Went to visit owner Kenta at Hawaii's Own Coffee Company in Asagaya... management transition seems to be going smoothly after founder Scott's return to the Airline industry.
There are 3 shakes to choose from... this was the Mocha with a shot of espresso... very flavorful.
Kenta started selling Hawaiian eco-bags. I'd have to go for the Foodland Spam Musubi.
There are so many places in Tokyo that go unexplored and I've found that meeting new people... new girlfriends... they each share a little something new about Tokyo.
Good friend Terry from grad school mentioned "Golden-Gai" (Gai means Street) in Shinjuku... Was confused with Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho that's a great spot full of tiny restaurants. We checked out one of his reguar spots Jazz Bar Baltimore.
Golden-Gai is a sea of tiny bars all with about 6-8 seats per shop...
"L" shaped bar with seating for 7.
Entrance fee was 800yen... beers start at 700 and other bar drinks at 600.
Started talking with a few Kirin Beer sales guys from Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya. If you want to mix with the locals definitely hit up Omoide-Yokocho for dinner then Golden-Gai for drinks.
Arrived a bit late and my target Chili-Rice was sold out...
So I went for the Taco-Rice... free refills on the drinks here.
And thus the disaster in all its glory arrived... Could this tiny thing really be Taco Rice? Could there be any less topping on this masterpiece? It was soooo bad... oh well.
Always a welcome sight.
Exit... run... please don't order the Taco Rice unless you need a bit of depression in your life.
Check out the menu downstairs before heading up to 5F.
In Japan... especially Ginza there are buildings dedicated to hostess clubs... Always found it kinda cool to see Ogo's in the mix in this Akasaka property.
Lunch Menu.
Got there at an early 11:30am before the crowd... Traffic started to flow in around noon.
Ryoji's selection of original Ogo sauces.
My Kalua pig and spicy avocado poke mix plate 1,100yen plus 100yen for drink/desert.
Doesn't get better than this outside of Hawaii... sooo ono~.
Buddy of mine invited me out to Kagurazaka for a bit of Yakitori... I've lived in Japan for over 10yrs but never checked out the French/Geisha district of Tokyo... that is Kagurazaka. Its its absolutely amazing how many tiny restaurants are in this town!
As with all other Japanese izakaya's you get a Otoshi... this was tiny mushrooms on a bed of white radish with Shoyu for flavoring.
Tsukene and Liver... wow... these 2 were incredibly good. Tsukune didn't have alot of chicken cartilage as usual... so smooth. Liver was braised and slightly raw, perfect.
Custom chopsticks
Asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced meat, shiso maki and mushrooms filled with minced beef.
Interior was solely a square counter seating with the chef sitting right in front of us. Max capacity about 15 people I think but this made if very cozy.
Buddy Scott had a bottle keep at the place... thanks!
Mushroom with meat... One thing I noticed was that Sho-chan (owner) enjoyed drinking, smoking and chatting with customers behind the counter. But when it came time to making the Yakitori he became very focused and silent... everything was so delicately made and sooo good.
Chicken skin.. so tiny.. so delicate and crispy.. a first for me.
Shiso-Maki...
Don't forget to add a little bit of red spice
Very reasonable menu!
Tebasaki Chicken... crispy on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside.
Meat stuffed in Green Peppers... yum.
This was probably the most "normal" selection... tiny eggs.
The spice.
Little cup for the sticks.
2hrs later it all ended. The owner had a very unique friendly personality. He will ask you to help clean up the neighbors empty dishes, takes his time in taking orders and preparing food... but it all added to a very unique experience at Sho-chan. It can get very crowded with regulars who stay for several hours so I suggest you go before 7pm and enjoy. Oh, its ranked incredibly low on the foodie website of 2.74 but this should easily exceed 3.5pts by me.
Italian/Japanese fan of food and photography. Camera's I use for the Blog: Pentax K-m, K-x, K-01, K-30, Sony NEX-C3, Canon s100, s110. s120, G7x, Sony RX100, RX100M3, Panasonic LX5, iPhone Xs, iPhone 12 Mini
