Tag: Tsukiji

The massive tuna sushi platter at Tsunao

Tsunao is a popular sushi joint in Tsukiji outer market (that survives and thrives despite the move of the main market). It was my first stop during a trip in late December 2019.

The visit

It is a relatively small eatery in one of the busy alleys constituting the outer market. It only has a Japanese sign, but the tuna imagery makes it easy to spot.

It can get cramped inside. They have also some tables upstairs.

It took some time for them to bring my order. It was a busy Saturday morning. But I was there for a reason and when my main dish arrived I was not disappointed. Tsunao is famous for their massive tuna sushi platter sporting 20 pieces of nigiri with six different varieties of tuna.

On the one side, there were 2 pieces of fatty tuna (o-toro), 2 pieces of seared fatty tuna with blowtorch, 4 pieces of medium fatty tuna (chu-toro). I now notice, by comparing what I got with their poster outside advertising the dish, that they shortchanged me by 2 pieces of fatty tuna (replaced by two more pieces of lean tuna). What a shame.

Then there were two pieces with negitoro (minced tuna) and 10 pieces of “normal” lean tuna, five of these soaked in sauce. I had no problem finishing the dish.

I also ordered their seared tuna takaki with miso. It was only lightly seared and that was good.

At the end I was offered a complementary miso soup.

Another signature dish of the restaurant was a bowl containing tuna collagen and covered with a meringue. I do appreciate their creativity.

The check

6,570 yen (61.5 USD) was the final check. The sushi platter was a whopping 5,500 yen. I am sure that you can find cheaper tuna sushi around. Still was a good start of the trip.

Where in Tokyo:
4-14-7 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku.
In Japanese: 東京都 中央区 築地 4-14-17.
Tip: it opens at 6.30am (and closes at 3pm), it is a good place for a sushi breakfast!

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).

A classic at Tsukiji outer market: Sushi Zanmai

Eating sushi at Tsukiji market, a classic Tokyo adventure. Tsukiji has been the main Tokyo fish market for decades and now is finally slated to move to a new location. I was in Tokyo in September 2018, just days before they would host the last tuna auction open to tourists. I never made it to one of these auctions or in the inner market, just I cannot imagine myself awake at 4am in the morning.

But I did visit several restaurants in the so called outer market, a web of alleys full of sushi restaurants. One of the most famous is Sushi Zanmai. Here’s how a dinner in September 2018 went.

The visit

Sushi Zanmai is a popular sushi chain in Tokyo. The locations in Tsukiji are open 24 hour a day at the time of this post (who knows… things may change now that the market is closing). Statues and posters of the flamboyant owner makes the place easy to spot.

The second distinctive feature of Sushi Zanmai is the incredibly over the top noise made by the cooks to greet every new customer stepping in.

The best is to seat at the counter and order sushi directly from the cook, but they also have table seats.

The restaurant has a focus on tuna, but serves all kind of sushi.

I had one of their tuna sushi sets:

The set consisted of eight nigiri sushi (two with regular sushi, two with fatty tuna, two with medium fatty tuna, and two seared), plus three small rolls (maki) and two battleship rolls (gunkan maki) with minced tuna. I calculated that by ordering the set basically you get the three small rolls for free plus the miso soup.

The miso soup comes in an oversize bowl. It is one of their signature dishes so to speak.

The set was very good, all super fresh. The sushi cook added maybe too much wasabi to the rice for my taste, but it was easy to remove.

I also ordered some deep fried tuna (picture above) and two amberjack nigiri and two tomago nigiri (omelette) to close the dinner (picture below).

The check

Overall I spent 5,045 yen (45 USD). Not cheap, but reasonable for the amount and quality of seafood. Honestly, I find the tuna set offered by Itamae Sushi better value for money (it costs 1000 yen less and the only difference is one fewer piece of fatty tuna replaced by regular tuna and one fewer gunkan roll). Having said so, I looked around and 3000 yen (before 8% tax) seemed to be the standard price for this tuna set in the area.

In general, I am not particularly enthused by the eating options at Tsukiji, but Sushi Zan Mai does the job.

Where in Tokyo:
The location visited is in: 4 Chome-11-9 Tsukiji, Chūō, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan.
They have several locations in Tokyo: check their website or even better this review.
They have another location equipped with a conveyor belt just next door in an alley.