Archives for December 2015

Believe it or not, I didn’t come to Tokyo to shop, much more get a milestone purchase! For one thing, most of the things I wanted to buy in Tokyo are definitely out of my price range. Quite simply, most things in Tokyo are expensive, especially the food. So I expected that most of my shopping monies will go directly into my belly, hahaha!

Of course, I couldn’t leave the city without getting bits of stuff for pasalubong. To my non-PH readers, pasalubong are simply items you give away to loved ones and friends after visiting a certain place, overseas or otherwise.

One of the things that are high on my pasalubong list is green tea KitKat. Thankfully, most discount drugstores offer KitKat in different (though limited) variants. I got green tea, plain KitKat, and red bean flavor.

We also got as many party Melty Kisses as we could!

After strolling Ginza, we also came across a queer bakeshop that sells cute desserts like Banana and strawberry cakes:

According to my sister, this bakeshop is popular for the banana cakes but they ran out so we got a couple of boxes of their strawberry cake and they were delicious!

Of course, I cannot squeeze in all the stuff I ate during our 8-day trip to Tokyo but I chose the highlights:

Out hotel sits right smack in the middle of beer houses in Shinjuku. We went out for drinks at a nearby bar. My sister loved the Kerin beer while I basically stuffed my face with grilled seafood because I don’t drink beer. I drank sake though.

These are our pulutan :3 yum!

A vacation in Japan is not complete without noshing on yakitori. Yakitori is skewered meats grilled over charcoal fire. We went to Piss Alley to get yakitori.

These yakitoris are so so so good!

Of course, we also scoured Shinjuku for the best ramen place. We went to Menya Musashi because my sister said it is one of the best noodle place in Tokyo.

As expected, the line was very long so we have to take a number and wait for 15 to 30 minutes to be seated. The place was a little cramped and I was not really hungry when we got there so I sort of felt bad that I couldn’t enjoy my ramen.

To be quite honest, I ate a shitload of stuff in Japan that I gained five pounds after. Even Tokyo’s el cheapo katsus and curries out of this world delicious!

We also visited several temples and sampled the food. Check out the eye-popping Japanese snacks:

We also tried this crunchy baked pastry on our way to the train station. We saw loads of people lining up for this at Shibuya so we never had a chance to try them. Apparently, the company has a small stall near one of our exits. We were not terribly impressed despite having Hokkaido milk as its main draw. The pastry tasted too similarly with Beard Papa’s cream puffs.

We also dropped by Dominique Ansel Bakery, which was hidden at what looked like suburban Shibuya. We tried some of his most popular desserts. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed with any of these desserts. I felt that they were hyped up and failed to deliver.

This ‘smore tasted weirdly plasticky so I didn’t enjoy it at all. I only took one bite for this picture.

This cheesecake is light, fluffy, and citrusy. From the three items we got, this is the only one I liked.

This cookie shot tasted okay. It’s not mind-blowingly delicious as other bloggers claimed. The cream is nice because it is sweet but the cookie itself is hard and contains very little choco chips.

We went to Isetan’s food section several times and saw a dizzying array of high quality foods. I couldn’t take pictures because most of the vendors do not allow it. Unfortunately, the food section does not have designated areas for eating. You just buy what you want and take them all home to eat. And so, that’s what we did.

Of all the packed meals we got at Isetan, the custard is the one I liked the most. The flan is not too sweet and is very milky. The caramel really complements the flan very well. Very delicious and affordable!

My last meal in Tokyo is a curry katsudon. I ordered this at Narita and it was good, mildly spicy and sweetish. Quite pricey for what it is but otherwise a worthy last meal in a city that I love.

Tsukiji market is Tokyo’s largest marketplace. It’s been featured in documentaries for its eye-popping array of seafood, including massive tunas. We went to the market on our third day in Tokyo and I was beside myself with excitement because I am a huge sushi lover.

You see, apart from the usual goods and seafood, the Tsukiji market also features dozens upon dozens of small sushi stalls. Shoppers can score great deals because the sushis are made from the freshest ingredients!

As mentioned a blog post ago, the most popular of all sushi stalls in Tsukiji market is Sushidai. Unfortunately, we arrived too late. Sushidai was no longer accepting customers by the time we got there and the place is packed. We ended up queuing at Daiwasushi, which sits literally beside Sushidai.

These are the dudes who were making sushis at Daiwasushi. I couldn’t take the picture of the guy who created our sushi sets because I was a little shy about asking him for pictures.

I know I already shown the pictures of the sushis we ate at the market but for old times sake, here they are again!

After getting our minds blown with the sweet, savory sushis, we did bits of sight-seeing. I loved the super affordable ceramics being sold in the market. I regret not getting any because I was afraid it might break if I keep it in my luggage.

We also saw scores of interesting seafood, including large crabs, tunas, herring, and salmon.

We also saw lots of kobe beef, whole fish, snacks, and other treats.

I used to favor salmon sushi and sashimi over tuna but after getting a taste of sushi in Tsukiji market, I think my tastebuds are spoiled forever. It’s also quite curious that we were never served salmon sushi in Tokyo. Next stop, I will be reminiscing about shopping and the most important purchase I made in Shinkuju!

I mentioned two posts ago that I was bound for Tokyo for a short vacation. The trip was actually a Christmas gift from my sister, who, bless her heart, knows how desperately I wanted to visit Japan since we were little kids. (If you’re reading this, thank for the chance of the lifetime! I enjoyed every second spent with you in such a beautiful city.)

To be honest, I don’t travel overseas a lot. In fact, the last time I was out of the tropics was in 2010, when my sister and I headed to Hong Kong weeks before the Chinese Christmas for a vacation. I really ought to travel more. The change of scenery was really good for my soul.

I really cannot articulate how beautiful the city was, how amazing the sights were or how chic the Japanese are. Tokyo inspired me in so many ways!

The best thing about the Japanese is that they were able to incorporate urban living with nature. They have their skyscrapers and no-nonsense, fast-paced lifestyle, but they are never afraid to strip down to the basics with their large parks, animal sanctuaries, botanical gardens, etc.

And speaking of gardens, one of the first things we visited in Shinkuju was the Shinjuku Gyoen, which is a sprawling park with ponds, lakes, and dense woodland. We were lucky enough to catch the last days of fall so we saw the changing colors of the leaves!

Of course, I literally came to Tokyo for the food and I was not disappointed. We tried the ramen, curry, katsus, desserts, and of course, sushi.

We had sushi at swanky Ginza before heading to Tsukiji the day after. I mistakenly entered the closed sushi resto and was told through hand signals that the shop is still closed. The sushi master must’ve remembered our faces when we returned because he was a bit snooty while preparing our food. But the older chef (which, we assumed is his dad) was so gracious about the whole thing. He even watched over us as we ate and helped me get off my seat when we were leaving.

The sushi is fresh, but we thought the sushi maker went overboard with the wasabi slightly.

My sister and I also dropped by various sweet and pastry shops for pasalubong.

We thought the sushi from Ginza was already a killer but boy, we were wrong! When we headed to Tsukiji the day after, our minds were blown.

Although there are a lot of sushi stalls in the market, the most popular are Sushidai and Daiwa Sushi. We were supposed to go to Sushidai, but we got there too late. The shop no longer receives diners so we went to Daiwa Sushi instead.

According to my sister, Daiwa Sushi’s owner is the son of the sushi master and owner of Sushidai. Sushidai is one of the best sushi places in the entire country. His son’s shop is the second.

Daiwa Sushi’s sushi is so fresh, sweet, and scrumptious. I just cannot. We literally stood up in line in the bitter cold for an hour and a half before being seated. Let me tell you, the resto does not look much but the sushi makers are so friendly. They kept throwing Tagalog words when they found out that we are Chinese-Filipino and not Japanese. Our sushi maker introduced each sushi before presenting it. And each one is a knockout.

I took pictures, but the sushis are not photogenic. But, again, I cannot.

My sister and I also combed through Ginza, Shibuya and Shinkuju until our legs fell off. Ginza is such a dangerous place for shopaholics T^T there are loads of upscale malls, boutiques, and luxury brands.

We visited a popular wasteland along the alleys of Shibuya. The entire strip  is literally brimming with local goods, tourists, students, and otakus. SRSLY. I couldn’t even take pictures because I was afraid I might elbow someone’s face when I take shots, it was that packed.