B E E F I N J A P A N

Japan really is the country for foodies. When you think of Japan, most would automatically think of sushi as their first thought but to think that that is the only cuisine they do well would be a misnomer. There is something about the beef in Japan. I have never seen so much marbling in my life. You can instantly tell that the meat will be succulent and tasty just by looking at it. You almost think that there is no way you could screw this up because it looks that good. While we did not wander into Kobe on this trip, we did try to find some good beef. Our first meal with a focus on beef was in Osaka at a place called, Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku. Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku, Osaka

This was one restaurant that we did not plan on eating in (like so many of the other meals we had in Japan). We simply wandered the old streets of Osaka and came across this one. A classy yakiniku joint along the cobblestone street that was clean but lit in a way that reminded you of movies of olden day Japan where lanterns lit the way, Matsuzakagyu specializes in Matsusaka beef (a form of wagyu). We were seated in our private booth which had drapes to separate you from the rest of the restaurant. There are English speaking waiters and waitresses and in any case, they are very polite and helpful. We settled for the beef platter which worked out to be around $120-130 USD per person. For that price, you get a variety of cuts of beef, each with a different form and varying marbling. Like any yakiniku, the food is grilled at your table. The cuts of meat varied and were written in Japanese as you can see below but all tasted delicious. You can use the house sauce as well but the meat tasted great on its own. The beef was tender and flavourful. Was it the best steak I’ve had in my life? Probably not but it was pretty close. The next place we went to though, took that prize.

Yoroniku, Tokyo Yoroniku is another yakiniku in Japan but this is one that we had researched and made reservations for. From reading several blogs and reviews, Yoroniku was identified by a few to be one of the best dining experiences they had in Japan so we knew we had to experience this ourselves. Unfortunately… the only reservation time they had open was at 10:30pm. That was fine by us though as we timed our hunger so that we would be hungry again by the time our table came up (i.e. ramen in Shibuya for dinner at 6pm). This place was a little hard to find (as are lots of restaurants in Tokyo) as it was quite literally only identifiable by a single lamp. Even our taxi driver was wondering where he was dropping us off.

When we got in, we were surprised that this was a smoking restaurant but such is Japan in some cases. We’re not smokers and we don’t like the smell but it is part of their dining culture in izakaya’s and the like so it is just something we had to deal with. We once again ordered the fixed price menu of $70 USD per person which comes with 10 different dishes. The difference here though is that a server is assigned to cook the beef for you. Might as well because they know exactly how it is done. They literally let the beef sit for no longer than 2 seconds in some cases! The beef came in varying sizes and cuts but I tell you, I haven’t seen beef look this good before. Starting with the perfectly seasoned raw beef tar tar, we eventually made our way to the thin cuts of beef. The beef was cut so thin, the cook called it “silk”. It was marbled thoroughly as you would expect but it was marinated as well. The beef was actually sweet and savoury at the same time and just melted in your mouth. The house sauce was delicious and the cook tells you how to eat each slice (with sauce, with no sauce, with lemon, etc). One of the more memorable pieces was a thin, thin cut of beautiful beef that was cooked then mixed with a raw egg yolk. It sounds risky but it was incredible. We also had the sirloin steak but honestly, the thinner slices were the highlights. By the time the cook said that it was the last meat dish, I was sad. For me, this was the best beef that I have ever had – which is saying a lot because I love steak. I was full but almost did not want the goodness to end. Yoroniku easily ranks up there as one of the top three meals we had in Japan (better than Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku in Osaka).

S U S H I D A I

When we decided to go to Japan, we had food at the forefront of our thoughts. So when we asked people where some of the best places for sushi was, we were excited that we had so many options. One of which is more well known amongst tourists - Sushi Dai. Located in the Tsukiji Fish Market, Sushi Dai is known as one of the top 2 sushi-ya's there. The omakase was for 3,900 yen which translates to roughly $40 USD. For fish that is as fresh as it could get, prepared by masters in their craft, it's not a bad deal right? The only catch? You have to get there early. We'll get into that in a second. We were lucky enough to be staying in the Shiodome area so the fish market was only a short walk. Good thing because our phone alarm woke us up at 3:00am and we arrived at Sushi Dai by 4:00am. So we thought we would be keeners and get in the first round (the restaurant opens at 5:00am). Boy were we wrong. We got there only to see about 30 people already in the line-up. Sushi Dai is counter seating only which is very common for independent sushi restaurants in Japan. The problem is, they only seated about 10-12 people at a time. We waited and waited and waited... We thought at one point that we were going to get in for the second round for sure at 6am but we were the last couple that didn't make it :( I must say... it was a great experience waiting in front of the windows, watching others eat that delicious looking sushi. We made it in by 7am and by that point, we were not only starving but cold as well.

To be honest, the omakase at Sushi Dai impressed us. The meal included 12 pieces of nigiri which were definitely bigger in quantity (both in rice and in fish) than most other traditional spots. No, it was not as refined as Daisan Harumi or Sushi Iwa which we had the previous 2 nights but the quality of fish was there. We came here with a bit of skepticism. This was a touristy spot after all. But we were left satisfied and honestly feeling like our 3 hour wait was worth it. I personally loved the horse mackeral and o-toro. So impressive and fatty, the o-toro just melts in your mouth. It really is unlike any tuna you get in North America where its texture just doesn't hold and disintegrates rather than melts if that makes sense. The uni, while it wasn't the best we had in Japan, was delicious, had a super creamy texture that was rich and sweet. Of all the sushi restaurants we have been to, the only one in North America that we could definitely say is better than Sushi Dai may be Sushi Yasuda in New York. But then you're looking at a price difference of $40 USD versus $200 USD per person. So, to conclude, would we come back? Definitely! I just hope we don't have to wait in line for 3 hours again next time... Sushi Dai Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1, Tsukiji Market Building No. 6 Tokyo, Japan

H A M M E R & T O N G

This Easter weekend, our quest to find more great brunch spots in Melbourne took us to Hammer & Tong in Fitzroy. Fitzroy is one of those pockets in a city that is as creative as they come. A place where its age shows, this area of town is not lacking in character. Hammer & Tong sits just off of Brunswick Street (for people that live in Vancouver, it is much like Main Street or Commercial Drive) and is home to one of the more well known soft-shell crab burgers in the city. We arrived at the door at about 11am and was met with a lineup that took about 15 minutes to get in (not too shabby). Not surprisingly, the restaurant was bustling and very full. We were served some great coffee here in no time... what came after though, didn't come until almost 40 minutes later. Needless to say, we were starved by the time our food arrived. We get that the restaurant is busy but 2/3rds of an hour is too long. Having said that the food hit the spot and I suppose that was this experience's saving grace.

We ordered the smoked trout, kale, poached egg on a rye bagel with seaweed hollandaise along with the zucchini and corn fritters with poached egg. The smoked trout was good but maybe a little dry. The combination of the ingredients is what made this dish so memorable. It was delicious and we polished off that plate with ease. The fritters had a very mexican flare to it and it also had a great, crispy texture on the outside. To end our meal, we shared a soft shell crab burger since it was selling like hot cakes. Our conclusion? It was good - the bun was very soft and warm (I'm no good with descriptions as you can tell) and the flavor was distinctly asian - but it was a little too salty. Overall, we enjoyed it. We may have had better in Melbourne but this ranks right up there with the best. We'll be back. Hammer & Tong 412 Brunswick Street Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia

C U M U L U S I N C

We love food so needless to say, when we have the opportunity to go out for brunch, we always try to find a new place. In Melbourne, it isn't so easy to exhaust your options even if you want to. Cumulus Inc. is heavily reviewed and very popular for both breakfast and dinner. We came here brunch and only had to wait about 20 minutes (not very much considering most popular places in town will require a bit of a queuing time). The restaurant is well lit and welcoming. We had the Cumulus breakfast which offered a boiled egg, toast, preserves, and yoghurt. We also had the smoked salmon on buckwheat waffle. The salmon was delicious and was easily the highlight of our meal. The coffee was not bad as well. The food was good and simple. It is refreshing to find a brunch place that does not try to do too much. But we both thought the food was just that... good. It wasn't outstanding but it was ok. It may have been all the hype from hearing others rave about this place. Anyway, would we come back? Definitely will one day. Afterall this is one of the better brunch options in the city. Cumulus Inc. 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne, Australia

S H O R A I N

Kyoto is known for their quality tofu. When I first brought up the idea of going for a tofu meal in Kyoto, K's reaction was "Seriously? All tofu?". He likes his meats so the idea of having 4 or 5 courses of tofu probably made him think that 1) that's one expensive meal for just tofu and 2) i'm probably still going to be hungry after the meal cause how filling can tofu be? Feeling determined, I did some research and came across this place called Shoraian (松籟庵). From what I read, this restaurant was located in the middle of nowhere (on the side of the mountain past the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest) and you probably won't be able to tell that it's a restaurant even if you walked right past it (see pictures for reference). The tofu tasting menu however, looked amazing and I knew we had to come try this out. We made a reservation before we left for Japan as I read that they have very limited space and they are only open for lunch. The reservation was made for 1PM (just to be on the safe side.. in case we got lost) and luckily, we made it there with 5 minutes to spare! It was a really cold day in Kyoto, so we were ready to get inside and warm up after hiking up from the bamboo forest to the restaurant (about 30 minutes with GPS).

When we got inside this unassuming restaurant, we were quickly brought into our own private tatami room where warm electric blankets and hot green tea awaited. We chose to try the $48USD tasting menu that day as it had quite a good variety. While we waited for the food to come, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the scenery was from our dining room. We overlooked a flowing river and were surrounded by mountains. It was all too serene.

With a quick knock on the door by our server, the tofu started to arrive. First an appetizer, a tofu which they served to us with some sweet plum wine. It was very creamy and had a custard like texture. Then came the assorted tofu which was almost too pretty too eat. This dish included tofu as well as some seafood and vegetables. The next dish was the "special" which was inspired by the owner's artwork and calligraphy. The Kyo-ryori seasonal selection that followed was this beautifully made tofu stacked from endless paper-thin layers of soy bean curd. We were blown away by the craftsmanship. The Yudofu that came next is the signature dish of all tofu cuisine in Kyoto. I would also say that this is probably the simplest dish of the entire tasting menu as it involves cooking silky smooth blocks of tofu in a pot of boiling water until the tofu starts to jiggle (or dance as our server explained). This is then followed by an Agedashi tofu and finally, some awesome tofu ice cream.

We were both so full and satisfied after this meal. Needless to say, this was an amazing experience and for the price, it was well worth it!