yoroniku & ebisu gardens

V invited us to celebrate her birthday at Yoroniku in Ebisu.

She and A dined here last year and enjoyed it.

Unfortunately Satoshi had something so he missed out

This post is gonna be long and you will gain weight...you have been warned

Assorted kim chee and namul

shoyu based sauce a little sweet, lemon & ume shu soda

beef tartare

after mixing it up and putting it on the garlic toast…so ono

2 types of beef sashimi ichibo (sirloin cap) and uchimomo (top round)

thick tongue, outside skirt and loin

salad with salt dressing (kinda like vinaigrette but not puckery)

this salad had huge pieces of lettuce in it, so a lot of us used it to wrap our meats in it as we ate

outside skirt with green onion sauce

thick tongue with lemon

loin with special sauce

lean meat and tsuchinoko (near thigh?)

eat in slightly sweetened sauce...so melt in your mouth

osuimono (clear soup) with bits of tripe...type of palate cleanser

wagyu onigiri

chateaubriand and silky loin

chateaubriand was cooked on super low heat to keep the tenderness and flavor of the meat

silky loin was cooked on a higher heat but was still very tender

dip the chateaubriand in sauce then cover the teeny rice ball...enjoy!

sirloin

eat sirloin with oroshi daikon and sauce first bite...add wasabi to change things up second bite

zabuton (chuck) "sukiyaki" with truffle

the chuck is shabu shabu-ed in this sukiyaki style sauce 

and then they truffle it

really truffle it

and then they froth it up

the rice they will add after you eat the meat, so don't eat up all the truffle egg mixture

frothed up truffle egg and meat

after adding the rice to the truffle egg

awa somen is a thicker type of somen from shikoku

chewy similar to reimen

add condiments...nori tsukudani and wasabi to change up the flavors

dessert...matcha shaved ice to share...first round eat as is

second round add the kuromame and condensed milk

surprise shaved ice for the birthday girl (left)

this one was shirokuma style which means fruits are embedded in the shave ice then covered with condensed milk

the staff worked so hard to cook the meats and serve so that we had the best dining experience

after dinner we walked (rolled) a little to Ebisu Gardens to see the Baccarat chandelier "tree"

This tree is displayed every year at about this time.

The chandelier is 5 meters (16 feet) tall and 3 meters (9 feet) wide and has about 8500 crystals and 250 light bulbs made by 13 MOF (meilleur ouvrier de france) craftsmen and took about 15,000 hours to make

At the opposite end they have this 10 meter (32 feet) tall Christmas tree!

Thank you V for letting me celebrate your birthday with you this year!

We are thankful for your friendship and appreciate your kindness.

We hope you enjoyed your trip! Have a safe trip home.

Yoroniku

1-11-5 Ebisu, GEMS 8F

Shibuya, Tokyo

Hours: 17:00-00:00

*reservations recommended

asakusabashi-kuramae-asakusa

Before meeting up with V & A, I walked up from Asakusabashi
 

Bought some things from Tori Toyo, which I have visited in the past

I bought some karaage chicken wings & a mini portion of keema curry

The curry was spicy and a tad bit salty, I guess I should've eaten this with some rice, but would get this again....520 yen (tax included) (for the wings & curry)

The wings haven't changed, meaty and juicy

Up the street was Daily's Muffin, which I saw on a television show

Everything muffins...

I picked up a savory muffin to try...their hashed pork...420 yen (tax included)

The little muffin on the package shows you how to reheat their muffin

zap then toast

While the pork on top was very flavorful with grainy mustard and a little shoyu, it was too oily leaving a heavy mouth feel...meh and the muffin itself was quite dry

Still, I'm glad I tried this

Nearby is a Toyoko Inn.

Back in the day, this was the property of Masudaya Toys.

This area had many toy factories and has changed over the years due to the change in the markets

Mighty 8, a huge robot, is a symbol of Masudaya Toys

Up the street is Pelican Bakery...we've visited here in the past and it seems that their shop got a facelift

In Asakusa is this cutie...I learned about it from social media

It is quite a small store though

The line wasn't too krazy at Kameju, so I stood in line

And purchased some warabi mochi for V and a dorayaki for myself

the price has gone up but it is still huge and fluffy

Choose between kuro (black) or shiro (white) bean paste

So good

It was nice to explore and reconnect with Asakusabashi, Kuramae & Asakusa

Daily's Muffin

2-3-1 Kuramae

Taito, Tokyo

Closed: Sundays & Mondays

Hours: 8:00-16:00 (Tuesdays-Fridays), 11:00-17:00 (Saturdays)

sokichi

Met up with V, A and V's friend M at Sokichi in Asakusa on Friday.

Last year, V & A had a nice experience making their own Edo kiriko (etched glass), so they booked a class for all of us 
 

Choose your glass, there are some that are included in the price of the class, or some that you need to pay extra for

The teacher then shows you how to etch and you get to practice on their practice glasses

Then you choose your design

with a marker and stencil you draw your design on your glass 

Me, I wimped out and chose the same design we practiced...stars

V, A and M chose more difficult things like irises, sakura and such

After you finish, they set up a mini studio for your glass' photo shoot

The teacher also teaches you how to take the photo so it looks "professional"

It was a cool experience.

Thanks for today A, V & M

Sokichi

2-1-14 Kaminarimon

Taito, Tokyo

*reservations recommended for a class