What to eat in Tokyo, Japan

I did a list of awesome things to do in Tokyo, Japan and it is time for my list of recommended food places. Tokyo is such a foodie heaven if you are into Japanese food. No sashimi places in this list because I came down with a horrible case of food poisoning during my first trip to Tokyo and was completely afraid to eat anything raw during my second trip. As usual, this list is in no particular order.

NUMBER ONE: MUTEKIYA RAMEN

You must be prepared to queue in adverse conditions if you want to try Mutekiya Ramen. The shop space is incredibly small and everybody queues on the pavement outside, fully exposed to the elements. We were in Tokyo in winter and visited Mutekiya on a rainy day. We queued in the rain for an hour and were shivering so badly from the cold that our hands were numb. Was it worth the wait? YES. The broth was so thick and delicious and the noodles were so springy! I love the thick slab of braised pork as well.

Japan, 〒171-0022 東京都豊島区 南池袋1丁目17-1 (near to the Ikebukuro station. Not the easiest to find and I was thankful my bro knew his way around. "Just walk towards the Y-junction" he said.)

NUMBER TWO: NAGI RAMEN

By number two, I feel sorry for my parents that they have kids who make them queue in temperatures of a few degrees for almost an hour each time. We reached Nagi well after lunch hour but we still had to queue for close to 40 minutes. Tucked away on the second floor in the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, this place was hard to find. Look out for the small red sign with black lettering along a narrow alley. You join the queue inside a back alley and go upstairs to purchase a ticket for your ramen. When a seat is ready, you will be ushered upstairs. The stairs are steep and the seating area is incredibly small, narrow and cramped. Was it worth it? The broth, made from sardines, was very special and had the distinct sweetness of seafood. Noodles were also suitably springy. But I still prefer my pork bone soup base anytime.

1-1-10 Kabukicho, Shinjuku 160-0021, Tokyo Prefecture

NUMBER THREE: ROKURINSHA 

The queue was better here and we waited for only 15 minutes in a nice air-conditioned environment since Rokurinsha is situated in Tokyo Solamachi, the shopping centre at the bottom of Tokyo Skytree. Rokurinsha serves awesome tsukemen, which is ramen with dipping soup. The ramen here is thick, a close cousin to udon and the dipping soup is delicious! Grabbing a mouthful of ramen, dunking it in the hot dipping soup and slurping it all up was fantastic! I like it so much I ate it on BOTH trips. It was that good.

Rokurinsha 六厘舎 – Skytree
Tokyo Solamachi, Level 6, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo Japan

They have another outlet at the Yaesu Ramen Street in Tokyo Station which I visited during my third trip to Tokyo. Goes to show how much I enjoy Rokurinsha <3

Tokyo Station, 東京駅一番街 B1 東京ラーメンストリート内 １-９-１ Marunouchi, 千代田区 Tokyo 100-0005, Japan

NUMBER FOUR: TSUNAHACHI

For tempura! I had this on both trips too and all outlets were conveniently located in shopping malls which made locating this place and waiting for our meals so much more comfortable. Crispy fresh tempura for lunch always made my day. I chose to sit along the counter the first time I had Tsunahachi with the boyfriend and, while it was an eye-opening experience, we both smelled like fried batter when we left. I chose the table seats with my family and it was so much better. 

NUMBER FIVE: CAFE AT MAACH ECUTE

This is a fantastic date spot, perfect for a cup of coffee and tea while we catch up on life together. The boyfriend brought me here and I really liked the collection of small shops in the old train station. The cafe on the second floor was amazing! Situated in a little glass house between the train tracks, we could see trains entering and leaving the stations while we sip our tea slowly.You could either choose to sit inside or outside (air-conditioned or non-air-conditioned respectively). I personally feel that the best seat in the house is definitely the last table outside because of the unobstructed view.

There were many other eateries and cafes that were pretty decent and which I liked a lot such as Coco Ichibanya in Shinjuku, Curry Times in Akiba, Kohmen, bright airy cafes along Omotesando, oyako-don in Akihabara-UDX Building, and Spicy Tofu Soup in Odaiba. But the list above is my absolute favourite!

NUMBER SIX: DOMINIQUE ANSEL BAKERY

We discovered Dominique Ansel Bakery during our trip to New York City and fell in love with the cronuts! I have tried cronuts (or cronuts wannabes) in many other places but, honestly, nothing comes close. I have been dying to have more Dominique Ansel cronuts for so long. Just imagine how excited I was when I realised that Dominique Ansel Bakery was starting a branch in Tokyo! Amazing. Would not miss it for the world.

Unlike the main bakery in New York City, the Tokyo outlet in the Harajuku area did not allow reservations so we headed down early to queue. We reached at 930 am (the bakery opened at 10 am) and were the fourth group in line. They served chai latte to all who were queuing outside (I'm not sure whether they do this regularly or this was a gesture of goodwill because of the cold weather) and we watched in the cold as they hurried around preparing the cafe for opening.

The April cronut flavour was Okinawa Pineapple Milk Chocolate Ganache with Plum Sugar. The array of cakes and pastries looked so amazing that we ordered way too much. We had a cronut each, a Paris-Tokyo (this pretty matcha tart), DKA, an almond croissant, and a Mr Robata. We wanted to have these on the shinkansen to Kyoto but we could not finish all of them so we kept some for breakfast the next morning.

5 Chome-7-14 Jingumae, 渋谷区 Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

For my day to day posts in Tokyo, check this out.

For my post on cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo, check this out.