Many people go to the Tsukiji market and ask me where to go. Many people know the famous places but I don’t like to wait a long time to eat food that does not taste so differently. What I’ve learned recently is that each restaurant gets special pick of the fish at Tsukiji so they specialize. The trick is to find the special store for a type of fish or in this case uni.

I recently went to Uni Tora. I often eat Uni but I don’t understand it. Why? Because sometimes the Uni can be really good and sometimes really bad Uni, the color can be light yellow or very brown,  and the texture can be hard or soft. So I never know what kind of Uni I will get. It is also difficult to pick a good uni place in Tsukiji. But this problem was solved with a trip to Uni Tora in Tsukiji. http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131301/13037980/

All of the Uni came from different parts of Japan and I did not note this but here is what I do know.

1. Very yellow/almost light yellow uni tastes light and not particularly flavorful. It also tends to be a bit chewy.
2. The smooth orange uni had a palatable texture and a nice taste.  This was my favorite
3. The very dark uni had a richer taste but the texture was very soft and not that pleasurable.
4. The mix color of 2&3 had a rich taste and a soft texture. This was my 2nd favorite.

So try to avoid the very dark or the very light colored uni and check the texture. I tend not to look it too mushy.  When you are in Tsukiji, do go to uni tora in Tsukiji. It is a bit pricey but has great food and its a fun experience to try different uni.