Satou Revisited

A few years back, I was the meat eater of the family.  My ultimate favorite meal was a steak dinner....and if it was Kobe beef, even better.  So my first trip to Tokyo more than five years ago, the first thing I researched was where to find a good steak and came across this blog that mentioned Satou, which serves Matsuzaka steak; a region in Japan like Kobe.  And the bonus, it's not crazy expensive in Satou!!! 

On our first trip, the blog didn't have the directions on how to get to the restaurant. It just mentioned Kichijoji.  So we took the train for half an hour and got off not knowing where to go next.  We asked the information counter at the station and she seemed to know the restaurant and told us to head toward Exit A so we did.  And after that we were lost.  We wandered around and asked more people yet, they had no clue.  Just when we were about to give up, we saw an entrance that looked like the picture! We were so ecstatic, it was meant to be! It was one of the best steak meals of our lives.  There's nothing to do in Kichijoji, but we went there twice in five days!

This trip, I went back, exit A is now central exit.  No longer such a meat person, I was wondering if I'd still enjoy it.  And surprisingly, I did!  It was perfectly cooked, tender, juicy, flavorful, and seasoned.  Eaten with the sauce and the rice....worth the re-visit??? YUP!

salad and steak sauce

my fillet set

the sirloin set

I love going to Japan for food trips, everything is good; from the rice ball in the convenient stores to the high-end kaiseki restaurants.  It feels like the ingredients and the animals are respected and cared about, but also that the people care about themselves.  It's not just about eating to prevent or remove the feeling of hunger, but also being conscious about it.  I think we should all be a little more conscious about it too; take the time to enjoy what we eat, choose to eat a little better, respect where it came from, and be thankful.

Tokyo Deliciousness

Earlier in the year, I was thinking of a place to travel to and decided on Tokyo because the airfare was cheap, just over $300 usd from Manila.  I also found a hotel in Shinjuku with a decent price as long as it's a minimum three night stay.  This year, airfare to Hong Kong is so outrageous, Tokyo just made sense.

I like Tokyo because it feels familiar, the crazy subway makes sense to me, the people are polite, and the food is the best!  I have been to Tokyo a few times the past few years, but the last time it's been a personal trip was more than five years ago so I was very excited for this one because I get to be the tour guide so I get to make the itinerary; where to stay, where to go, and most importantly where to EAT!

In terms of planning the itinerary, I wanted this trip to be more laid back compared to the extremely rigid one I made a few years back that was very thorough, productive, and tiring.  Also, I wanted to veer away from kaiseki meals on this trip (with the exception of Ryugin) and just enjoy the rest of Japanese humble specialties.  So, I had many options and we'd pick one depending what we were in the mood for.

Here are the highlights:
1.  Tempura on our first night in Tempura Tsunahachi: lightly battered with salts.  Though it doesn't match up to the Wakatake experience, it's still very decent tempura.

salts and sauce components

stuffed eggplant tempura

huge scallop

shrimp and fish

rice and soup

mixed seafood.

2.  Handmade soba for lunch at Matsugen.  We didn't get to see them make the soba, but you can tell it's not the packaged type.  I couldn't decide, there were so much items on the menu and ended up ordering their specialty, but next time I will go for the plain one and just enjoy the soba with the dipping sauce.

the matsugen specialty

After the soba, you can pour some of the hot soba water into the sauce and drink it....it was nice!

3.  For dessert we went to Aoki.  This is one of the top highlights of the trip!!!! There were so many to choose from, all of it was tempting me.  It was the end of strawberry season and I love Japanese strawberries so that's how we picked our desserts.  They were all heavenly, sinful, and divine.

4.  Tonkatsu in Maisen, a reward from a crazy Sunday morning in Harajuku.  Everyone seems to know Maisen and at 3pm we still had to wait half an hour for a table.  And it's definitely worth the wait and the cheat.  They have Kurobuta pork, which is very tasty, juicy, and tender.

close up

the special sauce, they don't even sell it

5.  Baskin Robbins: Jamoca Flavor.  My favorite ice cream of all time!!!!

Only thing I didn't get to on the list was Ramen, though we have decent ramen here in Ukkokei, so I didn't mind so much.  One last post to come on Tokyo....

Dinner @ Ryugin: Transported to a Whole Other World

I’m spending the weekend in Tokyo and only had one reservation in my itinerary and it was tonight at Ryugin.  I don’t usually write an entry after a meal, but this one just blew me away that I just couldn’t wait.

to the dining room

For the past couple years, I feel like I have lost the appreciation of fine dining and repeatedly been underwhelmed that I second guess whether I should even attempt anymore when I travel.  I have read plenty about tonight’s restaurant and know people who personally recommend this place.  I was excited, yet a part of me had doubts that it will live up to all that it’s hyped up to be.

The verdict: tonight’s meal was truly indescribably incredible.  I have not had an experience like tonight since Toque; my senses have just been blown away!

 

The menu is intelligently composed.  It had plenty of food but it progressed in away there was no heaviness to it.  Even if you felt slightly full, the food is just irresistible. 

Tonight’s food spells out perfection; so amazingly complex yet deceivingly simple.  There was nothing I disliked, each ingredient had a purpose and it completed the dish.  Each ingredient felt like a piece of instrument in a whole orchestra that played its part to the perfect pitch and tone.  The Chef uses local ingredients that are in season and you can tell.  There was no fishiness in the seafood and all the vegetables were beautiful.

horse clam and ice fish

the abalone dish

Abalone cooked for ten hours was indeed tender.  The abalone broth was so light and fresh I wish there was more.  The vegetables were equally amazing.

light and fresh

sashimi plate

This was one of my favorites.  The peas, the grilled squid, and egg custard....sigh!

one of my faves

grilled sea perch with roasted rice

There was nothing lost in translation tonight.  We received an English menu and whatever was lacking in the written description was made up by our French server whole explained each dish; the ingredients, how it was cooked and how it’s meant to be eaten. 

the beef dish.....wow!

break the poached / fried egg......oh the runny yolk!

rice simmered in cherry blossom tea and Sakura shrimp.  pickled veg at the back

Dessert: LOVED it!  Candied strawberry......then you break it with the spoon....

 ...comes the powdered strawberry frozen by nitrogen.

 Served with strawberry jam.  I'm so glad strawberry season hasn't ended yet.

the famous custard

custard is steamed not baked

delicious with the caramel

matcha

At the end of the night, the server asked which our favorite dish was.  It was impossible to choose.  Although, I have eaten Asian food my whole life and I eat so much Japanese food back home, I don’t have much depth of knowledge in the area of Asian cooking techniques and Japanese local ingredients, but I completely appreciate what was served in tonight’s meal.

In fact, I appreciate it so much more. There are so many things on the menu that I normally cringe eating, like fish and whole shrimps, but tonight I was totally taken aback and saw them in a completely new light.   Although dinner ran from 9:30 pm till past midnight plus other elements that could have made the night a disaster, it was the complete opposite.  The night went beyond hopes and expectations; I was in a different world.

I feel extremely grateful and lucky to have been able to have and experience it.  It’s truly a meal of a lifetime, one I will not forget.  If ever, the only missing part in tonight’s meal was my eating buddy…chef munchkin.

Private Dinner Round 2: Hylton Le Roux

Second round of our private dinner, we decided to go with South American born and trained in England, Chef Hylton Le Roux.

It was pleasant to work with him...extremely easy to coordinate with.  On the day of the event he arrived with his team at 5:30 pm.  He was in charge of the kitchen as his wife, Rachel is in charge of the decor.  A great team, very efficient and smooth. They know what their doing.

the dining table

yum yum!

the foie

truffles...camembert...artichoke....how can you not enjoy this dish?

duck

my favorite: the smoked potato puree!!!

dessert!

The food was delicious and the pacing was nice.  We never had to wait too long in between dishes.  Round 3: Namee Jorolan!