Tsukiji Fish Market: Kitsuneya x Tamago-yaki x Matcha Stand Maruni x Sushidokoro Tsukijiya x Itadori
I abhor big crowds, nor do I find any joy in traversing through busy and packed food markets. Technically speaking, the definitive characteristics of the Tsukiji Fish Market should already turn me off but somehow, my love for sashimi (specifically, salmon) seem to have overridden these conditions that I ended up tolerating them!
It was a chilly December morning, which made for a pleasant weather to stroll along to. Unfortunately, I was definitely not ready with how packed the entire area was! There were times where we had no choice but to simply follow the direction of the crowd to avoid getting stuck.
Despite the crowd size though, I found myself happily distracted at the fresh seafood on display. Unfortunately, we had a long day ahead of us so it won’t make sense for us to lug raw seafood back to our hotels (no matter how tempting it was at times).
KITSUNEYA
We decided to first tackle a food stall which was highly recommended by my sister’s friend, Kitsuneya. As all our stomachs were empty, we wanted to start with something hot first; so Kitsuneya’s famed Gyudon bowls made perfect sense. The kiosk only houses a handful of prized seats which affords one a VIP view into their open kitchen as you slurp through their hot gyudon; while the rest of the diners are relegated to the standing-room only dining area.
GYUDON (¥750)
Despite its grab-and-go concept, bowls are served in proper tableware and come with a cup of hot tea. The bowls of tender sukiyaki-cut beef strips smelled absolutely heavenly and were armed with caramelized leeks and onions. Unfortunately, its taste was definitely underwhelming especially when compared to the Gyudons served in Manila (my favorite here would have to be Ajisen’s). It may appeal to purists, but for me, a bit more sauce and seasoning would have definitely made it better. Honestly, this wasn’t worth the trip, with-or-without the queue.
Admittedly, we also had to shamefully violate their no-sharing policy. We actually were fortunate that the prized seats were vacated by the time we reached the front of the line; but it was simply impossible to do our rebellious act right in front of their kitchen so we proceeded to the standing-room only area. I honestly felt guilty with what we did; but the four of us wouldn’t have been able to finish a bowl each (we decided to split two bowls among ourselves); and have room to spare for sashimi! My deepest apologies to the management but hopefully they would at least come out with half serving sizes of their bowls!
Kitsuneya
4-9-12, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date of Visit: December 28, 2019 with Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
TAMAGO-YAKI
As we found ourselves just moving along the general flow of the foot traffic in Tsukiji Market, we were eventually led to the highly popular Tamago-yaki stall. Its bright yellow corner stall and its snaking long queue are definitely hard to miss. Fortunately, as it only offers its hundred-yen tamago sticks, it assures a steady flow of quick ordering and fulfillment. The only decision a customer would need to make is how many sticks do they want to consume in a sitting; and that’s that.
Its open kitchen affords one an unobstructed view of master sushi chefs expertly churning out their beautifully golden, fluffy tamago sticks.
TAMAGO-YAKI (¥100)
Easily the best tamago I’ve ever tasted; a serving is pretty filling despite its light and fluffy texture. One bite in, and your standards for Tamago are guaranteed to massively shoot-up. A definite must-try! We actually tried visiting the store again the morning after; only to find it all sold-out so it’s best to plot an early Tsukiji visit with it being one of the first things on your itinerary!
Tamago-yaki
4-10-10, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date of Visit: December 28, 2019 with Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
MATCHA STAND MARUNI
One store that stood out in the frenzied row of raw seafood vendors and sushi restaurants would be Matcha Stand Maruni. Right outside the store, a friendly staff was offering small tasting cups of Hot Matcha as a way to draw visitors inside their store. If it weren’t for the friendly staff outside, I would have mistaken it for a souvenir shop; as its polished minimalist interiors highlighted rows of their teapots and tea sets instead of the actual teas that they're selling.
Tempting as it was to buy their fares, I set my sights on getting my Matcha fill. Iced, latte and sweetened versions were available but I wanted to try it out in its pure form so I opted for its Hot Matcha. It’s pretty mesmerizing watching them prepare my drink as they make it a point to showcase the aesthetically gorgeous tea-making equipment that they’re selling (they really make it hard for you to resist the urge of buying from them).
The result: unsweetened matcha in the full glory of its raw bitter goodness. Don’t worry as they give you a sweet red-bean cookie to chase it with!
Matcha Stand Maruni
4-14-18, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date of Visit: December 28, 2019 with Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
SUSHIDOKORO TSUKIJIYA
Now, it was time to get our fill of what Tsukiji Market is all about: quality sashimi. We didn’t really had a particular place in mind; all we wanted was a place which had a short waiting queue and had enough space for the four of us.
UNAGI (¥1700)
What eventually drew us to decide on Sushidokoro Tsukijiya was that its elderly friendly owner was the one who was patiently (and charmingly) inviting diners over to his place. It was absolutely hard to resist him as he really made an effort to converse with us in English once he saw that we were tourists. Fortunately, we were first on the waiting list so we were seated inside after a short while.
SALMON SASHIMI (¥1400), TUNA SASHIMI (¥2200) and SEA URCHIN (¥2600)
We were still quite full from Kitsuneya; so fortunately, the restaurant offered a la carte sashimi plates that we can share. Naturally, we ordered plates of their salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi and sea urchin (we’re not really so adventurous when it comes to sashimi). The salmon sashimi came in the prettiest hue of orange and was unbelievably fresh. One bite of it and I was immediately transported to heaven. It was easily the best bite of salmon I’ve ever had! Sure, we were also treated to a platter of premium tuna cuts (my first time to try the incredibly indulgent toro); but I’ve always been more partial towards salmon, so I got more excited about that.
OYSTER (¥600/pc)
The uni (sea urchin) definitely looked unfamiliar. I’m used to the yellow-hued uni regularly served here that I couldn’t help but be intimidated by its strong red-orange color. It was unbelievably clean-tasting as well; that I manage to convince my non-raw eating mother to give uni sashimi a go! Simply dressed in a light wine vinegar with a dash of salt, the freshness of the oyster can be instantly observed. An insanely gigantic piece only comes at a price tag of ¥600/pc! We also ordered a plate of Unagi for my non-sashimi eating mother. As I didn’t have the heart to steal a bite from her (as the rest of the items we ordered were raw), I couldn't really give feedback about it apart from that she was quite happy with it!
Sushidokoro Tsukijiya
4-14-19, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date of Visit: December 28, 2019 with Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
ITADORI MARKET
I absolutely enjoyed my first visit to Tsukiji Market that I was just raring for more. I couldn’t wait to come back to Tsukiji Market during my next visit to Tokyo; so, I quickly rearranged the rest of our itinerary to squeeze in a second visit to Tsukiji Market.
We were more strategic now than our first visit. Objective: get a hearty bowl of sushi donburi for each of us. Somehow, we ended up in Itadori Market. Compared to Sushidokoro Tsukijiya, which felt like a warm family-run sushi restaurant; Itadori Market gave off a more professional chain-restaurant vibe.
SALMON OYAKO-DON (¥1680)
One glance at the menu was all I needed to figure out what I wanted. The Salmon Oyako-don offered everything that I was looking for: fresh salmon sashimi, salmon roe, vinegared rice.
It was literally the prettiest donburi I’ve ever laid my eyes on that I had to actually pause to fully appreciate it. Cheesy as it sounds, I found myself closing my eyes to savor that first delicious bite. Personally, the salmon from Sushidokoro Tsukijiya was better; but I wouldn’t mind flying to Japan just to have another bowl from Itadori Market. This is definitely what deserves to be called a happy meal!
Itadori Market
4 Chome−13−17, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date of Visit: December 30, 2019 with Wilson Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
