© 2017 TripAdvisor LLC All rights reserved. TripAdvisor Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. ORBA Members: Log into your account to manage your directory, promotion and job listings. Get in touch if you have yet to receive your login details. To reset your password, please enter your email address belowand we'll send you password reset instructions. Trick Eye is short for ‘Trick of the eye’, which refers to an art technique that turns two-dimensional paintings into three-dimensional images through the use of optical illusions. With that, 2D paintings on the museum walls, floors and ceilings appear to pop out of the surface and come to life. Visitors are more than welcome …Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to visit the one and only Tsukiji market, Tokyo’s legendary wholesale fish market. If you’re an ‘itacho’ (the name used to identify the highest level of sushi chef in Japan), you can rock up at 8.30am and still receive the best of the day’s catch, no alarms needed.

This wasn’t entirely planned, Sushi Sora’s itacho Yuji Imaizumi has slept through his alarm on our first morning in Tokyo. But clearly this is not an issue, as he strides into the market in his black suit looking like a boss, myself and Romy from Mandarin Oriental struggling to keep up whilst concentrating on avoiding the silent pallet moving trucks speeding around the busy industrial warehouse scene. The Tsukiji market is among Tokyo’s most iconic sights with a jaw dropping number of seafood and fish purveyors. sushi kan ottawa locationsIt’s the largest wholesale market of its kind, a buzzing metropolis in its own right, much like Paris’s Rungis. sushi tei jakarta tripadvisorYou might have already visited it on screen, as it featured in the beautiful Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and more disturbingly for tuna lovers and the eco-conscious, in the poignant documentary, The End of the Line.yo sushi takeaway bristol

At this hour of the day the proceedings have slowed down to a manageable level, allowing us to navigate Chef Yuji Imaizumi’s preferred purveyors. Under the warehouse roof lie alleys of permanent stalls, live eels and prawns wriggling around in crates, octopus eggs bobbing in Styrofoam and cabinets displaying tuna parts like priceless jewellery at Cartier. We stop at his tuna suppliers ‘boutique’ where the head of a 160kg tuna is laid bare on the crates of ice. buy sashimi grade fish perthA central cabinet displays the day’s tuna; ichiban sushi menu trinitylarge hunks of various parts of the fish, which are being lovingly dabbed by the stall keeper to keep moisture at bay. sushi making kit safeway

The stallholder has one hunk on his chopping board and is slicing slivers with his sword-like knife for his clients to taste test its raw freshness. He slices himself a piece for quality control purposes. At Yuji’s favourite shrimp man we pause for an iced tea and chitchat. Yuji appears to be a bit of a celebrity here. He’s treated to some form of beverage on arrival and rather than perusing the displayed fish or seafood, he’s treated to the extra special catch, which is stored away from sight under the counters and revealed only to the itacho himself. The mere tourist stands no chance of walking away with the best stuff. It seems this is how he gets away with the late starts. Yuji’s restaurant Sushi Sora is housed on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental with vertiginous cityscape views to one side. But the view is by no means the focal point of this countertop eatery. In the classic manner of a top-notch sushi restaurant, the centre stage is occupied by the revered sushi chefs, whose theatrical performance of delicately forming the vinegared rice is Tony award worthy.

The counter seats about a maximum of around 10 people, if not fewer. Yuji is at the helm, keeping his workspace scrupulously immaculate at all times. The calm and cool ceremony as they work is the very antithesis of the raucous pot clanging kitchens we are accustomed to expect from likes of Gordon Ramsey and Anthony Bourdain. He opens up a wooden box every so often to remove a piece of tuna, bonito or mackerel pike (all of which we watched him select that very morning), and deftly carves it with such unspoken respect for the ingredient. If you want to experience the culture and craft of sushi, this is one of the finest places to do so. Tsukiji market really has to be seen to be believed, to help bring it life I shot a video while I was there showing the stall holders in action and the sheer scale (get it) of the place. Check out the video on my YouTube channel below: Special thanks to Inside Japan and ANA, without whom this trip wouldn’t have been possible. Special thanks to Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, for their out-of-this-world hotel room and spa facilities, as well as Chef Yuji and Romy for the tour of Tsukiji.

This post is sponsored by Inside Japan and ANA, but all views and opinions expressed are my own.Note: Today's post has been brought to you courtesy of Standard Chartered Bank. This was a meal last night at "Standing Sushi Bar". What an unique name isn't it? When I first heard of this place a few months ago, I was thinking: "Hmm, do you have to stand and eat?" A few people that I follow on Twitter has been raving about this place! So when I was presented the opportunity to come for a free meal, I said yes! Hey, is that face familiar? That's Howard from "Eye for a Guy 2". Yes, that show's ancient, it's like 3 years ago. Howard's now the boss of Standing Sushi Bar. The two fish beside Howard is Barry and Fin. If you watch TV, you would have seen the two fish from the Standard Chartered Bank commercial. Why Standing Sushi Bar? I was told there's no chairs during lunch time. It's a new concept of quickly grabbing something to eat and to mingle around. For dinner hours, the chairs will mysteriously appear though.

We got here and were kinda overwhelmed by what to order, so we asked Howard to order for us. He would know what's good right? He told us that their fish is flown in fresh daily from Japan and some other countries. So what did Howard order for us? This is the Chef's Special, our sashimi platter. Oh, we were impressed. Even for our untrained tongue, we can know the difference. There's just freshness that you can taste. I especially love the scallops! Next, we each had a platter of 5 different Nigiri Sushi. (Maguro $2, Sake Toro $2, Hamachi $4, Aburi Hotate $4, Shime Saba $3.) What you see below is the end where the Shime Saba is. We are to eat from the other side to this side. So you will appreciate it more by gradually eating from the lighter taste to the stronger taste fish. I like the Aburi Hotate (Scallops) and Saba (Mackerel) the most. Oh, does the next photo look so so wrong? You know why Barry and Fin were so scared in the commercial? They feared they will be next on the plate!

Oh, the look at their faces while holding our Nigiri sushi. Is that a relief face that they are still alive? Next was the best Nigiri we had. The eel we usually eat is fresh water eel (unagi). But this is salt water eel (Anago). You know how usually salt water fish taste better than fresh water fish? The same for eels! You should order this and try! It's $6 a pop, but you should try it once right? We had trouble trying to remember all 6 names of the Nigiri, so we told Howard, can we call this the "Howard Set"? So when customers who visit after reading our blogs asks for the "Howard Set", you know exactly what they want? ;-P Next is something new and maybe never to be replicated again at Standing Sushi Bar. It's a vegetarian sushi that I think was not in the menu. It was created because of Barry and Fin who keep telling the rest of us "fish are friends, not food". The next dish is for mushrooms lovers. Mix Kinoko Foil Yaki, $10. 3 kinds of mushroom and some special sauce.

I like the Shitake more than the Enoki and Shimeji. The chef simply refuse to let us know what sauce! Trade secret he insists! This is Salmon Yuzu Yama-mayo yaki, $15 This was a shared item, but the rest did not seem to touch it, so I ate almost all of it! The salmon's not overdone and the sauce tangerine vinaigrette makes it so appetizing. If you have followed my food diary, you know I am not a fan of almost all kinds of tofu. Everyone else says its nice though. This is Tamago Nigiri, $6. A formation like this reminds me of Marina Bay Sands' 3 Towers! Fin's went hiding again, because he saw Shishamo Age, $8 being served. Fin, you got to live with it. Don't be a scary cat. You are the 'star' of the commercial, so you won't get to die yet. This is Yoshinogawa Gensen Karakuchi, $8 Not mine, but Claudia from 24seven had this. A soft acidity and light taste sake from Niigata with 15.5% alcohol! We ate more things but I think it's photo overload if I post all of them here.