Curiosity Got The Chef

Sharwin and the Great Cram Job

      With my flight home coming at 930 am the next day, I knew I had to wake up at 5 am to catch the train to the airport.  That meant my 2^nd to the last day in Tokyo was technically my last day.  I was tremendously full from the tsukemen I had with Sherilyn and Ruby, but as we parted ways, I was determined to eat more and cram as much I could!

       My next stop for a “merienda” would be a place I wanted to eat in the moment I arrived.  Unfortunately, on my first day, I forgot my map and I spent an hour walking aimlessly trying to find it.  Funebashiya Honten, a humble restaurant, in front of a Uniqlo store, two blocks away from the Shinjuku JR Train Station East Exit, has been around over 100 years and they serve only one thing: Tempura.  In my book, if you do one thing great for a prolonged period of time, you’ve got to be crazy good.  My book was riiiiiiiight.  

        I was seated at the counter, and they served me my tempura set one piece at a time.  First came the shrimp, asohos and cuttlefish.  Immediately, the first thing I noticed is how light the batter was.  It’s crunchy at first bite and then the batter just melts away in your mouth, leaving the perfectly-cooked seafood for you to taste.  What sorcery was this? I did not taste a hint of flour; just a crunch and tasty seafood.  The next two pieces were an intermission of vegetables (kabocha squash and green bell pepper) and both were surprisingly tender and sweet. The final two pieces were a fitting end.  Another fish was as great as the first three pieces and the final piece, the kakiage, was the bomb.  We usually get kakiage that’s mostly vegetables, but the one they served me was bursting with succulent shrimp.  Together with rice, pickles, 3 kinds of salt and tempura sauce, I now had an excellent idea why Funebashiya has been the place for tempura for over a century.

     My final stop would take me on a ride a bit outside the city but I was sure it was going to be worth it.  At a town called Kichijoji, was Steakhouse Satou a simple teppanyaki joint atop one of the better-known butcher shops in town.  The menu was simple; you just had to pick which beef dish you wanted.  Now that sounds like nothing great, but then again, this joint served Matsuzaka beef.  Wagyu is the name synonymous with prime steaks and in Japan, Kobe is the best known region.  However, there has been a great debate as some believe Matsuzaka does better.

       Regardless of what you believe, the steak Satou served me (they simply called it, “Number 1 steak.”) was mind blowing.  Cooked perfectly medium rare, it was tremendously juicy, tender and very beefy.  Each beef cube was like a cube of nata de coco, where juices just burst into your mouth as you bite.  I love the fact that the young chef at the helm seasoned the unmarinated steak with just salt and pepper, which gave the beef flavor a chance to shine.  It was served with teppanyaki vegetables, unlimited rice and garlic chips.  What I loved on the side, though, was how the chef cooked up the fat from the sides of steak to make them into almost beef chicharon.  Evil little bites, those pieces were.

     At the end of that day, I had no interest in eating any more.  I was satisfied, not because I ate a truckload of food, but more so because I got experience a wide range of textures and flavors that will definitely inspire me as I sit down to plot more recipes for Curiosity Got the Chef.  Now that’s how you spend a vacation!   

Sharwin and the Anti-Ramen

(as seen on mangojuiced.com)

     Before I was scheduled to meet my high school friend, Sherilyn, I knew I had to get some shopping done.  Stepping out of my hotel, which was 5 minutes away from Tsukiji Market, I did my final shopping run. The outer market of Tsukiji was a field of activity, like the Greenhills tiangge but only of food!   I managed to buy my Katsuoboshi (bonito flakes), which was my main goal. In Tokyo, they were sold by bulk and prices were by 500 grams. Then, i grabbed some preserved ginger and apples. Sold by the roadside, these were excellent snacks and pasalubong as well.

      Breakfast would be freshly-made Tamago. There were plenty of Tamago stands along the streets and i grabbed a “small” one with chili flavor. Nicely cooked and not too sweet, an excellent way to jump start the morning! The best part was there were tons of flavors available, ranging from chicken to seaweed.  On the way back to the hotel, I spied some Togarashi pepper, it looked fresh and it wasn’t as grounded as the ones we’re used to here so I grabbed a bottle. This was my kind of shopping trip!

     For lunch, I headed to meet Sherilyn to check out, in her opinion, one of the best noodle places in Tokyo.  Steps away from the A4 exit of Iibadashi train station lay the tsukemen place.  The funny part is, you place your orders and pay through a vending machine OUTSIDE the restaurant and then you line up and wait for them to call you when your seats are ready.  The tsukemen, though, was no laugher.  

       Tsukemen is basically noodles, which are thicker than the usual ramen, served cold, with a bowl of a thick, rich broth and a soft cooked egg.  What a broth it was! It was bursting with deep, powerful flavors.  The tonkotsu broth was obviously cooked with a boatload of pork bones as it was rich and sinful. You always know how much pork bones they use by the feeling you get around your lips after you drink the broth.  Moreover, it was also powered by a great umami flavor from katsuoboshi.  I never knew a broth could be that packed with flavor and I knew this was something special.  Flavorful and salty are two distinct things so to be able to balance the saltiness despite the mountain of flavors is a skill most chefs, including me, dream to perfect. The noodles were awesomely al dente, thanks in no small part to them not being soaked in hot broth. The perfectly cooked egg with a gelatinous yolk is a win in any language. My eating companion, Sherilyn’s daughter Ruby, gave her approval by slurping away and in between my amateurish attempts to slurp loudly, I realized I had myself a winner!  After I finished with the noodles, I placed my broth bowl on the counter and the chef diluted the remaining broth so I could finish it off.  Oh yeah.

      While a trip to Tokyo and not having ramen may be an incomplete one for some, I honestly didn’t miss it. What is up with the ramen craze sweeping the country anyway? I’m taking a well-made tsukemen over ramen anytime.

Sharwin and the Power of Turo

     Throughout my 4 day stay in Tokyo, I often resorted to broken English, a few “desu kas,” “arigato gosaimases” and a lot of “turo” or pointing.  Sometimes, that can lead to some awesome discoveries.

     A few of those discoveries were in the Ameyoko Flea Market.  After spending a couple of hours walking along Kappabashi Dori (which is heaven for chefs - a 2-3 km stretch of nothing but culinary stores), I developed quite an appetite.  I took a train to Ueno and began to look for the famous Japanese flea market. Before I left the train station, though, I needed an ice cream break! Baskin Robbins was smiling at me and what greeted me was this treat of a flavor: Ichigo Milk Ice Cream! Named after a Japanese cartoon, it had a wonderfully creamy milk ice cream, richer than your normal vanilla and it also had some strawberry ice cream with nice sweet strawberry chunks.  Quite a flavor!

     Traversing the flea market, I was more interested in the food being offered than the discount clothes, and my first stop was an izakaya, or a drinking joint.  Since it was early afternoon, it was not busy.  Usually izakayas serve yaki toris with sweet sauces, but the one I ate in served theirs with salt and a spicy bean paste.  Left with no choice but to point, I pointed at four items, hoping to God I got at least one right.  And I really was! First came a chicken meatloaf, like a long Tsukune or meatball.  Very flavorful and tender, a great beginning.  Then the good stuff came in.  Chicken Gizzard, chewy with a slight crunch, no disturbing odors.  I wish they were slightly more tender but it was good.  A stick of grilled chicken skin was a win, with its slight crunch and rich fatty goodness.  Lastly, a traditional chicken yaki tori with leeks.  Juicy and perfectly cooked, even the leeks were tender and flavorful. Points for lucky pointing! 

     Moving along, I could see fresh fruit on sticks and very fragrant gyros. I passed as I went into a supermarket to get my hands on Japanese items like white miso and spices. When I mistakenly left the supermarket through a different door, a familiar smell wafted into my nostrils. Finally, some Takoyaki!!!  The street side stall sold only one item (as most great Japanese restaurants do) : Takoyaki and your choice was 4, 6 or 8 pieces.  Gesturing the universal sign for four (which is really just 4 fingers up), they gave me four plain octopus pancake balls.  Then, to my right, a table of all the condiments.  We were given the chance to season our own Takoyakis the way we wanted them, as huge containers of bonito flakes, tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo were there for our pleasure.  The takoyakis were awesome.  They were perfectly cooked.  Octopus pieces were tender, and the batter was slightly formed with the center still runny.  I made the mistake of putting an entire ball into my mouth as it was piping (and I mean piping) hot! Burned tongue aside, the batter was nicely flavored and was not outshone by the condiments I put in.  I’ve never had a better Takoyaki. Seriously.

     After the two shopping trips, I was all set to call it a night.  But there was a none too small a matter of dinner.  I was desperately trying to find this ramen place in Ebisu that was recommended to me Marc Matsumoto of norecipes.com but I couldn’t find it.  I instead intended to go to a ramen place near my hotel.  A quick decision to just check out what exactly “Tsukiji Marche” was led me to a dinner I never thought I’d have.  In a small unnamed place, diners were literally seated around a chest cooler with seafood lying on top of a bed of ice.  As the place was almost packed, I figured it would be a good place to eat.

     None of the people spoke a lick of English, so once again, pointing, praying and reading context clues were needed.  I ended up pointing at fresh oysters.  A plate of three different kinds of oysters, undoubtedly from three regions of Japan was served to me, together with a salad of crab and pickled vegetables.  The salad was great but the oysters were tremendous.  Each oyster had a slightly different flavor level and texture but all were what oyster should be, briny, silky and they tasted of the ocean.  No sauce, just a squeeze of lemon and truly that was all they needed.  Asking for what I wanted to drink, I answered with one of the few Japanese words I knew, “Birru!” Asahi beer was a great match for the oysters.  Watching the other people around the chiller, I pointed at one other plate and I was served a plate of fried fish cakes! That was a good way to end the day.  

     Oftentimes, knowledge of the natives’ speaking language would be considered an advantage, but on this day, my inability to speak Japanese, combined with my ability to point and some basic luck, led me to some awesome food finds.  I can’t complain. 

Sharwin and the Temple of Sushi

(originally posted on www.mangojuiced.com)

     My second full day in Japan started early, 330 am (230 am Manila time), to be precise.  It was such as ungodly hour that I half expected a ghost or apparition would appear in my tiny hotel room to scare me to death.  Unlike most days, however, I didn’t mind waking up this early.  After all, I was going to Tsukiji Market, the Temple of Sushi.

     I got to the Fish Information Center to line up for the tuna auction at around 420 am.  They only allow 120 tourists to watch the auction per day and to my surprise, I wasn’t even the first (or the 15th) person in line.  After chilling outdoors with a Spanish couple and basically humiliating my old Spanish teacher by butchering my conversational Spanish (a donde a la biblioteca?) the 120 of us were herded into the waiting room.  Here we were given bright yellow vests for safety (and also so market purveyors could look at us with disdain as ‘those evil tourists,’) plus specific instructions on how not to get killed inside the market.  Repeated warnings of watching out for moving forklifts and trucks and not using flash photography were ingrained in our minds through sheer repetition (for about 40 minutes) and then we were off!

     The most striking visual of the tuna auction was of course the number of blue fin tuna available for auctioning.  One of the guides reported that a storm was the main reason for the “small” haul, but I could easily count a hundred tuna, averaging 200 pounds lying around already.  The auction promptly started and as the auctioneer was mouthing off, it was quite a trip to see the wholesalers gesture with their fingers whether they were bidding higher or stepping away from the fight.  Bidding for paintings would put me to sleep but bidding for food somehow makes a lot of sense to me.  I could’ve watched the entire thing, but we were herded away so that the second batch of 60 people could come in and have their turn.

     As some of the members of the group began to leave the market, I knew they were making a big mistake.  I wandered off to the side of the market looking for more gratification.  I wanted a breakfast of the freshest sushi in the world.

     As per the golden rule, I lined up to eat at the place with the longest line (not of tourists, but of locals) which in this case was one and the same. Sushi Dai, acknowledged by both tourists and locals as the best place to get sushi, already had a line at 6 am.  I lined up and waited. And waited.  My total wait time ended up being 2 hours (which is ridiculous with the temp at 7-8 degrees C at the time) but I made good use of it.  I got to make friends there at the line and we were like the United NAtions.  by the time I got into Sushi Dai, Filipino me had conversed with 2 Japananese, 2 Americans, 2 Canadians, 1 Argentinian, 1 Korean and 1 Cantonese. Sushi brings world peace, Ms. Universe contestants!

     Sushi Dai is a super small sushi bar where only 12 people can sit at any given time.  As per Japanese custom, sushi is served one by one at the bar and you can enjoy a conversation with the sushi maker like the way you would a bar tender.  My latest Argentinian and Korean friends, who were Japanese language teachers in their home countries, got to practice their Japanese and translated for me.  I think even the sushi maker was weirded out.  Here he was, speaking Japanese to a caucasian while he was translating to me, an obvious Asian guy.  Anyway on to the meal!

    We ordered Omakase of course, as it’s both a compliment to the chef and an assurance you get the best meal.  It started with some tea and miso soup, both excellent and much appreciated after waiting in the cold.  Next was O-toro sushi, fatty belly of the tuna. Fatty, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.  Rich and velvety, freaking awesome. After that a white fish the chef couldn’t identify in English, but my bet was silver jack and it was very nice. It had a bit more richness than a normal white fish sushi.  Red Snapper sushi was next and I was surprised to see the skin served as well. The skin wasn’t chewy and dissolved as easily as the meat! Very surprising for sure.  

      Uni or Sea Urchin was next and it was quite an experience.  The uni was so rich and tasted so much of the ocean that you could get lost and drown in it.  Sardine sushi was served with some chopped ginger and salt and I loved it. I wonder if I can get that in Manila as I would love to try it again.  Giant clam sushi was fun to as it “moved” a bit as it was served to us. It was an illusion of course, but the great texture and flavor was not.  A hint of sweetness and an awesome texture from the raw shellfish brought me great joy as you can imagine.  

     Katsuo, more known to us as dried Bonito, was served in sushi form and it was great too. Very similar to tuna sushi, only less fatty.  A quartet of rolls with chopped tuna and ebiko greeted us next and while they were great seemed like an intermission of a great show.  Amaebi or sweet shrimp was next and the light handed treatment of the shrimp made the texture and the sweetness of the shrimp shine through.  Another great example of how in cooking, less is more most of the time.  Japanese Mackerel served with leeks was so good I’m considering ordering Mackerel here in Manila. Grilled Sea Eel sushi was placed in front of us and it was yet another rich, satisfying sushi bite.  Pesky bones were none existent and so was any fishy smell. Our last piece was guest’s choice and I was tempted to try the Abalone or the Scallop, but the evilness of the O-Toro was like a Siren’s call tricking me to my doom.

     As we paid (3900 yen) which isn’t bad for quite an experience, and left, I realized why hundreds of thousands of people brave the early wake up call and the long lines to have their sushi breakfast.  If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it makes so much sense to have it where sushi is at its freshest and greatest.