donburi – Check Please!

Lunch at Uoshin izakaya in Nogizaka

Uoshin is a chain of izakayas in Tokyo owned by a seafood distributor. When in Tokyo, I usually patronize their branch in Ginza. These izakayas are open only for dinner, however one makes an exception: their branch in Nogizaka, in the fancy Roppongi district, is open also for lunch catering to the office crowd. I tried their lunch offer back in October 2019.

The visit

The izakaya occupies a peculiar narrow house, in sharp contrast with the modern multi-story buildings all around.

I was hoping to sample their full menu, but actually for lunch they only serve donburi, a rice bowl with seafood. They had two options: one bowl with mixed seafood and one with chopped tuna and grated yam. I chose the former.

The lunch set included a miso soup. It was self-service: I poured the hot soup from the boiler into a bowl with its condiments.

Then I found a spot. This is a very Spartan venue. You seat on beer crates turned into stools and the tables are made out of wooden boxes.

The set looked good.

The bowl sported tuna, salmon eggs, and some white fish. Overall it was a very satisfying dish.

After finishing, I placed my used dishware and food left-overs in the proper containers.

By the time I left it was past noon and a queue had formed.

The check

For the large bowl, I spent 980 yen (around 9 USD), a bargain price for a lunch in Rappongi. It was simple, but the food was enjoyable and good value for money.

Where in Tokyo:
9-chome-6-32 Akasaka Minato City.
In Japanese: 東京都港区赤坂 9-6-32.
Website: http://www.uoshins.com/ (with list of other branches in Tokyo).

An izakaya in Tainan where to enjoy great donburi dishes

In Taiwan you can find great Japanese food. In some cases even better than in Japan (see here , here, and here if you do not believe me). So do not judge me negatively if I dined in a Japanese restaurant in Tainan. I was pointed to the place by a friend that had enjoyed lunch in the restaurant and had taken some persuasive pictures. I was not disappointed.

The visit

I went to the restaurant on a Sunday evening. It only has a Chinese name (丼丼丼). Also the menu was only in Chinese, but profusely illustrated, so ordering was not a problem.

It is not a large eatery. They have bar chairs (but comfortable) and at peak hours they might have some queuing.

On the menu they indicate that the rice used is same that is exported to Japan for imperial consumption. The rice is full bodied and firm.

I was offered complimentary edamame.

Their top dish is the donburi (rice bowl with seafood). They have several variations of this dish. I went for the one with mixed seafood. Every single piece of seafood was fresh and tasty: eel, prawns, salmon roe, scallop, ark shell, prawns, sea urchin, squid. The eel was not soaked in the traditional brown sauce, but its flavor was left genuine. It was glorious.

I also had their miso soup that came with a mind-blowing scallop.

Finally I had one of their sashimi on seaweed, with scallop and sea urchin.

The check

My final check was 730 NTD (24 USD). For this quality and quantity of seafood was a pretty good price. I can understand why this izakaya seems to be quite popular on social media.

Where in Tainan:
10 Minsheng Road, Western and Central District.
In Chinese: 中西區民生路一段10號.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DONNBURI (well played… since “donburi” was not available they used the name “donNburi”).

Eating at the two major fish markets in Sapporo

Sapporo has two major fish markets that are open to tourists: the Nijo Fish Market and the Central Wholesale Market. In both markets restaurants where to have fresh seafood, especially donburi, abound.

Central Wholesale Market

The stores of the Central Wholesale Market occupy the two sides of a street in the North-Western part of the city. I got there by taxi (not the cheaper way), otherwise it is a 10-15 walk from the nearest metro station.

The stores are one another’s copy… they have an area where they sell seafood and usually have a section for the restaurant. I checked in in a restaurant located in the building pictured above at the very start (or end?) of the street. It was called Kita No Ryouba that had a nice air-conditioned section for non smokers.

The piece of resistance of my meal was a donburi with tuna and fatty tuna. I enjoyed it.

I also had a grilled squid hat was very good.

The donburi cost me 2,480 yen before tax (around 22 USD). The total check, including a drink, the squid, and taxes, was 3,623 yen (32 USD). Not wholesale prices, but elsewhere in Asia the same amount of fatty tuna would have cost much more.

The Nijo Fish Market

The Nijo Fish Market occupies two blocks in downtown Sapporo. It is very easy to reach from Odori metro station and a favorite among tourists.

I had lunch at Donbori Chaya Nijo Fish Market.

I had fatty tuna again!

Then I had a miso soup that was particularly rich:

Finally, I had two grilled scallops:

The restaurant was tourist-friendly with payment systems catering to Chinese customers and exhibiting a halal notice.

Total check: 2,780 yen (around 25 USD). The fatty tuna was particularly well priced.

The verdict

Fish markets are a must-go attraction in Japan. The two Sapporo markets that I visited were a bit disappointing. Hokkaido is the seafood hot spot of Japan and I was expecting something more (in terms of variety and possibility to get fresh seafood on the go).

The Central Wholesale Market is not worth the trip. If back, I might visit Nijo Fish Market again since it is so conveniently located and fatty tuna seems to be so reasonably priced.

Uni galore at Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo

I was escorted to this restaurant by a friend during a visit in Tokyo in June 2018 and we had an excellent dinner. If you like uni (sea urchin) this is a great place. Uni has become a fashion for fine dining establishments. It is difficult to find any upscale restaurant that ignores it nowadays. I even had a burger with uni once in Hong Kong! It is a fancy ingredient. But to taste the real deal you need to be in Japan. Hokkaido is perfect, but Tokyo is supplied with all the uni you might ever fancy.

The visit

The place, located in the so called Tsukiji outer market, specializes in sea urchin. At the entrance they have a sign indicating from which regions in Hokkaido they have fresh uni available for the day. The sea urchin from different regions varies greatly in taste and texture.

This is a casual place. We were escorted in a air-conditioned room with counter seats and we were promptly handed wet towels and an appetizer. This is the kind of compulsory appetizer you get in some Japanese restaurants to justify the cover charge (better than in other restaurants where the cover charge is levied with nothing in return; worse than in those restaurants that do not ask you for this… Japan is not consistent).

The appetizer was smoked duck meat and uni. I must say it was delicious, a very creative and thoughtful combination. Worth the 500 yen I guess.

Their signature dish is a rice bowl (donburi) with five varieties of uni that may change daily.

The picture above shows the varieties that were available for the day.

And this was the majestic bowl with uni. I could taste the different textures and slightly different levels of sweetness in the different types of uni. A very delicious dish. The dish also came with a piece of nori (dried seaweed) that could be used to prepare a hand roll filled with rice and uni of course; a couple of pieces of cucumber, some shreds of nori and a couple of pieces of pickles were also provided to help modulate the flavor. Personally I did not add any soy sauce, I just wanted to enjoy the original unadulterated flavor.

I also made sure to order some tuna sashimi, two pieces of medium fatty tuna (my favorite) and two pieces of regular lean tuna. This was some of the best tuna sashimi I ever had: fresh, big meaty pieces and absolutely tasty. Worth the hefty price tag.

The check

We spent around 8,000 yen each (around 71 USD). That’s not a cheap meal by any standard, but fresh uni is expensive and the prices were in line with other establishments. I would say that the sashimi was also not absurdly priced given the size of the pieces. Actually, I might go back just to eat sashimi next time.

It is not clear what will happen to this part of Tokyo now that the Tsukiji market is relocating for good, but I am pretty sure these restaurants will stand, at least in the short term.

Where in Tokyo:
Tsukiji Itadori Uni Tora Naka-dori Branch
1F, Kaneshin Suisan Bldg., 4-10-5, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Restaurant information in Japanese.
At the moment open daily from 7am to 11pm (last order by 10pm).

Exploring the Donburi Alley in Hakodate

Donburi is a simple Japanese dish consisting in a bowl of rice and something on top. That “something” can be beef, pork, even a cutlet and, of course, seafood. Donburi restaurants specializing in seafood are usually found inside fish markets around Japan. This post is about what you can find in the Donburi Alley (Yokocho) in the Hakodate Morning Market.

The Hakodate Morning Market is located next to the Hakodate railway station and is a very popular touristic spot. All around there are seafood restaurants, but one entire alley inside the market is dedicated to donburi.

The doburi sets available are displayed on the shop windows through plastic models. It is a cornucopia of seafood.

The visit

When I visited the market I realized that the offering across the restaurants was quite similar. I settled for the diner on the right of the entrance because they had a massive tuna bowl.

Above how the bowl appeared on the menu and below what I got.

The rice bowl came with 10 slides of tuna sashimi and four additional slices of the sought-after o-toro, the fatty part of the tuna. And finally, on top some minced tuna (negitoro) with what I believe was a quail egg yolk.

The donburi came with miso soup and some pickles.

It was delicious.

I also had four boiled Hokkaido oysters. These were excellent, are very meaty, not usually found outside Japan. For 250 yen each, they were a bargain.

The check

The doburi set was 3,000 yen plus taxes. You can spend more maybe if you add sea urchin (uni). Including the oysters and the 8% tax I spent 4,320 yen (39 USD), not cheap, but this was one of the most expensive donburi sets available in the alley, because of the o-toro. Yet, in Hong Kong or elsewhere I could have easily spent twice as much for that quantity of tuna sashimi including the prized o-toro. On the other hand, the oysters were a bargain and I would certainly recommend anyone to stoke up on oysters when in Hakodate.

Where in Hakodate:
Michishige – Donburi Alley
No. 9-15 Wakamatsu
Address in Japanese: 北海道函館市若松町９番15号

See this brochure in English from the official Donburi Yokocho website.