Pizza in Japan?? – Italian Kitchen Buono

Meat Pizza

Italian Kitchen Buono

So I’ve always thought… why would I even try the ‘foreign’ food in Japan? Especially when there’s so much of a variety of Japanese food around anyway! Well, after 10 days of stuffing myself with Japanese food, I decided it was time to be re-acquainted with a western dish. I walked around a big shopping complex, and I seated myself and waited for some ‘Japan-ised’ pizza.

How wrong was I to steer away from ‘foreign’ food in Japan. The place I checked into was Italian Kitchen Buono in LalaPort (Minami Funabashi). I ordered their meat pizza (forgive me, I have no idea what they called it in nihongo, but it looked like the meatiest one). I wasn’t expecting anything great. To be honest, anything close to a Pizza Hut quality dish would have sufficed. But I was pleasantly surprised.

OK. Let’s state the obvious. The meat doesn’t look that great. The bacon was fine, but luncheon meat is luncheon meat, and not very ‘exotic’ or interesting. But the crust was thin and crisp and just right! I’d rank it one of the top crusts I’ve had before. The tomato paste and quality of cheese was also great. Japanese cheese is actually really tasty – compared to cheese in other parts of Asia. I could taste at least 3 different cheeses happening there.

If the meats/toppings were improved, the pizza would have been almost perfect. But I was impressed with the crust and the cheese. This has changed my view of  ‘foreign’ food in Japan. Japan does Japanese food well. It does western food well. I think I’m beginning to really like this place!

Kobe Beef – Wakkoqu (Shin-Kobe)

My chef for tonight

The chef showing me the steak before cooking it

Entree of smoked salmon – even this tasted superb

Kobe beef medium rare

Kobe Beef

Every meat lover dreams of a succulent marbled steak melting in their mouths. As I planned my trip to Japan, one of my top destinations was to try the renowned and highly sought after cut of Kobe Beef from its hometown – Kobe.

I did a bit of research and this place called Wakkoqu came up, so I decided to take a blindside to my wallet and give this joint a try. This store has two shopfronts: one at Kobe City (Kitane) and one in Shin-Kobe at Oriental Avenue 3F  just next to the JR station. For convenience sake, I ended up going to the Shin-Kobe location on the way home from Hiroshima.

Wakkoqu is an upmarket Kobe Beef restaurant, so don’t expect a cheap feed. I ordered the Wakkoqu special course which included an appetizer (smoked salmon or sliced beef), 250g steak (sirloin or tenderloin – the chef advised the sirloin is a lot better), sides and rice or bread.

One thing that stuck out for me was the amazing skills of the teppenyaki chef. Watching him slice and dice and cook and multitask the meat and the sides was an awe to witness. Everything came out just right, and the chef was also very helpful in advising what mix of condiments to use.

The beef, undoubtedly the most important part of the meal, simply blew me away. The marbling was extraordinary. It was cooked exactly the way I wanted. The mix of condiments (salt, pepper, mustard, grilled garlic, and two other sauces) supplemented the meat well. I was afraid that 250g was not enough,  but by the end, I was truly satisfied and happy with the steak. Each bite simply melted in my mouth and was simply heavenly food.

If you are just looking for a meat hit in Kobe without worrying about the hit to the pocket, then I would seriously recommend this place. If you’re just visiting and willing to fork out one expensive meal to try this impeccably marbled steak, I would suggest to give it a go.  However, if you’re not too particular about your meat, I would suggest to find a cheap teppenyaki joint. This place is only for the serious meat lovers. I loved the steak, but I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near this place again, knowing that I can barbecue a pretty good steak for about 1/20 of the price.

Tokyo Ramen Street – Ikaruga

Tonkotsu Ramen

Ikaruga Ramen

Line at shopfront

Tonight I finally had the opportunity to try some good Ramen around Tokyo, and I decided to check out what is called “Ramen Street” in Tokyo Station. Basically, 8 of the most popular ramen stores around Japan were invited to open a shopfront here in this internal corridor within Tokyo Station.

To find this nook within Tokyo Station, look for the signs “Ramen Street” or “First Avenue Tokyo Station”. It’s located just off the Yaesu South Exit if you are coming from the JR or Shinkansen lines.

After reading some reviews, the first place I decided to try out was Ikaruga. It was voted by NY Times as the perfect bowl of ramen, and the reviews sounded amazing. Their specialty is a creamy tonkotsu broth. The ticket machine was very english-friendly, the service was great, and the ramen came out in approximately 5 minutes.

The first taste was like heaven.

The broth was flavoursome, the pork was a thick serving but broke apart so easily. The egg was done just right. The noodles were a good serving. But the broth held it all together – rich, meaty, ooishi! It was so good that I drank it all at the end.

Under 1000yen (12 bucks AUD) – what a bargain. You can order with extra meat, egg, or noodles. I really suggest the egg because it it just done so well. The place was packed and there was a big line by the time I left at about 7:30 at night. I’ll be back for sure.