Nakajima

Located down some stairs off a side street is Nakajima (One Michelin Star). Famous for their sardines, this is a perfect place for sardine lovers and is surely one of the cheapest Michelin Starred places in the world. Come for lunch if you are after something cheap but just be prepared to queue up. As with most places, dinner tends to be more a more elaborate and expensive affair. We had:

Sardine lunch set (¥800) - Quite a small but delicious meal. You get two pieces of fish, miso soup, rice, pickles and hot green tea with your meal. The sardine is prepared quite simply and is wonderfully sweet, oily and rich. Sardine can be a little difficult to eat for the uninitiated so you may choose to have the sashimi option instead.

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English menu: Yes.

Type of venue: Japanese,  Sardine

Worth a return visit: Yes.

Address: 3-32-5 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Tamawarai

Tamawarai (One Michelin Star) is located in a residential area. We got there just before opening time and were the first ones there. However, some had made reservations and pre-ordered what they wanted so the popular items had already sold out. We had:

Tofu (¥700) - Soft creamy goodness topped with soy milk skin. Quite a simple but tasty appetiser.

Baked Miso (¥600) - Did not know what to expect. Always thought of miso as in a sauce or soup. This version has a charred and crispy outside and baking it brings out a nice aroma and flavour.

Soba Topped With Natto (¥1500) - Simple but very well prepared soba with perfect texture and bite to it. The addition of Natto is not for everyone as it has a slimy texture akin to okra. Simply mix everything together and it is almost like a soba salad.

Soba With Grated Daikon Radish (¥1300) - Again, the soba was simply amazing. Perfect texture and so simple with hot soba "tea" to complete the meal. This version is what most will be familiar with. Just a simple dipping sauce for the soba noodles and you can add the radish and bonito flakes as you wish.

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Type of venue: Soba, Japanese

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 5-23-3 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Yoshihashi

We had heard about Yoshihashi Sukiyaki (One Michelin Star) a while ago and it was on our to-eat list. We were worried about there possibly being a long queue of eager patrons but thankfully it was an hour or so before closing time (lunch session) and we were pretty much the only people there at the time. It soon filled up with some wealthier Japanese though. Talk about good timing.

Please note that for some reason, unfortunately this is one of the few places where foreigners are not really welcome. We felt a little uneasy when we were greeted at the entrance and are not sure if it is a new policy because of some incident involving foreigners, but we were shown a laminated card that said you must be accompanied by someone who is fluent in Japanese if you wish to dine there. Maybe too many questions were asked about the Japanese-only menu or people were too boisterous/loud or it could even be the usage of phones as there was also a no-mobile phone policy in place.

We suppose we managed to get in and be served as we were not rude in any way and were quick to point out that we were there for only one thing (showed her photo of sukiyaki set on phone). The waitress was most polite and even though she spoke to us in Japanese, helped us out in the end. The service was definitely top notch but the earlier incident at the entrance did put us off a little. We had:

Sukiyaki beef lunch set - You are served a small serving of pickles, a small bowl with a raw egg in which to use as a dipping sauce, steamed rice, miso soup and a copper pot filled with thin slices of beef, chrysanthemum greens, tofu, mushrooms and onion. It was very generous, extremely tasty and very good value for such a wonderful upmarket establishment. The beef was succulent, meltingly tender and full of flavour. Everything was prepared and cooked beautifully. However, if you don't speak/read Japanese, it will be most difficult for you to order anything else. Time to learn Japanese?

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Type of venue: Sukiyaki,  Japanese

English menu: No.

Worth a return visit? Yes (If we can master Japanese by then.)

Address: 1-5-25 Motoakasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Yat Lok Restaurant

This was our second eating stop of the evening. We are debating whether to put up number 3 as Mrs doesn't like the photo. It was basically a Triple O's burger from our favourite food hall in Hong Kong, located in Pacific Place. 

Anyway, Yat Lok Restaurant (One Michelin Star) was our second stop after just landing in HK 2 hours earlier. Famous for its roast meats especially the goose, it draws in a steady stream of patrons. They had just run out of the famous goose drumstick noodles so we had:

Goose on rice ($50) - Not all the pieces had crispy skin but the goose was tender and delicious, with the seasoning and sauce really complementing it. One of the best goose versions out there.

Barbecue pork on rice (HK$50) - Slices of salty sweet tender pork that will certainly be one of the best you will have in your life. Mouth watering goodness indeed.

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Type of venue: Chinese

English menu: Yes.

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: G/F, 34—38 Stanley Street,  Central,  Hong Kong