niki no kashi

stumbled upon Niki no Kashi on social media

several huge buildings selling all sorts of snacks, candies

Kinda similar to Takeya 

Marishiten Tokudaiji Shrine is surrounded by the various Niki buildings, you can see this shrine from the JR Okachimachi station platform

I am pretty sure they have products repeating in each building but it was still something to see

Since I was with Satoshi, I want to go back so that I can take my time and look at each aisle...I'll be back

Niki no Kashi

4-1-8 Ueno

Taito, Tokyo

Open daily: 10:00-20:00

yesterday

Yesterday, I needed to pick up a few things at Takeya, so since I was in the area, I thought I'd check out the lotus flowers at Shinobazu Pond too.

I think I was a little too late this year because there were not many flowers to be seen.

After picking up the items I needed from Takeya, I stopped off at Tokyo Station to check out their newly renovated Gransta area.

Satoshi and I had these amiyaki niku (grilled meat) bento from Niku Oroshi Kojima.

Rice topped with teriyaki style grilled beef ...delicious!

Our temps have been blazing and the humidity has not helped either.

It is bad enough that we need to worry about COVID-19 but also need to worry about heatstroke.

Hope you have a safe weekend.

foodie sunday

Sunday started out with breakfast at Shinpachi Shokudo.

Their breakfast is cheaper than lunch...like half price! (if you choose the fish on their breakfast menu, I think if you choose the other types you would need to pay a higher price)

During breakfast, rice is only a small portion but was enough for me and Satoshi (because he didn't want to pay 50 yen more for the regular size).

Snacks at Starbucks while we waited for Takeya to open.

I tried this rich chocolate mousse "cake" by Ichiei Taguma...delicious with black coffee.

"no smorking"....ha!

Picked up a dorayaki and kusamochi to try from Usagiya which has been around since 1913.

We ate these after dinner and I am not sure how Satoshi liked the kusamochi, but I enjoyed the dorayaki.

It wasn't different from other dorayaki I have tried but still glad we were able to try them.

Cheeseburger and fries at Henry's.

They use all wagyu no fillers...my burger had quite a bit of gristle, but was still delicious.

Very juicy!

Satoshi had the regular burger with onion rings.

I loved their onion rings which seemed housemade not those thick pre-battered types.

And then we walked from Okachimachi all the way to Shinbashi.

The weather was so warm and felt good to walk after all that eating.

At the Hamamatsu-cho station, where we needed to change trains, I went to check out the Mannekin Pis...he was dressed as Char Aznable of Gundam...

Dinner was ehomaki.

The lucky direction is west-south-west.

This half sized sushi was filled with maguro, hamachi (or maybe it was tai), egg, ikura, shiso, crab, salmon and cucumber!

Satoshi ate out yesterday which was Setsubun, so it was good we had our ehomaki on Sunday.

Usagiya
1-10-10 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3831.6195
Closed Wednesdays
Hours: 9:00-18:00

Henry's Burgers (UPDATE: 2021 out of business)
3-7-13 Sotokanda
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6206.8841
Hours: 11:00-20:00

warm thursday

Yesterday was warm...of course, I over dressed and had to take off many layers...

I went to Takeya to pick up some vitamins as well as some food items.

Afterwards, I walked to Kappabashi.

I wanted to pick up an oshibuta (drop lid) and a new oil screen, which I found at Kitchen World TDI.

I also wanted those aluminum ice cream spoons and butter knife, which I found at Niimi.

The heat from your hand is supposed to transfer through the utensils and "melt" the ice cream and butter when you use them.

FYI: this place is cash only.

For lunch I stopped into Halima Kebab Biryani (try saying that 10 times fast!)

After being seated and ordering, the place really filled up.

I had their lamb biryani set which came with salad, a little soup, raita (yogurt sauce) and your choice of drink (I chose lassi).

The soup was sour and didn't have much of anything in it...and the salad and biryani were spicy!

Talk about mouth.on.fire.

Thank goodness for the raita sauce and lassi, which cooled things down.

I want to go back to try their curries and tandoori chicken...I'll be back.

The weather was nice and I'm glad I found all the items I wanted from Kappabashi.

I hope you have a nice weekend!

Kitchen World TDI
1-9-12 Matsugaya
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5827.3355

Niimi
1-1-1 Matsugaya
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3842.0213
Hours: 10:00-17:30
Closed Sundays
*cash only

Halima Kebab Biryani
3-36-7 Higashi-ueno
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6672.1796
Hours: 11:00-15:30 (lunch), 17:00-22:30 (dinner)
*cash only during lunch time

curry wa nomimono

Back in February while we were waiting for Ponta Honke to open, we spotted this place...Curry wa nomimono (literally "curry is a drink/beverage")...which is hard to translate, but I think it kind of similar to how we say "there is always room for dessert".

Since we had some errands to run yesterday, we had lunch here.

Satoshi had the kuro niku curry (literally black meat curry) + 300 grams rice...890 yen (tax included)

This is a European style curry...Rich fond de veau (brown stock) based with a little marscapone cheese as a hidden ingredient...while eating you can change up the flavors with the lemon, a splash of the habanero sauce and or the parmesan cheese.

I chose the Butter Chicken + 200 grams rice...960 yen (tax included).

Spicy and a teeny nick of butter it also comes with a spicy onion achar (pickle).

The chicken is cooked tender.

After getting your meal ticket from the machine and passing it to the staff behind the counter, they will ask you what 3 toppings you want.

All orders come with free toppings...From their list of 10, you pick 3 and yell out the numbers when they ask you...

1) ajitama (marinated hard-boiled egg), 2) rakkyo (pickled shallots), 3) fukujinzuke (pickled daikon radish/other vegetables), 4) potato salad, 5) fried garlic, 6) coriander (cilantro), 7) mayonnaise-dressed tuna, 8) mayonnaise-dressed corn, 9) basil bean salad, 10) fried onions.

Satoshi chose the ajitama, rakkyo and fried onions, while I chose the rakkyo, cilantro and fried onions.

The curries are served on turmeric rice and come out quite quickly.

Fried onions on curry is so good!

I'm glad we tried this place, they also have other shops in different parts of Tokyo...we'll be back.

Curry wa nomimono, Okachimachi shop
3-23-3 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5812.4770
Lunch: 11:00-16:00, Dinner 17:30-21:30

things I'm liking

Some foods eaten but not blogged about...

There are times when Satoshi goes out after work with co-workers or baseball alumni...or times when he has two German classes (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), on these days, I usually go holo-holo (galavanting) and try places that probably Satoshi wouldn't enjoy.

It was my 1st time trying lamb biryani which to me was like Indian fried rice.

Super flavorful with lots of different spices, huge cubes of lamb that were tender.

This also came with a curry of your choice, which I chose palak paneer (a spicy spinach curry with fresh cheese cubes) and a yogurt sauce to cool your mouth down while eating.

This was quite filling but I'm glad I tried it and will be back.

Himmel's tuna sandwich...loved the sunflower seed bun! forgot to add this one when I did the last liking (disliking) post.

When I went to Inokashira Park, I tried Dans Dix Ans' cigar chocolat...a chocolate baguette filled with ice cold chocolate ganache to be eaten right away.

I sat on the bench outside their shop and enjoyed this.

They specialize in different types of breads using different yeasts and flours.

I wouldn't mind trying some of their loaves and will be back when I am in the area.

Stumbled upon Mijinco when we walked from Yushima Shrine to Kanda Myojin.

Their lunch menu are different sandwiches.

I tried their oil sardine sandwich...the oil sardine was mixed with red onion, nuts, cheese and some beans...so good!

I'll be back when I am in this area to try their desserts.

Tried Pandayaki which is at the entrance of the JR Okachimachi station.

They had sakura, red bean paste, caramel, chocolate, custard and plain.

Since their smallest size was a set of 14, I got one of each flavor and had them separate them into two bags with 7 each (one of each flavor), so that I could share with Satoshi.

The white panda was made from rice flour and filled with red bean paste, so it was similar to mochi (rice cake)...chewy.

The others had a nice amount of filling and was similar to baby castella but a little softer.

I went to check out the liquor floor of Takeya. They had a rosé for half price! I love this store.

I also got some fabric softener, pumpkin seeds & green tea.

What are you enjoying these days?

Sitaara Grove
Takashimaya Shinjuku 13F
Shibuya, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5361.2029
Hours: 11:00-23:00

Dans Dix Ans
2-28-2 Kichijoji Honmachi, B1
Musashino, Tokyo
Phone: 0422.23.2595
Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays
Hours: 10:00-18:00

Mijinco
2-9-10 Yushima
Bunkyo, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6240.1429
Hours: Weekdays 11:00-21:00, Weekends & Holidays 10:00-20:00

okachimachi

Saturday, I had some free time, so I went to check out Takeya.

After V showed me where it was, I wanted to go back to check it all out.

Well...Takeya has 8 buildings!

I went to the packaged food building and the ladies building...picking up some food items (coffee, chocolate almonds, arare, corned beef) and some nail polish remover.

I only went through 2 of the buildings and will definitely go back to check out the other buildings...

For lunch, I ate at Yushokuya Boo, which is located under the train tracks near Okachimachi station.

The roast beef in their donburi was super tender with no gristle...830 yen (tax included)...and topped with their housemade ponzu (citrus soy sauce), shiso (perilla), myoga (Japanese ginger) and green onions.

The rice was kind of on the hard side...I think it might have been reheated in the micro.

My meal came with some salad and some soup....I didn't care much for the soup though it was creamy but super tasteless.

I'm glad I tried this place though I don't know that I will be back (they allow smoking).

So much more to explore in this area...I'll be back.

Yushokuya Boo
5-9 Ueno, 2k540 Aki-Oka complex
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6240.1220
Weekdays: Lunch 11:30-14:00. Dinner 17:00-24:00
Weekends and Holidays: 11:00 - 20:00

rainy thursday

Yesterday was cold and rainy.

Met up with V for shopping and lunch.

Lucky for us we could get around with the subway so we didn't have to walk too much.

We started off at Tsukiji, then headed back to Yurakucho...unfortunately getting lost several times trying to get in and out of the stations (sorry!)

Then to Kanda and Okachimachi...V showed me a huge shopping area for food stuffs and other things that I'll need to go back to roam the aisles...Takeya! (Look for the purple buildings near Okachimachi station...)

Lunch was yakisoba...one okonomiyaki style and the other topped with kim chee at Ginchan.

Since moving to Tokyo, I haven't found "favorite spots" to take friends visiting from Hawaii (yet), so I'm glad this place turned out to be delicious...plus, it was nice and warm, perfect place to get out of the cold rain...

This place was small, but the food comes out pretty quick.

Can you believe this was their smallest serving? and it was quite filling...I hope V enjoyed this, I'll be back.

After lunch, we walked up to Yushima Tenjin (also called Yushima Tenmangu) to check out the ume blossoms.

I'm glad they were in full bloom.

The last time we were there, there weren't many trees blooming yet.

Check out the amount of ema ((eh-mah) good luck amulets)...it's entrance exam time in Japan, so everyone is praying to pass their exams...

This was the first time for me to see so many ema flowing all the way down to the ground.

Since meeting up with V last week, she went to Sogabessho (Odawara, Kanagawa), Kyoto and Kairakuen (Mito, Ibaraki) and spoiled us with all these goodies! (thank you!)

Despite the bad weather, I'm glad we got to do all that V wanted to.

Have a safe trip back and thank you for everything!

Shitamachi Yakisoba Ginchan
3-28-7 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5812.8015
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: 11:00-21:00

Takeya
4-33-2 Taito
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3835.7777
Hours: 10:00-20:00