Day 56: Mont St Clair Again

Ok I wasn’t intending to eat cakes today (it’s eat-clean Monday!) but I had to go to the bank in Shinjuku and you know, Isetan with the Mont St Clair pop-up booth is so near. Couldn’t resist sugar, I’m weak like that haha. This time I found a stunning gem in the orange mont blanc cake! Oh my, so glad I tried this (the guy before me bought the last one yesterday so this is fate!!), the balance between chestnut and citrusy orange is incredibly delicate. There’s also a hazelnut cake in the background but it pales in comparison because chestnut wins anytime!

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Day 52: Sushiya すし家 (1st Visit)

Happy birthday to me!!! I’m all ready to splurge in omakase style at Sushiya すし家, one of the up and coming artisan sushi restaurants in Tokyo. Chef Takao speaks good English so that’s a plus! Dinner consists of 10 otsumami and 13 pieces of sushi before ending with a slice of pudding-like tamago #mindblown

I love everything except the hirame (flounder) and ika (not a fan of squid) sushi. The otsumami are wonderful: water shield (amazing texture, we drank it like a soup), shiroebi with fish guts (sounds gross but tasty), kegani (hairy crab peeled and stuffed back into the shell!), hotaru ika (one of the highlights for me as it’s my first time trying firefly squid), bafun uni, aburi bonito, toro cheek (this is so tender!), ankimo liver, grilled nodoguro and the signature aged mackerel roll.

Then the sushi other than flounder and ika (both too chewy): buri (yellowtail), masa (the trout looks dark because Chef dunks the whole thing in a bowl of marinade), three cuts of tuna (I really really like the tuna cuts here; even the leanest akami sushi melts in the mouth, let alone chutoro and otoro), ebi, kohada (another first for me!), aji, baby scallop, uni (amazingly clean tasting, I’ve never had uni like this before), anago and lastly the tamago.

Omg the tamago! I want two next time! (hinting to K hahaha because I’ve made a reservation for us next week yay!)

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Day 44: Uoshin Ginza 魚真 銀座店

44 days since moving to Tokyo and tonight is one of the best I have so far in terms of company! We brought an American guest to izakaya Uoshin Ginza 魚真 銀座店 and as you can imagine, the sake/beer/umeshu (that last girly drink is for me!) flow steadily along with an array of delicious “bar grub”. Assorted sashimi, nokezushi, kegani, simmered nodoguro, fried potato shreds salad, now excuse me while I go into #foodgoma

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Day 44: Midori Sushi Ginza 梅丘寿司の美登利銀座店

K and I once queued at Midori Sushi Ginza 梅丘寿司の美登利銀座店 for more than 2 hours omg. The quality is not worth such a long queue but I guess we like to do crazy things like that. Compared to the kaiten sister restaurant, I prefer the “proper” sushi branches because the set menu is of great value and the staff is always willing to accommodate my un-Japanese-ish “I want to change A for B” requests. My first visit to Midori was in 2011 and kudos to them for maintaining the consistency over the years. Anago, chutoro and the complimentary kani miso salad are the best here!

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Day 43: めぐろ大黒屋

Hi I’m back in Tokyo! The first thing I crave for is not sushi or sashimi but unagi. I really love those slippery fatty eels so much! A colleague brought an American guest and I to めぐろ大黒屋, an unagi specialty shop near the office and my unagi don totally fix my craving, thank you eel you didn’t die for nothing!

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Day 19: Cityshop Again

Ok, I can totally foresee myself lunching at Cityshop Delicatessen at least once a week. I love the fresh salads, the bold flavours, the gorgeous colours! Plus they go beyond the usual salad greens; think roasted pumpkin and brussel sprouts, fennel and kale with hijiki seaweed — basically salads not commonly found in Japan. Wish there’s more such delis in Tokyo to take my money ha.

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Day 18: Uoriki 渋谷魚力

Like Midori Sushi, Uoriki 魚力 is one of those reliably good sushi joints reserved for days when I just want sushi and I don’t feel like exploring somewhere new. Tourists flock here (it’s Shibuya!!), but locals dine here as well so I won’t say it’s super touristy. The menu has a selection of fixed sushi platters and dons but I prefer ordering my favourites a la carte — anago, chutoro, hotate, kani, uni, negitoro, otoro, tamago, ikura, ebi. Sounds good right! Very pleased with my choices except kani and ebi (not fresh enough) so will skip those next time.

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Day 17: Cacao Sampaka カカオ サンパカ

Hey, if it’s good enough for the Spanish royal family, it’s certainly good enough for me! Cacao Sampaka is the appointed royal chocolate supplier in Spain and カカオ サンパカ at Marunouchi Brick Square is their first boutique store in Japan. I’ve got no one to share the chocolates with (waiting for K!!) so only the soft serve is doable for now. The blend is obviously quite different from Le Chocolat De H’s and I’ll need to try both side by side to pick a favourite ha.

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Day 17: うに屋のあまごころ | 東京駅店

Oh man, the beautiful aroma when my uni omelette was served. I really wish you can smell it! うに屋のあまごころ at Tokyo Station specializes in uni and the menu is all about sea urchin. I was plenty pleased with my choice — fluffy and runny ふわふわ omelette topped with briny uni sauce (though the piece of uni ain’t worth raving about). So much love for this and less than half the price of Mercer Brunch’s!

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Day 16: Libertable (Again)

Libertable‘s porcini mushroom mont blanc was ok but I like the “veggie in cakes” concept enough to give it another go. This time, the dark chocolate with black truffle cake got to me. In a good way. It’s such a dramatic cake; both sweet and savoury flavours are so wonderfully balanced.

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