Foodle

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one of the most sought after tables where chef serves a unique menu based on fermented dishes after his training in noma and kadeau in copenhagen, as well as a breif stint in italy. his menu in his small restaurant up in karuizawa revolves around light and refreshing flavours, and i truly enjoyed his winter menu as a refreshing break from washoku.
loved the texture of the first bite, yomogi mochi made with genmai and lightly fried. the ravioli was also one i really enjoyed, perfectly cooked pasta with a sakekasu broth was a good complement to the pork and fermented bakchoi (hassai) filling. the fugu dish was also really good, fugu shirako, topped with lightly seared fugu and fermented strawberry. slightly underwhelmed by his signature of smoked salmon with radish, but what followed was my favourite, deep fried celeraic which acts as a vessel to enjoy with ice cream and dried pineapple, as a person who isn’t a fan of these western root vegetables, this was incredibly tasty and completely changed my mind. what followed was a koi somen, wagyu with the sweetest aged sweet potato topped with butter, and a koi sushi. before ending with a pine ice cream and hazelnut cake with herbal tea. really great to see how such fusion of nordic fermentation techniques could work so well with japanese ingredients and delicate flavour profiles, highly recommend their non-alcoholic pairing. really interested to see what other seasons here brings.
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december 2023
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winter lunch course: (¥45,000 with pairing)
✨蓬餅yomogi mochi with caviar
✨ラビオリravioli with fermented bakchoi and kurobuta, sakekasu miso sauce and porcini oil
✨河豚白子 いちごfugu shirako, strawberry
サーモン 発酵生カブsmoked salmon, fermented kabu, tomato sauce
✨根セロリ 牛乳アイス パイナップルfried celeriac, celeriac milk ice cream and pineapple
焼き鯉 そうめん grilled koi fish with somen
短角和牛 2ヵ月半熟成焼き芋tankaku wagyu with aged sweet potato
鯉の寿司 koi fish sushi
もみのきの葉のアイス pine ice cream, chinese lantern sauce and chips
ヘーゼルナッツケーキ hazelnut cake
ハーブティー herbal tea
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would revisit: yes, another season
reservations: intro-only
price range pp: ¥30,000-¥60,000
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📍RESTAURANT NAZ
location: 134-3 oiwake, karuizawa
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jumped at the chance to visit this italian restaurant which has been on my bucket list since i began exploring food in japan. initially attracted by their famed roll cake, their other savoury dishes i also thoroughly enjoyed.
started with their refreshing pear and burrata, followed by their signature chilled uni cappelleni, in a light herbal dressing which was so so good especially with the chewy noodles. following was an offmenu lobster salad before their signature omelette and this round with white truffles. our last starter was my favourite, lightly battered and fried tara shirako with a slightly spicy arrabita sauce, so so divine.
to follow, we had 3 pastas to share. i’d say the pastas here tasted very rustically italian, strong flavourings and sauce focused, not the typical japanese italian style but to each their own. lemon garlic cheese was light and not too overpowering with acidity, oxtail was also very good. but my favourite was the ika-sumi, the squid ink sauce was rich and flavourful, coating the tagliatelle perfectly with some rough pieces of squid and cherry tomato, this was so good i could’ve had the whole plate myself.
next for main was a lightly grilled venison dressed with a balsamic glaze before ending with a their famed roll cake. no pistachio today (means i have to come back again), but a christmas version of strawberry with a light addition of white chocolate and perfectly soft and eggy chiffon, so so so good and completely worth the wait to finally get a chance to try this place.
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december 2023
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ブラータと洋ナシ burrata with pear (¥2000)
✨ウニ冷製カッペリーニ cold uni cappellini (¥2700)
伊勢海老のサラダ lobster salad
白トリッフオムレツ white truffle omelette
✨白子ムニエルアラビアータ shirako, arrabita sauce (¥2500)

レモンニンニクバターチーズ lemon cheese pasta (¥2000)
✨イカスミパスタika-sumi pasta (¥2400)
✨牛テールカチョエペペ oxtail cacio e pepe (¥2700)

えぞ鹿ロースト venison roast (¥3500)
✨✨いちごロールケーキ strawberry roll cake
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would revisit: yes
reservations: intro-only
price range pp: ¥10,000-¥30,000
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📍メグリヴァ
location: 1-10-5 kamimeguro, meguro city, tokyo
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a meal i was very much looking forward to, with a background training under innovative kitchens, yamazaki san’s cooking has clear demonstrations of more out of the box approaches which create flavours which are very comprehendible, even for those who are just starting out exploring washoku. fortunate enough to be trying his winter menu, starting with my favourite rendition of shiro miso soup this trip with fried tofu, before his fugu which is lightly dressed in ponzu and really like the jelly with fugu kawa (skin) and topped with ankimo. his shanghai gani in yuzu bake with shiromiso and shirako was leaning on the sweet end, and really enjoyed the grilled duck with a tofu fish cake. so happy i got to try his ‘tkg’, with his smoked sprouts before topping with a cured egg yolk. and finishing with his kani zosui, which had a very delicate and light flavour. very much enjoyed his dessert of milk ice cream and strawberry jam with meringue, and overall a very enjoyable meal with great company. wish to try his very talked about suppon next time!
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december 2023
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✨揚げ胡麻豆腐 fried sesame tofu, shiro miso
✨焼き河豚 あん肝と河豚の煮凝リfugu, fugu jelly, ankimo
白甘鯛のお吸い物 shiro-amadai, turnip in dashi
さわらの藁焼きsawara, and grated horseradish
蟹しゃぶ 蟹味噌kani in dashi with kani miso
海老芋 鶏のソープfried ebi-imo
上海蟹 鱈の白子shanghai gani shirako bake
✨鴨のローストroast duck
芹のご飯smoked japanese parsley tkg
蟹雑炊crab congee
✨いちごアイス milk ice cream and strawberry
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would revisit: maybe another season
reservations: intro-only
price range pp: ¥30,000-¥60,000
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📍山崎
location: 1-5-3 nishiazabu, tokyo
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lovely dining experience here, under the hands of a super bubbly and welcoming team which gave a super comfortable and warm ambience which i find rare in japanese restaurant scenes.
tsumamis were simple but tasty, highlights being the tako and fatty kue, mini fugu shirako don and half of a seikokani deshelled and full of roe. for nigiris, love the strong akazu in the shari which is completely up my alley, his kawahagi was divine, chutoro was definitely the top piece this trip. kohada was savoury balanced with the right acidity, and ended with a stellar piece of unagi. tamago here was also outstanding, rich custardy almost cake like, shamelessly had 2 and wanted more. ankimo maki was delightful, and so was his the milk ice-cream to end. so warm, so friendly and i felt so at ease, not pretentious, great food and at a very humble price point which is so rare in tokyo dining scenes. a real gem in shirokanedai, super young and talented taisho, highly recommended for the great cospa and quality.
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december 2023
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dinner omakase (¥32,700)
水雲ポン酢 mozuku
カツオの焼き grilled katsuo
✨タコ octopus
✨クエ kue
✨河豚白子の丼 fugu shirako don
あん肝 ankimo
せいこ蟹 seiko crab
茶碗蒸し chawanmushi

白甘鯛shiro amadai
縞鯵 shima aji
ホタテ scallop
✨カワハギ kawahagi
春子鯛 kasugo dai
小肌 kohada
✨中トロ chutoro
赤身漬け akami zuke
大トロotoro
車海老kuruma ebi
馬糞ウニ bafun uni
✨穴子anago
✨あん肝の巻きankimo maki
✨卵焼き tamago yaki

✨ミルクのアイス milk ice cream
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would revisit: yes
reservations: yes
price range pp: ¥30,000-¥60,000
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📍島津
location: 1-29-13 shirokane, tokyo
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my first encounter with the saito line, with his protege opening his own shop within recent years. foreigner friendly and seemingly encouraged to indulge in their great wine selections, served at the hands of husband and wife duo.
began with a series of creative and complex tsumamis like tuna meatball and daikon in dashi, kuromutsu sushi in sansho infused rice and a steamed saba with shiro miso sauce; also got a tasting of their own brand of caviar before the nigiri section began.
his shari was slightly warm and sticks together nicely with a delicate chew, rather mild in flavour and not too overpowering which was actually great to go with wines. really enjoyed the katsuo, hokkigai and the chutoro today. his sujiko nigiri was also so beautiful and uni was also delightfully sweet despite not being the best season for it. loved the grill kuruma ebi head and tails with gingnam right after the nigiri. i thought it was a pretty pricey course for what it was, and more so than his master if memory serves me right. well pampered from start to end, and a little bit of a pretentious dining experience.
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december 2023
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dinner omakase course (~¥60,000)
鮪のつみれのお吸い物 tuna meatball
黒ムツの蒸し寿司 kuromutsu steamed sushi
鯖味噌煮 cooked saba in miso sauce
生キャビア caviar

カツオ katsuo
縞鯵 shima-aji
ハマグリ hamaguri
小肌 kohada
中トロ chutoro
車海老 kuruma ebi
焼き車海老の頭 grilled kuruma ebi head
大トロ otoro
赤身 akami
北寄貝 hokkigai
筋子 sujiko
ウニ uni
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would revisit: try once
reservations: intro-only
price range pp: ¥60,000-¥100,000
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📍鮨しゅんじ
location: 3-6-34 motoazabu, tokyo
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one of the up and rising stars of the ramen scene in tokyo located in ikebukuro. they used to do daily registrations when i went but now seems to take bookings in advance on tablecheck. came for a bowl each of their shio and shoryu ramen, which both were very well made just depending on personal preference. i’m more of a shoyu person so i enjoyed shoyu more, with its soy flavours balanced adequately with sweetness from the use of assorted seafoods like small asari clams, hamaguri, scallops on top of chicken. the shio had a more distinct flavour of clams and seafood which was equally delicate and balanced. for the choice of shio, an option of thick noodles could be chosen, but both thin and thick noodles had great wheat flavours and texture. very well made toppings of chasiu, duck and sous vide chicken; but expected more from their wontons and ajitama. a very solid bowl, definitely worth trying and one of the ones worth queueing up for.
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december 2023
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特上醤油らぁめん (¥1600)
特上塩らぁめん (太麺変更) (¥1600)
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would revisit: yes
reservations: yes on tablecheck
price range pp: under ¥3000
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📍JAPANESE RAMEN 五感
location: 2-57-2 higashi-ikebukero, tokyo
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usually i find 魚介類 (fish bone broth) based tsukemens to be overly rich and salty, but was craving this on a cold, icy day so decided to head to michi on the outskirts of town. please be reminded to check their twitter/social media platforms as somedays they do special flavours and not the original fish bone broth.
thoroughly impressed with the broth here, rich and deep but surprisingly not cloying nor overly savoury. the noodles here were also strong in wheat flavour and adequately chewy which i like. toppings however were a let down, chasiu was rough and store bought pickled bamboo shoots were served. half of an ajitama was also mediocre, chicken meatball can also be skipped. small portion for girls also comes with a free creme brulee of course in which i tried, quite a nice sweet finish from such a rich lunch. a great spot for this type of ramen in the city, horrible topping but generally recommend!
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december 2023
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✨つけ麺 (¥1300)
女盛: -150g + デザート (+¥150)
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would revisit: yes (only for fish bone)
reservations: no
price range pp: under ¥3000
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📍つけ麺道
location: 5-28 kameari, katsushika city, tokyo
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a stop we made whilst waiting for our turn for gokan nearby, this ramenya also is worth seeking out for. notable for their wonton which was indeed one of the most notable wontons i’ve had in ramens thus far, serving 2 types, prawn and pork which are both equally well made encased in uber thin wrappers. very nice ajitama also with its rich orange yolk. soup was delicate and matched well with the homemade ‘chijire’ noodles (中太ちぢれ麺) which are noticeably thick, curly and chewier. they also do a sansho version, which i’m not a big fan of so the shiro dashi was perfect for me. definitely a spot worth seeking out if in the area.
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december 2023
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白だしちょっとずつワンタン麺 (¥1100)
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would revisit: if in the area
reservations: no
price range pp: under ¥3000
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📍キング製麺
location: 1-14-1 ojihoncho, tokyo
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second shop of ‘ramen break beats’ known for their toripaitan ramen, its situated at a more convenient location for ramen shops hence was my first stop after a long flight from london. they offered one with a special type of chicken which was limited and a normal one with their paparika espuma, thought it was rather gimmicky so just ordered the plain one.
overall taste-wise was solid despite not being the best toripaitan i’ve had, not much depth and quite a small bowl. but considering location and value it was a good bargain. wish to try the main shop next time i’m around.
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december 2023
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鶏白湯らぁ麺 (¥1200)
味玉 (¥200)
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📍RAMEN AFRO BEATS
location: 103 1-16-10 shinjuku, tokyo
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would revisit: if in the area
reservations: no
price range pp: under ¥3000

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one of the most famous udon joints in tokyo, at a rather convenient location by kanda and very well priced bowls, quick service and turnover, with a constant queue of both tourists and office-workers. personally was a bit disappointed with the udon here, got the most simple warm bowl of udon in dashi with an egg. given the price, egg was not rich as expected, the noodles itself could be a lot chewier. may it be my expectations being too high but it was at quite a similar level as koya in london which not sure if thats a complement to them in london. fried chicken was nice though, could be tad more seasoned but enjoyable. overall tokyo udon scene is a bit quiet, prefer the ramen in this side of japan, and the udon down in kansai.
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december 2023
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月見うどん tsukimi udon (¥640)
かしわ天 fried chicken (¥280)
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would revisit: no
reservations: no
price range pp: under ¥1000
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📍うどん丸香
location: 3-16-1 kanda ogawamachi, tokyo
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