tonkatsu enraku

Saturday night, we checked out Tonkatsu Enraku which is located near our train station.

The atmosphere when we opened the door was kinda cold, no "irrashaimasse" (welcome)...even got laser beams from the people sitting at the counter...eep!

After looking at the menu I ordered the filet katsu don...1450 yen (tax included).

This came with a bowl of tonjiru (miso soup with pork and veggies) and a generous serving of tsukemono (pickles).

Satoshi ordered the mixed fry set...2300 yen (tax included).

His order came with potato salad made with their housemade mayo, a bowl of tonjiru and tsukemono.

I was impressed with the tonkatsu...melt in your mouth tender, just the right amount of panko breading.

Lots of sweet onions and the sauce used for the donburi wasn't too sweet nor too salty.

They use lard to fry their tonkatsu but not just any type of lard, apparently the fat is taken from the innards, so the amount that can be made is a limited amount.

The panko is housemade from only the white parts of the bread crusts.

Satoshi was impressed with his dish too (no photo, he was too fast to start eating)...especially the fried shrimp, he said it was meaty and fried perfectly.

He's already thinking about a return visit to try their katsu curry, so despite the "cold" welcome, we'll be back.

Tonkatsu Enraku
6-1-4 Ikegami
Ota, Tokyo
Closed Sundays and Mondays
Phone: 03.3754.8243
Hours: 11:00-14:30 (lunch), 17:00-21:00 (dinner)
*cash only

saturday

From where we live it takes about and hour and a half to Koiwa which is located at the very east side of Tokyo.

Ever since we saw Kunio Kobayashi's bonsai on tv, we've been interested in checking out his museum.

Admission is 800 yen but worth it.

You can roam around the property and check out the many different bonsai.

Some are over 500 years old!

When I think of bonsai, I think of miniature sized plants but Mr Kobayashi's works show you that bonsai is not only "tiny", they can also be very large!

While we were there, there were several bus loads of tourists from several different countries learning about bonsai, Japanese calligrapy and origami.

One of Mr Kobayashi's disciples gave Satoshi this starter bonsai (an ume (apricot))...we'll see how long Satoshi will be able to care for it...

From Koiwa, we went back a couple of stations to Kameido.

We had wanted to try Kameido Gyoza, but the line was krazy!

We still ended up waiting, but in a shorter line at Fujiiya, another gyoza shop nearby.

Satoshi ordered the gomoku (5 item) soba and gyoza, which he enjoyed.

I ordered the pari pari (crispy) gyoza and ganso (original) gyoza set.

This was delicious and came with rice, some soup and pickles. I gave some rice to Satoshi. The broth looked thick but was light and flavorful.

We still want to check out Kameido Gyoza, but will need to get there when they open.

Across the street from Fujiiya is Julian Bakery. Apparently the owner/baker had a connection with Julian Bakery in Hawaii.

He said that Julian Bakery had shops in the GEM Stores in Waipahu and Temple Valley?! I remember GEM but not this particular bakery.

He hadn't been back to Hawaii since the 80s, so he was shocked to hear that GEM was no longer.

We tried the curry pan, mentaiko baguette & cream cheese walnut bread, for breakfast on Sunday.

The mentaiko and cream cheese breads were on the harder side but tastewise were delicious.

The curry pan had just the right amount of spice and kick.

We also tried the chocolate bread, this morning, which had some raisins (or maybe cherries) and some chocolate in it.

I think it could've had (way) more chocolate in it...

Down the street from Fujiiya was a display of Edo Kiriko (a type of etched glass).

So so beautiful!

Then we checked out Kameido Tenjinsha.

They have many ume (apricot) trees as well as fuji (wisteria) trellises.

We missed the ume but hope to come back to check out the wisteria.

Despite the weather being forecast for rain, we were bummed that it was fahreezing but glad that it was just overcast.

It was nice to explore another part of Tokyo and hope to be able to check out more areas.

Shunkaen Bonsai Museum
1-29-16 Niihori
Edogawa, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3670.8622
Closed Mondays
Hours: 10:00-17:00

Fujiiya
5-13-8 Kameido
Koto, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3683.1891
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: 10:00-23:30

shop 'til you drop

Thursday, Val and I planned to check out to the shopping mall that is under Tokyo station.

On my way to meet her at her hotel, I witnessed the train staff "jamming" commuters onto the subway...it really does happen eep!

While roaming the many areas of the shopping mall, she bought some items and then we headed across town to Shibuya.

They have a One Piece shop located in the Marui Department Store.

One Piece is a manga (Japanese comic series).

She was interested in finding some souvenirs for one of her sons.

Then it was two doors up to Tower Records...it had been ages since I had set foot into a CD shop.

I was surprised that Tower Records was still around...though I have a feeling they only exists in Japan....

We were starving at this point and popped into J.S. Burgers Cafe for lunch.

I ordered the Maple Butter BLT...and was surprised that my BLT was topped with a pat of butter and drizzle of maple syrup...

I have given up on eating crispy bacon in Japan and accept the thick Canadian type of ham "bacon" that is served...

This had way too much grainy mustard in it but I was glad that the bread and fries were crispy...I want to go back to try the burgers.

And then it was back out for more shopping...

It was a whirlwind stay for Val, the weather was nice...I hope she had a nice time and was able to buy everything she came to Japan for.

J.S. Burgers Cafe (UPDATE:2021 no longer at this location)
1-20-13 Jinnan, G Building 2F
Shibuya, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6415.2017
Hours: 11:00-22:30

playing tourist in ueno

Friend Val was visiting from Hawaii...she wanted to see the pandas at Ueno Zoo.

It was my first time to the zoo...and even on a weekday, there was a long line to see the pandas.

Before turning the corner to see them, there was a sign that said, "you have 1 minute to view the pandas...do not stop to take photos..blah blah blah" (WT!)

Well, when we turned the corner this is what we saw...the panda with its butt facing us.

How disappointing yeah?

We were like..."we stood in line for this?!"

The next two display areas were empty and we were feeling gypped.

Luckily, the panda in the next display area wasn't camera shy...

If you are interesting in seeing a really short video of the panda moving, click the link here.

Luckily, there were kanhizakura (a type of early blooming cherry blossom) just outside of the zoo.

Loved the dark pink color!

Lunch was at a place called Bal Pinolo...the pizza sauce was a bit watery but overall it was a nice lunch.

And since we were near Okachimachi, I took Val to Takeya.

They had everything she wanted and we were glad to be able to find everything in one place. (Thanks again V for telling me about this place! It is now Val's favorite place too!)

It was a beautiful day and it was nice to spend some time with a friend from Hawaii.

Ueno Zoo
9-83 Uenokoen
Taito, Tokyo
Closed Mondays
Hours: 9:30-17:00

Bal Pinolo
7-1-1 Higashiueno, Atre 1F
Taito, Tokyo
Hours: 11:00-23:30

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

hiiragi nanten

Hiiragi Nanten (Mahonia japonica) is a plant that we have in front of our apartment building.

The yellow flowers have a fragrance that kind of remind me of orange blossoms.

I read online that the plant has thorns and looking at the leaves, they look like holly which is "hiiragi" in Japanese.

The plant in front of our building is rather short, but online I have seen them quite tall.

Do you have something similar where you live?

nian gao

My IG friend, @yumyumtofu shared a nian gao (Chinese New Year Mochi) recipe that her mother had given to her (thank you!)...

I finally got to try it and while it was baking I realized I forgot to add the sugar...sigh.

After posting about it on IG and FB, some readers gave me suggestions (thank you!) and in the end I drizzled it with chocolate, because chocolate can save pretty much everything.

At least it was edible and I didn't have to throw it out.

I need to buy more mochiko, but still have some coconut milk and half of the evaporated milk...hope to get around to making some muffins or something with the milks in the coming days.