It’s my first visit to the newly constructed fish market which is supposed to effectively replace the famous Tsukiji (築地). But I was told that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, some friends told me that the two markets seem to co-exist rather well together. Some of the long-standing sushi shops in Tsukiji also didn’t make the move to Toyosu as expected; at least not yet.
Today must be our lucky day coz it was Toyosu Fish wholesale market’s Open Day.
The tuna auction observation deck and other facilities are normally off-limits to visitors unless you're licensed buyers but it is open to the watchful eyes of the general public thanks to the open day festivities. Too bad we arrived a little after 10:30am so all the bidding, wheeling and dealing were long gone (around 5:30am to 6:30am latest). In fact, the place has already been cleaned up like nothing has ever happened (like a crime scene!).
In hindsight, perhaps we should have come just before dawn. That would ensure that we catch the bulk of the action here but then getting little nugget ready by dawn would be a major headache.
Following our quick tour around the wholesale market building, Jelloman took off on her own for 銀座鮨正 The Impression, one of the upscale sushi bar in the building leaving me, mom and little nugget hanging to dry. Where should I bring those two for lunch as both of them don’t eat sushi?
I ended up bringing both of them over to the restaurant area, which is located in a separate building across the street from the management office building.
Out of the 10 to 12 restaurants here, only a handful of those serve cooked food and Tonkatsu Odayasu (小田保) is one of those rare ones. Good thing they didn’t have a huge lineup in front so only a short wait is expected.
Tonkatsu is typically breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets (or pork loins) but Tonkatsu Odayasu offers far more than just pork. As a matter of fact, their seafood-katsu dishes such as prawn, oyster, scallop and mackerel are much more popular than their tonkatsu. It's also their seafood-katsu that has made them one of the staples at the Tsukiji Market (築地市場) since 1938.
Assorted oyster set (1,950 yen) - I had my eyes set on their oyster set the moment I came in. This seasonal set comprises of 3 grilled oysters and 3 deep-fried ones (available from October to April only).
The grilled oysters were slightly disappointing though. There were no grill marks what-so-ever on the oysters. Tasted a little more like they were poached to me. The oysters which were obviously very big in size, were very fresh and creamy but without the charred marks, they tasted reasonably good but just not great.
The deep-fried oysters were a totally different story. They all came with a slightly thick batter but that was just fine with me as long as the crust was nice and crispy. Very tasty and very addictive as always.
Deep-fried king prawn (600 yen) - Very sweet flavor from the king prawn with lovely bouncy texture. Certainly won’t mind having a second one but I was too full after having the assorted oyster set.
Pork slices with steamed rice (1,400 yen) - Something for little guy. These came in really thick slices. They were quite decent but yeah nothing that would bring us back for more (but we didn’t come here for their meat anyways).
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 3/F Fish Intermediate Wholesale Market Building, Toyosu Market, 6-5-1 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0061 Japan
Closest Metro Station: Shijo-mae
Tel: +81 3-6633-0182
Website: www.odayasu-toyosu.com
Opening Hours: 5:30am - 3:00pm (Mon - Sat)
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