13 April, 2009

Oishii Japan Series Part 1 - Yakisoba & Takopachi @ Ueno Park

Beginning of April marks the full bloom of Cherry Blossoms, or Sakura in Japan, and HFB simply could not miss the sight. Therefore it was inevitable that Ueno Park was his first stop in Tokyo – one just cannot take the chances when it comes to matters of the nature.

Having arrived on a midnight flight via SQ’s comfy A380 plane, HFB was famished to say the least – thus marked the start of HFB’s food trail in Japan. It’s interesting to find heaps of Japanese having picnic beneath the Cherry Blossoms Tree, or Hanami, as they called it.

His earlier research on Ueno Park before the trip revealed photos of one particular old man with flamboyant frying methods to fry the Yakisoba, or Japanese Fried Noodles (JPY500 ~ SGD7.50) in the middle of the park; therefore you can imagined HFB’s delight when he came face to face with him.

Perhaps HFB was hungry amidst his excitement, but the noodle fried fresh on the spot tasted really yummy! However, due to the sheer volume of noodles he was churning for the large crowd, HFB was disappointed that the saltiness of the noodles was pretty uneven. Be forewarned that one do not expect big servings or many ingredients for that price, as all one gets is a small plastic container of noodles and some chunks of chopped cabbage and dash of red pickled ginger.

You can also try the Takopachi (some octopus balls made from flour, with chunks of octopus meat within, drizzled with Okonomiyaki sauce and Mayonnaise and finished off with a scatter of Dried Bonito Flakes) which sets you back another JPY500, located just a food kiosk away – although HFB discovered a really good one in front of Okachimachi Train Station in Ueno, outside the convenient store.

As a parting note, HFB shall leave his readers with his few favourite shots he took at the park.

Rating


Food: 3/5 (Noodle was unevenly fried, Takopachi was normal)
Service: 4/5 (Fast and efficient)
Ambience: 5/5 (Dining under the Sakura - how awesome is that?!)
Price: 2.5/5 (Daylight robbery!!!)
Total: 14.5/20
Ueno-koen, Taito-ku
Tokyo, Japan

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11 comments:

wayang times said...

omg the food looks so YUMMY!!! very nice blog and layout :)

Anonymous said...

lovely shots... =)

His Food Blog said...

@wayang times: Haha! Thanks for dropping by - hope to see you around more often.

@Anon 05:28: Thank you!

Unlimitedfeast said...

The sky is unbelievably clear and blue.

His Food Blog said...

Hi edyim,

Indeed. We were blessed with really good weather throughout the trip!

doraemon said...

love the cherry blossom's pic..beautiful :)

Healthy Diet Menus said...

nice blog and good pictures...!!!

taster said...

You mean takoyaki instead of takopachi?

His Food Blog said...

doraemon & Healthy Diet Menus: Thank you!

taster: Technically yes - but takopachi is a recognised brand of takoyaki in Singapore - so I thought it was more apt for the local readers.

offspring said...

ueno - this is home to one of the most amazing gyudon ard - http://my.opera.com/offspring/blog/2007/10/28/photo-gyu-no-chikara

His Food Blog said...

Awww!! If only you told me earlier - looks really delicious!

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