Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Need recommendations on Tokyo hotels !

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    I agree with taipeiflyer about the duck fat fries being very tasty at the PHT, the nuts with the drinks are also nice. If you want a good breakfast use room service, not the restaurant.

    Originally posted by jhm View Post
    For location, I prefer the Grand Hyatt (I don't know whether it has a lounge as I didn't stay there with a diamond) to the Westin/Ebisu as the GH is near the Roppongi and surrounding area restaurants which I went to.
    Yes the Grand Hyatt does have a lounge.

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by jhm View Post
      ...but didn't try the NY Grill (and from what taipeiflyer says, it seems I was lucky not to!).
      To be fair to NY Grill, taipeiflyer did not follow the sage advice to sit at the bar in front of the open air kitchen and ask the Executive Chef for recommendations. He's not the first horror story I've heard when one elects table service.

      Originally posted by jhm View Post
      For location, I prefer the Grand Hyatt (I don't know whether it has a lounge as I didn't stay there with a diamond) to the Westin/Ebisu as the GH is near the Roppongi and surrounding area restaurants which I went to.
      If you're into the ex-pat crowd, GH is the place for you. The lounge is very nice and they do up Diamonds quite well.

      Originally posted by jhm View Post
      The room service breakfast the next morning was far far better, e.g. warm and flaky patisserie etc.
      HUGE AL

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by HUGE AL View Post
        To be fair to NY Grill, taipeiflyer did not follow the sage advice to sit at the bar in front of the open air kitchen and ask the Executive Chef for recommendations. He's not the first horror story I've heard when one elects table service.



        If you're into the ex-pat crowd, GH is the place for you. The lounge is very nice and they do up Diamonds quite well.



        to be fair to me, at those prices, one shouldn't need to sit at the bar in front of the open kitchen in order to ensure a good meal. but like i said, i loved everything else about the hotel.

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by Pinkfloyd View Post
          Well sometimes it is nice to get away from the net and such. I spent a few days in July (my birthday) in a mountain cabin on the west coast of Norway without any electricity, toilet facilities, running water, etc. and still managed to have a good time (which I initially thought was not possible)!
          Granted I did have a bottle of Moet to keep me company...
          I don't know how you survived !
          It is nice to get away from the bustling city life However ... Being away for a few weeks is a "torture"
          Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
          a karaoke room? sweet! i propose the next DO at Soar Beyond's pad. I will bring the Suntory Yamazaki 18.
          HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
          the room is cold as hell in the winter ! You sure you wana have a DO there ?
          It takes 3 hours to get from the airport to the doorstep of my house :O
          There are QUITE a number of songs in the catalog which is refreshed every month . However , the English choices are pretty limited

          Originally posted by jhm View Post
          Cool! Ever thought of opening a ryokan ? It sounds like the sort of place where city dwellers will pay large sums of money to come and stay. Fabulous views, fresh air, none of the interruptions of modern life and locally sourced food.
          Hehe ! Dang , you've read my mind so well !
          I've always wanted to open one with a onsen on the land that my house currently resides on . But looking at it from a profit driven point of view , i doubt it'd make any profits at all !

          Originally posted by StarG View Post
          Apologies for the previous short post as I saw your thread in the middle of a busy afternoon.

          Yes, I find the hotel very much to my liking.
          Rooms are spacious, and even the standard rooms have windowside 'sofa' which you can use as daybed. Executive lounge is nice to hang around in although not very big. Service is very good, although I would say one notch below that of the Peninsula Tokyo. Location: walkable distance to Tsukiji fish market and Ginza, although we preferred cabs.
          Subway station underneath the hotel, and a 24 hrs AM/PM store in case you have sudden cravings for cream puffs or exclusive Japan-only Haagen Dazs.

          Can't say anything about breakfast quality in the hotel, because in Japan for me that would be a waste of stomach space! Ramen & Sushi/Sashimi is more my mode of breakfast in Tokyo.
          Busy afternoon eh ? hahahahah
          The location of the hotel suits my needs really well ! Food,Shopping,Subway!( i can never travel in cabs as my Japanese is "limited" )
          Breakfast with Ramen , Sushi and Sashimi !!!! ???? You're kidding right !
          I always look for a nice filling breakfast with eggs , ham , bacon , toast and a good cup of coffee or tea ( I feel like a pig now )

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by soarbeyond View Post
            Breakfast with Ramen , Sushi and Sashimi !!!! ???? You're kidding right !
            dont knock it till you try it... we were in front of sushi dai at the tsukiji fish market at 5am and had the omakase selection for breakfast... it was amazing. you run out of superlatives while sitting there eating... on the last piece, you get to choose what you want, but we told the chef to surprise us... he ended up giving us a cod's sperm sac.... surprisingly, it was excellent.

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by soarbeyond View Post
              I've always wanted to open one with a onsen on the land that my house currently resides on . But looking at it from a profit driven point of view , i doubt it'd make any profits at all !
              Open a mixed rotenburo and I'm sure the tourists will come.

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
                we told the chef to surprise us... he ended up giving us a cod's sperm sac.... surprisingly, it was excellent.
                Shirako! The first time I tried this was several years ago - an omakase in a sushi bar. I had no idea what this white, creamy and warm substance was (it had been heated up slightly). I couldn't speak Japanese and the chef couldn't speak English. He just pointed to his groin!

                Even nicer, you can find restaurants which serve offer a shirako omakase dinner including blowfish sperm sac (fugu shirako)!

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by jhm View Post
                  Shirako! The first time I tried this was several years ago - an omakase in a sushi bar. I had no idea what this white, creamy and warm substance was (it had been heated up slightly). I couldn't speak Japanese and the chef couldn't speak English. He just pointed to his groin!

                  Even nicer, you can find restaurants which serve offer a shirako omakase dinner including blowfish sperm sac (fugu shirako)!
                  over in ebisu, we stopped into a wonderful looking and very lively yakitori restaurant. the pictures looked amazing, and based on the prices and the clientele, it looked like the meat was top-grade... so we asked what it was... the waiter could not speak any english so he whips out his iphone and types in some characters and shows us: "diaphragm." i look at my girlfriend, and she is shaking her head, but the guy was so fricking nice that we felt incredibly rude getting up and leaving... so we decided, "why not?" we had tongue, intestine, diaphragm... all of it was AMAZING. i could have eaten and drank beer all night. whoever knew diaphragm was so expensive... by the time we got out of there, we were out $200+. but it was worth every penny.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
                    over in ebisu, we stopped into a wonderful looking and very lively yakitori restaurant. the pictures looked amazing, and based on the prices and the clientele, it looked like the meat was top-grade... so we asked what it was... the waiter could not speak any english so he whips out his iphone and types in some characters and shows us: "diaphragm." i look at my girlfriend, and she is shaking her head, but the guy was so fricking nice that we felt incredibly rude getting up and leaving... so we decided, "why not?" we had tongue, intestine, diaphragm... all of it was AMAZING. i could have eaten and drank beer all night. whoever knew diaphragm was so expensive... by the time we got out of there, we were out $200+. but it was worth every penny.
                    Hey, that happened to me as well! I was walking around Ebisu trying to find dinner and I came across a yakitori restaurant (except the place I went to was a bit of a dive although it was full of locals). I can't read Japanese but I managed to tell the guy to give me anything. I was expecting normal cuts of meat but ended up with a plate of strong smelling innards. My stomach turned a bit, I ate a few pieces to be polite and then made my excuses (rubbing my stomach to say I'm full) and quickly left!

                    I then stumbled into a French bistro/bar in the area and again asked them to give me anything. I ended up with tripe and snails before I finally pointed to what to me is real food (steak!) washed down with lots of wine.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by jhm View Post
                      Hey, that happened to me as well! I was walking around Ebisu trying to find dinner and I came across a yakitori restaurant (except the place I went to was a bit of a dive although it was full of locals). I can't read Japanese but I managed to tell the guy to give me anything. I was expecting normal cuts of meat but ended up with a plate of strong smelling innards. My stomach turned a bit, I ate a few pieces to be polite and then made my excuses (rubbing my stomach to say I'm full) and quickly left!

                      I then stumbled into a French bistro/bar in the area and again asked them to give me anything. I ended up with tripe and snails before I finally pointed to what to me is real food (steak!) washed down with lots of wine.
                      i'm sorry your experience wasn't as good as mine... if you ever want to give it another go, i would be glad to tell you the name of the place and where it is located. popping into random restaurants is one of my favorite things about tokyo.

                      had some excellent meals at l'atelier robuchon in roppongi (had a foie gras only dinner with foie gras prepared 4 ways) and then the 5x chocolate dessert which was out of this world. had the chef's selection at tofuya dai which was such a wonderful experience in a wonderful setting. jambo yakiniku which was recommended by StarG and simply excellent, and Robataya in Roppongi which was a wonderful dining experience (they dont even have a menu as they only choose the very freshest and best ingredients, so things are constantly changing). at robataya we had ruby snapper, matsuzaka steak, sashimi and leeks, mushrooms and okra. all of it was exceptional... but the intestinal yakinori place was as wonderful as any other meal we had. different experience completely, but walked away perfectly content.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
                        dont knock it till you try it... we were in front of sushi dai at the tsukiji fish market at 5am and had the omakase selection for breakfast... it was amazing. you run out of superlatives while sitting there eating... on the last piece, you get to choose what you want, but we told the chef to surprise us... he ended up giving us a cod's sperm sac.... surprisingly, it was excellent.
                        I am pretty sure by the time i reach tokyo , i'll probably book a flight out to korea cause i'll be so sick of Japan ! Hehe alright ! I shall try ramen and sushi for breakfast !

                        Originally posted by jhm View Post
                        Open a mixed rotenburo and I'm sure the tourists will come.
                        HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH A mixed one ? Im pretty sure lawsuits would be coming my way ! Uhhhh looking on the brighter side of things , Free publicity !
                        Originally posted by jhm View Post
                        Shirako! The first time I tried this was several years ago - an omakase in a sushi bar. I had no idea what this white, creamy and warm substance was (it had been heated up slightly). I couldn't speak Japanese and the chef couldn't speak English. He just pointed to his groin!

                        Even nicer, you can find restaurants which serve offer a shirako omakase dinner including blowfish sperm sac (fugu shirako)!
                        Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
                        over in ebisu, we stopped into a wonderful looking and very lively yakitori restaurant. the pictures looked amazing, and based on the prices and the clientele, it looked like the meat was top-grade... so we asked what it was... the waiter could not speak any english so he whips out his iphone and types in some characters and shows us: "diaphragm." i look at my girlfriend, and she is shaking her head, but the guy was so fricking nice that we felt incredibly rude getting up and leaving... so we decided, "why not?" we had tongue, intestine, diaphragm... all of it was AMAZING. i could have eaten and drank beer all night. whoever knew diaphragm was so expensive... by the time we got out of there, we were out $200+. but it was worth every penny.
                        Originally posted by jhm View Post
                        Hey, that happened to me as well! I was walking around Ebisu trying to find dinner and I came across a yakitori restaurant (except the place I went to was a bit of a dive although it was full of locals). I can't read Japanese but I managed to tell the guy to give me anything. I was expecting normal cuts of meat but ended up with a plate of strong smelling innards. My stomach turned a bit, I ate a few pieces to be polite and then made my excuses (rubbing my stomach to say I'm full) and quickly left!

                        I then stumbled into a French bistro/bar in the area and again asked them to give me anything. I ended up with tripe and snails before I finally pointed to what to me is real food (steak!) washed down with lots of wine.
                        Honestly , i didn't know Japan had so many weird stuff to eat !
                        I salute both of you for taking the guts to try it !
                        I would've freaked out before trying it !

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by soarbeyond View Post
                          Honestly , i didn't know Japan had so many weird stuff to eat !
                          I salute both of you for taking the guts to try it !
                          I would've freaked out before trying it !
                          when in Rome my friend!

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
                            when in Rome my friend!
                            :O Rome ???

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by soarbeyond View Post
                              :O Rome ???
                              there is a saying: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. it just means to not take preconceived notions with you into a new land and be willing to explore new things. sorry, some phrases that are common in the US are not as familiar elsewhere. i apologize for the confusion. i should say, when in japan, do as the japanese do!

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by taipeiflyer View Post
                                there is a saying: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. it just means to not take preconceived notions with you into a new land and be willing to explore new things. sorry, some phrases that are common in the US are not as familiar elsewhere. i apologize for the confusion. i should say, when in japan, do as the japanese do!
                                Uh ! I know that saying ! Haha i was actually thinking what "interesting" food they had there !
                                HAHAHA Do As The Japanese Do ! I like that !

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X