Tokyo Station Marunouchi Exit, a photo by The Paper Crane on Flickr.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Dashi-chazuke EN
This past trip to Japan was cold--unexpectedly so for us. One chilly night when we were returning to our hotel, the Park Hotel Tokyo, we wanted something light for dinner, but also something hot to warm us up, and we remembered a small restaurant that we had passed several times in Wing Shimbashi, but never had a chance to try, Dashi-chazuke EN. Dashi is Japanese soup stock and chazuke is hot rice with green tea pour over it.
Grilled salmon, salmon roe (ikura), and boiled seaweed
Steamed chicken, fried egg, green veggies, and pickles
Our chazuke with the soup. Itadakimasu!
They have a small dine-in area that's primarily counter seats and orders are made via a ticket vending machine. If you're taking out, like we did, you can order at the take-out counter in front. My wife ordered the chazuke with steamed chicken, fried egg, green veggies, and pickles. I ordered one with grilled salmon, salmon roe (ikura), and boiled seaweed. It should be noted that for take out, you cannot order either of the raw fish chazuke dishes, the tuna (maguro) or sea bream (tai). Also, when you order, you can request how much rice you want (we ordered the regular portion).
Dashi-chazuke EN bills itself as a "high-class fast food" Japanese restaurant and they deliver on both counts. Our meals were handed to us within five minutes, with both our main dishes in thick paper bowls with clear plastic domes and the (very) hot soup in nice plastic bottles that kept the soup hot for 20 minutes, despite a 5-minute walk in brisk weather.
The grilled salmon with ikura was delicious! I'm not usually big on fish eggs, especially the large ones, like salmon roe, but mixed in with the broth, it really hit the spot and warmed me up. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her chicken chazuke, too. The hot, salty broth thawed our chilled bones and the tasty rice, veggies, and meat filled our stomachs. It was a surprisingly enjoyable meal and we'll definitely go back on another chilly night during our next trip!
Website: Dashi-chazuke EN
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Japan Sales Tax to Rise April 1st
This is probably old news to anyone who pays attention to Japan's news, economy, or to frequent travelers there, but it bears repeating: the sales tax in Japan will go up April 1st from 5% to 8%.
As many things in Japan have price tags with tax included (税込み), I doubt most travelers will notice the difference. Still, as most places prefer to keep prices at multiples of 10 (curse those aluminum 1-yen coins!), it should be interesting to see how prices change come April 1.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tonkatsu Wako とんかつ和幸
There are a lot of places that I have to eat at whenever I visit Japan, but right at the top of my list is always Tonkatsu Wako （とんかつ和幸）. Tonkatsu is a Japanese take on a Western dish, pork cutlet. It's right in the name: Ton, "pork" and katsuretsu, "cutlet." It's a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet usually made from pork loin or fillet. Tonkatsu tends to be a staple for foreigners visiting Japan who don't eat much seafood, and while most places in Japan have a better tonkatsu than anything you'd find, say, in Hawaii, not all are created equal.
Let me preface by saying, yes, Tonkatsu Wako is a chain restaurant, like a McDonald's or Yoshinoya. There are over 250 restaurants across Japan (though 200 of them are in the Kanto/Tokyo area), so it's pretty easy to find one when you're visiting. But it is unlike other tonkatsu chains you'll find in Japan, like Tonkatsu Saboten.
The first time my wife and I took my brother-in-law and his friend to Japan, on the first day, we wound up at LaLaPort Toyosu and for dinner, my brother-in-law, who doesn't eat seafood, wanted to eat tonkatsu for dinner, but the only place they had was a Tonkatsu Saboten. Now, he's eaten a lot of katsu in Hawaii, so he knows what he likes and he was floored at the difference. It was the best tonkatsu he'd ever had and he didn't believe my wife and I when we told him we'd take him someplace better.
Several days later (it was a busy week), we visited the Tonkatsu Wako in Pedi Shiodome, which was next door to our hotel, the Park Hotel Tokyo. Let's just say that over the course of the next two days, we ate there three times and my brother-in-law and his friend befriended the manager (they have a lovely picture with him) and were wondering how they could get jobs there. Sadly, the Pedi Shiodome location is closed, but if you visit Aqua City Odaiba, there's one there.
Like any tonkatsu restaurant, cabbage, rice and miso soup are free refills. However, the rice here is phenomenal. I don't know if they add something to it or if it's just better rice, but everyone I've brought to a Tonkatsu Wako comments on the rice. It has just the right texture, stickiness, and sheen. Then, the miso soup has tiny clams inside, which give it a wonderful flavor (unless you don't like seafood). But the real coup de grâce to the all-you-can-eat sides is the yuzu (Japanese citron) dressing for the finely shredded cabbage. I don't usually eat cabbage. At Wako, I get seconds. Supposedly the cabbage is supposed to help with digestion of the oil from the pork cutlet, but here I just find it delicious!
The crown jewel of the meal, however, is the tonkatsu itself (obviously). Deep-fried, but not oily. Light and crispy batter surrounding a thick, juicy cut of pork. I suggest getting the hire-rosu moriawase, which gives you 2 bite-size pork fillet cutlets and a pork loin cutlet. It's a lot of food, but you can try both the fillet and loin.
I've always left Tonkatsu Wako completely satisfied and the price is fantastic for the amount of food you get, with most set menu items ringing in at under ¥1500 ($15). The only real downside being they don't have a branch in Fukuoka. If you're in Tokyo, there are stores all over, but remember to look for the brown Tonkatsu Wako restaurant. There's another Wako (Tonkatsu Inaba Wako) that serves tonkatsu, but it's not the same.
Website: Tonkatsu Wako
Themed Restaurant: NINJA AKASAKA
Themed restaurants have been popular in Japan over the past several years, ranging from the tame, like the eat-what-you-catch Zauo fishing-themed restaurant, to the weird, like Alice's Fantasy Restaurant (as in Alice in Wonderland), to the downright disturbing, like Alcatraz E.R. medical prison restaurant (seriously, you couldn't pay me to eat there). Amidst the crowd of all these themed restaurants, though, one seems to stand out: Ninja Akasaka. Perhaps it is because Ninja Akasaka is one of the oldest of these types of establishments, having celebrated its tenth year, or perhaps it is due to its notoriety, having been featured on countless websites, TV shows, and magazines. Whatever the reason, Ninja Akasaka should be on any visitor's short-list of must-visit places in Tokyo.
Salmon tartare puff pastry
Shredded vegetable salad , NINJA style
Merchant and corrupt official (Vanilla ice cream and dacquoise)
As one would expect, Ninja Akasaka is concealed in the somewhat flashy Akasaka district of Tokyo. The only thing giving it away is a stylish glowing sign along a wall of black, and a dimly lit, recessed doorway.
Once inside, you are greeted by a host or hostess, dressed up in ninja attire, who calls upon another ninja to guide you through your "training" to your table. Be warned that the trek, while fun and generally safe, does run through steep stairs, low ceilings (I've hit my head on two of my four visits), and very low lighting. The elderly or disabled may have to be escorted through the back entrance.
Each party is assigned a room with a name (ours this past trip, was "shoujo"), which you'll need to remember if you go to the bathroom. Why? Because it's dark and a bit confusing (it wouldn't be a ninja lair if it weren't!), that most will likely need to ask someone for help back.
At your table, which usually looks like the inside of a cave and is filled with the sounds of the flowing water and waterfalls that course throughout the entire restaurant, your server will present you with a ninja scroll that is your menu. You can order from a set course menu that ranges from ¥5,000 to ¥20,000 ($50-200) or from an ala carte menu. We've always gone with the ala carte menu to maximize the amounts of dishes we can try and to cut down on the cost of the bill, but still expect to spend at least $35-40 per person.
Many dishes are ninja-themed, with tricks to them, such as the salad pictured above, which initially looks like a pastry, but breaks open to reveal the salad inside, with the outer crust becoming the croutons and the whipped topping the dressing. The portions are small, but most everything we've tried has been fantastic. Our favorites are the niku-jaga (meat and potato soup) and the salmon tartare puff pastry (pictured at the top).
While you're eating, another ninja will come to your table and perform a brief magic show that usually features close-up table magic, such as card tricks and other sleights of hand using money. From my experience, you'll either have a great magician who occasionally makes a joke or two or a hilarious ninja who can perform a few cool tricks. Either way, you're sure to have a ton of fun.
Once you're done with your meal and your show, your ninja server will escort you through the back exit and you can take a picture with him or her to commemorate your dining experience.
Reservations are required and can be made here: Ninja Akasaka. Early reservations are available for families with children.
English-speaking staff (and magician) and English menus are available.
Access via Akasaka-Mitsuke (赤坂見附) station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi (M-13) or Ginza (G-05) lines.
Take Exit 8; approximately 3 minute walk from the station.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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