Eating Our Way Around Tokyo #1 - Shunjuku and Shibuya

Most people remember the places they visit by the majestic or beautiful sights they witnessed at various tourist spots. We probably remembered the places we went, by the food we sampled, went crazy over and busted our food kitty for. Apart from the usual 3 staple-meal pitstops we made every day (each deserving a post on its own), we also stopped for irresistible bites along the way every way of Tokyo.

Shunjuku - known for it's versatility and probably the largest subway station I've ever seen in my life. With over 160 entrances and exits, every time we surfaced from the subway gates, the scenery or buildings were almost always totally different. The most of the popular eateries, Tokyo's scenic skyscapers by night and busy business towers by day, the largest selection of department stores (Takashimaya, Istean, Odakyu, Lumine 1, 2, Est, Keio, etc) and a famous red-light and Yakitori district are all located within this multi-personality and colourful district. The food, apparently, dons the same variety of a mentality.

Baked and Non-Baked Cheese Cake Breakfast to Ease the queasy tummy after the long night-flight

Assortment of freshly baked bread - a common and welcoming sight at almost every turn

Freshly fried tempura

Guess who I found! Pierre Hermes!! This genius of a pâtissier has set up shop in Japan!

This passion-fruit with layered chestnut and green tea mousse brings his reputation for creative fusion up another notch. I llurrve Pierre Herme..
Yakitori shops are a plenty in Shunjuku. But to find a cosy place out of the cold that serve good and reasonably priced sticks was harder then figuring out their superbly confusing rail system.
We were fortunate to chance upon a quaint little Yakitori that warmed our hearts and bellies, we went back at least 3 times during our trip.

Yummy Yakitori sticks - chicken and pork

Forget Wagyu, this juicy fresh piece of beef on a stick blew our senses. The toppings of minced onions and sesame teases the palate and balances the greasiness of the beef.

The next stop on our food trail is Shibuya. The renown busy district for younger generations, we didn't pit-stops much for food here. Shopping was mostly on the agenda and with several streets lined with International and Local brands, it probably wasn't difficult to forget about food for abit. We did get some really yummy strawberries. Fresh for the season, right from the tree, they were really cheap ($4 a punnet) for some of the sweetest strawberries eaten. Kinda embarrassing that we stood right outside the grocer and finished the entire punnet! We had to stop L from rushing in to get another punnet!

That's most of the pit-stopping in Shunjuku and Shibuya. Next stop - Harjuku and Asakusa!