Tokyo in My Mouth

So here it is - the long awaited Tokyo food blog. I have to say, I wasn't as thrilled by the food in Tokyo as I was by that in China - plus we were only there for a few days - so I don't have a great deal to say. But I have chosen the most memorable things and will tell you a bit about them.

On our first night in the big city we ate with Dan, Laurence and Toshi at a restaurant with a very unusual method of ordering. David mentioned it in a previous blog post but just to remind you - each table had a touch-screen computer with an interactive menu that you could place digital orders on. The food came in small portions, like a kind of Japanese tapas, which was great because it meant we got to try quite a few things. It was also very reasonably priced, at roughly 500 yen (£4.50) per dish.

The obligatory aubergine - slightly sweet with lots of spring onion.

Two types of tuna sushi (one was like a mousse)
- very tasty -  and a portion of salmon roe sushi
that was apparently even nicer.

Steamed and salted edamame beans in their shells.
Shelling peas and beans is one of nature's most satisfying tasks
and the beans themselves were crunchy and very pleasant.

Dried stingray with a garlic mayonnaise dip. I am told it was
very tough but had a surprisingly unique and delicious flavour. 

The next three dishes were from different places: The first, from a hole-in-the-wall noodle place Toshi took us to, the second was from a shopping mall food court (we do love our food courts!) and the third from a "Little Chef"-esque diner we stumbled upon while exploring the city.

Flour noodles in a creamy, thin pork broth with sliced pork,
half a boiled egg, some spring onion, seaweed and Jew's Ear.
Yes you read that right. The long brown bits on the left are called Jew's Ear.
There were pots of garlic and sesame seeds on the table
which we added ourselves and you could get extra noodles
for your leftover broth for a few extra yen. Very tasty and cheap.

Spicy noodle soup with Pak Choi. It came with a
bowl of really spicy tofu in a hot soy bean paste.
Unusual flavour but not half bad.

Left to Right: Hamburger steak, two breaded boiled eggs on
a stick and a whole battered fish. Not the most interesting
meal but I thought the breaded, fried homage to Scotch Eggs
on a stick was worth a mention.

Finally, I have a recommendation - it was passed down to me by my mother (who visited a couple of months before us) and I am passing it on to you - my beloved readers. If you ever find yourself in Tokyo, you simply must visit a restaurant called Gonpachi. My family went when they visited Tokyo in August and told us exactly what to eat. It's a bit pricey but all you need is a starter and a beer. Oh and a love of all things Tarantino helps, because this restaurant is where they filmed the famous Crazy 88 fight scene for Kill Bill! Not that you'd know for seeing it, since it looks totally different, but the entrance is lined with pictures of famous people and there is a display case full of Kill Bill merch as proof. Anyway, the food...

Two beers and a bowl of tempura fried squid. I am not a squid
fan but this was delicious. It was quite chewy but the squid
flavour was subtle and it was coated in a lovely curry powder.

Tarantino display case.

The waiters and chefs would all shout "Welcome" and "Goodbye" (in Japanese) whenever anyone entered or left the restaurant. It was a nice touch. The manager / owner was a very friendly American man who came round several times to ask if we were okay or needed anything. All in all, it was a great experience.

So there you have it. As I said, a much smaller selection than the previous two food blogs but we are planning another longer, and more extensive trip to Japan this winter, after which I'm sure we will have many more culinary delights to share with you... pictorially of course :)

Oh I almost forgot the best thing!

Choc-ice!