Tsukiji Fish Market: value for money fresh sashimi and Japanese streetfood

Tsukiji fish market is actually going to relocate at the end of 2016 to make way for the Olympics, so I'm not sure how relevant this post will be. But I do hope that you guys who are hitting up Tsukiji fish market soon will find this helpful!

I guess this is almost like a guide to Tsukiji street snacks for a cheap meal with a whole lot of different food. Probably great for people traveling on a budget.

Firstly, there's 100¥ tamago on a stick. You can choose between sweet and savory, and you can also choose to have daikon and their special sauce on top as well. 

There's this stall selling grilled eel (unagi) and grilled scallops (hotate) etc on skewers for 200¥ a stick. They grill them only when you pay for them so yes it'll be freshly grilled and do expect to wait for a little while if you do get some.

There are flawless strawberries on mochi sold for 350¥. The mochi have different fillings such as red bean and matcha.

Grilled giant scallops are also available. My favourite was the one in the inner market. You get sea urchin (uni) on a grilled giant scallop (hotate) for 600¥. It was so good. Other toppings include crab leg meat etc. I also saw this other stall selling even larger ones with more a generous portion of uni, but I didn't like the fact that they torched the uni in such a way that it became grey... They probably also used uni of a lower quality as well because it was not as bright as this one.

For those who are more adventurous you can try whale meat for 200¥. It's not that weird, trust me. It's just less firm than I imagined it to be. 

Fresh oysters of various sizes are sold too. I got one for 400¥. There were cheaper options and some going for almost 900¥ too. Look around before deciding which you'd prefer I guess. 

There's a stall selling these large onigiri for 100-200¥. I picked the shrimp tempura with teriyaki sauce which was 190¥ I think. The rice was so fluffy and it was pretty large too. 

You can easily find an assortment of fish cake. I swear they are so different from those sold in supermarkets outside Japan. They use real seafood to make these. 

More sea urchin (uni) for uni fans. Did not get to try these but similar things are often served at high-end restaurants too.

Wasn't a fan of these because the Cantonese version is way better.

You can definitely get to savour the freshest tuna sashimi here. There's definitely the prized fatty tuna (ottoro) as well.

There are also a few ramen stalls available for only 700¥ a bowl. There's always a huge crowd though. 

Please do not repost or re-use my photos without my permission.

Somboon Seafood: Lacklustre Curry Crab

Sure, seafood is considered pretty cheap in Thailand. However, I don't think their curry crab really lives up to the hype. Or maybe I just went to a branch of Somboon Seafood that did not cook it as well as the original branch.

The Thai curry crab felt almost like a poor imitation of Singapore's chili crab. Their curry sauce was mostly thick like a gravy with hints of egg mixed in it, and did not really taste like curry. Or maybe I'm too used to the flavourful Indian curry that has a strong aroma and taste. The curry crab was also served lukewarm which is pretty questionable. I'll stick to Singapore's chili crab.

Curry Crab

One thing that I liked about the stir fried morning glory (kangkong) is that it was spicy and aromatic because of the onions and garlic. Probably on par with the sambal chili version that Singaporeans love.

Stir Fried Morning Glory

The crab rolls served here taste like Singapore's ngoh hiang, but with a tougher fried skin.

Crab Rolls

Please do not reuse or re-post my pictures without permission.

Uncle Leong Seafood: Affordable Crab and Home Style Dishes

Crab dishes in Singapore are pretty commercialized by well-known restaurants like Jumbo Seafood, The Little Red House etc. However, Uncle Leong Seafood serves the same comfort food for a much more affordable price. There is also little need for reservations way in advance just to satisfy your cravings. 

I especially love the crab beehoon because the soup is so rich and creamy. Delicious. Their crabs are also sold by the weight, and most of them are pretty huge and value for money.

Crab Beehoon

Butter Crab

Chili Crab with Deep Fried Mantous

They are also like your neighbourhood tze char stall, offering a wide variety of other dishes as well. I really liked their chili abalone because it was sour and spicy, which made it a great appetizer.

Cereal Prawns

Fu Gui Chicken

Chili Abalone

Steamed Fish

Seafood Noodles

Please do not reuse or repost my pictures without permission.

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.

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

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)

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

EMC Seafood: best uni pasta and $1 oysters

This place was on my list for a period of time, but I finally went in April 2015.

Started off with salmon aburi with caviar. It was basically seared salmon with micro greens and black tobikko, on ponzu sauce and truffle oil.

Salmon Carpaccio ($12)

The highlight of EMC Seafood is no doubt their oyster happy hour, where oysters are priced at $1 each. Best part is that it can be a daily indulgence between 4-7pm. There were 2 guys seated next to us on a long table, and they finished 60 oysters with a large pan of truffle fries and even uni pasta. While their appetite was indeed impressive, I think my friend and I ordered a lot for 2 girls (although we ended up with packed leftovers). 

Fresh oysters at $1 each

Place is dimly lit, and so the pictures are not very flattering. But they have one of the best uni pastas, I swear. It's supposed to be a golden yellow and fragrant dish, but the picture does it do it any justice. Nevertheless, the uni cream was heavenly, and it was garnished with whole uni pieces and roasted seaweed. There is nothing to pick about this dish, except I realised that it was pretty oily and you feel full easily because of the thick uni cream. I had half of it to-go (packed for later), which is when I realised it was rather oily. I'm not sure what was added to make this dish smell so good and taste so good, but I'm guessing truffle oil was used because of the smokey taste and smell that became more apparent after I microwaved the leftovers. I can't be sure. 

Uni Pasta ($21)

The tender and large portion of well-marinated beef mignon came as a pleasant surprise. Never thought $16 could fetch us such a large tray of delicious beef.

Black Pepper Beef Mignon ($16)

My friend decided that she wanted something light, and thus she ordered uni congee. I must say that LA has made me realised that Koreans are pretty good at cooking congee. They are well seasoned and are fluffy and delicious. Always wanted to try Bonjuk for healthy korean congee, and because they are so colourful and interesting too. 

Uni Congee ($15)

Please do not repost or re-use my photos without permission

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.

Please do not repost or re-use my photos without permission