After spending some time at Tsukiji Market and Ginza's shopping area during the first part of Day 2, off we went for our lunch at a sushi restaurant in Ginza called Kyubey. How the shopfront looks like:

[Disclaimer: This sushi restaurant is not officially halal-certified so if you are was-was then please do not patronize it. You may also skip the next portion about the restaurant.]

One of the things that we knew we wanted to do in Tokyo was to experience omakase at a respected and well established sushi restaurant. Omakase is a Japanese phrase which translates to "I'll leave it up to you" - which means you entrust the whole course to the chef and will let him select the dishes to serve you, based on his professional judgment. (I don't know if this applies to every restaurant, but at the one we went to, you can tell the chef if you have any allergies, dietary requirements or a specific sushi you want to have included in the course)

So naturally, we did some research online. Most of the restaurants had certain limitations: Must make reservations at least 1 month in advance, must be Japanese or must bring along a Japanese-speaking friend, must expect to spend at least $300 onwards per person. Unfortunately, we didn't want to reserve in advance (in case our itinerary changes at the last minute), neither of us can speak Japanese and we didn't want to pay $300 onwards per person for a meal because we weren't sure if it will be worth the hype (Oh, we were such fools)

Which was why I was excited to stumble across Kyubey from online reviews here and here! (1) They only take reservations for 11.30am slots daily, anything after that you must walk in to the restaurant to make reservations (2) They have English-speaking chefs and welcomes tourists (3) Their omakase meal during lunch costs ¥8,000 (S$94.00) which is a price we're comfortable with (After taxes and service charge, we paid about S$120.00 per person, which is still within our budget of S$150.00 per person for an omakase meal)

The reason we went for lunch is also because of a tip I read online - Go for lunch instead of dinner because the price difference is substantial. This applies to most established sushi restaurants in Tokyo (but not for the famed Sukiyabashi Jiro, which I will mention later)

Reservation Process

By the time we arrived at Kyubey, it was already noon and I was ready to be turned away with no reservations. I almost puked out of nervousness when the kind server at the door told me that our names were put down  for reservations for the 1.30pm slot! Which is the last slot for lunch! We got lucky lor! We turned into the wrong lorong while looking for Kyubey and could have easily arrived minutes later and missed out on reservation slots.

Arrival & Waiting Process

When we came back at our reservation time, we were ushered to a waiting room on the 4th level. There was a fair mix of locals and tourists (you could easily tell who was what) and I think the waiting time took about less than 5 minutes? Then the server called out names one by one to go up/down the lift to our assigned seats. As a couple, Saliheen and I were called together and then we  were brought up to our assigned seats on the 5th level. 

Pre-Meal Process

Once we arrived at the 5th level, the servers took our bags and coats/jackets for safekeeping at some cubicles at the back, and then we were ushered to our seats (There were 10 in total for the 5th level). We were seated at the far end - which we were grateful for - and introduced to our chef for the day, who attended to us and one other couple seated beside us (4 pax to 1 chef). 

At this point, I wish I can show you picture after picture of the sushi we had but unfortunately we were so enthralled by the new experience, so dizzy from the burst of flavours and consumed by the adrenaline of discovering how much more delicious the next sushi would be sampai we abandoned picture-taking altogether hahaha! You will get better visuals if you check out the links here, here, here, here and here.

Only two pictures of the otoro! WHICH MELTED BEAUTIFULLY IN OUR MOUTHS WTF. I mean, just look at that colour and marbling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think we had about 11 sushi for the whole omakase course - I can't remember the exact order we had the sushis and what sushis we were served but it included mackerel, uni (sea urchin), anago (saltwater eel), ika (squid), ebi (prawn), swordfish, a selection of maki sushi (cucumber, radish, minced tuna), tamago roll and radish and shiso leaf as a palate cleanser towards the end. There were only 2 dessert choices at the end of the whole course - Saliheen had red bean soup and I had fresh strawberries. 

I don't even know how to start raving about this restaurant, its service, its food presentation and most importantly, taste. This is one of my life experiences that I will never forget and will never stop raving about. Everything was amazing and meticulously thought out... it was like a piece of art performance!

From the impeccable service from the servers (who always seemed to serve the side dishes at all the correct timings with a smile and a bow), the way the sushi was presented (how and when; apparently the pace and the order of sushi being served to you according to their flavours makes a difference in the whole experience) to our personal interactions with our chef... everything was just beautiful and complementary. Sigh. It's really no wonder why the Japanese are known for their sincere service and warm hospitality.

Picture with our chef! I don't usually smile with teeth but he made us say "Uniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" while taking the picture haha. Didn't get his name so we plan to use this picture and ask for him again when we return to Kyubey. When we return eh, bukan if we return :P

Besides Kyubey, we are also now dreaming of dining at Sukiyabashi Jiro, which is a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Tokyo and is claimed to have the best sushi in the world. You can watch a documentary of its owner called "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" here. Costs ¥30,000 (S$353.00) per person, doesn't matter whether it's for lunch or dinner (We're willing to pay more now that we've discovered the food and the experience is worth that price-tag)

Online articles/reviews make dining at Sukiyabashi Jiro sound intimidating but we really hope to try our luck! Even better if we can convince Saliheen's friend (who is Singaporean Malay but can speak Japanese because his wife is Japanese) to tag along and be our Japanese-speaking friend hehe.

We left Kyubey after an hour, and waddled around Ginza with our fat tummies! We purposely scheduled Ginza on Sunday afternoon because we read (here) that Ginza closes part of its roads and turns into one giant pedestrian walkway during the weekends. I think we have something similar in Singapore (Pedestrian Night in Orchard?) but Saliheen and I seldom venture out to town so we don't know if it is as cool and lively as Ginza's.

After another hour plus of lepaking on the roads, we headed to Higashiya because I wanted to try their desserts! Niat hati nak duduk dalam their cafe but there were two ongoing wedding parties when we arrived so the whole place was booked. Had to settle for takeaway but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise...

... because it was only after leaving Higashiya that we realized we were behind schedule!!!!! Haha kental bacin. We were supposed to go see the Tokyo skyline after that and wanted to get out of Ginza by 4.00pm so we could  have enough to time to travel and arrive at our next destination and catch the sunset before the sky gets dark at 5.00pm. We were still hurriedly walking into Ginza station at 4.30pm seh haha.

Will share pictures of our next destination in Part 3 of Day 2! Sorry this post is dragging out but I don't know la how to make my entries shorter, always got so many things to say.

Tokyo Travels: Day 2 (Part 1)

The day after our first day in Tokyo (read here and here), we went out early to hit Tsukiji Market!

Happy and grateful we managed to jejak this famous fish market at its original location since 1935 before it relocates to a new location in November 2017! It was exactly how we expected a fish market to be - loud, boisterous, full of colourful finds. Makes for interesting people watching too - there was a lively crowd of both locals and tourists and many seasoned workers whizzing in and out with their bikes or motorized trolleys.

Saliheen and I didn't go/do the two recommended things when visiting Tsukiji Market: (1) The tuna auction, which you'll have to wake up and wait in line for at 3.00am or 4.00am (Who knows? Both are ungodly hours so makes no difference); and (2) Breakfast at Sushi Dai, which apparently sells one of the best sushis in Tsukiji Market but you'll have queue for 3 hours (or more wtf) for your turn.

Saliheen and I didn't want to wait in line, and we read that eating anywhere else in Tsukiji Market will be delicious and fulfilling too, so we walked around before settling into a small restaurant somewhere at the back of the outer market. Saliheen ordered a rice bowl with tuna whereas I ordered a rice bowl with tuna, salmon, squid and grated crab AND  IT IS OFFICIAL WE HAD ONE OF THE BEST BREAKFASTS OF OUR LIVES!!!!!

The tuna and salmon slices were so tender and so fresh and tasted so dreamy in our mouths, Saliheen and I looked at each other in stunned silence after we had our first bite hahaha. I think I saw my husband tear up with gratitude in between bites too HAHAHAHA. We paid about ¥2400 (SGD28.00) per person for this meal.

Later on we will come to realize that we could have had one of the best breakfasts of our lives at half that freaking price hahahaha I will tell you what happened when the time comes ok hahaha noob babi seh kita.

[NOTE: For those who know me, you'd know that I didn't like eating fish - if you told me I'd be eating raw fish for breakfast in Tokyo some day, I'd tell you to go fly kite! But one of my new year resolutions is to always give something new a chance, even if it's something I've disliked before (unless it'll make me break down and DIE like trekking up mountains of course hahaha). So months before heading to Tokyo, I'd go out with Saliheen or my girlfriends for Japanese food and I'd order sashimi everytime - that was when I slowly realized raw fish is  love! I've since tried cooked fish again and urmmm ok la, I can take steamed white fish with lots of ginger and soy sauce but fish still won't be my first choice for a meal la haha. Whereas fresh sashimi doesn't smell fishy (ironic, I know) and its texture feels and tastes like... a "cleaner" version of meat? Idk, I just know I love it to death now.]

Walked around the outer market for a bit, where I saw people crowding around a stall selling fresh oysters WTF OYSTER IS MY LIFE GIMME GIMME GIMME WHAT DO YOU MEAN THESE OYSTERS ARE FRESH FROM THE SEA AN HOUR AGO TAKE MY MONEY TAKE MY SOUL I JUST WANT MY OYSTERS DAMNIT! GIMME MY OYSTERS!!!!!!! I LOVE OYSTERS!!! OYSTER IS LOVE OYSTER IS LIFE!!!!!!!!

Hahahahaha. Sorry not sorry k, it was honestly ONE OF THE BEST OYSTERS I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!!!!! And I've eaten A LOT of oysters ok. You can ask my family and friends haha. It was thick, juicy and felt GLORIOUS sliding down my throat!!!!! And it was so fresh, it tasted like the ocean ok. I don't think I'll ever forget you dear oyster from Tsukiji Market because duh, who forgets their first true love????? HAHAHA

Walked to Ginza after that since it is only 10 to 15 minutes walk away from Tsukiji Market. Cheh cheh. Only 10 to 15 minutes walk away seh. Cuba kalau kena jalan 10 to 15 minutes in Singapore. Confirm menyumpah haha.

Anyway, after putting our names down on a reservation list of a sushi restaurant in Ginza (will blog more about this), we made our way to the shopping area to jalan jalan. Ended up at Uniqlo's flagship store, of course! 12 levels in total. But we didn't get anything because most of the collections were for winter. Meh. (I did regret not buying the thermal wear though, because I almost froze to death on top of Mount Fuji the next day hahaha)

There was a connecting passageway from Uniqlo to the next building (where Rose Bakery and Dover Street Market Ginza are) on the 7th level so we decided to cross over. Saliheen saw a rooftop garden before we masuk and he made me wait while he snapped away. Gambar apa dia ambik pun aku tak tau. Korang tengok ah.

Muka bini kena paksa ambik gambar sebelah pokok togel oleh suami HAHAHAHAHA

OK MOVING ON

We dropped by Rose Bakery! We didn't want to spoil our appetites for lunch so we tapao-ed a slice of almond cake and lemon tart to makan dalam hotel. The desserts were sedap la but I think I would have preferred to have them with hot flavoured tea in the bakery itself. Mmm, mesti lagi nikmat.

We walked through all 7 levels of Dover Street Market Ginza after that and got instantly depressed HAHAHA. Apa ni!!!!! Everyone in that damn store was damn fashionable ok!!! All them looked like they just stepped off the runway or out of a glossy high fashion magazine seh. Laki aku suruh jalan cepat cepat because we seriously stuck out like two sore thumbs with our rubbish clothes. RUBBISH I TELL YOU!!!!!

But you know what is NOT rubbish?

The food that we had in Kyubey Ginza for lunch.

Let's bring that story to Part 2 of Day 2 ok, because I know I will gush over it like waterfall. My air liur also dah start rasa macam nak gush like waterfall ni.