- All right, check it out, guys.
It's Trevor James, hanging out with Simon
from Simon and Martina.
I'm gonna put a link to
their YouTube channel
in the description below.
I'm so pumped. We are in Tokyo.
- Yes, we are in Kichijoji,
which is the best part of Tokyo.
Don't think about Shibuya or Shinjuku,
this is where the great food
and great culture is at,
and I'm gonna show you some
of my favorite spots tonight.
- Awesome.
- Ready?
- Check it out.
(funky music)
- [Trevor voiceover] If you
travel to Tokyo, make sure
to visit this back alley that
Simon is bringing us to today,
'cause it's full of amazing
Japanese delicacies.
And today, we're trying four of them,
deep in this Harmonica Alley.
Get ready for some delicious food.
- [Trevor] So, we're deep in the alleys.
- Yes. So, this is
called Harmonica Yokocho,
which means Harmonica Alley.
I don't know why it's called Harmonica,
but it's all winding,
they've got a whole bunch
of really small, intimate
shops with great food
and a great vibe.
- Wow.
- I just love it here.
- Lots of action.
- Do you see this right here?
- Wow, that is beautiful.
- This is beautiful.
They also make little
sticks of it right here,
if you don't want it with the soup.
- [Trevor] So, these are all the organs,
this is the organ stew, right?
- You can see everything bubbling,
coagulating in some corners,
thin in other corners.
- It has a sweet, deep, complex aroma.
- Exactly.
- [Trevor] And then here's the...
this is the yakitori, right?
- [Simon] This is the yakitori.
- [Trevor] So, all different
cuts of meat and organs.
- [Simon] Yes, they don't even ask you
if you want sauce or salt,
they all just do salt here.
- [Trevor] Oh, that looks great.
- Ohh.
- [Waiter] Chopstick only, okay?
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Arigato.
- [Simon] So, this is a beef organ stew.
I don't know what organs
they have in here,
it's often intestines that they have
with a little bit of egg.
- [Trevor] Maybe some lung.
- [Simon] Yes, they got some
lung, all the good stuff.
- [Trevor] And some tofu.
- [Simon] With some tofu and
this delicious, sweet broth.
Just try a bite.
- [Trevor] Oh, yeah, let's
get a big chunk of that.
- Oh, wow.
- What's great about this
is most of the organs
that I've had before
are chewy and rubbery.
The way they cook it here,
you couldn't tell it apart
from regular meat, it just falls apart.
- My favorite thing is the broth.
- Oh, yeah.
- It is so flavor-packed.
- What's in this broth? Let's see.
- And a little sweet.
I think you can taste a
bit of the onions in there.
- Yeah, there's some onions,
there's mirin in there
also, I'm pretty sure.
You should put a little bit of sake--
- Oh, it's all about the broth.
- Why don't we eat more
organs in North America?
Organ meat is delicious.
- Exactly.
- So, here we have some heart,
and here we have bonjiri,
which is a part of the chicken
that includes cartilage.
- Okay.
- And I know a lot of
people are really worried
when it comes to cartilage
because it's a little bit chewy,
I love the crunch of this.
- Oh, man.
(moaning)
- You're okay with that?
- Yeah.
- Amazing, wow.
- You gotta to through the cartilage...
- Yeah.
- But it's satisfying.
- And cartilage has a good milkiness
that really offsets the saltiness
that they put on top of here.
- Exactly.
- [Trevor Voiceover] Next up,
Simon's bringing us to enjoy
some tasty Japan-style fried soup baos,
filled with a tasty, sweet soup
that makes you want to
slurp and eat more and more.
This is so tight and deep,
deep in the alleyways of Tokyo.
- I'm way too big...
(laughter)
- It's so tight in here.
- You're gonna love
this. Okay, here we go.
- Oh, what's this here? Oh, nice.
- So, this is yaki xiao long bao.
- [Trevor] Sheng jian bao.
- [Simon] Is that what you call them?
- [Trevor] Or xiao long bao.
- [Simon] Yeah, they're xiao long bao.
- [Trevor] Fried. Sheng jian bao, yeah.
- [Simon] Have you ever
seen them fried like this?
I'm not used to having them
fried, except for this spot.
- [Trevor] Oh, so these are
Japanese-style xiao long bao.
- I wanna see how the seasoning compares.
- Arigato.
(woman speaking Japanese)
- So, four for four twenty,
that's like, a buck a dumpling.
I think it's totally worth it.
- Wow, good.
Oh, nice.
- [Simon] So, here we
have yaki xiao long bao.
- [Trevor] Yaki xiao long bao.
- Which is like a soup dumpling
that's fried at the bottom.
I've had many xiao long bao
that are just steamed and soggy,
but I don't really have
them crisp at the bottom.
Maybe you're used to that, but
for me, this is pretty new.
- So, yeah, in Chinese these
would be called sheng jian bao.
So, xiao long bao is steamed
and then sheng jian bao
is in the big griddle wok.
Oh, look at those, look
at the bottom, crispy.
Oh, nice.
So, sesame and green onion
on top, pan-fried bottom.
- Not burnt, just nicely browned.
- And there's a lot of soup in there.
- There's a lot of soup.
- So, is it going to explode?
- Yes. I don't know how you do it,
do you do it all in one bite?
- I like to half-bite it
and then let the soup
burst into your mouth.
- Good, let's try that.
(laughter)
- Oh, that's risky.
I'm gonna go for the
one bite, then. (laughs)
- Go for it, go for it.
- That is such a sweet broth,
the sweetness of the pork.
The onions in Japan are totally different.
There's no tartness at all.
This beautiful, sweet juiciness.
- That's so satisfying.
Like you said, the soup is sweet.
- Yeah.
- It's like an oniony sweetness.
- We were talking about
change of textures before.
You have the softness of the meat,
little bit of crunchiness at the bottom...
- Exactly.
- It's just glorious.
- It's so glorious.
- [Simon] Can we get this in a bottle?
- [Trevor] It's all about that combo.
In a bottle, yeah.
- Yes, in a bottle.
Look at that gorgeous, little juice.
Do you see that all?
With the little seeds.
Gives it a little bit of nuttiness
to balance that sweetness.
- [Trevor] Yeah.
(Trevor laughing)
- Okay, I'll drink the soup.
(Simon mumbling)
Oh, that's so satisfying.
It's hot? (laughs)
Is that really hot? Okay.
- [Trevor Voiceover] Next up, before going
for a street-side sushi
feast, Simon's bringing us
for some more famous Japanese dumplings.
Nice and tasty stuffed plump
gyozas with cabbage and pork.
- This next place I'm gonna
take you to is a really
big staple of the alleyway
and we gotta wait in a line
because it's always popular.
- Right here, okay.
- They make great gyozas,
they make great chahan,
which is like a fried rice.
We gotta have some stuff here.
- Sounds good.
- You know what's great about
this place? Air conditioning.
- Oh, man, this is just an
awesome, little hole-in-the-wall.
So, we're gonna get the
real, legit gyozas, right?
- We're gonna get real,
legit Japanese-style gyozas.
Fat, juicy ones. It's one of
the top gyozas around Tokyo.
- Arigato.
- [Simon] These are just
bursting at the seams.
- [Trevor] Oh, they look plump.
- Legit Japanese gyoza.
I've gone to many gyoza
places, even with gyoza otakus,
so the people that go hunting for gyozas.
- Should we have a little...
- And they love this.
We can do a little bit of sauce,
I like just having it straight
up. Just have it pure first.
- Is it burning hot right now?
- Yes. As if I can smell heat.
(laughter)
Smells hot. Here we go.
- Okay.
(moaning)
- It's burning.
- Burning hot, but the inside,
the onion has softened
so much, it's almost
like a cabbage slaw, in a way.
- I think there is a
bit of cabbage in there.
Oh, it's so plump.
- Isn't this amazing?
- The cabbage,
the onion, and then the
crispy bottom, the soft top.
- I'm not used to having
cabbage at many places,
but this works so well.
- It works.
- [Trevor Voiceover] After
those delicious gyozas
and a plate of fried rice,
we went for our final meal,
some late-night, street-side sushi.
- So, we're both pretty full...
(Trevor laughs)
but I can't let you leave
without having standing sushi at night.
- Oh, standing sushi.
- So, we're gonna go... It's
gonna be out of this place.
But it's a nice, little secret spot
that not a lot of people know about.
- Okay.
- We're gonna hop on the subway
and have some really nice, late night--
It's got the same kind of vibe
as this area here for sushi,
so I think you'll like it as well.
- I'm dreaming of sushi.
Where are we now?
- So, this is Nishi-Ogikubo.
People still consider
this a part of Kichijoji,
but it's not the heart
of Kichijoji station.
And the sushi shop I wanna
take you to looks pretty busy.
- [Trevor] Wow, look at the scene here.
- [Simon] Is there an
extra spot here? Yes.
- [Trevor] We are deep.
- [Simon] Here we go.
- So, we order here.
- We'll order here.
(Simon speaking Japanese)
- So, we're gonna get sea urchin?
- Yes, sea urchin.
- And fatty tuna.
- This is cool.
So, we got a little sushi bar
and he just takes the
fish, whatever you order--
- That's exactly it.
- And puts it on a little leaf.
- See, standing here is
always so much harder
because you look at all
the fish in front of you,
and even if you're full, you're like,
I should probably have
five more. I mean, why not?
- That makes sense. And he's just...
- He's putting it together now.
- Oh, that's the chutoro.
- [Trevor] Oh, wow.
Look at that.
That looks so beautiful.
- That's so beautiful.
- [Trevor] Oh, that's the uni.
So, we've got the uni, chutoro,
fatty toro, and then,
nodoguro, which is...
- [Simon] Nodoguro, which I
think means black throat fish.
It's a very fatty fish, I love it.
- [Trevor] Oh, that uni looks awesome.
- [Simon] Here you go, look at that.
- Beautiful.
- See that? Beautiful.
- Beautiful.
- Are you ready? Cheers.
(moaning)
- Oh, yeah.
- The uni has great creaminess,
but it still tastes
like when you first walk
onto a beach, you can smell...
- It does have an oceany...
- You can feel it in your eardrums,
it just gets right in the back
of your throat right there.
- Yeah, you can really feel
it. It's a creamy sensation.
- A lot of people are scared about uni,
but it's one of my favorites.
- Me too.
That is the chutoro.
And he covers it in a
light soy, is that right?
- Yes, a very light soy sauce on top.
- Nice. This is just what I dream of:
eating sushi, local little bar.
- Every day.
(moaning)
(speaking Japanese)
- This is where a good
vinegar rice really matters
because that's really fatty fish,
but the tartness of the vinegar
doesn't make it just
all cream in your mouth.
- That's a good way to describe it.
Yeah, there's a bit...
you can definitely taste
some of that vinegar.
Oh, wow.
I love watching him work here, yeah.
It's amazing.
That's beautiful.
Let's go in for this last one.
- You ready?
- Yeah, so this is the...
- This is the black throat,
I think it's called.
- Black throat, and it looks
like he puts a little
salt on there, maybe.
- And he broiled it a little bit as well,
to get a little bit of crisp right there.
- Oh, yeah.
- Let's see how this tastes.
(moaning)
- You definitely get... Oh, yeah.
A little bit of that smokiness.
- You can taste that little lemon,
because the rest of the fish is so oily.
- And a bit of that
salt, it's well seasoned,
it brings out the flavor even more.
- When it comes to really oily fish,
we often use a lot more wasabi
because it balances the wasabi.
Originally, I'd be like,
that's too much wasabi,
but with a fatty fish like that, it works.
- But it's perfect.
- I'm also glad that you're okay
with just putting the
sushi mat however you want.
Some people are like, we
have to flip it upside down
or you have to use chopsticks.
There are no set rules for eating sushi.
- [Trevor] That's good to know.
- Every master that we've asked has said
so long as you eat it quickly,
that's all that matters.
- I am stuffed.
- I am uncomfortably full now.
- Thanks for showing us around.
That was a ton of fun.
- Thank you for being open minded
and trying all the stuff
that I've exposed you to.
- It was amazing.
- I'm glad.
- You guys definitely gotta check out
Simon and Martina's channel.
I'll leave a link in
the description below.
That was an amazing time in Tokyo.
- Thank you.
- Nice to hang out.
- Next time you come, we're gonna take you
to a whole new area, with brand new food.
- Cool.
- Awesome.
- Thanks a lot, buddy.
- No problem, thank you for watching.
- Wow, I'm stuffed.
