Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 1) 東京の居酒屋 東京駅八重洲京橋付近 パート1

We have not posted for sometime. That is partly because we were in Japan for several weeks. In any case, we are back. Mostly for our own benefits, I am listing the izakayas we visited while we were in Japan. This is not an endorsement or criticism of the places. Just our impression/description for the reference next time we go to Japan. I choose izakayas based mostly on their location, and review, menu, and pictures available on line. 

Just some observations on the current izakaya situation in Japan compared to our previous experiences on our previous visits the last in 2017 (8 years ago). In the past getting a table at an izakaya was a relatively low key affair. You would find an izakaya where you wanted to eat. You would then in stick your head in the door ask if there was room (which there usually was) then entered to be seated. No reservation required. Once seated that spot was yours for the duration. There was no specification of allotted time, or the number of dishes or drinks you had to order in that specified time. Things are quite different now. It seems that Japan has been inundated with foreign tourists especially from China. The izakaya have been flooded with foreign customers and seating is limited. We saw many people turned away or told there would be a long wait before they could be served. In addition there are now a number of other restrictions including a maximum allotted time to use the table and required numbers of orders of food and drink.  After some lack of success in appropriating a seating at izakaya we had selected we found the secret was to make a reservation even if it was only several hours before you wanted to eat. Once we discovered this secret we had much more success but it required us to plan more in advance. Things were not as spontaneous as before. Another difference we noticed is that many Izakayas in this area (many office workers) are into serving lunch and sometimes lunch is more emphasized than evening Izakaya. As a result, many of reviews on line are about lunch.

Tokyo Yaesu Kyobashi area 東京 八重洲, 京橋付近

1. Uokichi Sakaba Tokyo Branch 魚吉酒場東京店

東京都中央区京橋1丁目4−13 初音ビル 1F

Hatsune Bdg 1F
Kyobashi 1-4-13 Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation 050-5594-1328
Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

This is a classic chain Izakaya. We went there because it was close to our hotel. We did not make any reservation and went there around 6 pm. We were told that we could have a table until 7:30 pm. The inside appeared to be newly renovated and very bright. The staff is all young and most of the customers are also young. The Sake selection was OK but not extensive. The food menu was also very classic for a chain izkaya. We had a sashimi assortment and several other dishes including fried food. Nothing extraordinary but not bad and the service was average. The reason we had to vacate by 7:30 became apparent as a group of people with cameras started gathering in front of the store. Apparently a YouTuber was making “contents” starting at 7:30.

2. Ichinokura Kyobashi-ten 一ノ倉京橋店

東京都中央区京橋1丁目4−13
Kyobashi 1-4-13
Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation 03-3517-1570

Credit card accepted

Non-smoking with smoking area 

We visited this Izakaya 8 years ago. We came here because it was next door to Uokichi and, for nostalgic reason, we decide to try it again. This was slightly more upscale than “Uokichi”. The entrance is at ground level, but you had to go down one floor. We had not made a reservation. Again, we were told we could have a table until 7 pm since the only available table had a reservation starting at 7:30 pm which left us about 1 hour. So we were ushered to a semi private room/booth. The server tried to be as efficient as possible. I asked for a sake recommendation first. He recommended one sake so we said “yes” but he came back and said “sorry we are out”. As compared to 8 years ago, the sake selection was not as extensive. Our first order was assorted sashimi which came in a shallow bowl covered with a dry ice induced fog, which entirely obliterated the view of sashimi (see below). Although nothing could be seen because of the fog the server pointed into it “identifying” the unseeable fish varieties that were supposedly there and explaining what kind of sashimi we got.

The sashimi was ok except for Tai perch which was so chewy my wife could not eat it. So she chewed for  a while and spitted it out and hid it under the garnish of “Otoshi”. That did not escape the keen eyed server’s notice. He asked “Oh, she cannot eat raw fish?” I answered “Yes she can but this was too chewy even for me” which shut him up. (This chewy Tai repeated in other izakaya we visited except for one in Kyoto called ‘Irodori” (more details later).) In any case, we were less impressed with our experience at this izakaya than we were 8 years prior and made an early retreat.

Carrot Salad Muffin 人参サラダ入りマフィン

My wife made this muffin to finish the left-over carrot salad which she made for a company dinner we had some days ago. She remembered that she made carrot muffins from shredded carrots before. So she used the same recipe and substituted the carrot salad for the shredded carrots called for in the recipe. Although the original carrot salad had many spices including cumin, cayenne pepper, and ginger, they mellowed in the muffins. The muffins came out quite moist and had a great flavor due to the muted tastes of the spices.  The crumb topping also worked well.

Carrot salad: (We posted it in 2012. We are listing the recipe again in a standard format. The recipe is based on the spiced carrot salad recipe found in the "500 appetizers" cookbook.)
Ingredients: (for carrot salad)
2 cups of shredded carrots (in the food processor), cook in the micro wave for 30 seconds, stir and cook about another 30 seconds until the carrots get a bit tender but still have crunch).
1 cup raisin 
1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 
1 tsp. cumin, 
1/2 tsp ground coriander, 
1/2 tsp paprika, 
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 
Candied ginger, finely chopped,  to taste, 
4 tsp. sushi vinegar plus juice of 2 limes
3 Tbs. olive oil, 
2 tsp. chopped mint.

Directions:

Mix all the spices together with the liquid ingredients and poured the dressing over the carrots and raisins. I let it sit for several hours for the flavors to marry (as a matter-of-fact the salad gets better every day).

Muffin: (we used the recipe from carrot bread muffin which was posted 
Ingredients: (for muffin)
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot salad

Crumb topping: (This is the crumb topping used for other muffins)
Ingredients: (for crumb topping)
1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1/4 tsp. of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
to make the crumbs combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the butter, and mix with your fingers until the mixture forms crumbs.

To make the batter for the muffin in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. In another large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients; melted butter, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir the carrots, into the liquid ingredients until thoroughly blended. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Divide the batter among the muffin tins. Spread the crumbs on the top of the muffins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

These were very good muffins, dense in texture and moist. The muted taste of all the spices added depth of flavor. The crumbs on top came out with an almost cookie texture and crunch while they added a pleasant burst of sweetness. These were actually much better than we expected.

“Cotton Candy Grape” Panna Cotta “わたあめブドウ“ パンナコッタ

When my wife made “cotton candy grape” muffin, there was a small amount of the grape puree left and she decided to make “cotton candy grape” panna cotta. Since she has made quite a few panna cottas in the past, for this one, she just used her CCK (Common Culinary Knowledge) to come up with this panna cotta. It was quite good. The consistency is soft creamy; not too solid like Jell-O.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. gelatin
1 cup 4% milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grape puree
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Using an emersion blender puree enough grapes to make 1/2 cup puree. In a double boiler using 1/2 cup of the milk, bloom the gelatin for 15 minutes. Turn on the heat until the gelatin has completely dissolved into the milk. (Stir with a whisk if necessary to make all the gelatin dissolve). Add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Take off the heat and add the remaining milk, heavy cream and grape puree. Pour into small ramekins or Pyrex dessert bowls. Put into the refrigerator until set. 

This was a very delicate delicious dessert. It was very smooth and soft in texture. The pleasant slightly sweet flavor of the grapes came through. 

“Cotton Candy Grape Muffin” “わたあめブドウ” のマフィン

This is a muffin my wife came up with using our favorite “Cotton Candy Grapes”. These are seedless (mostly) green table grapes which are sweet and really taste like “cotton candy”. We really like them and as a result, this time, we over did it and bought too many. A small remainder of the batch we bought was getting to the point we had to use/eat them fairly soon before they went bad. My wife decided to make a muffin using the grapes cut-up as well as pureed. She thought she could modify her “ apple pie muffin” recipe. This turned out to be quite a good muffin. The grape flavor was a bit muted but the cut-up grapes did add real grape flavors (the cut grapes shown as light green shapes in the first picture). This is unqualified success using a bit unusual ingredients for muffins.

Ingredients:
For the muffins: 
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour,
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 
1 tsp. cardamon
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened,
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup grape puree, at room temperature.
1 to 2 cups cut up grapes

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Using an emersion blender puree the grapes to make 1/3 cup puree (#1).  Cut 1 to 2 cups of grapes into pieces and set aside (#2). In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat granulated sugar and butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition, about 30 seconds. Add the sour cream and grape puree stirring to combine completely.

In a medium bowl, whisk together salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour, cinnamon and cardamon. Add cut up grapes and stir until coated with flour. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until flour mixture is moistened. 

Spoon batter into bottom of each paper liner (#3). Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 12 to 18 minutes, rotating pan halfway. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. (#4)

These muffins had a dense but tender texture. The grape flavor came through mostly as a mild sweetness. The cut up grapes for the most part disappeared. Maybe they were absorbed into the dough (or maybe not well distributed). Although the use of grapes was a bit unusual it worked. 

We have a quite few amaryllis which my wife keeps alive and thriving for many years. Many of them keep blossoming every year, either for Christmas or  Easter. Although she marked the amaryllis which bloomed the previous year Christmas (2023) and started tending them at Thanksgiving so they would bloom at Christmas (2024).  They remained completely dormant. Finally about a week ago they decided to bloom. Here is a pic of the flower that gave actual meaning to the phrase “late bloomer” Meanwhile the Easter ones are quickly catching up. But better late than never. We really enjoy these flowers.

Hanami #2 花見＃2

After our first hanami 花見, we were expecting bad weather and rain.  However,  luckily, we had a second nice day of hanami and I made another attempt at a hanami bento 花見弁当. This time, I filled the smaller lidded box with scattered sushi or “chirashi-zushi” ちらし寿司 made of smoked salmon, marinated “ikura” salmon roe いくらの醤油漬け(#1).

Opening the lid of the smaller box revealed scattered sushi (#2 left upper). I also served Russian marinated salmon 鮭のロシアずけ topped with ikura (#2 upper right) and herring marinated in wine sauce (store-bought) topped with sour cream mixed with the brine from the herring jar and chopped dill (#2, lower left). The smaller box without a lid, I served salmon kelp roll 鮭の昆布巻き, “kinpira gobo” 金平牛蒡 braised burdock root, mock tofu 擬制豆腐, braised spicy marinated tofu ピリカラ豆腐, braised crunchy cauliflower モンパルナスのカリフラワー and crispy marinated  enoki mushroom エノキのパリパリ焼き, skinned Campari tomato, and chicken liver simmered in red wine 鶏肝の赤ワイン煮.

I used frozen rice to make sushi rice. I just microwaved the rice until warm, added the sushi vinegar (from the bottle) mixed and microwaved a bit more to warm up. I mixed it again and let it sit for 5 minutes. It was not the best sushi rice but certainly good enough for the purpose. I marinated ikura with x4 concentrated Japanese noodle sauce overnight in the refrigerator. I first placed the sushi rice on the bottom of the small covered box then distributed ikura over half of the rice surface followed by smoked salmon (#3). I topped this with a julienne of cucumber and golden thread egg or “kinshi-ran” 金糸卵 and nori threads or “kizami-nori” 刻み海苔(#4). Since we were not expecting to have the second hanami this was a bonus and what I put together for the occasion was pretty satisfying.

Now, our main cherry tree (“somei-yoshino” 染井吉野 which has a bottle brush appearance of numerous blossoms covering the branches (foreground) and the more traditional one like depicted in “ukiyoe” painting of edo time 江戸時代の浮世絵  which is in the background are both in full bloom displaying their individual personalities in the shape and characteristics of their petals. 

Hanami 2025 花見2025

Because it got warm quickly, three of our cherry trees blossomed one after the other. The first one is dropping petals already, our main tree is in full bloom and our old tree has just started. So it was hanami 花見 time. I filled the new jubako box 重箱 with goodies for the occasion. I used the smaller box without a lid, the smaller box with a lid and two small porcelain bowls to fill each tier. One tier served one person.  I served quite a few sashimi items accompanied by soy sauce, wasabi and yuzu kosho 柚子胡椒 (#1).

The sashimi I served (#2) was bluefin tuna クロマグロ (was called “akami” 赤身 but it was more like “chutoro” 中トロ), kanpachi カンパチ” amberjack, and salmon. All came from Riviera Seafood Club. The tuna was good but kanpachi and salmon could have been better. The meat was abit too lean and could have used a bit more fat. 

In one of the bowls, I served the remaining tuna and Russian marinated salmon 鮭のロシア漬け in the shape of roses and topped it with “ikura” いくら salmon roe (#3).

I also served scallop sashimi ホタテの刺身 which was really good as always (#4).

In the covered small box (#5), I served an assortment of dishes I made as well as “uni suhto” which I did not make  ウニの酒盗 shown in a very small square bowl. Lower bottom is a salmon kelp roll 鮭の昆布巻 and mock tofu 擬制豆腐. Left upper are dashimaki egg omelet with dried nori powder or “aonori” 青海苔入りだし巻 topped with cruchy braised cauliflower.

Our second generation cherry tree blossomed nicely. The tree has grown quite a bit. It was planted after we lost the original tree in a nor’easter 7 years ago.

We started our hanami while it was still light but the fun extended into the evening and we turned on the flood lights as shown in the picture below. Even thought the sun was down It was still very warm and pleasant.

Jubako for “hanami” cherry blossom gazing 花見用市松模様の重箱

Recently, I got a new “Jubako” 重箱 which is a tiered square box with a lid for picnic like “hanami” 花見 cherry blossom gazing. I saw this at MTC Kitchen and thought this was perfect for our hanami. It has red or fuchsia and gold staggered square pattern called “Ichimatsu” pattern 一松模様.  “Ichimatsu” 一松 is the name of the “kabuki” actor 歌舞伎俳優 from Edo period 江戸時代 who wore a costume in this pattern.

A bit unusual feature of this box is that two small square boxes, one with a lid and one without, are included in each tier. The little box without the lid is shown in the picture below as #1. The one with the lid is shown in the pic with a red/gold diagonal pattern. 

Here is what the two layers of the box look like. The lidless boxes are shown with a #1 and they are touching the corner of the boxes with a red and gold colored lid. This configuration of open and closed boxes with regular uncovered spaces provides are great deal of options to artistically display the bento box food.

I am planning to have this box filled with goodies for hanami which will be the next post.