I know, I know this sounds weird and I said I would do this later, but since I had some time to kill before the bus to the Airport I decided to get this off my mind while it is still fresh in my stomach. Ramen, most in the western world know it only as Cup-O-Noodles, Instant Ramen, whatever, In Asia it is a food to be taken very serious.

Noodles in soup of various flavors. Miso, Shioyu (Soy Sauce) are the most favorite choices. The Bamboo shoots, Egg, Corn, Chashyu (Pork slices) seaweed all layed over a bed of noodles and covered in the sauce. A delicious make up of flavors and textures. Even the bowl is serious business. A wide bowl that is deep but not too deep. Some are ridged on the bottom to assist when stirring the sauce.

As sure as there are many types, flavors of ramen, there are also many different ways to eat it. I for example like to eat the chashyu with the noodles first then mix everything else in the soup and savor the sauce so to speak. It even helps when you are provided with a bamboo ladle to assist scanning through the sauce for bits of corn or bamboo shoots.

Part of the business of ramen shops is to develop a unique flavor, style ambiance whatever to lure more customers to your shop than others. Upper scale means ramen restaurants that provide seating and allow socialization. Others are purely for the business lunch crowd where you eat standing up and as fast as possible. Then there are the ones in between that are just so damn popular that you feel the pressure to get in, sit, enjoy what you can and get out because the line is getting longer out the door. This was the case with us last night.

Servin' them Up 

Last night took me back to a place that put an interesting twist on Ramen. Cheese. For anyone who enjoys a good Miso flavored Ramen, I know you are moaning in disgust. To be honest, so did I when I first heard about it. But then my adventurous pallet took over and I gave it a shot.The environment of this restaurant was quite pleasant given the fact that there was a line at the door to get in and the seating was quite crowded. There were about 3 or 4 floor staff who took orders at the door and delivered food to the table when you sit down. They have some ancient system that seems to work for them even though to the untrained eye it looks like pure chaos.

The counter is where they serve up the grub. Also on the counter behind a plexiglass barrier is a massive electric cheese grater. That is what people come here for. The Cheese Ramen. They seem to take some kind of Hokkaido cheese which has a mild flavor to it and grind it over a nice miso ramen that is steaming hot. The look of it resembles a mound of snow or parmesian cheese. The shot below is what I had ordered. Soft boiled Japanese egg at 12'o clock in the bowl. Side of Chya-shu at 2'o clock. Bowl of grilled garlic down at 5'o clock. All destined to end up in the bowl. But the first priority is to some how figure out what to do with the big white mound of cheese.

Cheese Ramen Sky Shot 

I figured out that the best thing to do would be to spread it out across the ramen. What this does is it creates a melted film of cheese on top of the ramen keeping it all nice and hot under the surface. From there, I lay out the various side ordered bits and pieces. I let it all sit and the flavors mix around, before diving the hashi (Chop stix) into the middle of it all and mixing everything together. OMG It was soooooooooo good. Of course, there is the down side that it all is not the most healthy of meals given the grease and oil that is developed as a result of the pork and everything else, but as an occasional treat. Cheese ramen rocks. Ramen LanternRamen Lantern  If you are ever in Tokyo head over to Ebisu at the corner of Meiji Dori and Komozawa Dori and walk up the hill a bit on Komozawa Dori to the following lantern. When you get to it, you have arrived. Head on in and order up the 900 yen bowl of cheese ramen, your mouth will never hold it against you.Oh and for the record, this is what was left after I took on the challenge.

As I have already mentioned there are a couple of things that I absolutely must do when I return to Japan. Onsen or Hot Baths, Photography of something and Food. More specifically, Yakiniku. On this trip, on the third day in, I did just that.

I must say however, that I was a bit disappointed that my all time failsafe venue for yakiniku, Gyu-Kaku was mysteriously missing from Ebisu which meant that we had to find a back-up venue which isn't all that difficult to do in places like Ebisu and other main stops on the Yamanote train line. As I said, all in all it was good eating and since I had not had it in about a year and a half, it was real good eating for me.

It did get me thinking back to my days with Matsuzaka beef however and how that was sooo much above and beyond anything else I had eaten in my life. That's right, in my life. I would consider the first location in Ebisu to be one designed to satisfy the need for Yakiniku in a manner that served true blue collar workers at the end of a hard day where the beer or sake flows freely as does the conversation.

Matsuzaka was much more formal. The meat of the elite. Not to be taken in jest or squandered, but savored, enjoyed and honored. The 2nd night before our return home, we had found the middle ground. Or should I say our friends had introduced us to the middle ground. A place that entertained both the soul as well as the palette.

The ironic thing about this place was its unassuming location as well as its name. Now it must be said that I had lived and worked in this location called Ebisu for the better part of 8 years. I had never heard or seen this place. It was like the scene from Harry Potter where you walk right past a wall failing to see the door right in front of your face. But there it was, bigger than shit. The name said it all "Yakiniku Champion."

I initially expected to walk into yet another charcoal darkened yakiniku house with a very familar environment to that which I had experienced before. My friend assured me that this place was different and that I defininetly would not be dissapointed. Walking in, I could see his point upon first glance. It was bright.

The place looked spotless, clean bright, almost festive. Along the right side was the kitchen with the traditional bench along the front of it where patrons were seated casually chatting with one another as well as the staff as they scurried around with beer, sake and of course meat.

We were ushered to a table on the right side of the room. It resembled a sterile environment one would expect in a hosptial. The aluminum vents were spotless. No grease from the smokey meat. The grill was a unique smaller above table gas grill. On each side were two place settings layed out in perfect alignment and display. It was all very, well clean. Not something I would expect from a real yakiniku joint. But the conversation was loud and the smiles were flowing with the alcohol, and yes that familar yakiniku smell was still in the air.

Now this is when Japan begins to get it right on the ingenuity front. There was really no where to put our things in this small booth. No coat hooks, no cubby hole nothing just a small table with just enough room for 4 people let alone this gaiijin and another, plus our significan others. FLIP! WTF? The seat of the bench flipped up to reveal the storage place for all of our gear. Immediately everything was pitched in and we were seated ordering up our first round of Chu-Jockies (Large mug of draft beer).

Now since I had not been to this venue before and it was recommended by a friend, I let him do the ordering on this night. The first thing he ordered up arrived at the table and everything around me just froze in time. It was a plate of finely sliced meet that revealed marbelling that I had only seen one other place, you guessed it, Matsuzaka-gyu. This could not be, 'mere mortals were not to dine upon meat so fine.

My friend smiled as he slid them on the grill. They sizzled. Now I am no fool, I know these are not Matsuzaka-gyu, but that marbelling promised one hell of a tender pice of meat that was sure to melt in the mouth. I was told that this type of meat was not to be dipped in the yakiniku sauce before eating, but that its flavor carries itself, I was allowed however to apply a hint of lemon to the meat prior to depositing it in my mouth.

About 2 minutes on the grill and it was done. Not too much not too raw, just write. The Hashi went in to scoop it up. Dragging the tip lightly across the lemon juice, I layed the meat upon my tounge, not chewing but allowing the hot flavor to cover my toungue. WOW! What flavor! I was really impressed the stand alone flavor of this meat was quite impressive indeed. The true test however, came next. I pressed the meat to the roof of my mouth and lightly closed my teeth on it. It was as if the meat did not exist.

It was official. This place somehow imagined to pull off the impossible. High quality gyu at affordable prices (relatively speaking) in a blue collar environment. I can say nothing more about this other than by the time the night was over, we had been through 5 rounds of Chu-Jockies and one round of Cup-o-sake, and sampled every part of the cow that they were offering, and that is alot of meat, although I personally stayed away from the tongue and what the Japanese refer to as "Hormones" or things that generally are glandualr or organs.

Remember the name. One day you may find yourself in Ebisu looking for a great place to eat. My recommendation, Yakiniku Champion right off of Komozawa Dori before you get to Ebisu Station going towards Ebisu Garden Place.

Today (Sunday) we packed up the kids and headed out to visit the Mrs. Grandmother. This meant a day of relaxation hanging out in the home where "Granmama" lives. It is always a good day. I am allowed to nap if I want or if I bring the laptop, do what I am doing right now which is to putz around on it.

With every visit there is always lunch. Sometimes it is Pizza but today, it is Sushi! I can't wait. The fact that everyone knows what I like, Maguro (Tuna) means I will get my tummy full of it. Of course there will be salmon, egg, Taco (Octopus), Uni (Sea Urchin) and much more, I can tell you what is about to happen, the food just arrived, I will pig out, lay down and take a nap with the kids while the Mrs. catches up on gossip with the G-ma ma.

Gotta go eat!Sometime later that night....

O.K. I am back! Woo woo that shit was gooooooood! You can say you eat sushi in other countries, but there is no better feeling than devouring sushi in Japan. The "Sticky Rice" as it is called elsewhere, just melts in your mouth. A soft white pleasure with a hint of the Rice Vinegar mixed in to give it a ever so present taste of flavor. The first bite is always the best. First lightly dabbling the fish side into the shyo-yu (Soy Sauce). Never dip the rice in the soy sauce. You have to be a real sushi eater and manage to flip the piece over and lightly dip the fish side into the sauce without losing it off of the rice.

Ever so gently brining it up to the mouth and biting it in half. The Maguro (Sushi) is ever so tender and cold. The fresher the less fishy taste to it. The best has more of a sea taste than a fish taste. After the entire piece is in your mouth and you begin to chew, only then, do you feel the release of the wasabi snuggled between the rice and topping. Too much and you get the nose burn, too little and you are left disappointed. The right amount leaves you in sushi heaven.

Now to compliment this meal in any country and to do it right, there are only three real beverages that you should drink. The first is for the not so interested in the flavor or experience and just being in it for the fun, that would be beer. The second is Sake (Rice Wine). Hot or cold it goes well with Sushi, although I prefer it hot in the winter. The final way is the only way to accentuate the flavor locked in the seafood and rice, that is tea. Hot or cold again, and I prefer hot, but today I had it with cold Oolong-cha. But Hot green tea, moogicha or Oolong tea are the preferred choices.

The final count in todays dining fiesta was Sushi - 0, Rik - Every damn piece in the two trays above! Oh and I did take a light nap after the fact. Yum, yum.

There are two solid reasons to come to Japan and both have to do with consuming something. Food and Alcohol. I will begin with the first item, food. I am addicted to it in a general sense, but there is something about Japanese food that is just so damn yummy. It is aesthetic in its delivery, but also healthy in its creation. There is a reason why Okinawa, Japan on average has the longest life span in the world today.

Sure there are down sides to the food as well. For me it is rice. I love the stuff. Some call it sticky rice, but it is Japanese rice and they take great pride in the type and taste of it. Which would explain why it is served with pretty much ever damn thing in this country. Hell Sake is even made with it and you can even get cooking wine that is made from rice. That is the one thing I have had to restrict myself from on this trip. I know it will just ruin my goal this year of cutting off the pounds.

So far, on this trip I have been able to check off two of the "Must Have" items on my dining list. Yakiniku, and Okonomiyaki. I suppose I should point out the common part of both of these dishes, and that is the "Yaki" bit. It means basically grilled. Now in the case of Yakiniku it is an open flamed grill over coals or gas, similar to a BBQ. We'll get back to that in a moment. In the case of Okonomiyaki, it is grilled on a flat griddle. Both methods of cooking are also done as elements embedded in your table and you are presented with the raw ingredients and expected to whip it up yourself.

Matsuzakagyu 

First my all time, hands down favorite; Yakiniku. Niku = beef, you know waht the Yaki means. There is no better night out with friends that heading to a yakiniku restaurant. I mean a real neighborhood one. Where the ceiling has gone brown with the smoke that has risen from the grill you sit before. In some places, my favorite being Gyu-Kaku the grill in the table is an actual vented hole where the worker inserts a glowing red bucket of hot coals and then covers it with a mesh top for you to lay the food on. Now as the picture on this blog shows, the key to a great yakiniku experience is the actual meat.

I had never really paid much attention to meat before. Hell you never really see it raw unless you are cooking for yourself. But in the case of yakiniku, it is the focal point of the meal and as with being presented with the first drips of a fine wine for your inspection prior to serving, they present the meat to you on plates that have been layed out in a way as to show you exactly what you are getting. The one thing, which is why I took this picture, that shows a great piece of meat is the "Marbling" That is how the fat in the meat runs through the meat. That is what helps the meat cook and provides the meat with a truly tender mouth watering flavor.

We are not talking "Chunks" of meat here, we are talking thin, finely sliced strips of meat layed out on a platter and in some cases sprinkled with sesame seeds to enhance the visual experience. All of what you have to choose from is before you in the picture menu. You have your Roast cut, your pork, your Kalbi and various other choices. Two of which I have no desire to try; tongue and what they refer to as "Hormones" or basically the various glands and organs. OH HELL NO! Monday night was about business. Roast Cut and kalbi. We must have gone through about 4 plates of the stuff.

This is how the game is played. You first enter the establishment (local establishment of course, no frills here). Order up a few Dai-Jockies (Bigg Assed Draft Beer), one person usually takes charge of the menu and begins to bark out the order while stimulating conversation begins. By the time the first beer is done, the platters of meat arrive. Oh, along with it the bowls of rice. Now, if you happen to be with ladies, there will also be the obligatory platter of fresh sliced mushrooms, onions, corn and other grill=able items, but on this night, it was all about the meat. The person who ordered also is the initial "Keeper of the Thongs" that is probably the 2nd most important role of the night only behind ordering.

A good "tonger" ensures that the grill is never open. That some piece of meat is being distributed over the coals. Each slice is a bite sized one, so all you have to do, while you are in conversation is reach in with your chop-stix and grab a piece, gently laying it into your yakiniku sauce and the popping it into your mouth.... Damn that is good eatin! It is a true social experience and one that I will cherish and partake in each and every time I am back here in Japan. We have a name for it now.... "The Yakiniku Funk-Fest"

That is how the Salaryman does it. The blue collar worker and such. Now I have also had in my Japan travels the ultimate honor of dining on the best that his country has to off that not too many have ever heard of before. No, it is not Kobe beef, which has risen to world acclaim as the best of the best in terms of beef. But there is a little know secret, there IS better! It goes by the name of Matsuzaka Gyu.

If you have ever had Kobe Beef and heard the stories on how these animals are pampered through massage and being fed beer all of the time, there is some truth to that. I do not however know what the hell they do to Matsuzaka Gyu, but I can tell you that it was almost an out of world experience to eat. I have never had meat so tender that it literally felt as if it was melting as soon as it hit my tongue. Not to mention the fact that there was a whole ceremony on how it was presented to us to eat. To give you an idea on what the average "normal" price for this stuff is, try 500g (16 oz.) of Sukiyaki sliced meat (extremely thin for cooking via dipping in a soup broth), going for 10,000 Yen (about $84.00)

At the restaurant I was invited to, they did not use the Open Flame, they used the griddle type grill. There were 6 of us sitting at one traditional Japanese table (meaning you sit on the floor and the table is about a foot off of the ground). After a few drinks and some Japanese veggie appetizers, usually traditional and consisting of some pickled vegetable, two women in Kimono's entered the room carrying a single plate each. One headed to our other table and one came right next to me and knelt. The plate went onto the grill and the brass bell shaped cover came off.... OMG!

On this plate was the biggest piece of meat I had ever seen in my life. It was somehow beautiful. It looked nothing like raw meat. It stood easily 2 inches high, and was about 12 inches in diameter. The meat itself was not red, but a whitish pink. On top it was smothered with what I thought was ground fat, but it turned out to be a mixture of mashed garlic and some radish type veggie. There it stood before me in all its glory for about 2 minutes before being romantically slid off of the plate and onto the already hot grill. When it settled in, the large Brass dome was placed over it and therer it sat for about 5 minutes.

During this time you could see the oils begin to seep under the brass dome. The smell was unbelievable. The lady then took out a large traditional knife and what looked like a mini pitch fork, removed the dome and there it was. A golden brown sizzling joy to behold. She quickly began to slice and dice in a way that was a pleasure to watch. There are many who pay a fortune to learn how to pour tea in this country, after watching this woman work I can tell you that there is something to be said for the pleasure of watching a performance on serving food or beverage. When she made the first slice the knife effortlessly fell through the meat. She parted it and it was so beautfully marbled, I had never seen anything like it before.

She continued to slice it up into bite sized bits as it continued to grill in front of everyone. She asked politely how each of us would prefer ours to be done. Medium for me ma'am. Shortly after about 10 pieces were effortlessly arranged in front of me on the grill. Others received theirs as well. When the meat was distributed, she quickly served up some grilled mushrooms and other vegetables that were distributed to us as well.

The moment of truth came. I expected a good piece of meat, but what I got in my mouth on that first bite was unlike anything that has entered my mouth before. It was sooooooo soft, the flavor, the juices, I can honestly say that I am not sure if I even chewed it. I think it just dissolved right in my mouth. There was no talking on this night for me. There was not even a sip of beer that passed my lips until business with that piece of meat had been completed. I was in Yakiniku heaven unlike any other.

Alas, I was invited by a family friend to partake in 2 of these events. I must warn you, he is quite wealthy. There is no way in hell I could afford this meal. At the end of the night, in casual conversation it was made clear that that single piece of meat worked out to about $400 per head. Uh, that was like $2400.00

Was it worth it? HELL YEA! Would I pay it "homey could never play that." But to be honest, if I could afford it, I damn sure would.