| Day Three (Tue): | Shinjuku - Tsukiji Market - Odaiba (Palette Town, Daikanransha, Venus Fort, Toyota Mega Web, Decks Tokyo Beach, Aquacity) - Shinjuku |
| Breakfast: | Sausage Roll and some other Japanese pastry items, Kobeya (bread store chain), Shinjuku |
| Brunch: | Chef's select sushi at world's largest fish market...one hour lineup Sushi Dai, Tsukiji Shijo (Jonai) |
| Snack: | A small wooden box full of fresh uni Purchased at some fish stall inside Tsukiji market |
| Dinner: | 3 bowls of ramen, each from a different geographical region
|
Tsukiji Market
I think this place originally made its name among foreign tourists as the place to watch daily auctions of several-hundred-pound frozen tunas...until the fish-poking tourists were totally barred from the event in early 2005. I say that's good call; I'm more interested in the freshness of the sashimi cuts than getting up at 4AM to see the auction anyway.
So we set out rather leisurely and arrived at 9:30AM, even munching down some Japanese bakery items in the process (Kobeya's sausage roll, at 150 yen, tasted so good when morning hunger hit). It's not hard to find, just hard to cross the streets with no sidewalks and many small trucks and fork lifts full of seafood weaving around us.
When we did our Tsukiji Jonai (inner market) sushi stall research at Japanese language sites, somehow most of the user opinions converged on two restaurants. And when we arrived, only those two restaurants (out of a row of ten or so) sported lineups. One was having a very long lineup, and then other had a lineup of only two or three people. The choice was easy.
Gourmet Spot #4: Freshest Sushi. Period. - Sushi Dai, Tsukiji Shijo Jonai
We picked the one with the longest lineup! A full 60 minutes of wait!
Zannen! The other place, Daiwa Sushi (four stalls down the row in the picture), probably is just as good. I even brought a coupon for two pieces of Magurozuke (just print out this page and take it to the chef)! Next time, I promise.
And when we finally sat down, we were served by a younger chef, who spoke with us partly in English. We wanted to sample a large variety of different seafood, and ordered two different sets: one 2000-yen-set and one 3500-yen Omakase-set.
Both came with a miso soup infused with the seafood of the day (turned out to be a red-skinned fish, possibly Kinmedai), followed by 10 pieces of nigiri and four pieces of roll. The Omakase set would finish off with one extra piece of sushi of our choice. Apart from that, the price of the ingredients chosen was the difference between the two sets.
Incredible freshness! It was so unbelievably fresh and I chowed down so fast that I often forgot to take photos of each piece. Oh well, here is some of the cheaper set:
Kohada on the left, a Shiromi type fish on the right (Tai perhaps? I wasn't sure)
Ika on the left, Magurozuke on the right. Note the shine on the Ika.
Nama Shirasu (white bait)
Both sets came with the same rolls. I don't remember exactly, but these look like (from the left) Chu Toro, Mentaiko, another Chu Toro, and Kappa.
Especially worth mentioning is the Ikura on the right. Back in Vancouver, my wife and I can't stand Ikura for its fishy taste. But this particular piece was simply unbelievable, so smooth it was like an egg yolk melting in the mouth. It didn't taste anything like fish roe. It was amazing.
The more expensive set contained the Ootoro (left) and a Chu Toro. Not the fattiest Ootoro I've ever had, but definitely the freshest.
There was also an incredibly fresh piece of Uni! It was a dark yellow Uni with a strong sea water taste, but incredibly sweet. But regrettably it disappeared off the plate so fast that I forgot to take a picture.
Hirame on the left. I forgot what the piece on the right was. Please leave me a comment at the bottom if you know...
The Shiraebi on the left was incredible! Simply the freshest, sweetest shrimps I had ever tasted...and think about the effort it took to peel these tiny shrimps! And the Aji on the right...just look at the shine on that fish.
This was another highlight of the meal. The Anago was so sweet and soft it melted on the tongue. Not a huge piece like the Anago Ipponyaki we had on Day 8, but unbelievably tasty.
Decisions decisions. For the last piece of the Omakase set, we chose the Akagai on the right. I think most people might choose the Ootoro, but that Akagai was well worth it. On the left is an Akami of the cheaper set.
| Bill for two persons: | |
| 2000 yen set | 2000 yen |
| Omakase Set | 3500 yen |
| (apply 5% tax) | |
| Total | 5775 yen |
Gourmet Spot #5: Fresh Uni by the box - Tsukiji Shijo
Whew! We were so full now that we needed a walk. And so we dangerously crossed the street over to the fish vendors in search of one of my favorite sashimi items.
Uni! Boxes and boxes of it. I was sure now that my cholesterol would take quite a hike during these holidays...I hoped I would work off some of it with our 10-hours-walking-per-day routine.
A small box for 450 yen. Two layers of fresh, firm deluxe uni. These were the small Jo-Uni from Hokkaido, each piece being only slightly larger than a fingernail. I actually wanted to find uni in the shell. Oh well, more excuses for another trip in the future.
Odaiba
Scary Ferris Wheel! We took the slow and slightly scenic Suijo Bus to Palette Town to try the huge Daikanransha, once the world's largest Ferris Wheel. Our box swayed with the wind when we were 20 stories high in the air. Luckily my worst fear of an earthquake didn't materialize. 900 yen per person for 15 minutes of anxiousness hardly seemed a bargain, until we won a 5000 yen Disney plush toy in the "10 Million Passengers Lucky Draw" after the ride.
Odaiba is the perfect Tokyoite date spot, with a female-oriented mall for her, a gigantic Toyota showroom for him, sandy (albeit man-made) beaches and parks, the giant Ferris Wheel, a TV studio with many attractions, and tons of restaurants inside some very unique malls. Try these sites if you wish for more general information. I'm going to talk about ramen.
Gourmet Spot #6: A duel of 6 ramen shops - Ramen Kokugikan, Aquacity, Odaiba
What a great (money-grabbing) idea! For a limited time between Jan 2005 and Dec 2007, Aquacity is organizing a ramen fair where six ramen shops from different geographical regions will open shop in an enclosed area in the mall. The shops will switch every six months, totalling 36 shops in six campaigns over three years. For ramen lovers like myself, it's the perfect chance to sample authentic ramen from different parts of Japan in the same venue.
The six shops available during my visit were:
- Wakura from Fukuoka, a Hakata Tonkotsu (pork bone soup) Ramen specialist
- Tokufuku from Tokushima, using a Tonkotsu and chicken base
- Rokkakuya from Yokohama, using a Tonkotsu Shoyu base and very thick noodles
- Ganso Ichijo Ryu from Tokyo, using a special lobster miso made specially for this event
- Tendou from Yamagata, using a free-range chicken and seafood dashi base
- Manraiken from Sapporo, using a miso base with melted Hokkaido butter
I figured I could probably finish 3 bowls of mini ramen (550 yen each). My wife though could only finish one bowl. With the target of sampling three different regions of Japan, here we go!
First up, Hakata Tonkotsu specialist, "Wakura" from Fukuoka.
5 stars for the toppings, 4 stars for the soup.
Not that the soup wasn't good enough, but wait till the next bowl! The pork slices were indescribably delicious...they basically melted in the mouth like Matsuzaka beef. Perfect balance of meat and fat. And the Nitamago (soft-boiled egg marinated in soy sauce) was perfectly soft in the yolk.
Next up, "Ganso Ichijo Ryu Ganko Ramen" from Tokyo
3.5 stars for the toppings, 5 stars for the soup.
The topping was above average but not spetacular. It was the mini size and so didn't come with the Nitamago. But the soup...it was a very strong, slightly spicy, mildly lobster-like, aka miso broth. That was spectacular.
Finally, from the Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, "Manraiken"
4 stars for the toppings, 4 stars for the soup.
Fresh sweet Hokkaido corn. And a slice of creamy Hokkaido butter which greatly enhanced the smell and creaminess of the entire bowl. The toppings would lose to Wakura and the soup would lose to Ganso Ichijo Ryu, but overall it was still excellent.
I actually debated whether to try a Shoyu ramen specialist instead of Manraiken, which (like most ramen shops out of Hokkaido) used a miso based broth like Ganso Ichijo Ryu. But the butter miso broth erased that second thought.
| Bill for two persons: | |
| Mini Ramen x 4 | 2200 yen |
| (no tax) | |
| Total | 2200 yen |
We were so tired that evening that we skipped Roppongi and went back to the hotel and watched NTV. I should write something about the great programming in Japanese TV sometime.
Oh why can't I get NTV and TBS in Canada...
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