Lost In Translation

Ryukyu Chinese Tama

Last year Ryukyu Chinese Tama was added to the Michelin Gourmand Bib section of the yearly guide. I have long wanted to check this place out and it is modern fusion Okinawan cuisine served in a casual atmosphere. The walls are lined with bottles of wine with the prices written on them. The first dish up was coriander salad.

Followed by oysters from Mie prefecture.

One of their signature dishes is tacos rice made with Okazaki beef and genmai (brown rice).

Somen with tuna.

We ended with mabo dofu, a Chinese dish, that had a distinctive taste but was not as fiery as I am used to.

Asagaya Tanabata 2019

It is time for the annual Asagaya Tanabata Festival. Tanabata is a festival that celebrates the yearly meeting of two stars known in folk tales as Orihime and Hikoboshi. Shops on Pearl Street covered shopping street make paper mache figures and hang then from the roof and food, drink, and game stalls are set up on the sides for festival goers.

One of my favorites.

The winner I suspect.

Gentle Italian Restaurant & Sushi Bar

I won a seat at an opening party for Gentle a new Italian Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Omotesando courtesy of the Tokyo Weekender magazine. Super food salad with quinoa and organic vegetables, venison carpaccio, and the tin contains marinated organic chicken liver and gizzard

Quinoa risotto and spaghetti vongole with shell fish.

Lotus roots and vegan hamburger steak and sauteed dry-aged boar meat.

Otoro, kichiji, and anago nigiri

Salt grilled barracuda with ground water pepper sauce.

Grilled rockfish rice bowl with black truffle

Crab sesame tofu served in bonito stock-perhaps my favorite dish of the night.

iramisu, coconut truffle, yuzu chocolate cake, and frozen blueberry cheese cake.

Kabuna

I met some friends for dinner in Kichijoji the other day and they recommended a nice izakaya style restaurant called Kabuna, which is the name of a Japanese radish-hence the decor.

Roast beef

mixed plate of sashimi

Hotaru

After dinner the other night we stopped by Hotaru, Tokyo first sake brew pub. Doburoku sake pictured above is included in the 90 minute all you can drink special that runs Saturdays from 6-8, I may have to try ti some time.

The Blind Donkey

The Blind Donkey restaurant is a collaboration between Jérôme Waag and Shin Harakawa (formerly of Beard) who have been and continue to travel throughout Japan to meet food producers dedicated to natural, humane and sustainable farming practices. The restaurant is dedicated to their work. Fresh and well prepared ingredients make for a fine meal here.

Fukudome Small Farm salami and Fresh Ricotta with roasted plums

Mozzarella and tomatoes with zucchini flower

Komatsuna with garlic and pepper oil

Grilled Fukudome pork chop with fennel flower

Grilled onions and zucchini with tomato sauce and mint

Hayashi Fumiko Memorial Hall

I recently learned that Japanese novelist Fumiko Hayashi has a Memorial Hall nearby in Nakai station in Shinjuku ward. Hayashi is an author I haven't read yet. However, I am familiar with her because several of her books and stories have been adapted by Miko Naruse, one of the greatest Japanese directors, including: 1936: Inazuma (Lightning), 1948: "Bangiku" ("Late Chrysanthemum") one of the sources for the film of the same name, 1950: Chairo no me – novel; source for Naruse's 1953 film Wife (Tsuma), 1951: Ukigumo (Floating Clouds) – novel; source for Naruse's 1955 film, and 1951: Meshi (Repast) – novel; source for Naruse's 1951 film. Floating Clouds in particular is probably the novel I will read when I get around to it since it is my favorite Naruse film and I wrote an academic paper about it several years ago.

Natsume Soeseki Memorial Museum

This way to the Natsume Soeseki Memorial Museum (opened in 2017) in Waseda. I was unaware of this museum until I saw that an acquaintance was giving a lecture here in Japanese. Since I have just finished reading most of Soseki's novels and a biography I felt it was the right time to visit.

Plat Stand Moto

Plat Stand Moto in Kichijoji, is the latest from the nihonshu specialist with shops in Ebisu and Shinjuku. Here's their signature potato salad.

A small serving of their curry rice.

On of the several nihonshu samples I had(there are two size portions), I went with the small servings in order tot try a variety of sakes.

The SG Club

The SG Club recently came onto my radar via being listed as the 13th best bar of the Top 50 Bars in Asia 2019 and via a Japan Times write up by Robbie Swinnerton. The site has three different bars-one on the main level, basement  and second floor. We ended up checking all three out since we got there early on a Sunday. My first drink was a Figroni: Bombay Sapphrie, sweet vermouth, Campari, fig vinegar, and fig leaf. So overall, it has inventive cocktails in a sophisticated space and that's not too hard on the pocketbook.