Revisiting old faves - sushi and Indian
Last weekend saw us revisiting a couple of favourite eat-outs in an attempt to enjoy these dining pleasures before bub's arrival in about a month's time. In Japan, unlike Australia, there are very few restaurants that admit children under a certain age, and choices to dine out with kids are limited to "family restaurants" like Denny's, McDonalds and a few other fast-food restaurant chains. I doubt that we'd have the time nor energy to dine out anyway for the first few months after the baby is born.
On Saturday, we went with friends to our favourite sushi restaurant in Tsukiji. Saturday was a good day for sushi at Zanmai - the o-toro (fatty tuna belly) was perfectly succulent, smooth and fatty (and not grisly and chewy like it sometimes can be), the Joh Anago (top quality seawater eel) was amazing as usual, the uni (sea urchin 'roe') was sweet with not a hint of fishiness, and everything else was as fresh and tasty as good sushi can get. It had been too long since our last visit (a month ago?). Friends of Kim who were visiting from America appreciated and enjoyed the sushi, and were pleasantly surprised at the total cost of their orders, because in the States, they'd have to pay more dearly for lower quality.
On Sunday, we had Indian food at our favourite neighbourhood restaurant, Nawab. Rob introduced this restaurant to his collegues, and they liked the food so much that they'd been back a couple more times. Although it's so close to our present apartment, it has been awhile since we dined at Nawab. We're about to move to a slightly bigger apartment in a couple of weeks' time, and we wouldn't be so close to Nawab then, so we decided to seize the opportunity to enjoy our favourite Indian restaurant once again. We ordered Chicken Biryani (1150yen) because I was in the mood for some, and the Ladies Lunch Set (1150yen) because it included two of the curries that Rob wanted. And, because Rob wanted to introduce me to this wonderful deep-fried Punjab bread called Bhatoora (500yen) - something he ate on one dinner occassion with his collegues a few months ago when I was still suffering from mild morning sickness and rich Indian food was the last thing on my mind - we placed an order for one. I was worried that we'd ordered too much food, and sure enough, our eyes proved to be bigger than our bellies (although at the end of the meal, our bellies were much bigger than before!). The Biryani was good with succulent pieces of chicken thigh. The curries in the lunch set were Dahl and Chicken & Cauliflower Curry, and they were scrumptious with the warm fluffy naan. The bhatoora was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and very more-ish. Although we were already very full having eaten everything else, we kept picking at the bhatoora until there was only a small piece left. We were not disappointed and we walked out of Nawab satisfied and very full. And the great news is that when we enquired about bringing babies to this restaurant, their response was "Of course, we welcome babies!" This restaurant is a hidden gem and deserves more clientele on the weekends, but its location in this mostly business district means that it is more popular during weekdays with the working people than it is on weekends.
The salad that comes with the lunch set (but we got one each even though there was only one lunch set); and the Ladies' Lunch Set in which you could choose rice or naan, and includes a dessert which was fruit pieces in yogurt:
Chicken Biryani; and the crispy more-ish Bhatoora:
On Saturday, we went with friends to our favourite sushi restaurant in Tsukiji. Saturday was a good day for sushi at Zanmai - the o-toro (fatty tuna belly) was perfectly succulent, smooth and fatty (and not grisly and chewy like it sometimes can be), the Joh Anago (top quality seawater eel) was amazing as usual, the uni (sea urchin 'roe') was sweet with not a hint of fishiness, and everything else was as fresh and tasty as good sushi can get. It had been too long since our last visit (a month ago?). Friends of Kim who were visiting from America appreciated and enjoyed the sushi, and were pleasantly surprised at the total cost of their orders, because in the States, they'd have to pay more dearly for lower quality.
On Sunday, we had Indian food at our favourite neighbourhood restaurant, Nawab. Rob introduced this restaurant to his collegues, and they liked the food so much that they'd been back a couple more times. Although it's so close to our present apartment, it has been awhile since we dined at Nawab. We're about to move to a slightly bigger apartment in a couple of weeks' time, and we wouldn't be so close to Nawab then, so we decided to seize the opportunity to enjoy our favourite Indian restaurant once again. We ordered Chicken Biryani (1150yen) because I was in the mood for some, and the Ladies Lunch Set (1150yen) because it included two of the curries that Rob wanted. And, because Rob wanted to introduce me to this wonderful deep-fried Punjab bread called Bhatoora (500yen) - something he ate on one dinner occassion with his collegues a few months ago when I was still suffering from mild morning sickness and rich Indian food was the last thing on my mind - we placed an order for one. I was worried that we'd ordered too much food, and sure enough, our eyes proved to be bigger than our bellies (although at the end of the meal, our bellies were much bigger than before!). The Biryani was good with succulent pieces of chicken thigh. The curries in the lunch set were Dahl and Chicken & Cauliflower Curry, and they were scrumptious with the warm fluffy naan. The bhatoora was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and very more-ish. Although we were already very full having eaten everything else, we kept picking at the bhatoora until there was only a small piece left. We were not disappointed and we walked out of Nawab satisfied and very full. And the great news is that when we enquired about bringing babies to this restaurant, their response was "Of course, we welcome babies!" This restaurant is a hidden gem and deserves more clientele on the weekends, but its location in this mostly business district means that it is more popular during weekdays with the working people than it is on weekends.
The salad that comes with the lunch set (but we got one each even though there was only one lunch set); and the Ladies' Lunch Set in which you could choose rice or naan, and includes a dessert which was fruit pieces in yogurt:
Chicken Biryani; and the crispy more-ish Bhatoora: