hav to come bk after spending all the money there. haha.
16th May, Day 1: Tokyo
we took the night flight fr singapore to tokyo. reached at abt 6 plus in the morning.
as it wasnt time for check in yet, we dumped our luggage at the hotel n went to tsukiji mkt for bfast.
the bloody q at the famous shops where long like nobody's biz. n there were q outside almost every shop!
baby n i chose this shop cos the q was relatively shorter. doesnt mean the stuff here is no good yo.
bought this mochi from one of the shop outside while waiting patiently for our turn. helped to cure the hunger pangs!
small cosy shop
finally our turn
i ordered a chirashi don. the seafood were so fresh, the shrimps were full of sweetness, and the crab meat was juicy n full of flavors from the sea
i ordered the omakase set for baby (since she dun speak japanese). needless to say, the fish were so fresh, n i was KO-ed by the uni. simply the sweetest and creamiest uni i've tasted. best.
this was the q outside the shop after our meal. some shops even stopped accepting customers. u say la.
baby standing under the rain, reading the limited eng translation from the banners.
we found this small coffee shop selling jap coffee during our stroll from the mkt to ginza. under the cold rain, strolling, then u find stream of coffee fragrance.....who can resist????
wat an attire to wear to ginza. sigh. conclusion? i will never ever go there again. things r overpriced, and super crowded with you-know-who.
i think our room is considered big in terms of tokyo stds,
we cant resist, bought some food fr the supermkt. lesson number 1: FOOD SUX. never trust that u can buy smth good fr the supermkt. everything was juz a hoax from ur unreliable senses when u r trapped in a forest of food glam.
we went to this standing yakitori bar that specializes in serving offals!!! i insisted that we MUST go, despite baby getting freaked out by the menu. lesson 2: there is a 80% chance of sitting indoors with a smoker beside u in japan. that happened during almost every dinner we had.
take a look at the exciting menu!!!! uterus!!! come on!
the atmosphere was energetic. lesson 3: leave the ordering to a lady if the server is a male species in japan. i made my order in japanese w the server n he seemed disinterested, suddenly, out of no where, baby shot a word "shiitake" (cos she saw others having it). the server's eyes lit up, looked at her, n told her (with the greatest smile) "Eeee neh" (meaning, super good choice). i was like, hello? tmd. one word (mushroom somemore) only, Eee wat shit. tmd 色胚.
these encounters kept repeating itself thru out our trip. ah well.
baby eventually gave up n stood at one corner cos the guy beside her was a "train". cant stop smoking
ordered brains, tongue, pork. the brain is AWESOME!!!!! creamy, gooey goodness, savory, melt in ur mouth w fragrance fr the charcoal......my ultimate fav dish of the trip! gimme more BRAINS!!!!!!
tongue and womb. hehe. i love it. baby beg to differ.
liver was tender n juicy
tofu for baby (w another Eeee neh fr the server. crap)
cartilage was crunchy n flavorful. i like the fact that most of the meat were done w salt. minimal sauce was used. u can really taste the gaminess and meaty flavors fr the organs and meat. yummy.
this is another epic dish. classic japanese. meatballs on japanese pepper. those who were familar w the comic 《孤独的美食家》will noe this classic dish from the comic. u r supposed to "squeeze" the balls into the pepper, n eat with the raw crunchy pepper. it was DELICIOUS. the meatballs were so juicy n flavorful, n the pepper were fresh, crunchy n slightly bitter. lifted up the meaty sweetness of the meatballs and had a after sweetness to it...... this is food orgasm at its max!
this shop is awesome! i will b back!
a few sticks of yaki wun even fill up one corner of my stomach, so we've decided to check out the pissed alley for more food. bought our bfast on the was for 2nd round dinner. their bread is FABULOUS. yes, this came from a person who dun even like the floury stuff.
full of feel shops!
baby: c la, they smoking again......
the view from our table. we can c the rains zoom by above the busy streets of shinjuku
shochu!
some fiber for baby. the radish was well braised.
more yakitori for me, grilled pepper and pork w leek
sticks of meaty goodness. chicken, pork, minced meat....wash down w the alcohol.....i can do this everday
baby: too much meat!!!! no more meat for u. this is mine.
17th May, Day 2: Tokyo
me: really no meat???? please leh.....
baby: ok, give chance. u can have meat
me: YEAH!!!!!
cock-a-doo-doo! we went to this shop specialize in their chicken dishes. they rear their own chickens in their farms. organic n stuff.
i ordered the special set for the season
comes with cold soba noodles w seaweed broth n sweet tomato. refreshing n tasty.
the best oyakodon ever. the sweet "kampong chicken" is slightly grilled, topped up w runny organic eggs.....super yummy.
baby ordered their chicken pot. the chicken broth is simply fantastic.savory and flavorful w the chicken-y (is there even a word like this) gaminess....v nice.
they even put rice sticks inside. the crispy rice soaked w the chicken broth.....wat do u think?
baby is a amazed......
cos even the carrots they put in the pot is carved to a chicken shape.
we went for desserts after the meal. unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the cafe. this is the most famous cake shop in tokyo. go google. we had a hard time finding it though. n bcos of the strict rules, some cakes can oni b consumed in the cafe. we took away 3 other cakes. so in total, we ate 5 cakes in the same day. was it good? u bet.
we went to harajuku and shibuya area for some shopping b4 we went for our virgin ichiran experience. baby was all pumped up.
come japan = eat ichiran
my bowl of noodles w extra chilli and negi
baby's normal noodles. verdict? good ramen w v flavorful broth. was it the best? not sure though. taste is subjective i guess. but i am glad we went for this experience. lesson 4: eat everything while it is HOT. texture n taste of food change when things gets cold.
we were perplexed by the fact that the shops closes at 8pm promptly. this is erm, japan?
disappointed, we went back to our hotel n spotted this road side push cart nearby selling oden. baby was determined to give it a try (since we had or dinner quite early)
v happy
we were spoiled for choices. i muz say he oden here is pretty tasty!
undeterred by the disappointment earlier, i've braced myself for another bowl of ramen. verdict? I LOVE THIS. i guess yellow noodles + clear broth is for me. judge me.
the small push cart ran by 2 uncles. note: the "Eeee neh" incident happened again. uncle was eager to please baby. didnt really shrink my bill though.
baby: not my fault for being popular over here!
18th May, Day 3: Tokyo
the 3 cakes w got fr SH the day b4. work of genius.
woke up early to senjoji. lesson 5: regardless of day, time, the q (crowd) will always b at the places where ppl r supposed to b. they like to q. period.
obligatory tourist shot.
super crowded streets. note, it's a weekday. fyi.
baby buying fav chestnut filled tai-yaki
this shop sells old fashion handmade rice cakes. v v nice! its hidden at the end of one of the alley from the temple.
i've decided to challenge myself to the ultimate chilli spicy version of the rice cake.
me: wah seh, look spicy ya......
bite.....ok ma.......spicy meh......
3 seconds later, i was choked dumb by all the spiciness from the chilli powder coated cake. who the hell eat this thing? (fyi, i went back to the shop n bought 6 more to bring home....hahahaha)
i need to cool myself down. w a serving of good handmade soba. this shop is the famous shop near senjoji.
baby ordered the soup version. clean savory broth w springy handmade soba.
bowl looked small, but dun b fooled. we were quite full after this bowl of noodles.
my cold soba w tempura. oh man. best soba ever. the soba was al-dente, v v springy n refreshing. i can taste the wheat in the noodles. i kept slurping n slurping. until i finished it after like 5 mins. so good.
look at the noodles. arent they pretty?
obligatory selfie using camera
人比花娇 - 东京篇
can c the tokyo skytree fr here
hydrate hydrate!
the thing abt this trip is we tend to wake up freaking early to start our day early. so by 4 plus in the late afternoon, we start to look for dinner. we've decided to load ourselves up w calories b4 shopping at 109 n OIOI. this shop sells beef tongue as their specialty. baby ordered their rice bowl set. the gyutan was sliced thinly, grilled and topped on the rice w special sauce. rice n flavorful.
i was amazed by the thickness n size of my gyutan.
juz look at this!!!! its a tongue steak i will say. thick juicy meaty tongue. n the soup is fantastic. clear beef broth w chinese leek n more gyutan. this is tongue heaven. did i mention that it is super cheap too? this set meal cost me less than $30. yes. grilled beef tongue. go figure.
needless to say, we were all charged up n shop like nobody's biz (splurge) after this. tokyo is a dangerous plc for shopaholics.
19th May, Day 4: Tokyo
for every trip, baby n i will do some crazy things.
for this trip, one of the craziest thing was to wake up at 5am in the morning, make our way down to tsukiji mkt for fresh sashimi bfast.
5am, raining. no kidding ya.
the shop was pretty empty when we 1st went in. i ordered this sea urchin + toro rice bowl. juz look at the color of the uni. super super robust in flavor, creamy goodness.....n the toro is as fresh as it gets. wat more to ask for?
baby got herself a crab rice bowl. the freshness of the crab threw us off. it was so juicy n sweet. n the salmon roe. oh man, little gems bursting w flavors inside ur mouth.....ur whole palate numbed by the taste of the sea......ahhhh......
baby nt v used to the "cold" bfast though. she preferred smth warm to start her day......
so we found this small coffee shop nearby for some diluted jap coffee.
good enuff for a cold day.
made our way down to yoyogi for an exhibition. the history of japan, from endo to meiji. as i've said, everyday is a "q-ing" day in japan. the crowd is.....everywhere.
samurai samurai
start of meji times
this "box" was a "vehicle" to carry women to the palace, similar to our 轿子i supposed.
baby trying her luck to sell me some sushi from a cart
n i am the noodle seller
everyone was trying to lift this supposedly 14kg worth of "gold coins" in the box. baby failed.
easy feat for me (nv sprain my back). me = macho
look at this humongous monster. supposed to carry 4 ppl. it was abt 3 storey high.
finally can cycle liao. 3 wheeled one. look so determined for wat.
选我，选我！
super long escalator that needs to b broken into 2 segments for it to move. scary.
wanted to visit the sumo museum n stadium. but there was a tournament that day, n oni for ticket holders. so we ditched the plan n went to this sumo-themed restaurant for lunch. chanko nabe yeah.
baby said we r like dining in the bath house in 千里千寻/神隐少女. wat do u think?
we were seated beside the sumo ring. n our table number is 40. we hav to "page" the servers to come over to take our orders.
warm sake!
this is really for the sumo wrestler, look at the amt of food. we didnt even order carbo.
baby pretended to drink the sake. she was nt feeling well dat day, so our sumo experience ended after this lunch. went bk to the hotel to rest. muz b the sake.
nothing can stop us from going shopping in tokyo. so after a brief rest, we went to tokyo skytree. baby insisted this shot. i dun understand the relevance of taking a pix w the shop name "tombalek". y ah?
ordered this cheese cake platter. 4 cheese cakes made w different type of cheeses, diff texture, taste, creaminess. accompanied by sweet n light yogurt "pot" in the middle. AWESOME. this is really really good stuff.
this place was literally full, even on a weekday at weird hours.
after shopping, we went to shibuya to hav dinner at this quirky restaurant hidden in the dark alley of shibuya (note: near kinky motels).
we've made reservations 1 mth earlier for this meal. great anticipation awaits.
baby: u r drinking AGAIN???
me: erm, they hav good sake here. muz try.
baby: u think i allow???
me:....... *sob*
maybe she's angry cos i juz ordered for myself
baby: i "lim" ginger ale
baby: c, p"l"ofessional beer pouring technique
baby: drink from the bottle is more 豪迈
me: can i drink my sake now???? *teary eye*
baby: ok la ok la.
we ordered the omakase set for 2. starter salad. refreshing.
yellow tail carpaccio. nicely balanced sour n sweet w freshness of the fish.
me: is my hair messy?
baby: pls la, so vain for wat?
fried prawn w jap styled mayo. nice crunch w sweet mayo.
sashimi. toro, sakura ebi, bonito, maguro, salmon, etc (two more unidentified fishes). by this time, we were somewhat full already.
this is the house specialty. braised tuna cheeks. my oh my oh my. this was not called the specilaty for nothing. the meat was soooooooooo soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. it fell off the bone instantly when u poke into the dish. it was so so so good.
grilled fish (cant really hear the server as the place was soooooooooooooo full of life, aka noisy) skin was too tough though. meat was sweet, but nt really flavorful as the marinate stayed on the skin, which we took off. wasted.
my pants were on the verge of exploding when they served us this special fried rice w mullet roe. as full as we were, we FINISHED this plate of rice. yup. i am not called the king of fried rice for nothing u noe.
the server ensured us this was the last one. miso soup w, wat else, salmon.
TOTALLY KO-ED
we were v v lucky to hav this for dessert. for limited season oni. sakura ice-cream w milk. u r supposed to "blend" the milk w the ice-cream b4 u eat. it became fluffy n light. v v v v nice! i love this (although i was so so full by this time)
a v cool place indeed. did i mentioned that the servers were all v handsome n cheeky???? (kept toking to baby, of cos.) a v vibrant n fun place to eat in!
obligatory shot in harajuku
so wat the hell did we really buy in tokyo skytree?
my gudetama!!!! hehe. totally obsessed w this egg.
too much shopping = in need to good kor yok. face it. age does matter.
20th May, Day 5: Tokyo
i've been raving abt this eel shop to baby since i've tried it a few yrs ago. we've made it a point to eat this for our trip this time.
finally can try!
we ordered two diff sets. one is grilled "naked" (wout the sauce. the eel has to b v v fresh in order to do this), one is grilled w the special sauce. verdict? u will noe y i dun eat unagi in singapore anymore after i've tasted this. delicate n refined. love it.
she love this hippo. we passed by this moomin cafe (again, filled w ppl. they like to dine w soft toy????), n baby fell in love w the hippo instantly.
too many ppl. we settled for this pie shop in the shopping mall to rest our tired feet after shopping (yes, again).
this coffee chocolate pie was AWESOME. the pie crust was so nicely done, not too rich, yet buttery n crispy.....nice nice.
the japs r v precise w even the brewing time for the tea. c the "timer"?
no, pie was not enuff for me, so we searched n dug up the nearest yamachan for tebasaki goodness. what is fried chix wings wout beer??? come on man. (note: hair v messy after a day's shopping n walking)
baby: i am going to call the police. u've been drinking too much.
the new tebasaki w sauce. baby liked this. i still preferred the original one.
me: u call police lor. call la.
yaki soba. surprisingly good! full of wok hei. is the chef from ch***?
fiber.
i still love the original version of chix wings. crispy, spicy, juicy.....ordered 10 pcs of this n gone in 10 mins. (can b faster, but baby forbids me to eat this fast) yum yum.
went back to hotel to rest as we need to take an early flight the nxt morning to osaka. oyasumi!
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