Eating in Tokyo Part VI: Al Fresco in Shinjuku

This is one of the hardest to find cafes in Shinjuku. Took us a while and several wrong turns walking up and down the streets to find it.
From Shinjuku station, you should walk towards the dome (to use a landmark, look for Isetan on your map). Passing Isetan, you cross the street and can see the dome in the distance then you turn left one or two streets ahead. The correct turn takes you to a giant Toys R Us.

Cross the street from Toys R Us and you see a little slope. When you get up the s;[e you see this (coming from the right of the pic) and turn (so if this shop is on your right, you walk straight on)

Take the second or third right, (I can't remember), in any case if you keep walking, you get to this street corner. There are clothes stores everywhere, but the building you want is just on the right of Daniel, facing HIM.

This is the store in which the cafe is housed. (If you walk to the right, you get to the street in the photo above) It's on the 4th floor.

The stairway is to the right of the shop, but if you want to take the lift, it's hidden in the back of the store.

Voila! We made it!

If it's not raining or snowing, we recommend eating outside, on the terrace.

it's much nicer and you get a view of....well, the rooftops.

Hmm, a tad chilly, but wrap the blanket over yourself and you're fine.

Now for the test: yes, there is an English menu and the waitress speaks 10 words of English...perfectly sufficient to order!

Giant omelette...more like brunch, but I didn't complain, it was yummy.

Curry rice....lecker!

Eating in Tokyo Part V: KAN

We highly recommend this hard-to-find restaurant, located in a quiet neighbourhood west of Shibuya. It's a small place, only seating at the bar, entirely smoking, and considerably upmarket.

Directions to KAN (after much detective work with Google Maps and asking about 3 different people who didn't speak English on the streets):

1) Take the train to IKEJIRI-OHASHI station, this is one stop from Shibuya on the Den-en-toshi line).
2) The station is circled on the left in the map. Take the South Exit, you will come out seeing an overpass, walk in the direction with the overpass (road) on your left.
3) When you come to the river, turn right and walk along with the river on your left (see the blue thing on the map)

4) When you see this bridge that joins to the other bank, go right across, and you will see it.


5) It's this one, the only restaurant in the entire apartment complex.

You should call and make a reservation, because this place has less than 20 seats. Almost everyone works behind the bar, and they all manage to look really hip in their uniform of black tees and white aprons. I thought our chef had the sexiest hands....particularly when he was dicing raw fish with the finesse of a pianist.

People seemed to be there to enjoy the whole experience of dining, not eating. The meat was to be savoured, the wine sipped and your cigarette dragged on between the refined (inexplicable) conversation with your companions, all the while watching in fascination as the chefs worked deftly behind the bar.

The menu looks like this (below) so don't bother to ask what's on it. Just say "Yes, we eat sashimi" and you will get this (above) if you are lucky: horse (yes, the ones people ride on), whitefish, tai, hamachi (yellow tail) and something else yummy.

Our chef had decided what we would eat that night, but we couldn't resist a round of yakitori: here on the left is an ingenius sticky rice wrap with meat inside. Totally delicious.

The seasonal dish: duck slices on a winter leaf slowly cooked over hot coals in miso sauce.

We finished our duck.

We had some other stuff, tofu, the cold appetisers and a vegetable tempura. We didn't order the fish liver (foie gras) in vinegar which looked totally awesome cos we were stuffed. I highly recommend that and the horse sashimi....it was really tender, they're Canadian and come to Japan for a few years before arriving on your dish. I know, I know, we're sick. But I don't see how the horse suffered any more than your industrial-slaughtered chicken and cow.

Oh yes, don't forget the sake....the bill set us back S$220. Not bad for a really nice dinner in Tokyo.

U KAN
Tel: 03-3792-5282
Manager: Hayashi Kohtaro

Eating In Tokyo Part IV: Asakusa Korean BBQ

If you find yourself in the neighbourhood of Asakusa, you wouldn't miss a stop at the Sensoji Temple. Metro station: Asakusa, take the Ginza Line or Asakusa Line, though the Ginza exit takes you closer to Sensoji.

Nakamise Shopping Street is an entire street of shops where you can get all manners of sweets, cakes, cookies, souvenirs, knick-knacks and whatnot. A little up ahead, if you turn right and walk on to the main road then cross it, you will discover a marvellous little Korean BBQ tavern.

The place is tiny, you can barely stand up and walk about but it's cool...

first order yourself a drink of course, I would go for the sake, mine came in a convenient retail sized bottle.

The crowd is made of mostly (and usually, as we have come to discover) male office worker types

It has a real rock-hippie kind of feel to it. They played really classic rock songs. Toilet is just to the right of this photo but was surprisingly clean.

and it's a LOT of smoke!
Here we have beef and pork, they have different kinds of beef, the cheaper one is the lean beef here:
The one with a bit of fat is of course yummier. But get a recommendation from the waiter. He has just enough English to help you out, and he's way friendly.

Must try: the cow heart is something we've never had and boy was it good! It looks like pieces of liver or tongue raw...

but give it a little fire and voila! It's tender with just a little chewiness.

Directions: the closest landmark is the Tobu Railways Asakusa Station North. When you get out of the station, cross the road (the Mos Burger is right opposite) and walk left. You can't miss the only row of small eateries, it's the second one from the corner.
Bon appetite!

Eating in Tokyo Part II: Snacking

There is never enough to eat while you're in Japan. Here is a brief guide to good snacking stops in and outside of Tokyo.

In Kamakura, as in many other cities, you can always find freshly-made Japanese snacks like these rice cookies.

This one is dipped in shoyu (Japanese soya sauce) after it's fried.

Daniel: it smells much better than it tastes. (Japanese rice products aren't the tastiest stuff, so it depends on the way they prepare it. Some are really good, they come in sweet or savoury usually)

Everywhere you can find a Cold Stone Creamery, Japan's answer to custom-made ice cream on a cold stone (as opposed to hot stone). It's a really good idea, they mix in stuff like fruit or nuts or whatever in the ice-cream, on a ...yes, cold stone.

Here is our waffle and ice-cream, at Roppongi Hills.

You will also find this very popular snack (it has a similar concept to Krispy Kreme - another hot favourite, I don't understand why - except maybe not as completely exploding in caloeries as Krispy Kremes)

Beard Papas come in many flavours, but since we can't read Japanese, just pick one you think looks like what you would like and point.

Daniel: good dessert

In Shibuya, you can also get tons of food, here is an actual doner store. Attention: Turkish doner (kebab) in Japan is at least three times more expensive than in Germany.

Finally, if you are still feeling peckish, step into any convenience store (tons around) and pick up an ice-cream, Japanese style. They don't come bigger or better than this.

Eating in Tokyo Part I: Akihibara

Akihibara, or the Electric Town as it is called, is every ignorant person's mental image of what high-tech Japan would look like. This is what greets you as you exit Akihibara station.

A good lunch option is something like this: you pre-pay and get your ticket at the vending machine,

and then bring it to the counter, where the waitress takes it with enthusiasm and gets your food ready;

this cost 500 yen

somehow more popular with the lunchtime male officer worker crowd.
But still a good, cheap lunch option in Tokyo. There won't be much time (or space) to dilly-dally over your meal though.

Spanish food in Manila

Wednesday night Boss and I went to Terry's for dinner with Tony & Charmi somewhere in the upper-class parts of Manila....Terry's serves Spanish cuisine fused with some Filipino like this hunk of roasted pork which we had to pre-order.

The skin is crispy like the Chinese-style roasted pig, but the meat is so soft it almost melts in your mouth. Plus a thin layer of fat and you've got a truly Yummy mouthful of roasted piggy.

wurst being grilled (uncanny resemblance to you know who's.....)

mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with parma ham

We also had squid ink paella, not photographed.

Streets of Melaka

Going to Melaka (or Malacca as it was named by the Dutch/British) is a breeze if you take the highway northwards. Remember to get your arrival card at the checkpoint or better yet, fill it out before the trip cos it takes ages to fill out.

Now you will need the Touch N Go card when you go through Malaysian immigration.

Once you're past customs, get ready for 3 toll-collection stations before you get on the East-West highway proper. Head north to Kuala Lumpur and whatever you do, do not flash your third finger when a Malaysian comes bearing down on your tailgate at 140km/hr on the right lane.

Get off here....the road to the pusat bandar (city center) takes 15 to 20 minutes cos traffic is really slow.

Park here, but watch out, you need to buy the coupons for parking (same system as Singapore's) or you get the summons from the Matar Matar.

You will pass here and the Peranakan Museum of Melaka.

Turn left here

....and walk down this street

check out the architecture

as you get to the main street, often closed to traffic for the Pasar Malam (night market).

Traditional candy in a block, he is hammering pieces of it out with a chisel.

Must Eat: Melaka Chendol

we think he used to be an air steward, either that or he stole one of the life-size Malaysia Airlines cut-outs and stashed it in the back of his shop.

the secret is the Gula Melaka sugar

More street stands

Dried barbequed cuttle fish in spices ... yummy