Asia Trip Part 2: Tokyo

Our second stop on tour was Tokyo, Japan. A vibrant city with much to offer, this was my favorite stop on tour. And it was my favorite for food! After checking into Hotel Okura a group of us headed over to a conveyor-belt sushi place called Uoki. Among the sushi sampled were salmon, chu-toro (fatty tuna), aji (spanish mackerel), engawa (fluke fin), maguro (tuna), unagi (freshwater eel), shimesaba (marinated mackerel), kohada (gizzard shad), kanpachi (young yellowtail), and tai (sea bream). A good meal, a good start.
The following day was our first concert at Suntory Hall. Here is a view of the entrance plaza:

We also headed to the Tokyo Tower to check out the view, since the weather looked pretty clear. The design for Tokyo Tower was based on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but the tower in Tokyo stands about 8 meters higher. It is painted red for air traffic safety. From the observation deck at 150m you get quite a view of the city. It's skyscrapers and cityscape as far as the eye can see. On a very clear day, you can see Mount Fuji, but (unfortunately) it was a little hazy out that direction. Here are the tower and the view:

The next day, a group of us headed to a well-known and respected sushi restaurant in the Ginza district of Tokyo. The place, called Kyubei, served up the finest sushi I've had the pleasure of eating. We ate on the 5th floor of the restaurant, and our itamae (chef) Mori-san was quite skilled. As an appetizer we got shredded daikon (Japanese giant white radish) and seaweed, and our choice of egg custard, ikura (salmon roe), seaweed salad, or something that escapes my memory. I chose the custard, which was excellent. We all ordered the assorted sushi, which consisted of chu-toro (fatty tuna belly), hirame (halibut), ma-aji (Spanish mackerel), ika (squid), ebi (raw prawn tail, fried prawn head and tail fin), akagai (red clam), uni (sea urchin roe), o-toro (really fatty tuna belly), katsuo (seared bonito--jackfin tuna), miso soup (with little clams!), anago (seawater eel, served two ways--shio and shoyu--with salt and soy sauce), daikon sandwich (a palette cleanser with shiso leaf (perilla--Japanese basil), ume (plum paste), and sesame seeds), samples of four rolls (tuna & scallion, Japanese pickles & cucumber, burdock root, and pickled squash), tamago (Japanese egg omelette), and some slices of persimmon for dessert. What a meal. And all beautifully presented. As we were leaving, the owner gave us a copy of an article about the place from the Wall Street Journal. It turns out that Steven Spielberg, Nicholas Cage, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz, and the CEOs of Toyota and Canon also enjoy eating meals at Kyubei. Other recent sightings have included the CEO of Sony and Japan's prime minister. Pretty cool stuff. Don't let the ordinary entry-way fool you: this place is awesome:

Kyubei Ginza

The next day, we decided to get yakitori (grilled foods, kind of a Japanese bbq) in the Roppongi district. We went to a little place for a snack of chicken & green pepper, duck, mixed vegetables, quail eggs, and sparrow (only available October through March). The sparrow was certainly the most exotic, a small bird you eat almost the whole body (bones and all). A crunchy and tasty treat.
Later that night, we headed to what I imagine is the king of yakitori, a place called Inakaya. This place was to yakitori what Kyubei was to sushi. They started us off with a small appetizer of a little daikon roll, some shrimp tempura, and saba mackerel nigiri sushi. Some of us shared a sashimi platter to start things off, which consisted of several types of fish, clam, and edible flowers and leaves. Then we ordered some grilled vegetables (okra, asparagus, mushrooms (shimeji and shiitake), eggplant, and some grilled garlic cloves). Then on to the seafood: whole red snapper, whole sanma (Pacific saury), large prawns (langosteens?), and little sand crabs (eaten whole--very crunchy). For dessert we went for some grilled ginnan (ghinko nuts), and then they presented us each with some custard and sweet topping. At the end of the meal, one of the waiters gave us a photo album to look at. It was pictures of many of the famous people who had eaten at Inakaya. As I flipped through the pages, I saw many familiar faces (and a few unfamiliar): Steven Spielberg, Nicholas Cage, The Rolling Stones, the drummer from Queen, Peter Jackson + cast of Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson + cast of King Kong, Andy Serkis, Jerry Bruckheimer, Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford, Sting, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Edward Norton, Cameron Diaz, Sylvester Stallone, and the cast of The Chronicles of Narnia. I know I'm missing a bunch of people, but that's a pretty good list already. Needless to say, it was an amazing meal at a great place. Some pictures:

Inakaya, view from my seat:

Sashimi appetizer:

Little sand crabs:

Whole red snapper:

Pacific saury (sanma):


The next morning was our last in Tokyo. I had the Japanese breakfast at the hotel (pickles, cooked mackerel, rice congee, vegetables, etc) and we headed to the airport to catch our 7 hour flight to Singapore.

Stay tuned!!

Asia Trip Part 1: Seoul

The first stop on my Asian trip was Seoul, South Korea. We stayed at the JW Marriott Hotel, south of the Han River. The weather was a bit humid, which, added to the smog, made for a very hazy sky. I think I would have had a good view from my hotel room, but I couldn't be sure:
My first real meal in Seoul was breakfast the next morning. The hotel breakfast was provided with our stay, so I went down to check it out. The breakfast consisted of omelettes, waffles, pastries, fresh fruits, dried fruits, fruit drinks, fruit smoothies, coffee, tea, cheeses, rice, congees, soups, yogurts, meats, fishes, vegetables, pickles, kimchis, ice cream, and more. Some of my favorite unusual breakfast items were the pickled quail eggs and the Asian pear juice (fresh crushed Asian pear). Needless to say, four of the finest breakfasts I've had were at this hotel.
Later that day, a friend and I went to Lotte World, kind of a Korean indoor Disneyland. We rode some rides (a hot air balloon on a ceiling track, a cool roller coaster, Drunken Baskets--Lotte World's version of cups and saucers). Here is the view from the hot air balloon:

After leaving Lotte World, we stopped at a food court and had some bibimbap (hot stone bowl with rice, egg, meat, veggies). That evening we decided to get Korean bbq. The hotel recommended Sammi Galbi, just one stop down the subway line. So a group of us headed out and went in search of Sammi Galbi. The only problem: all the signs were in Korean. We headed down the street, looking for a sign in English, but to no avail. We found one place that looked good, and decided if we didn't find Sammi's in the next block or so we would go to this place. After another block we decided to go to this mystery place, and headed back. Just then someone in our group was able to spell out "Sammi" in the Korean letters...it was the place we were looking at before! So we headed in and proceeded to order beef short ribs with all the fixings. Various salads and panchan (side dishes) were served (along with the ubiquitous kimchi), and then came the beef, garlic, lettuce and perilla leaves. When the beef is cooked, you take a leaf (perilla was the best-kind of a Japanese basil), fill it with some beef, garlic, kimchi, salad, whatever you like, and fold it up and stuff it in your mouth. It's really good
stuff.
After finishing off the beef, we were asked if we wanted hot or cold noodles. I decided on the cold noodles, and was brought out a bowl of black noodles (cooked in squid ink). Feeling sufficiently stuffed, we finished off the meal with some sweet rice water and watermelon for dessert. What a meal!
I took it easy the next day (our first concert) and stayed pretty close to home. The following day I headed over to see the Great Eastern Gate at Dongdaemun, and then went to Gyeongbokgung palace (the largest and main palace of the Joseon dynasty). The palace was a huge complex of buildings, really a cool site to see.
Dongdaemun:

Gyeongbokgung:

After seeing the palace, I headed over to Insadonggil (Insadong street), which is a big street market type place:
It was crowded and fun; vendors on the street selling their wares and food, shops doing the same. I got some souvenirs and then lunch: I decided on a place that served kalkkooksu (kalguksu - noodles soup with little clams, squash and scallions). It was tasty, and they weren't stingy with the clams:

That night, we played our second concert in Seoul, then headed to the airport the next morning. My last parting gift from Seoul was a box of chestnut chocolates from the airport (they were roasting chestnuts on the street in Insadong and they smelled really good, but I was too full to have any).
Next stop: Tokyo (or, Tokyo, I'm on my way!) :)