I don't know how Japanese bakeries do it but their breads are always so soft and amazing. My favorite is their chocolate chip bread which is this amazing chocolate bread with SQUARES of chocolate in them. Don't eat it on the spot after buying it though. Bring it home and toast it a little. The bread gets warm and slightly crispy and the squares of chocolate transform into these little pieces of gooey melty heaven. Mhmm.
Another favorite place of mine in Tokyo is Ootoya Restaurant. I've tried it's outlets in Singapore and it's TOTALLY not the same. For one, the Singapore branches don't sell my favorite dessert (picture top right) which is basically FRIED Hokkaido milk bread with matcha ice cream. It sounds terrible like that (think:oily and gross) but it isn't! The breadsticks are crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy inside and not greasy at all . I also ordered a salad although we were just looking for dessert coz as healthy as Japanese food is made out to be, that was my first (and only) bowl of greens I had in my 9 days there. HahaWe decided to stroll down the street near Marunouchi Station which is kinda like Singapore's Shenton Way- lots of government/parliament buildings etc and it was lovely to be able to be tourists and meander slowly, admiring the turn of the autumn colours whilst all these Important People in Black Suits hurried down the train and walked Very Fast to their office before 9am.
Tokyo is full of zen gardens and the weather is great for walking and admiring. It was nice to just leave the hustle and bustle of sightseeing and just wander with a loved talking about everything and nothing at all :)
We headed for Tsukiji next because d had never been there and I was excited to show him but it turned out to be not much because everyone was out in full force (and the inner markets were all closed and cleaning up already) and we ended up having really sucky sushi because I refused to wait 3 hours for sushi at the more 'famous' places. WE ARE IN TOKYO!! There is AMAZING sushi EVERYWHERE!
I honestly think that out of 254357353459 stalls in Tsukiji where you can have sushi possibly only 1 or 2 would have not-so-nice sushi. And as luck would have it, we had not very nice sushi. Hur. I've been to Tsukiji 4 times now and each time, none of the sushi places have ever served me anything less than fresh and spectacular. I'm not sure if it was a one off incident but the sushi tasted like the kind you can buy at the supermarket. Rice was cold and hard and the fish was rubbery and not fresh at all :( It was a total bummer because I was really looking to The Best Sushi Ever at Tsukiji! On a brighter notes, the miso soup was super yummy and presentation was not bad, haha.
Hello crab with with long legs. You don't look very meaty.
Lucky Tsukiji is filled with more than just sushi! If you go, do take the time to wander and try the beef bowls, the oden and lots of little stalls selling interesting things. I really like tamagoyaki so I always eat this when I am there :)
I know of friends who went to Tsukiji super excited to eat sushi there and after touring the markets, couldn't bring themselves to eat anymore fish. So if you are squeamish, you might want to head straight for sushi first! The next time I go, I will probably revisit the ones that are not bad or I might, just might be totally Singaporean and go queue for Sushi Daiwa. MAYBE ;)
Till next time,
xx
