Journal no. 3

on this day, we were going to have a sushi breakfast!

we took the subway to Shintomicho at about 9am (it was the nearest subway from Ikebukuro) and walked towards the Tsujiki market.

first we had really cheap coffee (180 yen) near the station.

we passed by the Tsukiji Hongan-ji - it was built in 1934 and was influenced by South Asia architecture.

we reached Monzeki-dori, where all the awesome non-sushi food (ramen, katsudon) was. but not many shops were open.

at corner we saw this sushi restaurant with the autographs of V6's Miyake Ken (from 2006, lol) and many others. my first contact with Japanese food gourmet shows was through V6's variety show, so i had to go in and try it.

above is the sushi chef.
wanting to sample a few pieces, we each ordered 1 piece of sushi, upon which the chef recorded it in pencil against the order sheet.

uni (sea urchin), chu-toro (mid-fatty tuna) and tai (fish).

the chef prepared the pieces swiftly, dipping his hand in the vat of rice and getting the uni from a wooden tray of bright orange uni slivers. the fish were from the fridge drawers.
i never had uni before but the taste was probably how i would imagine it would be - creamy and light, no fishy odor, like whipped cream with the taste of ... the sea? it was like cool brine whipped into an orange mousse.

then, i decided to try the expensive toro (fatty tuna belly).
the chef was going to serve it to us bare on the plate he used before (he took back the plate when we finished), but right before handing it to us, i think he said "photo" and changed his mind. adding the leaf base, wasabi and ginger, he smiled and gave us the plate. lol.


this cut of the tuna is from a small section of the tuna belly and is marbled with fat. it's rare, very expensive and said to be the most delicious part of the tuna.

it was also my first time trying it - it was very tender and melted in the mouth so fast that i couldn't discern much of a taste. i guess that's the beauty of it.

we went to the street market, there were all sorts of interesting things like these actual wasabi tubers, so one can grate them for fresh wasabi.
fresh grated wasabi is pale green, slightly watery and the bitter-frost bite is instant but leaves almost as quickly.

and there were long queues for atsuyaki tamago aka tamago-yaki.
there are some very famous shops for this dish in Tsukiji.
this chef was preparing the beaten egg in the rectangular pans especially designed to cook the egg rolls.

we left the market area to get to the wholesale fish market.

the market was terribly empty and quiet but i was determined to find the row of famous sushi restaurants within the market area, where Sushi-dai (寿司大) was.
it's the ultra popular and famous restaurant, where people would queue from 5am to taste the delicious raw fish and vinegar rice.

we managed to find Sushi-dai, but it was closed. in fact, the whole row of sushi restaurants were closed. what luck.

luckily, there was a sushi restaurant open for business in the next row.

it was called Ichiba Sushi :)
it was like the sushi restaurant i always wanted to try - single counter and cramped, just like the sort i saw on tv.


we shared the ladies set...
and the 15 piece chirashi-don, which i love. a great variety of delicious raw fish and shellfish!

and the good thing about the restaurant is the friendly man manning the cash register (where i was sitting next to, nearest to the kitchen door). he helped to take a picture of us with the food without us asking!

man: *makes hand signs for camera*
me: onegai shimasu
man: *sees that camera is a Panasonic* Japanese camera? thank you!

then he asked where we were from and he talked about going to Singapore 17 years ago and that Tiger beer was delicious. lol.
my aunt was happy that he was so friendly and told me to get a picture with him, so i had to ask him if we could have a photo together, but he went to take a photo of us with the chef instead, saying he was the star. lol.
then my aunt told him his "Elvis Presley hair" was great, and i think she took a picture of me and him - wtf hahah.
the total bill was 5200 yen.

next was the traditional Japanese garden at Hotel New Otani.
i used this fantastic website called 101 Free and Cheap things to do in Tokyo to find a free traditional garden for mom and aunt to visit, and i was quite glad we went :)

we got off at Nagatacho and walked past what looked like the old city stone walls of Tokyo, juxtaposed with the roads and highways of the office area, and a small river, to get to the hotel, which was quite posh indeed, with its marble flooring, high ceiling and uniformed staff.

once in, i was afraid of people stopping us so we walked briskly to the garden tower area, where there were some expensive baby goods shop and a mini-arena under a glass ceiling meant for weddings. there didn't seem to be a way to the garden and the outdoor entrance was closed due to maintenance.
luckily we saw that the smoking area opened out to some greenery, so we walked out and finally saw the garden above us.

this garden has 400 years of history!

even in winter, it was still charming. it isn't very big, but the placement of every rock, tree and shrub, with the bridge above the bubbling brook flowing into the pond area where koi leisurely swimming, was very picturesque.

we climbed up toward the red bridge and it was even more breath-taking at the second pond.

this cat led me to the statue of the Yonetaro-Otani, the founder of the hotel.

then i saw the Seisen pond, bordered with huge flat stones allowing one to get closer to the water's edge. the barren tree ahead would be filled with pink sakura blossoms in spring, i imagine. how gorgeous that would be!

here's a link to the hotel map of the garden. it is truly an unexpected oasis (so near to the busy flyovers outside!) where one can "immerse oneself in Japanese sensibilities".