[Tokyo: Roppongi] Matsurokuya Wagyu Lunch

Posted on by Jamie Liew

so what is living in Japan without having tried wagyu? well.. I had (the cheaper) Kobe beef before and I still think (medium priced home-cooked) Hanwoo beef from Korea tastes better =X. but the thing is, after going to Hidenori at Tsukiji and had their 2000yen a piece of raw wagyu beef sushi, I am now hooked onto wagyu. can’t say I prefer it over Hanwoo but I am definitely digging the raw wagyu beef in Japan. but I am a poor student and very unfortunately cannot afford to eat such luxurious food often. so what do I do?

I look for affordable places!

but with a catch, because Matsurokuya only serves 30 portions of this A5 Kurogewagyu everyday. I arrived 40minutes before (10:50) the shop opened at 11:30am and I was already 10th in line. but however, people who arrived just 10minutes before it opened were at like number 20-25. but just to be safe, arrive earlier. as this place is near some university, there may be many Japanese university students lining up for this in the morning.

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but well, fortunately in Japan, cheap does not always mean bad. I searched online before university even started and found this place far out in Roppongi where you can devour a bowl of rice topped with lightly seared A5 Kurogewagyu beef for only 1,500yen! and the best of all? it is served in Hitsumabushi style (will blog about this famous Nagoya eel dish sometime later!) which means you get to enjoy one dish in three ways! Continue reading “[Tokyo: Roppongi] Matsurokuya Wagyu Lunch” →

[Tokyo: Tsukiji] the BEST sushi in Tsukiji: Shutoku 秀徳

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I’ve always thought to myself, the best sushi in Tsukiji must be Sushi Dai since I queued 3-4hours for it. but to my surprise, there is actually something even better. though a different style, I definitely preferred this sushi bar over Sushi Dai. there is something about the way they prepared it which makes every piece pretty much perfect. PLUS there was completely no wait. well unless if you have a big group. I think this place is pretty local since up till now I have not found any blogs about this place in English and it is not infested with them English speaking foreigners (yet.) but since my blog ain’t that popular, I hope this place wouldn’t be crowded with foreigners the next time I go there. if you’re a famous blogger, please do not blog about this place HAHAHAH. PLEASE. also, because there’s 3 shops, there SHOULDN’T be a queue =X. and what is this unknown (to English speaking foreigners) sushi bar called?

しゅうとくにごうてん or Shutokunigouten or Shutoku.

the specific shop I went to was 秀徳 1号店 Shutoku Shop no.1.
(update 2017: went back and dined at shop no.2, it’s very similar but I still prefer shop no.1!)

don’t ask me why are there so many names. there are just so many names when I searched for it in Japanese :S. but I generally call it Shutoku.

I was actually recommended by a friend living in Japan whom had been to Jiro’s and since he strongly recommended this place, I decided to give it a shot when my sister comes (because I wanted to go to exclusive places with people whom are important to me ^_^.)

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the downside of this place is that it does not have an English sign so finding it will be tad more difficult but don’t worry. I got you. hence here are some pictures to help you. hahaha. Continue reading “[Tokyo: Tsukiji] the BEST sushi in Tsukiji: Shutoku 秀徳” →

[Osaka: Tenma] Hidden Osaka

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I’ve always preferred Osaka over Tokyo as the food, people and environment here’s much better. it is just a personal preference but I feel much more relaxed here and.. a new Malaysian friend I met in Osaka brought me to a place which gave me even more reasons to love Osaka. and it is.. Tenma. it seems like a really run-down place and all but truth is, everything here’s really cool and hipster. stand up bars, cheap sushi places, ramen shops, wine bars, whiskey bars, beer places etc.

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so for this time, we settled down at this restaurant popular for fresh delicious sushi for… Continue reading “[Osaka: Tenma] Hidden Osaka” →

[Sapporo] my best meal in Hokkaido: Genghis Khan!

Posted on by Jamie Liew

so when you go to Hokkaido, there’ll be a few things that the locals will tell you to eat. there’s of course the fresh and cheap(er) seafood, soup curry and…

Genghis Khan.

I kid you not. there’s this dish in Hokkaido literally called Genghis Khan. and it’s basically Lamb BBQ.

wait what? isn’t he that historic guy from Mongolia? that guy who’s the direct ancestor for 0.5% of males in the world? (apparently he had many wives and raped many too. and had thousands of kids) what’s that got to do with Hokkaido?

I asked people from Hokkaido but they don’t seem to know how the name came about so… I wikipedia-ed it:

“The dish is rumored to be so named because in prewar Japan, lamb was widely thought to be the meat of choice among Mongolian soldiers, and the dome-shaped skillet is meant to represent the soldiers’ helmets that they purportedly used to cook their food.” — from Wikipedia

ooooooooohhhhhhh.

anyways, there are plenty of Gengkhis Khan shops in Susukino.

and I think I was lucky to stumble across this reasonably priced yet popular shop called Ajinohitsujigaoka (味の羊ヶ丘). there was a line, so it must be good! I was at the redlight district of Susukino and… well.. I found this.

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the prices of 1 portion of meat is around 500-930yen. pretty reasonably priced no? hey it’s lamb meat! I think there were cheaper stuff but the cheapest one I ordered was the 500yen ones. they also have internal organs and all but I opted for all meat. Continue reading “[Sapporo] my best meal in Hokkaido: Genghis Khan!” →

[Jinhae] Korea’s most beautiful place in Spring: Jinhae Cherry Blossoms

Posted on by Jamie Liew

it’s my 4th year here and I thought.. I might not be able to go to Jinhae next year since it’s going to be my last year and I might be busy. so.. I’ll just go there this year. some of my friends come here every single year but the jam and long hour bus ride is too tiring for me. unless I can afford a KTX ride, I don’t think I want to come to this festival again. 5 hour bus ride one way and the place’s pretty crowded. it wasn’t like super duper crowded. more of a bearable kind of crowded. but maybe because I went there at 630am in the morning and I left at 2pm.

but one thing for sure, the pictures came out really well. like, really really well. indeed the most beautiful place to be at during spring. the whole city’s filled with cherry blossoms as well! but I was too tired to explore it all… I only had 1 hour of sleep the night before hahaha.

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here’s my favourite shot! Neoh told me to “PRETEND TO LOOK AT THE FLOWERS!” I looked like a robot in the first few pictures and then it became better. Continue reading “[Jinhae] Korea’s most beautiful place in Spring: Jinhae Cherry Blossoms” →

[Seoul: Hongdae] KAREÖ 카레오 홍대

Posted on by Jamie Liew

the no.1 Japanese curry shop in Seoul?

that must be Kareo! a restaurant that I frequent a lot in Hongdae. I am not quite a fan of most curry shops in Korea because they are normally too sweet or just.. too bland for my Malaysian taste buds. but what’s good about Kareo you ask?

well.. it’s affordable! while 8,000 and up is the price of a plate of curry at other shops, the curry here has such a big portion that.. you should only order one portion for 2. since I eat a lot, I normally order the huge portion and share it with a friend. while many shops dislike the fact that you share your portion and insist on having each person ordering one portion, in Kareo, they told me that one portion is very huge and I should not order 2 for 2 of us in case we cannot finish it. kind staff yes? they care for their customers more than their profits =D.

가끔식 카레를 땡기신적 있죠? 저두 그런 마음이 있겠죠~ 그래서 카레를 땡길 때마다 홍대 카레오로 찾으러 갑니다!

카레오와 다른 카레집의 다른 점은 보통 달달한 카레와 달리 일본카레라 약간 더 매콤하고 스파이스의 맛이 조금 더 강합니다~ 카레 꼽빼기 하나만 시켜도 2사람 먹기엔 녹녹합니다~ 나누면 생각보다 가격이 되게 착해요!

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here’s an ugly picture of myself =D. I was extra hungry because I spent hours biking before that.

자전거 배운 후에 머리가 엉망진창이네요 @@. Continue reading “[Seoul: Hongdae] KAREÖ 카레오 홍대” →

[Sapporo] what to eat in Hokkaido? : SOUP CURRY!

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I didn’t know that. and I guessed most of you didn’t know that.. Soup Curry is a Hokkaido specialty. other than the amazingly cheap and fresh sushi, Gengkhis Khan (mutton), milk etc, one of the MUST EATS in Hokkaido will definitely be the Soup Curry. Japanese curry may not suit the tastes of most people whom prefer their curry to be more fragrant and spicy rather than being sweet like how most Japanese curry is.

I wasn’t a fan of Japanese/Korean curry at first but I came to like it later. but SOUP CURRY? it’s like.. a whole different type of curry. I don’t know how do you put it. it ain’t exactly sweet but it’s very fragrant and yet the curry is adjusted just right so that the “soup” will be drinkable; not too salty!

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soup curry is said to be all around Hokkaido but honestly, I’ve only seen it twice in my 1 week holiday and I had it on my first day at the JR Tower’s Stellar Dining area (6th floor). Continue reading “[Sapporo] what to eat in Hokkaido? : SOUP CURRY!” →

[Sapporo] Hokkaido SUSHI! Nemuro Hanamaru, JR Tower

Posted on by Jamie Liew

ask the locals they say, because they’d know. and so the recommendations of a true Japanese who was born and bred in Hokkaido recommended me to Nemuro Hanamaru. 6th floor of the JR Tower (Sapporo Station), Sapporo.

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we actually came here on the first day but due to limited time we headed on for something else and came back the next day. with a similar line. waited for around 45 minutes at around 1pm. I’ll have to say.. the wait’s worth it. Continue reading “[Sapporo] Hokkaido SUSHI! Nemuro Hanamaru, JR Tower” →

[Tokyo: Tsukiji] Sushi Dai vs. Sushi Daiwa

Posted on by Jamie Liew

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo.

if you’re planning a trip to Tokyo, Tsukiji Fish Market shouldn’t be unfamiliar to you. especially half of this world renowned market is going to be relocated in 2016 so this year is the only last chance you have to enjoy Tsukiji as it is. and if you’re planning on a trip there already.. you might probably have heard of the most famous sushi restaurant bar in Tsukiji, Sushi Dai. BUT, you might’ve also heard of the sushi bar a few shops away, called Sushi Daiwa. and as a sushi enthusiast as myself, I went to both.

okay, actually because of my budget, I could barely afford such luxury but I skimped throughout my whole Tokyo trip for it. so it better be worth it. so at first, I was dying to look for someone to be kind enough to go with me to Tsukiji as NOBODY wanted to wake up early and queue for hours just for good sushi.

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I started queuing for Sushi Dai from 6:15AM as soon as I’ve reached (my friends told me how it was complicating to find bla bla but I found it ridiculously easy to find. just google for the directions from Tsukijishijo Station to Sushi Dai and screen cap it. then use it as your guide there. =). that’s what I did for EVERYTHINGGG hahaha.) Continue reading “[Tokyo: Tsukiji] Sushi Dai vs. Sushi Daiwa” →