alrighty here it is. i jacked these pictures from google, but you'll get the idea. ginza kyubey. originally the plan was to go to sukiyabashi jiro, but turns out that at least one member of the party has to be a japanese speaker. i guess none of them speak any english and they believe that they can't serve you to the extent that they would like so... ginza kyubey was our next choice. after reading up, it definitely was not a disappointment since they say that kyubey is the no. 1 in ginza and the no. 1 in ginza is the no. 1 in tokyo and the no. 1 in tokyo is the no. 1 in japan and the no. 1 in japan is the no. 1 in the world.
took forever to find and just enough luck. situated in an alley, nothing impressive at first. in no particular order. we ordered the omakase, of course.
awabi (abalone)
crazy. daikon sandwich with a shiso leaf and ume (plum) sauce. very refreshing. good palate cleanser.
fresh ebi (shrimp). it's pretty nuts since the things are still alive and jumping on a bed of ice as the kill the sucker right before you eat it.
uni (sea urchin). gunkan style. kyubey invented this style of wrapping the seaweed around the goods. it was glorious.
saba (chub mackeral)
some sort of clam. the guy takes the clam meat and slams it onto the cutting board and it magically comes back to life, squirming and all. mmmm.
ika (squid). so soft. hardly chewy as we are all used to.
hirame (sole)
o-toro (fattiest tuna). this is the creme de la creme of sushi. the fattiest part of the tuna and also the most valuable. notice that the better the quality of tuna the more it starts to look like beef. this was the first piece of nigiri that we were served. by the end of the meal, i was down to order just a plate of this. melts in your hands AND in your mouth AND then your brain. so frickin good.
grilled anago (salt water eel), one with salt and the other with a sauce. unlike any anago i have ever tried. the meat is light and fluffy, they season it perfectly. foodgasm at this point.
things not pictured: maki sushi, tamago (egg), and maybe a few other things. they say that a restaurant prides itself on the tamago that it makes since it is the cheapest thing you can order. the better the restaurant, the better the tamago. this had to have been the best tamago ever. best meal of my life, by far. i even think that at this moment i had a true epiphany. i realized that life is short, so live it up while you can. love the people around you, love the God that made all of this wonderful stuff around us and love whatever makes you truly happy. i love food and i plan to eat it right. one country at a time. damn, never knew raw fish could make you think so much. only one problem, i haven't touched a piece of sushi since i came back. i don’t want to be a snob about it, but what can you do when you’ve seen the light. it almost angers me now when people talk about all you can eat and a good meal is now almost a cry for desperation. but i think that i've found a couple of local, worthy substitutes: ikko and sushi wasabi, hope you do not disappoint.
omotesando hills. south coast plaza's "good" section times twenty and then on crack. man's worst nightmare. not only is it six stories tall, but much much dinero can be lost here.
came here when we met up with steph's brother. an unassuming mostly outdoor restaurant on a street corner where you sit on plastic crates turned over, i definitely enjoyed the food + beer here. things devoured: sashimi, grilled abalone and mushrooms, grilled fish, kaisen natto (fermented soybean, salmon roe, tuna and squid) and beer. yeah, i know natto has a bad rep since it smells like poo + death and even moreso mixed with fish egg and some more raw fish, but trust, one of the best things that i've tried. we need places like this in america. good food, beer, being outside, mmmm.
welcome to the rc16 annex. imagine area 51, but 100 times less cool. i guess this is gonna be home for the remainder of the product's life. bigger cubes, more privacy to facebook, better food...i'm pretty happy :]. just gotta remember not to get stuck here for the rest of my life, gotta go for the dream.
happy birthday noona! the french laundry cookbook. sorry it's just a book, but when i heard that eric was getting you that marc jacobs bag, i sorta gave up on the bourgie gift and had to go with heartfelt. :[ next year!
@ lucille's. bbq feast and red velvet cake. so sweet, felt i had to punish myself while my teeth disintegrated with every bite.
so here's the story if you haven't heard already. i'm not a violent person at all so please don't fear me. alex and me decide to go to baden baden and quenton comes with while everyone just "sits" around watching tv. three bottles of soju and some food between the three of us and some good conversation. the night was good, but alex (partially buzzed) decides to provoke my ego and calls me old and that i can't hang. he proposes a drinking challenge. our poison is chosen my a neutral party: jameson irish whiskey. i know i have this one in the bag, whiskey is like juice to me. concerned, i ask alex what time he has to wake up the next day and he reassures me that he is responsible. drinking commences and a fifth of alcohol (between two people) later i emerge victorious! he passes out, then i pass out after my victory parade. i wake up around 3 to go take a pee. the lights are off and i listen intently to make sure that i'm not missing. i'm good. then, for some odd reason i lose my bearings and can't find the door. later i find that i was trying to "slide" the door because i was stuck in japan mode, but turns out i was messing with a wall. i scream for help not being able to get out. five minutes later, in the dark, i feel claustrophobic and decide that the only way out is to break down the door. elbow! punch! punch! wait a minute. holy %$&@! what did i do? door handle turn, lights on. oh crap! i wake up later to find that alex doesn't wake up in time for his quiz and almost misses work too later that day. sorry that i ruined your life, haha. :[
grilled japanese eggplant with a miso glaze
tempura don-buri. place was famous for this stuff and hear that there's usually a line out the door during lunch hours.
okonomiyaki :]
the view from the restaurant. i wanted to make out with myself.
sapporo beer museum/heaven
hakata ramen at ippudo roppongi. has to be the best ramen in the world. perfect in every way. our last full meal in tokyo and what a way to end the beginning of many more journeys to come. life is good.
took forever to find and just enough luck. situated in an alley, nothing impressive at first. in no particular order. we ordered the omakase, of course.
awabi (abalone)
crazy. daikon sandwich with a shiso leaf and ume (plum) sauce. very refreshing. good palate cleanser.
fresh ebi (shrimp). it's pretty nuts since the things are still alive and jumping on a bed of ice as the kill the sucker right before you eat it.
uni (sea urchin). gunkan style. kyubey invented this style of wrapping the seaweed around the goods. it was glorious.
saba (chub mackeral)
some sort of clam. the guy takes the clam meat and slams it onto the cutting board and it magically comes back to life, squirming and all. mmmm.
ika (squid). so soft. hardly chewy as we are all used to.
hirame (sole)
o-toro (fattiest tuna). this is the creme de la creme of sushi. the fattiest part of the tuna and also the most valuable. notice that the better the quality of tuna the more it starts to look like beef. this was the first piece of nigiri that we were served. by the end of the meal, i was down to order just a plate of this. melts in your hands AND in your mouth AND then your brain. so frickin good.
grilled anago (salt water eel), one with salt and the other with a sauce. unlike any anago i have ever tried. the meat is light and fluffy, they season it perfectly. foodgasm at this point.
omotesando hills. south coast plaza's "good" section times twenty and then on crack. man's worst nightmare. not only is it six stories tall, but much much dinero can be lost here.
came here when we met up with steph's brother. an unassuming mostly outdoor restaurant on a street corner where you sit on plastic crates turned over, i definitely enjoyed the food + beer here. things devoured: sashimi, grilled abalone and mushrooms, grilled fish, kaisen natto (fermented soybean, salmon roe, tuna and squid) and beer. yeah, i know natto has a bad rep since it smells like poo + death and even moreso mixed with fish egg and some more raw fish, but trust, one of the best things that i've tried. we need places like this in america. good food, beer, being outside, mmmm.
summer veggies
seared scallops on nori (dried seaweed)
seared uni (sea urchin) on crispy rice on nori (dried seaweed)
seared foie gras on grilled daikon (radish) with summer vegetables
wagyu kobe beef, blended daikon (radish) and grilled bean sprouts
akasaka yoko hotel
bus to ghibli museum
hayao miyazaki is an animation genius, kinda reminds me of a young me, except more genius.
