GINZA: Ramen Matsutomi with the boys. TanTanMen noodle shop hidden within the deep corridors of Posh Ginza

I have never associated glitzy Ginza with noodles but on this Tuesday night this night the boys wanted to close out the evening with some Tantanmen-noodles... Just walk past the Maybach

Hang a left into this small corridor...

Mitsuaki says hello to a few randomly spotted friends or associates next to the ramen shop.

And thus we arrive at Hiro's tantanmen shop he's been mentioning thru the evening.

Hiro's recommendation.

Lots of food chices...

I don't often drink beer at Ramen shops but when with Japanese its usually the norm.

The noodles sitting quietly on top of the beer showcase.

All counter seating.

This is a very first for me... but I guess its a Chinese style ramen shop so you get these shu-mai dumplings versus the regular Japanese gyoza.

The top layer is covered in nice golden brown spice... 

Very thin noodles but at 10pm this was most welcome...

Gotta love the egg.  Overall this was a very cool experience blindly following friends who had a craving for this specific ramen taking us from Teikoku Hotel thru Yurakucho into the alleys of Ginza...  Staff was friendly  as I snapped away and a great end to a nice night.

Shop: Ramen Matsutomi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/%E6%9D%BE%E5%AF%8C/149036305130141

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13000573/

Address J: 東京都中央区銀座6-4-16 花椿ビル １Ｆ

Address E: Tokyo, Chuo-ku, Ginza 6-4-16
MAP: https://g.page/ramenginza?share

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松富 ,まつとみ, ラーメン、つけ麺、餃子, 銀座駅, Japan, Japanese, Noodles, Tokyo, foodie, yelp, tokyobelly, ramen, shumai, dumplings, izakaya, cheap 

GINZA: Sugimoto Kitchen for 800yen Suki-Nabe

Everytime I goto Sugimoto Kitchen its always for there terrific 525yen beef bowl but this day it was time to give their Suki-Nabe (Sukiyaki) a try!

They also sell the Black Hair Cow beef bowls to-go but you won't get the extras.

One 800yen Black hair Wagyu Suki-nabe please~...

They will ask if you want orange juice or red wine... 80% of the crowd on this Saturday were elderly ladies sipping on the tiny cup of red wine.  

Overall you really can't beat enjoying a bit of Japanese suki-nabe for 800yen but I found the beef to be a bit rubbery... But if you are in Japan on a budget then this place is a must.  

Comes with tasty little pickles.

Located in B1 of Matsuzakaya... just look for the huge Forever XXI sign.  Oh, this day I waited about 30minutes in line so just be ready for that as there is only limited counter seating.

And of course... Scuderia Ferrari spotting in posh Ginza.

Restaurant: Sugimoto Kitchen

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13009511/

Matsuzakaya: http://www.matsuzakaya.co.jp/ginza/restaurant/08.html

Address J: 東京都中央区銀座6-10-1 銀座松坂屋 Ｂ１Ｆ

Address E: Tokyo, Chuo-ku, Ginza 6-10-1, Ginza Matsuzakaya B1F

MAP:

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GINZA: Yumimachi Ginza Tamariya-Hachi... Random lunch but unaware of the high foodie ranking

When out of ideas in Ginza just head off to a tall building that usually houses several floors of restaurants... on this day I visited Ginza Velvia-Kan (http://mi-mo.jp/lng/eng/velvia.html) 

A great restaurant layout with several seating options... counter seating near the entrance, tables, then on a higher tatami level counter seating surrounds the chef hard at work then in the very back there are 4 tatami seating tables... http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13101416/dtlphotolst/3/

Ordered the "Nikomi Hamburger Teishoku" 950yen.  In Japanese "Teishoku" meals normally come with the main, salad, soup, rice and drink.

Free tea comes with the meal.

Very tender hamburger with a very rich sauce that seemed to have been heated to a slight thickness... very heavy and tasty.

Although I ordered the Hamburger Teishoku the daily special grilled white fish seemed to be a very big hit.. So if you go with someone I'd suggest one person to try the fish and share.

But I actually only ventured into this spot because one of my all-time-favorite spots sold out of their lunch... http://tokyobelly.blogspot.com/search?q=arossa.  Anyways this place had a very high foodie ranking of 3.73pts... guess dinner is well worth a try!

Shop: Yumimachi Ginza Tamariya-Hachi

Velvia-Kan Website: http://mi-mo.jp/lng/eng/velvia.html

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13101416/

Gnavi: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a827303/

Address J: 東京都中央区銀座2-4-6 銀座Velvia館7F

Address E: Tokyo, Chuo-ku, Ginza 2-4-6, 7F

MAP:

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SHINBASHI/GINZA: Kurafuku Uokin Branch... fresh seafood at an amazing value!

While working at CLSA (steps away from Shinbashi) one of the foodie assistants suggested Uokin in Shimbashi for both Japanese and French food... tried the French and it was amazing... now had to take the visiting boys to the Japanese shop... but there are so MANY!

As usual in Japan the Otoshi (automatic appetizer that comes out if you order alcohol... usually @300yen per person).  This was well worth whatever they added to our bill... tasty pork I think.

The Menu!  Unfortunately it was only in Japanese so bring a friend along to help if you can't read it.

Chefs right behind our table hard at work...

Waiter recommended the Anago fish... a long fish similar to a Unagi but lives in the sea.

There it is! Topped with shiso and ume... Robert loved this but it was a bit too fishy for me.

Next it was the Famous Sashimi plate that we saw almost everyone ordering!

This thing was soooo big!  A little bit of everything for everyone... great value and fresh!

A big fan of cooked fish head!  Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper, Alfonsino).

We managed to pick out all the meat in the cheeks and had one volunteer to eat both eyeballs... that wasn't me but lots of Collagen I think.

Our reservation was at 5pm and it was fully packed by 6pm... super popular.

Forgot what this was but there was a very dark green body inside this... pass~.

Closed the night with some tasty Tempura~.

Menu had a great selection of everything.

There are many Uokin's in the Shimbashi area so if one is full give another a try but I highly suggest making a reservation before heading out.  The branch we were seemed very new and extremely clean... tables are small  with a capacity of about 6 people squeezed in.   

The boys will definitely be back to visit one of the Uokin branches on their next trip to Tokyo.

Shop: Kurafuku Uokin Branch 

Shop Website: http://uokingroup.jp/index.html

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13093769/

Guru-Navi: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g376509/

Address J: 東京都港区新橋1-9-1 新橋二光ビル 1F

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Shinbashi 1-9-1
MAP:

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