Not personal experience but the beer thread is really high on great notion brewing. You might try popping over there for more suggestions. A couple of thread regulars are in Portland.

Shameless thread bump. I’m heading to Asia.

Tokyo for 4 days, Cambodia for 2-3 weeks, and my lady wants to spend a few days in Thailand(although she can’t tell me a single thing she wants to do there).

My main questions is about restaurants in Tokyo. The info on that place is overwhelming. Looking for somewhere with awesome beef one night and maybe a kaiseki on a different night.

Beyond that any recs you have for stuff to see would be great. We aren’t super touristy. Like one shrine/temple a day type folks.

Also any recs for 5-7 days in Thailand would be great.

You might try to get in contact with amoeba. He used to post some really incredible stuff in the Cooking Everything Else thread. If my memory serves me correctly, he made a trip to Japan last year, maybe the year before, that seemed to be centered around eating some really great food.

Hey Hoagie, the first thing I would recommend is taking a look at tabelog. It's the Japanese yelp but with a much more stringent rating as they take it super seriously there. Anything above a 4 is world class.

For beef, I would first decide what format you want. Yakiniku (Japanese version of K BbQ), teppanyaki, western style steak format, shabu shabu/sukiyaki.

For kaiseki, decide if you want very traditional or modern.

One type of cuisine I was very impressed by and I have a hard time finding equivalent quality of in the US is tempura. Imagine the same shokunin spirit and pristine ingredients of a top sushi place.

Also are you staying in a hotel with a concierge?

We'll know Hoagie liked the food in Asia if he comes back and starts posting as Banh Mi.

My favorite thing I ate in Tokyo was Kani miso from isomaru suisan which is kinda funny since it's a chain izakaya but that dish fuc+ks. Second is like any ramen, 3rd probably any eel place (unagi) or really good sushi restaurant. I'm a huge soba restaurant fan too but we have one in Seattle that is as good as any I had in Japan. Obv not a large sample size tho.

For Thailand it was gaggan but he closed that place and you probably can't get into the new spot. You might hit up gaa or wet tho.

I'll take hawker spots in Singapore over most world cuisine tho.

Thanks. Im a tightass when it comes to lodging so I assume my $75 a night hotel doesnt have a concierge and if they did it might do more harm than good!

I think we are gonna do a nice tempura lunch.

Im not sure of the beef format. I think I like yakiniku or shabu shabu .

Appreciate the tips, im diving back into research!

Anyone with advice on going to Key West? Would likely be for 4-5 days. Currently planning on checking out some airbnb experiences and exploring nature.

Interests: food/drink, aquatic ****

Stopping at Robbie's to feed the gigantic Tarpon fish from their dock is pretty cool way to kill 1/2 an hour.

https://www.robbies.com/tarpon.htm

The Hemingway house/museum was a pretty cool stop if you're into either Hemingway or cats(there are 50 or so cats living in the house)

Dry Tortugas is a nice side-trip. We took the seaplane; not sure we could have tolerated the boat ride though.

It’s really hard to go wrong with the food in Tokyo and you seem to have gotten some good advice so far, but my favorite casual places were:

Savoy - this is a Neopolitan-style pizzeria. It is the best Neopolitan-style pizza I’ve ever had. They make the pizzas directly in front of you in an open kitchen and they cook in about a minute. I had the marinara and margarita pies, along with an insane pie where they use spicy mayo as the sauce, then take a giant mound of lean bluefin tuna and place it in the center of the pie. They then layer tuna fat around the crust and when the pizza is in the oven the exposed tuna layer cooks through and the inside remains raw. They sprinkle with chives and give you some wasabi to eat it with. It sounds bizarre but it’s absolutely amazing. I think my favorite meal in Japan and I did a lot of eating there (granted I also love pizza).





Kikanbo - this was a ramen place specializing in extremely spicy (customizable to taste) ramen. Definitely not traditional but I really enjoyed it, the braised pork they put in the ramen was the best I had all trip and they have a huge variety of toppings. Portions are massive and I recommend washing down with multiple Asahi.

That tuna pizza is going on the list. Planning on tsuta ramen one day although I’m sure I’ll eat more ramen.

I’m such a fat ****. I haven’t planned anything cultural/touristy just meals. Of which I’m looking at about 11 a day.

Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnais

one michelin star french place. the weekday lunch menu is stupidly cheap and was excellent. you may get semi burnt out on japanese food so would recommend throwing in 1-2 things like this.

More details about what you want. "food/drink" could encompass anything from "Porky's Bayside in Marathon is pretty good BBQ" to "Louie's Backyard in Key West is a really nice restaurant".

Are you flying to KYW or Miami, then driving?

In Key West, go down to Mallory Square for the sunset. It's pretty nice, there are buskers about doing acts, but mostly it's just the experience.

Duval Street is the main drag, all kinds of bars/restaurants near there. Depends what you're looking for, really nice places, or just dive bars or whatever.

The sunset cruises look fun, but I've never been on one.

Since you mention "would likely be", I'm assuming that you haven't made plans yet. If not, might consider staying up the keys a bit and just doing day trips, or spending some time in KYW and some in Islamorada/Marathon/Big Pine/whatever.

Key West is fun to visit, but it's tourist packed, really difficult parking, etc, etc. When there, I like to stay on the east side, and just rent a bike to get around for the days there, instead of trying to drive.

Other touristy stuff:

• Southernmost point. Meh, but it's popular.

• Mile 0. End/Start of US1. Meh again, but "I've reached the end of the road".

Oh yeah, also do a trip report over in the Travel forum. Always nice to hear of other's experiences.

I have a $950 voucher with AA. Good places to go for CHEEEEEP besides FL? Would do DR but m'lady is afraid of death water

Thanks for the input. Is Key West tough to do without a car? The plan was to fly directly into Key West and uber/bike/taxi everywhere.

In terms of additional detail:

Interested in both cheap/approachable food spots as well as high end places (would probably go to a really nice high end place once or twice, and check out cheaper options for lunch, etc). Anything memorable really. "Drink" is primarily for my gf, who enjoys fun cocktails and the occasional beer/wine (I personally do not drink booze, but enjoy mocktails and generally like going to drinking establishments even if I myself am not drinking). If there are places with live music/a view, would definitely be interested in checking them out.

Ocean/aquatic activities would be awesome for the daytime. I'm imagining things like snorkeling/kayaking, etc. Neither of us have our scuba licenses, but could conceivably get those going if there's amazing scuba there.

Just back from two weeks in Japan, and have spent many months over the years in Thailand. Happy to oblige.

My favourite ramen in Tokyo is the tsukemen from Rokurinsha in Tokyo station's ramen street. It's on the lower ground floor of the train station (which is freakin' huge and very easy to get lost). You will definitely wait in line, but the length of the line will depend on the time. I went twice while in Tokyo, once around 11:30, and once around 15:00. When we went at 11:00, we waited about 40 mins. When we went at 15:00, we waited maybe 10 mins max.

Rokurinsha was also in the very first ep of Mind Of A Chef on Netflix.

I've been to Tsuta twice. Once in their original location on a previous trip, and then last week in their new location. They had a ticketing system at the original location, so you'd go there in the morning, pick up a ticket and be allocated a time slot to return. It was perfect as half your day didn't have to revolve around a bowl of ramen. At their new location they've done away with the system and now you just gotta line up. I went on a rainy day and arrived at about 10:45 (they open at 11:00). Ended up waiting close to an hour, but I've had on regular days you can be waiting for 2-3 hours, so I'd recommend going around 10:00 so you don't waste too much time in line.

Another great ramen spot is Fu-Unji near Shinjuku, but again, be prepared to wait in line.

Apart from that, there's no need to pay a lot of money for any meal as basically everything is good if you stick to Japanese food. The general quality of sushi is good everywhere, so try to find somewhere locals go instead of somewhere near Shibuya crossing or Shinjuku.

The quality of food at their convenience stores (7eleven, Family Mart, Lawson's), is ridiculously good. I wouldn't be caught dead eating sushi from a 7eleven in the US, but in Japan it's ****ing fantastic. Try the egg sandwich from Lawson's, and the beef short rib onigiri from 7eleven. If you have a sweet tooth, the warabi mochi from 7eleven is also really good, and probably better than any mochi I had anywhere else in the country.

You didn't mention where in Thailand you're going, but if Bangkok, get yourself down to Yaowarat Road in China Town one evening and just do a street food crawl. It'll be jam packed, but the vibe is amazing, the sights and sounds are a sensory overload, and the food is all tasty as ****. No specific recommendations, just eat whatever looks good and don't be afraid to try new things.

Sukhumvit has a bunch of mega malls, the one with the best food is Paragon Siam. Part of their food court is made up of little hawker-style shop fronts that host a lot of well-known Bangkok restaurants, serving a limited menu of their most popular dishes.

If you're hitting up Chiang Mai or Phuket I can offer a few food recommendations there too.

You're welcome.

No, in fact I'd advise staying in Key West w/o a car. More trouble than it's worth. It's only ~ 3x5 miles total, very flat. Bike rentals available, super easy/fun way to get around. But also very easy to walk. Never ubered or taxied, can't speak about that.

If gf likes fun drinks, check into a sunset cruise. No idea on the cost. Looks like lots of fun. They have everything from big catamarans with a band to something that looked like a little floating tiki bar (maybe 10 people). Go from the harbor, tool around off Mallory Square til sun goes down.

Just off Duval (on Simonton, I think--a couple blocks east) is Key West distillery--they make their own rum and have small tours with a taste that gf might like. (Can't remember if they mix drinks, or just offer a sipping glass--didn't try last trip--but it's quite good rum).

Duval street and harbor area is full of bars with live music. Captain Tony's (a must see for Parrotheads, meh else), Irish Kevin's, Sloppy Joe's, and Schooner's Wharf are all places I saw music; I imagine there are many more.

Up Duval is the Margaritaville Cafe & Store. Again, if you're a Buffett fan, go, else, whatever. There's a bunch of stuff up and down Duval, everything from walk-up stands to grab something quick to nice.

I understand Louie's Backyard to be a real nice restaurant. I went over to First Flight Brewery on Whitehead, it was nice and quiet, probably a good middle-level choice for food (I just had a beer).

I'm not a water person. There's some public beaches. I don't know about scuba/snorkeling, but it seems like I've heard it's pretty meh.

Oh damn. Tsuta got rid of ticketing? I’m definitely out then. Back to the drawing board. I’ll definitely take a look at rokurinsha.

Plans have changed and we are going to spend the entire time in Cambodia. So no Thailand!

I'm heading to Cambodia in two weeks. I'm starting in Vietnam next week.
I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Alternatively, Tsuta also sell boxes with their soba noodles and concentrated ramen broth if you want to make it at home. I bought some but haven't made it yet.

It doesn't need refrigeration, so easy to carry around and take home without worry.

Where in Vietnam? Have been all over the country so can probably provide a few recommendations.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

We will spend the first 4 or 5 days at the start of Tet in Hanoi.

We will likely do for a day trip to Hoi An. Do you know of any other good day trips out of Hanoi?

Do you know a good tour company?

what are your plans in cambodia? I assume Siem reap. Anything else?

We are all over the map with our plans. leave in 16 days and havent booked a single thing in cambodia yet.