If I’m being totally honest, my favorite dining experiences over 7 trips to Japan have not revolved around sushi, ramen, or tonkatsu, but around wagyu beef. Yes, a sushi omakase can be absolutely sublime, but the environment is typically a lot more subdued to pay respect to your sushi master. A premium yakiniku experience with …
If you’ve been following me for a while, then you know my love for abura soba, a lesser-known brothless ramen that originated in Tokyo, Japan. While the translated name “oil noodles” isn’t the most appealing, these addictive spicy pork noodles finished with chili oil and an acidic punch of rice wine vinegar quickly became my most …
As the plate of oysters the size of my head hit the table, I knew this was not going to be like most other izakayas. Fukuro is the newest addition to Hong Kong’s popular Black Sheep Restaurants, which boasts hot spots like Ho Lee Fook and NYC import Carbone. Fukuro, which translates to “owl,” is …
Welcome to Part 3 of The Indulgent Travel Guide to Japan, which highlights my 2 week trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, & Osaka in October 2015. In this part, I’m focusing on tonkatsu, which is Japanese panko-breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It’s typically served with shredded cabbage and a thick, tangy tonkatsu sauce that’s similar to Worcestershire sauce. There …
This is part 2 in my Indulgent Travel Guide to Japan, which highlights my 2 week trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, & Osaka in October 2015. In part 1, I gave a recap of all the different kinds of ramen we ate during our travels. This time around, I’ll be focusing on Japan’s other noodles: udon and soba. …
It’s crazy to think it’s now been 9 years since our first trip to Japan, when I first wrote this guide. Back in 2015, we spent 2 weeks in exploring Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, with day trips to smaller cities along the way. And while we saw a ton of beautiful places and experienced many …
House cured salmon with camembert cream cheese. Squid ink oriechette. Uni and miso ravioli. Smoked mussel infused broth served in a French press. I repeat, a FRENCH PRESS full o’ broth. These are just some of the incredibly inventive preparations of ramen that diners get to enjoy during the omakase at the Yuji Ramen test …
