Destination
Here’s something you have to try on your next visit to Tokyo, gyukatsu. It’s a breaded deep fried beef steak which may sound similar to tonkatsu, the traditional pork version, but is on a whole different level. At Gyukatsu Motomura they’ve made this amazing dish so popular, that they’ve opened up several shops around the city....
It’s good. Hella good. When it comes to wagyu, I have to say Ishigaki beef stole my heart. Yes, I’d pick this over Kobe beef any day. It’s simply unforgettable. Lucky for us, this was widely available in Okinawa. Makes sense since the Ishigaki islands are basically neighbors. Getting the meat fresh should be easy. And what I’ve been finding out since...
Similar to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, heading to the Makishi Public Market means you’re looking for fresh local seafood. They do sell other things, but if it’s sashimi you want, good sashimi you’ll get. What you want to do here is to order food on the first floor and have the restaurants on the second floor prepare it. It...
You usually see umibudo as a side dish. However here at this Ganso Umibudo, they celebrate this savory sea grape as the main dish. It’s a rice bowl topped with umibudo, nagaimo, ikura, and uni. Put together so beautifully it was a bit heartbreaking to eat. The restaurant is easy to get to if you have...
You may think finding good sushi in Japan would be easy right? Well, if you know Okinawa, you’re in for a surprise. It will take a bit of work, weeding out those that focused on rolls, to find a premium place offering quality fish and a dedication to the craft of nigiri. Enter Jirocho Sushi, a restaurant right...
You can’t avoid Okinawa Soba if you wanted to on this island. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see a shop serving up this classic that you probably never seen outside of Japan. Not sure why this local dish hasn’t made it to the popup scene. Maybe that’s a good thing. Let’s keep this local secret here....
My traveling partner in crime had read up about a shabu place in Kyoto. A place that’s been hypothesized as the birthplace of modern day shabu. So what to do, but to venture out and find this place called Junidanya. However, within historical area of Gion where each building has minimal signage, it was a bit hard...
Dinner was all about fugu, pufferfish, a delicacy with that deadly reputation of killing people. But really? At this day and age the percentage of people getting a lethal dose of poison is getting rare. There’s rigorous training for chefs to be certified and you can bet restaurants do everything possible to make it safe. One episode,...