15 May 2016

Tokyo Bites – Bills Omotesando


As our hotel offered breakfast at a really exorbitant rate, I convinced my mum that we should head out to look for breakfast during our stay in Tokyo. Thus, the first instinct is to search for the best breakfast/brunch places in Tokyo! Lots of websites mentioned Bills and thus we decided to head to its outlet at Omotesando to try! (since it's nearby) 

Bills is famous for its long queues, so do go there early, preferrably slightly before its opening time. There was a short queue forming when we arrived at around 8:20 AM (it opens at 8:30 AM)... so you know what I mean by go there early now. Before we left, there was a snaking queue outside the restaurant. They do take reservations, however I recall myself being unavailable to make a reservation on the day I was supposed to visit. Nonetheless, you can still try your luck on their website.

Bills is actually a international chain of restaurants opened by Australian chef Bill Granger, and they claim to serve the "Best breakfast in the world" in their outlets all over the world. There are currently 5 outlets in Tokyo! 


Both of us ordered their Full Aussie Breakfast with Toast, Mushrooms, Bacon, Roast Tomatoes and Chipolatas (2000 yen). There is also an option to top your breakfast up with sides, so mum and I ordered avocados, tomatoes and smoked salmon. With my berry tea, it made the perfect concoction to a hearty breakfast. 

I had nothing to pick about the food there because everything was just so good – The ambience, the autumn leaves outside, the service, the food and the company. The eggs were perfectly scrambled, if you were wondering, and the bacon was not too oily. 


After letting out a good burp, we set off for a long stroll to the Meiji Shrine at Yoyogi Park, just 15 mins walk away! I'll definitely be back to visit the other bills outlets (hmm it seems like they also opened in London too....... YAAAAASSSSSSS gud food 4lyf3)

Dining in Japan is one of my favourite things to do because you're not only paying for the food, but also good service and ambience! Everything is daijoubu *.*

Do not go up the hugeass escalators, these lifts at the corner of the building will bring you straight to bills.

Bills Omotesando
Tokyu Plaza 
Omotesando Harajuku 7F 
4-30-3 Jingu-mae, 
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 
T + 81 3-5772-1133
Hours: Mon to Sun 8.30am – 11pm (last orders: food 10pm, drinks 10.30pm)

How to get to bills: 
- Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line/Fukutoshin Line Meiji Jingu Mae Station (1 min)
- JR Yamanote Line Harajuku Station (4 mins)


4 May 2016

Tokyo Visual Diary

Shh-shh-shibuya
Omotesando
Meiji Shrine
Harajuku's Crepes

We stayed in Tokyo for a short 3 days before heading to Kyushu for our package tour... and it was the best three days in my entire December. The hotel that we stayed at was the Shibuya Excelsior Hotel Tokyu. This hotel, though slightly pricier, is reaaaaally great if you're travelling with your parents or people who basically just can't be bothered to take the subway from the airports to the city centre and lug your luggages around.

Reason #1: The hotel is one of the stops that Tokyo airports offer a shuttle bus to, and from, for a minimal fee.

Reason #2: The hotel is linked to Shibuya Mark City, a shopping centre which has the BEST sushi I've ever eaten in my entire life (I haven't eaten sushi ever since December, well ok except for my favourite Ichiban Boshi lobster sushi)

Reason #3: The hotel is linked to Shibuya Station.

Reason #4: You can see the famous Shibuya Crossing from your window, and it's amazing to see Shibuya slowly goes to sleep as the departmental stores shut their billboard lights one by one.

First day in Tokyo was mainly spent in Shibuya and Omotesando in the evening, and then back to Shibuya again. Went totally crazy in the HUGEASS MUJI/Tokyu Hands/F21/Disney stores at Shibuya aarghhhhhh why don't they have that in Singapore. The coolest thing is that they had so much more customization services in the Japanese MUJI, but it was a pity because I don't reside in Tokyo, so yeah.

The Shibuya Crossing magic wears off after you crossed it a few times. But it is really fun because you can literally walk in ANY direction you want when you're crossing it, unlike in Singapore where you can't cross the road diagonally or suddenly change your mind and cross to a different direction. In Shibuya, you can. But one tip is to BE DECISIVE. The citizens of Tokyo seem to be rushing 24/7 so if you are slow as Flash the Sloth on that crossing, you'll prolly bang into many rushing pedestrians :/

We started off the second day with a sumptuous breakfast at Bills Omotesando (will blog about that later) Then, we took a stroll to the Meiji Shrine! Geezus the shrine is 45430954805 km away from the main torii so we took really quite a while to get in there.... But the highlight of the day wasn't the Meiji Shrine, it was THE STORY OF MY HARAJUKU CREPE SHOP DRAMA.

Alright, so there's this really famous crepe shop in Harajuku that 98543853 bloggers/youtubers/travellers have raved about, called Angel'S HEART Crepe Shop. We were heading there, when I found an Angel Crepes on the way (yes, sneaky, they removed the Hearts). I mean, it's pink, there were LOTS of crepes. So I decided to get it, my mum got one too. While waiting for our crepes to be ready, we realized that that was not the crepe shop that we were looking for! G O S H. But anyways, here's the difference between Angel'S HEART Crepe Shop and Angel Crepes is that, Angel Crepes' crepes are 80% icing cream, 20% ingredients. Angel's Heart Crepes has 50% icing cream and 50% ingredients. So yeah, now you know the difference.

Please don't be stupid like me and doubletriple check before you get your crepes alright!

The final day in Tokyo was me being plagued with the monthly agony of period cramps so we didn't do much. (We planned to go to Shinjuku or somewhere further in the morning) I didn't even finish my bowl of Ichiran ramen! :( (yes it was that bad) But I managed to get well enough by the time I visited the L'Occitane Cafe next to the Shibuya crossing. They sold AMAZING seasonal desserts and tea (will also blog about that soon after my post on Bills Omotesando)

It was a pity we couldn't spend more time in Tokyo as we had to catch our flight to Fukuoka. But I'll definitely be back for you soon, Tokyo. :)

xx
Mingz