BAREBURGER

I know, I know - we're in Tokyo so why are we eating hamburgers?  Well, like I mentioned in the previous post, Japanese restaurants have a tendency to serve one thing and one thing only and after several days where everyone had to agree to one-dish meals, I started googling burgers in Tokyo and found Bareburger Ginza which had just opened the day before (31 March 2016) at the brand-spanking new Tokyo Plaza Ginza department store which was conveniently located a few minutes walk from our hotel in Shiodome.

Bareburger Organic opened its first outlet in 2009 in Astoria, Queens and now has 28 locations mostly in New York but with a few scattered in Connecticut, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Ohio, Washington DC.  Its' first overseas franchise was in Tokyo with Dubai and Frankfurt opening soon.   Voted by Zagat as New York's best burger and Michelin-recommended for four years in a row (2011-2014), Bareburger has a lot to live up for since they use only free-range, pasture-grazed, humanely raised and antibiotic, gluten and hormone-free beef and chicken.  Even the beverages are organic and the french fries are cooked in non-GMO Canola oil.

The menu has Bare "burgers and wiches", from¥1380/US$13 for the Buttermilk Buffalo Chicken Sandwich to ¥2980/US$28 for the Tomorrow Burger - a limited Tokyo special of Ozaki (Wagyu) beef tenderloin burger .  For vegetarians, there's The Shroom, a wild mushroom patty with alfalfa and balsamic mayo wrapped in kale.  There are also Greens (salads) and Bare shares which have side or share portions of french fries, sweet fries (sweet potato), onion rings and buttermilk chicken bites plus a couple of sliders.  They have a kid's menu called Cubby Fare (¥880/ US$8.50) - a choice of Panda (buttermilk chicken bites and buttermilk ranch dip) or a Grizzly (burger with Egmont cheese on a brioche) served with fries, dessert and organic juices (orange and apple) or organic milk.  They also have house-made natural soda, lemonade, iced tea and creamy milkshakes and a large selection on organic wines and spirits, organic craft beers and cocktails.  Desserts are ice cream sundaes: either the banana foster or the choco-peanut butter. 

On both visits, once for dinner and another to indulge the C's Grizzly craving, we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere plus the super friendly service and English-speaking (a challenge in Japan) staff.  We enjoyed the Buck Wild - burger with pimento, fried egg, crispy onions, dill pickles on a brioche bun) and the Supreme - burger with Egmont cheese, country bacon, green-leaf, chopped fried, special sauce on a birch bun topped with house-made onion rings.  We shared the fries and rings combo and the buttermilk chicken bites with classic lemonades and a creamy chocolate milkshake served in tall ice-cold aluminum cup.  The experience was all-American and guilt-free because of the organic and non-GMO ingredients they use making it one of our best meals in Tokyo.  Wonder when they'll open one in Singapore?  Soon, I hope.

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Bareburger

Tokyo Plaza Ginza 10-B (10th floor), 5-2-1 Ginza, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo 104-0061

Telephone: +81 3 3572 5315

Open daily, 11:00AM to 11:00PM (Last Order 10:00PM)

SHABUSEN

One of the best things about dining in Japan is that restaurants are so specialized that they serve only one type of food which is done perfectly.  One of the worst things about dining in Japan is that restaurants are so specialized that they serve only one type of food and so everyone has to agree to eat the same thing.  On one of our first evenings in Tokyo, we decided to do just that at a traditional shabu-shabu restaurant.  It took a while to convince our youngest, C, to commit to just shabu-shabu and not have tempura or tonkatsu (her favorite Japanese food).

There are two Shabusen restaurants at the Ginza Core building - one on B2 and another on the 2nd floor.  Both serve the same shabu-shabu except that upstairs, there are operate tables where diners can sit together and share the shbau-shabu per table, while the basement outlet has three u-shaped counters where each seat has it's own shabu-shabu pot so it's good for those dining alone or those who'd rather not share their dinner.

We went to the one in the basement and sat alongside each other in the middle counter.  Each place setting had a pot right in front of the seat.  The menu is limited with sets including beef, pork, a combination of beef and pork, Wagyu beef, or special pork from Hokkaido.  They also serve sukiyaki which is similar to shabu-shabu except that the meat, vegetables and noodles are already cooked in a sweeter and saltier broth which then takes the fun out of the full-on shabu-shabu cooking experience.

 Two servers are in-charge of around 20 diners per counter.  They do everything from pouring tea and serving drinks to setting the plates of thinly-sliced meat with a side portion of vegetables (Chinese cabbage, mushrooms,  tofu and some bean thread noodles) and two sauces: goma and ponzu.  They also check that the broth isn't bubbling over or that the sauce bottles are still full of ponzu or goma.  

We started out with a cold egg custard topped with mayonnaise, cucumber and asparagus.  Soon after, the meat was served and it's D.I.Y. cooking from there.  The very thin slices of meat are dipped quickly in the light kombu-based broth then fished it out and dipped again in either the citrusy soy-sauce ponzu or  the creamier sesame-mayonnaise goma alternating between slices of meat and vegetable and mouthfuls of steamed rice.  You can personalize your dipping sauces by adding what you like from the trays set on the counter: spring onions, garlic and chili oil.    They say that the name shabu-shabu comes from the swishing sound of the meat stirred into the bubbling broth. Once you've finished the meat and vegetables, the servers come around and add noodles to the now flavorful bubbling broth and serve you a small bowl of ramen to finish of your meal.  Simple, satisfying and light.  Just remember that if you have big appetite, you might have to order an extra portion of meat (like my son did).

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Shabusen Ginza

〒104-0061 Tokyo, Chuo, Ginza, 5 Chome−8−20 (Ginza Core Building)
Phone:+81 3 3571 1717 (B2) or  +81 3 3572 3806 (2F)
Open daily,  11:30AM–2:30PM and 5:30–10PM

TOKYO

Tokyo is my second favorite city after Paris and it's because the Japanese are the most similar to the French in their love of gastronomy and beauty, from the beautifully presented food in individual dishes or lacquered bento boxes to the intricately-wrapped packages in the boutiques and food shops.  When I was at Le Cordon Bleu, it was always my Japanese classmates who perfected the pastry pratique as they were naturals at recreating the glazing and decoration on the gateaux et patisserie.  Their attention to detail is present in their day-to-day lives and this is seen everywhere in Japan.

I had been to Tokyo for the first time in 2014 and explored the city on foot with my friend Rumi.  This time around, we chose to spend a week over the easter holidays with the kids to experience Tokyo during Sakura season (cherry blossom time).  Spring in Tokyo is usually rainy but mild and it was a nice change of weather from tropical Singapore.

We walked all over the city from  Ginza for shopping and eating to admiring the architecture and window displays in Omotesando Hills.  We went to Midtown and walked around the beautiful green oasis of Hinokicho park where we saw our first cherry blossoms then headed over to nearby bustling Roppongi.  We also visited the peaceful Shinto shrine  Meiji Jingu located in the middle of a 100,000 tree forest near Harajuku and Omotesando.

We also explored the basement food halls of department stores Matsuya and Mitsukoshi in Ginza which had an amazing selection of both local and imported food for takeaway.  Despite having spent a week in Tokyo, I still felt that we had only scratched the surface on what the city had to offer in gastronomic treats which just means that I'll be gong back sooner rather than later.

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Meiji Jingu
1-1 Yoyogi-Kamizono-cho,
Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo 151-8857

*Open daily from sunrise to sunset (opening and closing times change depending on the season)

Ginza

Harajuku & Omotesando

Roppongi

GIN KHAO BISTRO

Sunday evenings are when we have our family dinner out and since Sentosa Cove's Quayside Isle  is much more pleasant than the overcrowded Resorts World complex, we end up heading there for an early dinner al fresco overlooking the marina.  Since Quayside Isle opened in December 2012, there have been several changes in the restaurant offerings - the space right beside the popular Blue Lotus used to be a Japanese restaurant, then an oyster bar and now is the space where the Thai restaurant Gin Khao is located.

Gin Khao Bistro serves simple Thai dishes at very reasonable prices. I might be mistaken but it seems like they have the cheapest food in the strip of restaurants of the usually overpriced Quayside Isle (not counting the Panini at the newly opened Joe & the Juice).   We usually order the same dishes from their menu which features Thai street food:  Po Pia Tod - prawn spring rolls, green mango and prawn relish with rice crackers and Tom Yum chicken wings plus by their larb moo - warm minced pork and mint salad or the spicy green papaya salad to start.  They do a decent seafood pad thai and have a good selection of grilled seafood (mackerel or squid) or meat (chicken or pork belly) served with the addicting nah jim (green chili and lime dip). There are several types of fried rice on the menu from the spicy green curry to the salty black olive rice to the sweet pineapple and the unusual watermelon rice.  Service is always courteous and efficient and best of all, the food is hot, spicy and inexpensive, the way Thai street food should be.

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Gin Khao Bistro

31 Ocean Way #01-12 Quayside Isle, Singapore 098375

Tel: (65) 6570 2208

Email: feedback@ginkhao.com.sg

Mon to Thurs: 12:00pm to 3:00pm, 5:30pm to 10:00pm
Fri: 12:00pm to 12:00am
Sat/Eve: 11:00am - 12:00am
Sun/PH: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Last Order: 30 mins before closing

*10% off for Sentosa Cove Residents

*Takeaway available