Butagumi (豚組): Deep Fried Pork Cutlets

No one thinks it’s possible to eat Japanese food everyday and gain weight, but here I am having done just that.  I decided to eat, drink, and enjoy my time in Tokyo, and I’m prepared to face the consequences later.  When in Japan, right!?  So on that note, today I am posting about deep fried pork cutlets.  Believe it or not, it’s a Japanese specialty that goes back about 100 years when it was first introduced as “European” food.  It started as katsuretsu (Japanese way of saying “cutlets”) of beef and then became とんかつ tonkatsu, made from sirloin (ロース, rōsu) or fillet (ヒレ, hire) of pork over the years.  Most people name Tonki and Maisen as the two most famous tonkatsu restaurants in Tokyo.  Tonki has a standard/simple/straightforward tonkatsu menu but at Maisen you can choose to have the famous black pig, kurobuta tonkatsu as well as other fried dishes.  I’m not usually big on fried anything and I’d already had tonkatsu a few weeks ago at Maisen, but when I found out there was a tonkatsu place near my apartment where more than three dozen types of pork were offered, I knew I had to check it out.  Dining alone would only allow me to try one tonkatsu so I recruited my friends John and Tomo to go with me.

It was a rainy weekday night but the small restaurant in the residential area of Nishiazabu was busy.  We took the only table that wasn’t already reserved.  From their small wine list we took the server’s recommendation and got a bottle of Bordeaux to get us started.  We opted to skip over the appetizers and go straight to the main event.  We listened to our helpful waitress’ suggestion for the cutlet orders.  Most Japanese prefer the sirloin cut (rōsu) because it’s fattier and juicer- i.e. more flavorful and delicious.  Women and those on a diet (I don’t know why you’d be eating deep fried pork cutlets if you’re on a diet but who knows) order the lean cut, fillet (hire).  At most tonkatsu places that’s the only decision you need to make; you either order the sirloin or the fillet. But at Butagumi, there were sub-sections under rōsu and hire, with descriptions like “light,” “flavorful,” “rich,” and “juicy and super rich.”  And under each of those descriptions were a list of pork from various regions of Japan and Spain.  Yes, Spain.  At Butagumi, you can get tonkatsu made from the famed acorn fed Iberico pig (it’s the most expensive item on the menu at ¥4,800 ~ $50 USD).

We ordered two sirloin cuts and one fillet cut.  I was curious about this pork called Tokyo X so that was my choice; it was filed under the section “rich taste.”  The other sirloin was called “super golden pork” from Saitama (filed under “juicy & super rich”) and our fillet was from Niigata and called “Tsunan pork.”  On average they were about ¥4,000 ~ $40+ USD each, definitely not some run-of-the mill pork cutlets.

Tonkatsu is almost always served with shredded cabbage, rice, and soup.  These are usually all-you-can-eat and a few different sauces may accompany the pork cutlets.  Some places have a little bowl for the diner to first grind some toasted sesame seeds and mix the tonkatsu sauce with it.  At Butagumi, they recommended that we try the pork with just a bit of salt to really appreciate the taste of the meat.  We tried it both ways, with salt and with their house sauce.

Tokyo X with all kinds of fatty fat fat deliciousness!

The other two weren’t too shabby either.  They were perfectly crunchy and golden brown on the outside, and juicy and tender on the inside.

All three cuts on my plate for sampling…  Most people would run away from all that fat but no, not me.

The next round with tonkatsu sauce.

A lot of tonkatsu restaurants serve tonjiru (pork soup made with miso and vegetables) and some tonkatsu restaurants are famous for their tonjiru as well as the pork cutlets.  At Butagumi, we were served miso soup with tiny clams.  Of course I finished mine clean.

We had a lot of “hmmm,” “oishiiiiii,” and “wow.”  And somehow after three pieces of beautiful pork, we weren’t finished.  So we ordered ANOTHER one.  We once again went with our server’s recommendation and I can’t quite remember which pork we got (I must have been too giddy to take note).  But I do know that we got another sirloin cut but it wasn’t from the “super juicy & rich” section.  The difference was very clear even just by looking at it.

John gave his seal of approval on this one, too.

We could have skipped dessert, but Tomo and I thought why?

Tonkatsu is definitely not everyday food.  Before coming to Japan, the last time I had tonkatsu was probably more than 5 years ago in New York (katsuhama).  But if I’m going to have deep fried pork cutlets, why not go to a good place in Tokyo?!  I may go back to being a vegetarian once I leave Japan but for the yummy deep fried pork cutlets, I thank you Butagumi!

Butagumi (豚組): 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 東京都港区西麻布2-24-9 (map)

Maisen (まい泉とんかつ): 4-8-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 東京都渋谷区神宮前4-8-5

Tonki (とんき): 1-1-2 Shimo-Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo; 東京都目黒区下目黒1-1-2

Azalea Festival at Nezu Shrine

つつじ tsutsuji is a Japanese word I learned two weeks ago.  Tsutsuji means azalea.  When I add the word まつり matsuri (festival) it becomes a funny tongue twister.  Well, it does for me anyway.  つつじまつり tsutsujimatsuri.  I tried saying that fast a few times on the subway ride up to Nezu-jinja (Nezu shrine) to see the azaleas in bloom.  tsutsujimatsuri, tsutsujimatsuri, tsutsujimatsuri.

Nezu shrine isn’t one of the well-known places in Tokyo and from what I understand, almost no one visits it except during the annual azalea festival.  I had never been there before and had to look it up before heading out, but once I got out of the subway station it was very clear to me which way I needed to go.  There were signs all along the street, but I simply followed the crowd over to the shrine.

The shrine was packed with visitors who’d all come to see the azaleas in their pink glory.

Everyone had their cameras, tablets, and mobile phones out taking photos of themselves and the flowers.  Of course I did the same…

I walked under these series of vermilion colored torii gates that lined the courtyard of the shrine.  They made me think of the large installation art piece called “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park in the winter of 2005.  I wondered whether Christo and Jean-Claude, the artists took inspiration from these Japanese gates.

The festival goers prayed and made offerings for their wishes.

I made a small offering of my own, grateful for all the good fortune in my life.  I pulled the thick rope to ring the bell to ask the spirits to hear my prayer.

It was so nice and tranquil by the temple that it surprised me to see all these vendors and tents in the lower part of the shrine grounds.

I guess it’s not truly a festival without food!  There was yakitori, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, oden, ice cream, chocolate covered bananas, and more.

While you’re at the festival why not shop for some socks and undergarments, too?

Throw in a game of scooping out little goldfish and you have yourself a real festival.

And I thought it was just about these azaleas in bloom…

Tsutsujimatsuri!

Nezu Shrine: １丁目-２８-９ Nezu, Bunkyo, Tokyo (map); tsutsujimatsuri at Nezujinja usually runs for about a month each year in April/May.  This year (the 44th azalea festival) was held from April 6 to May 6.

Girls Night In: Just Come Over

Dining out in Tokyo is amazing but I always know that I’m going to have a great time at Tomo and John’s place.  They are gracious hosts who throw really fun parties and the two of them are rarely apart from one another.  But a few weeks ago John was away traveling in Kyoto with his family while Tomo stayed in town because of work.  I’m sure Tomo could have used some downtime after all the wedding stuff, but she had Kayo me over for a girls night in.  She said she had some wine she’s wanted to try and would pick up a few things on the way home from work so all I had to do was turn up…  I know better than to show up empty handed but she insisted that I just come over, so I really did.  My only offering of the night was teaching Tomo a new phrase in English- when the cat’s away the mice will play!

Tomo and John’s apartment has 180 degree views of Tokyo.  You can see the Tokyo Tower to the west, Tsukiji Market and Ginza straight up ahead.  To the east is Asakusa and the Tokyo Skytree building stretching up to the clouds along the Sumida River.

Lower half: Tsukiji Market. Ginza is straight up the busy Harumi Street

Tokyo Skytree in the distance

The spread Tomo put together for us looked fantastic as usual, especially with the spectacular nighttime view of Tokyo.

We opened this bottle of natural sparkling wine called Gazouillis (wild orchids) from the Loire Valley first.

We toasted to the Ginza Mitsukoshi food hall for all the goodies (more on the department store food halls, depachika, later).  There was ham, sausages, salad, cold Chinese style chicken, and this beautiful Japanese cheese.  Tomo explained to me that Hokkaido is famous for its dairy products and produce delicious milk, yogurt, and cheese.  This particular cheese though, was from the Shiga prefecture in the south and its maker was a young woman.  This つやこフロマージュ Tsuyako fromage was mild, creamy, and delicious.  The terrines (one pork, one veg) were too gorgeous to eat but of course we gobbled them up.

The next two bottles of wine…  We realized later that since Kayo doesn’t drink much, Tomo and I basically drank three bottles of wine between the two of us.

Our cozy dinner party for three thanks to Tomo.

We happily chatted the night away but remembered to Skype with Kayo’s son to say goodnight.  Oyasumi H-kun and arigatou Kayo’s hubby for babysitting!

Tomo sent us home with these macarons.  She wins the hostess with the most-est award.

It was my turn to host a “Girls Night In” at my apartment next.  This time Miki was able to come so the four of us planned for a sleepover, just like how we used to do it back when we were all young and single.  I ran all over town to get ready for what I knew would be an epic night.

I chose two bottles of wine from Argentina that the girl told me they’d never had before-  Torrontes and Malbec.  I found them at Nissin in Azabu-Juban, a well-known international grocery store (their wine section on the top floor is excellent).  Tomo brought a bottle of champagne, Kayo came with a bottle of Chilean red (and a can of non alcoholic beer for herself- so cute!), and I also got some Japanese beers to round out the booze offerings.  The bread came from my favorite bakery in Tokyo, Maison Kayer – I went to their Tokyo Midtown location to pick these up.

The Gorgonzola Piccante and a mini wheel of Langherino came from Eataly in Daikanyama, and the Mimolette came from Precce grocery.  I bought the Greek feta, hummus (Black Swan brand from Australia), and the veggies from National Azabu.

The Italian salami and prosciutto from Eataly, and the rest (scallion & chicken salad, pate, squid salad, and the tomato & mozzarella salad) came from my go-to department food hall, the Tokyu Food Show in Shibuya.  I put together a rather international spread, no?

We even had a little gift for everyone (thanks K for bringing these sweet smelling candles) and mini cupcakes from Demitasse Cupcake at TABLES (thanks T!)

And the most important part of our evening, the girls!  We Skyped with Yuka in Paris to toast our friendship, which is now going on 16 years and around the globe.  K and I fell asleep around 3:30AM, but M and T stayed up Skyping with Y until the sun came up.  I had makoli in the fridge and Korean ramen noodles (got them from K-town in Shin-Ōkubo), but didn’t get to serve them…  In the end, I cooked absolutely nothing for this party but we thoroughly enjoyed everything.

The next morning and day was tough (we’re really not that young anymore), but this sleepover was so worth it.  Here is to the next 16 years ladies!

List of my go-to/favorite places for grocery shopping in Tokyo-

National Azabu: I can find almost everything I miss from back home here.  It’s also the closest and most convenient grocery store in my neighborhood.  4-5-2 Minami Azabu, Minato, Tokyo (map)

Nissin World Delicatessen: huge selection of imported groceries from all over the world, great wine shop.  2-34-2, Higashi-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo; 東京都港区東麻布2-34-2 (map)

Depachika: department store basement food halls.  My two favorites are Ginza Mitsukoshi and Tokyu Food Show

Eataly: EATALY 代官山店 Not as impressive or large as the one in Manhattan but stocks  Italian cured meats, pastas, cheeses, etc.  Standalone store and restaurant in Daikanyama but also has booths at certain shopping malls and department stores (Ebisu, Nihonbashi, etc).  ２０-２３ Daikanyamacho, Shibuya, Tokyo (map)

Peacock grocery chain: for Japanese groceries.  www.peacock.co.jp

Tokyo Midtown: for Precce grocery store, Dean & Deluca, and Maison Kayer bakery

K-Plus: Korean grocery store in Shin-Ōkubo

I also use convenient stores like Lawson and Yamaya for wine & spirits.  Places like Hanamasa is good look around as well.  Muji also sells dried and packaged foods, and 100 yen stores like Daiso (huge one in Harajuku) is fun to visit.

Aoyama Cemetery

Whenever I head north towards Gaienmae or Shinjuku, I end up walking along side 青山霊園 Aoyama reien (Aoyama cemetery).  The first weekend I was in Tokyo I could see that there were still some sakura (cherry blossom) peaking around the cemetery but because I was on my way to meet a friend I couldn’t stop for more than a few minutes.

After meaning to visit for so many weeks, I finally made it over to this large but quiet cemetery the other day.  With the Roppongi Hill’s Mori building towering over nearby, I could really see and feel the new Tokyo peacefully co-existing with the old.

I saw a stray cat lingering around and a few people walking their dogs, but I was alone for the most part.

Aoyama Cemetery is quite big and I’m told that it’s a great place to appreciate the famous Japanese cherry blossoms when they flower.  I definitely missed its peak by a week this time but maybe I’ll return for the autumn foliage…

I know that there are famous Japanese who are laid to rest here (Hachiko‘s master is also buried at this cemetery) and there is a separate section for foreigners.  But I didn’t look for anyone in particular.

I don’t know the name of this cemetery but I just happened to see it one day when I was walking to Ebisu through the back streets of Hiroo.  It was much smaller and more modest than the Aoyama cemetery, but I thought it was lovely.

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Oh How I Love Japanese Bathrooms

きれい kirei means pretty or beautiful in Japanese, but it also means clean or pure.  In Japan clean equals beautiful.  I think this one word says a lot about the importance of cleanliness in Japanese culture.  It’s common to see hand sanitizer dispensers at the entrance of bars and restaurants, and there are individually wrapped wet paper towels for me to take when I buy a piece of pastry at a bakery.  Street marketing teams hand out small tissues and every single Japanese person I know carries a handkerchief.  I see considerate Tokyoites wearing masks to prevent others from getting sick.  Recently I had a cold sore on my lip and I felt almost too embarrassed to go out in public without completely covering myself.  At times I feel as if half of Tokyo is hiding behind “Michael Jackson masks.”

Scenes like this is common on the Tokyo subway.

Two years ago when I visited Seoul I marveled at how clean and modern some of the public bathrooms were there (no way I’d tell anyone to use a public toilet at any of the subway stations in Manhattan!).  But I think Korea can’t hold a candle next to what the clean freak Japanese do with their bathrooms.  Having spent many months in India and other third world countries I can most definitely appreciate the sanitary conditions here.  I guess it’s not surprising that the Japanese have the most sophisticated high-tech toilets in the world and Japanese bathrooms are, to a foreigner like me, so fascinating.  When I told my girlfriend J about my being in Tokyo she told me to pay attention to how Japanese toilet technology has improved.  I know that sounds funny but J visits Japan once a year and has recently renovated her bathrooms in Manhattan so I’m sure she’s looked at countless TOTO toilets.

It’s not to say that all Japanese toilets are modernized- there are still these “squat” toilets found in older buildings and subway stations.  Most Japanese now prefer the “western” toilets and don’t mind waiting for those to free up rather than using the older/squat toilets.

Most of the private homes and apartments built in the last few decades are equipped with what we’d consider high-tech toilets.  Some of my friends’ apartments in Tokyo have more advanced models, but even the basic ones found in shopping malls or regular restaurants have a control panel with multiple options.

The toilet pictured above has the control panel built into the toilet itself.  The toilet seat is usually heated and you can turn on some music or ambient noise to block out any potentially embarrassing sounds (ha ha ha).  These toilets are also called “washlets” because of the built-in bidet and wash functions.  On these you can only change the water pressure but the newer models allow you to adjust the temperature of the water as well as specific positioning of the nozzle.  A friend told me that some of them have hot air “dryers,” too.  I’ve seen toilets with a sensor around it so that when a person gets closer the lid opens automatically and when you’re finished the lid comes down to close.

You wave your hand over the sensor to activate the flush- you don’t have to touch anything that might be dirty!

Of course you don’t want to touch the rubbish bin.  It also opens and closes automatically.

This bathroom has the control panel on the wall next to the toilet.  Thank goodness there are pictograms and English signage…  In case you were wondering, Japanese bathrooms do have toilet paper.

High-tech toilets?  OK.  How about this changing board in the bathroom?  This board was attached to the wall of a bathroom stall.  I’ve changed shoes and/or clothes in the bathroom and I understand that you don’t want to step on the dirty bathroom floor.  I have to say, it’s very thoughtful of you Japan.

What about the Moms that have little babies with them?  Well, you put the baby in this child seat (also inside the bathroom stall) while you go about your business.  The accompanying instruction says that you should keep your eye on the child, do not leave your child (really?), and don’t let the child play.  Do you think there is one of these in the men’s room, too?  Doubtful…

Just in case you didn’t know how to queue or if you need guidance as to how much space you should have between you and the person standing in front of you– there are helpful markers for where you should place yourself while waiting for a free toilet.  I think this was a “wink, wink, nod, nod” joke but maybe not.

Honestly, oh. so. Japanese!

Home Sweet 六本木 (Roppongi)

六本木 Roppongi (literally means six trees) has changed a lot in the past decade with the development of Roppongi Hills, a giant complex of residential and retail buildings.  When I lived here 15 years ago the main drag, Roppongi crossing/intersection (Roppongi kōsaten in Japanese) was where the international/expat crowd liked to hang out.  I used to hear about these nightclubs and bars that catered to gaijin (foreigners) that sounded rather dangerous?! (hostess bars).  I’m sure there are still plenty of those places around but now it’s hard to ignore the towering Mori building and all the high-end shops in and around Roppongi Hills.  Just on the other side of the Roppongi intersection is another compound of modern buildings/shopping mall/hotel called Tokyo Midtown, which also didn’t exist until about five years ago.  When it rains and I don’t feel like venturing out too far I explore different parts of Roppongi Hills but its maze-like layout makes it hard to figure out which way is which.  I look at it like a big puzzle and since I’m not shopping or in search of anything in particular, it’s fun to see what I might bump into around the corner.

Mori Building, day & night

When I was planning a trip back to Tokyo I was surprised to find out that the serviced apartment where I used to live 15 years ago on “Terebi Asahi dōri” was still there.  I had assumed that since Roppongi Hills took over the entire neighborhood this apartment building would have also been absorbed.  On a whim I contacted them and was delighted to learn that they had an apartment available for rent.  I booked it right away.  I knew that everything around it had changed dramatically but I was really curious to see what it would feel like for me to return to the same place again.

Mohri Garden at Roppongi Hills, two blocks down the street from my apartment.

I used to take the airport limousine bus from Narita to ANA hotel and taxi over to the apartment.  But with the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel just across the street it made it even easier to get to Roppongi this time (the limousine bus now makes stops at ANA, Grand Hyatt, and the Ritz Carlton at Tokyo Midtown).  When I got off the bus I could tell directionally where Terebi Asahi street was and from there it took just a split second for me to recognize the old building.  It felt a bit out of place with all the new highrises (Court Annex Roppongi is only 10 stories) but I smiled at the sight of the place I called home for a year.

Paper origami cranes waiting for me at my apartment in Roppongi

The management office was still on the 3rd floor, and the staff were just as kind and nice as they were so many years ago.  My apartment back in 1998-1999 was on the top floor, and from the balcony I could see the Tokyo Tower not too far away.  This time I’m on the 9th floor and even though I’m facing the same direction, two Roppongi Hills residential towers are blocking my view of the Tokyo Tower.

View from my apartment balcony

When I first arrived I felt as if I were in a time warp, like this apartment building was transported from 1999 into this bright and shiny future.  Not much of the apartment building had changed over the years; the furniture in the unit has been updated but the elevator, hallway, and the basics of the apartment are exactly as I remember them.  I don’t recall having a rice cooker in the kitchen so maybe they did upgrade and added a few things.  As far as serviced apartments go, I think this one is pretty nicely equipped.  They provide dishes, pots, pans, wine glasses, cutlery, and utensils.  I also found a coffee maker, microwave, toaster oven, and yes, a rice cooker.  Since all the appliances are Japanese there are laminated cards with English instructions.

With a large fridge, washer, drier, fax/phone combo, and a fast internet connection (plus cable TV), what else could I want?  OK, the weekly maid service is a nice plus but because I don’t want her to think of me as a total pig, I tidy up and clean the apartment BEFORE she comes on Tuesdays.  I know.  It’s silly but I can’t help it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed living here again and had my friends over a few weeks ago for a sleep over party…  just like how we used to do it 15 years ago.  I had a lot of fun preparing for the gathering and we spent the whole night laughing and reminiscing- I’ll save that post for another day.

A giant spider sculpture in front of Mori Tower, Roppongi Hills

There is usually something going on around here; the other night on my way home there was a pop-up doughnut operation and giveaway.  Inside this structure (photo below) Mister Donut (“misdo” for short) set up a real kitchen.

Roppongi Hills is celebrating its 10 year anniversary and there has been a lot of free events lately.  On a recent weekend this French performance group “Les Giraffes” with their stilt-walking show made the neighborhood place feel like a circus.

People who know Tokyo rolled their eyes a little when I told them I used to live in Roppongi because of its reputation as a nightlife destination.  But it was home to me then and I liked it for its convenient location.  I wondered whether I’d still feel the same here when I came back.  Strangely enough, Roppongi still feels comfortable.  I think because Tokyo is such a large city it’s nice to know that there is a small part of this metropolis that’s familiar to me.

It took me over a decade to revisit Tokyo but I won’t wait that long to come back here again.  I’d forgotten how much I like this city and this country.  I’m even thinking about studying Japanese again…

Roppongi Hills: 六本木ヒルズ  Subways Hibiya line and Oedo line, Roppongi stop

Tokyo Midtown: 東京ミッドタウン 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Court Annex Roppongi: www.asahihomes.co.jp

Old Friends and Colleagues

A week into my stay in Tokyo I had a chance to meet up with some of my old colleagues thanks to my friend Chiba-san.  She and I were quite close when I worked in Tokyo back in 1998-1999 but I didn’t keep in touch with her for several years in the mid-2000′s.  When I started traveling 3 years ago I reconnected with Chiba-san and she was kind enough to organize a gathering near our old office.  She called it my “welcome back to Japan” party.

I had walked around the back streets of Shibuya a few days before and saw that while the old office building was still there, most of the places we used to frequent for lunch were long gone.  I did see this tiny little takeaway bento place we went to at least once a week- I usually got the simple bento of white rice with 明太子 mentaiko (spicy cod roe) and nori (dried seaweed).  It was definitely not the most nutritious lunch but it was one of my favorites (it was also dirt cheap, maybe ~$5USD).  I was happy to see that they were still in business and most of the lunch boxes were priced below $10 USD.  Some things haven’t changed much!

Simple menu and fake display samples of what is available for purchase at the neighborhood bento shop where I used to go.

Many Japanese restaurants/cafes/bars are small and/or hidden in basements or inside office buildings that even the locals have a difficult time finding them.  It’s common for Tokyoites to meet near a metro stop or at a landmark (they’ll say “east exit” or exit number so and so), and then walk over to the bar/restaurant together.  Some landmarks are so often used as a meeting point that it can get difficult finding your friend in the crowd- I remember circling the famous Hachikō statue at the Shibuya station in search of my friends…

Japanese addresses are next to impossible to figure out since they are never in any order, and 99% of the small streets are not named or numbered.  I used to have friends or restaurants fax me a map (most times they were hand-drawn) to help me or to help taxi drivers navigate.  Of course this was before GPS and smartphones, but still to this day most people will give you directions in Tokyo using landmarks and restaurants all have business cards with a map printed on the reverse side.

For my outing with my old coworkers we met at the Omotesando police box, another well-known meeting place right outside of Omotesando metro station exit A3.

I happened to get there first and soon saw Kubo-san (in black above).  Even though 11 years had gone by since we last saw each other I recognized him right away.  Horiguchi-san and Ikeda-san soon followed.  Chiba-san, looking as pretty as ever, took a night off from looking after her daughter and husband to join us.  She kept joking that she was an おばさん obasan (middle aged woman) now.  Oh, please…

Just a short walk down Aoyama-dōri towards Shibuya we reached our destination, a basement izakaya (Japanese pub) that I probably would not have found on my own.  When Chiba-san made the reservation she also booked a fixed dinner set for the evening so we just sat and waited for the food to arrive.

Our first course: sashimi plate for five.  Look closely and you’ll see that there are five pieces of everything, including five little mounds of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) on the bottom of the plate.

Second course: grilled fish and tamagoyaki (slightly sweet omelette) served with grated daikon (radish)

Third course: stewed fish head.  Each of us received a plate of fish head cooked in soy and mirin (Japanese rice wine used for cooking) based sauce.  When the fish heads arrived they all looked at me and asked whether this was okay.  もちろんです!  mochirondesu!  Of course!

Forth course: tempura (deep fried) of spring vegetables

There were many rounds of 生ビール namabiiru (draft beer) and 日本酒 nihonshu (Japanese rice wine pictured below), and some 梅酒 umeshu (plum wine) as well.  I can’t read a lot of kanji (Chinese characters) so I asked for a “delicious nihonshu” and trusted the guys and the waiter for their recommendation.  Nihonshu we ordered was served cold in large glasses with a red lacquered bowl underneath to catch any overflow.  They usually pour you a generous portion so after taking a sip or two, you get to top up by pouring the overflow from the bowl into the glass.

I’m not sure how many countries in the world still allow indoor smoking but Japan is one of them.  There are smoking rooms at the airport, inside building, and shopping malls, and it’s still common to see people lighting up at restaurants and bars.  One thing to note though- smoking while walking is very much frowned upon.  Smokers need to go to a designated smoking areas outside.  I often see groups of people in alleyways hiding out to smoke and office workers taking cigarette breaks by large ashtrays outside.  Huge clouds of smoke by train station smoking area are toxic enough to knock out a small animal…

When our last course of miso soup, pickles, and bowls of rice came, Ikeda-san asked me if I wanted the “egg option.”  I said, “sure, I’ll try it.”  A few minutes later the guys and I each received a small ramekin with a raw egg and some soy sauce delivered to our table.

I watched what the guys did and followed suit; I poured the soy sauce into the ramekin and used my chopsticks to break the yoke and mix in the soy sauce.  I then poured the egg mixture over the hot rice.

All that was left to do was eat.  Salmonella?  Never heard of it!

Even though I hadn’t spoken Japanese in well over a decade once the evening got underway I was able to understand and speak enough to have a nice conversation with everyone.  Chiba-san is now a full time Mom but the guys are all working, mostly for music  and entertainment companies.  I also found out about what happened to some of our other colleagues.  A few had health problems, one of them sadly committed suicide a while back, some others no one knew where they were.  But most shockingly, they told me that our old boss was recently arrested for embezzling $1.5MM from his company and will soon go to jail.  Hmmm…

When the bill came they all insisted that the guest, me, cannot pay.  Oy vey!  I love AND hate this Asian hospitality.  It’s a wonderful gesture but it puts pressure on me to do something nice for them in return.  I’m going to have to figure out how I can treat them next time.  I guess it’s a nice way to keep in touch and meet up with them again.  Thank you again to Chiba-san for making this dinner possible.  See you soon!

Torafuku Aoyama: 3-12-9 Kitaaoyama, Hana Building B1 , Minato-ku, Tokyo (map)
寅福 青山本店: 東京都港区北青山3-12-9 花茂ビルB1