Japan has been awesome so far! 0 misses so far
Night 1
Way too tired to get food; got into my lodging at 6pm and needed to make a 11:30pm meeting so just kept it casual. ajinomoto frozen fried rice is absolute alchemy. Objectively maybe like a 5/10 fried rice, but still shocking how good it is for frozen
Day 2
Luckily, my work schedule means that I finish work by 10am which sets me up perfectly to be first in line for any popular spots
Lunch @ Tonkatsu Kippei in Kanda
2000Yen Pork Tenderloin [Hire Katsu] [$15 US conversion at time of dining; insanity]
- After having Hawaii heavyweight Tonkatsu Tamafuji in February, and being introduced to the world of pork tenderloin katsu, and having a slight preference for that over rosu/fatty loin, my mind was locked in for trying Kippei’s tenderloin
- This tenderloin katsu was marvelous and an open kitchen for you to see the process take place. The process is relatively straightforward and nothing theatrical. The frying is done towards the back wall of the shop; but there’s something magical when you can see your plate come together and it’s placed on the elevated counter on front of you to receive.
- This was probably 4 inches thick in diameter and a perfect medium-rare-plus cook
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- During Covid, I made a ton of tonkatsu, usually using a pretty well-marbled 1.5 inch pork loin. I thought my tonkatsu came out significantly less moist despite higher marbling
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- The chef at Kippei doing som real alchemy out here meanwhile my katsu technique is truly some caveman technology
- The lettuce was feathery thin, borderline fluffy. It was impossibly shaved thin and also made me painfully aware of how bad my homemade tonkatsu is
- The crust on the tenderloin has the texture of a really good Lay’s potato chip, but without feeling greasy. I felt like the wire mesh that supported the weight of the tonkatsu was more for allowing air circulation to keep the tonkatsu crispy rather than for draining any excess oil
- The accompanying rice is standard white, delicious and aromatic. No frills
- The unpictured miso soup was loaded with julienned daikons, and topped with grassy daikon sprouts and bits of pork scraps. Hearty, yummy, and delicious
- Tonkatsu sauce is homemade and delicious, my palette isn’t trained enough in tonkatsu sauces to tell you any house secrets/specialties, but definitely tasty
- For the salad dressing, just a tableside bottle of
- As I was eating my meal, maybe 15 people started queuing up outside waiting for a seat. So definitely a reliably good spot for Kanda locals.
Mid-Day Snack
Ringo Apple Pie [ 500Yen each; 2 pies]
A chain owned/operated by the same group that owns Bake Cheese Tarts, this chain is focused on flaky apple hand pies.
I devored these bad boys way too fast to get a picture of the cross section so i’ll just have to use google images to fill in the blanks for storytelling.
- the Caramel custard filling was incredible. Imagine the Japanse pudding/purin, where you can taste a slightly burnt caramel that’s offset by custard but now all blended into a singular viscous liquid
- This buttery dark caramel is then balanced by the stewed apples that still have a bit of texture and acidity that is beautifully harmonious
- This whole time, i was hesitant about caramel and apple because honestly, I hated caramel apples growing up in America - just so gross to me and so lazy, but this was prophetic
- I also had this at room temp, so I can’t even imagine the insanity this would be fresh out of the oven.
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- I believe they bake a second fresh batch at 2pm daily, but cannot confirm that, just what I inferred from a chalk marker reading 14:00 as a highlight on an item
- the standard apple pie was also good, but I much preferred the caramel version
Dinner
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Dame Na Rinjin, Ningyocho [1100 Yen for Fully Loaded Ramen with a side car of rice]
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Most restaurants close between 3pm and 5pm to get ready for dinner service. Bad news for me since I want to be home by 5pm to sleep by 6 to sleep well enough for work. On my way home, this was a neighborhood ramen joint that was open and felt perfect after being out in the cold and on my feet for 6 hours
-Sous vide pork shoulder was tremendous; wish more spots in LA did pork shoulder instead of defaulting to pork belly. Sliced thin on a deli slicer and warmed up from the residual heat of the broth, this had just a wonderful balance of chewy to tenderness that is super refreshing to have -
The menma/bamboo shoots had a super deep mushroom flavor to it, a certain pleasant stinkiness that shoots through your nostrils. Crunchy and not fibrous
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The broth is clean with an even ginger aroma permeating throughout the entire broth. I’ve read somewhere that they confit ginger and use that as part of the aroma oil for the ramen. Pretty nice!
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The ramen noodles were hearty, chewy, and speckled with grain and had a light grain aroma to them – again, refreshing after only being exposed to the standard Sun Noodles we see everywhere stateside
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On the table is a large bowl of raw eggs that you’re welcome to use–I mixed a raw egg into the sidecar of rice a la tamago kake gohan [partially because I thought these were free for all hard boiled eggs and I didn’t want to just throw the raw entire egg into the soup LOL]
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From there, just taking spoonfuls of the egg and rice mixture and lowering it into the broth to have as like some weird congee x tsukemen lovechild – actually pretty tasty mistake
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they did have some awesome garlic chives with chilis as a table condiment. Incredibly intense aroma, first thoughts are of the Korean chive kimchi but noticeably spicier and excellent to add to the rice
Day 3
Lunch
[Yuzu Shio Ramen @ Iruca Tokyo, Roppongi] (Iruca Tokyo (入鹿TOKYO 六本木): The Roppongi Revival; Roppongi, Tokyo — Ramen Guide Japan)
- Lunch plans were a little later today since I was meeting up with a friend; we showed up to the shop at 12:40pm, and didn’t get seated till 1:40pm. By the time I got to the front of the line, there were maybe 40 people behind my group waiting for some ramen
- Incredibly quiet restaurant with the soundtrack being the whip-crack of ramen noodles being shaken dry and lofi beats
- I opted in for the Yuzu Shio Ramen, but my dining partner got the Shoyu Porcini; sharing isn’t technically discouraged, but it is highly awkward as there are covid-dividiers between seats so I didn’t get the chance to try the Shoyu. We both crushed our bowls and thoroughly enjoyed it though – Will definitely return
- Initial observations is that the shop really has an eye for presentation. The urushi-lacquered placemat was beautiful to look at–especially when contrasted with the eventual ramen that sits atop it. While you wait for your ramen and take it all in, you see the chefs meticulously taking care of the noodle folds, and assembling the ramen to be so-so beautifully presented. There’s technique and finesse applied to almost every step of the ramen
- Flavor-wise the broth tastes like a really really good Vietnamese pho ga, or the poaching liquid for hainanese chicken.
- The kujo negi onions are substantial, fibrous, and super fragrant.
- The egg is borderline crimson, and marinated beautifully–probably the best ajitamago I’ve had, emotionally speaking. Maybe top 5 objectively?
- The chicken chasu is fine, super tender and juicy breast; contrasted with the noticeably darker and minerally duck breast
- Sleeper topping would be those white meatballs that were delicate enough to break in your mouth by pushing your tongue up against the roof of your mouth. Feels like this is a mix of chicken and shellfish [crab??]
- Definitely awesome, but I’ll try coming back right as they open
Dinner
Soba shop near my apartment was closed, so I decided to be antisocial, pick up a few random premade food at a local supermarket and have a nice night in
Sushi Spread 1800 Yen
- 1000Yen Plate of Akami x Chutoro discounted to 800Yen since it was after 6pm
- Nigiri Set 500 Yen
- Smokey Katsuo Bonito 500 Yen
- Honestly, even though this is mediocre it really hits and I was enjoying every bite of it. And mediocre according to what metric? For $13 US this is absolutely incredible and a filling amount of food LOL
- I’d describe this as like maybe 1 or 2 steps above Mitsuwa sushi since the selection and textures are just that much better
However, the biggest sleeper hit was this 500 Yen plate of Duck Pastrami
- absolutely mindblowing experience. The duck breast was thoroughly smoked
- The black pepper crust was coarse and paired so well with the fatcap
- If you like thick cut bacon that’s slightly chewy but still breaks apart in your mouth relatively easily, you’ll love this
- I’m already thinking of picking up a loaf of great shokupan from Centre Bakery and making a godly sandwich with this