Zenen 禅園 @ Herbis Plaza, Osaka (3rd Visit)

Zenen is a restaurant located in Herbis Plaza basement 2. If you ever encounter problems finding this place, just look for the restaurant closest to the Ritz Carlton entrance. I previously blogged about this place and stated that it was an izakaya restaurant. Actually, it's more of a combination of an Izakaya, Kappou and Kaiseki restaurant. You can order both ala carte dishes or a course menu here depending on how big your group is which makes dining here very flexible. By the way, their claim to fame dish is a snapper claypot rice; I liked it when I tried it last time but I didn't order it this time before my parents weren't fans of it. Anyway, This is my 3rd visit here and as much as I enjoyed my meal given the very classy but relaxed atmosphere and generally good standard of food, the tempura and karaage dishes were rather disappointing this time round. But before I continue with this short review, shall we have a look at the pictures of my meal:

Hakata Motsunabe Ooyama 博多もつ鍋 おおやま 大阪駅 @ Lucua Umeda, Osaka

Lunch at Hakata Motsunabe Ooyama over at Lucua Umeda level 10.
Motsunabe to me is a love it or hate it dish. If you're a fat of innards, then you're going to love this. Imagine a boiling hotpot full of innards with its fats slowly melting and fusing with the soup - that's motsunabe for you. The longer you let the soup boil, the sweeter and tastier it gets. My favourite motsunabe restaurant is called Hakata Yamaya. It's a chain restaurant and it's all over Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. Unfortunately, they don't serve motsunabe during lunch so I settled for another Hakata-based restaurant known as  Hakata Ooyama, another chain restaurant that competes against Yamaya.
Before I elaborate more, let's have a look at the photos shall we:

Washoku iikura 和食 いいくら @ Minami morimachi, Osaka

Washoku iikura is an Izakaya restaurant opened recently back in December 2017. It is run by a very friendly husband and wife team and is located one train station away from Kitashinchi. This is my first visit here and boy did it leave a fantastic impression. Not only was the food really good but the atmosphere was really relaxed, which made the meal all the more enjoyable. Before I post the pictures, do note though, there are NO ENGLISH menus i.e. Japanese menu only. If you can't read Japanese, you can order either the 7000 yen course or the 10,000 yen course. If you can read some Japanese, you're free to pick whatever you want from the Ala Carte menu.

Lets have a look at the pictures shall we:

Dosukoi Sake Bar @ Orchard Plaza, Singapore

Shoyu Chako Nabe Portion for 2

Since the hotpot craze is still pretty much going strong in Singapore especially with names like Hai Di Lao, I'd like to draw your attention to a Japanese version of hotpot, specifically one for Sumo Wrestlers. Yes I'm talking about Chanko Nabe, which is essentially a pot full of chicken and pork meat and lots and lots of vegetables. Dosukoi Sake Bar is a Japanese restaurant owned and run by Japanese staff, and apart from your usual Izakaya food, they have a chef who specializes in making Chanko Nabe. Anyway, a minimum order is two portions, so for example, a portion of shoyu chanko nabe cost $33, you must order at least $66 worth. I would highly recommend you come with a group of friends or unless you and your other friend are big eaters.

Gonpachi 権八 @ Nishiazabu, Tokyo (2nd Visit)

Before I start, I'm guessing you already know of this restaurant. It's especially popular within the western community, courtesy of Quentin Tarantino and the celebrities who have dined in Gonpachi. This is my second time here and I'm not writing about the Izakaya in the lower levels, I'm writing about the sushi bar on level 3. Out of the many "casual" sushi places that I have been to, I think Gonpachi's sushi is delicious and very affordable. By the way, when I say casual, I am referring to places where I can sit down and order whatever I want instead of the Omakase course menu that is commonly served in the premium sushi restaurants.

Tanakada 田中田西麻布 @ Nishiazabu, Tokyo

This has got to be one of the scariest Izakaya places I've ever been to. Tanakada in Fukuoka is known to serve very good quality food but with NO PRICES stated on the menu. Tabelog estimates that people spend between 10k to 15k Yen in Fukuoka. In the Tokyo branch however, the budget is recommended to be above 15K Yen and of course I will say it again, there are NO PRICES stated on the menu. I can't believe my parents and I conjured up enough courage to try this place in Tokyo (actually it was mainly my idea...) knowing full well that we can easily blow this budget because of the abnormal amounts of food we can consume compared to average person. And unfortunately, that's exactly what we did....anyway here are some pictures of our meal:

Motsunabe Shoraku もつ鍋 笑楽 @ Hakata, Fukuoka

This post is regarding the branch over at Hakata Station; there are quite a few outlets for Motsunabe Shoraku, in fact, it even its own building in Tenjin. Honestly, I'm not really sure how to write this post because I've eaten lots of motsunabe and to me, they either taste the same or the differences are so subtle that it goes unnoticed, especially to a foreigner like me. Just like any other popular motsunabe restaurant like Yamaya or Yamanaka, Shoraku does not disappoint in their menu selection, taste and overall dining experience. Here are some pictures of my meal:

Kawataro 河太郎 中洲本店 @ Hiton Sea Hawk Hotel, Fukuoka

Live squid sashimi or Ika Ikizukuri is known delicacy in Fukuoka; almost every Izakaya or seafood restaurant serves this dish. One of the more popular restaurants that specializes in squid dishes is Kawataro. There are a few Kawataro restaurants scattered across Fukuoka but this blog post will be based on the branch located in Hiton Sea Hawk. I came here for lunch with my aunt and we both ordered the same set lunch including a portion of whale bacon. If some of the servings in the pictures seem rather big, be reminded that it is for two people like the picture above.

Seimon Barai せいもん払い @ Nakasu, Fukuoka

If you are looking for an Izakaya restaurant in Fukuoka that serves high quality dishes at very reasonable prices, then this place is a must for you. Introducing Seimon Barai, a very popular Izakaya restaurant located in Nakasu; yes it's near the red light district fyi. Do make a reservation if you want to come here because it is always packed. Let's have a look at some pictures of my meal:

Orankuya おらんく家 @ Kitashinchi, Osaka

This is a favourite of mine in Osaka. This is not a cheap sushi place, but neither is it an overly expensive joint like the Michelin Starred restaurants. I would describe Orankuya as a sushi restaurant meant for entertaining clients and businessmen. As such, the sushi you get here is of pretty high quality at a reasonable price (to me at least).

I've been going to this restaurant every time I go to Osaka for the last 7 years or so, shall we have a look at some of the photos that I've taken over the years? I'll be using a mix of English and Japanese in the captions.

Gonpachi 権八 @ Roppongi, Tokyo

Gonpachi is a very famous and popular restaurant located in Roppongi, Tokyo. For all those who have watched Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, this is the restaurant that he and his crew filmed the showdown between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii's body guards. As such, this restaurant is extremely popular to Western tourists (or Westerners living in Tokyo). Usually, I would try to avoid tourist places because of the high chance of getting ripped off, or the low quality of food served to non-Japanese people who often can't tell the difference between the good and bad stuff. However, I gave this place a try and was very pleasantly surprised by the good food served here. I ate mainly sushi since I decided to eat at the sushi counter but I also tried some of their Izakaya dishes like the Tempura and Grilled wagyu beef. I don't have an exterior photo of Gonpachi but you can find many on Google or Tabelog.

Shall we have a look at the photos of my meal: (I will use English for the captions for this post)

Uokin 魚金 @ Various locations in Tokyo

Uokin is an Izakaya chain based in Tokyo. It is very popular and famous among the local Japanese people. I was pretty fortunate to be taken by some of my Japanese friends to one their outlets over in Hamamatsucho in Tokyo. There was no English menu and I would assume there wouldn't be any in the other outlets given how this is a local favourite, so if you intend to make a trip to one of their restaurants, it'll be great if you know some basic Japanese hiragana and katakana.

Of course the obvious question now is: why is this Izakaya chain very popular? The simple answer is that it's not very expensive, it's really delicious and the portions are relatively big. Let's have a look at some pictures:

Zenen 禅園 @ Herbis Plaza, Osaka

Zenen 禅園 is an upmarket izakaya restaurant located in Herbis Plaza (Umeda area) in Osaka; it is next to the basement lift lobby of The Ritz Carlton Hotel. I discovered this place purely by chance when my dad told me to take a look at the menu outside the restaurant for fun. The items did indeed look attractive, especially to a foreign visitor like myself. I figured, lets give it a try! Here are some pictures of the items we ordered.