Masuya Unagi

Hi dear sisters ...... remember this autograph that Yong Joon left for Masuya (a grilled eel restaurant) when he was in Japan this March? Hehe, I was lucky that cloudnine and some sisters have invited me to join them for a Yonsama 'eel' trip last week, how could I resist?

Masuya is a traditional grilled eel shop (dear cloudnine, is it 120 years old?) located in Saitama, the prefecture north of Tokyo.

Ha, the door is mirrored, almost included myself in the shot!

Behind those doors, there are narrow winding tree-lined paths (imagine in the midst of a city)
leading to many secluded tatami dining rooms

Hehe of course, we have the biggest and the best of all. Um hm, I stand corrected ...... it's actually Yonsama who had the biggest and best of all!

Passing the charming arched bridge and running pond, this is the genkan (foyer).

Well, this time is a lot easier. There were only about 5 pairs of slippers, as compared to over 100 in Meguro Gajoen, I could have slipped my feet into all of them! Hehe of course I didn't do that, there were a few sisters this time whom I am not familiar with. I had to behave myself :)

This is a big room, I read Yong Joon came with 12 people.


Haha, the significance of this picture is : Yonsama's royal throne was to the right of this waitress! Our sisters were so kind and kept asking me to sit there for a picture :)

We have the same meal set as Yonsama. The appetizers are eel bone (crisp like a cracker and loaded with calcium), unagi salad (very tasty) and Koi sashimi (I think princess' bestest GF's BF is going to chase us with an axe :)

Our main course : BBQ eel with rice, sooooooo good that it melts in your mouth! I read that eel is low in calories, high in protien, rich in vitamin A and is very healthy for your body.

Our lunch was topped off with light fresh fruit, very refreshing in the summer.

Hehe you know every outing with Bae sisters is not complete without an afternoon tea/coffee delight. This time our sisters took us to an old Japanese tea house, just the thought of something 'old Japanese', I was so excited already! I am weird, am I?

This is an old farmhouse in a forest-like setting, very rustic. The interior is equally nature-inspired, but I couldn't take pictures inside because there were a lot of customers.

This is sencha (roasted tea) and Japanese sweet set.

I ordered this gyokuro (jade dew), the highest grade tea, that's why it's so little and they didn't give me any sweet. I think you are supposed to enjoy the pure taste of this very precious tea. Honestly, my tongue, throat and stomach felt so sweet and warm after just drinking a few drops!

Hehe, look at this very cute hot water pot that you can do your refill :)

It was such a pleasant day, tenoshikatta desu ne! All because of Yonsama, gosh, I miss him!