After getting back to the hotel from Tsukiji, I met up with Steven, who had finished his work for the week, and we headed to lunch in the fashionable area of Aoyama. Here is a pic of me in front of the Prada building, a pretty cool architectural feat.
Steven and I decided to have とんかつ (tonkatsu) for lunch, which is pork that has been lightly breaded and fried. We checked out Maisen, one of the more popular spots in Tokyo. I opted for the 黒豚ロス (kurobuta rosu) which is a black-foot premium pork, sirloin cutlet.
As shown above, it I served with as much cabbage as you can eat, rice, おしんこ (oshinko) or Japanese pickles and 豚汁 (tonjiru), a miso soup with daikon, carrots and bits of pork.
It is also served with a tonkatsu sauce, and I was given a special one made with apples, to compliment the kurobuta pork. Somehow, with the crunchy fatty pork, crisp and fresh cabbage with a squeeze of lemon, and rich miso-based broth and sour pickles, everything blends together really well in a tonkatsu symphony of taste and texture. This is usually the case in Japanese cuisine - every ingredient and accompaniment has a place and serves a purpose, not only in presentation and taste, but also for overall balance.
After lunch, we walked around the Omotesando district, a fashionable neighborhood bordering Aoyama. The Lexus IS300 Hybrid was on display, and Steven can be seen admiring from the passenger's side (reversed in Japan). Anyway, a really cool automobile.
We walked around a bit more, checked out some cool cafés, including this one which had a nice indoor/outdoor vibe, and I enjoyed a nice refreshing iced tea with yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit).
We strolled around the area a bit more, until about 5:00 pm, then took the train over to an area called Kachidoki to check out a bar Steven had read about.
Steven is shown entering かねます, a small standing bar that is a local favorite, but also known to international chefs like the one from elBulli in Spain. Shown below are the few dishes we tried as appetizers, as we were to have sushi for dinner a few hours later. First was the uni, or sea urchin, wrapped in Japanese beef; quite decadent. And the foie gras and matsutake mushroom dish was also really nice. We met a Japanese couple (actually, more appeared to be a man and his mistress), who were interested and curious why two gaijin (foreigners) were in this somewhat out of the way locals spot and speaking Japanese. They were kind enough to give us a taste of the grilled ふぐ (fugu) pufferfish that they ordered. Really tasty, and shown below while still on the open flame charcoal grill.
Following our "snack" at Kanemasu, we headed over to Ginza to walk around a bit before dinner. I had also wanted to check out a tea tasting that the guy had told me about earlier when I bought my tea in Tsukiji. It was the 11th anniversary of the うおがし (Uogashi) tea company, and to celebrate, they were holding a tasting where for 700円, or around $7, you could taste a bunch of their best teas, paired with little snacks. I was not hungry at all at this point, but really wanted to try the tea.
We tried everything from the 抹茶 (matcha), which is ground and steamed high-quality tea traditionally used for ceremonies but now more commonly served, to the 玉露 (gyo kuro), the finest and most prized of all Japanese teas, shade grown and very delicate, it imparts an intense, deep flavor of rich and full umami, almost tasting of the ocean. Steven was set back on his heels when experiencing the intensity of this tea, as was I. The gyokuro we tried sells for about $100 for 25 grams.
Each tea was served in a different type of cup, including this antique bone china one below which was super thin and really cool. Evidently, they were from the personal collection of the owner and not for sale.
Okay ragazzi, there is more to come, including our Ginza sushi adventure, bit now I need to shower and get ready for a big day ahead...a presto!!
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