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

Post 87: More Fried Chicken and Waffles (OC: Costa Mesa)

Continuing with the thought of fried chicken and waffles in honor of National Fried Chicken Day, I now take you down south to a waffle purveyor in Orange County.  Nestled in between boutique shops and an indoor mini mall with food related retail is The Iron Press.  The supposed restaurant seems more to me like a waffle bar or delicatessen rather than just a restaurant.  It is a simple and modern space with an open kitchen where the masters of the presses whip up wondrous waffles while the wistful waiting watch with their wandering eyes. 

The chicken and waffles was quite simple... almost minimalist even.  The buttermilk fried chicken breast was sandwiched between golden brown waffles and served with a jalapeño maple syrup.  The cole slaw that I had thought would come as a side was actually already inside the sandwich.  The chicken was not the least bit greasy, and the cole slaw was prepared without mayonnaise.  And although that may be good news for the health conscious, it may have been too progressive for me.  The maple syrup was neither spicy enough nor sweet enough.  In the world of Real Housewives, this was so very Orange County.  Atlanta Housewives has the drama of untouchable egos, extramarital affairs and extremely low blows.  Like Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken, it's a little dirty and such a guilty pleasure.  Beverly Hills Housewives has the drama of mo' money mo' problems... bling, bling, bling.  Like the ad hoc fried chicken from Bouchon, it's elegant, rich, and classy... but when you're immersed in the middle of it, it oozes bits of naughty pleasure as well.  OC Housewives, on the other hand, revolves around unconfirmed dirty looks and eating cake that isn't yours.   And like the chicken from The Iron Press, there's just not enough drama.  I ordered a side of bacon just so I could have that greasy, salty taste that I so desperately desired.

What made more of an impression on me was the burger.  With fresh ground rib eye and the bite of raw red onions, the burger waffle had much more oomph than the chicken.  The combination of juicy meat and ooey gooey cheese helped create the hearty quality of comfort food.  There is more of an emotional attachment that keeps 'em coming back for more... much like a trashy episode of Atlanta or Beverly Hills Housewives.  I wanted oil.  I wanted salt.  I wanted to say ooooh, that's good.  And I got it from the burger and waffle fries.  Oh, the waffle fries and the accompanying garlic aioli were ooooh, so good.

There are many more items on the menu, including the ham and smoked gouda waffle, the bratwurst waffle, the breakfast waffle sandwich, dessert waffles and the Guinness ice cream float... all of which have descriptions that preview a bit of tasty drama for the next visit to The Iron Press.  On the backs of the shirts that the staff wear, the Iron Press proudly exclaims, "WE LIKE BEER & WAFFLES."  Well, so do I.  Until the next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120828/20120527

Post 26.12: Vancouver - Day 3 (Dinner/Post-dinner)

If there's one thing I miss about Taiwan, it's strolling through the night market.  Alright, it's never that easy to stroll through a night market in Taipei... getting stuck and possibly sandwiched is more like it.  But it's the energy of the night that I miss.  There is literally a buzz in the air... if not from the chatter of conversation in the local language then from the molecules flowing through the numerous neon tubes that bring light and warmth to the atmosphere.  Oh, Shilin, how I wish you weren't a 14-hour flight away...

Well, I was in luck because Vancouver has its very own annual summer night market.  And I happened to be right in the midst of the commotion.  I can't believe I even told Amanda that it was alright if we never made it to the night market.  I'm really glad she responded with, "Man, if people found out that I didn't take you to the night market..."

I'm not sure if she ever finished that sentence or if I tuned it out because I didn't want to know the consequences. Either way, I'm glad I made it to the craziness that was the night market. (Thanks, Amanda.) Stands stood next to stand... it was hard to see the gap where one stand ended and the next began. Endless rows of stands served snacks and traditional delicacies from all over the Asian continent... I was enthused to see the different foods represented from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines...

Of course, my stomach had a field day.  We started off with a crepe that was filled with strawberries, Nutella, vanilla ice cream, and a good helping of whipped cream.





Watching the crepe master make it was a bit of fun in itself.  The crepe creator solidified the crepe batter, laid the strawberries out one by one, drizzled chocolate syrup, dropped vanilla ice cream, and folded the crepe all in less than five minutes.



Right next to the crepe stand was a skewer stand that offered everything from grilled lamb skewers to barbecued ice cream on a stick.  Whoooa... BBQ ice cream? Curious much? I asked the cashier what exactly BBQ ice cream was, and she replied, "Look.  Picture." 

Hah.  I guess her answer meant that it was time to fully satisfy our sweet tooths.



It was so obvious which order was ours.  There were just three little spheres of ice cream smoking next to a dozen or so lamb skewers on the grill.  The poor little ice cream balls looked so out of place that I couldn't stop laughing.



They topped it off by drizzling the ice cream with a bit of condensed milk and Hershey's chocolate syrup.  One bite, and Ian exclaimed, "Man! These are cream puffs!"

Oh, and how right he was.  They really tasted simply like frozen cream puffs that had a smoky essence.  I was disappointed by the advertising... but delighted by what I tasted.



My sweet tooth was satisfied... overly so.  I wanted just some plain water to get the potential tooth decay taste out of my mouth, but I came across a Japanese stand with a fresh ginger cooler.  It was sweet but sharp and biting at the same time... all the characteristics of fresh, raw ginger... and none of the characteristics of ginger ale.  Amanda took a sip of it, and she made the same face that a child would make upon tasting chopped liver for the first time.  I don't think either of us appreciated the little bits and pieces of fresh ginger floating around inside the drink.  Perhaps onto something else...?

At the same stand I ordered the Japanese-style burger with an extra helping of kimchi in the middle.  At that time I think I was attempting to fill my void of Taiwan's Mos Burger, a hamburger chain that specializes in Japanese-style hamburgers, many of which have sticky rice in place of the typical bread bun.  Each time I took a bite, the pressure from the chomp squeezed the center of the burger, which caused teriyaki sauce to oooooze out of the middle... it dripped onto the rice bun... the napkin... my hand... mmmmm...



We got some Japanese takoyaki too.  Half a dozen spheres of octopus were covered with Japanese mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, seaweed confetti, and of course, the flakes of bonito that wisp with the heat of the takoyaki.  I love watching the bonito flakes writhe in the heat, especially on okonomiyaki.

We saved the one item we were all waiting for last. Although we went straight for the Hong Kong style egg waffles when we first walked into the night market, the line was so long that we decided to come back later. And even when we returned, the line was just as long... the only difference was that our craving for the waffle increased ten-fold.

I snuck a little peak behind the stand's plastic curtains to see the waffle machines at full capacity.  Each time the waffle iron clamped down to close, the batter would seep out and leave a trail of batter droplets on the iron.  After hundreds of times of closing the waffle iron, more and more trails of batter accumulated onto the iron's surface, leaving an unconsumed little hill of semi-cooked waffle behind.

After waiting for what only seemed like an eternity, we picked up our double order of original egg flavored waffle and chocolate flavored waffle. And I'll be the first one to say... it was worth the wait. I was already stuffed to the brim with crepe, ice cream, ginger water, rice and meat, and takoyaki, but it was so hard to stay away from these waffles. Each sphere (we had a lot of spherical-shaped food at the night market) was crispy and warm... and I tore each section off one at a time and popped each one. With each bite I broke the crust and allowed the steam to escape (the waffles are hallow) from the waffle's insides to the insides of my mouth. Ooooh... it's like a reminder that the waffles just came right off the iron. FRESH. That waffle was FRESH.



Mmmm... fresh waffle.  Fresh crepe.  Fresh okonomiyaki.  Fresh everything.  I inhaled a bit of faux Taiwanese atmosphere while inhaling carbs galore from around the world.  Man, this night market was amazing-awesome.  That's one thing I'll say that has USA beat.  Night markets in Taipei, Keelung, and Kaohsiung? Oh yeah, there are plenty.  Night markets in LA? You'd think there would be.  But night markets in Vancouver? I didn't think so, but I'm sure as hell glad that there are.  (Take out the horrid manure scent from the Home Depot across the street, and you've got an even better night market.)



Hey SoCal, I say we have some night markets at the Pomona Fairgrounds, OC Fair, and Del Mar Fair whenever the fairs aren't around.

Next post: The most expensive poutine ever