First Night in Tokyo: Tsunahachi (Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan)

I got back from Tokyo last week and while my jet lag has subsided, my yearning for a life in Tokyo is burning brighter than ever. I want to pick up all my things and move there. It seems that this is the case for everyone who has visited this amazing city. Every one of my friends who has visited Tokyo say, "Oh, I said the same thing when I got back" - at least I am not alone.

Honestly, I was delaying the inevitable blog posts on Tokyo because a part of me believed that once written (well, typed, in this case), it confirmed my reality of what is here and what is not here: not Tokyo vs. Tokyo.

what I would give to go back again... 

Another part didn't want to face the daunting task of figuring out how to break up my experience into neatly formed blog posts - by dates? by restaurants? by experience? In the end, I just decided to write about a particular and memorable dining experience and go from there. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow... Said, from a anal planner. (^_^) <- how fob of me!

After an 11 1/2 hour flight, 1 hour train ride and 1 hour of being lost with our luggage, we finally made it to our hotel in Shinjuku. According to my itinerary, we were to have dinner at Tsunahachi, a tempura house in Shinjuku that has been around for 80 years. We asked the "bell captain" for directions and he sent us on our way. It was refreshing to be in the city. As much as I love nature and the outdoors, I am a bonafide city girl. I love the hustle and bustle, the high energy of the city and it's inhabitants - always trying to get somewhere. It was exciting and strangely familiar. The brisk walk worked up our appetites, but also increased our exhaustion. We found our way to Tsunahachi and right away started speaking to us in Japanese. As soon as we spoke - "party of two" - they handed us the English menu and sat us in the upstairs seating area.

We chose to go with a dinner set and make things a lot easier. Rice and miso soup, the standard, were immediately given along with dipping sauce and two different kinds of grated radishes: regular and ume flavored. The latter being my favorite and stealing the show. The miso soup was extraordinary, full of little tiny clams, the broth was so flavorful and probably the best miso soup I've ever had.

   

prawns

The chef, who is cooking these right in front of you, started us off with prawns. With first bite, I was in absolute heaven! I'm not too crazy about tempura because in the States, they're all the same. Tempura never really stood out to me. Until now... They use their own special blend of oils to fry making the batter completely different from what I was used to. It wasn't as greasy or oily and had lots of flavor. The prawns itself was so moist and delicious - just plain fabulous.

cuttlefish

Next up was, I think, cuttlefish. I can't100% sure, but honestly, I didn't even try to ask what kind of fish it was. I just wanted to eat. The fish was moist and quite good. It was mild in flavor and not too "fishy."

shitake mushrooms

The mushrooms were next and these were one of my favorites of the night, right after the prawns. The slight sweetness from the batter went great with the earthiness from the mushrooms. The batter, again, was perfect - not too thick and wonderfully crispy.

anago

I've never had deep fried eel and I don't know why, but I was expecting to not like it. However, I found the eel to be incredibly tender and delicious. I guess, just like with bacon, deep-frying makes everything better.

kakiage of shrimp and scallops

Our last tempura of the night was a mix of chopped up prawns and scallops, another favorite of mine. I was incredibly full by this point, but I had to finish every bite of this. It was fantastic. The sweet and soft prawns and scallops with the crunchy texture of the batter was something out of this world.

Afterward, we were given some sliced pickled daikon to cleanse our palates from the oil. Both J and I were incredibly full and exhausted that we had to stay behind at the restaurant just a bit longer to not only digest, but to muster up the energy to walk our tired butts back to the hotel. Talk about your spoiled Americans...

On our way back, we went into an arcade filled with these crane claw machines, sticker picture booths and of course, all the latest Japanese arcade games from shooting zombies to racing cars. It seemed they had one of these on almost every block, all over city. I wanted to take sticker pictures, but since J and I both don't read or speak Japanese, that proved to be a challenge.

My first meal in Tokyo proved to be totally satisfying and just plain heavenly. I always knew the food in Japan would be amazing, but imagining and actually tasting are two different things. Even as we walked back and explored our neighborhood, I could not stop talking about the food. I think J tuned me out, as he usually does, but I didn't care. I was full and I was happy. The excitement of my vacation was slowly seeping in and I couldn't wait for what tomorrow would bring...

Tsunahachi

3-31-8 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

03-3352-1012

Nearest Station: Shinjuku

www.tsunahachi.com

back to reality....

i miss tokyo.

Michael Voltaggio Event @ Williams-Sonoma

Chef Michael Voltaggio recently partnered up with Williams-Sonoma for an event at their Beverly Hills location showcasing his food and their products. Voltaggio and his crew were there cooking up Voltaggio's creations using the cookware provided by Williams-Sonoma. Attendees could see Voltaggio in action, sample his food and purchase the very thing he used to make his dishes - all within an intimate setting. They had everything from the sous vide machine to knives to spice racks. Just being in there made me want to go home right away and cook something!

Voltaggio primarily stayed behind the counter spending most of his time cooking and answering questions. Here, you see him cutting up the sous vide meat for the banh mi. He did take pictures with whoever that asked and was quite gracious when showered with questions and compliments.

"bacon and eggs"

This was a delicious bite and I absolutely loved the bacon bits and the creamy egg yolk. I think I had at least two or three of these. Why can't I have this for breakfast every day?

banh mi with foie gras mousse

As you already know, I love almost anything with foie gras and this case was no different. Voltaggio's rendition of the banh mi was lovely. At first bite, you immediately notice the tender meat and the acid from the pickled vegetables. I loved how it finished off with just a hint of the foie gras mousse.

shrimp thai injection

salmon sous vide, onion streussel, tomato seeds, cream cheese snow, red onion fluid gel

The little bite of shrimp was definitely reminiscent of Thai flavors, but my favorite was the salmon sous vide with tomato seeds and cream cheese snow. That cream cheese snow was the best part and totally addicting. I also really loved the tomato seeds and the texture from the onion streussel.

After I had a few bites in, I headed towards the champagne. As a girl who can never say no to bubbly, I was ecstatic to see they were serving three different kinds. I didn't take notes on the subtle differences, but I did notice it on my palette as I was happily gulping down my dinner.

peach and burrata with balsamic foam

After my champagne fix, I turned my attention to the last bite of the evening, peach and burrata with balsamic foam. I had Voltaggio's ice cream version of the beach and burrata at the Angeleno Magazine's Chef's Night Out and was interested to taste his more literal interpretation. I really enjoyed the flavor combination of the creamy burrata and peach with the balsamic foam.

It was a nice turn out, not too crowded and great for mingling. It was great to see some of my TOTNLA family and catch up with them, especially since I was given great advice by a TOTNLA member when I spilled champagne all over my blackberry making it useless. The advice? Take the battery out and soak the phone in a bowl of rice. I went home and left it overnight and it worked! Thanks Christine! Can't wait to see you all at the next event!

Williams-Sonoma

339 N. Beverly Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

(310) 274-9127

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/