Tonkatsu Bodaiyu 炸豬排吉 (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

My Me-Time is officially history as I meet up with the gang near Tokyo Station. Little nugget allegedly had a great time learning how to ski (although he told me otherwise. Said he would never do it again!). And while he was gliding on snow, his old man visited 4 different places for dessert, all in one afternoon so let's just say it's been a productive day for all parties concerned.



Everybody looks a little beat up but I don't think anyone would say no to some delicious tonkatsu (Japanese deep-fried cutlets) tonight.



So, I decided to take the gang to Tonkatsu Bodaiyu (炸豬排吉) at Shin-Marunouchi Building, which was just a comfortable 5-minute walk from Tokyo Station. No wait, 3 minutes max.



I have always liked traditional Japanese décor with a lot of wood. 



Tonkatsu Bodaiyu (炸豬排吉) is highly touted for its deep-fried pork loin and cutlets but that's not all. Their seafood-katsu featuring mouthwatering thin-battered oysters, scallops and jumbo tiger prawns is also something to die for. To enjoy the best of both worlds, I highly recommend this pork loin, cutlet and seafood platter which would set you back 5,300 yen only.



As usual, unlimited supply of salad before the main event.



Also included was a bowl of red miso soup.



We didn't order the platter with the deep-fried vegetables cuz everyone thought we should have enough green stuff by now (from the unlimited supply of salad!). Instead, we decided to focus primarily on their amazing deep-fried pork loin, cutlets, oysters, scallops, minced prawn cakes and jumbo tiger prawns. This looked really stunning from up close. 



The jumbo tiger prawn was almost the size of my forearm! 



Bodaiyu's deep-fried pork loin and cutlet are made with prized Iwachu buta (岩中豚) from Iwate Prefecture which is known for its buttery soft and silky smooth texture. Both cuts were almost equally tasty but if I really need to choose between the two, I would probably go with the pork cutlet because the meat was a little bit more firm so there's more bite to it (without being chewy). 



The tiger prawn had incredibly bouncy texture. It almost felt like having lobster. Very meaty and very delicious.



Of course, we had to get an extra order of deep fried oysters (2,500 yen) since they're such crowd pleaser.



I could never get enough of these creamy Japanese oysters, especially when they are coated in these gorgeous thin batters.



The batter was nice and crispy, and the centre was so soft and moist with such creaminess. Love it!~  



I didn't expect this but Tonkatsu Bodaiyu has its own online reservation system. They have four branches across Tokyo and all accept reservations online (click here to choose the branch for reservation). That really makes things a lot easier for travelers.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 5/F Shin-Marunouchi Building, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6505, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Tokyo Station
Tel: +81 3-3211-6655
Website: www.bodaijyu.co.jp
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 3:30pm, 5:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat), 11:00am - 10:00pm (Sun)

Block Block Tokyo Roppongi (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Believe it or not, this is the third cheesecake place I have visited this afternoon. It had to be a personal record.

Block Block Tokyo, a collaboration with Shirokane Sweets, is a tiny little closet-sized dessert shop on the quiet side of Roppongi, just across the street from the b Hotel Roppongi. I know this place relatively well because of my previous stays at ANA Intercontinental Hotel.

They specialize in these small blocks (thus the name) of basque cheesecakes, a type of burnt cheesecake originated from basque country of Spain.

Their basque cheesecakes come in different flavors, including original (plain cheese), apple cinnamon, black currant, orange and blue cheese.



They call these cute little blocks of cheesecakes "cheese BB".



These range from 320 yen to 360 yen each depending on the flavors.



Basque Cheese BB (320 yen) - The first thing I noticed when I took my first bite was the nice smoky flavors. I guess that's what made them so popular these days. It's almost like having a cheesy version of a Portuguese egg tart. The flaky crust did a brilliant job holding the creamy, custardy center which was richly flavored with cheese. I thought the center was soaked with runny cream cheese too. Very tasty and very addictive.



Blue Cheese BB (320 yen) - This came with a much darker glaze.



I thought the difference between this and the previous basque cheese BB is the fact that this didn't taste like a cheesecake at all. It didn't have the runny center and the salty, sharp flavor along with pungent aroma had me thinking that I was actually having original blue cheese (with a burnt crust).

In short, the basque cheese was much much better.

After trying three cheesecakes with distinctly different flavor and texture, I was absolutely stuffed. Perhaps it's not such a good idea to be having tonkatsu dinner in less than half an hour.




Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 14-1-19 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Roppongi
Tel: +81 3-6804-1252
Website: http://b-b.tokyo/
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 7:00pm daily

A. Lecomte Hiroo ルコント 広尾本店 (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

In my quest for the best cheesecakes in Tokyo, I decided to head up to Hiroo (広尾), a small area between Ebisu and Nishiazabu to check out a couple of dessert places after my brief visit to Nakameguro.



Just a stone's away from Hiroo Station, A. Lecomte would always be remembered as one of the first authentic French patisserie opened in Tokyo. Led by founder André Lecomte, they opened their first shop in Roppongi to much fanfare back in 1968.



They have just recently celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2018 (This flagship is relatively new having just opened in 2013).



It was the second time today that I walked into a dessert cafe 2 hours before their closing time and the results were quite similar - not a whole lot were left in the pastry counter.



There were whispers around that A. Lecomte has some of the best cheesecakes in Tokyo, highlighted by their traditional baked cheesecake, which was not surprisingly sold out at this hour. 



Gateau au fromage cru (562 yen) - A consolation prize to myself for missing out on their signature baked cheesecake.



The cheesecake came with a paper-thin layer of white chocolate and raspberry jam giving it a solid mix of flavors to work with.



What looked like a fairly cheesy dessert was in fact very creamy.



Like most crowd-pleasing cheesecakes, this was silky, rich flavored and dense, and I love the thin sponge base on the bottom for the extra texture. I'm glad I stop by Hiroo for this.



After walking in the cold for most of the afternoon, a cup of hot chai tea was exactly what the doctor ordered. Some nice heat to weather the cold.



At the corner of the boutique were a display of their homemade cookies, madeleines and signature fruit cakes. Unfortunately, I needed to rush back to Tokyo Station so not enough time. 






Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 5-16-13 Minamiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0047, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Hiroo
Tel: +81 3-3447-7600
Website: www.a-lecomte.com
Opening Hours: 9:00am - 7:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:30am - 7:00pm (Sat - Sun)