Inua
Ah Inua. A super duper expensive place, that I really wanted to go to when I heard it opened, but after seeing how much it cost compared to actual Japanese restaurants, I didn't want to go. But Thomas Frebel runs it, so.... Oh the agony!
However, I happened to have an extra couple of nights in Tokyo after my parents left, and decided at very short notice (two days), tried to book something. I tried to call Den about 68 times without success, but Inua was good to book online! And so here I was.
It feels a bit like Noma, which was to be expected (though this is based on my Noma Australia experience, since I haven't actually been to the Noma. And of course with an international team, it was actually rather weird to speak to such fluent English speakers haha. We received a tour of the kitchens (including the "show" kitchen, the main kitchen, and the test kitchen, which is downstairs past their fermentation fridges!) which was pretty amazing. So many fermentation experiments and space for research!
After the tour, we were seated and we got an Aussie waitress!
Yeeeah look at those jaws!!! That's a set of monkfish teeth!!! How cool is that! This was actually a super fluffy moussey thing, not unlike the way the rum lamington was made at Noma Australia.
Simple but delicious. Who knew that savoury citrus could taste like this! Since it's been a while, I can't actually remember what it was, but I think it was grapefruit?
A shot of the kitchen :D
I love eating flowers!! And this was a thin cracker made with miso, and had a layer of truffle paste too. What I loved about this was that the truffle was not overpowering, and the cracker had great flavour and texture. I can't get over how pretty this is!!!
This was interesting. That was some crazy looking cured salmon roe! I took a close look at it when I received it and kind of shouted out excitedly that it was roe hahaha. I don't think I absolutely loved it though, but it was definitely an interesting dish!
Yeeeah. Yeeah! During our tour of the kitchen, we saw the maitake mushrooms being aged. So cool! And I love mushrooms. This, the ugliest dish, was my favourite! Our waitress even said, Thomas hates to have a signature dish, but he just can't take this one off the menu. I agree! This had so much flavour and was totally amazing! Plus I loved sprinkling the sakura petals onto the mushroom. Yes!!!
We started off with some tea, but we also requested the juice pairing. I was looking forward to some interesting flavours! To be honest though I don't really remember exactly what the juices tasted like, but I also think that Noma Australia did the best pairings. These were great to drink regardless though!
A roll up!! Ahahaha. It's another pretty dish! I love that this was presented on beeswax in a picture frame, it really does look too good to eat. Nice and tart, and not loaded with sugar like its childhood, cheap counterpart. This was classy!
Well, it would be classy except my brother tried to do some origami with it hahaha. That was fun to watch.
This lump of foamy stuff was such a weird looking dish, but when you look at the way the vegetables were arranged, it sort of reminds me of the abalone dish from Noma Australia. It's a great way to sample each of the different vegetables, and I didn't recognise most of them! I think I did manage to eat Japanese knotweed though I think. Under the foam was some tasty freshly made beancurd skin! I love yuba!
This also had grasshopper garum at the bottom, which was tasty! I even joked that eating grasshoppers is a great method for pest control hahaha.
A very citrussy drink!
This juice was more interesting though! This was a musk melon juice (and I got really excited when I heard that it was musk melon, because the dessert I had at Waku Ghin was so fragrant!)
Junsai!!! Do you know how much I love this plant? It is so fun to look at and eat because it has a literal water shield! That's why I enjoyed the soba at the national park in Hakodate too ahahaha. Who cares about the caviar, give me more junsai!
Woah okay. The serious knife has come out. And that claw carving! Turns out these knives are all made from wood and animals. How cool! It's all harvested in a conscientious manner, so these are from dead animals as a way to use every part of the animal.
Ha, a steak knife for fish! This was pretty tasty, especially with the egg yolk sauce.
A pine infusion! Except I forgot what this was... probably a tea of sorts!
A soup with a herb bouquet!
Another juice I don't actually remember haha. That's what happens when I do far too much on a single holiday right after a massive holiday and end up backlogged with so much stuff!
An interesting drink! Again I don't remember much but just looking at the flavour combination, I can imagine it had some interesting flavours to it!
For all my forgetfulness, this is one dish that I can't forget about. I remember when the chef served this one, I wasn't sure if I was hard of hearing when I heard "bees" instead of "beans". Was it really bees, or beans? Rice and beans is more common, but I mean, it is Inua so bees weren't exactly out of the question. The flowers are so pretty here too!
But I didn't like the rice. At all. It was actually far too hard and when I ate it, there wasn't flavour in the rice and the chew wasn't chewy, the texture kind of resembled undercooked brown rice? The crispy bees were amazing though. Yeah, I asked our waiter to clarify and she said yes they are bees! Bzzz!! Ahahahaha. Nice! I love crispy bees! They were so light and crunchy! The rice needed heeaaaaps of sauce to make it palatable for me.
My brother and I totally used up all the sauce! The sauce was really yummy. But I just didn't like the rice. Usually in a high end restaurant, I'll generally still appreciate flavours or textures even if I don't really like them. Examples of this include Eleven Madison Park's little pumpkin side dish, or Attica's pumpkin and beer foam dish. Yeah okay so maybe I am not the biggest pumpkin fan? Also, Rockpool Bar and Grill Sydney's orange chocolate mousse thing. It was absolutely fantastic and delicious, but I don't like orange chocolate.
But this, this I just didn't understand, so I asked the waiter about it, because I was interested to know the story about the dish so I could appreciate it. She said that the rice was cooked this way to contrast with the bees, and is actually how the rice growers eat the rice when they mix it with bees larvae. Interesting! I am still a bit unconvinced about the rice texture, but that just means I should go to a rice planting festival and see for myself, right???
Oh yeah, we got a story from the chef about the bees as well. The bee larvae are harvested from the honeycombs in really cold temperatures, so they rotate chefs who have to go into the freezer and harvest them and rotate out ahahaha. That's incredible! Harvesting the larvae also benefits the bees apparently, so that they can produce more honey or something. Either way, the thing I really loved about this dish was that it really got me talking and asking questions, so this was great and I really felt like this is a part of the restaurant experience that I've never really had before!
What a cute little desserty thing! Interesting flavours too, because I think it also had olives on the stick?
Woah! Now this is impressive! It's a millefeuille made of seaweed! I wish more people did this. Apparently this went through lots of testing before they managed to make it well and consistently, and the cream inside was delicious too! It reminded me a little of those seaweed snacks you can get at the shops, except this was the sweet version. I believe it also passed the vertical cutting test so that the cream didn't all splurt out the other end! This was my favourite dessert!
Look at those mini kiwis!! How cute! And that toothpicky stick thing had leaves you could eat, which were soaked in mirin and sochu. They packed a huge punch of flavour and were really fun to eat!
And our final dessert. Look at the detail of that wood sorrel! Imagine plating hundreds of these... yeah, this is why I always say no, I will not pursue the profession of being a chef. That's a lot of blood sweat and tears, right there!
And here's another knife! This one is so pretty and super chunky too! I think we got this knife because of the questions we asked, but who knows haha. I think this one is the deer antler one?
I did the honours of cutting the cakey thing. How pretty! It was a good end to the night.
The waitress then asked, since I had left a note that I wanted a photo with Thomas Frebel, whether or not I still wanted it. Uuuh, I replied with, I thought he was in Copenhagen? She looked very confused. "He got back this morning... and he served you some of your dishes!"
OMG. REALLY?! OMG HOW MORTIFYING THAT I DIDN'T RECOGNISE HIM THOUGH IN HINDSIGHT HE SERVED US THE JUNSAI DISH AND SOME OF THE OTHERS WHAT.
That was probably the most embarassing restaurant moment ever. Moreso than the backward knife at Contra. How was any of this possible, am I just the most terrible, ignorant person on the planet or something? To not even recognise the person I specifically requested a photo with?!
Well after that embarassment, we managed to get our photo after all. I was offered a photo with just Thomas, or the entire team. Of course the entire team! It's more fun that way! And so we ended up taking a few shots, with the Inua style pose - an OK sign made with the right hand, and saying "very nice" in a way dictated by one of the staff. It was a rule that you had to say it the way he wanted, e.g. low and slow, or high pitched and fast. Or normal. Hahaha, how fun! I am so glad I got this experience, even though it cost me far more than I wanted to originally spend while on holiday. Totally worth it in the end!
I still really want to one day try and make it to Den though, but this was a great experience of eating Japanese ingredients that have been made by chefs with no preconceptions or rules on how the food should or shouldn't be prepared. So much fun! I think the drink pairing still makes Noma Australia my favourite "Noma" experience but the maitake, bees, and photos made this really memorable too!
Japan 2019 – Part 4
Yay, Tokyo! Wow, what a culture shock. Did I say that last time I went from Kyoto to Tokyo? I feel like this isn't the first time I've actually felt that Tokyo is jarringly different from the rest of Japan.
That being said, the first thing we ate - Ichiran Ramen - was way tastier than the last time I had it! Man this stuff is seriously good. I think it was here that we were waiting for a while just outside the door, so I was trying my hardest to read the writing on a paper stuck next to the lift. I think my brother had to explain that it said "elevator is over here". But now I know!
Look Enma is here too!! We headed to Kita-Kamakura, which was a place with lots of shrines.
There are heaps of dessert shops here too! And this one right next to the station was pretty yum! Matcha kanten, and anmitsu. I totally can't get enough anmitsu XD
What's a holiday without taking photos of people taking photos of things XD
After the lovely stroll through the shrines, it was time to head to the shopping district in Kamakura, called little town road!
An unagi tamagoyaki!!
It's a fun little place with soooo much food. I even went for some kakigori, but it wasn't quite the style I was after. I keep having to look for kakigori made the same way as I found in New York!!
THIS IS YOKOHAMA, JAPAN!
We headed out to Chinatown after that, just to check out the place. It's so quiet here XD
We went to a Chinese restaurant that my brother'd been to before which was decent. It was really out of the way, but it had some good stuff! Clean and light, unlike the heavy greasy stuff you get elsewhere. I quite enjoyed it and our waiter was Taiwanese so even my parents got to converse!
And yes, that's a shark fin soup. We ordered one to share between everyone just to try it. I'm fairly sure I've actually had some as a kid, but it was interesting to have again. Too bad it would probably be a waste to have asked "how was the shark fin sourced?" since I'm pretty sure they don't really care about animal ethics here....
Some brown sugar bubble tea!!! More bitter/caramelised than one I had in Perth when I got back, but also prettier! The actual pearl's weren't quite as chewy was I wanted them to be though.
Next morning, I ventured out by myself for a pre-crush-hour cafe visit. This is Toranomon Koffee, which my brother recommended I check out since it was close to where we were staying. Wow, it's a double set up! So cool!
A yum filter while I finally got a chance to read a book that my brother lent to me (which is on loan from one of his friends). A really interesting read about a Japanese coffee shop. I really like it as it describes how the owner set up a cafe, the customers, and how the cafe evolves. It does seem to take on a morbid tone towards the end though. Not super morbid, just the reality that everything dies XD An enjoyable read!
Butter toast!
And a fresh kashi!! Woot!!
Haha, there is a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo! I'd used up all my excitement in the New York flagship store, so I was less interested in this one, but it was still interesting to compare the two. The concept and layout styles are the same, but the decor is completely different!
Many cups on wall!!
Uh, this place still uses Steampunks even though Alpha Dominche isn't a thing anymore?
The hanging sakura are so pretty!
A coffee mocktail thing from the bar :D Not too bad actually.
A grilled beef place!! Man the marbling on this stuff was so good. And that warabi mochi!! A bit more on this place. It's tiny but has a wait, and the kitchen, while reminding me of Tonki Tonkatsu from my previous trip, didn't have everything on show. The food here was way better though!
It was time to farewell my parents, who were flying back to Sydney. This is a beef hotpot in the airport. That's some crazy marbled beef, and an interesting set of condiments! Yay konnyaku! The beef was so rich and expensive!
I'd booked a capsule hotel for 25AUD a night for my remaining stay, jackpot! This was in Asakusa, a place I've enjoyed from previous trips, and better yet, there's a Fuglen! Finally got to one on my third trip here! Lovely filter coffee as always, and a Norwegian pancake!
Street photography from the get go!
I explored around Hiroo, which was meant to be a new hipster hangout. Some really good English speakers here, from what I overheard. There was a cute little anmitsu and other dessert shop that I stumbled upon, and I kind of regret not getting kuzumochi! I'd asked about it but the shopkeeper didn't speak that much english, so I went straight for the anmitsu instead haha.
Then I walked through a heaps dodgy place in Shinjuku to get to an udon restaurant my brother suggested that I go to XD
Hahaha more warabi mochi! Yay. I am such a mochi addict! And the noodles were amazing too! I got the bokkake udon, which had beef "tendon" which I think actually turned out to be closer to brisket. Still delicious though, and served in a massive bowl!
Then I went back to my hotel to eat the anmitsu I bought earlier. Gosh I love this stuff so much!
Ugh why are my trips so epic. After all that, I still had to hotfoot it to Glitch, because I love them so much. I am always impressed with just how tasty their coffee is - like mindblowingly tasty, so much so that I even bought this cardboard coaster for 200 yen!
Yep, their coffee doesn't disappoint. That's a nice Cup of Excellence! And I love El Salvadors too. I deliberately avoided the geishas this time around maybe? I don't remember. But I could totally come back here every time!
And that night. Oh yeah. While I was at Starbucks the day before, I felt in the right mood to try booking a restaurant. But trying to call through to Den is a real feat in denying the impossible, and my skill level isn't up there yet. After... 64 attempts to call through I gave up. Weak, I know, considering it took me over 80 attempts to get to Minamishima. I blame it on sudden impusle; I doubt they would have had a table for the next day anyway hahahah. So instead, I went to Inua's website and made an easy booking. I had huge reservations about Inua (pun intended) because the cost here is soooo much insanely more than a Japanese restaurant. But I was feeling good, so yeah. Inua XD
I also didn't get a good picture but after dinner, we went to a cafe/bar that my brother had been to before. It's run by a former Glitch staff? Or some affiliation with Glitch. It was dark, moody and tres cool. A small quiet space where they served alcoholic and/or caffeinated drinks (or both!). They seemed really into photography and were sooooo smooth. They recommended some books off their shelf when they saw us reading a few, and omg. The way the waiter poured the water. Was so bar-tender. My goodness! I've never been in awe of someone pouring tap water until now!!! What!!! Bartender skills are amazing. He put the glass over the bottle, and then tipped the whole thing upside down with one hand to let the bottle fill the glass perfectly. Like woah. I gotta see that again!!!
I had a half day left, and again my trusty Fuglen comes to the morning rescue with a lovely cup of coffee - I figured out how to get a single cup instead of the decanter from last time XD I just had to order the batch! And plain waffle today.
I met up with my brother at Koffee Mameya, which the barista explained was "coffee bean shop". This is the same guy who set up Omotesando Koffee and Toranamon Koffee! This entrance is so charming.
This tiny little dark cube space is amazing. Not just architecturally either. Look at the beans on display. Yeah. You're seeing that right. They serve everything from super light Scandanavian roasts to that pitch black oily stuff. Woah! And they are so passionate and confident in talking about each different type of bean!
I love this kind of concept store. They sell all these beans as packs, and can brew them for you too! I love this because it shows these guys are passionate about coffee and also about people who drink coffee. No snobs here, they embrace everything! And that was really eye opening for me. Love this place!
I think I chose a geisha here? By Cupping Room. Not the most aromatic/mindblowing geisha, especially since I've had Glitch Coffee the day before. but still nice!
We made a quick detour to Henry's Burger, a place that my brother previously enjoyed. But today it wasn't that good, with heaps of chewy bits. Oh well. That's ok, since this was just a snack.
My brother wanted to eat at 6th by Oriental. I didn't realise this was a European style restaurant, complete with al fresco dining. I wasn't sure what to expect, but wow, the food was actually really good! This was a... kingfish? snapper? Some sort of white fish carpaccio that was tasty!
Snails on the menu, so yes please!
This pork chop was AMAZING. Really lovely, perfectly cooked and good flavour.
And a cute little dessert, perfectly sized and priced!
It's actually a lovely place and we were both very happy with the food. It's also such a different vibe from Japanese restaurants. This one really did have a feeling of being "Western" by virtue of the fact that there was noise. Haha yeah. People were having conversations everywhere instead of it being super quiet, much like how I'm used to hearing ambient noise back home. So good, especially since my brother hasn't had this experience in quite a while!
Definitely a place to put on the list!
And with that perfect timing, it was time for me to head to the airport. My time in Japan was up. But not before I took a picture of this guy in the middle of an intersection taking a photo of something! Haha, it reminded me so much of me! I don't even know what he was snapping!
I was on the wrong side of the plane. Those people looking over, are taking photos of Mt Fuji! The pilot had announced that today's flight path and clear skies would mean that we got to see the mountain! Alas, I didn't get to peer over.
And wow, I'm in luck! The Sakura special dinner was still available! Not advertised as a super special Sakura, but it was the same thing!! Little appetisers, sakura soba, and chicken with rice. This was really tasty! Man I love flying Singapore Airlines.
And that's that for this trip to Japan. I definitely love coming back here and want to come back again!! To Hakodate especially! It was kind of life changing for me. I need to go visit all the shrines for Hijikata too on the next trip! Well maybe not all, just as many as I can!!! And I want to participate in the squid festival!! And I want more wagashi and warabi mochi and anmitsu!!!