The Thrash Zone - nice micro brewery beer bar in Yokohama

The other week, I happened across a new bar called The Thrash Zone.
Idf you check out their WEBSITE, you will see they have a propensity for slayer and other heavy metal.
They also serve some quality Japanese craft beer.
Both of these points were good reasons for me to make my way out there!
It wasn't so easy to find, but once you located the yakiniku restaurant, it was easy.
In case you can't find it on the website, you can open the map in a new window by clicking HERE.

Also, on the webiste, it shows a big, bright, airy room. The first thing I noticed upon entering was that the picture in the website wasn't of The Thrash Zone. Weird.

Here is a photo from inside, on the side opposite the entrance way (seen at the end of the room):

You can see the barman/owner and a few of the regular customers, who come from as far away as Ryogoku! Some of you who know about beer may realise that Ryogoku is actually the station where you can find Popeyes (perhaps the biggest range of craft beer in Japan and of Japanese craft beer in the world). So it says something for this bar that this gentleman journeys all the way down to have a drink or five at this place.
These guys were great and welcomed me into their fold, instantly. Everyone was so friendly.

I happened to venture in on Van Halen night. The manager was showing his DVD of Van Halen's greatest hits.

When I saw this, I jumped for joy. I told the barman "Right now, I feel unchained! You really got me with this great music. This is what dreams are made of! I mean being here, just us humans being together, drinking, relaxing... ...why can't this be love? Now, I have to go to the toilet, because I've got a fire in the hole and I need to go before there's an eruption. There's a poundcake or two, breaking through the seventh seal. No sir, I won't get fooled again. I can dance the night away with beautiful girls later. Dancing in the street. I'll be like a man on a mission and when the dream is over and Jamie's cryin, I'll be up for breakfast. Don't tell me I can't drink more. I say to this beer 'you're the one I want, because without you, I'm black and blue. So, is this love? I know I can't stop loving you. Once is not enough.
You're the one I want. Why don't you finish what you started and make me totally cabo wabo! Wow, this place is better than smoking in Panama... ...or Amsterdam!' Oh, this beer is gooooood! You can't get this stuff no more. I feel on top of the world!"

Well, I didn't actually say this to the barman, but if I did, it would have been really cool.
Another example of how my reality doesn't quite match up to the fantasy. Such is my life.

Okay, so they had loads of heavy metal records on display, high up on the wall and they had about 6 or so craft beers, including one real ale on pump (Minoh Stout), plus a few bottled beers.

Here's the beer list:

Here's another photo of the bar:

It really is a nice, cosy, freindly place.
I can see why most of the people I met that night were regular customers.
A good, knowledgable barman and a nice, smokefree atmosphere makes a recommended place to stop by, if you're ever in the Yokohama area.

In the above photo, you can see a 'gaijin' - a foreigner.
It's my friend, David. He also popped by to check out the bar.

Okay, time to talk about the beers.
I think they change them every month or so, but they have one or two constants, such as the Minoh Stout (not bad) and the Nagahama ale (very, very bitter and yeasty - and popular with the locals, suprisingly).

This time, the beers on tap were:

• Nagahama ale
• Minoh stout
• Minoh pale ale
• Inowashiro weissen
• Beahern pale ale
• Shinano mountain ale

(click on the beer name to go to their website)

First up for me was the weissen:

I didn't want to mix this flavor up with the ales and the stout, so I ordered it first.

It was not quite what I hoped for.

Taste had a hint of grapefruit (but not as strong as the Hidatakayama weissen, which I do not really care for).
Tasted a little off and not so flavorsome.

Aroma was not bad. Tasted a little watery. But had a reasonable creamy head. Retained the head for a while.

Carbonation was okay.



In the 2nd photo you can see the yeast at the bottom of the glass.


Verdict: 5/10.

Next up was the regular beer, the Nagahama ale:

Boy, did this baby taste bitter!!! Also very yeasty.
If I had poured it from a bottle at home, I would have thought it had gone bad and thrown it away, such was the 'distinctive' taste.
However, I stuck with it and about 3/4 of the way through it, it began to be drinkable.



Still, I can't say I like it that much.

Definite like it or hate it beer.

For me, I'd have to pass on this one.



Verdict: 4/10.
(Note: I've since had a few more Nagahama ales and I'm getting ot like it/appreciate it, so the new score is 5.5-6/10)

My next and final beer was the Minoh Stout:

This baby was hand pumped by the barman.


This guy can pour a good pint (as could the guy who used to pour at Cheers - but sadly, I haven't seen him aorund for a while and I must say, the standard has fallen there because of that. Note: since writing this, there are new barstaff at Cheers and the standard of the pint has gone back up again. Cheers!).


Still, I was happy to wait for what I hoped would be a nice, creamy stout.

I wasn't dissappopinted.

A nice pint.
The best of the night, for me.
Creamy and smooth and nicely rich so it needed slow drinking. Just the thing to end the evenig with.

Verdict: 7/10.


All in all, a nice evening.

Here are a few more pics of the evening and some drunken rantings from yours truly (what, more?):

The Thrash Zone.
Verdict: 7.5/10.

________________________________

The Grafton- Irish bar in Gotanda

After getting lost many times in Kawasaki, I came home at about 11pm. Had a shower and got changed and I headed back out to check out an Irish bar called The Grafton, in Gotanda.


I got to the bar at about 11:40pm.
I went to the basement bar and discovered it to be completely full. No problem, as I don't have any friends.
I found a small area standing around an upturned barrel near the centre of the bar and joined three Sony engineers for a drink.
They were nice guys and didn't mind me taking a shot of my pint:

They even took one themselves (but the guy is using a Canon camera! - I used my Sony!).
The beer selection here is not bad.
I had a Swan Lake porter. It was nicely poured, but, as with most bars in Japan, it was just too damn cold. I had to drink slowly and try to warm the beer with my hands.
It got better eventually.
They had the standard Guinness and Kilkenny plus Tokoy black and the other Yonayona pale ale, lowenbrau and leffe on tap. They also had a nice selection of bottles. Not a bad place. Cosy.
Here's another shot of the inside:

Spring Valley revisited

Seeing as I was in the area, I thought I would revisit the Kirin Beer Villlage at Nama Mugi. Here's a shot of the seasonal beer at the Beer Villlage at Kirin's Nama mugi beer plant:

Looks good. Great head. Nice smell, but metallic taste.
The service was terrible.
They had at least 4 people working there.
I ordered my beer within 2 seconds of seeing the choice and waited more than 5 minutes for the waiter to bring me my beer.The barman was not busy. Ridiculous. Plus, I'm pretty sure he started pouring my drink then stopped and maybe changed a barrel then a long time later just topped the glass up. That's not the way to pour a beer. I had to order a second beer to take away the nasty tinny taste from the first one.
I watched the barman. He did the same again! WTF?
I tried to tell the waiter but he had no idea what I was on about.
I thought I used Japanese and English simple enough for a 2 year old but I forget that 2 year olds have open minds whereas adults do not. I gave up and sent him back to the smiling barman and manager. Idiots. I couldn't finish my weissen, because it was so metallic. They are lucky my Japanese is atrocious, o rI would have given them a piece of my mind and explained to them how to pour a beer. Idiots. Plus its always too damn cold. Rant,rant, rant.
It took me an hour to eventually find the place so I expected nice beer. Phooey! So there.

Great German Cook - German bar, Tsurumi

Another place I found by accident was the GGC in Tsurumi. The Great German Cook was the Tsurumi German Beer bar. Great!
A good selection of beer and at least one weissen on tap (Erdinger - standard). Also a nice selection of bottled beer at normal high prices. I would like to go there. The menu is quite extensive. They had a nice crowd in there when I was there. Didn't drink, just stopped to check it out. Apprently they've been there 20years. News to me.

p.s. for my up to date review, click HERE.

Patrasche -Belgian bar in Kawasaki

I found this Belgian bar which was relatively new, in the centre of Kawasaki, near the station.
It's called Patrasche.

It's on the 4th floor (see it?).
It's not cheap (hey, it's a Belgian bar, in Japan).
Here's the entrance, a little closer:
And inside:
Example of beer prices: Leffe, Orval 1,100yen. Duvel 1,300yen. Stella 900yen. Ouch.

Just been inside a cute ittle Indian, near my home.

It was an interesting experience. Not as creamy as I would have expected. My image of Indians, being expensive and extravagant in Japan has now been changed.
This Indian I have never seen before opened up, near my home. This little Indian seemed cute, colorful and rather inviting, so I went inside this Indian and tried the Indian out.
This Indian I was just inside was not at all large but rather cosy and nice and warm inside. I was half expecting my eyes to water or the intense flavors to go to my head. I had to blow my nose, near the end.
I was left feeling satisfied after about 30minutes.
I was told to 'come again', and indeed I may. But not tonight.

The Indian I'm talking about is a new restaurant, opened up near my home.
It's name is the Raj Laxmi.

It's a tiny place, with seating for about 14 (at a squeeze). 3 people seem to work there. An Indian cook, waiter and a Japanese looking lady with a nice Sari.

Nice staff. Friendly and polite. Service is prompt, friendly and not too pushy.

The second thing you notice (after the size of the place) are the prices.
Not expensive. Very reasonable, especially for Japan.
A dinner set of a curry with rice or naan , with a salad and drink (oolong tea) for 1000yen. Not bad. Draft beer is 300yen a glass or 500yen for a big glass. They have Maharaja and Kingfisher (both very good Indian pilsners) for 500yen. Not bad at all.

Here is a photo of the menu. It's in Japanese and English. There are, of crouse, the obligatory mistakes. You can see the famiLLy set choice.
You can choose two curry (curries) from bellow (does the chef scream out the choices?).
What I liked the best is that with this meal, you get a glass of bear! I've never had a bear in a glass before. Come to think of it, I've never had a bear. Great stuff.
This was the most expensive thing on the menu. a family set, 2500yen, for at least 2 people.

The meal I choose was the 2nd most expensive thing, set B.

For 1500yen, I got:

A drink of oolong tea and a salad. The salad was very basic. Just cabbage, a slice of cucumber and some corn and dressing. Not even a tomato. But it tasted okay.





Next came the chicken tandoori. Very nice it was. too. Plenty of meat on it. Very good. Not too spicy but still it had plenty of flavor.



Then it was... something else. I can't remember what this was called. I was too scared to ask, in case it was a bear's appendage or something. But it tasted good. It came with a little of the strange salad, too (I got another slice of cucumber).



Then the main course arrived. But what?
Where's my curry?
Have the naan and rice been served, without the curry?
What's going on?




A quick inspection under the naan revealed my curries! Hello, boys!!!
The green one was the special curry. It was a saag chicken curry (with spinach). A little different to most saags I've had before. Not very think and creamy. Slightly 'soup'ish. But it grew on me. No pun intended. Not very spicy. A hint of garlic, perhaps? The chicken was good and soft.

The curry to the left was the mutton curry. This was my favourite of the two. Slighlty more flavor and spicier. Went well with the naan. The naan was an ample size (as they always are) but a little plain tasting. Not the most flavoursome naan I've ever had.

Flavour was a little lacking.
Not as thick or creamy as I would have liked.
Simple salad but it tasted fine.
Plain naan was just that.
Service was good and friendly.
Price is very reasonable.
Nice selections. Maybe next time I will try their mango lassie for 450yen or perhaps a few beers.

All in all a nice meal for only 1500yen.
Not bad for Japan.
I will come again, but not tonight. I need to recover.

Verdict: 7/10.

Can't argue with value for money: 8/10
Food: Not great, not bad. 6/10

Overall: 7/10

HuaHua - Vietnamese restaurant, Hiyoshi

I went to this new restaurant this evening, to check it out.
It's on Mail road, about 200m from Hiyoshi station , Toyoko line.
It's on the 2nd floor, where the reasonably sized portions and priced Capricciosa used to be (alas).

First impression - nice.
They seemed to do a nice job with the interior.
Had a defenite 'ethnic' feel to it.
The main window was nicely designed with plants outside and soft lighting lending it that jungle feel.
Excuse me if my typing is wierd, the old guy next door is snoring. Hate snoring.

Well, here are some pics of the place. My battery was low (didn't use my LCD screen to check on picture quality) on my camera and I didn't want to be too rude to the other customers, so the pics may not be so great.

Okay, ready to order.

I ordered gou cuon (raw spring rolls), ran muog zao toi (vegetables cooked with garlic and perhaps oyster sauce), ga luang na chauh (chicken something - damn, I was doing fine until then), canh ga chien muoe man (fried chicken, more or less) and of course, a beer. The beer on tap is Carslberg.

First to arrive were the spring rolls. They were very quick to arrive, which leads me to wonder if they were in fact freshly made or made that morning and just pulled out of the fridge.

They looked nice.
Not very big. They came with 2 sauces. one sweet and one peanut sauce. Neither at all spicy. Quite bland, actually. Not much flavor.
I was worried that they were doing the 'Japanese version' on us. Quite a few places over here adjust the food so it is more suitable for 'Japanese tastes'. Indian food is less spicy, McDonalds hamburgers are different. Even CocaCola has a slightly different drink for this country!
The price was 600yen for 2. Not cheap. 3 mouthfuls and they were gone.
2.5-3/5
The beer tasted a little strange at first but got better on the second taste.

Next to arrive were the vegetables.

These were nice at first, with the garlic flavor enigorating to the senses. But then the saltiness prevailed. Too salty. Think maybe too much oyster sauce or soemthing. They were still ok to eat. Not bad, but just a little too salty. Pity. At 800yen, a lot to pay but the portion was not too bad. Enough for 2.

2.5-3/5

Next were the fried chicken wings.

I'm not a fan of these. Tricky to eat and not much meat. But they tasted okay, after letting them cool down (they were so hot!). Lemon taste. Nicely lightly fried. Not bad.
Little oily.

2.5/5

Then we got the rice dish thingy...well, just look at the picture.

This was not as big as I'd hoped, but it was quite good. THe pot is still hot, so the rice is burning slightly at the bottom (adds to the flavor). Mixed in with some mushrooms and perhaps some nuts or something. It was tasty. At 900yen, it should be! Would have expected more.

3/5.


Then we had the chicken breast.

This was perhaps the best course. Nice sized breast, cut into strips. Served on a bed of lettuce. Gentle taste to it. soft texture. Lemony taste to it. Not at all spicy. 800yen.

3/5.

By now my hands were very greasy. I couldn't help noticing my wet towel was gone. I thought perhaps the waitress took it with one of the plates. It was then that I noticed I'd stuffed the towel between my legs, whilst I was taking pictures.
Damn.

Now I looked like I just pissed myself.
And this was exactly whenI wanted to get up and pay the bill.
5 minutes later, I got up and paid the bill.

Overall, nice enough interior (though a little tacky in places).
Bad choice of music (they had some whacky jazz playing. something softer would have suited the place better).
Bland food - more spicy, please!
Not so reasonable prices, but then this is Japan.
Convenient location.
Reasonable beer (no place can beat the 500yen, 500ml Lowenbrau steiners I can get at the pizzeria place close by). At 400yen for a 300ml or so glass. Not too bad. And I like Carlsberg. Better than Asahi super shite or Kirin ichiban happoushu, in my book.

Overall: Almost 3/5.

Reviews coming soon!

Gonna put reviews here of bars, restaurants, cafes, etc in Japan. mostly in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. Check it out.