Tenmatsu

Tenmatsu is a must try for those after a superior tempura restaurant in Tokyo. Located just outside Mitsukoshi-mae station, we were seated at the counter while the chef prepared an amazing meal for us. Choose from several set options. We had:

Entree - didn't quite catch what the hostess mentioned but she asked if we wanted something seasonal as an entree and we said yes. It was a wonderful seafood appetiser, fresh and tangy, and certainly got the tastebuds going.

Take set - 6 pieces of tempura: shrimp, fish, vegetables (¥5400) - Substantial tempura set with fresh ingredients, you get an extra serving of fish compared to the Ume set. You get to choose your own vegetable tempura from a basket of goodies and the shrimp is prepared fresh in front of you; still alive and kicking. The tempura batter is light and crispy and expertly fried.

Ume set - 5 pieces of tempura: shrimp, fish, vegetable (¥4320) - Good amount of tempura courses and very good value. As mentioned, you get pretty much everything that the more expensive options have.

Bowl of rice with tendon (¥2700) - Shrimp, veg and fish pancake tempura served on top a bowl of rice. It was accompanied with a tendon sauce on top and was quite tasty.

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Type of venue: Japanese,  Tempura

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 1-8-2 Muromachi, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0022

Gion Maruyama

Gion Maruyama (Two Michelin Stars) is an amazing Kyoto-style Kaiseki restaurant. The service was excellent and we were in our very own private room enjoying multiple courses filled with seasonal ingredients. Chef Maruyama was kind enough to prepare the live Ayu in front of us and fresh Ayu has a watermelon scent. We spent about AU$650 but the amazing service by the kimono-clad hostesses, Chef Maruyama and the wonderful atmosphere was completely worth it.

All the dishes were carefully prepared using local seasonal ingredients. They not only looked wonderful but tasted amazing. We had:

Tea and Japanese bamboo wine followed by sakizuke (first dish served in Kyo-Kaiseki) to whet one's appetite. 

The sakizuke was slices of raw sea bream, horse beans and carp eggs dressed with miso sauce, vinegar and Japanese mustard.

Next came sushi rice containing sea bream and pepper-tree leaf wrapped in bamboo leaves, sushi rice containing conger eel and ginger wrapped in oak leaf and other side dishes to symbolise a good start to the May Festival.

After that, we had a soup bowl filled with wonderful seasonal ingredients like Japanese tilefish, plum, pumpkin and hen-of-the-wood mushrooms. It was also accompanied with a sashimi dish comprising of sea bream, toro and cuttlefish. It was the best toro we have ever had but sadly we got too excited and forgot to take a photo of this course.

The main dishes were then prepared by Chef Maruyama. The Ayu (swimming around just seconds ago in front of us) were expertly prepared and even deboned. They were prepared several ways including with salt and sour knotweed sauce, soy and sake.

It was accompanied with broiled bamboo shoot and grilled rice-balls among other things.

This was then followed by a Japanese shabu shabu dish of clam and tofu in a ponzu sauce.

We also had a hollowed out Japanese mandarin orange containing fried scallop, leek, mushrooms and asparagus, and some beef with sweet sake and ginger as well as an out-of-this-world wonderfully sweet tomato.

The final course before dessert comprised of miso soup, rice with sea bream (wonderful fish aroma and taste) and Japanese pickles.

Dessert was a simple but excellent end to the night. We had bracken-starch pastry, shaddock, strawberry and banana sherbet.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Japanese,  Kaiseki

English menu: No menu. Omakase.

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 570-171 Minamigawa, Gionmachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

Butagumi

Butagumi specialises in tonkatsu and is about a 10 min walk from Roppongi Station. The menu is easy enough to follow; just choose based on how rich or flavourful you want it to be and whatever is available is highlighted in green. We had:

Croquette (¥350) - Crispy on the outside and deliciously creamy on the inside as it should be. The price is per piece.

Japanese sausage (¥600) - Certainly a high quality sausage served quite simply with a side of seeded mustard and pickles. Looks simple but tastes amazing.

Kagoshima-junsui-kuro-buta (¥3600) - Rich option from Kagoshima prefecture. It was nice but certainly drier and more steak-like. Required more chewing effort.

Meishan-ton (¥3800) - Super rich option from Ibaraki prefecture. So tender it melts in your mouth. Very rich and flavourful.

All sets come with miso soup, rice, slice cabbage and Japanese vegetable pickles. You also get a small appetiser to share and wonderful service as you do throughout Japan!

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Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Japanese,  Tonkatsu 

English menu: Yes.

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo 106-0031, Japan

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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.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star 
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star 
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star

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.

Service: :star :star :star :star  ½
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star

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?

Service: :star :star :star :star ½
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star 

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

Uoriki Kaisen Sushi (魚力海鮮寿司)

Uoriki Kaisen Sushi (魚力海鮮寿司) is a small sushi bar located on the "food hall" floor of the Shibuya Tokyu Department Store. You may be tempted to get something from the various stalls in the food hall but trust us, Uoriki Kaisen Sushi is a must try and rates very highly on some of the best sushi we have ever had. Besides, you can always buy some fresh mochi for dessert after. We had:

Large boiled conger eel (¥500 each) - Large it is. Tastes amazing, succulent and meltingly soft.

Fatty tuna/otoro (¥500 each) - Such good value. Simply divine and so meltingly soft that chewing isn't really necessary.

Horse mackerel (¥160 each) - Nice colour on the skin, bluish green and good flavour to it.

Abalone (¥500 each) - Again, simple and delicious. Served with a small piece of the gonad on top.

Boiled octopus (¥160 each) - No idea how the octopus remains so tender. So simple and yet a nice subtle flavour and not much chewing required.

Uni (¥300 each) - Fresh and so deliciously creamy and sweet. A must try for those who haven't had it before.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star 
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star 
Value for money: :star :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Japanese, Sushi 

English menu: Yes.

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: B1 Tokyu Department Store, 2-24-1 Shibuya