{  Taste AND Sense  }

Taste AND Sense
Taste AND Sense
Taste AND Sense

This cafe is my favorite new find around town right now. It’s about a 5~7min walk from Nakameguro station and it’s where fashionable creative and designer types seem to hang out. This cafe recently opened (in June 2012) and it’s produced by a clothing shop called “1LDK” which is across the street. The cafe is also connected to a new clothing/interior/home decor shop from the same owner.

I fell in love with not just the design of the space (especially the beautifully carved custom wooden chairs) but their food as well. Their food is simply delicious… The menu is very small but they do it really well and I am giving this place a four-star rating because the Rosmary Chicken Cocotto that I had was really a stand-out. The chicken is so juicy and soft, the side dishes were great, and it comes with a drink of your choice all for just 1260yen. What an amazing deal for this level of quality and freshness of food. The portion is not bad either. I haven’t tried their other dishes yet but my friend is coming to visit me from the US next week so this is one of the many places on my list to take her!

Address // 1-7-13, Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5728-7043
Website // http://www.taste-and-sense.com/

Food:
Decor:
Service:
Cost:



{  Today’s Table  }

Today's Table
Today's Table
Today's Table

“Today’s Special” is one of the hip and cute shops in Jiyugaoka that I often like to stroll through whenever I’m in town. They have all sorts of items from home and toiletries all the way to food or kitchen appliances. On the 3rd floor of the shop they also have a cafe called “Today’s Table”. It’s a nice chill cafe that many hipsters and young moms with kids frequent and I enjoyed the cool ambiance here. The food was just ok but it’s still a nice place to take a break or grab something to eat while shopping in the neighborhood.

PS: I’m back from my vacay and had a great time :) I’m really glad that fall is almost here as well…

Address // 3F, 2-17-8, Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5729-7160
Website // http://www.todaysspecial.jp/todaystable/

Food:
Decor:
Service:
Cost:



{  Fun Info  }

Thought I’d share some fun info for my dear readers!

As of today,
— The Top 3 Most Popular “Posts” are:
1) Maison de Reefur
2) Hacienda Del Cielo
3) Mother’s Shokudo

— The Top 3 Most Accessed “Categories” are:
1) Japanese
2) Street Food
3) Bakery

Beyond these, here are some of my personal recommendations for you:

— If this is your first time traveling to Japan,
1) Go to Soramachi and check out Tokyo Sky Tree.
2) Go to Ginza. While you are there, shop at Uniqlo and take a break at Rose Bakery which is connected via a walkway on the 7th floor.
3) For ramen lovers, eat at Ippudo. For tsukemen lovers, eat at Warito.

— If you’ve been to Japan more than once and you want to explore something new,
1) Climb the 3-star michelin-rated mountain Takaosan.
2) Take a day trip to Kamakura.
3) Go to Tokyo Disney Sea.

— If you just want some of the best food in town regardless of the cuisine, go to:
1) Frey’s Famous Pizzeria or Pizzeria Da Isa
2) Blacows
3) Ondoru

— Some of the places my friends have loved the most:
1) Aoyama Flower Market Tea House
2) Aila for lunch
3) Udon Yamacho

— Recommended for couples:
1) Aila for dinner
2) Shared Terrace
3) Ivy Place and Tsite

— For everyday meals you want to go back to (and which are kid/baby cart friendly):
1) Green in Daikanyama
2) Muji Cafe in Yurakucho/Ginza
3) Green Grill in Shibuya

— For vegetarian options:
1) Brown Rice Cafe in Omotesando
2) Grano Delicatessen in Ebisu
3) Midorie Organic Cafe in Gakugeidaigaku

— For anyone with a sweet tooth:
1) Quil Fait Bon
2) Melon pan 
3) Ginza Tatsutano

I can keep going but I’ll stop here for now. It’s interesting to see what posts are getting the most hits and what people are searching for on my site. It’s been fun sharing my favorite places to eat around Tokyo and these are just some of what I recommend but hope this helps you explore this awesome city just a little better ;)

In case you didn’t know, “Summary of All the posts” has a list of everything I’ve posted from the past in a glance.

PS: I’m off on vacation so I will return posting in about 2 weeks.
PPS: Show some support by liking the tokyoeats.jp facebook page!

Continue reading




{  Cucina Buona Italiana Knock  }

Cucina Buona Italiana Knock
Cucina Buona Italiana Knock
Cucina Buona Italiana Knock

yummmm this Italian restaurant is a popular lunch spot on the weekdays amongst Roppongi workers but it’s also an easy going local hangout on the weekends. The photos above are from a recent trip I did over a weekend for brunch. They have a brunch menu where you can order an “Antipasto Party Plate” plus a main dish from the menu and it starts from 1680yen (depending on which main plate you choose). We got the ‘Lasagna Gratinata’ which is a lasagna with summer veggies and the Spaghetini with olive, capers, dried tomato & rucola. The antipasto plate was amazing! I mean look at that photo above (tip: if you go with 2 people, just get 1 “antipasto party plate” set since it’s big enough to split!). Everything was delicious. My olive pasta was a little on the salty side but the lasagna was excellent. I would come back here in a heartbeat.

Address // 3-2-11, NishiAzabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3478-8220
Website // Cucina Buona Italiana Knock Website

Food:
Decor:
Service:
Cost:



{  Kohien 香妃園  }

Kohien 香妃園
Kohien 香妃園
Kohien 香妃園

Kohien is an old-school Chinese restaurant that has been around since 1963 and has somehow survived in this mostly modern part of town (Roppongi). That explains the retro feel of the interior and the atmosphere of this place. This place was introduced to us by a friend who has been coming here for a while. Why this place? Well, it’s famous for their chicken broth noodle soup that has a lot of collagen in it (it makes your skin literally glow the next day…). It’s like a woman’s dream soup and because of that, models and celebrities are often spotted here.

The noodle soup is very mild but has a suprisingly good flavor to it — kind of like a really good chicken noodle soup. Every single table ordered this dish and it’s clearly their staple. The shrimp egg roll was not that impressive but the fried rice noodle was good. They supposedly have a secret menu item which you’d never suspect if you look through the rest of their menu. It’s actually “Curry”… but i’m not sure if I’d order curry at a Chinese restaurant. Anyhow, this place is open till 4am(!) so you can come here if you missed the last train, or if you’re hungry for something in the middle of the night.

Address // 2F, 3-8-15, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3405-9011
Website // n/a

Food:
Decor:
Service:
Cost: