PROLOGUE ::
So the perfect hotel has been booked. The fun-filled itinerary has been planned. But don’t forget a very important, if not the most crucial, component of a trip: good food!
Good food plays an important role in the enjoyment of life and makes up part of the fond memories of your travels. Believe it or not, our palette has very powerful memory. A very tasty, creamy gelato you had in the Duomo of Milan can never be forgotten. And if I asked you whether you could remember the taste, you could almost feel the chocolaty, velvety taste on your tongue, right? Are you beginning to salivate now? And the memory of the gelato is bringing back certain happy memories of the trip, isn’t it? So please, be kind to yourself and your palette and treat yourself to some good food while you travel! Forget being spontaneous and experiencing the local culture by just popping into whichever restaurant that comes your way. Some restaurants are worth making a trip to!
And that’s why we are here to help. We want you to have a fabulous and memorable journey. So we try to provide you with a couple of good options at some popular spots in the world so that your trip can be unforgettable.
To start off with, let us show you one of our favorite restaurants in one of our favorite cities in the world…
CHAPTER 1 ::
City: Tokyo, Japan
Restaurant: Ukai-tei (Ginza branch)
Cuisine: Western prepared in teppanyaki style
Venue: Classy Art Nouveau décor; restaurant famous for its antique collection
Price: Dinner set menus starting from 16,800 yen
Service: Attentive
Address: Various locations including Ginza, Omotesando, and Yokohama; main branch in Hachioji
Website: http://www.ukai.co.jp/
Look at that fluffy uni fresh from the shell! When you have uni this fresh, it really doesn’t require any condiments or seasoning at all.
Bluefin tuna is becoming quite a delicacy now with reduced supply. Can’t say it’s anything to write home about, but kudos for the exquisite dinnerware!
Corn cream soup is always a crowd pleaser… well at least it pleases me immensely!
Beside Tajima beef, abalone is one of the restaurant’s most famous dishes. It’s first wrapped in seaweed and steamed under a mountain of sea salt on the teppanyaki hotplate, then served with a special sauce. The texture of the abalone is very velvety and tender. They’d even add truffle when it’s in season!
Main course is Tajima beef grilled teppanyaki style. Tajima beef is the highest quality beef one can find in Japan and the restaurant breeds its own cattle. A few grains of sea salt is all that’s needed to bring out the wonderful flavor of the juicy steak!
Last but not least: Mango compote. But let me tell you a secret: the best dessert is coffee jello which is as strong as a cup of espresso!
