Hibiya Bar Ikebukuro

When hubby and I were invited to dinner with his professor and a fellow PhD colleague up in Ikebukuro, little did we know we were going to get treated to the best yakiniku meal we've ever had! And it wasn't just the food but also the company that made meal fantastic - the whole time, we were chatting about anime, manga, and Korean dramas xD

Caught hubby unsuspecting on the train ride ^.^

After dinner, hubby's colleague A-san further invited us out for a few drinks at his favorite Hibiya Bar. The bar is in a building right in front of Ikebukuro Station, but is hidden in the second basement. Apparently not too many people know about the place, and I was told on weekdays the place is frequented by only a couple of patrons. A-san took us here because according to him, the bartender, K-san, is a cocktail master and he makes excellent drinks. And plus Ikebukuro is his college town, so to speak, so he knows all the nooks and crannies of it and wanted to introduce to us the best of its corners.

Okay, we went along and were game, but honestly that was my very first time going to a bar for drinks. I've been clubbing only a couple of times during college, but never a bar. Hubby will drink a glass or two of wine or a couple of pints of beer, but I'm no drinker at all. I neither like the taste of alcohol, nor can I take much of it. If you catch hubby in a good mood he'd tell you my embarrassing dinner with his family, when I met his grandmother for the first time. Let's just say we didn't have any dinner that night because my face was in my food. Ahh...the college days...

Hubby and his colleague, A-san.

Anyway, we ordered some snacks right away, and I have to say those were some of the best wasabi and kimchee flavored crackers I've ever had! And boy did K-san whipped up some delicious Fuzzy Navel! It was so good and I couldn't taste any alcohol in it, so I downed it in a flash. That resulted in a stern warning from hubby that he won't be able to carry me on a crowded train home LOL! But I ignored him and chatted up the nice gal sitting next to me, M-san ^.^

Hubby, me, and M-san.

M-san and I ended up sharing drinks as she wanted me to try K-san's original concoctions with whichever liquor/liqueur she was in the mood for. By the end of the night, we traded phone numbers and we promised future visits whenever one person is in town. Now I sort of see why people go to bars! Either way, damn, K-san made some yummy cocktails!