Sushi Zanmai – Expectations were low since this is a chain and is open 24/7, 365 days a year, but it was 2 PM and most of the establishments at the market were closing, and we were hungry so we joined the queue outside Sushi Zanmai. The sushi turned out to be drool worthy. More surprising, for both of us, was the miso soup. Nicolas and I aren’t fans of miso soup, but Sushi Zanmai’s was light but flavorful. It was served in a wide bowl rather than the usual short stubby miso soup bowl, with a lot of greens floating in it. It was a great start to our trip.

Tenfusa Tempura – I thought I was fully prepared to join the early morning two-hour queue outside the legendary Sushidai, but I thought wrong. At 9 AM, I finally decided to investigate. Maybe the cold in the early hours had deterred others like me. I made my way to Tsukiji’s Inner Market and, while there was a queue, it didn’t seem to be too bad, so I joined it. Of course, I joined the wrong queue. I was outside Sushi Daiwa, not Sushidai. By the time I joined the right queue, I was pissed off with myself for wasting time at the wrong queue, plus it did look like I would be at that Sushidai queue for at least an hour. I then realised I was right outside other establishments recommended in this article: Don’t Eat Sushi at Tsukiji Market. So I left the queue and wandered into Tenfusa Tempura.

Bear in mind that none of these establishments have English signs outside (except for Sushi Daiwa, which has a handwritten sign outside its door that says something like they only accept cash), so a map like this will be useful:

I loved the tempura mom-and-pop! I sat beside a security guard and his boss who said that they frequent patrons of the place. They said it was the best value for money. They were having a meal which, apart from tempura, included tuna sashimi, rice and miso soup for only 1000¥. I ordered a tendon (abbreviation of tempura + donburi = tempura rice bowl dish) of ebi (shrimp) and anago (saltwater eel, as opposed to unagi , which is freshwater eel) tempura that was about 1400¥.

Typical for rice bowl dishes, they drench the topping with sauce.