Being back in Tokyo after the two day break was nice and we were looking forward to visiting the sights and of course, eating! As some may know, I have been trying to plan our Tokyo meals out for months, but when we finally got there - all the research went out the window and I thought I'd try out the concierge at the hotel. Being diehard fans of wagyu kuroge - the black-haired cow which produces arguably the best beef in the world, we could not resist trying out some Kobe beef. Compared to the Australian or US "wagyu", all the Kobe (or its Matsuzaka / Oumi counterparts) we saw in restaurants and supermarkets were much more beautiful marbled, with the top slabs of sirloin going for about US$150 for 100gms of beef at the supermarkets. Only 262 farms in Japan produce Kobe beef, with each farm only carrying only 5-10 cows on its pastures. The cows are fed sake and beer mash and massaged daily to give it their beautiful marbling.
The hotel concierge recommended trying Seryna / Mon Cher Ton Ton at the top floor of the Sumitomo Mitsui Bank building in Shinjuku with superb views on the 52F/L. We both opted for the Kobe beef Teppanyaki set dinner - which included a starter of a trio of petit fours, teppanyaki foie gras, Kobe beef sashimi, a choice between lobster or abalone teppanyaki and of course the star of the day, a fat slab of Kobe beef sirloin.
Kobe beef sashimi - unbelievable texture and dipping it in very light shoyu (soy sauce) brings out flavours to die for...:
A picture at the teppanyaki table taken by our chef:
The slab of Kobe beef sirloin as shown to us just before it was cooked to medium-rare beauty..:
Chef at work:
The final product:
Even the dessert was incredible.. musk melon, or perhaps more commonly known as cantaloupe was served simple as a slice on a plate. Amazingly sweet, refreshing and soothing - unbelievable!
After being stuffed like a pig, we took a stroll towards Takashimaya Shinjuku, just above the railway station where hundreds, if not thousands of people were also soaking in the glittery night lights as holiday goers like ourselves snapped photos:
Dec 28: Tokyo - Tempura Day
Out of the two of us, Leeann is much more of the tempura fan but a given that we were in Tokyo, what better than to take a visit to Ten-Ichi in Ginza, a famous age old tempura institution which has about 10 branches across Tokyo and boasts visitors such as ex-PM of Japan Koizumi and Presidents Bush and Clinton since it opened in 1930. Arriving at noon, we took a counter seat in front of the tempura chef alongside 7 other patrons and ordered a Tsuki set meal. At Y8,000 (US$75) a head without drinks for lunch, this was one pricey tempura meal - but worth every penny! Deep fried in front of us in an ultra light batter (which I understand is a high-grade sesame oil); the prawns, fresh fish, vegetables and scallops which came throughout the 10-12 course meal was not greasy at all and had just enough crisp and flavour. Combined with the tentsuyu dip and some fresh daikon radish, this was some superb tempura!
The obligatory dessert photo at Ten-Ichi.. Leeann with her favourite iichigo (strawberry) and Kevin with some super-sweet mangoes. 
Just outside the restaurant:
A quick stroll through Ginza, stopping at the Apple store for a look:
Some strange things going on at the Chanel store in Ginza:
A view from the hotel room overlooking JR Shimbashi station:
As we got to Takashimaya too late the night before, we headed back to Shinjuku and found something we've been craving for a long long time!
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in Tokyo! Our previous bite of the sugar laden, heart stopping doughnuts was a year and a half ago in Seoul, and this was indeed a surprising sight. Being the first Krispy Kreme store to open up in Tokyo and the Tokyo-ites love for all things new, the queue to get a couple doughnuts was insanity to say the least - we waited a good 1 hour to buy 2 doughnuts... crazy? indeed! There were even policemen there guiding the queue... now that was a sight:
Just around the corner and next to Takashimaya Shinjuku was Tokyu Hands, the "Creative Lifestyle Store", an incredible Walmart type store over 8 floors selling everything from electric warming slippers to wines to curtain cloth material and things you had no idea existed at all. You could spend several days strolling the aisles here alone!A US$150 cantaloupe seen in Shinjuku (musk melon):
Dec 28: Roppongi Hills & Tokyo TowerThe ultra modern and exclusive Roppongi Hills area - an area frequented by many of the foreigners living in Tokyo, and built originally as part of an encompassing residential, shopping and dining complex. Nearby is the Tokyo version of the Eiffel Tower, a less magnificant version of the Parisian structure but by no means less beautiful at night.
The entrance to Roppongi Hills:
I couldn't help but to take a quick snap as we passed the window of the Kiton shop inside Roppongi Hills with these beautiful antiqued wholecuts:
Tokyo Tower at night:
From the belly of the beast:
Dec 29: Shiodome RamenWith an urge to sample the favourite fast food of Tokyo-ites, Ramen; a quick search on google from our hotel room for "Ramen in Shiodome" brought up Shiodome Ramen, a shop in the Nippon Television building just across the street from our hotel. The ramen shop was opened by Kounosuke Takewaka, the winner of the 2003 NTV ramen competition and even as we got there 15 minutes after it opened at 11:30am, there was already a 30 minute queue outside. Bracing the cold and driven by the thought of a hot bowl of ramen coming, we held our ground and with just minutes to noon we were led to our counter seat where the waiter took our order tickets purchased at the ramen ticket machine moments earlier:
With my almost non-existent knowledge of Japanese, the big poster showing the "seasonal special" for the period seemed to be the best choice and at Y990, the pork miso soup was almightly complex and rich - different to the typical miso, shio or tonkotsu soup bases we've tried. The egg was cooked just perfect, with the meat so tender it falls apart in your mouth... delicious!
That afternoon, we went exploring in Aoyama, near the goth-queen area of Harajuku and Omotesando. Famous for the Prada flagship store designed by Herzog & de Meuron, a Swiss architect company credited with the Tate Modern in London and the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics to name a few:
Less famous, but still worthy of mention was the Chloe store right next door, designed by British architect form S.H. Architects who were responsible for all the Chloe stores worldwide:
Leaving Aoyama and heading for the heart of Omotesando Hills, our eyes stopped at what I can only describe as the "strawberry cake shop", cakes with piles of bright red strawberries looking mouth-wateringly gorgeous:
Next stop: Omotesando Hills. A marginally less impressive version of Roppongi Hills, but again with desserts to die for. Two dessert parlours in particular, standing side by side; Del Rey Chocolatier Antwerpen and Gelateria Bar - Natural Beat. Del Rey's window display was nothing short of perfect:
We didn't try anything at Del Rey, although people dishing out Y2,500 US$22 for a scoop of champagne chocolate icecream suggests that we probably should have...But nonetheless, Kevin ordered a Rosso Rosso with Fresh Strawberry Meringue (strawberry gelato with lemon meringue and fresh strawberries) which was refreshing and truly outstanding..:
After Omotesando, a walk about 15 minutes South brought us to Shibuya; home of the famous 10 direction crossroad and Hachiko, a famous meeting point in Tokyo. Hachiko was an Akita dog who used to wait for his owner Eisaburo Ueno at Shibuya station every day and continued to do so even 11-years after his owner's death.
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