I didn’t expect a soft serve to steal the show in Takayama. Then I met Cremia Ice Cream. One bite, and hubby and I looked at each other in silence. It was that good. The catch? You can’t find it everywhere. Here’s everything I’ve learnt about tracking it down in Japan. Our First Taste of […]

Some of the best food finds happen by accident. We had just picked up our new luggage at D.KELLY Asakusa and grabbed another minced meat cutlet at Asakusa Menchi (because why not when in Asakusa?). Then, while wandering the area, we stumbled upon Taco Taco Asakusa Koromo Brothers. A poster outside advertised takoyaki soup. I […]

We had beef for lunch. Then we wanted beef again for dinner. No regrets. My husband and I had been eyeing Gyukatsu Motomura for ages, and their Shibuya branch sits at a ridiculous 4.9 stars across 16.5k Google reviews. That’s not a typo. So off we went to find out whether the hype holds up. […]

We’d just polished off lunch at Japanese Steak Bowl & Beef Curry (Center Beef), and dessert was non-negotiable. My hubby loves anything matcha, so I’d already pinned Kyoto Saryo Suisen at Shibuya Parco on the map. Short walk, big payoff. What is Kyoto Saryo Suisen? It’s a premium matcha café built around proper Uji matcha. […]

I used to be a medium-doneness person. Always. Steak came to the table and I’d ask for it cooked through enough that nothing looked too pink, let alone red. Then Japan happened. One rare roast beef bowl at Red Rock later, and my whole stance collapsed. Now I’m chasing that soft, blushing pink beef everywhere […]

We stumbled onto Luna Cafe and Laundry the night before, while walking to Tsukemen Yasubee in Takadanobaba for dinner. A 24-hour laundromat with an organic cafe attached? That got my attention. The cafe had already shut for the night, but a poster in the window showed these ridiculously cute sleeping bear cakes. Decision made. We […]

Cold weather does strange things to me. One minute I’m fine, the next I’ve got the sniffles and I’m craving a hot bowl of noodles with an intensity that borders on unreasonable. We’d been out all day and crawled back to the hotel late. A quick Google search for anything still open near Sotetsu Grand […]

We spent the afternoon walking the forested paths of Meiji Jingu. Gravel underfoot, towering trees overhead, barely a sound. Then we walked ten minutes down the road and hit Takeshita Street, where someone’s speaker was blasting J-pop at full volume and a shop the colour of a highlighter pen — Long! Longer!! Longest!!! — was selling the 10 Yen […]

We’d spent the whole morning weaving through Nakamise Shopping Street, snapping photos at Sensoji Temple and nibbling on street snacks along the way. By noon, the snacking had worn thin. We wanted something hot, something comforting, something we could sit down with. So we walked over to ICHIRAN Asakusa Rokku for a proper bowl of […]

We had just demolished a bigger-than-your-face chicken cutlet at Asakusa Anshinya. Stomachs full. Then we spotted another queue right opposite. Asakusa Menchi — also sitting on my must-eat list, thanks to review after glowing review. Full or not, we joined the line. Asakusa Menchi Sells One Item. That’s It. Asakusa Menchi sells minced meat cutlets. […]

In one of my earlier posts, I shared about Nakamise Shopping Street and the snacks we tried while wandering around Sensoji Temple. But that wasn’t the full list. There were a few more food spots in the area that I deliberately left out, simply because I felt they deserved their own posts. These are the […]

Sensoji Temple wore us out. The crowds, the heat, the endless snapping of photos. We needed a sit-down, so we ducked into Carib Coffee Shop, a short stroll from the temple. No research, no shortlist. It just looked busy, and mostly with locals, which is usually a decent sign. Inside, it’s proper old-school Japanese kissaten energy. Dark wood, […]

Sensoji Temple sits at the top of almost every Tokyo itinerary. Arrive mid-morning and you’ll understand why that’s both a blessing and a curse. When my hubby and I turned up, the crowd near the main hall was already shoulder to shoulder. So we did what any hungry couple would do — we skipped the […]

While everyone raves about 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart, seasoned travellers know one golden rule: a local Tokyo supermarket (supa) is where the real food magic and savings happen. During our stay at Sotetsu Grand Fresa Takadanobaba, we found ourselves heading over to Peacock Store Takadanobaba almost every single evening. From ready-to-eat meals and bento boxes […]

After lunch at Nihon Yakiniku Hasegawa Ginza, we strolled towards Shimbashi Station to catch the metro to Shibuya. The portion sizes of our kaiseki meal at the yakiniku restaurant were unfortunately on the smaller side, so we still had quite a bit of room left in our stomachs. Perfect timing then, when we spotted Taiyaki […]