Throughout my 4 day stay in Tokyo, I often resorted to broken English, a few “desu kas,” “arigato gosaimases” and a lot of “turo” or pointing.  Sometimes, that can lead to some awesome discoveries.

A few of those discoveries were in the Ameyoko Flea Market.  After spending a couple of hours walking along Kappabashi Dori (which is heaven for chefs – a 2-3 km. stretch of nothing but culinary stores), I developed quite an appetite.  I took a train to Ueno and began to look for the famous Japanese flea market. Before I left the train station, though, I needed an ice cream break! Baskin Robbins was smiling at me and what greeted me was this treat of a flavor: Ichigo Milk Ice Cream! Named after a Japanese cartoon, it had a wonderfully creamy milk ice cream, richer than your normal vanilla and it also had some strawberry ice cream with nice sweet strawberry chunks.  Quite a flavor!

Traversing the flea market, I was more interested in the food being offered than the discount clothes, and my first stop was an izakaya, or a drinking joint.  Since it was early afternoon, it was not busy.  Usually izakayas serve yaki toris with sweet sauces, but the one I ate in served theirs with salt and a spicy bean paste.  Left with no choice but to point, I pointed at four items, hoping to God I got at least one right.  And I really was! First came a chicken meatloaf, like a long Tsukune or meatball.  Very flavorful and tender, a great beginning. Then the good stuff came in.  Chicken Gizzard, chewy with a slight crunch, no disturbing odors.  I wish they were slightly more tender but it was good.  A stick of grilled chicken skin was a win, with its slight crunch and rich fatty goodness.  Lastly, a traditional chicken yaki tori with leeks.  Juicy and perfectly cooked, even the leeks were tender and flavorful. Points for lucky pointing! 

Next in this article: takoyaki and oysters!