Sushi Daiwa (Tokyo, Japan)

Raisin Bread and I woke up at 3:30 am one morning to make the journey to Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market. Alas, despite arriving at 4:45 am, we were too late to gain entrance into that morning's tuna auction.

Not matter, we would enjoy an unbelievable sushi breakfast instead. During my research, I picked out three different sushi spots in case one or two had extremely long waits. It was my understanding that the food that each restaurant serves is virtually the same. We walked quickly towards the row of restaurants and discovered Sushi Dai's line to be about two hours long. On the other hand, there was just one couple waiting at Sushi Daiwa, so we immediately settled into our places in this line. We still had about 45 minutes to kill since Sushi Daiwa does not open until 5:30 am. That gave us a chance to observe some of the goings on of the market.



Tsukiji Market is a real working fish market that has not quite found the balance between serving as a tourist destination and as a place of business. Near misses between tourists and racing trucks are a regular occurrence, which is why there are plans to move Tsukiji to a new location in the future.

One funny thing about waiting in line in front of Sushi Daiwa was that other foreigners would come up to us and ask why people were standing in line for Sushi Dai. Clearly, they did not do any research and without question, they would decide to join the line for Sushi Dai. It made me laugh a lot. Silly wabbits.

5:30 finally rolled around and we were seated elbow to elbow around a tiny sushi bar. Sushi is served by set menu, but one can order additional pieces at the end. Our chef was responsible for us and the couple in front of us. He placed our sushi pieces before us faster than we could consume them the previous piece. All told, the entire meal took probably 20 minutes at most. There wasn't much time to savor our food, but the sushi was so delicious that we didn't mind.

Chutoro (medium fatty tuna)
This singular piece of tuna is probably the best piece of tuna I have ever had in my life. To die for.

Ika (squid)
I rarely order squid. I find the texture to be off-putting. This piece was no different.

Odori Ebi (live shrimp)
I bit the inside of my mouth while eating my last piece of sushi, so I was a little out of it for the next couple of pieces. I didn't notice the shrimp still moving, but Raisin Bread did!

Kanpachi (amberjack)
Amberjack became one of my go to fish during our trip to Japan. So yummy.

Uni (sea urchin)

Miso Soup with Fish

Otoro (fatty tuna)

Tamago (egg)

Tuna and Ikura (salmon roe) Cut Rolls

Eel

Shrimp head
This was an interesting part of our meal. I must say that I very much enjoyed the shrimp head and was intrigued by how they used up most of the shrimp.

Katsuo (bonito)
This piece was not part of the set menu and was the finale to our meal at Sushi Daiwa. Look at that color.

After breakfast, we walked around the outer market area, which sells restaurant supplies and vegetables. We tried to see if we could sneak into the inner wholesale fish market, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. There was security turning all of the foreigners away.

Tsukiji Market is a fascinating place, and there is nothing like eating the freshest sushi of your life at 5:30 in the morning.

Sushi Daiwa
5-2-1 Tsukiji
Chuo, Tokyo
Japan

Nagi Ramen (Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan)

If you have been paying attention, you know that I love noodles of all shapes and sizes. Eating ridiculous amounts of noodles was a definite "to do" during my trip to Japan. One evening, we set out on a long, soggy walk to Nagi Ramen in Golden Gai. By the time we arrived, my jeans and shoes were soaked through, so a piping hot bowl of ramen seemed appropriate.

Golden Gai is a small area of Shinjuku that is made up of hide-and-seek alleys that are lined with over 200 bars, clubs and restaurants. Each one is a tiny closet-sized establishment. Nagi is no different. It is a minuscule space, located on the second floor.

The place is so tiny that we had to stand in the stairwell to wait. We finally made it to the vending machine where we placed our orders and paid for our meals before we were seated at a counter with no more than 12 seats. 

Nagi is known for using dried sardines in its broth. I ordered the "Special Ramen," which is their most popular dish. My bowl of ramen came with nori, bamboo shoots, scallions, a soft-boiled egg and huge slices of pork. The broth was so deep and rich, but it was the firm, springy noodles that made me the happiest! Yum!

After enjoying our ramen, we headed back through Golden Gai in the rain.

Nagi Ramen
1-1-10 Kabukicho
Shinjuku, Tokyo Prefecture
160-0021 Japan

@ Home Cafe (Tokyo, Japan)

On a Saturday afternoon, Raisin Bread and I went to the Akihabara district of Tokyo to do something uniquely Japanese - visit a maid cafe. We were expecting this experience to be completely unlike anything we have ever done and we were not disappointed in the least.

Maid cafes are a relatively new concept. Generally, the waitresses at these cafes dress in maid costumes and serve their master/mistress (the customer) as if they were at their home. Yes, I know it sounds weird. We chose @ Home Cafe because it is the only place that I had read a lot about.  

If you don't have a maid cafe in mind though, you will see plenty of maids standing on the street, handing out flyers and trying to lure customers...I mean masters...in to their cafes. 

I was surprised to find only two other people in line at the time we arrived. Here, one of the maids is yelling at me because I am taking a picture. Oops. I did not the see the no camera sign that you can clearly see in the photo.

The maids' costumes consist of a dress, petticoat, pinafore, stockings or high socks and a hair accessory. Each maid may add their own flair including plush backpacks and stuffed animals hanging from their bags or clothing.

@ Home Cafe charges an entrance fee of ¥600. I also read that the food here is pretty horrible so we decided to get the dessert set for ¥1600, which includes a drink, dessert and a photo with a maid.

As we figured out, you aren't allowed to take any photos inside, except of your food. The clientele was mostly made up of individual males, but there were also a few tables of couples and pairs of females. Our hostess maid led us to our seats, gave us menus and then proceeded to stand there and ask us to order. I did not like this ordering method and wished I had a few minutes to decide on what to have. 

The hostess maid also brought a magnet board showing pictures of all the maids who were working at that time for us to choose who we would like to take our picture with. That was a slightly awkward thing to do as well.

Raisin Bread ordered the Magic Sketch hot green tea latte for his drink. When our server brought his drink over, she asked what animal he wanted to be drawn on his drink and he chose a cat. I was quite impressed by the results! 

I went with a boring but quite tasty pot of earl grey tea. Before we could enjoy our drinks though, we had to cast a love spell on them. Our server taught us the love spell, which we repeated. Our drinks were then ready to be consumed!

While we waited for our desserts, we had a chance to observe the goings on. One older gentleman was seated next to Raisin Bread, and he was playing a dice game with a maid. We were seated in front of a stage where patrons were taking their photos with the maids, and we were eventually brought up for our turn. 

I based my dessert ordering decision on whichever was the most colorful. The Fruit Cocktail Mini Parfait seemed to fit the bill. It was awful tasting though. Yikes. It consisted of canned fruit cocktail, a scoop of strawberry ice cream, marshmallow sticks, a white chocolate heart and loads of whipped cream. 

Raisin Bread picked the Cutie Bunny Cheesecake. From the amount of cake left on his plate, this one was not a hit either. 

Before we left, the maid who took our pictures with came back with our snapshot, which came in a handy dandy paper frame.

There was a basket of props on the stage that we could pick from to add a little character to our photos. They looked a little worse for wear, but I still grabbed the cat ears. When we were taking our picture, the maid would suggest hand gestures to do. I don't think I'm doing mine correctly and I'm also not sure what it means.

The maid also decorated the polaroids with the date, place and some words that I can't read.

Raisin Bread chose the bunny ears and the heart sign.

When we got our bill, we were given a loyalty card. I couldn't bring myself to tell the maid that we would most likely never get the chance to come back though. I saw a fellow walk in later who had a black card. He must be a regular!

Our visit to @ Home Cafe was a lot of fun and slightly strange at the same time. It is definitely a unique experience that I highly recommend. Just don't go for the food!

@ Home Cafe
Don Quijote Akihabara
5th Floor
4-3-3 Sotokanda 
Chiyoda Tokyo 101-0021
Japan

Central Michel Richard (Washington, DC)

A few weeks ago, Raisin Bread's mother and stepfather came to visit us during the week. We headed downtown to enjoy dinner at Central Michel Richard, a restaurant that I have been wanting to try for quite some time.

I read that the restaurant space can be quite noisy, but the hostess was kind enough to seat us in the very back of the restaurant in the private dining space so we were not forced to deal with the noise.

To start, Raisin Bread and I shared the roasted beets, arugula and warm goat cheese salad. I am addicted to these salads, but I was a little worried about the fried goat cheese. It was only flash fried in a panko crust so it was not greasy at all. 

The table also shared an order of gougeres (cheese puffs). These are so addictive. They are light and airy. I could have eaten the whole basket myself if I didn't want to save room for my entree and dessert. 

For my entree, I chose the lobster burger, served with confit tomato, Central mayonnaise, potato tuiles and French fries. I wish I had chosen differently. The flavor was not satisfying and the texture was slightly rubbery.

I also regret my choice of dessert. I chose Michel's Napoleon. Of the four desserts we ordered, this one was by far the worst. The puff pastry looked and tasted burnt. The rest of the dessert was boring overall.

Raisin Bread ordered the dessert special. It consisted of almond pastry, pistachio and strawberries. The strawberries were perfect and went so well with the other components. I loved it.

Next up was the profiteroles. This dish was so decadent. This certainly is not your run of the mill cream puff. Instead, it consisted of a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in tiny pastry puffs and finished off with chocolate sauce. Drool.

The final dessert was the creme brulee. This was also a play on the traditional creme brulee in that it was not served in a ramekin but stood on its own on the plate. It was accompanied with fresh berries and dollops of fruit sauce. While not my favorite creme brulee, it was rich and custardy.

This visit was not as perfect as I would have hoped it would be. My entree and dessert left much to be desired.

Date of visit: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Central Michel Richard
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

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CityZen (Washington, DC)

Raisin Bread and I did something we normally never do. We had a weeknight date night! *gasp* It was quite a feat for these old farts. We met up after work at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hotel to dine at CityZen.  

CityZen offers three ways to dine: 1) a six course Chef's Tasting Menu for $120, 2) a six course Chef's Vegetarian Tasting Menu for $110 or 3) a four course menu, where you get to choose from a selection for each course, for $90.

I went with the Chef's Tasting Menu.

Due to his dietary restrictions, Raisin Bread decided on the four course menu. 

We were both served different amuse bouche, the contents of which I cannot recall.

My amuse bouche

Raisin Bread's amuse bouche

Before our first course, we got to pick from three different types of breads. I am a carb fiend so I just wanted to keep asking for more bread, but refrained.

First Course: Shaved Green Radish and Baby Carrot Salad with marinated yama imo, takenoko, ginko nuts and dashi gelee

The flavors of the vegetables were very subtle, but the dashi gelee was very tasty, still subtle and not too salty.

Appetizer Course for Raisin Bread: Sheepsmilk Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Crepes with piquillo pepper jam, globe artichoke mouse and Nicoise olive syrup

Our server was very meticulous in finding out from the kitchen whether or not Raisin Bread could eat the dishes he picked. She spent a while going through almost every single menu item with us. When she didn't know the answer, she went to the kitchen to ask and returned right away to let us know how the answer might sway his decisions. She was great and very mindful and aware of our meal progression. Plus, she was super nice.

The appetizer Raisin Bread wound up getting was from the Chef's Vegetarian Tasting Menu, as it was one of the only appetizers he could eat. It wound up not being his favorite course.

Second Course: Kendall Farms Creme Fraiche Pierogi with cured Skuna Bay salmon and smoked sea trout emulsion

I loved this. It was so rich and fatty. The pierogi was nice and crispy, and the salmon was firm and not super salty.

Because I had two more courses than Raisin Bread, he did not have anything to eat during those times. Our server noticed that we were sharing our food, so the busser brought us an extra place setting for Raisin Bread to use when our courses did not overlap. Very thoughtful!

Fish Course for Raisin Bread: Sauteed Filet of John Dory with black trumpet mushrooms, salsify puree and tarragon coulis

This was by far his favorite course.

Third Course: Poached Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Kanagy Farm shoat stuffed savoy cabbage

I usually don't order foie gras unless it is on a tasting menu because I often do not like the way it is cooked. This foie dish was amazing though. It was so tender and maintained its richness. I also enjoyed the accompaniments.

Fourth Course: Vanilla Braised Maine Lobster with Anson Mills grit cake, fennel, toasted pistachio, poached apricots and Cognac sauce

This was an interesting way to present lobster. The vanilla was a bit too much for me, but I liked the apricots and pistachio, and of course, the lobster was perfectly cooked.

For our meat course, we were presented with a little box of Parker House rolls. 

They are so adorable and buttery, as well as lightly sprinkled with salt. They are tiny enough to eat in one bite. Yummy!

Fifth Course: Pan Roasted Prime Virginia Beef Strip Loin with red flannel hash and Frankie's original horseradish soubise

Look at that pink meat. So pretty. While there was nothing wrong with my meat dish, I didn't find it too be all that special.

Meat Course for Raisin Bread: Kanagy Farms Shoat Loin with Darden ham wrapped baked endive, glazed baby carrots and tellicherry pepper mornay

I had to ask the server what shoat is. We learned that it is a piglet. I found the loin along with the carrots to be nicely done, but the ham was way salty for me. 

Intermezzo: Pineapple sorbet

We both received the same intermezzo. It was refreshing and a little tart, which was perfect between our heavy meat and heavy dessert courses.

Coffee service 

We received these shortbread cookies with our coffee service. 

Sixth Course: Chocolate Napoleon with blood orange ganache, whipped Bahibe chocolate and salted caramel ice cream

If I were choosing on my own, I probably would not have selected this dessert. My favorite part of the dessert wound up being the salted caramel ice cream and the cookie bits beneath it.

Dessert for Raisin Bread: CityZen Sopaipillas with golden angels sourwood honey mousse, finger limes, honeyed almonds and cinnamon ice cream

I'm addicted to sopaipillas and thought this was a nice way to elevate them.

As if that was not enough, we received a few more treats before we left. Our petit fours were nougat bars, macarons and ginger pate de fruits. 

Our dining experience at CityZen was delightful. The courses were flavorful, creative and beautiful to look at. The service was exceptional. I am really glad we had a chance to dine here.

I think we will be needing to scale back on the insanely high-end dining experiences for the remainder of the year though!

CityZen
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
1330 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024