Tempura Kondo てんぷら 近藤 @ Ginza, Tokyo (Dec 2019)

I suppose if you're reading this now, you'd already have some knowledge about Tempura Kondo and its reputation for being a local favourite, more specifically to the middle aged and elderly folks, and not to mention it also has two michelin stars. The lunch courses here are especially popular since they're priced reasonably at 6500 and 8500 yen which is a lot cheaper compared to the big names like Sonoji, Fukamachi, Motoyoshi, just to name a few. Anyway, this is my first time here and I ordered the latter since I'm a big eater. For that course, I was served 12 items, not including dessert and miso soup.

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:

Tempura Ippoh 一宝 本店 @ Higobashi, Osaka

I've always wanted to try the main Tempura Ippoh shop in Osaka ever since I ate at the branch at Dempsey Hill in Singapore. While I enjoyed the tempura served at the Dempsey Hill branch, I knew it wasn't top quality, I couldn't help but wonder how much better it can be at the main shop. Well, looks like God's blessing was upon me as my parents and I managed to secure a lunch reservation there. We took a taxi to the restaurant and as we entered the main hall, there were several women dressed in their traditional yukatas bowing extremely low and welcoming us into the restaurant. We had to take off our shoes and change to their indoor slippers which I have to admit were really comfortable. We were then ushered to a private room which had a lovely view of the garden outside. Shortly after, a very senior but friendly chef entered with his tray of ingredients and began preparing the fantastic tempura meal that was about to come. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

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:

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:

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)