{  Suzunami — 鈴波  }

Suzunami 鈴波
Suzunami 鈴波
Suzunami 鈴波
Suzunami 鈴波

Happy Belated New Year!

Hope everyone is doing well. Apologies for the lack of updates but I’m finally posting a yummy traditional Japanese place located inside of Roppongi Midtown.

Famous for their Tsukemono (pickles) from Nagoya, this restaurant serves seasonal fish with simple healthy options that most Japanese people would like to eat as an everyday meal. The fish is cooked perfectly and the sides are also great. It’s pretty awesome how you can get a healthy traditional meal in Roppongi Midtown. Check it out if you’re in the area.

Address // Midtown Glaleria B1F, 9-7-3, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5413-0335
Website // http://www.suzunami.co.jp/

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{  ARIA  }

ARIA
ARIA
ARIA
ARIA

This hidden restaurant is a gem although it’s well known among the OL (ladies who work in the area). Located in Roppongi, ARIA is a pasta house that serves delicious handmade pasta. For lunch, you choose a pasta of your choice and it comes with a drink (coffee or tea) for only 950yen. We added 250yen to add an appetizer, small salad, and bread which I think is worth it.

You can choose 4 different sauces for your pasta. Oil, Tomato, Cream, or other. Pictured above are 3 different pastas we ordered for lunch. ‘Carbonara’, ‘Bacon and Mushroom Cauliflower Cream’, and I think the last one was “Today’s pasta”. They were all so good and the handmade pasta was delicious. You may initially think the portion size may not be enough but it’s surprisingly filling.

This is a popular place so I suggest coming right when it opens for lunch time or else you’ll be stuck waiting. I highly recommend this place if you are a pasta lover.

Lunch Hours: 11:30am – 3pm
Dinner Hours: 5:30 – 11:30pm

Address // 7-10-23, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3403-1670
Website // n/a

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{  Matsurokuya — 御曹司 松六家  }

Onzoushi Matsurokuya -- 御曹司 松六家
Onzoushi Matsurokuya -- 御曹司 松六家
Onzoushi Matsurokuya -- 御曹司 松六家
Onzoushi Matsurokuya -- 御曹司 松六家
Onzoushi Matsurokuya -- 御曹司 松六家

Unbelievable cost performance! An A5-rank Kurogewagyu-beef lunch set for 1300yen 1500yen! in Roppongi.

If you are looking for the best lunch deal with a great traditional Japanese lunch experience, come here. This place is so popular that even though we arrived here by 11:40am, only 10 minutes after they opened, it was already full. We waited about 40 minutes until we got a seat, and many people were giving up standing in line as an employee came out to tell them how long it would be until the next seating. It’s nice because most of the seating is in private rooms with a traditional tatami setting.

Places like this are popular for a reason. How can you offer something like this for only 1300yen 1500yen! The meat was a little rare for my taste but my friends all loved it. You start by tasting the beef on it’s own first. Then, you’re supposed to enjoy it along with the condiments that come with it on the side. As you eat your rice, you’ll discover another layer of meat underneath it. After some time the servers bring you more rice to finish off your dish as Hitsumabushi (ochazuke style). The hot dashi poured over the rice and meat is like an entirely new dish. YUMM. Definitely give this a try if you’re in the area, you won’t regret it.

Note: Closed on Sundays. Lunch service: 11:30am-2pm (Often closes early as the lunch set sells out)

Update: Looks like their Hitsumabushi lunch set now costs 1300yen (May, 2014).

Address // 4-10-2, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3796-3369
Website // http://www.tokyo-rf.com/restaurants/r04/index.html

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{  Hyoki — 瓢喜  }

Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店

Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます。今年もどうぞよろしくお願い致します。

Just got back from my two week long vacation to Brazil and I have quite a bit of work backed up but I’m happy to be back home. Brazil summers are very hot and humid just like Japan which I’m not a fan of but we attended the most beautiful wedding there and had a great time. Unfortunately I got the most mosquito bites ever and it sucks… Hopefully will get around to posting some photos from my trip in the next few weeks but for now, I’m very excited to share this awesome restaurant with you. Hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years. Wishing you all a wonderful 2014 ahead!

xo,
Maki

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I highly recommend this shabu shabu restaurant if you can visit here during lunch time between Monday-Friday since they offer an amazing lunch set for only 980yen!

This shabu shabu restaurant is pricey for dinner service, but their weekday lunch service is almost too good to be true. You need to take off your shoes when you first walk in but you then get to dine in a private room with tatami flooring. The staff are all women in kimono’s which really adds to the authentic and old-school Japanese vibe they have.

Pictured above is the weekly lunch set (which changes weekly) “butano kakuni” lunch set for 980yen. The other dish shown above is the “Pork hari hari jitate” lunch set for 980yen. The portions may look small in the photo but they are actually quite filling. It’s really quite amazing to get such a well-balanced meal with high quality ingredients for this price in Nishiazabu.

If you want a great Japanese lunch experience that is affordable, hands down this is the place to check out.

Address // Nishiazabu 1106, 1-10-6, Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6804-5113
Website // http://www.hyoki.jp/

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{  Toshi Yoroizuka  }

Toshi Yoroizuka
Toshi Yoroizuka
Toshi Yoroizuka
Toshi Yoroizuka

Toshi Yoroizuka is known as one of the top 3 pastry chef’s in Japan and he is famous for his exquisite desserts. I had an amazing opportunity to be part of a French film documentary with both Toshi Yoroizuka and Christophe Adam, a Michelin-rated French pastry chef. This was such a surreal experience, I still can’t believe it happened and I’d have to say that my experience and review may be just a little biased :)

Although I’ve tried Toshi Yoroizuka’s desserts before, I’ve never had the chance to dine at his salon in Roppongi Midtown until now. Let me tell you, it’s a completely different experience compared to simply purchasing his desserts to-go. His salon is a cool chic space with 14 seats. Chef Yoroizuka explained that he never plans to make the seating space larger because this personal feeling/atmosphere cannot be achieved if it becomes too big.

Dining at his salon is a MUST if you are into sweets. It is such a special experience as you get to enjoy freshly made pastries that can only be savored to the fullest when they are just made. For example, I had the mouth-watering ‘Watermelon mille-feuille’ (1200 yen) which is a seasonal dessert that includes watermelon from Tottori, puff pastry straight from the oven, and is topped with homemade salted ice cream. This perfectly constructed masterpiece can only be appreciated within minutes of its creation since the delicate balance of the ingredients would quickly collapse. I literally melted after my first bite. It was SO good. In fact, everyone kept taking bites off of my plate! (Please note that the menu changes frequently so you may not be able to eat the same items.)

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