Japan Trip, Oct 2006 - Tsukiji Market (築地市場) Part 2 - More Food

The outer area of the Tsukiji Market is equally exciting.

The outer market is mainly for pickles and dried food. There were also merchants for Japanese handmade knives and tools.


Pickles


Very pricey fungi. I guess it's not as expensive as truffles but a small box of the very best stuff can easily cost more than a meal for 5!

Then, there are the shops and stalls selling food! (I'm loving this entry!!)

For two mornings, we joined the other tourists and have sushi for breakfast in the Inner Area of the market. We saw queues forming in front of two particular shops, so naturally we joined one of the queues. (We later found out that these two shops are recommended by LP so they are very popular). The shops offer set sushi menu with about 8 pieces of sushi. It was perfect for breakfast. The sushi is nicely made and very delicious. However, they weren't THAT special. The sushi was of the normal variety. It was kinda boring.


Breakfast at the tiny sushi shop!

After our first breakfast, we went to the outer market and found that there are many food stalls on the outer edge of the market. There were more queues and we joined the long queues again. We tried the ramen from one of the shop.


A production line for the noodles!


Eating noodles while standing on the side of a busy road!

Then we walked towards one end of the street and saw another long queue, so we had a beef rice don from this specialty shop.

Both were EXCELLENT! It also warms my stomach after the cold breakfast. It was satisfying indeed! I have to say, by the time I got to the end of the queue, I was hungry again. I could have just lined up, wait, eat, and then lined up again! This could have gone on forever! :)

Anyway, our self-control bought us to try something else for dinner that night (OKOK. We wanted to try some adventurous stuff, so we went into town to look for the biggest fish on the planet! Don't ask. and I hope Gr33n Peace won't find this site!)

OK. Back to the market. We went back there for breakfast again the next day. We thought we might just as well try to other shop, for a complete experience! hehehe. It was slightly better than the other one, but not significantly better.


One of the very popular sushi shop in the inner market.

I thought, why not go to the outer market and find some other food again? We ventured out and found a restaurant selling 'Japanese in-shore' tuna sushi and we just can't run away from the chance to try something local!

We entered the shop and was greeted by a sushi chef. We decided to order a la carte and we were given a menu with pictures of all the sushi that they have. There were around 30 choices!!! We ordered most of the 'special' sushi.

Here are a selection:


Boring stuff. But I like fish roe.


Some random white fish. I think it was the hirame (平目) flounder/bastard halibut


More random fish. But this particular one was really nice. Too bad I don't know what fish it is!


One of the special recommendation - Kanpachi (間八)

White trevally (しま鯵) sushi. This was one of the special recommendation and I really like this one too.


The best part of the meal was definitely the inshore otoro (大とろ), which is supposedly the fattiest part of the local bluefin tuna belly.

We also met a very funny chef at the restaurant. One of the guy speaks a little English, so he came around and asked us where we are visiting from. I told him 'England'.

And then I get this odd look from him. OK. I look Asian. But he looked very puzzled. Then, he asked again, 'You mean Beckham-England?' SP and I then just cracked out laughing. It seems that Mr Beckham has got his fair share of fans in Japan :)

For more information about sushi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sushi_and_sashimi_ingredients_and_styles

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Written By SP

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!  

I didn't know snow can be that beautiful, the last time I've seen snow is at the Snowy mountain - hitting your face at 60KM/P is counted as snow then I have nothing to say!

Well, this is different, flow down at a slow pace and the flakes is actually quite soft too.....its very beautiful, until, your eye is looking down on the street, the dirty and filthy streets of London really ruin the whiteness of the snow.  And nothing works in London when it snows - all the transport is stop working and England lost to Spain yesterday night didn't help either. The train driver must have too much to drink yesterday and called in sickie this morning.

Let's finish this entry off with a song I like during snowing time like this:

Oh the weather outside is frightful, 
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of Pauseping,
And I've bought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight,
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!  

Created by lyricist Sammy Cahn and the composer Jule Styne in 1945

Happy Birthday Valerie!

Valerie turns two today! :)

Japan Trip, Oct 2006 - Tsukiji Market (築地市場) Part 1 - Tuna Auction

Enough about food, let's talk about the infamous Tsukiji FISH (!!) market :P

Those of you from Sydney, you might think that the sashimi from the Sydney Fish Market is great. Yes, it is good, but the fish at Tsukiji is even better!


Look at this giant tuna! It is about 5 times my weight!

A bit of background, Tsujiki market (築地市場) contains the largest wholesale fish market in the world. It also has one of the biggest wholesale food markets. Its name "Tsukiji" (築地), literally means "built land", was the product of a 18th Century landfill project. The market itself is located in central Tokyo and it supplies 90 percent of all fish consumed in the greater Tokyo area. There are a number of refrigeration rooms in the market and these rooms can hold enough fish to supply Tokyo for up to ten days! The market is also an important component of the economical and social fabric. Some forecasters even treat Tsukiji as an informal barometer for economic trends and consumer confidence (rather like Wall Street's hemline indices).

It is a major attraction on our must-do list (which read "must try the best sashimi"). Oops, this post is not directly about eating!

Although Tsujiki market is on every guide book that we came across, we came to know the market from a different source:

A few year ago, when SP and I was the regular customers of a particular fishmonger at the Sydney Fish Market, we befriended the 'sashimi guy'. One day, the 'sashimi guy' offered us a very special tray of tuna sashimi. It was from a blue-fin tuna and it was originally designated to go to Japan. Due to some unknown reasons, this particular fish didn't make it to Japan, and it was made available in the Sydney Fish Market. The 'sashimi guy' was nice enough to save us a piece and he charged us the price for standard yellow-fin tuna! At that time, we were told that the best fish, including all blue-fin tunas, are sent to Japan because they are willing to pay top prices. Naturally, the Tsukiji Fish Market attracts the best fish from around the world. Being a sashimi-addict, it is IMPORTANT that I visit the market! :)

We deliberately chose a hotel close to the market so that we can wake up in time and catch the infamous early-morning tuna auction. The first morning in Tokyo, we dragged ourselves out of bed and head towards the market. It was quiet in the streets but as we approached the market, we can hear lots of noise. The buildings themselves are pretty run-down and outdated. The buildings are no where near Sydney Fish Market's. There were rows of stalls in the inner buildings, which is similar to the layout of a traditional street market, only that there are approx. 1,700 stalls in this giant market. Workers were driving around these motorised carts in the narrow lane ways and we were almost run over in a few instances!

When we have finally arrived at the venue for one of the tuna auctions, we found ourselves to be one of the first visitors there! It was essentially a giant fridge with lots and lots of tuna fish (and humans too!) in it.


The fish were being prep for the auction.

People are still preparing for the auction. All the fish are lined up and ready to be inspected by the potential buyers. The tails of the tuna have been lopped off so that the prospective buyers can examine the flesh.


The workers looping off the tail of the tuna. Look at that blade!


The fish are numbered using red paint.

Some people would take bits of the meat in their hands and rub it to feel the texture and the amount of oil on the flesh. Their experience will tell them whether the fish will worth 40,000 yen/kg or 4,000 yen/kg.


A potential buyer inspecting the fish.

After about 45 minutes of inspection, the auction begins. The auctioneer would start chanting/"rapping" loudly to create an atmosphere to encourage offers. To participate in the auctions, a buyer would need a license from the Tokyo metropolitan government. The license is displayed as a small plastic plate attached to a baseball cap. Without the license on the cap, one cannot bid in any of the auctions.

The buyers make their offers using secret hand signals. The auctioneer recognises the offer through the context of the bid. It is interesting to note that the buyers would try to keep their signal as discreet as possible, so that others can't tell how excited they are for each fish. 


An auction in progress.

One particular fish that we saw was sold for ¥6,000,000 (approx £25,000; US$50,000; AUD$45,000), enough to buy a very good Japanese car locally!


After the auction, the buyer's name is painted on the fish so that there are no confusion.


This fish is then wheeled away.


The quality of the fish is confirmed when they are chopped up for sale. The people in the shop had very straight faces and they were very serious about their purchase.


Some of the fish is sold in the market. Though I don't think that's the best part of the fish.

Japan Trip, Oct 2006 - Chanko Nabe (ちゃんこ鍋 )

OK. Now, let's talk about our dinner in Osaka.

We've already eaten so much good food during our time in Osaka. I thought it would be hard to think of anything novel for us to eat for dinner.

Then, the lovely Ms YI thought of Chanko-nabe (ちゃんこ鍋 ), famous for its health and stamina benefits. What is Chanko-nabe? you may ask.

Well, it is a hearty stew-like soup made from chicken stock and containing chicken, pork slices, meatballs, mushrooms, vegetables and tofu. It is the staple dish of sumo wrestlers because the dish is very easy to digest and it is considered as the primary source of energy for sumo wrestlers. As a result, it has earned its rank as yokozuna (横綱), or grand champion, of Japanese foods.


Here are the ingredients that go into the pot!

The dashi (stock) in which the food is cooked varies from stable to stable, but is usually flavored with soy sauce, miso, and/or sake. As sumotori tire of eating the same meal every day, the ingredients vary considerably. Some wrestlers grow to like the culinary duties more than the training itself and give up wrestling to become the chanko-cho, or chief chanko chef, of the Stable ("heya"/部屋).

In recent year, some more enterprising wrestler started opening their own restaurants. There are many such restaurants in and around Ryogoku (両国), where the Tokyo sumo stadium is located.

The restaurant that we visited in Osaka was opened by the 66th Grand Champion of sumo wrestling Wakanohana Masaru (若乃花 勝/born 花田 勝). Wakanohana belonged to the Futagoyama Stable (二子山部屋), which produced two Grand Champions. According to the restaurant's website, some of the former wrestlers of the Futagoyama Stable also work in the kitchen to prepare some of the dishes.

As for our meal, the food was excellent. The quality of the ingredients is not doubt the best and it was a very enjoyable meal. The service was also very good!


Here is the waiter serving up the meat balls, which were molded into their round shapes on the spot.

In particular, the Chanko Pot Dish that we had was very very delicious. The soup base was made from six original blended miso, and even Ms YI said it was very very good quality. As you know, we had been eating all afternoon but we wouldn't dare wasting such wonderful food. We even drank most of the soup in the end!

In addition to the meal, we also ordered some salad and beef tataki (牛肉のタタキ).


The beef was lightly seasoned and it was very tender and tasty. I really wanted an extra portion but I was just too full!!

As for drinks, Ms YI recommended that we have the meal with shochu (焼酎) instead of sake (酒). Shochu tastes a bit more nutty and much less fruity than sake. We ordered a mixture of shochu which was served in different ways: (1) 'on the rocks', (2) diluted with hot water and (3) diluted with cold water. Because the drinks are diluted, it feels much less alcoholic than sake so we can drink more of it! Good theory, right? :P


It was a great meal, so I decide to take a photo in front of the restaurant! First time I've done that in my many great meals in Japan.