5th – 15th December 2017
So one day, it was decided that we would book tickets to Japan purely for food adventures. This post is the result of 5-6 meals a day at either Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Nara. Only includes the foods I rate highly!
Warning! The following content will make you super hungry.
1. A5 Kobe Beef Teppanyaki at Kobe Beef Steak Ishida Sannomiya
I cannot rate kobe beef high enough, its like butter as it melts in your mouth. Literal heaven in your mouth!
We originally went to their Kitanozaka restaurant however, they were fully booked. The staff instead walked us over to their sister store at Sannomiya, that’s an A+ for service! This restaurant is known to be pricey however, the steak and accompanied dishes are exquisite with superb service making it worth the price. We ordered the special Kobe Beef Sirloin and Tenderloin dinner course, which included an appetizer, salad, soup, steak, vegetables, rice, dessert and drink. We swapped the steamed rice for fried rice because it tastes amazing when made on a teppan (iron plate).
2. Yakiniku at Jiroumaru
Jiroumaru is a standing only yakiniku place but don’t let that deter you! Out of the yakiniku places I did eat at on this trip, Jiroumaru was by far the best in terms of quality and taste. Note: I mainly ordered kobe/wagyu A5-A4 beef so I can’t comment on other meat. The service is fantastic here as staff were super friendly and helpful. They recommended us some great beef cuts as I could not understand Japanese beef terms other than サーロイン. We loved this place so much that we came back twice during this trip.
Other yakiniku places we went to:
- Toraji – overpriced compared to Jiroumaru with lower quality of meat (still delicious though). But you get seats and more space.
- I’m unsure of the restaurant’s name but it is situated in Shin-Osaka Station. Not exactly the typical grill yourself yakiniku as it is cooked for you and placed in a sizzling clay pot (maybe it’s not even yakiniku and we mistranslated) but it tasted amazing otherwise! Pictured is Kalbi and beef tongue set.
3. Tonkatsu
- Butagumi – I was very excited to try this place out after watching Mark Wien’s video. However, we got unlucky on the day we came to dine as many of the available pork of the day were sold out. I can’t remember exactly what we ordered, but we made a mistake ordering the fattier porks that was available, as after a few bites (the first bite was amazing), it just got way too intense. The clam miso soup was quite strong which is not to my upmost liking. The potato croquet was delicious and the tonkatsu was super crunchy though!
- Tonkatsu Inaba Wako Narita Airport – the tonkatsu here was crunchy and delicious. We made sure to order the leaner pork to compensate for our unlucky experience at Butagumi. It was a nice end to our trip.
4. Ramen
Our goal was to find ramen stores in Japan that was more delicious and flavoursome, with egg included, than Hakataya Ramen in Brisbane (our favourite ramen store).
Here comes an unpopular opinion! Ichiran Ramen, the ramen store everyone and everywhere recommended to go was actually disappointing for me. It wasn’t amazing, perhaps my expectation was too high? The soup was okay and the pork was not “melt in your mouth” but thin and stale. However, I loved the egg and the personalisation of your own ramen bowl. The antisocial aspect is interesting as well.
The ramen that I did enjoy were the ones that aren’t so internet popular. The Kinryu Ramen in Dotonburi, another overly popular ramen store, was another heartbreaking ramen experience. We even lined up for 45 minutes to try it. But the soup was super plain and boring, and the pork was tough and dry so the whole dish was pure disappointment.
So from that, we searched in alleyways and away from the busy touristy areas and looked for ramen stores where many of the locals ate. And to be honest, this is such a great idea and should be applied more often when searching for delicious food.
5. Sushi
Of course you have to eat sushi and/or sashimi while you are visiting Japan. I prefer sushi because the rice dampens the intense raw fish taste to allow me to enjoy more. Otoro/Fatty tuna is a must! I recommend chu-toro, which is medium fatty tuna, over otoro as it can be quite overwhelming after a few.
6. Grilled fish
7. Soup – my top two are clam miso soup (below) and wakame (seaweed) soup (goes well with yakiniku)
8. Taiyaki
9. Yakitori
It’s the perfect dish to have late at night with beer.
10. Creamy Icecream
11. Strawberry Daifuku
12. Harajuku Crepe
13. Gyudon at Yoshinoya
Yoshinoya is a Japanese fast food chain with tasty, cheap and fast meals. I highly recommend the gyudon set with tonjiru (pork soup)!
14. Bebi Kasutera
These are baby castella (sponge) cakes and I wish I got another three bags.
15. Cheese tarts
16. Souvenir food
I’ve only had the chance to try the Tokyo Banana and Peach Mochi and I love them both! I can’t wait to try the other ones I bought. They can be found at the Airport.
That’s the list for now until the next food adventure in Japan. So tell me, what are your favourite Japanese food? Comment below!
HAPPYHAHA 