Tsukiji Market

Finally made it to Tsukiji (formerly fish market).

There's so many commercial buildings nearby it's pretty busy. 

It's only when you turn to the side street is where you find the goodies.

Fresh caught seafood everywhere.

Of course, food stalls that make your food to order.

From crab legs, mussels, clams, and eels.  You pay, they grill.

And me? I happily paid.

Got grilled unagi.  Delish!!! Can't go wrong on that one.

This is chopped up scallop grilled. The juice mix with their house made soy sauce was awesome. 

You really do have to go by 9-ish to avoid the crowds, they get bus here in droves. 

My friend recommended as a MUST, this shop for Tamago, the line was no joke, but for 200yen (approx $1.36 USD), it's worth playing.  

They give you a decent chunk of egg omelet on a stick.  Meanwhile, their staff is constantly making more egg omelet.  They also have egg with seafood added in too.  Hence the long line. 

Across from our line, one of the food vendor is cleaning the fish and getting ready for sale.  Very apt. 

Weird things I've seen people carrying around was these thin cardboard things... of course curiosity got the best of me and I have to find out.

It is squid cracker.  You pay 600yen (approx $4 USD), they give you a card, if it's crab, squid or combo.  The guy in the back has the seafood on the waffle grill-like apparatus, then he pour the batter, and then they squeeze the daylight out of the combo and steam gets let out.  The result is this cracker.  You can taste the flavor, but there's no 'meat' per se to it.  It's a fun snack to do. 

Of course, when I see dorayaki, I have to get it in honor of Doraemon.  This is one of those YKIYK kinda thing.  Basically, dorayaki is two sweet pancakes with adzuki bean filling in the middle.  It's what I grew up having and it was truly a nostalgia thing. 

Anyway, more food.... there was many stalls with various kinds of sashimi.  Some sell tuna, fatty tuna, and Otoro tuna.  I just got a plate of regular tuna, for 1000 yen (approximately $6.81 USD) you can't even get that price at local restaurant, so yeah I'm doing it!

Lastly, cannot find the uni (sea urchin) place my friend recommended.  Not sure if they moved or no longer operating.  But we saw a small stall that was selling uni at a reasonable price and decided to give that a shot.  It's definitely fresh, and it is buttery, it's smooth going in, and it's definitely an acquired taste.  It's not for everybody but worth trying at least once.

Tsukiji Market old claim to fame is the fish auction, so then the vendors nearby either get the left over or the smaller scale fish and sell them and feed the tourist who gets up crack of dawn to watch the auction.  Nowadays, the auction has moved, but the stalls are still here and still offering lots of fresh fish here.  Word of advise, since it's mostly mom and pop shops cash is king.  If they do take credit card, do take advantage, but keep cash around.  Also, because this is touristy area, fully expect they uncharge more than at a food court or restaurant, pretty much part of the experience. 

Tsukiji Market

https://www.tsukiji.or.jp/english/

 

Nakau Restaurant

Another neighborhood joint.

Saw this at the bottom of our train station, and the joint was hoping.  It's no wonder, they are opened 24hrs. 

You go to the machine (it used to be vending machine-like), but now it's a standing computer kiosk.  Don't worry, they now come in English, so you can just select the language and not be as lost.  

You pay and grab the ticket.   Then grab a seat.  The store clerk will bring you water or tea and take your ticket.  And as soon as your food is ready, they will bring it to you.  

I got Katsu Curry, just because I have yet to have Japanese Curry, plus it was a chilly day when we were there, so curry would hit the spot.  There's not alot to it, fried pork, rice, and c2-chōme-7-16 Shiomi

Koto City, Tokyo 135-0052urry sauce.  Japanese curry, unlike Indian Curry or South Asian Curry, theirs is sweet.  My favorite usually has veggie and potato, but this one is just sauce and meat.  But you don't see me complaining.  I was a happy camper just having my curry.  

At these neighborhood joints, they tend to have wide variety of food to accommodate everyone.  From Breakfast, Rice Bowls, Noodles, to Curry.  They have a great deal of food selection.  Their fame to claim is that they're fast, this was truly sit down, less than 10 mins we have our meal.  All thanks to the kiosk put in the order when we pay.  Super convenient, fast, and I don't think I paid $5 for that dish. 

Nakau Restaurant

2-chōme-7-16 Shiomi, Koto City, Tokyo 135-0052

https://www.nakau.co.jp/en/whats_nakau/

 

Darjeeling Spice - noodles

We were so tired that decided to eat around the hotel. 

We came across an Indian shop, but yet they serve Ramen, thought: why not.

Yep, got me a Mango Lassi, but it's not as thick as the ones I've had in Texas.  The yogurt used seems to be less thick.

Got me a Shoyu Ramen.  It's actually pretty to par, the broth is decent and the chasiu is decent.  Is it on the knocks it out of the park?  No, but for a neighborhood joint and for it to be run by Indian family that caters to Japanese locals, I think it's pretty decent.  Plus the pricing is very reasonable, which is about what I found eating around Japan.  Fully expected touristy places to be up-marketed, but for local places it's super reasonable.  

You order at the ground floor, and you go upstairs and they bring you the trays.  I think because they know we're not locals, they came and took our order and brought us our food to accommodate.  Very friendly owner and staff.  The seating area in second floor oversees that grocery store next door, so you can check out the store after. 

Darjeeling Spice Shiomi

 135-0052　2-7-9 shiomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo

https://www.darjeeling-spice.com/menu/

 

Food at DisneySea

So the big deal about DisneySea in Tokyo is the Fantasy Springs

We ended up at Arendelle inside Fantasy Springs.

In the area, we ended up at Snuggly Duckling

The details are amazing!

And some awesome artwork everywhere.  There's a trick to coming here thought, you do have to have a mobile order placed before they'll let you in, especially if it's cold or rainy.  That's their way of crowd control, much like their rides.

I got another set for meal.  Again, check the mobile order to see if there's any upgrade opportunities for any collectables.  And if you check their site, they will tell you what they have what which restaurant has what goodies.

I got Ham and Cheese, and I truly thought it was just ham and cheese, not realizing it's Ham & Cheese AND Hamburger.  So it was lots of meat for a lunch. 

The set came with fries and a drink.  I got a 'dessert' which is really colorful jello and cream, but it came with a limited edition cup, so what the heck.  YOLO, amirite?!

Back to the front of the park after walking around a bunch, we sat down for tea break.  Instead I got a coffee latte, not realizing that it came with coffee jelly.  I'm not a fan of that, but since that's what I got, just drank it. 

Of course, I got the famous Mike Wazowski Melon Pan.  It was odd, because I thought it was baked that way, but it's really a regular Melon Pan (Bread) with a fondant layer on top.   So, there you have it, the extra 'sweet' came from the fondant top.   The Melon Pan by itself is totally fine, but for novelty, right?! 

DisneySea has alot of unique rides, but they also have some that are familiar like the Tower of Terror.  That ride has like 240 minute wait time.  Erm, no, thanks!  But! If you go to the Tower of Terror gift shops, they have gachapon machine for 500 yen you can twist for a toy. 

Tokyo DisneySea

https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tds/restaurant.html

 

Food at Disneyland

When in Tokyo Disneyland, must have some of their food.

But first, yes, we went before rope drop.

Not because we're crazy, but the line is really long.  Since Tokyo Disney are mostly attended by locals. 

Must have the Cinderella Castle shot.

But wait, wait! We have Baymax Vending machines.  They're just too cute not to share.

Another cute thing, is the Chef in the Beauty and the Beast ride.

When you buy meal sets, they have park limited merch, like candy holder, special plates, lunch bag... etc.  My set came with sandwich, fries, and soda.  Don't worry I didn't eat all that on the tray.

I got the fried chicken sandwich, what's unusual is that they paired it Tartar sauce, which we typically associate with fish, not meat.  The outcome, I don't hate it, not sure if I want to go back to it.  Definitely different. 

The day we were there was a tad cool, so grabbed a cup of Peach tea.  Turns out there are real slices of peach at the bottom of the cup.  No wonder it smelled extra nice. 

Another kind of vending machine, it's tea pots in front of Alice's dining hall.  They even blow smoke on the spout. 

For afternoon snack, finally found the little Alien Mochi.  They come in either 3 or 5 pieces.  It has chocolate filling, strawberry filling, and vanilla.  The chocolate one was a surprise.  I'm used to fruit middle for mochi usually.  But it was extra chewy. 

Tokyo Disneyland

https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/tdl/restaurant.html

 

Skippers - Burger in Japan

I know it's weird, first meal in Japan is burger but it was close by, so no choice.

Plus, they seemed like a gourmet burger, so why not give it a try.

Started with an Apple Soda, don't get that very often, so must try that out.

First up, onion rings.  I cannot deny a good onion ring.  Look at these big boys.  Seriously though the regular order gives you 6 rings, if it's a mini order, they give you 3.   Don't worry, I shared mine.

I got the slider trio.  They made their buns in-house, so I was kinda excited to see how they measured up.

All have a mini patty, left one has bacon on top with cheese, middle one has has brown on top, which is my favorite combo.  The last one has bacon, pepper and bbq sauce, that one was spicier than I like.  

The meal is definitely more than feeling not only by Japanese standard, but US standard too.  The whole thing is feel will quality meat, it is no wonder that the charge is higher than some other food places we've been.   That said, we did see families and people come here after work.   It was certainly convenient for us, as a late night dining spot. 

Skippers Shiomi

2-chōme−1−10, 1st floor, Koto City, Shiomi, 135-0052 Tokyo

https://www.skippers-shiomi.com/

 

Airplane food comparison

I'm such a country mouse, that I haven't been aboard internationally for a long long time.  So to be slightly impressed for me on an international flight with a non-US airline was a low bar. 

This trip, I'm on ANA.  Even their snack bag is prettier.  It has some senbei (rice crackers) and nuts mix.

For 'lunch' it was very well rounded, I got the Creamy Chicken with potato for entree, it came with pasta salad with salmon, tofu and veggie, regular salad, roll, and noodles with noodle sauce. 

It was over the top lots of food.  And yes, I carb-ed up and napped.

Mid-flight, they put out trays of snacks in case you're hungry.  Besides banana, snack pack, they also have Biscoff cookies and chocolate.  They did give us egg salad sando if we wanted, or if you're super hungry you can ask for cup of ramen noodle.  But you saw how much food the first meal was, really didn't need more.

For drinks, they have tea, apple juice, orange juice, water, sparkling water, soda.

For the meal before we land, I got the tortellini with tomato sauce.  It came with a muffin, slice of ham and potato salad.  

Meanwhile, on the way back, the club has all sorts of alcohol available.  Then there's Japanese style food along with Western style food.  My only complaint is that it was super crowded.

Meanwhile on a US airline - I think my dinner was burnt.  I got the beef dish with squash and potato.  The salad does have yuzu dressing, which does tastes good.  The roll was very dry, and it came with a brownie.  That was a nice snack in the middle of the night.

They did bring mid flight snack, which was sausage burrito, wasn't bad, just that the sausage was not breakfast sausage, but hot dog sausage, that was different.

For breakfast, I got the blueberry pancakes.  The compote kinda exploded, but it tasted good.  The pancake got dried in the heat up process, so sadly it was hard to chew with that awesome compote.  The bowl of fruit was really good though.  The muffin is a good stand by snack.  

They did not have snack laid out like the Japanese airline did, just water, but the flight attendants made it very unfriendly to hang out at the galley area even just for stretch, so I tried not to intrude their space had I not need water. 

As you can see, the Japanese airline food is definitely spiffier.  Then again, since the US airline food was loaded from Japan, I blame the heating up process.  The US airline did load up Japanese juices, soda, and water, and I swear it taste better.  The US airline was a tad confusing, because the drink card made it looked like we are to pay for our meals, which I know that's the case for domestic flights, but was awkward to see price tag on some international flights.  Luckily, it wasn't in our flight.