Japan (Dec 2007) - Part 5

Part 5: The Final Stretch in Tokyo

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Dec 29: Back in Tokyo - Jamon Iberico

The previous week we had a dabble of the Iberico ham, but we hadn’t had enough – so we went back to The World Meat Bar and bought ourselves a pre-dinner snack of the best stuff – 36 month cured Jamon Iberico. At about US$90 per 100gm, we opted for half that – and it was worth every dollar!

Then we headed for dinner…

Omu rice with Hamburg steak (the Japanese equivalent of a Salisbury steak). Look at that colour!:

Dessert bought back to the hotel from Takano:

A view from our hotel – the Tokyo Metropolitan government buildings:

Dec 30: Kohmen, Sadaharu Aoki, Vietnam Alice

Heading back Roppongi the next morning to visit yet another esteemed ramen house Kohmen (光麺) http://www.kohmen.com/, which turned out to be the best ramen we’ve had on this trip!

The ingredients:

We followed with a visit to have a look at Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki, an extremely well regarded patisserie chef with a lot of experience in France:

There were too many people so we decided to come back another time.

We then came across this guy with what appears to be a certificate in shoe shining from Pierre Corthay – an ultra high-end shoe maker from Paris:

For dinner, we headed to Vietnam Alice, one of Iron Chef Yutaka Ishinabe's restaurants and marks our second non-Japanese meal in Japan this time around. Sitting on the 7th floor of Lumine 1 in Shinjuku, the restaurant was buzzing but not full when we got at 7ish and although Kevin had a little apprehension, an open mind was kept..

The meal started with a bean sprout salad:

Not too bad... then Leeann's crispy crepe came along:

filled with slices of tender pork, prawns and vegetables, the crepe was crispy and decent.

It is sometimes said that the quality of any Vietnamese restaurant is best gauged by the quality and flavour of its Pho.

This one came with simply with 5 slices of semi-raw beef but the soup was delicious! Peppery and not too strong in flavour, Kevin was definitely surprised by this one...

Dec 31: Asakusa, Ueno, Nobu, Meiji-Jingu

The next day, we went to have a look at Philippe Starck’s la flamme d’or in Asakusa (浅草) (better known as the Asahi Beer Hall). Supposedly resembling the beer froth, it looks a bit like a piece of..:We had hoped that Kappabashi aka Kitchen Town would be open, but unfortunately it was completely closed and we were unable to get the miniature sushi:

A couple of km walk got us to Ueno Park:

Pretty tired by now, we made another attempt to get some food at Sadaharu Aoki.

Kevin was successful:

But Leeann was beaten out by a Japanese lady who bought the last green tea Éclair.

The last day of the year and our last full day in Japan brought us to Nobu for dinner. We unsuccessfully tried to eat at the establishment a year ago but they were undergoing renovations at the time and it was time to try out the restaurant in its home country. Tucked away in embassy-land, better known as Toranomon (near to Roppongi) - across the street from the Okura Hotel, Nobu's new design was impressive to say the least and we were surprised that it wasn't a full house that night.

Another surprise was that only the normal menu was served (which we thought was great) - including the standard omakase sets. While we were tempted to go for the omakase sets, our desires got the better of us and we took on the ala carte:

1. Kevin's sake 'degustation'. 5 of Nobu's sakes - starting with one I can’t remember the name to, to a Honjozo, then a Junmai, followed by a Junmai Daiginjyo and then a 'Daiginjyo YK50', all for only 2,000 Yen. The range from super dry to smooth and fragrant was great..

Kevin’s 8 drinks:

2. Scallop Tiradito:

2. Matsuhisa shrimp with caviar:

3. Wagyu beef - new style sashimi.. the right combination of yuzu, pepper and sesame - I could smell the goodness before eating it:4. Uni (Sea Urchin) Tempura.. interesting twist to tempura, with some matsutake mushrooms and shiso leaves included. Also, low on the batter - just how we like it:5. Spicy tuna maki rolls:6. Cod with miso:7. Yellowtail sashimi with jalepenos.. thicker slices of fish and jalepenos with a bigger kick than what we had in London made this a nice dish:8. Mixed seafood ceviche..

9. Desserts:10. Godiva chocolate liqueur:To our surprise, this was one of our better meals this trip and the great service added to that. The Wagyu beef was notably interesting as was the sake set...

99% of Japanese people either go to the shrines or stay at home for New Years Eve. Our trip last year brought us to Meiji shrine (明治神宮), but we weren't quite patient enough to see the whole thing through given the long queues and waiting. We aimed to change that this year and planned our walk from Nobu to Harajuku (where Meiji shrine is) to reach there just about 11pm to be in the front half of the pact.

The trip took a little longer than expected but we got there at about 11:20 and stood with the other 2-3 million or so people who are said to pass through the gates of Meiji Shrine on Dec 31 – Jan 1. The tradition is to throw a 5Yen coin at the shrine and make a wish.

The hounds of people:

The drum being hit at midnight:

We ended up getting to the shrine itself at about 12:30 and then quickly headed out of there. That's to an end to 2007!

Jan 1: Departure...

And the New Year has come and gone. Day of going back to Singapore unfortunately…

Great view that day from the hotel room and it was so clear we could see Mount Fuji in the distance:

Opting for a quick Italian meal at one of the very few places open that day:

And then some French toast to top it off at a nearby café:

Our next trip will hopefully take us to Hokkaido, Shirakawa-Go and Fukuoka.. stay tuned! As always, if you want addresses or more details of any of the restaurants/places, drop me an email!

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