ICHIGAYA/KOJIMACHI: Yakiniku Y-Style

Heard of Groupon... but did you know Japan has had its own versions for quite some time.  Picked up my 8,610yen seven course Korean BBQ dinner for 2,990yen!  Out of 300 available there still many left as of today!! 

http://tokupo.jp/coupons/detail/1078/?token=GTuuwmv22d+Y4OQ/vyOkMw  

I'm always a fan of bottled beer... there's always slightly more than a draft.  Mari picked up an orange flavored Japanese sake or umeshu drink...was very tasty.

Course salad was very tiny but Korean "Y-Style" salad dressing excellent. (Price 290yen)

We each got a dish of assorted veggies called Namuru (Price 680yen)

I'm a huge fan of Japanese Yukke (marinated raw beef) thats usually lightly seasoned and topped with a raw egg but this Avocado Yukke with Korean Gochujan seasoning was soooo goooood!

Up next was the Beeeef!  3,800yen.  A5 Rank Sirloin, chateaubriand (can only extract 1kg from a COW) and domestic black hair Harami meat.

The meat just looked so good... out came the iPhone4... taking a pic.

A5 Ranked Sirloin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateaubriand_steak

Harami...

We were seating on the counter facing the window... seating for 5 in this section.  If you girl gets cold easily then have her sit in front of the grill... nice and warm.

Bibimbap before...

...and after its mixed. 1,280yen.. yeah, out course came with 2!  Filling.

To close... Korean barley tea and Coffee Jelly

Home-made Coffee Jelly... very good.

Happy Customer.

Owner/Chef Mr. Yun was a chef at Lotte Hotel in Korea for 5 years. We had two waiters and one was fluent in English... cool Korean student now studying at Waseda University, ask for Han if you need a little help in English.  Service was excellent as usual.

Shop: Yakiniku Y-Style 

Gnavi Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/e317100/ 

Gnavi Coupon: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/e317100/map/

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130803/13090116/

Address J:  東京都千代田区六番町1-1 恩田ビル2F

Address E:  Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Roku-bancho 1-1

MAP: 

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NIHONBASHI MITSUKOSHI: Fortnum & Mason Lunch... ROAST BEEEEF!!!

I have yet to find any really great Roast Beef in Tokyo except for one instance at Oguna Bares in Nakameguro... but I think my search is over in B2 of Mitsukoshi Department Store in Nihonbashi.

Lunch Menu... was torn between my love for Curry and the Roast Beef... Mari said the beef was excellent... didn't need much more convincing than that.

Lunch sets arrive with a choice of coffee or tea (hot or iced).

Oh yeah...1,260yen lunch set.  The volume!  Salad, horse radish, 2 types of bread, boatload of green peas and 3-4 rather thick slices of roast beef.  

This roast beef was perfection... an absolute must if you are craving it.  

Mari closed with a Chocolate Cake... friendly grandma peeking over at me taking pics.  This place was around 80% senior citizens... and 95% old ladies.  So be prepared for a little staring if you are a foreigner.

My great Apple Pie.  The waitress will bring a dish full of desserts to select from... must have been about 10 or so items.  Just point and pick.

Location: Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi (Mitsukoshi-Mae Station).

Shop: Fortnum & Mason 

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130202/13059381/

Mitsukoshi F&M Website (Japanese): http://www.mitsukoshi.co.jp/store/1010/h_restaurant/fortnum.html

Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi (English):  http://www.mitsukoshi.co.jp/store/fcs/english/1010/

Address J:  東京都中央区日本橋室町1-4-1,  日本橋三越本店新館 Ｂ２Ｆ

Address E:  Tokyo, Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi  Muromachi 1-4-1,  Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi New Building B2F

MAP:

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ROPPONGI: L'Atelier Joel Robuchon

Few weeks back I was hit with a bit of food poisoning so the visit to Robuchon was postponed by a few weeks but with an 8pm reservation in had we finally arrived.

Beers start at 800yen then its up hill from there.

The counter seating extends from the front to the very back of the restaurant with very few tables.  I'd highly suggest getting a counter seat for the view of the action plus the waiters are much easier to flag down.

We ordered the 8,800yen Course (Varies from 4,800 - 14,800 CLICK HERE).  It was more food than we thought... oh, be sure you set aside 3hours for the meal... takes time.

In the mean time the waiter will serve you some amazing selections of all you can eat BREAD!  This is our 2nd basket... there was also a 3rd... the pace of the food was more in tune with people just chillaxin or wine lovers... food just complemented the alcohol.  Don't go if you are in any hurry.

Forgive my basic descriptions of the following foods... pork on bread.

Avocado Crab topped with Apple

Delicious mushroom soup... reminded me of baugnaclada

Cheese ravioli soup.

Mari's duck liver on a bed of potato... this was very nice.

My cheese pork gratin... after 3 hours of eating free bread I actually couldn't finish this tiny main dish!

Mari's chestnut dessert... if you notice the couple behind the dessert... they were seated in a table for 2 and somewhat upset about the service and slow delivery of food.  Counter seating is your friend... lots of bread to fill in the time!

My chocolate ice cream, fudge and cake dessert... amazing.

Free sweets for after the meal.

Thats mine!  But i'm sure you can find something similar at Outback Steakhouse too.... Chocolate Thunder from Down Under!!!

I'd save this spot for a special occasion and aim for a course menu thats just right in terms of volume.  I'm sure we could have enjoyed the night just as much with the 4,800 course rather than 8,800 yen... I ended up enjoying most of Mari's main and dessert... she was very full.  Last order is at 9:30pm which seems rather early for Roppongi Hills so FYI!

SHOP: L'Atelier Joel Robuchon Roppongi Hills

Station: Roppongi on the Hibiya or Oedo Line.  Go toward the Roppongi Hills exit.

Shop Website: http://www.robuchon.jp/roppongi/lateier.html

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13005334/

Address J: 東京都港区六本木6-10-1  

Address E:  Tokyo, Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-10-1, 2nd Foor.  Located across from the RH Movie Theater.

MAP:

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ROPPONGI: Pizza-Kaya... Greatest buffalo wings in Tokyo... but only 4 pieces?

Dude... this is like a mini American diner with booths and all.  Didn't feel like I was in Tokyo... a friend of mine is nuts about this place so we had to give it a go.

The term Pizza-Kaya comes from the Japanese phrase "Iza-kaya."  A place where you can get cheap eats and beer on a budget.

The 950yen Buffalo Bob Wings!  The buffalo sauce was thik and super tasty... but... well... Don't mind paying $11 for wings but are you really only going to give me 4 small pieces?  

Avocado Salad was a hit but at 1,360 somebody's makin too much Yen.

Went with the half and half medium pizza... chewy crust rarely seen in Tokyo was the best part.

Draft Beeeeeer... muy small.

Overall a very friendly and cozy restaurant but the portions could have been bigger... bigger the size, the longer the customer stays, the more beer they drink... don't shops make the highest margins on Alcohol?  Food part is just a teaser to bring folks in...

Shops: Pizzakaya Roppongi

Shop Website: http://www.pizzakaya.com/index_e.html

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13007426/

Address J: 東京都港区西麻布3-1-19

Address E:  Tokyo, Minato-ku, Nishi-Azabu 3-1-19

MAP:

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ROPPONGI: AGAVE - Tequila Paradise... they have it ALLLLL!

If you are a bear ready to hibernate or in search of endless amounts of Tequila then AGAVE is the place.  Took along my Panasonic TZ5 which has a bad F3.3 lens... so low light shots kinda suck. 

Had the usual Patron on the shelf.

Mari's Margherita.

GRAN Patron... could it be smoother than the regular stuff?  I try to keep away because after a few shots I'm pretty much done for the night...

Probably the best baked nachos in all of Tokyo... a definite must!

Its located near Roppongi Crossing (Near Mizuho Bank).. can't miss the Yellow Sign.

No doubt about it... AGAVE has the low light atmosphere, great selection of Mexican food, endless amounts of Tequila, great crowd and if you ever wonder where all the Mexicans are in Tokyo... they are here making some amazing drinks.  Its kinda funny too see how people slowly get hit with Tequila shots... things start to get goofy as the night progresses if you enjoy people watching.

SHOP:  Agave Roppongi

Shop website:  http://www.agave.jp/

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13002079/

Address J:  東京都港区六本木7-15-10 クローバービル Ｂ１Ｆ
Address E:  Tokyo, Minato-ku, Roppongi 7-15-10

MAP:

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KOJIMACHI: Norubune Korean Restaurant... keep on walkin.

This is located right across from NTV (one of Japan's big TV broadcasters) so everytime we look inside its quite busy.   We decided to wander in at 2pm one day but they ran out of rice... so a few weeks later we were back!

Two price points on the menu... 850 yen and why not waste a little more money on this mediocre restaurant selection of 1250 yen... more to come.

We went for the standard Seafood Chige Sundubu (Spicy seafood soup with tofu) and I had the Cheesy hotstone bibimbap. 

Mini dishes with lunch... kimchee was great but 3 pieces...

Mari's Sundubu Chige... looked so tasty and lots of seafood but the flavor was so light.  Instead of using spicy korean miso to fire it up they seemed to have added extra red pepper... now red pepper lacks taste and just makes you a bit sweaty.  This was mediocre at best... well it kinda sucked.

Wood benches... hard on the booty.

I'm a fan of Korean food and a big fan of cheese.... so went with the Cheesy Bibimbap.  

\

Mixed it up nicely... a few bites... yeah, this was hella boring too.  This restaurant is owned by Koreans but nothing is up to par.  I can only assume its because this is the only Korean shop in the area.

We won't be back and I advise everyone not to try this place out!

Location: Kojimachi Station Exit #5 (30sec walk).

Shop: Norubune Kojimachi-Shop

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130803/13009043/

Gnavi Website with Coupon: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a046205/  Click for 5% off COUPON

Shop Website: http://www.norubune.com/  

Address J: 東京都千代田区二番町3-4

Address E: Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Nibancho 3-4

Map: 

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