{ Quil Fait Bon }

2012, Jan 16

Little did we know, Quil Fait Bon tarts are actually quite famous in Japan. As soon as you walk into their cafe, it’s easy to see why they are famous. All of the tarts and cakes look absolutely amazing. It’s hard to resist the temptation to try everything, but somehow we managed.

The last time we visited their Daikanyama location, it was a 45 minute wait around 3pm. I couldn’t believe how popular this place was amongst couples and girlfriends. Needless to say, the tarts lived up to the hype. The seasonal grape tart & the mango tart were my favorite! (The mango tart is not pictured above). I also loved the sweet potato tart which was a seasonal tart in the Autumn time (shown in the bottom picture). You can purchase the tarts by the slice or a full tart/cake.

Address // 2-18-2, Ebisunishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5457-2191
Website // www.quil-fait-bon.com

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{ Dinner at Aila }

2012, Jan 13

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Note: According to their website, looks like Aila will be temporary closed/remodeling. They plan to re-open sometime between Fall 2014 to Spring 2015.
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Aila for dinner is very warm, romantic, and refined. The dinner menu and the food style are completely different from the lunch service. Dinner is presented in the form of a course menu which includes an amuse bouche, appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Surprisingly, the appetizer I ordered (tomato gazpacho soup pictured towards the top right) was my favorite dish of the night – truly delicious! The main dishes were also good, but the desserts left me a little disappointed for some reason.

Overall, it was a good meal but if I had to compare their lunch and dinner, I would choose lunch without a doubt. Their lunch dishes are just too good to be true for incredibly low prices. I would still recommend dinner at Aila for a special occasion though :)

Address // 1-16-3, EbisuMinami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5721-6063
Website // www.rvs.jp/aila

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{ Lunch at Aila }

2012, Jan 12

ohh Aila. This little french restaurant is adorable inside and out. You walk in and you immediately feel cozy because of the friendly staff and cute decor. I will be splitting this one into two separate posts – one for lunch and one for dinner – since they have completely different menus.

Aila for lunch is not only delicious but also the best deal out there. There’s a few lunch specials available (Quiche/Salad/Fish/Meat) and they only serve 10 of each special per day. The specials typically include a small soup, salad, bread, main dish, coffee, and a small dessert. It’s an unbeatable deal and it’s worth every penny. I particularly love that they always change up their ingredients in their main dishes and desserts so you never get tired of ordering the same dish.

Just a tip, the restaurant opens at 11:30am and if you’re not there when it opens, you might have a hard time getting a seat.

Address // 1-16-3, EbisuMinami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5721-6063
Website // http://rvsinformation.com/aila/

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{ Sushi Sei – 寿司清本店 }

2012, Jan 11

Sushi Sei (寿司清本店) is located in the middle of Tsukiji Market in a highly competitive sushi district which is right next to the Tsukiji Fish Market. People come here to eat the freshest sushi early in the morning to get the best of the best.

We randomly walked by this restaurant after checking out Tsukiji Fish Market and got very lucky that we were able to sit down at the counter without making reservations. Apparently Sushi Sei has a 2nd floor with table seating only, and a new location somewhere nearby – but this original location has the highest rating and they certainly had fresh fish.

We happend to pick a good time to go since they had a special New Years 11-piece sushi set menu for 2000 yen (the average price for a similar lunch set in this area is 3000~4000 yen). We ended up ordering a couple extra pieces aside from the special because we wanted even more of the yummyness. I’m sure all the sushi around this area is good but if you happen to walk by Sushi Sei, I recommend it (but make sure you sit at the counter!).

Address // 4-13-9, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3541-7720
Website // http://www.tsukijisushisay.co.jp/

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{ Tsukiji Fish Market }

2012, Jan 11

This is a Bonus post. From time to time I may share some of the sights in Tokyo just for fun :)

According to Tripadvisor.com, Tsukiji Fish Market is the #1 thing to do when you visit Japan. From a Japanese person’s perspective, I’m not sure why this became #1, but I finally visited the fish market for the first time myself, and wow it was definitely an experience.

Tsukiji Fish Market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. For some time, the market actually banned foreigners from visiting because of an increase in sightseers and the associated problems they cause. The place is so busy/non-stop with fisherman doing their business that now I definitely understand why having tourists trying to take pictures and wandering around their work-site is causing them trouble. In fact, I was showing my friends around who came from out of town and I got pushed out of the way by one of the workers because I was standing in his way, and my friends got yelled at because they were too close to a tuna taking pictures…sigh. So if you ever visit the Fish Market, I highly advise you to go through it without getting into the workers way and GET OUT quick!

There are plenty of other things to do in the ‘Tsukiji Market’, the first part of the craziness you see when you exit the metro (before you arrive at the Fish Market). The “Tsukiji Market” is where there are hundreds of little restaurants where you can actually sample the super fresh seafood that is sold in the Fish Market next door.

If you are looking for a Sushi Restaurant in the area, I wrote a post about one in the area which I recommend, Sushi Sei.

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Tripadvisor.comによると、外国人が選ぶ東京の人気観光スポット第１位は築地市場だそうです。日本の方からすると意外な感じですが、私自身初めて築地市場に行ってみて人気の理由がわかりました。

ご存じの通り築地市場は世界的に見ても大きな魚介類の市場であり、その他の食べ物も扱われています。ここ最近観光客の増加にともない色々な問題が起きており、場内への立ち入りを禁止している事もあります。実際に築地市場の場内に行ってみると、想像以上に混んでいる上皆さん忙しく働いており、観光目的で写真を撮ったりゆっくり見学という雰囲気とは程遠いものでした。私が友人に市場の説明をしている時の出来事ですが、たまたま業者の方の通り道をふさいでしまっていた様で突き飛ばされてしまいした。また、一緒に行った友人はマグロの写真を撮っている時にマグロに近づきすぎて魚屋からどなられてしまう始末…とても反省しています。皆さんも築地市場に行く機会があれば、働いている方の邪魔にならないように急いで見学する事をおすすめします。

そして、築地エリアでおすすめのお寿司屋さんは寿司清（すしせい）築地本店です。

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Address // 5-2-1, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Website // www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm

{ Quil Fait Bon }

{ Dinner at Aila }

{ Lunch at Aila }

{ Sushi Sei – 寿司清本店 }

{ Tsukiji Fish Market }

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