Chef Lee Anne Wong has brought her Hawaii Koko Head Cafe to Tokyo. In Hawaii it is a popular brunch café. What’s unique about Koko Head Cafe Tokyo is that it’s also open for dinner. In Hawaii it’s a brunch restaurant so closes in the afternoon. So stop by later in the day for a…
Category: Food Sake Tokyo
Vegetable Bentō
Met a girlfriend for lunch after eight years. We picked up noriben, nori bentō, from the basement of the Ginza Six department store and headed to the roof. I was so excited to try the vegetable version. Maitaké (hen of the wood mushrooms) tempura, yamaimo (mountain potato) and renkon (lotus root) is grated to a…
Kaoriya Soba
Had a fantastic soba meal at Ebisu Kaoriya. Started with a flight of saké. Included a half-order of dashimaki tamago savory omelet, soba yaki miso, and tsukemono pickles. All very good. My favorite is always the miso with buckwheat groats. This one included julienned ginger. These three dishes are lovely with the nihonshu. The otameshi…
Amanoya Tamago Sando
Aiste Miseviciute of Luxeat introduced me to Amanoya tamago sando in Azabu Jūban. I visited the shop with her and she placed orders for their saké cake to bring back home as omiyage gifts. https://www.luxeat.com/ The egg sandwich is not the Tokyo style of boiled eggs with mayonnaise but the Kansai style of dashimaki tamago,…
Odamusubi Breakfast in Shinjuku Station
新宿駅のおにぎりモーニング。 Onigiri breakfast at Shinjuku station. Odamusubi is part of Odakyu department store. Diners have a selection of onigiri filled with tart umeboshi, pickled takana greens, spicy mentaiko cod roe, and more. The breakfast is rounded out with three small dishes and miso soup. I love that some of the onigiri is made with rice…
Salmon and Ikura Rice at Tsukiji
Delicious start to the day at Tsukiji Tadokoro Shokuhin, a fish roe specialty shop. The eat-in counter has rice and pasta dishes with ikura (salmon roe), tarako and mentaiko (both from pollack roe). There is also onigiri or omusubi rice balls stuffed with roe for take-away. This is rice sauteed in butter and soy sauce…
Matsumoto Kissa Senzu Wagashi
Kissa Senzu serves modern and traditional wagashi sweets inside of the historic Kaiundo confectionary shop, opened in 1884 in Matsumoto. Monaka, a crispy wafer is served with a flight of three types of red beans (smooth, chunky, and whole). A fun way to compare the textures. Dorayaki of two small pancakes stuffed with sweet anko…
Salmon Ikura Pasta
Starting the day with #salmon and #ikura #pasta at #Tsukiji Market Tadokoro Shokuhin. Buttered noodles makes this lip-smacking good. They have the same dish with buttered rice! https://www.tsukiji.or.jp/english/shoplist/cat-a/cat-3/086/
Mikado Kissaten Hot Dog Breakfast
The morning hot dog set at Mikado kissaten in Nihonbashi. Mikado has been roasting coffee beans and serving coffee since 1948. The shop is also famous for its mocha soft serve. Service here is very kind. Tokyo-to, Chūō-ku, Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-6-7 https://mikado-coffee.com
Kyobashi Isehiro Yakitori
Not far from Tokyo Station is one of my go-to yakitori shops. Isehiro has been grilling chicken skewers for over one hundred years (est. 1921). The tsukune chicken balls, my favorite in the city, have a meaty texture. Isehiro calls these dango on their menu. When I worked at Takashimaya depachika down the street I…
Food Sake Tokyo
Three years ago today I had the pleasure of taking Alton Brown on a tour in Tokyo. We did a book exchange at the end, he gave me a copy of this newest cookbook and I gave him Food Sake Tokyo. It was such a pleasure to meet him and help him find knives at…
Food Sake Tokyo Update
It is the middle of the rainy season. We have been enjoying katsuo (skipjack tuna or bonito) as sashimi, much fatter than usual this time of year as the fish are swimming up north. In the fall when they return south is when they will be really rich in fat. As ume (Japanese apricots, Prunus mume) are in…
Ginza New Castle Curry
New Castle Curry in Ginza was a great little spot for a bowl of spicy curry topped with an over-easy egg. When I last went, while researching my book, Food Sake Tokyo, it was a second-generation shop in an old, wooden building in the glamorous Ginza district. While shiny new buildings were built up around…
Tokyo Food Guide
photo by Olen Peterson We can demystify Tsukiji Market, the world’s largest seafood market, and introduce you to a new sushi neta, like kinmedai (splendid alfonsino) that is pink, slightly sweet, and is succulent. Introduce you to a wide variety of Japanese pickles. Lead you to a special bar where cocktails are made with seasonal fruit and…
Food Sake Tokyo – All Updates
The Hiroshima antenna shop in Shinjuku has moved to Ginza. Attached is a PDF with all known updates to my book, Food Sake Tokyo. Food Sake Tokyo Updates 20130316
MetPod
Kamasami Kong, Tommy Aoki, and Yukari Sakamoto I had the great pleasure of doing a MetPod with Kamasami Kong to share information about our new company, Food Sake Tokyo. Click on the link below http://metropolis.co.jp/podcast/2013/02/24/talking-about-japanese-food/ Here is Tommy Aoki’s MetPod. He talks about the United Tastes of America competition. http://metropolis.co.jp/podcast/2013/03/03/asia-wide-chef-competition/ Suji’s pastrami sandwich….
Food Sake Tokyo Tours
Food Sake Tokyo conducts private guided field trips to Tokyo’s popular food destinations that is led by food professionals. Yukari Sakamoto is a chef, sommelier, shōchū advisor, and author of Food Sake Tokyo. Shinji Sakamoto is a fishmonger and former buyer at Tsukiji Market. Popular topics include market visits, saké or shōchū tastings, or shopping at local supermarkets. The customized tours are…
Tsukiji Tour
Tsukiji Market is the world’s largest seafood market. This tour explores the outer market and the many different food, knives, kitchenware, tableware, and more at the market. Above is my favorite tamagoyaki shop, Shouro. While Tsukiji is famous for its seafood, the outer market has many stalls with produce, pickles, kombu, katsuobushi, nori, and much more….
Ningyocho Tour
Ningyocho is a lovely district of Tokyo that is filled with many shops, some with artisans at work like this sembei shop. You’ll also discover a popular taiyaki stall as well as several sweets shops with azuki stuffed ningyoyaki cakes and much more. There are always surprising delights in the area, including these crackers with…
Kappabashi Tour
Kappabashi is where chefs and restaurateurs come to get everything they need to set up shop. I will be guiding a group through Kappabashi with Elizabeth Andoh’s Taste of Culture on Friday, November 16th. Colorful hashioki for resting your chopsticks. Plastic food samples is perhaps what Kappabashi is most famous for. These frosty mugs of…
Food Sake Tokyo 