(16) Sushi bar Aoki in Ginza, Tokyo

Chirashi-sushi of Sushi bar Aoki in Ginza, Tokyo.

When it comes to sushi, I think you may imagine a bite-sized sushi, Nigiri-sushi.
It is famous and popular.

Chirashi-sushi is another form to be provided.
In another word, it may be called a sushi-bowl.

There are many raw and prepared seafood putting on the rice without any space between them.
Tuna, ikura, squid, shrimp, white fish, sea urchin, scallop adductor and so on.

You do not worry about various manners, rules or practices.

On the top of that, sushi of this shop is affordable for Ginza.

(15) Soba of Sagano in Jimbo-cho, Tokyo

Soba of Sagano in Jimbo-cho, Tokyo.

Soba is one of the typical Japanese noodle whose material is buckwheat.
Generally speaking, you soak in soy sauce-tasted soup and eat it.
You can add some sliced green onion and/or wasabi.

One of other representative foods made from buckwheat is crape named Galette, but it may be few.
An Edo-native people eat it according to some manners.


1) Soak it one third of tip of soba noodle into soup.
2) Slurp up noodle with sound.
3) After two-three bite, swallow it.
4) Enjoy the feeling of palate and the flavor of soba.
5) When you add appropriate amount of sliced green onion and/or wasabi, you can also enjoy other taste and flavor.
6) Finally, drink the soup which you add cooking liquid into.

(14) Hiroshima-yaki of BigPig in Kanda, Tokyo

Hiroshima-style Okonomi-yaki of Big-Pig in Kanda, Tokyo.

Okonomi-yaki is similar food to pizza, made from the mixture of flour and egg.
The difference from pizza is to mix them with vegetable like cabbage, pork, chicken and/or seafood, not to just put them on the surface.

Bake both surface of this mixture on the cast-iron pan, sometimes by yourself.

Hiroshima is the second famous place for Okonomi-yaki at this point.. the top area is thought to be Osaka.
The difference between them depends on whether noodle or rice are included in mixture.

Hiroshima-yaki always includes noodle and/or rice.
I think many people would think these flour-made noodles do not need to be added into flour-made Okonomi-yaki.

I would agree about the idea until I ate it actually.

The next issue is sauce.
The sweeter sauce, or Otafuku-sauce, is usually used in Hiroshima-yaki. It is salty, but people from Hiroshima prefecture add more sauce in spite of having already put some.

There is a baseball team in Hiroshima, named Hiroshima Toyo Carps.
The citizen in Hiroshima supports it.
This shop is run by a chef from Hiroshima who also supports Carps. That is why it is fast and furious.

I guarantee that you will enjoy food and jazz up.

(13) Bubuduke (Japanese pickle) set meal of Kintame in Tokyo station.

Bubuduke (Japanese pickle) set meal of Kintame in Tokyo station.

Bubuduke is Japanese pickles with Kyoto dialect. This meal includes not only various kinds of pickles but also some accompanying dishes, like grilled fish with fermented beans taste, dried Japanese radish and arrowroot cake.

All of them are compatible with beautiful white rice.

Finally, you enjoy Ochazuke which is poured with green tea and some seasoning powder on rice, the simplest way to eat rice. It is a masterpiece of Japanese food in a way, I mean it is casual.

(12) Ramen of Tsumugi in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Ramen of Tsumugi in Akihabara, Tokyo.

There are several types of width of noodles. This shop uses middle-wide one.

I ordered soy sauce taste. Usually narrow noodle would be used for this taste.



But this noodle matched soy sauce flavor since the scent
of flour is good.

(11) Tempura Bowl of Tenkiyo in Tokyo station

Edomae Tempura-Bowl of Tenkiyo in Grandroof, Tokyo station.

Ten-don, or Tempura bowl is a dish that many tempuras of seafood are put on rice with sweet soy sauce taste.
*Many Japanese food's basic taste is soy sauce's.

Seafood and vegetable are usually used as ingredients. I suppose meat is too oily for tempura cook.

Asides from fritters, tempura is lighter and less oily. To cook it well, you need to train for a long time. But the major points are two: cooling all the ingredients, flour, egg, bread and seafood. Another one is to know the sound of the appropriate time.

This bowl includes sea eel (anago), shrimp, fish and corn. All of them are typical.

You can enjoy authentic tempura in this restaurant

(10) Shina-soba of Kujira-Ken in Tokyo Station

Kujira-Ken in Tokyo station.

1)
Shina-soba

This shop provides a typical ramen with soy-sauce taste in Tokyo station.

You can select not only "dark-taste (Koi-aji)" and but also "light-taste (Usu-aji)".

Generally speaking, dark-taste means soy-sauce, and light-taste does salty, here.

Resionally and historically, people in Kansai area with the focus of Kyoto (Kyo) prefer light, salty taste with deep flavor.
On the other hand, people in Kanto area with the focus of Tokyo (Edo) prefer soy-sauce taste.

Now that they are two representative taste in Japanese cook, a couple of hundreds years ago, people in Kyoto tended to express contempt as a provincial taste.

2)
Salt Ramen topped with pork loin cutlet.
Light flavor, I suppose the broth of this soup may be made of mushroom (Shiitake)...?

This blog introduces restaurants, cafes and bars in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno.

(9) Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) of Yama-ichi in Ogawa-machi, Tokyo

Tonkatsu, or Pork cutlet, of Yama-ichi in Ogawa-machi, Tokyo

Pork cutlet is one of what always makes us feel happy.
Not only thick and soft pork, but light crunchy texture and peculiar sauce.

There are two tricks to cook a delicious, light-crunchy fries. The first one is to cool all the ingredients in fridge, egg, flour and breadcrumb. The second one is to put mixture of egg and flour as thin as possible. If not, it would become like fritter.

Tonkatsu-sauce is delicious.
Many people tend to put this sauce on the whole surface of cutlet, but it is not so good, because it makes the tonkatsu's taste even, or flat.

(8) Taste that Japanese want to eat everyday (Hinoya Curry in Kanda, Tokyo)

Hinoya-Curry in Kanda, Tokyo.

1)
Curry and rice topped with croquette

I have never eaten curry in Western countries, so I cannot compare them with ones in Japan.

At least, curry and rice is one of the most popular food and, of course, lunch in Japan. There are many curry shops in Tokyo: Japanese, Thai and Indian.

Among them, Japanese curry is not liquid form, but thicker one. It is thought to be because Japanese rice is soft moist food due to cooking way of rice, compared with ones of other Southeastern countries. Since liquid form curry easily soaks into the rice, it is good for Thai one. But it becomes wetly, so not very good for Japanese one. This stickiness adequately wraps rice.

This shop is a winner of Kanda curry grand prix 2013 and provides a typical Japanese curry.

2)
With cheese and minced meat croquette.
Also tasteful.

(7) chicken and egg bowl of Ise in Kanda

Oyako-don, or chicken and egg bowl of Ise in Kanda, Tokyo.

This shop is located under the bridge of railway. On the top of that, no air-conditioner...

Narrow, hot, noisy... but delicious.

This food is like omelette topped on the rice.
Egg with chicken is boiled snappily so as not to get egg hard, with slightly sweet-salty taste.

Runny scrambled eggs brend together very well with hot rice.

A shop of conscience does not forget Mitsuba, or trefoil, which makes us feel refreshed.



This blog introduces restaurants, cafes and bars in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno.

Ramen and Tsukemen. Which do you like better?

Ramen and Tsukemen. Which do you like better?



In the case of Ramen, it is provided so that noodle is in soap. You can enjoy it in hot temperature.

On the other hand, Tsukemen is served separating noodle and soup, which help keep its elasticity.

Actually, the history of Tsukemen is not so profound, just 15-20 years. The very origin is thought to be a legend of Taisho-ken in Ikebukuro.

At the first place, there is background to eat noodle that is soaked into soup. It is since Edo period.
That is Soba. So, the birth of Tsukemen is not so suprising.

This original Taisho-ken has already gone, but its offsprings scatter around Tokyo.

You google this word "大将軒" and find several shops.

I will put a link later.

Ogawa-machi: Taisho-ken

Udon and Ramen; what's the difference?

Similar to Ramen, there is another kind of Japanese noodle, Udon.
Both are made from flour.
What is the difference?

The material of ramen is hard, or sometimes very hard flour like to make bread, while one of udon is all-purpose flour.

That is why ramen is more elastic and has clear sensation when you cut it with teeth.
On the othe hand, udon has soft sensation, and get more crunch after making kread dough.

Aside from flour, ramen includes egg and a special composition of minerals.

So, the taste of ramen is totally different from one of udon

(6) Green Curry of Green Pattai in Ogawa-machi

Green Curry of GREEN PHAD THAI in Ogawa-machi, Tokyo.

Thai restaurant that students from Thailand recommend as an authentic cuisine.
Coconut, many kinds of spice and chicken create a rich taste.

This blog introduces restaurants, cafes and bars in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno.

Ramen Basic course No.2

In a Ramen shop, how should you behave?
Of course, it is not so difficult.

First, you buy some tickets including toppings, large size and other side dishes, if neccesary (In the very first step, please be in a line) and hand them to a staff.

Recently, every shop sells both Ramen and Tsukemen with various flavors (with referrence to other entry), so if you are a beginner, I recomend you decide which food you would order or shop staff would teach you the most popular one (you kust ask them "Osusumeha dore?").

After staff's guidance and serving, he may ask you something in Japanese or without words. At that case, you can customize it, what you order. Noodle's softness, grade of salty and oily taste.
When you do not get it (and sometimes me, neither), you just say "Futsuu-de".

As for pepper, vinegar and spicy oil (ra-yu), treat by yourself as yo like.

In the case of pork bone ramen, it is a little different.
In other chance.

Enjoy it!

Ramen Basic course No.1

Here, I am going to talk about Ramen to be loved by Japanese.

Basically, they are categorized into four types: (1)soy sauce , (2)miso, (3)salt, and (4)pork bone.

(1)soy sauce
This taste is the best loved in Japan since soy sauce occupies the fundamental part in Japanese cook.
To make ingredients stand out in soy sauce taste, cooks, called Itamae, have to train the method of how to extract the flavor from smoke dried tuna and dried kelp.
Recently, many chefs who were trained in authentic Japanese cuisine open their shop one after another in this area.

(2)miso, fermented bean paste
Compared with soy sauce, miso has some domestic impressions, like rural area and countryside.
It is strong tasting, opaque and characteristic in the point of regional difference such as Kyoto, Tohoku, Shinshu and so on.
Especially, it tastes good in winter.

(3)salt taste
It is so simple, non-fatty and easy to distinguish whether delicious or not.
Recently, taste extracted from chicken bone is popular, since the first sip of soup is palatable and tastes richer in mouth in the next time.

(4)pork bone taste
It is common in Kyushu area and richest in these four.
Some people feel that it has rancid odor at the first time while this odor can develop a strong addiction

(5) Kakiage-Bowl in Uo-fuji, Ogawa-machi

Kakiage-Bowl in UO-FUJI, Ogawa-machi, Tokyo

Kakiage is a kind of fritter which is the fried mixing ingredients such as shrimp, squid, fish and vegetables.
salty-sweet, soy sauce-based sauce is put on the big cake of fritter.

it is difficult to make delicious kakiage since you have to sharpen all five senses to decide adequate temperature inside and crispy outside.
This fritter shop is perfect, but I want to eat more!



This blog introduces restaurants, cafes and bars in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno.

(4) Miso ramen Tsujita -Second-generation- near Ogawa-machi

Miso (fermented bean paste) ramen
TSUJITA -Second-generation- The chapter of fermented bean paste near Ogawa-machi station
(...How long the name is...)

This ramen shop is famous for Tsuke-men, in whose style you eat noodle dipped in rich-taste soup.
It launches one of the Japanese standard Miso (fermented bean paste)-tasted ramen.
Of course, it is good, but I think better when it is winter since your body will become warm...



This blog introduces restaurants, cafes and bars in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno.

(3) Cold noodle of Yousukou-saikan in Jimbo-cho, Tokyo

Cold noodle
YOSUKO-SAIKAN in Jimbo-cho, Tokyo

Price: 1,500 yen
It takes 2-3 min from Jimbo-cho station.

Here is said to be the birthplace of Cold Noodle, although I do not know if true...
That's why this ingredients are so sumptuous, topped on char siu, Chinese isinglass, boiled bamboo shoot, narrow-cut omellette, mashroom and cucumber...
It always tempt me with the word "Summer-only".

This blog introduces restaurants, cafes and bars in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno.

(2) Meat Bowl topped with Tofu and Japanese radish Okamura-Ya in Shimbashi area

Meat Bowl topped with Tofu and Japanese radish
OKAMURA-YA in Shimbashi area

I ordered Mega-Niku-Don with Tofu and Beef stewed for long time, which topped with boiled egg and Japanese radish, which is flavored with rich-soy sauce and sugar taste (Japanese traditional taste).

It earns top marks nutrient-wise.

I takes 5 min from Shimbashi station.

I would recommend here if you like traditional Japanese food.
This blog introduces many restaurants in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno

(1) Shoved Ice tasted with condensed milk Takemura (Sweets cafe)

Shoved Ice tasted with condensed milk

TAKEMURA (Sweets cafe)

I ordered  Shaved Ice with condensed milk　since it was hot.

You will enjoy a simple and typical Japanese summer.

It is located between Kanda and Akihabara station, and takes 5-6 min.

This blog introduces restaurant, cafe and bar in Tokyo, Ginza, Akihabara, Kanda, Ochanomizu, Ogawa-cho, Awaji-cho, Okachimachi and Ueno