Monthly Archives: February 2015

Uogashi Nihon Ichi

Uogashi Nihon Ichi Tokyo

My love of sushi is pretty well known, so when I was back in my old stomping ground in Tokyo for a day, my friend and I stopped in at the local standing sushi bar for lunch. This branch of Uogashi Nihon Ichi is located on one of my favourite streets in Tokyo – Kagurazaka-dori. It’s an old geisha quarter, now full of traditional stores and restaurants, and is a bit of an institution – the street even has its own annual festival! On entering Uogashi, we were shown to a space along the standing bar. Like a sit down sushi bar, each station has its own cup of tea, soy and hand towel, just no chair. We ordered a range of different pieces, including tuna, salmon, kingfish and a couple that I had no idea what they were, but tasted amazing! The sushi-san gives you the option of soy (shoyu) or salt (shio) to put on the piece, and there are different recommendations for different fish. Each piece was reasonably sized, although a bit smaller than the nigiri at Sushi Zanmai. As usual, my favourite was the aburi (seared) tuna, but really, it’s all good!

Uogashi Nihon Ichi, 1F PORTA Kagurazaka 2-6 Kagurazaka Shinjyu-ku Tokyo  http://www.uogashi-nihonichi.com/english/

Chatterbox

Chatterbox Canberra copy

I have a friend who is a dedicated Chatterbox convert – it’s her favourite brunch place and she always recommends it to people. When I had to pick somewhere to take my Dad for brunch then, this was one of the first places that came to mind. Walking in, the staff were welcoming and showed us to a table quickly, while we took in the indoor plant wall and yellow decor. I ordered us fresh juices to start – you can put as many different fruits as you like in your juice, so I went for orange, apple, banana and strawberry. When it came out, it was in a large takeaway cup, so no problems if you can’t finish it over your meal. Dad had a long black and commented on how good the coffee was. For brunch, I picked the truffled eggs – poached eggs served on a potato rosti with peccorino, rocket and truffle oil. The eggs were perfectly poached and the rosti was crisp and filling. The truffle oil added an earthy flavour to the meal, which I couldn’t quite finish. I can see why my friend recommends it, and now I do too.

Chatterbox Espresso Bar, 40 Cameron Ave, Belconnen ACT                     http://www.chatterbox-catering.com.au/

Chatterbox Espresso Bar on Urbanspoon