tokyo food file

the final thai take-out of the summer

The end of August does not signal the end of the hot summer weather. But it does mean that the beach huts must shut down.

So that will mean no more take-outs from the perennially popular temporary Thai kitchens...

These are some of our favourites...

Kaeng khiao wan — green curry with chicken, eggplant, bamboo and piman pepper in coconut milk, with Thai basil and a good tingle of heat...

laab gai (spicy chicken "salad")...

tod man plaa/tod man gung (fish/prawn 'cakes'); and the fragrant pork sausage, packed with plenty of spice and rice and cellophane noodles...

This kind of food never tastes better than when you have sand between your toes.

My column on the Thai food stalls on the beach in Kamakura ran last summer in The Japan Times.

Our favourite of the four restaurants that run the kitchens here is Ban Phu Thai, which is based in Narita. I've always been tempted to make a stop-off there for a good spicy meal before flying out!

awa-odori video — hot action from the streets of Koenji

The first couple of minutes set the scene... Things start to really hot up around the 3:15 mark.

koenji awa-odori from tokyo food file on Vimeo.

 

Awa-odori revelry in Koenji (after tapping up the Taproom first)

A high-octane evening of awa-odori in Koenji...

There was beer aplenty to be had in the Koenji side streets...

But we had limbered up beforehand with a couple of quiet pints and some snacks at the Harajuku Taproom...

The yakitori is pretty good (though the tare is too sweet); but the chicken and blue cheese cigars are great.

More on the Harajuku Taproom here...

And here is a map link...

Grom in Shibuya — slow food ice cream hits Centergai

NB Grom Centergai is closed

There were lines around the block last Friday — and waits of over an hour — as punters in Shibuya greeted the opening of Grom's latest Tokyo branch. Hardly surprising, since it was giving out servings of its über-premium ice cream for free.

For such a classy operation, Centergai seems like a grungy choice of locations — it's right next to sleazy old GasPanic. But there's no denying there's a lot of colourful foot traffic at all hours of day.

 

I had better things to do (such as working) than queue up in the rain. So I held off until yesterday...

Although the official hours are 11am-11pm, last night it was still busy at 11:20, with a queue stretching from the counter at the far back almost to the door.

 

After about 10 minutes I got close enough to the counter to inspect the menu...

 

As at the other branches (Shinjuku and Harajuku), there's plenty of specialised terminology. And lots of assurances that they use only the finest ingredients — some even made by Slow Food artisans in Italy.

 

Is Grom the finest ice cream in Tokyo (or even the world)?

Well, it's certainly up there with the most expensive. ¥490 for the smallest serving ('piccolo') — comprising two modest-sized scoops in a diminutive punnet.

You do get to pick two flavors, though. Make that 'Bitter Chocolate' and 'Extra Bitter Chocolate' for me, please...

 

Is it worth the wait and outlay?

Well, let's just say that — in terms of flavour and pleasure — Grom is undoubtedly an anagram for org(as)m.

Grom's home page...

Map link...

Update: As of late 2011, this Centergai branch of Grom closed. At first it seemed temporary, per the note outside, saying there was some kind of problem with the drains. Now even that note has gone and the shop looks firmly shuttered for good.

That means we now have to schlepp over to Grom's Harajuku branch. It's much nicer: larger and more luxurious, with a comfortable lounge area at the back. You'll find it at the top end of Omotesando, opposite the Softbank shop, close to Harajuku Station.

 

Update (late 2013): the Harajuku branch of Grom has also closed now – it never got much traffic on that side of Omotesando. Which means the only place in Tokyo to get these wonderful gelati is on the ground floor of Marui, in Shinjuku (though there's also a branch in Osaka).

Grom's Japanese website is here… 

And there's a map here…

 

 

 

 

enigmatic? or just dental?

What a name for a restaurant.  Especially when pronounced in Japanese [it comes out something like toosu-toosu]...

Good blackboard, though — complete with Shakespeare quote mashup.

I've never been down to the basement restaurant, although I did once drop in to the ground-level "fromage bar" for a quick snifter (and a nice bite of Wensleydale)...

In case you're keen to find out more, here's Tooth Tooth's home page...