Tokyo Eat List ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Published on Manila Bulletin Lifestyle, August 20, 2015

Book Now, Thank Me Later!

Seven restaurants you should try when in Tokyo

In case you haven’t checked Instagram lately, Japan has become the new Hong Kong. With reasonable airfares, easier travel requirements, and the Japanese yen at a record low, more and more people have been vacationing in the land of the rising sun, and the bustling city of Tokyo is always the first destination.

People travel to the Japanese capital for several reasons: cherry blossoms, Disneyland, fashion, the energy, or like me, fabulous food, food, and food. It is not true you can get great meals anywhere in Tokyo. Trust me, I wish I skipped a few. For a 100 percent foolproof gastronomic trip, exercise prudence in making restaurant choices, or just trust me when I share my list of favorites. Book them now, thank me later.

TSUKEMEN AT FUUNJI

Come early or be prepared to wait in line (but it’s worth every second) for the best tsukemen, with noodles so perfect and dipping broth so addictive. I can only imagine how long the simmering process was to bring the chicken and fish broth to that level of depth and richness. Multiple layers of flavors cling to each fat strand of the chewy, bouncy noodle. Fuunji is not for the faint of heart as there is just too much sensuality and satisfaction in every slurp.

Fuunji is located at 2 Chome-14 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03 6413 8480
See detailed post on Fuunji here.

SUKIYAKI AT IMAHAN

Unlike the sukiyaki places you are familiar with, where the staff dump everything into a pot, at Imahan, they do things slowly but surely, and ever so gently. My server waited for me to finish my first piece of perfectly marbled meat before he started cooking the next, always making sure to give me a fresh bowl of raw egg to dip each new slice of Japanese beef. After I had consumed all the meat, he prepared the fluffiest, runniest scrambled egg in the same pot, the yellow goop soaking up all the precious beef sukiyaki essence.

Imahan is located at Odakyu Daiichi Life Building 1F, 2-7-1 Nishishinju-ku, Shinjuku, Tokyo; 81 3 3345 1470
See detailed post on Imahan here.

TEPPANYAKI AT UKAI-TEI

Go ahead, order the signature eight-course abalone and Ukai beef set and indulge in one of the best meals of your life, starting with a shrimp cocktail in avocado mousse, masterfully cooked fish, foie gras topped with black truffle (Wow!), chilled onion cream soup, tender abalone in seaweed butter sauce, and the main event–tremendously rich, flavorful, fatty ukai beef. Finish off the extravagant meal with dessert in the tearoom. I highly recommend the velvety, luxurious chocolate cake.

Ukai-tei is located at 5-10-1 Omotesando Gyre 5/F, Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo; 81 3 5467 5252
See detailed post on Ukai-tei here.

TONKATSU AT BUTAGUMI

Located at a quiet residential area, Butagumi is not the easiest place to find, but the search for it will end your search for the best tonkatsu in the city. The restaurant carries around 40 varieties of pork. I decided on trying the Hakkin-Ton sirloin from Iwate Prefecture. It is said that this pig’s parents have kurobuta blood. “Like royal family,” my server said. I was sold. Baby soft, delicate, tender, supple, porky, meaty, and rosy, it was unlike any other fried pork I’ve had before.

Butagumi is located at 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo; 81 3 5466 6775
See detailed post on Butagumi here.

YAKITORI AT TORISHIGE

I wish I could insert the intoxicating aroma of grilled meats here so you can experience the magic that happens in this place. The menu at Torishige is in Japanese so I had no choice but to put my trust in Chef Sakamaki, who wowed me, stick after stick, with pork tongue, pork intestines, pork tsukene, and large intestines. Grab a seat at the bar to enjoy the kitchen action and don’t forget to treat yourself to that amazing Japanese beef topped with uni and caviar. 

Torishige is located at 2-6-5 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 81 3 3379 5188

See detailed post on Torishige here.

SUSHI AT SUSHI YOSHITAKE

Book early at this no-menu, seven-seater sushi bar and let Chef Masahiro Yoshitake take you on a sublime sushi journey. Expect a beautiful progression of sashimi, sushi, rolls, tamago, and soup, each piece showcasing the outstanding knife skills of the chef, his creativity, and his meticulous attention to detail. To this day, I still think about the abalone served in thick and creamy abalone liver sauce. It was like nothing I’ve ever had before, I wanted to hold the plate up and lick it clean.

Sushi Yoshitake is located at 8-7-19 Ginza, 3/F SuzuryuBuilding, Chuo, Tokyo; 81 3 6253 7331
See detailed post on Yoshitake here.

YAKINIKU AT YORONIKU

Go for the tasting menu and be ready to sample different cuts of meat—yes, including the male genital organ! My server spoke perfect English and pointed to the corresponding body part of the cow before she cooked each piece of the heart-wrenchingly tender meat, tableside. On her third reminder to eat the beef folded, I asked her why. She explained that because the meat is so fatty and marbled, if I ate it in one single layer, it would just melt, within seconds, in my mouth. Enough said.

Yoroniku is located at B1F Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03 3498 4629
See detailed post on Yoroniku here.

Curry House Coco Ichibanya ♥ ♥

I wasn't planning to have dinner after devouring five different desserts in the afternoon (see here and here), that is, until my stomach started growling on me at an indecent hour. I knew I would not be able to sleep properly if I didn't satiate it. Hunger is a bitch.

Google Maps led me to Coco Curry House, the 24-hour restaurant nearest to me

Coco has quite a few branches around Japan and service is quick, making it convenient
for travelers 

Merchandise for sale

Too many options but none that I was looking for at the moment

So I built my own curry plate

My midnight snack. 

Beef curry with three different toppings, 300 grams of rice, curry spice level 3.

The japanese sausages were my favorite - delicious and crunchy

Hamburger was soft and a bit mushy

 Pork cutlet was very lean and could use more flavor

Unlimited pickles

Coco is one of Tokyo's many dining options when you are in a hurry, or when midnight hunger
pangs strike, or when you are drunk like all the men you see in this room (seriously!!!)

Curry House Coco Ichibanya Website

Butagumi ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

MOVE OVER, MAISEN.

 

This house with the cheesy crescent moon now owns my tonkatsu-loving heart

 

 

Butagumi is located in a quiet residential area, it is not very easy to find, but the 
search for it will end your search for the best fried pork in the city

 

 

 Tonkatsu master chef

 

 

There are rooms if you need some privacy

 

 

But the best table in the house is this one beside the moon. So romantic! :)

 

 

OINK!

 

 

Butagumi carries around 40 varieties of pork on its menu, but not all 40 is available everyday.
This is actually a blessing because it would take me all day to decide which pig from which 
prefecture to eat. 

 

 

Those with green dots were the available ones that day. 
There is only pork at Butagumi. No shrimp, no chicken, no crab croquette. 

 

 

I am more a sirloin than tenderloin kind of girl. 
Unfortunately, the Tokyo X I was most curious to try was not available.  

 

 

The meal started with pickles

 

 

I finally decided on the Hakkin-Ton Sirloin from Iwate Prefecture.
My server explained that this pig's parents have kurobuta blood.
"Like royal family," she said. I was sold. 

 

 

JUST LOOK AT THAT!!!
This picture speaks a thousand words like baby soft, delicate, tender, supple, porky,
meaty, rosy, precious, huggable, kissable... 
My Hakkin-ton was all these words and more. 

 

 

It came with different sauces and salt but I felt no need to dress up my meat. 
It was already so perfect. I wanted to order another set.

 

 

Even the miso soup with baby clams was excellent

 

 

A tonkatsu meal doesn't get better than this

 

 

本当に君を深く愛している ♥
(I love you so deeply! ♥)

 

 

Butagumi: 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo 
Tel: +81 3-5466-6775 

Butagumi Website

Tonkatsu & Curry 双马餐厅(俺朋堂) ♥

 

Tonkatsu & Curry used to be our delivery staple when we were too lazy to cook and too lethargic to go out for meals during our Beijing days.

The fried pork drenched in curry sauce was heaven to me.

It's been 9 years since then. I still think about it. 

 

We made sure it was our first meal on our first day in Beijing

 

 

So this is what the restaurant looks like. Hrrrrrmmmmmm… 
I wish we called for delivery instead. Lol! 

 

 

The government gave them a "B" rating for food safety and cleanliness

 

 

Frances and Felisse each had Cheese Cutlet Roll

 

 

I had Cheese Cutlet Roll Curry Rice

 

 

 The pork was tender, there was enough cheese ooze, the rice tasted nothing like curry, 
it was just yellow. The curry sauce on the side was more like tomato. 
OMG! What was wrong with my tastebuds in 2005???

 

 

And this thing kept appearing on the floor beside me as I ate

 

 

Ano ba naman, Miss!!!

 

 

She really took the cleanliness rating very seriously

 

 

Tonkatsu & Curry. Fooled us for the last 9 years.

 

Tonkatsu & Curry 双马餐厅 (俺朋堂): No. 41-2, Chengfu Road, Wudaokou, Haidian District, Beijing.
海淀区海淀区成府路五道口41-2号

Tel: +86 10 6261 2041

Tonkatsu & Curry Dianping Page

Tampopo ♥ ♥

 

And just when I thought the last of the ramen shops and tonkatsu shops had already opened, a Singaporean concept with BOTH ramen and tonkatsu arrives in Manila.

 

TAMPOPO!

 

 

Takaagi Takagi is the father of Tampopo. I learned that he is also the 
founder of Tonkichi, my favorite tonkatsu restaurant in Hong Kong.  

 

 

It was really cool to see someone from the menu come alive,
so of course I had to take a photo of the human version. Lol.

 

 

Edamame

 

 

Shui Gyoza - this was simple but good. The wrapper remained soft even after the boiled 
dumplings had turned cold. Not the gyoza's fault. My camera took forever.

 

 

Top Grade Black Pig Tonkatsu

 

 

Top Grade Black Pig Tonkatsu Innards
The meat was tender and porky. Although a bit oily, the breading was fine and crisp.
Tampopo uses special Hokkaido bread crumbs that taste like deep fried snow.  

 

 

Cheese Layer Cutlet

 

 

Deluxe Hakodate Ramen - Hokkaido ramen with a very, very light pork and chicken bone broth

 

 

Tampopo Premium Tonkatsu Ramen - Kyushu ramen with spicy pork bone broth. 
The heat in the milky broth was inviting. The pork was very lean though. Next time I will 
order the Top Grade Black Pig option. 

 

 

 Look! There's Yakult on the menu!

 

 

Of course I had to order my favorite childhood drink. 
I used to baon this to school in my Coleman! Lol!

 

 

Pretty ladies who also love their Yakult :)

 

 

 Congratulations, Tampopo Philippines franchise owners George Huang and Chris Tiu!
(And Ty Tang who is camera-shy.) 

 

Tampopo: Ground Floor, Promenade 3, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan. Tel: +639178547440

Tampopo Website

Tampopo Facebook Page

Tampopo Instragram: @tampopo_ph