Food in Tokyo
Food in Tokyo is really something. I was there for full week and I haven’t tasted anything that is not delicious. This being primarily business trip, I was mostly going with the group of coworkers I was working with.
Before my trip here, I was told that everyone speaks perfect English. While “perfect” is definitely not true, I never had trouble ordering and there were no surprises as to what was in my food. There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options available. In most places I visited, kitchen is in plain view of the dining area, as opposed to European-style restaurants.
When I just landed, we went to the place that specializes in beef. We choose it based on proximity to the hotel - everyone was tired and I just arrived, so I was jet-lagged. However, it was such a good choice that we came back another time - on my last day.
Best dish I had there was grilled beef tongue - it’s piece of meat that just melts in your mouth, grilled with just a little bit of salt to intensify the base flavor of the meat. They do offer other cuts of beef and they prepare them in many different ways - from very bloody to over well done (and they are all delicious). Note you do not choose dish and how well it’s done separately. Instead, every dish is prepared per chef’s choice. This is easily the best grilled meat I ever had.
Our second stop was skewers place called Jomon. It’s very tailored to westerners - all menus and all signs are in English and staff speaks better English than I do. However, they try to keep traditional Japanese vibe by having all interior design be Japanese-looking (to a westerner). To be reminded that we are in Japan, we had to take off our shoes when entering (as did all guests). Most of guests in the establishment were western-looking, which also contributed to the impression that this is touristy-westerners place. Food was delicious, but previous place has set standards really high so I do not recall anything standing out. One interesting thing that was unique to this place during this stay is that they do traditional pour of sake - not only they fill your glass to the rim, they pour over the top and you’re expected to drink not only what’s in the glass but also what’s in the spill-over part. It was great that place is close to the hotel so that it’s easy to find your way back to the room even if you are drunk.
You might not realize that “Kill Bill”, movie that is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, was partially filmed in Tokyo. Sadly, it does not go by name “House of Blue Leaves” and it’s simply called Gonpachi instead. Fortunately, there is much less blood and showdowns than in average Tarantino movie. Dishes were very good, but I was really overwhelmed by atmosphere to care enough about them. What stands out in my memory is pork belly and the fact that I ate whole shrimp without deep frying it (I’ve only had deep fried heads before). Deserts were pretty good as well, although main courses were much better. Again, we were there for the atmosphere, not the food, so if you are Tarantino fan this place is must-go. You’ll have to have reservation and make sure to be punctual, as you loose it if you do not show up in time. It’s fortunate that there is sake bar just across the street so we arrived early and then had drinks before the dinner to make sure we were there on time.
Apart from traditional-ish Japanese cuisine I also got a chance to eat at American fast-food place and German-style sausage & beer place. Both were very good. German place was what you can get pretty much anywhere - wast selection of beer and gourmet sausages. On the other hand, MOS Burger, major fast-food chain in Japan, exceeded expectations. As opposed to American counterpart they do not focus on sodas for drinks - you can get ice coffee or cappuccino as part of your meal (you can anywhere, but you’d have to go out of your way for it). They put some sauce on house-specialty cheeseburger that I ordered - I have no idea what it was but it made it much more delicious, providing a bit of sourness to the meal. Finally, fries are super good as well. They are not as crispy and thin as in most places, and they go easy on salt.
Last but not least, we went to place that specializes in chicken. They do offer to prepare for you almost any piece of chicken, including cartilage. You can literally order by the skewer, with 7-10 skewers being a decent single-person meal so you have a chance to try many different options available. They also have a great selection of mushrooms and veggies on a skewer and I do recommend mushrooms, especially shiitake. Another dish that blew me away is duck in leek - it’s perfect combination of meat and spices.
In conclusion, Tokyo offers a lot of different options and all food is pretty good - even the fast food. You can hardly go wrong in Tokyo when choosing the place to eat.
