Dinner at Tsukiji: try to make a reservation in advance

I was staying with my uncle throughout my stay in Tokyo, and he brought me out for sashimi dinner at Tsukiji. I was under the impression that Tsukiji only served sashimi in the day, but I guess the restaurants do operate at night for dinner. He made a reservation in advance, which was great because there was a crowd waiting outside in the cold to get a table. Not sure what this restaurant is called but for those of you who can read Japanese, good for you. You can figure it out from the picture below. It is also open till like 3 or 4am for those who are thinking of staying around the area till wee hours of the morning.

So we got a few side orders on top of an omakase sushi set. I don't think the set itself was expensive for its quality but I'm not very sure of the actual price.  The fishcake had a very different texture from the ones we get from Asian supermarkets, because it was not springy since they didn't add extra ingredients. The seafood taste was definitely a lot stronger and I could also feel the bits of octopus in it. I really liked the sweet white shrimp tempura because it was crunchy yet not losing the taste of sweet shrimp. We also had a few other types of sashimi which were all very fresh. The conch and squid were firm, which is not easily found outside of Japan.

Handmade fish cake with real quality ingredients

Fried sweet white shrimp

Sashimi platter

Could have been squid sashimi

The rest of the pictures would be the omakase set. All of us chose the uni set, with the other option being ikura (salmon roe). I guess that's the premium sushi and so you won't get to taste both if you just ordered a set. They served the different types separately and I was cool with that. The table next to us had them all served at one go on a huge platter. 

Toro nigiri was done aburi style, which was great

At the end of the omakase course, you'll be able to pick one of what was served as part of the omakase to have a second serving. You can even pick the uni one, which was what my uncle and I did, while my cousin went for the toro (fatty tuna).

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Budget Tokyo: under 35,000yen

Have not posted in a long while because of school, and I forgot about this blog too. Anyway, as the winter break comes to an end, so did my 7 day trip to Tokyo. I'm pretty proud to have spent under 35,000yen over 7 days~ However, I did enjoy some privileges such as free accommodation and also a few dinner treats. Airfare is also not included because I don't really know how to total my spending.

My airfare was slightly under HKD$2000 for a round-trip between Hong Kong and Haneda airport, Tokyo. I exchanged HKD$2800 at Haneda airport at a rate of only 12.63, which was terrible and I lost about 7000yen from that. So yes, please do exchange your currencies before flying to Japan. You'll probably get much more because the real time exchange rate was about 16 at that point. So yes I got 35,300yen which covered my expenses over 7 days.

I wouldn't say that I was compromising any of my experience in Tokyo despite spending only SGD$1000 over 7 days, including airfare. I even managed to visit Hakone, with it's day pass priced at 5160yen. I had a lot of good food as well, and I did include 2 trips to Tsukiji fish market for sashimi breakfast/brunch, and also the famed Pablo melty cheesecake too, on top of the usual ichiran and ippudo ramen. 

Here are the most expensive things I spent on:

1. Hakone pass, 5160yen

2. Uni and ikura don at Tsukiji, 2400yen

3. Uni and maguro don at Tsukiji, 1980yen

4. Unagi and ikura don at Hakone, 1944yen

5. Beef katsu, 1490yen

I would probably have spent way less if I wasn't aiming for expensive seafood items like uni and ikura. So I guess for someone who wants to just explore Tokyo without spending too much on food will definitely be able to budget a trip for SGD$1200, with cheap accommodation options such as backpackers' hostels or score a good deal through airbnb.

Oh and just on a side note, I did have 4000yen left for souvenirs by the time I got to the airport to leave for Hong Kong. So I did score 2 boxes of Royce matcha nama chocolate at 720yen each, and also 2 boxes of 白之恋人 chocolate at 1058yen each.

I shall talk more about what I spent on (food mostly) in my next few posts if I do get to them.

Santouka: Affordable Quality Japanese Ramen

Not gonna say much for this post but I guess I just really love Santouka, especially since they seem to always have offers for Jpassport users. Finally decided to splurge on Iberico Pork Cheeks Ramen when they were having a one-for-one promotion. Don't think I will pay $23++ for it on an average day. But they do have the average ramen with decadent and flavourful soup for $13++ which are my regular orders.

Their pork cheeks and charsiew and whatnots are always tender and delicious. Their soup base is also one of the best in Singapore. But one thing that left me slightly unimpressed was that their pork cheeks were so salty. Or maybe it's just me?

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Syun: Japanese fine dining at Sentosa

We had a little difficulty locating Syun, but thank god it wasn't too secluded or hard to spot. It's one of the restaurants on the steps opposite the lake of dreams in Sentosa. It has a pretty store front which is pretty photogenic. 

Lake of Dreams

I picked this place because of chef Hal Yamashita's floral version of the chirashi and his signature dish: Sea urchin rolled by wagyu beef

The wagyu beef roll was basically foodporn, and it was orgasmic chewing the perfect combination of uni and wagyu sashimi, drenched in a light and refreshing sauce. The wagyu beef was chewy, and the uni was heavenly. Everything seemed to melt in my mouth with a burst of flavour. I wish I could eat this all the time.

Sea Urchin Rolled by Wagyu Beef ($15)

The chirashi was kind of underwhelming. It was not as photogenic as those posted by food bloggers who were probably sponsored for their review. The lighting was pretty dim as well. Although there was enough sashimi to cover the rice, I was unimpressed by the portion. I would happily return to Hanare for $18 sashimi-piled chirashi with free flow of sides, The only redeeming factor about this chirashi is that their salmon was very fresh, and had a slightly better taste than the average salmon sashimi out there. Nevertheless, it's not that discernible for someone who just wants to have a chirashi fix. Oh but this was still pretty interesting because there are flower petals sprinkled all over it which gives it a floral taste that reminds you of spring (resonates with the restaurant name).

Chirashi Jyu Box ($32)

It was nice that the $32 chirashi lunch set came with salad, miso soup and chawanmushi. However, I didn't enjoy the chawanmushi even though it was really smooth because the ginger taste was so strong, and it was very watery as well. 

Oh but I was totally unaware that they charged $6 for green tea. I wouldn't have asked for green tea if I knew I was to pay $12 for 2 pax. Thankfully there was a 10% discount for Mastercard payments which helped to offset the price of the green tea. Their service was poor as well because the restaurant was so dimly lit and the staff were nowhere to be seen half the time.

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Menya Musashi: Potentially the most Value for Money Ramen

Japanese ramen is one of the most expensive noodle dishes in Singapore, with an expected damage of at least $14 a bowl. However, Menya Musashi has the option of getting up to 5x the portion of the noodles without extra charge if you order the tsukemen. Great option for those with a large appetite and still want to have their Japanese ramen!

Tsukemen, with noodles x3

Menya Musashi does not offer the cheapest price for Japanese ramen, but it definitely offers the cheapest option for those with a large appetite! For affordable ramen for someone with an average appetite, I would recommend going for Santouka ramen with the use of the Jpassport. These deals make Santouka an all-time affordable Japanese ramen establishment in Singapore.

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Sushi Gen: best Japanese lunch deal

My first visit here was actually for dinner. This was also the first Japanese restaurant that I've been to in LA, and I was impressed by their chirashi until I visited Sushi Go 55. I could get a much better deal at the same price there.

The fresh oysters were tiny and did not impress. I would prefer to go to EMC Seafood for their $1 oyster happy hour.

Fresh Oysters ($15)

Their chirashi bowl did not really impress me. The portion wasn't big either. It's not worth it's price for dinner, but this is only USD$17 for lunch.

Chirashi Deluxe ($24)

I came back again for their lunch deals. It was a lot more worth the money. Their sashimi set lunch came with a large plate of a variety of sashimi, a side (Japanese tofu), miso soup and rice. There was too much sashimi compared the rice, which is pretty uncommon. However, I wouldn't recommend this for picky eaters who only want specific types of sashimi. One of the things I really enjoyed was the shredded chicken that was so flavourful. It managed to help cleanse my palate from the rawness of the sashimi.

Sashimi Combination ($17)

My friend ordered the uni set lunch, which came with a box of sea urchin, assorted sashimi, miso soup, a side (Japanese tofu), nori sheets and rice.  Anyway, because the uni is so soft and creamy, sheets of seaweed were provided for us to wrap the uni with rice. I think this is super worth it. I don't think we will ever find this much good quality uni with sashimi for SGD$60 in Singapore.

Uni with Sashimi ($42)

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Marugame Monzo: Handmade udon

Decided to come to Monzo to try their highly raved sea urchin cream udon and to see how handmade udon is made. It was also my own way of celebrating my birthday since most of my friends in LA did not remember or did not care enough to celebrate it with me. But I guess I was lucky to have reconnected with a senior whom I had met in St. Nicks. She took me out, and we were lucky to be seated at the noodle bar, where we could see the chefs kneading the dough, folding them and cutting them into udon noodles. I appreciated how udon was made fresh daily. Handmade udon is comfort food for me. 

Uni Cream Udon ($16)

The uni cream udon was basically a large bowl of handmade udon that was boiled and then drenched in uni cream sauce, and topped with ikura. I had this before I had the uni pasta at EMC seafood, so I thought this was really good because you could see bits of sea urchin swimming in the creamy sauce. However, after trying both, I think this pales in comparison to the uni pasta. The uni taste is not as strong, although I guess it was meant to be that way because no cream was added to the uni pasta. Nevertheless, it was very comforting and I think this was the only time which I had real udon in my 9 months in Los Angeles. (The dining hall often claims to serve udon but it's always some kind of off-white noodle that will never be considered udon by Asians.)

Monzo also serves a lot of other items, and I thought their curry udon which my friend had was pretty good as well.

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Men Oh: Best ramen in Downtown LA

I know most people would argue that Shin Sen Geum Mi is the best in the area, but I think Men Oh is better. I've had a lot of Japanese ramen in Singapore, and I've had the best from Ichiran when I was in Tokyo, and I would say Men Oh appealed more to me. It is my go-to comfort food place all the time. I think I've had it at least 5 times in my 9 months in Los Angeles. It is also one of the cheapest dining options for a hearty meal, since American fast food would cost about USD$8-10 anyway.  

Tokushima Ramen ($9.50)

Men Oh has a very limited menu for their ramen, but each of the 4 has a different soup base. I love their Tokushima Ramen because the broth is richer and it has some stir fried pork belly as well. Nevertheless, it may be too thick and heavy for people who prefer something lighter. But you can always go for the Tonkatsu ramen ($8.95). The difference lies in the soup base, and it only has char siew in it with the pickled red ginger.

Tokushima ramen [black bowl] and Tonkatsu ramen [white bowl] 

Another reason why I would say Men Oh is the best ramen in downtown LA is that there is usually a short wait for a table, while Shin Sen Geum Mi always has a long line formed outside. I think it is due to the position of Men Oh, since it is not facing outside and many people are unaware of its existence. You'll know what I mean when you see where Men Oh is located. Men Oh is opposite Sushi Gen, just in case it gets hard to identify this hole-in-the-wall ramen establishment.  

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Sushi Go 55: Most value-for-money Chirashi

My guilty pleasure. I keep coming back for their Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box Matsu whenever I crave for sushi and sashimi. Food in LA isn't cheap, and so I grew to look beyond the numbers and this is what I think is most value-for-money. It's a bang for the buck for a chirashi of such quality and quantity. It's not the best place for sashimi (and yes I know Victoria Beckham said Nobu is her favourite), but it's one of the better at an affordable price in Little Tokyo. After tax and tip, I paid about USD$34.

It came as a double stacked chirashi box, as you can see. The fact that thick slices of sashimi were spilling out of the box excited us so much, even though it was because of the bed of radish below. 

The assorted sashimi on the top box includes:

- Uni (sea urchin)

- Hotate (scallop sashimi)

- Sake (salmon sashimi)

- Maguro (tuna sashimi)

- Tai (sea bream sashimi)

- Saba (mackerel sashimi)

- Kanpachi (yellowtail sashimi)

- Amaebi (shrimp)

- Tamago yaki

- Shiitake mushroom

- Fresh green seaweed

- Fish cake

- Yamagobo (pickled burdock root)

The bottom box consisted of the following on top of a bed of sushi rice:

- Ikura (salmon roe)

- Masago (capelin roe)

- Toasted nori seaweed

- Shredded egg omelette

Nevertheless, I should think that the selection of sashimi may be dependent on season and what the restaurant was able to import as well. There is also a less expensive version of the chirashi without uni, hotate and ikura at about USD$20, not including tax and tip. (It is the round version shown at the top of the picture below.) 

Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box Matsu

For those who are willing to spend and are looking for the best sashimi, I would recommend trying to sit at the bar at Sushi Go 55 and Sushi Gen. (The best sashimi is usually only served at the bar.) These are probably 2 of the best places for decent sashimi in the downtown area of Los Angeles. Other popular places include sugarfish and octopus, although I was so satisfied with Sushi Go 55 and Sushi Gen that I never tried other alternatives.

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