Dining Snippets in Tokyo: Sumida x Minato x Narita
SUMIDA
We may have stayed in Sumida, dubbed as ‘Sumo City’ during our entire trip to Japan last December; yet, the closest exposure we had to the sport was to dine inside a restaurant which housed a sumo ring. Close enough, I guess?
RYOGOKU HAPPYAKUYACHO HANANOMAI EDO TOKYO MUSUEM-MAE
Just across our hotel was Ryogoku Happyakuyacho Hananomai Edo Tokyo Musuem-Mae It was one of the few restaurants open for late dinners in our area; which was why we ended up having our dinner there. To our surprise, the dinner crowd was still bustling inside, in stark contrast to the silence of the city right outside it.
TAKOYAKI (¥500/8 pieces)
In line with its sumo-theme, its menu features massive group sets for grilled meats and shabu-shabu. Unfortunately, my entire family didn’t really have much of an appetite as we were dead tired from a day spent at Mt. Fuji. We opted to simply get a variety of small plates and just share it among ourselves.
FRIED OYSTER (¥150/pc)
Our long list of appetizers started off with a family-favorite Japanese side dish, Tsukemono, or pickled vegetable and a steaming hot plate of Takoyaki. The Takoyaki balls were massive; although not as stuffed as the ones served by my personal favorite, Kraken Takoyaki (located in Promenade, Greenhills). It promises immense value-for-money though as eight pieces come at an affordable price of ¥500.
YAKITORI PLATTER (¥790/5 pc set)
The Fried Oysters are a must-try; as each chunky piece comes clothed in a beautiful golden deep-fried thin batter, which paired amazingly with its zesty tartar sauce. Its Chicken Karaage (¥99/pc) featured humongous cuts of perfectly battered juicy fried chicken. It’s definitely a much welcome departure from the bite-size portions that are commonly served in ramen joints in Manila!
MISO GLAZED COD (¥590)
We didn’t really think through the Yakitori Platter we ordered; as we forgot that it also came with less conventional chicken parts such as gizzard and liver; which unfortunately, none of us really could appreciate. Both shio and miso flavors are made available to diners (we opted for the shio). Of course, I volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb to finish the leftovers!
One thing I love about their grilled dishes would be that they come with a natural smokiness; which can be distinctly observed from their chicken yakitori to their gindara. We were blown away at how affordable the Miso Glazed Cod (roughly P300), as it usually comes priced at P800 to 1000 at Manila!
GRILED EXTRA LARGE ATKA MACKEREL (¥890) and FRIED RICE WITH SALMON AND SALMON ROE (¥590)
To be honest, all of the food we’ve tried from Ryogoku Happyakuyacho Hananomai Edo Tokyo Musuem-Mae came with a quality that’s already pretty standard to casual Japanese restaurants in Manila, so don't expect to have unique gastronomical experiences here. I think what made the experience memorable for me was that the prices of the dishes were crazy reasonable (cheap even!) once we started converting to Philippine Pesos!
TEMPURA SOBA SET (¥790)
We were actually looking to pair our Gindara with a single serving of Mackerel; but seeing how a whole mackerel was priced only at (¥890) , ordering an entire fish for that price was simply a deal too good to resist.
I’ve always loved the Salmon and Salmon Roe Rice of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, so naturally we ordered a similar dish upon seeing it on the menu. It was tasty and came at a large for-sharing size; but the salmon bits were unfortunately next to invisible.
They also had numerous add-on options for their Soba Sets; but we were happy with splitting a couple orders of their regular Tempura Soba Sets among the four of . Apart from the usual cold soba toppings, each set also comes with a complimentary cold tofu appetizer.
Ryogoku Happyakuyacho Hananomai Edo Tokyo Museum-mae
1-1-15 Kamezawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Date of Visit: December 29, 2019 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
MINATO
When doing city tours, I’m not really fond of going to observatory towers. Tickets are often-priced, the deck is jam-packed, and the view is underwhelming. However, as Tokyo is home to two observatory towers: the Tokyo Tower and the newer Tokyo Skytree; I decided to do a quick search to see what merits a visit more.
Fortunately, in my Google Search, I came across the Seaside Observatory; which afforded views of both the Tokyo Tower and the Tokyo Skytree! It may have a lower altitude than most towers, but its admission ticket is beyond reasonable! The best part about it is its gorgeous 360 degree view of the city. Since it’s not as high, you can actually appreciate the details of the landscape without need of special equipment. Easily, it’s the best observatory tower visit I’ve ever had! (Feel free to see more photos in my Tripadvisor page - milcah889)!
CHAPEAU ROUGE
KARAAGE (¥364)
The Seaside Observatory can be easily located atop the World Trade Center, right outside the Hamamatsucho station so we figured that we could grab dinner in the building's food court. There were a lot of restaurant options at the lower levels; unfortunately, most were closing up shop already! Fortunately, we saw that Chapeau Rouge was still open, and hurried inside.
JAPANESE STYLE PASTA WITH FRIED EGGPLANT AND BACON (¥810)
The rest of my family were still pretty full from all the mini meals we kept having throughout that day so most of them opted to just have appetizers such as their crunchy Karaage and dessert. Of course, I wasn’t going to ‘waste’ a meal in Japan so I opted to have a Japanese Style Pasta for myself. Tossed in an extremely light miso broth, a massive serving of al dente noodles was served with hefty chunks of mushroom, smoked bacon, and eggplant. The ratio of meat to noodles was definitely on the scarce side so the noodles would definitely need a brush of seasoning every now and then.
Gourmet Chapeau Rouge
Hamamatsucho Trade Center Building: 2-4-1, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo City
Date of Visit: December 28, 2019 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
NARITA
BLUE SKY MISO KITCHEN
As we waited for our evening flight home to Manila, we decided to grab some dinner at Blue Sky Miso Kitchen at the airport. It was listed as one of the few choices for full hot meals in the departure area of Terminal 2; as most of the dining options were located at the pre-departure area.
FRIED CAMEMBERT (¥580) AND OKONOMIYAKI SKEWERS (¥450)
We were seated at the communal dining area usually meant for solo travellers as one is seated in front a table (in a bar-like manner) and afforded a beautiful view of the airport runway. Eating this way though, made it difficult for sharing so we decided to simply order personal meals. However, I couldn’t resist ordering a couple of side dishes, which I simply slid across for the rest of my family to try.
The Fried Camembert pieces were a delight to eat as each light and crisp triangular puff gave way to an immensely gooey generous block of Camembert. The Okonomiyaki Skewers were also interesting as it transforms a Japanese street food classic into a portable finger food. Nothing outstanding about it this, save for the ingenuity behind it. Perhaps I’d have better appreciation for it if I opted for it for a grab-and-go type of dining.
MISO TONKATSU BOWL AND SMALL UDON NOODLE SET (¥1480)
Opting for the Miso Tonkatsu was a no-brainer as I haven’t had my fill of tonkatsu throughout my entire stay in Japan; and I was so happy that I did! The tonkatsu may have come in thick large slices; but each were coated with light Panko breadcrumbs, came with tender and juicy meat, and boasted of a perfectly lean fat to meat ratio. A to-die for thicker-than-usual miso paste was layered on top of the tonkatsu. It looked skimp, but every bit of that paste definitely went a long way! It was beyond spectacular. I often don’t like pairing carbs with carbs; but their udon bowl definitely hits the spot. It’s simply a bowl of udon in a familiar broth of dashi, soy sauce and mirin; but its subtle sweetness definitely pairs well with the tonkatsu. A hot bowl of miso soup and pickled sides help complete this amazing personal set! For non-tonkatsu fans, fret not as its menu is pretty extensive! There's definitely something for everyone!
Blue Sky Miso Kitchen
Terminal 2, 3F, 91 – Departure Area, Narita International Airport, 1-1 Furugome, Narita,
Date of Visit: December 31, 2019 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
