Raining in Tokyo

Tokyo - I arrived @ 5.30pm and looking out of the plane cabin; it has been raining.   The plane that I arrived on was a big jumbo A380 and it was put at the far end of the terminal.   It was a long walk to the immigration and by the time I arrive there, there was a long queue and it was snaking around with about 20 per row and 10 rows.   There were only 2 counters serving these amount of people very unlike the prior trips I made. 

By the time I finished and took my limo bus it was at 6.35pm to reach T-CAT and then a taxi to the hotel; it was already very late.   All the time I was thinking should I have sushi or cutsi (pork chop).   I would think that dinner with Terry will be a good sushi or sushi so I opt for my cutsi restaurant.

Quickly put my lugguage down, and walk to the restaurant and saw the sign that Subway is here.   I was thinking 'please don't take my pork chop restaurant; I love the tender and juicy pork chop and it was there.  Free flow of green tea, miso soup and salad - price Yen1,700

Delicious Sushi restaurant @ Nihonbashi

Tokyo - After dinner, Terry brought me to a Japanese restaurant in Nihonbashi - about 4 stations away from Toyocho station.   It was a quaint and nice restaurant, as usual we sat around the sushi counter table - right in front of the chef.

Our beer was served in this ceramic mug - supposedly able to retain the coldness of the beer better.  It was actually correct - still cold for quite a while.  

This apetitiser was raw baby sardine with garnishing - very smooth with the sauce in vinegar.

This was perfectly prepared in front of us - the chef placed the sashimi immaculately.   The taste of the sashimi was manificent beyond compare, simply melting in your mouth.  You can taste the suculent texture of the tuna, it was so fresh.   The orange meat is not salmon - looks like red snapper.

The dish is young bamboo with seaweed, very delicious.

This is sushi dish - tuna,  egg, squid, all very delicious and the meat is so fresh.  We ordered hot sake - liquor made from fermented rice.     I took a peek and the bill came up to S$320 for two people - considered reasonable price for a good Japanese restaurant.   A 3-star Michelin restaurant will set you back at S$1,500 for two people.

Sushi Restaurant

Tokyo - The weather was nice and chilly at around 25 degree celsius.   I took a nice photo outside of my room.  In the background is Tokyo Tower.

The Hotel East 21 toilet mirror is heated so that you are able to see your reflection without the fog.  This is what I meant.....the only hotel that I have stayed in that does it.

For dinner, Terry brought Tony and I to a sushi restaurant about 2 subways stations from Toyocho station - roughly about a good 20 minutes walk.   The weather was good, windy and around 23 degrees Celsius - so walking was really nice.  Furthermore, this will heighten my appetite for good sushi.   It has been a while since I have to this sushi restaurant.   We sat at the sushi counter and was served by the chef cum owner of the restaurant.

Tuna sashimi

The sashimi just melted in your mouth and it was so fresh.  

scallops and squid with Japanese sauce

2 types of Tuna sushi

Just looking at the 2 sushi makes my mouth water....

Sushi making is an art by itself...

Sushi Shellfish

Male Cod fish genitals

Another type of Shellfish sushi

Yakitori dinner

Tokyo - After our yakitori delicious dinner.  Joe and our customer decided to challenge on arm wrestling - so we cleared the table which was full of beer mugs and bowls.  

Joe and I walked around Tokyochu in the evening and we found a sports bar - we had 2 rounds of darts @ Yen 1000 per game.   We talked till Joe was dozing off and decided it was time to call it a night....

Tsukiji again

Tokyo - Tim and Tony has never been to Tsukiji (the largest fish market in the world), so we met @ 4.30am at the lobby and reach Tsukiji around 5pm. We arrived early and had to wait because the auction of the Tunas did not start until 5.40am. The auction area was crowded with many people inspecting the tunas.

Later I was told by Terry that these bidders check the fat and quality of the Tunas by inspecting the tail. The higher the fat content the more expensive the Tuna cost. Maybe similiar to beef - which in this case they called 'marble' - the streaking fat on a piece of steak that when cooked just melts in your mouth.

All the Tuna's tail portion has been cut off leaving the red meat of the fish - some bidders were poking their fingers into the flesh of the Tuna. There are 2 section of the auction - the fresh Tunas and the frozen Tunas. The fresh Tuna auction is much more expensive - each Tuna can cost US$2,000 to US$ 20,000.

French restaurant in Tokyo

TOKYO - After a day of meetings, Terry brought us to a French restaurant - this is really high class fine dinning. The restaurant is Ochanomizu Ogawaken and has 2 floors - 1st and basement. 1st floor is used only for Lunch and the basement is only used for dinner. The basement has only less than 10 tables.

The food is excellent and came in minute portions. They served 5 rounds of apetitisers, and then the main course. It is the ambience that made this place very cosy and classy. I understood the bill for 3 persons came up to over US$400 - wow!

Okonomiyaki

TOKYO - Arrived today from Seoul and stayed at Hotel East 21. The good news is that there is a direct Limo Bus to the Hotel but only twice a day from Narita to Hotel East 21. My first trip to Tokyo was on 7 Aug 2000, thus making this trip my 21st trip to Tokyo.

Leaving @ 10:25am and 5.25pm. I caught the 5.25pm Limo bus that took me directly to the Hotel - this is much more convenient. Next time, I will time my SQ flight to catch this Limo bus transfer.

Hotel East 21 rooms are much smaller but for the price I am paying - it's ok. This Hotel is also popular for families going to the Tokyo disneyland as there are shuttle to and fro provided by the Hotel.

This time I travelled with Mahboud and he wants to try Okonomiyaki (I tried it once before) and the concierge told us that it is around Kiba station, could not give us an exact location. It was quite a distance to Kiba station and we manage to find the restaurant with the help of a convenience store boss.

I was not disappointed with the food as it was really good and especially the chef. He looks like the master in Karate kid - always smiling. I like this restaurant and will come back again.

It is pronounced as O-ko-no-mi-ya-ki. Okonomi means "your choice" and Yaki means "grill" - so literally it means grill it yourself...LOL. But it was the chef that did it for us. Okonomiyaki is found in the Hiroshima and Osaka region. It is a pancake layered with cabbage and toppings of your choice. Toppings may include beef, chicken, bacon, squid, octopus and mushrooms. Sometimes called "Japanese Pizza".

Restaurant: Hai Sen Bon - contact: 3644-5956 (located near Kiba subway station and bridge)
The Okonomiyaki each cost about 650yen to 800yen. A can of coke cost about 300yen each.