[Tokyo: Harajuku] AFURI Ramen

Posted on by Jamie Liew

recently I got the nickname “ramen girl” from my Japanese friend because he stated that Ramen isn’t normally loved by women. but if you look through my instagram a month before I leave Japan, you could probably see my love for ramen, which made me the “ramen girl.”

while the best ramen I’ve ever had was still the one from Osaka, from a chain called.. I forgot (update: it’s called 藤平) but it was near Fukushima station, Tokyo has the widest range of ramen in my opinion. it is like, you can find anything in Tokyo. and I love Tokyo for that reason. if you are living in Tokyo and loveee ramen, then Afuri shouldn’t be a name that is unfamiliar to you as it is literally ONE OF THE BEST ramen available in Tokyo.

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you should know how no ramen in Japan would taste the same, Afuri takes a huger leap away from the weird. they are known for their Yuzu ramen, or in other words, Citrus ramen. how would the citrus’ tangy taste taste like with salty ramen? well, that’s why I went to find out! Continue reading “[Tokyo: Harajuku] AFURI Ramen” →

[Tokyo: Ginza] Midori Sushi. is it worth it?

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I’d like to label people who come to Midori Sushi as.. smart. because for 3,000yen, you can get as follows:

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12 pieces of sushi, egg + one handroll and a miso crab salad!

although the queue would be quite a misery (normally 2 hours. I only queued for 80 minutes ahahhaha ONLY.) you can actually take a number and come back an hour later and wait for only about 20-40 minutes! depending on which branch you go to really. I went to the Ginza branch and I heard the Shibuya branch has the longest queue whereas the one in Kichijoji has almost no queue! Continue reading “[Tokyo: Ginza] Midori Sushi. is it worth it?” →

[Tokyo: Ebisu] Itasobakaoriya 板蕎麦 香り家

Posted on by Jamie Liew

so this place which I’ve stumbled across in Ebisu while looking for a soba place, is the BEST soba place I’ve ever came across in Japan so far. I was actually around the area looking for the Ebisu illumination but decided to settle for soba instead since it’s a tradition in Japan to eat soba the night before new years (the Japanese NY is on 1.1) and it is said that you should not bite your soba as you eat and gobble it down as a whole until it is all in your mouth and then chew. all that just to live a longer life. well, no harm believing in it right? except I forgot and accidentally bit it off my first bite =X. but I followed the “rules” after that.

soba’s always been my favourite Japanese dish since I was young. although now it’s sushi, I still love soba. but to my surprise, soba in Japan does not taste quite like the soba’s I’ve had in Malaysia and Korea where it was always a little more jelly-like. instead, these buckwheat noodles called soba, are not as smooth and has a stronger buckwheat taste to it in Japan. I wasn’t very used to it the first few times but I came to enjoy it more than the ones I’ve had which I now label, the unoriginal soba.

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I actually read about this place and it has a soaring high 3.52 in tabelog and there were comments on how people waited for this and thought it was totally worth the wait. except because I had it first on NYE I had to queue for 2 hours in the painfully cold weather. and still thought it was very worth it! they even provided us hot tea, beer (yes, BEER!) and hot packs while we were waiting in line outside! Continue reading “[Tokyo: Ebisu] Itasobakaoriya 板蕎麦 香り家” →

[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” →

[Tokyo: Shinjuku] Menya Musashi, best Tsukemen in Shinjuku

Posted on by Jamie Liew

Tokyo is known for its variety of different ramens which embarrassingly, I’ve yet to try many. among the ones that I would love to try are the ice cream ramen, the Michelin one star ramen and the blue soup ramen. but other than ramen, I have a love for something else which is difficult to find outside of Japan. and that’s something called the Tsukemen. Tsukemen are noodles that are normally thick like udon but with a ramen texture, and is served separately with the soup so every bite will seem like the first bite. no more soggy ramen! (I guess because I eat pretty slowly too hahahaha. you’re really supposed to finish your ramen under 10 minutes until the taste changes.)

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so I was touring a friend around and he wanted to eat ramen. so I searched a little and stumbled across this place called Menya Musashi, which is apparently the best ramen shop in Shinjuku. Continue reading “[Tokyo: Shinjuku] Menya Musashi, best Tsukemen in Shinjuku” →

[Tokyo: Kichijoji] Autumn in Japan

Posted on by Jamie Liew

so apparently, Kichijoji is one of the best places to live in Tokyo. according to many of my Japanese friends at least! and I also heard that many celebrities live here! hence, although this is not down-town Tokyo, the rent here’s crazy I heard. well, I can kind of see how this place is so popular since.. it has a lot of good food, a lot of hipster cafe’s/shops, and a huge, beautiful park; Inokashira park.

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where you’d see many people jogging or strolling around. and the best of all? it looks absolutely beautiful during Autumn. hence there are loads of (old) people taking pictures of birds, autumn leaves and even animals since there’s a zoo there! I heard the zoo’s just meh. =X. and I think there’s a shrine at the back of the lake too! Continue reading “[Tokyo: Kichijoji] Autumn in Japan” →

[Shingawa: Fuji] Fuji Q Highlands

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I don’t know if it’s me but I’ve never heard of Fuji Q until friends here told me about it. at first I thought it’s just another small theme park found in every state but.. to my surprise it is a super famous theme park near Fuji Mountain (which means it’s near Tokyo) which is built literally mainly for adults and a fun fact? this theme park holds a few world records for having the fastest, tallest and even a roller coaster with the most spins!

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the weather plays a big role so be sure to pick a less windy day with absolutely no rain. because even when I went, some games were closed for a few hours due to strong wind despite the day being so clear! Continue reading “[Shingawa: Fuji] Fuji Q Highlands” →

[Beppu: Yufuin] Kyushu’s beautiful village

Posted on by Jamie Liew

so during my last visit to Fukuoka. around a year ago… *chokes* Megumi’s grandma brought us to this beautiful place called Yufuin which is located 3 hours away by train.

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this view is probably the most staple “look” of Yufuin as this is what you’d see once you step out of the station. Continue reading “[Beppu: Yufuin] Kyushu’s beautiful village” →