Iccho, a reliable seafood izakaya in Ginza

In Ginza, right under the expressway overpass on Chuo Dori, there is a reliable izakaya I have been going for years. It is called Uoya Iccho (うおや一丁銀座本店) and it is part of a chain from Hokkaido specializing in seafood. This review is based on a visit in October 2019.

You can see the entrance above: it is the restaurant with the blue sign.

The visit

The actual izakaya is upstairs and it is huge. They have both a smoking and a non-smoking section. Most customers looked like salarymen (and women) after work.

They do have an English menu and you can call the waiter’s attention by pushing a button.

I usually go for their assorted sashimi. On the paper it is for three or four people, but I had it all by myself.

In this assortment there was a whole squid, already finely cut.

Then salmon, prawns, tuna (two types), octopus, and what must have been some kind of amberjack were there.

Finally I had some croquettes with crab meat on top. In the menu they have a lot of fried dishes and crab options.

The classic soft-serve ice cream made from Hokkaido was tempting but I did not try it.

The check

I spent around 4,000 yen or 36 USD including a drink.

I would describe this izakaya as “average”, but average skewed toward the good part of the spectrum. It is a large operation and everything seems to be fresh. Service is ok. They also have course menus and all you can drink options. It is open daily until 11pm, so it can be a good place if you come back to Ginza (presumably to your hotel) quite late (it open for lunch on weekdays).

Where in Tokyo:
1-2-3, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061.
In Japanese: 〒104-0061 東京都中央区銀座1-2-3 2F.

Izakaya night in Kyoto: Sanji

Sanji is an izakaya in Kyoto that is serious about its fresh seafood. Here’s what I had.

The visit

I arrived at the beginning of the evening at 6pm and there was no problem to be accommodated. I was the first customer in fact!

The entrance was at the end of a private parking lot. Not unusual for izakayas and sushi bars.

I was seated at the counter.

They had a very interesting set menu reasonably priced, but I ordered from the menu instead. The menu was provided in electronic format on an Ipad and I could order directly from the device. There was enough English and pictures to make the process easy.

I started with a very attractive sashimi platter that had seven kinds of sashimi: delicious kinmedai, hirame, hamo, tai, tako, amaebi, hotate.

The grilled fish of the day was a fish head, from tai if I recall correctly.

Finally I doubled down with the sashimi with some more local fish.

I was offered some side-dishes, I think included in the cover charge.

The check

I ended up spending 6,620 yen (61.50 USD). The sushi platter was around 2,600 yen. I did not mind paying this check, the sashimi was really good.

Where in Kyoto:
Nijo Coop 1F, 40 Matsuya-cho, Nijodori, Takakura Nishi-iru , Nakagyo-ku.
In Japanese: 京都府京都市中京区二条通高倉西入松屋町40二条コーポ1F.

Ganko, Osaka’s sushi powerhouse

Ganko is a popular sushi restaurant in Osaka with multiple outlets throughout the city. Ganko Sushi started as a small 15-square-meter shop in Juso, Osaka, in 1963. This review is based on a visit to their Umeda outlet. The restaurant is part of a large group employing over 3,000 people with tens of restaurants around Kansai (49 just in Osaka, using multiple brands).

The visit

One night, summer 2018, I visited their larger location in Umeda.

The restaurant operates like a classic sushi bar with customers seated at the counter so that they can order directly from one of the chefs. They also have normal tables for larger groups and they had an English menu, so ordering was pretty straightforward.

I had their sushi platter with all the classic fish: squid, eel, prawn, scallop, salmon, etc.

I added a sashimi platter.

Then I tried their crab set with crab meat, roe, and more minced crab meat.

Just to keep to the crab’s theme, I also added grilled crab meat with cheese.

Finally I had a tangerine drink.

The check

Check was 6,441 yen (around 60 USD). It was really the cost for a dinner for two (for this reason I classify it as “everyday dining”). The sashimi and sushi platter cost around 20 USD each.

It was a pretty regular sushi restaurant experience. Certainly not the best in Osaka, but they run an efficient operation and, for a run-of-the-mill sushi meal, it is a reasonable choice.

Where in Osaka:
1-chome-5-11 Shibata Kita-ku.
In Japanese: 大阪府大阪市北区芝田 1-5-11 猪井梅田ビル１F・２F・３F.
Website: www.gankofood.co.jp/en/.

Fresh sashimi in a gaijin-friendly izakaya in Nagasaki

There are a lot of izakayas in Nagasaki. And they serve fresh sashimi. Of course. Unfortunately I did not find the good deals that I found in Hakodate, but I had at least a good sashimi platter in an izakaya called Ichiba-Kaisen Nagasakirou with English menu (there are not many in Nagaski).

The visit

The izakaya is located in the downtown wharf (Dejima).

It is a large izakaya with an essential decor.

Their sashimi platter had sakae (turban shell) and various types of seafood including fatty tuna. The big fish was hiramasa (yellowtail amberjack), a local catch. On the top of the platter, you can see a silver-striped fish: it is silver-stripe round herring, another local catch.

Miso soup.

And finally the silver-stripe round herrings tempura style.

The check

The big sashimi platter was 3030 yen. The total check was 4,210 yen (39 USD). Not a bad value for this kind of fresh sashimi.

I will also mention that I tried to get a seat at Dejima dining that to me seemed an even better izakaya, but on a Saturday evening it was full.

Where in Nagasaki:
1-1 Dejimamachi | Dejima Wharf 1F.
In Japanese: 長崎市出島町1-1 長崎出島ワーフ 1F.
Website: nagasakikou.com (they also have other two locations with the same menu).

Seafood restaurants at Nagahama Fish Market

Nagahama Fish Market is a major wholesale market in central Fukuoka. It is a 10 minute walk from Akasaka station. The real market is only opened to the general public on the second Saturday of every month (from 9am to noon) and there are reports of long lines.

However, the market office complex (pictured above) hosts a number of seafood restaurants (the cluster is called ichiba kaikan,市場会館, market hall, in Japanese). These are spartan eateries, very affordable, where workers of the market and the nearby offices eagerly go for lunch. Some open very early to cater to the fish market’s workers schedule. It was a discovery in Fukuoka. I loved it. The seafood was very fresh and lunch menus were changing daily. I had lunch several times to try as many of the restaurants as I could.

The directory is pictured above. All the action is on the ground floor. Upstairs there is a small seafood museum (but all in Japanese).

Ichibazushi Uotatsu (魚辰)

First restaurant I will mention is located near the entrance and it a conveyor-belt sushi joint called Ichibazushi Uotatsu. The seafood was really fresh. But it was not easy to understand the price of the seafood on the conveyor-belt; this coupled with all of their “rules” made the visit unpleasant and I just had a few dishes. You can also order a la carte.

Okiyo (おきよ)

Okiyo is located in the back of the building and it is easy to recognize from the blue curtain (noren). They had an English menu. Most lunch menu were prized 700-800 yen and come with rice, miso soup, tofu, and pickles. I had deep-fried amadai. Impossible to find a better value in Fukuoka for a seafood lunch set.

Ichigyo Ichie (一魚一栄)

I went to Ichigyo Ichie for their fresh sashimi (1,400 yen), but they also had tempura and classic Fukuoka dishes like sesame mackerel. The sashimi set had over a dozen slices of sashimi: tuna, seabream, octopus, squid, salmon, greater amberjack. It came with miso soup, rice, pickles, and a salad as it is customary for these lunch sets.

Fukuuo Shokudo (福魚食堂)

Fukuuo Shokudo will get my award for the the nicest owner. He was very friendly and wanted to know where I was from. I ordered a tuna bowl with various cuts of tuna. The set had a large bowl of clam miso soup, tofu, and pickles. For 1000 yen (less than 10 USD) it was a great value. I also added a grilled mackerel for just 400 yen. Many dishes were on display on the counter inside the restaurant and could be picked juts by pointing my finger.

Of the most interesting eateries, I think I only missed Hakata Uogashi (博多魚がし). There is also a Chinese restaurant if you crave for it and a shop (see picture below).

This cluster of seafood restaurants was a great discovery and I would gladly have lunch in such a place every day of the week!

Where in Fukuoka:
3-11-3, Nagahama, Chuo-ku.
In Japanese: 中央区長浜3-11-3.
Tip: go a bit early, like 11.30am, to beat the lunch crowd.

Eating at Koko, the Sofitel’s Japanese restaurant in Ningbo

Koko is the Japanese restaurant on the 5th floor of the Sofitel Wanda in Ningbo. The menu is available both a la carte and as a buffet (unlimited orders from the menu). See the review of the weekend buffet at Le Bistrot for another Sofitel restaurant in Ningbo.

The visit

I went to this restaurant a few times choosing the buffet option (it is just much more convenient).

My first order is usually a sashimi platter with salmon, swordfish, shrimps, ark-clams, mackerel, tuna, seabream.

Grilled oysters with cheese.

More tuna sashimi.

Miso soup.

Abalone.

Sushi set. The sushi is quite bland. I guess it is the rice.

Sushi with scallops.

Scallops grilled with cheese. A lot of cheese.

Grilled fish.

Some tempura.

Pan-seared goose liver.

Grilled salmon.

Some final dessert.

The check

The buffet has several costs depending whether you include or not a few high-end dishes. The cheapest is around 320 RMB for lunch (47 USD). After a 15% discount, I spent 261.8 RMB (39 USD). I wish the dishes were more tasty and probably I would be there on a regular basis. Also, on a couple of occasions I had some stomach problems afterwards… so I stopped going.

Where in Ningbo:
Sofitel Wanda Hotel Ningbo, 5F
899 Si Ming Zhong Road Yinzhou District
In Chinese: 四明中路899号
Information for booking (advisable on weekends and evenings).

The biggest slices of sashimi I ever had in Kingyo Izakaya in Taipei

If you do not like raw fish, stop reading. On a trip in Taipei (April 2019) I came across a Japanese-style izakaya in a residential area. Izakayas are quite popular in Taipei and usually are open till late. Next to the izakaya, there is a high-end Japanese restaurant that I shall try one day.

The visit

I arrived very early on a Saturday evening (before 6pm) and the place was already bustling with diners. I was accommodate at the counter.

And I was offered a free appetizer. The menu was also available in English, which is nice because it is not so common in this kind of establishment.

My main order was a bowl of sashimi. I really could not expect to be served ginormous pieces of sashimi. There was salmon, swordfish (in rolls), a cube of tuna, and yellow tail.

The pieces of sashimi were almost one centimeter thick. In some restaurants, a single slice like this would make a full dish. It was epic.

I could have avoided to order anything else, but I also had a pairs of sushi: tuna and hamachi.

I also had some potatoes with mentaiko, but the dish was too big (I guess designed to be shared) and I did not like them so much.

Before leaving I was offered free dessert: some sweat soup and apple.

The check

After 10% service charge, the check came to 1230 NTD (or 40 USD).

The sashimi bowl was alone 550 NTD (18 USD). Two people could have easily been fed by what I ordered, so I would say that this izakaya is very good value for money, especially for the fresh sashimi.

Sometimes is nice to find a no-frill place like Kingyo Izakaya where the focus is just good food. I would certainly go back to have again that bowl of sashimi. They also have a number of set menus (advertised as kaiseki meals) and some reasonably priced lunch sets. Hotpot seemed to be another favorite of the diners that I saw during my visit.

Where in Taipei:
No.18, Lane 233, Yanji St, Da’an Dist, Taipei 106, Taiwan
In Chinese: 台北市大安區延吉街233巷18號
Check their menu from the website (their website is in Chinese, but the menu page is also translated): http://www.kingyotaipei.com/menu.htm

Seafood adventure at Donggang Huaqiao Fish Market in Taiwan

Did you know that Taiwan is one of the major sources of tuna in Asia? And the epicenter of the tuna trade is Donggang, a township in the Southern part of Taiwan. As soon as I learnt it I knew I had to visit its fish market. In December 2018 I ventured for the first time in the
Huaqiao Fish Market that has a large retail area ready to welcome visitors hungry for sashimi.

The visit

I got to Donggang with a public bus from Kaohsiung stopping at Pingtung Bus Station then I walked one kilometer to the fish market located next to the ferry terminal. It is also possible to find a shuttle that will leave you at the ferry terminal next to the market (more about transportation at the end of the page). Also, no need to wake up early, as this retail market opens at 11am…

The market is quite large with both sellers of any type of seafood and kiosks catering to visitors selling fresh sashimi. Here and there you can find stools and counters where to seat.

My first stop was at stall 186 where I had a lovely sashimi set with tuna, salmon, yellow tail and another type of sashimi. All for 200 NTD (6.5 USD). The sashimi was cut fresh on the spot.

Second stop at stall 118 for another sashimi set with yellow tail, salmon and tuna. This time they handed me the box with the pre-cut pieces of sashimi. Still fresh though.

At stall 227, for 400 NTD (13 USD) I had four slices of the prized kama-toro: marbled tuna collar. This cut is very rare (it accounts for only 1% of the tuna mass) and it is regarded as a delicacy. It is marbled like o-toro, but more compact. They also threw three pieces of regular tuna included in the price.

Many stalls have a piece of kama-toro on display ready to be cut.

Also had a piece of the fish cake pictured above.

At one extremity of the market there is a small restaurant (menu only in Chinese). In this restaurant I tried one of the local specialties, the flying fish roe sausage. This is really just a sausage sprinkled with flying fish roe. I won’t need to eat another one.

Finally, all over the market there are stalls selling a kind of flavored jelly. They are available in many flavors and one strip costs only 10 NTD (0.32 USD). A good way to cap the meal!

The check

Prices are quite standardized. Sashimi sets cost from 100 to 200 NTD (3.2 to 6.5 USD). The most expensive cut is of course the marbled tuna collar that goes for 100 NTD for slice. By comparison, this is easily between 1 fourth to 1 eight of what you would spend for the same amount of sashimi in a Japanese restaurant in Japan or Mainland China. The feast cost me less than 1000 NTD (33 USD).

These are wholesome market prices! I have never eaten sashimi so fresh and cheap. Needless to say, I highly recommend the detour. I will be back.

Appendix: how to get there

From Kaohsiung you can get a shuttle to the ferry terminal next to the market for 150 NTD. Do not bother buying the return ticket as it is more practical to book another shuttle while in Donggang, there are many hovering in front of the ferry terminal and their normal fare to Kaohsiung is again 150 NTD.

In front of Kaohsiung main station (not the HSR station) there is a vendor of tickets for such a shuttle inside a bike shop at the South-East corner of Zhongnan and Jianguo roads. Here’s a ticket showing the shuttle times:

However, for some reason on the day of my trip the shuttle was not running… so I just moved twenty meters ahead to a bus station for a ticket on the regular 9127A bus. It was a very smooth 45 minute ride. My stop was the Pingtunt bus station in downtown Donggang. From there I walked to my destination.

Getting addicted to Addiction Aquatic Development in Taipei

Forgetting for a moment the weird English name, Addiction Aquatic Development (上引水產) in Taipei is a must-see both for foodies and urban planners… they did a fantastic job in turning an old fish market into a multi-function space including a standing sushi bar, an oyster bar, a couple of restaurants, a supermarket and much more. The seafood is fresh and the prices are good. It is really easy to get addicted.

The visit

I visited (again) multiple times the place in late December 2018.

The space is located in North Taipei, unfortunately it is not close to any metro stop, so taxi is the best choice to arrive. Taxis usually station in front of the main entrance pictured above.

Inside, the first area is dedicated to aquaculture with large tanks full of lobsters, giant crabs and so on…

Then you step in a relatively small supermarket area stocked with fresh sushi and sashimi to go. The products are very reasonably priced.

The rest of the main indoor area is dominated by a standing sushi bar and other smaller eating areas (including an oyster bar and a cooked food station).

Above a sashimi platter (with the addiction of 3 pieces of medium fatty tuna and 5 pieces of regular tuna) that I had in the standing sushi bar.

In a station you can have fresh lobster sashimi. The cook will cut the live lobster in front of you and they will also give you a lobster soup with all the left overs. In the pictures a 200gram lobster (quite small).

The four pictures above show more seafood that I bought from the supermarket area and I consumed outside. The sushi was very good and I could even find a big portion of cod roe and mullet roe (a Taiwan specialty, very salty, but to try).

They also have a full-fledged restaurant called Trésors de la mer where bookings are possible. In the restaurant I had their mega seafood platter and a miso soup. Some fruit was complimentary. Otherwise, it is possible to pick the fish from a market display and they will prepare you according to your instructions.

The seafood platter included tuna, yellow tail, salmon, sea snails, oysters, scallops, salmon roe, and a piece of abalone. Everything was delicious. The only thing disappointing was the miso soup, but who cares!

The last picture above shows a view of another seating area, a grilled seafood restaurant that I did not try.

The check(s)

The supermarket food cost me 1304 NTD (42 USD), the big ticket time was the lobster sashimi (644 NTD before tax). The sushi was just a few dollars.

The bill for the huge seafood platter at the restaurant Trésors de la mer was 1595 NTD (52 USD) including a miso soup and a coke. This was really a dish for two people.

The sashimi platter from the standing sushi restaurant was 913 NTD (29.6 USD) and it was a lot of sashimi.

Overall, prices are very reasonable for a funky location. The only caveat is to avoid peak hours on weekends or holidays, unless you like to queue like this people on New Year’s Eve (2018):

Where in Taipei:
No. 18, Alley 2, Lane 410, Minzu E Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City.
Name in Chinese: 上引水產.
Address in Chinese: 台北市民族東路410巷2弄18號.
Website: http://www.addiction.com.tw

The best dishes from Hokkaido Sachi restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City

Saigonese love Japanese food. In 2010, when I first visited the city, two chains were dominating the market: The Sushi Bar and Tokyo Deli. They are still around, but since then, restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City have upped their game when it comes to Japanese food. One of the most successful is Hokkaido Sachi that over the past few years has multiplied the locations around town.

From what I gather, it is owned by Vietnamese investors and some locations are in franchising but they had the foresight to hire and keep on staff some chefs from Japan. Most restaurants would only hire them to kick off the business, but I keep seeing them time to time overseeing the quality of the kitchen operations. This means that there are some genuine Japanese chefs that, while not involved directly in the kitchen, keep securing the quality control. This makes a difference.

Hokkaido Sachi is easily my favorite Japanese restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City (in particular I usually go to their branch on Nguyen Trai street, pictured below). In this review I will show some of my favorite dishes from their extensive menu.

The visit(s)

The service starts with some complimentary grilled ginkgo seeds, a classic izakaya snack.

The sashimi selection includes a lot of imported fish not easily found outside Japan. In the selection pictured above you can see hammachi and kampachi sashimi (two types of Japanese amberjack/yellowtail).

More sashimi in the picture above with a double portion of their regular tuna (112,000 VND for five pieces) and a portion of another exotic sashimi type, ishidai.

Also, keep an eye on seasonal fish. In the summer of 2018 I had this spectacular sashimi dishes with isaki (360,000 VND) and, again, ishidai (390,000 VND), two varieties popular in the summer in Japan.

The menu seems to enjoy the use of delicacies based on fermented roe. The picture above shows ika-mentaiko, squid with its own roes, spiced and fermented. An absolute delicacy. The mentaiko dishes should not be missed.

Of course, they also have original mentaiko, that is cod roe fermented and spiced.

They use mentaiko also for some grilled dishes. For example, pictured above, a slice of salmon surmounted by a layer of mentaiko and a scallop prepared in a similar fashion. Needless to say, this additional layer makes the dish even more delicious.

Or they even have Japanese omelette roll filled with mentaiko, another dish sometimes found in Japanese izakayas.

They have an ample selection of sushi. Their standard sushi set (around 220,000 VND, less than 10 USD) has 11 pieces.

One special dish is the foie gras sushi. The foie gras employed is top quality and worth the 170,000 VND for two pieces.

They also have various aburi sushi: for these pieces of sushi, the top fish is flame seared. Pictured above the salmon aburi made more delicious by some roe on top.

They have a large selection of creative rolls, like the roll with cheese and shrimps shown above.

More delicious and unusual Japanese food: above a bowl of ikura chawanmushi (the classic savory egg custard with salmon eggs).

And kazunoko kombu, herring roes with dried kelp (traditionally a new year’s dish in Japan),

More: grilled kisu fish with cheese (a type of whiting available during the summer).

Finally, I should mention that they also have some excellent meat, like the US beef steak set shown above. More exotic beef from Hokkaido is available, but frankly I think seafood should be the rightful focus of this restaurant experience.

The check(s)

In the summer of 2018, a lunch for three people cost me (after a 15% discount for a loyalty card) 1,158,000 VND (50 USD).

Another more lavish lunch for 2 people with the seasonal sashimi went for a similar price.

Even if you account for the discount, this is great value for money.

Unfortunately prices move quickly in Vietnam and I cannot assure that you will find exactly these prices on your next visit.

However, you will hardly find in South East Asia a Japanese restaurant with so many authentic and exquisite dishes at this price point.

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
Check their website for a list of locations.