts were presented, crispy prawn heads and prawns – everything, including the shells, were fried to a crunchy crispiness so I ate them in their entirety:

I’m very partial to eggplant and this small and cute, round and plump version was very unlike the long thin types I get at home (which we call brinjal) or the big fat types I get in UK supermarkets; the size was perfect for deep frying whole.

Butterflied whole fish

Asparagus

Scallop

Lotus root

Anago (sea eel)

Rice, pickles and miso soup with tiny clams

A local citrus-based (not yuzu) sorbet and green tea

Thanks, Chef!

I actually knew the proper word for ‘waitress’ because of Hanasaku Iroha lol

Its name (literally “number one under the sky”) is rather immodest by Japanese standards and I can’t say that it was the best tempura I’ve ever had but I certainly enjoyed my meal there and will return in the future.