A journal of all the food I've eaten, most of which has been in Tokyo.
1/5: Bad, try to avoid.
2/5: Mwoah, chances are the restaurant nextdoor is at least as good if not better.
3/5: Solid, safe option if you're in the area already.
4/5: Very good, worth a little detour.
5/5: Sublime, must visit if at all possible!
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Showing posts with label Must eat before you die. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Must eat before you die. Show all posts
I've been to all of the famous Unagi restaurants in Tokyo except for 1. Out of all those restaurants, Aikawa in Takadanobaba is #1! I've had better pickles and I've also tasted better rice, but there may not be a more delicious Unagi than this one!
It was steamed first and then grilled according to the Edo tradition. The result was heaven! I experienced EXTREME softness and overwhelmingly intense flavours!!!
I'm super happy this isn't far from where I live! I'll definitely be going often, whenever I am craving Unagi!
Update: I've been to the #1 ranked restaurant since then, but Aikawa remains my favorite. Definitely the #1 Unagi in the world and all the friends I've taken there thus far wholeheartedly agree with me!
The other day I finally got the chance to go to Tokyo's #1 restaurant according to Tabelog. It's a little far from the city center, but once we arrived we completely forgot about that fact, because of Yokohama Ukai Tei's immense beauty.
入ってから、自分の個室に連れて行かれました。外と同じ建物の中もものすごく美しかったです。
After we entered, we were taken to our own private room, which just like the outside of the building was extremely beautiful.
From there, we ordered the seemingly most delicious course and started eating. Course #1 was made out of summer vegetables and Sashimi, topped with caviar.
味は軽くて、涼しかったです。前菜として完璧でした。
The taste was very light and refreshing. Perfect as a starter.
This was... I'm not sure where to begin. Before eating this Foie Gras, I was never a big fan of Foie Gras, but thanks to this one I love it now. But more importantly, The most delicious food I've ever eaten is no longer Sukiyabashi Jiro's piece of Gunkan Salmon Roe Sushi, it is now this very Foie Gras dish!! It was amazing and I was feeling overwhelmed with joy while eating this. I was truly moved. It tasted very fatty and it wasn't just the Foie Gras, but every single thing on the plate tasted fantastic together. I was truly moved by this piece of food and was unable to say much for a few minutes. Ask my friends if you don't believe me!
第三コースはかぼちゃスープでした。
The third course was Pumpkin soup.
Before this I hadn't eaten Abalone except for as Sushi topping, but it was very good. The sauces especially added a lot of flavour. We also got to eat the Abalone brain, which tasted very similarly to Lobster brain. Because I like Lobster brain, I enjoyed this aswell. 第五コースは日本的なステーキでした。 The 5th course was Japanese Beef.
ビーフはちょっと不満でした。本当にとっても美味しかったのですが、より美味しい期待をしてたのです。ビーフはちょっと太過ぎて、味が弱過ぎたと思います。フライ米は普通だったのに、大好きでした！味噌汁は大変特別でした。今まで飲んだ味噌汁と全然違って、非常に美味しかったです。説明出来ないのですが、本当に一番美味しい飲んだ味噌汁です！ The beef was a little disappointing. It was truly delicious beef, however my high expectations were left unfulfilled. I had expected more. It was a little bit too fatty and the taste was too weak in my opinion. The fried rice was very blend and simple, but I actually loved it this way! The Miso Soup on the other hand was very special, unlike any Miso Soup I've ever had before. I can't really explain the taste, but I can say it was FAR AND AWAY the best Miso Soup I've ever had! 第５コースの後に個室出て、２階でデザートを食べに行きました。２階もとっても綺麗でした。
After the 5th course we left our private room and went up to the also very beautiful 2nd floor to eat dessert.
My experience at Yokohama Ukai Tei was very special and super amazing! The building is a piece of art, the staff is friendly and the food is great! Especially the awesomeness of the Foie Gras I can't really properly convey to you. I will certainly return here every now and then!
2-3 weeks ago I discovered this AMAZING sushi bar in Ikebukuro and called it the best value food on the planet. I've been back here a dozen times during the past 2 weeks and I still believe this is very likely to be the case. If you're willing to seek out some more expensive restaurants you can definitely find better sushi than this, but you'll likely be paying 4-5000+ JPY for your meal. Compared to all the <4000JPY sushi restaurants I've been to, I think this has the best sushi and besides being the best, it's also the cheapest with a lunch set of 525JPY for 8 pieces with miso soup and unlimited green tea/water.
I also went for dinner the other day, which was slightly more expensive, but still very cheap. I believe I ate almost 20 pieces for around 2000JPY, including a few more expensive ones like Uni, O-toro and Anago. The dinner was good, but I still definitely prefer their lunch. I think besides being cheaper the Sushi may be of slightly better quality during lunchtime aswell.
The best way to describe the experience of living in Ikebukuro and being able to eat lunch at this restaurant almost daily is comparing it to robbing a bank every day and it being legal. It honestly feels like a crime paying them no more than 525JPY for such a high quality lunch!
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