Asakusa’s VIRAL Street Food Hunt — Is It Worth the Hype?

Asakusa’s VIRAL Street Food Hunt — Is It Worth the Hype?

Today we are in Asaka, Tokyo’s most iconic, historic, and busy neighborhoods. And today I’m going to be trying Asaka’s most viral foods. From crispy curry breads to torched matcha crepes to even melon bread sandwiches, which are a little bit of a retro food in this area, and I’m going to be trying it all. There’s going to be a lot of food today, so stick with me. But before we get started, don’t forget to subscribe for more fun Japan adventures like this one. Let’s go eat. It’s getting quite hot, so I have my fan out now. Very asaka. But I’m now at this shop called Tokyo Kare Pan or Tokyo Curry Pan. And this shop is a bit of a newer shop. It opened in around 2022, I believe. But they’re known for having two really unique curry breads. Curry bread being a crispy deep fried kind of doughut with like crispy panco on the outside and curry, Japanese curry on the inside. And what’s special about this one is that it is filled with this really really stretchy cheese. So you get this amazing cheese pull and it’s drizzled with truffle oil. So it smells amazing. And the second one is really recommended because it has a cutlet, a deep fried pork cutlet inside of the curry bread, which is very rare and they only make 30 a day. So if you want to try this earlier is better. Since both of these are quite special, I think I’m going to get one of each. Let’s do it. All right. I have my two curry breads. These are a bit special because most curry breads are deep fried and these ones are actually baked. So, I think you could say it’s marginally healthier than other curry breads. So, I can’t wait to see what the texture of this is going to be like. Let’s start with the cutlet one cuz I’ve never ever had a curry cutlet bread before. Although cutlet curry does exist, but this is a new combo. Let’s give it a try. M. That’s really hearty. It feels like I’m eating a burger is the like the amount of meatiness that’s in there. There’s two buns and then one really thick deep fried meat cutlet patty with a little bit of cheese and a little bit of curry. I think maybe there might be more curry at the bottom. Yeah, it’s mostly like a cutlet burger. It’s really good. Also, I love the um light flakiness of the panco. It’s not as crisp obviously if you deep fry it. The bread, I should also mention, is super doughy and fluffy. It is a really nice bun. That’s tasty. Okay, it’s time to try the cheesy one now. I have to say the aroma of the truffle is incredible. It’s so tantalizing. It smells so good. M. Okay, I haven’t gotten much cheese yet, but I have to say the bread is fantastic. It’s a really mochi like texture. Really chewy. Really bouncy. Okay, let me take another bite. See if we can get some cheese. Okay, let’s see if I can pull it apart, though. Here we go. Oh, not bad. No, [Music] this h I’ve seen better cheese poles, I got to say. But the flavor is topnotch. It is a creamy cheese, not like a really sticky, rubbery mozzarella cheese. And maybe that’s why you don’t get the cheese pull that you would hope for. However, the dough of the bread is definitely worth coming for. And just this like baked flaky goodness is so wonderful. And that truffle aroma is so good. But out of the two, the cheese or the cutlet, I think I prefer the cutlet one a little bit more. Still really good though. give it a try. My next stop is right here. It’s called Emoipi and it’s a sweet potato shop. They specialize in just serving sweet potatoes with different toppings. The popular item in particular is this baked sweet potato brulee. So, they put sugar on top and they brulee it with a blowtorrch. It’s really tasty. And for those of you guys who’ve been watching for many years on Japan by food, you may know that we’ve actually featured emoipi before in Nada when I was visiting Nata Prefecture. But this is actually a viral food here in Asaka as well. So if you’re visiting Asaka, I think you should give this a try. You don’t need to go all the way to Nata to eat it. Here we go. It looks so good. Smells really sweet and delicious, too. Look at this melty butter. That looks so yummy. Okay, so I have to go to the eating area, which is five doors down apparently. So, let’s go over there and eat. I’m going to start with the honey butter sweet potato. Um, because the butter has already melted, so it looks a little different right now. It’s leaked out this wonderful honey butter mixture. It looks wonderful. Another great thing about the sweet potatoes at this shop is apparently they’ve been matured for 3 months prior to grilling it and they grill it really slowly on a low heat and that allows it to keep this like sweetness and kind of cake like gooey texture. So these are really good sweet potatoes. Let’s see how it is with the honey and the butter. Oh my goodness, that is so sweet. The texture is really gooey and delicious. It really tastes like a dessert. I think Japanese sweet potatoes are nature’s slightly healthier dessert. And it becomes a little bit less healthy once you cover it in butter and maybe honey, but still very nutritious, I think. Yum. And quite filling. Maybe don’t buy two like I did. Just get one. I know, so many choices, but just buy one. Okay, now it’s time to try the famous creme brulee sweet potato. So, this is the one that actually is really viral. Um, people love this one. And what’s fun about it is that you can crack the top. It’s actually really rock hard. Wow. Oh, that is that is really satisfying. Actually, it was like breaking glass. And the inside there’s this custard, like a creme brulee pudding custard. Oh, that looks so good. And then the sweet potato underneath. M. Oh, that’s so That’s so creamy. It’s like eating a custard pudding. Oh my god. I think the shard of sugar just went down my esophagus in like a big chunk. I can feel it going down. Make sure to chew those chunks properly. I don’t know if I chewed it, but flavor-wise, I think this tastes better than the other one. This one is definitely special. The kind of melty sweet potato blends in really nicely with the custard. And then the little chunks of sugar on top make for a really fun addition to it. It’s a mix between a healthy food and a real dessert. It’s good. [Music] Our next Asaka viral food is right here at Asaka Chaya Taba Ninoi. And it’s conveniently right across from the eating space where I enjoyed my creme brulee sweet potatoes. And the food that I’m going to be getting here today that’s viral is a creme brulee matcha crepe this time, but it’s got a torched topping. Lots of people here looking at it. And the cool thing about this shop is that they are apparently serve very high quality matcha. It comes from Kakawa Shizoka Prefecture, which is really famous for its matcha production. And apparently they source their matcha from a an awardwinning tea farm in Kakawa. So we can expect the matcha to be very tasty. Okay, I have it. It has a gold leaf on top that looks like it’s in danger of blowing away. It looks so good. And they freshly blow torch each one in front of you when you go pick it up. It’s very fun to watch. Also, I wanted to point out this beautiful decoration on here. This is called a mizuhiki. And you can also you can often find it on gift giving envelopes. Like when you’re going to give uh money as a gift to someone, you have to give them in a fancy envelope to symbolize good fortune and connection with others through the act of tying the knot. So this is really nice and it’s very tied tied with the name of the shop which is tabanoshi which is another type of string tying that are tied into sort of a bouquet and it’s like wrapped around the middle and this is also meant to signify bringing people together as well. So anyway, a little meaning behind that. Let’s dig in and see how the creme brulee crepe tastes with matcha. M M I don’t know what that chunk was that I that I got. It almost tastes like a a pecan nut. It was a bit confusing because you also get this wonderful crispy crunch from the brulee topping. The cream, it’s kind of like a matcha custard almost. There’s whipped cream. I think we have to try a bite of the actual crepe though. That’s really tasty. It’s actually very distinctly matcha in the sense that it’s like rather on the bitter side, but enough balance with the sweet elements that it doesn’t feel too overpowering. If you like matcha, I think you’ll really enjoy this dessert. Crispy, creamy, delicious, and the crepe is nice and chewy. I thought I’d explained everything that was in this. There’s more at the bottom. There’s actual matcha ice cream that is really refreshing and it keeps it from feeling too sweet from the custard. There’s also randomly a saltine cracker in it, which is not the cracker I would have expected to find in it, but it had ever so slightly just a little bit of saltiness that again balances off that richness and the the heaviness. It’s a very interesting crepe. I quite enjoy it though. The deeper you get, the more refreshing it gets. I am on this cute little retro alley right now and my next stop is actually right here. It’s called Asaka Unagi Unana and it opened in the year 2020 in the midst of the pandemic but they’re still here today. So clearly they’ve hung on and uh they are known for having these grilled rice balls called yaki oni with grilled eel on top. And apparently their whole goal was to be able to serve Japanese eel at a reasonable price. And apparently their eel is sourced from Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. And yeah, it looks really delicious. I love a great grilled oni for those of you who know me. And with eel on it. I think it’ll be really, really good. Let’s give it a try. So cute, too. This alley is so freaking cute. you don’t. And it’s really quiet for some reason, but all of the shops are painted. It’s very artsy looking. Look how cute this is. There’s like a little daruma on the top of the sign, flowers. It’s so cute. Okay, let’s go eat. Now, here’s our eating spot. What’s quite interesting is that I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of shops in Asaka these days that have designated eating spaces. So, it’s a little bit more organized than other parts of town from what I’ve noticed. Cuz a lot of other shops around the city, maybe you can eat directly in front of the shop. But I’m imagining that in Asaka, since it’s usually so crowded, they just need to be able to control the crowds a little bit and make sure people have a space to eat. So make sure to pay attention to where the eating spaces is when they bring you your food. But speaking of which, here’s the food. Oh, here we go. Oh, it smells so good. Looks tasty. unagi on a grilled rice ball. It looks really amazing. It’s got a really, I’d say, generous chunk of unagi on it. They’ve also very generously brushed it with the unagi teriyaki sauce as well as on the rice here. M. There’s actually quite a lot of rice in this. The meat is really yummy. It’s got a little bit of like a smokiness on the top. If you haven’t had unagi before, they have little tiny soft bones in it, which you can’t really remove. So, some people don’t really like that very much. You just get like a little bit of tiny little pieces of crunch from these soft bones. You can just eat them and swallow them. They’re not going to hurt you. And there’s this little hint of the numbing spice, which you don’t really notice too much. It’s more just like a little bit of fragrance, but they do ask you if you want it or not. So, you can choose with or without the sunshell pepper. It’s tasty. One thing that could take this to the next level is actually if they really crisped up the grilling of the rice in the bottom. Like I really like a nice crispy edge on a grilled rice ball cuz right now everything just feels really chewy and soft. I think it lacks that crispiness. That’s the only thing that I would say from constructive criticism. Otherwise, if you like unagi, this is a treat. It’s good. All right, so I’m going to finish this off. Let’s go find some other popular viral foods. All right. So, my next viral food is this melon pan ice cream sandwich. We had to grab it really fast because they just shut down the shop. Okay, so we got here just in time. It closes at 4:30, but they only had two breads left. So, we got like the second last one, and now they’re shutting down cuz they’re out of bread. So, that’s how popular it is. And you could see people lining up for this. All right. So, it’s closing. So, it looks super closed right now, but that’s how popular it is. They’ve closed early. I decided to get their cookies and cream ice cream, and it’s sandwiched in between a freshly baked piping hot melon bread. And honestly, this bread is so crispy, and it’s got these chunky pieces of granulated sugar. And it gets its name, melon bread, not from a melon flavor, but from its melon-like appearance. And apparently they make this shape of bread using a rice mold and that’s where it got its distinctive shape. But apparently it may have also been inspired by a Mexican uh bread called konchas. And this might have been brought over from the US after World War II finished. So actually the origins of melon bread are widely contested. Nobody knows where it came from but it probably appeared in the late Taiisho era to early Showa era. And this particular shop, Kagitadol, has been around since 1945. So, this is truly a local snack. Locals love it and also travelers love it, too. Melon pan on its own is also really tasty. Uh, why don’t we give this a try before it completely melts. M, it’s so good. So crispy on the outside and the ice cream is so refreshing. This is legitimately so tasty. I forgot to mention, we’ve actually featured this melon bread shop before in an Asaka food tour that I joined with the lovely tour guide, Lauren. And I felt like I had to come back here again because we had just the melon bread on its own, which is really freshly baked and toasty and lovely, but the ice cream is the most viral thing you could get at this shop. So, I thought we’d have to feature it again as an local asex viral food. And I would say it’s worth it. It’s really refreshing on a hot day. Just be careful. It melts pretty fast. Oh, hi buddy. Did you want some crumbs? He’s so cute. I’m here now at Asaka Mincchi, which has been around since 2010, so 15 years. And they have a really delicious, juicy pork and beef cutlet. They use a type of pork called koa pork, which is from Kanagawa Prefecture. and it’s known as being one of the 100 best foods of Karea Prefecture and it’s called it’s known as dream pork. So the pork is apparently really good and they mix it with a Japanese black beef and they add these really nice chunky onions and the juiciness and crispiness is kind of what makes it go viral. As you can see there’s a lot of people lining up for it. So let’s go get it and let’s taste it and see if it still tastes just as good. Let’s give it a try. This is This is for you guys. Yay! Getto I’ve got myself a freshly deep fried piping hot minced meat cutlet. Uh there’s an eating space over there. There are signs everywhere that says you cannot eat on this street. So, let’s go to the eating spot. All right, here we go. This is the Asaka Menchi. Menchi means minced meat in Japanese. It is so hot. Like piping hot. The the panco on the outside is crisp. If I had like a knife, it would go. Take a look. Let’s dig in while it’s still piping hot. M. I don’t know if you can hear it, but it is so crispy. That crunch is extremely satisfying. Really, really crunchy crispy exterior. And the meat on the inside is so juicy. I don’t know how they keep it so juicy, but it just kind of like oozes juice. And what really is striking about this particular minced meat cutlet is it has these really big chunks of onions and that adds a bit of sweetness to it. You can’t even really tell that it’s a pork and beef blend, but it works really nicely. Also, I feel like the price is really good. The price for one of these is 350 yen, which at this moment in time is less than $3 US with the exchange rate. So, I feel like cost performance-wise, it’s pretty good. It’s hearty. Um, and it’s just like a very affordable snack on the go. It’s tasty. [Music] My last stop of the day is right here at Hatya Asaka in Tokyo where they serve this beautiful matcha latte using very high quality matcha. This shop actually originates from Kyoto. Their Kyoto hatya shop opened in 2019 and due to its popularity, they decided to open one right here in Asaka in 2023. And what’s cool about this building is that they actually renovated a very old house right next to the Sumidagawa River in Asaka. And it’s a 70-year-old house that was made without using any nails. So, they reformed that into this kind of historic building. And I think it is time for us to try this viral matcha latte. Let’s give it a try. I got it. It’s so pretty. It looks so good. And she even whisked the matcha on the spot. So, it’s like freshly whisked, freshlymade matcha. I love it. Looks so tasty. Let’s give it a try. Oh, that is so good. I’m not going to lie, this is much better than I was expecting. I think part of me expected it to be like overly sweet. A lot of these dessert looking matcha lattes or matcha shakes are a little bit overpoweringly sweet. This one uh is very refreshing. I would drink this even just to cool down in the summer. The milk on the bottom is I don’t know what it is about it. It’s really creamy. It’s icy cold, so it’s really refreshing. She did recommend a little bit of syrup in it, and that was the perfect amount. Also, I should mention that the ice cream and the mochi balls called chiratana are optional. Let’s mix it together and give it a try. Wow, that’s a nice matcha latte. It’s really not very sweet. This is personally exactly what I want out of a matcha latte. There’s a faint amount of sweetness, but you can still taste the subtle bitterness of the matcha tea. And I like my matcha to actually taste like matcha and not try to cover it up with sugar and milk. So I think it kind of hits that perfect balance. Like this is something I could eat a lot of and not get tired of. I like it. Viral for a good reason, I think. Well, that basically wraps up my day trying out a whole bunch of viral foods here in Asaka. And I’m ending my day in front of the iconic Tokyo Sky Tree, which is just across the river. I think my favorite viral foods of the day are basically a tie between the kagitudo melon pan ice cream sandwich that was really good. So freshly baked with the melty ice cream inside. It’s so good. And then I also really loved the Tokyo kare pan. The Tokyo curry bread. Both the one with the cutlet and the cheese. Both were fantastic. And then the third one that’s right up there has got to be Asaka Mincchi, the Asaka minced meat cutlet. So those three are kind of up there. I don’t know which one is my favorite out of them. It probably depend on my mood for the day if I’m craving something sweet or savory. And that’s probably the only thing that would tilt the scales. So yeah, I hope that you guys give those a try. Everything that I tried today was very good. There wasn’t anything that I thought didn’t deserve to be viral. Anyway, if you guys want to explore Asaka a little bit more and even do a bit more of a deep dive, I totally recommend doing a tour or a fun experience here because there are tons available. Uh I even joined one several years ago with a lovely tour guide named Lauren. But those tours are still available and there’s even so much more to choose from. There’s even like a sumo experience. So, if you come here and you want something fun to do rather than just eat food, then check out and the QR code on the screen and then links in the description down below. And I’m sure you’ll find a plethora of fun activities. So, anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this video. Let me know in the comments down below which food or drink spoke out to you the most today. And let me know if you’ve tried any of them before. See you guys in the next video. Bye. Sky Tree. If you enjoyed this video, click the photos on the left for more and click the one on the right to learn more about buy food and book your own Japan adventures.

Shizuka’s quest to try the most viral food continues! Join us as we step into Asakusa, the home to the infamous shrine packed with street food alleys. This time Shizuka is trying SEVEN viral street foods… Are they worth the hype?

Here we’ve covered almost all kinds of street food you can possibly think of ー from curry bread, karaage, dango, sandwiches, melon pan, to various kinds of brûlée (they’ve got sweet potato AND matcha options). Not only are they viral, but also a must-try especially when you have Asakusa Temple on your to-go list!

Curious to experience all the food like Shizuka? Simply book Asakusa Food Tour 🍡 with byFood: http://bit.ly/3TMUCSb

Tell us in the comments if you have tried any of them! What are your thoughts?!

Tokyo Curry Pan
📍1-20-4 Asakusa, Taito-ku

Imo Pippi
📍2-3-24 Asakusa

Asakusa Menchi
📍2-3-3 Asakusa

Asakusa Kagetsudo
📍2-7-13 Asakusa

Asakusa Chaya Tabanenoshi
📍2-7-7 Asakusa

Asakusa Unana
📍2-7-21 Asakusa

Hatoya Asakusa
📍2-14-3 Hanakawado

*About byFood*
ByFood is a platform that connects foodies with food experiences in Japan, from bustling food markets to serene countryside tastings. Besides exploring Japanese food culture in an authentic way, your booking fuels positive change! For every booking, we donate 10 meals to children in need through our Food for Happiness program. Ready for your next food adventure?

Browse trending restaurants and award-winning menus ➡️ https://bit.ly/3IBQ7Et
Find and book food experiences in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and beyond ➡️ https://bit.ly/4agznyx
Want a tailor-made Japan experience? Let our travel experts craft culinary experiences just for you ➡️ https://bit.ly/48NU6dm

*Follow byFood online for more food and travel tips from Japan!*
Japan byFood on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/japanbyfood
Japan byFood on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/japanbyfood
Japan byFood on X: https://twitter.com/japanbyfood