Gino Sorbillo Artista Pizza Napoletana in Tokyo

We stumbled through the Kanda neighborhood tonight trying to get our hands on Japanese pizza tonight, but without any luck. It was only after we gave up did we pass by COREDO Muromachi Terrace and noticed this shop from a Michelin-listed guy from Naples that could seat us (Nihonbashimuromachi 3 Chome−2−1, 03-6910-3553). Yep, the pizza were good with their chewy crust and rich cheese, and I was happy with the youtiao-like taste and texture their folded-over pizza fritta too. It was also nice that it was super affordable yet with a full service staff.

An Outlet of Kaneko Hannosuke in Japan

I'm normally not a big fan of tendon, mainly because that sauce makes it both soggy and sweet. This shop, on the other hand, somehow was able to manage it such that neither condition got too extreme. The sauce here was only mildly sweet, an was rather fragrant instead with a strong sesame oil aroma, while the batter was able to retain some of its texture. Indeed, I liked it enough that I ate the entire bowl before realizing that I didn't even use any of their potent shichimi.

Kakiire-doki in Suitengumae, Tokyo

Just one block away from Yakitori Shu lies this little oyster-focused izakaya run by a very sweet elderly couple that don't speak any English (Nihonbashihakozakicho 16-8, 03-6661-2035). I managed to have her choose a few things for me though, and had a blast doing so thanks to not just the giant (and naked) steamed oyster served immediately as an amuse bouche, but also the platter of three different raw oysters on the half shell, That grilled shiitake above was wonderfully smoky, while a plate of octopus sashimi was nicely fresh too. Best of all, I was able to close my meal with a sea urchin risotto, which was actually more of a rice patty in a thin cheese sauce but nonetheless was deliciously savory. Thumbs up.

The Milk Bars at JR Akihabara in Tokyo

There are a pair of milk bars in Akihabara that are pretty cool in that they both have maybe twenty different varieites of milk from around the country for one to choose from. I managed to try a couple of them; they weren't as rich as I had imagined they would be, but nonetheless were fun to try, especially since some of them were available in a heated option.

The bigger issue was trying to find these bars in the first place, as they weren't out on the ground floor of the station like I thought they would be. Instead, they are inside on level 3 where one boards the Chuo-Sobu line. Note as well that this is the big JR station structure, not the Tokyo Metro underground.

So one should go to the yellow line on either platform 5 or 6. The direction doesn't matter since there is one bar on both sides; I suspect that they are run by the same team given the similarity of the offerings. Also note that these can't be shoved into a bag to bring home either, as the glass bottles need to be returned. The idea seems to be to just quickly chug your milk before hopping on your train.

Revisiting Rokurinsha in Tokyo, Japan

Admittedly this was a fallback for us today after realizing that a neighboring shop had a long line. So instead we went to an outlet of Rokurinsha, which I had honestly forgotten that I had eaten at many years ago until I sat down and realized that this was the tsukemen shop with those super chewy noodles and thick sauce-like broth. And it was so delicious that basically everyone in our party literally said "yum" upon our first bite.

What was even more notable this time around were the garnishes, including not just that optional scoop of fresh and citrsy shichimi sitting on that shiso leaf on the side, but also the tabletop containers, including not just the dry yet potent powder but also a gritty paste-like one sitting in a clay pot. I wasn't even hungry when I sat down here, and yet I decimated everything quickly because of how good it was.

A Maguro Nakaochidon from Maguro-Ichiba in Japan

This is a small chain of tuna shops that we stopped at for convenience's sake. I grabbed this bowl featuring nakaochi, or medium-fatty tuna that has been scraped off the bones. It wasn't anything so mindblowing that swept me off my feet, but hey, this was only 1080 yen (US$7), served in a fast counter setting. Regardless of the food, I was happy was the casual and efficient nature of the shop, not to mention the low prices.

Sosaku Yakitori Shu in Suitengumae, Tokyo

This is a nice little 12-seater kushiyaki counter with a friendly staff (3F Nihonbashihakozakicho 17−8, 03-6661-0297). We were happy with everything in our multi-course meal, including the quality of the heart and liver. He was armed with an array of bottles at the grill that seemed to be dedicated to different chicken parts, and the soborodon that we closed with hit the spot too.

That thing above though had to be the most unique thing that I wanted to try: ostrich sashimi. It was a bit of a letdown in terms of how lean it was, which meant that it really didn't have much taste of its own, and relied more on the garnishes surrounding it. The texture of the meat, while tender, wasn't anything that special either. But I'd happily come back for the rest of the menu.

Hoto Noodles from Yamanishi Prefecture

We were out in the countryside today, and one of the local specialties up in Yamanishi prefecture was something called houtou noodles that we figured would be worth a try. They turned out to be fettucine-like wide noodles with a chewy udon-like texture (actually, mee hoon kueh is probably the better comparison), all while sitting in a thick miso broth together with veggies like local pumpkin. It was fine, but wasn't anything that got me terribly excited about either. At least this shop had a super potent chili oil that made it much more interesting.

Trying Chuka Soba Tomita in Japan

Apparently this shop from Matsudo in Chiba is one of the most highly-lauded ramen places in the country, particualrly for his tsukemen. Fortunately, he has several outlets around the Greater Tokyo area, and there was no wait at one of them this afternoon. So I quickly grabbed a portion ten minutes before the last order.

I wasn't even hungry, and thus intended to only try a few bites. Before I realized it though, I had cleared my entire plate, as those super thick and chewy noodles were fun to eat, while the dipping broth was wondefully fishy and gritty while being laced with yuzu for brightness. The chashu was tender and fatty too. Yay!

Nihonbashi Menya Maishi from Tokyo, Japan

I'm not entirely clear what the situation is with these guys, as it appears that their original Ginza outlet has shut down. But they had an outlet in Gotemba and I was curious about their tai ramen.

The highlight was definitely the broth, which was bright and savory enough to slurp my bowl down to the last drop, even if the noodles were a bit mushy and the chicken breast a bore.

At least it was better than a Gotemba soba that I tried earlier from another stall. I figured that I should try the local speciality, but the carrots and chicken breast were a bore, even if the flat soba noodles gave me pleasant thoughts of reconsistuted phở noodles.

The Hamburger Steak Breakfast at Denny's in Japan

The last time I went to Denny's in Japan was probably more than two decades ago, when I was surprised to find that the menu was filled with Japanese breakfast items, like fish with rice and miso soup. They had mentaiko spaghetti on the menu this morning, as well as that oroshi hanbaagu above, which I happily ate with natto and nori. Others in our party ordered the salmon, which looked rather sad and rubbery, but apparently it was better than it looked. The cafeteria-like operations were perhaps more intersting, as they also had a drink bar (and plastic utensil trays on each table), not unlike what Saizeriya does.

Trying Out Japan's Sanpoumen Ramen Tsukemen

From what I could tell, this chain from Kobe is not related to Sanpoutei despite the menu featuring a fish powder-based tsukemen that looked pretty good. I was in the mood for something lighter though, and thus I went for this yuzu shio bowl that they tucked away at the bottom. It was just the refreshingly soothing bowl that I needed tonight. Best of all, it was very cheap, even if it was cash only.