Restaurant: Kokoromai (心米) 
Address: 〒108-0072 東京都港区白金 6-18-7 2F
Area: Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Shirokanedai (白金台), Hiroo (広尾), Ebisu (恵比寿)
The five of us had dinner at Kokoromai, a Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded restaurant. The main entrance is unnoticeable from outside and easy to miss, as it is on the side of a building, at the top of a narrow stairway. Continue reading
Bakery: Ginnoan (銀のあん)
Address: 〒160-0022 東京都新宿区新宿 3-24-3 (新宿アルタ 1F)
Area: Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Shinjuku (新宿)
Taiyaki is a sea bream shaped waffle/cake with red bean paste, custard, or some other kind of sweetened filling. There’s a variation of taiyaki that’s currently popular in Japan, among locals and tourists.
Ginnoan (銀のあん) is a bakery chain with multiple locations across Japan that’s known for their French take on taiyaki, called croissant taiyaki (クロワッサンたい焼き).
The type of crust and its filling may vary by location and time of the year. We went to the Shinjuku location, which had four kinds of crossaint taiyaki – regular crust with red bean or custard filling (¥210), regular crust with melon filling (¥250), and couverture chocolate crust topped with roasted almonds and chocolate filling (¥250). Continue reading
Place: Tokyo DisneySea (東京ディズニーシー)
Address: 〒279-0031 千葉県浦安市舞浜 1-13
Area: Maihama, Urayasu-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan
Nearest Station: Maihama (舞浜)
We set aside one day of our 8-day Tokyo trip, for Tokyo DisneySea! In California, there’s Disneyland and California Adventure next to each other. DisneySea can be perceived as the California Adventure for Tokyo Disneyland. However, DisneySea has more water-related themes and different attractions than California Adventure. There are few similar rides such as Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, and Midway Mania.
The good thing about Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland (both theme parks are part of Tokyo Disney Resort) is that you can purchase your tickets online ahead of time, from home away from Japan! You just select the date you plan on visiting, print the tickets at home, then bring it to the theme park on the day of.
We got our tickets for ¥6,400 (~$54 USD) per person in March, before a small price hike in April. DisneySea is surprisingly ~$30 USD cheaper than California Adventure!
It took us about 30 minutes from Meguro Station in Tokyo to Maihama Station in Chiba. Then we went on the Disney Resort Line, which loops around the resort with four stops. As soon as we got inside DisneySea, we went straight to the information counter to obtain an English map of the park, then headed to Mysterious Island for some grub! Continue reading
Place: Tokyu Food Show
Address: 〒150-0002, 東京都渋谷区渋谷2丁目24-1 (二子玉川ライズSC B1F)
Area: Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Shibuya (渋谷)
Most major train stations in Japan (and other Asian countries) have a supermarket floor. Shibuya Station has a large supermarket next to a food court called “Tokyu Food Show” on the basement floor. There are many vendors at the food show, each stall specializing in sweets, fresh juice, rice rolls, croquettes, fish, dim sum, salads, rice paper rolls, and more!
One of the food I wanted to try in Japan was natto (fermented soybean). Natto is one of those foods where you either hate it or love it. It’s slimy, smelly, and has a strong flavor. First timers are encouraged to try natto in the form of a rice roll, called natto maki (納豆巻き) or natto sushi. Continue reading
Restaurant: うどん 山長 (Udon Yamacho)
Address: 〒150-0013, 東京都渋谷区恵比寿1-1-5 (恵比寿オークビル 1F)
Area: Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Ebisu (恵比寿)
The cousins, their friend, the sister, and I went to a well-known udon place in Ebisu for dinner. It was raining, and the restaurant had a small covered outdoor patio with a small bench. We were first in line and had a ~20 minute wait for a party of five.
Udon Yamacho has English menus available upon request! There were many choices on the menu… There was a list of udon in hot broth, and cold udon served with a dipping broth on the side. Udon is typically thick wheat flour noodles, but here you have an option of getting either thin or the traditional thick udon. Continue reading
Café: 茶亭 羽當 (Satei Hato)
Address: 〒150-0002, 東京都渋谷区渋谷1-15-19 (二葉ビル 1F)
Area: Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Shibuya (渋谷)
My cousins and their friend flew in from SFO yesterday with a short layover in Hong Kong, so coffee or milk tea in the afternoon is a must to combat jetlag!
The quaint café took us to another era amidst bustling modern Shibuya. Continue reading
Bakery: Matsunosuke N.Y. (松之助 N.Y.)
Address: 〒150-0033, 東京都渋谷区猿楽町29-9, ヒルサイドテラスD-11
Area: Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Daikanyama (代官山)
My sister and I are now in Tokyo! We met up with our cousins and their friend (also traveling in Japan at the same time as us) for lunch.
We had pancakes and pies for lunch. Yep, breakfast and dessert for lunch!!
My sister ordered a banana caramel chiffon pancake, while I ordered the sour cream apple pie. (I will focus on the pie in this post, which is what Matsunosuke is known for baking.) Continue reading
Bakery: Matsunosuke N.Y. (松之助 N.Y.)
Address: 〒150-0033, 東京都渋谷区猿楽町29-9, ヒルサイドテラスD-11
Area: Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Nearest Station: Daikanyama (代官山)
My sister and I are now in Tokyo! We met up with our cousins and their friend (also traveling in Japan at the same time as us) for lunch.
We had pancakes and pies for lunch. Yep, breakfast and dessert for lunch!!
My sister ordered a banana caramel chiffon pancake, while I ordered the sour cream apple pie. (I will focus on the pancake in this post.) Continue reading
Restaurant: Ice Monster
Address: 忠孝東路四段297號 (No. 297, Section 4, Zhongxiao E Rd)
City: Taipei, Taiwan
A trip to Taipei isn’t complete until you’ve had mango shaved ice! There is also no question about getting shaved ice when it’s hot, humid, and rainy. Just go and get it!
We got the Fresh Mango Sensation (新鮮芒果綿花甜) for NT$220. Fresh mango pieces with mango puree, mango ice cream, shaved ice with mango syrup, and tofu on the side. In other words, it was mango heaven for mango lovers!!! Continue reading
Vendor: 一口全酥臭豆腐
Address: Tonghua Night Market (on Linjiang St, from Tonghua St to Keelung St)
City: Taipei, Taiwan
Last night we went to Shilin Night Market, which was crowded (even on a weeknight!) since it’s one of the top tourist spots. Tonight we went to Tonghua Night Market on Linjiang Street, as recommended by one of our Airbnb hosts.
We walked several blocks from Xinye Anhe Station and followed signs to the night market. Various food stands parked in the middle of the street and on streetcorners. A few food stands rolled in even after dark past the night market’s opening hours, to open business. There were fewer people; there was no need to zigzag your way through to the other end of the market!
We saw one vendor selling fried stinky tofu, NT$45 for small size and NT$50 for large size. The vendor had a video clip showing how this stinky tofu was rated top 10. There was a small queue, so we decided to check it out. Continue reading
Food Touring 