143. Tokyo - Arigato gozaimashita: Wrapping Up A Week in Japan / ありがとうございました, 日本!

If I dedicated a post to every single restaurant I visited in Tokyo, I would never get to my long back log of posts from the Bay Area and the East Coast.  Here's the remainder of the eating, seeing, and doing from Japan... all in one post.

Ken and I slurped up some very homey ramen that really hit the spot after an exhausting morning at Tsukiji Market.  The shop owner joked that the bamboo was from the same place Ken was from... Taiwan.  Look for a red noren that says ramen in white Japanese lettering (ラーメン) hanging in the doorway.  The faded red business signage reads Chinese food (中国料理) in Japanese.  The owner says the gyoza is very good too.

天好 24
東京都 台東区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Taito Ward
花川戸 1-15-7 / Hanakawado District, 1 Chome 15-7

We passed the Asahi Breweries Headquarters on the way to Tokyo Skytree, the tallest freestanding tower in the world.  It was camouflaged against the gray sky and too pricey to travel up to the observation deck.  We relaxed over some chocolate and macadamia ichigo wafflate on the entrance floor instead.  The coffee is decent, and the chocolate beverages are milky and quite delightful.

100% Chocolate Cafe
東京都 墨田区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Sumida Ward
押上 1-1-2 / Oshiage District, 1 Chome 1-2
東京スカイツリー / Tokyo Skytree
東京ソラマチ 4F / Tokyo Solamachi, 4th floor

A popular expat gathering hole serving Spanish-Italian influenced Japanese tapas helped us shield the hustle and bustle of Metropolitan Tokyo at bay.  We ordered the hot spiced chicken, fries with anchovy butter, squid in black ink sauce, and quattro formaggio pizza, oysters, and more.  The highlight was the octopus and ooba pasta with yuzu pepper.  The shiso garnish helped keep the pasta light.

Rigoletto Bar and Grill
東京都 港区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Minato Ward
六本木 6-10-1 / Roppongi District, 6 Chome 10-1
六本木ヒルズ ウェストウォーク 5F / Roppongi Hills, West Walk, 5th floor

Kristen has a knack for introducing some very aesthetically appealing treats.  She ordered a gripping grape tart, and I selected a scrumptious summer peach tart.  There are more than two dozen tarts, all of which center around an individual fruit or combination of fruits that are formed into various flowers and other intricately carved shapes.

Berry Café
東京都 中央区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Chuo Ward
銀座 3-2-15 / Ginza District, 3 Chome 2-15
外堀通り / Sotobori-dori Street
ギンザ グラッセ 6F / Ginza Glasse, 6th floor

A true late night in the streets of Tokyo must include yakitori at an izakaya.  Grilled chicken wings, skewers of extra crispy chicken skin and succulent meatballs are go-to favorites.  What captured my attention, though, was the mentaiko omelette... salty orange fish roe rolled into sweet yellow tamago for the ultimate egg in egg action.  Oh, and the beer here is only 380 yen in the wee hours of the night.  Kanpai!

串焼ダイニング十兵衛 (Juubee Skewers Dining)
東京都 渋谷区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Shibuya Ward
恵比寿南 1-23-5 / Ebisuminami District, 1 Chome 23-5
恵比寿 スカイウォーク出口 / Yebisu Skywalk exit
アメリカンブリッジ ビル 1F / American Bridge Building, 1st floor

We celebrated the final night in Tokyo with drinks... a foam topped Yebisu Stout at the top of the Westin overlooking Ebisu District seemed fitting.  There is a scenic view of the Tokyo night scape just behind the bar.

コンパスローズ / The Compass Rose
 東京都 目黒区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Meguro Ward
三田 1-4-1 / Mita District, 1 Chome 4-1
恵比寿 ガーデンプレイス 内 / Yebisu Garden Place 
ウェスティンホテル東京 22F / Westin Tokyo, 22nd floor

And that's about as much as my stomach can handle.  It's time to pack, get some rest, and head to the airport first thing in the morning... Taiwan is next on the itinerary! Super big thanks to Ken, the Lee family, and Kristen for the utmost guidance and hospitality on this trip.  Without you guys it would not have been as fun and gluttonous as it was.  Arigato gozaimashita!



I'm going to finish up a few posts on some recent fooding in the States.  Posts on my trip to Taiwan will start popping up in October, so stay tuned... until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130625-30

135. Tokyo - No Mo' Nomihodai for Me / 半兵ヱ 飲み放題 (Tokyo: Shibuya-ku, Dogenzaka / 東京都: 渋谷区, 道玄坂)

Nomihodai (飲み放題) means all-you-can-drink in Japanese.  Sometimes offered in conjunction with tabehodai (食べ放題), it is usually an option that many izakaya (居酒屋) in Japan offer as a way to eat and drink... for cheap.  Ken and I joined his local Japanese friend Reina at Hanbey (半兵ヱ), a hole-in-the-wall izakaya in Shibuya for some all-you-can-eat-and-drink festivities.  For only about 2,500 yen (about 25 USD) per person, we were treated to unlimited biru, sake, and fried food for two hours.

Normally I would post a plethora of food pictures, but the food at Hanbey, like many all-you-can-eat Japanese izakaya, is pretty terrible.  It was a good thing that there's plenty of cold beer to wash the food down with.  Despite the terrible food, what attracts people to these all-you-can-drink establishments is the warm ambiance and fun environment that makes for good times.  This particular location of Hanbey required navigating through a labyrinth to our table.  We sat down next to the open air kitchen so that we could see the chefs at work.  The walls were decorated with old movie posters, and they echoed with the cheerful noises of friends and co-workers toasting each other after a hard day's work.

After the many rounds of beer, the two hour eating and drinking party comes to a close when the staff brings the check and a complimentary order of bread to the table to help mop up all the alcohol in everyone's stomachs.  I guess it's the restaurant's way of saying, "You ain't gotta go home, but you gotta get the hell outta here!"

After one experience with nomihodai, I know I don't want no mo'.  But who would say know to friends, fun, and all-you-can-drink? Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

半兵ヱ センター街店 / Hanbey Town Center Store
東京都 渋谷区 / Tokyo Metropolis, Shibuya Ward
宇田川町 31-4 / Udagawacho District, 31 Chome 4
井ノ頭通り / Inokashira-dori Street 
シノダビル2F / Shinoda Building, 2nd floor

ML - 20130626

130. Jetting off to Tokyo (PDX-NRT: DL 617)

I was pretty surprised to find a non-stop flight from Portland to Tokyo, but Delta Airlines serves this route with once daily flights on a Boeing 767.  The flight from Portland International (PDX) to Narita International Airport (NRT) is staffed with Japanese speaking cabin crew.  The flight is also stocked with Japanese beer.  Must have Sapporo draft!

What I always look forward to on international flights are the meals.  Whether it actually tastes good or not is another question, but this is a chance to see what an airline presents to its passengers on board.  On our flight we were given a choice of teriyaki chicken or beef stroganoff for our first service.  I chose the teriyaki chicken with snap peas and steamed rice.  After I uncovered the foil to reveal what was inside... what I found was not exactly a pretty sight.  The chicken was breaded, fried, and sitting atop a layer of teriyaki sauce, and there were three snap peas.  Eek.

The mid-flight snack were old-fashioned ice cream sandwiches.  If I hadn't had them during those kindergarten afternoons as a child, I would wonder what in the world they were.  I'm sure some of the Chinese passengers transferring on to Beijing or other destinations in Asia were thinking exactly that.

The pre-arrival meal was a sesame bagel with omelette and cheese sandwiched in the middle.  Let's just say that it did not remind me of a freshly toasted New York bagel.

Okay, so the food wasn't great.  In fact, it was pretty terrible... like the Western style breakfast omelette on the China Airlines LAX to Taipei route kind of terrible.  But the flight attendants were extremely friendly... beyond expectation.  One flight attendant Mimi practiced Mandarin with me during the long flight because she said that the opportunity to hold an entire conversation in her native tongue was rare.  Another flight attendant Lily gifted me with one of her Delta wing pins, which I am adding to my collection.  It is service like this on long haul international flights that makes the reputation of an airline.  Super props to Mimi, Lily, the captain and the rest of the cabin crew on making this flight safe and enjoyable.  After about 4,800 miles and almost 11 hours, the staff was what I remembered after deplaning at Narita Airport.

It's been five years, but Tokyo, I have returned!

Until our first meal in Japan, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130624-25