December 11, 2008
Donuts are quintessentially American. They are fried gobs of dough drenched in icing and sprinkles. Therefore, it is a mystery why Tokyo-ites, who are otherwise so conscious of calorical intake, line-up for donuts with wait times that put lines at the Apple store the morning of the iPhone release to shame. Although Mister Donut has […]
December 2, 2008
In Japan, a must-do destination was DisneySea. Yoko blogged about it a while back, and I was intrigued. You know it is the most expensive amusement part ever built? 4 BILLION DOLLARS!!! Friggin’ in this recession, you just gotta go, right? It’s like swimming in a sea of cash money, baby baybay! Uh! Most exciting […]
November 7, 2008
From a buffet in some fancy hotel in Ginza, where they made these omelets to order. It was pretty tasteless and gross. The view- Tokyo Tower!
Japanese people really like to wait in line for food. It’s this really bizarre psychological phenomenon here, where people think that the longer the wait, the better the food must be. Check out these hardcore lines in Ginza, Tokyo. Out of control. Also note that they are all for sweets from a foreign land. Hmmm. […]
November 6, 2008
This place was good enough to spend both of my last two birthdays. Kigi is tucked in the heart of Setagaya-ku’s Sakurajosui. Its unpretentious service and earthy food is what I miss most about the Northern Californian food scene. Kigi is a perfect place to counter Tokyo restaurants’ tendencies to deliver over-the-top, fake service, and […]
October 22, 2008
I was just chatting with Kayoko online, when we started talking about my lunch at Ginza’s Sato Yosuke udon restaurant. It was amazing. The noodles were thin and shiny. Apparently after they boil the noodles, they place them in ice-cold water to bring out the shiny sheen regardless if they are served chilled or warm […]
July 23, 2008
We took supreme advantage of our jetlag and got up at 4:30am to go to the Tsukiji fish market. Here you can see the fish buyers taking core samples of the frozen tuna and inspecting them (sometimes eating the pieces straight) for fat content. We tried to sneak into the section where they supposedly auction […]
July 20, 2008
(For some Umamimart Rashoman, please see ayagwa’s perspective on this very same day.) So the day I flew into Tokyo, I met Aya, dropped off my stuff in the Shinjuku Washington Hotel, took a shower and a nap, and we headed over to the Shinjuku station to meet up with Yoko, fellow Umamimarter (or is […]
June 5, 2008
I finally gave in and bought the Tokyo Michelin Guide. Luckily, I was able to come across the English version with no problem. Tokyo was awarded a total of 191 stars earning the crown, by far, for best place to eat in the world according to Michelin (compared to the second: Paris with 65 stars, […]
May 1, 2008
Aside from the fact that this was the site of my first date with my current partner, this spot is one of my favorites in the world. Nestled in Setagayaku’s Sakurajosui, Danran sushi (danran definition: sit in a (family) circle and chat happily; enjoy each other’s [one another’s] company) serves up fish dishes and sushi […]