-
Posts
1,999 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Everything posted by Peter Green
-
We've been picking manga up from the overhead racks in the Tokyo subway. Nobody seems to leave the good stuff lying around, though.
-
Well, the boy and his horde are still on Naruto Shippuden (young ninjas doing odd things with their hands by themselves....don't think about it too much) The boy says.......D Gray Man, Bleach, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann That's not English, is it?
-
March 17 – Culture Scud was now, officially, in Japan, and it was time to get in some of the traditional culture of the country. We were off for Takarazuka. Coming out of the station, you’re struck by what a pretty, tidy place it is, backing up against the hills out here . The walkway along the river is clean and well tended. There are postcard English tea houses wherever you look and everywhere we went there were souvenirs, all related to the Takarazuka Review, an all female production company (contrast this with traditional Kabuki) that’s been performing here since 1913. We’d passed a huge screen back at the station in Osaka that was advertising for this, the current production being Me and My Girl, and there was a crowd thronging the theatre proper, on the lookout for a star or two. It all had the most…..”proper”….air about it. Quite refreshing, after the hectic jumble of downtown Osaka. I had to suppress an urge to raise my pinky finger as I shot video. Obviously we hadn’t come all the way out here to get in touch with our inner housewives. Our purpose was to take in the Tezuka Osamu museum. Mr., or rather, Dr. Tezuka (he studied and gradueated as a physician) is probably the most influential of all manga/anime creators. Miyazake Hayao is justifiably famous, and just as important in many ways, particularly with fueling the current craze for anime that’s been burning for the last couple of decades, but Tezuka Osamu is the one that created most of the stereotypes we expect in Japanese comics nowadays. The “big eyes”? He incorporated that style from Betty Boop cartoons, and made it the trademark of all cute anime characters (there’s a question, did the famous velvet paintings of children, dogs, and clowns also develop from Betty?). Treasure Island was his first big hit, the one that made him commercially successful, and they’ve got original pages from that here. And then there’s Kimba the White Lion, the tale of a young prince of lions who’s uncle steals his birthright and……Oh, you know this story? ☺ He also popularized the more adult approach to manga in the 60’s and 70’s with new stories incorporating characters such as Black Jack and “A Woman of Ill-Repute In the Land of Deep Congo”. But, hey, did I mention Astro Boy? You gotta love Astro Boy. At first, in front of the museum, we were going to brill cream our hair into that little trade-mark swizzle he has, and then Scud pointed out that I don’t have enough hair. After Scud got up off the ground and healed a bit we went inside. Now, bear in mind that I’m partial to this sort of thing. I like time-lines, and I like following a story that I already pretty much know. It makes it easier on old folks like me. It’s still a good story. A young boy with real talent, who’s family wants him to be a doctor (and he does, too, as he wants to help people), but who maintains another personality centered around his art. And when you look at what he was doing as a little kid, something you need to come here to see in the pages on display, you get a feel for someone with the cinematic story-board type skills of Will Eisner. An excellent summary of his life, and of the development of his work, along with a film that, even if it is in Japanese, makes sense once you’ve read through the supporting material in the museum’s primary displays. Plus, the theatre’s ceiling is great, with details of all his characters out there somewhere. That was the other thing about Osamu’s work. He carried his characters with him, from story to story, line to line, building a cast of characters that his audience could start to recognize as “stars” of manga. Yeah, okay, I’m groveling too much. But, if you do have a real interest in manga and anime, this place is one of those stops you have to make as a pilgrim. Alternatively, you could have a life, instead. ☺ With Scud I fell early into a bad routine. We would rise relatively late, make rude jokes, and then I would get enough coffee into me to be articulate (“better articu-late than never” “If I was bigger, I’d hurt you for that”). Then we’d go to do something, and invariably end up not eating when we should. Unfortunately, Scud shares his mother’s requirement for regular feeding. It must be the Aisan genes. This was one of those cases. We were out here in Takarazuka, with lots of petite tea shops and Italian restaurants, and loads of places where people can compliment each other on how their hair looks just like Marge Simpson’s, and there wasn’t a place to get a fast bit of food (cucumber sandwiches are not food, in our book. If you disagree, write your own book). But, if there’s a station, there’s a mall. And if there’s a mall, there has to be a collection of restaurants there somewhere. Sure enough, back near the train we found a corner of eateries on the ground floor. We eschewed the Chinese, considered the fried, dismissed the hot pots, and finally settled on ramen. You can always count on finding a ramen place. Scud went for a straightforward bowl of noodles, the standard fare of Naruto in his early years (in Shippuden he only gets the chance from time to time, but still seizes it when available). Me? I had ramen with gyoza and pork. Lots of the white end of spring onions sliced up and tossed in for colour and crunch, and the greens for smell. It’s an odd thing, and I struggle with the concept, but there’s this thing in Japan (and Korea) that you should take crispy fired items, such as tempura or gyoza, and put them in a wet environment, where they’ll lose those characteristics we admire so much in deep fried foods. My nephew, Jason, tried to explain it one time, but it was one of those explanations that required a lot of soju. Not the fanciest of lunches, or the most memorable (Scud can’t remember it), but at least here, any meal is going to have some good to it. “Hey, I like ramen!” says the boy. So do I. Where’d I put the hair grease? Next: We haven’t even begun to Otaku
-
March 29 – The Breakfast Report I’ll step out of the timeline for an update, this being our last full day in Tokyo. Tomorrow will be an affair of suitcases, getting from Roppongi to Narita, returning phones, and making sure that the boy gets checked into his flight, at which point I'll find the Cathay Lounge and settle down for the flight to Hong Kong. While I’ve been prepacking this morning, Scud’s been conducting important research. It’s always wise in Japan to be carrying a certain amount in case places like the one we’d just hit don’t take cards. Rona had advised that the two places you can count on for honouring foreign cash withdrawals were the Post Office and 7-11. And, of the two, you’ll have more luck finding a 7-11. (As an aside, I remember in the literature that most people would keep their savings with the Post Office in Japan, rather than banks. Is this still the case?) Of course, while I was taking care of high finance, the boy had been scouring the place for manga and Pocky. Given our limited remaining time, he picked up three that he hadn’t tried yet. Each box carried three foiled packets of four sticks, each stick noticeably thicker than regular Pocky. Two of these were Marble Pocky. One was done with white, which Scud felt just tasted like the vanilla flavour used in industrial ice cream, while the other was chocolate on chocolate, with the background of the brown flavour used in industrial ice cream (I was slow on the mark, he’d already researched his way through the first box). The other was New Pocky. This appeared to be the same as regular Pocky, but smaller and thinner. Take this in contrast with Men’s Pocky (which we already covered) which doesn’t get thinner with age and is more bitter. We didn’t have a "regular" to compare directly, Scud having devoured the contents of a sack of Pocky yesterday in record time, which only allowed me to get this blurred “Bigfoot” style shot from when he was ravaging the contents of the packets but a stick count showed that New Pocky came with twenty-three pieces in a foil pack, compared to the 17 in the regular. That’s enough science for now. Back soon.
-
eG Foodblog: fengyi - Win(e)ing and Dining in Beijing
Peter Green replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
I forgot to answer this most pressing demand..... HOOTERS - yes, the first in Beijing just opened last year. I haven't any pictures (not really the sort of place I would go -though I've been dragged to the one in Shanghai....) but Google will prove its existence ← Yes! We need those pictures! Remember, it's in the interest of science! Peter P.S. - I was looking at those tomatoes and thinking of "tomatoes in snow" buried under confectioner's sugar...... -
John, I'll wrap up the overview of the three cities at the end, but I have to say I like the Osakans. As I wrap up now in Tokyo, I find I miss the place. I only found out about the 1700 yen a night place later when I picked up one of the green flyers from the tourist info folks. As was, I paid a few times more, but not outrageously so. And I felt it was the right atmosphere for the Osaka stay. More soon. Peter
-
Now I take it right that you're looking for "cocktails" in particular, not just pleasant bars? I believe Indus was trying to do some new things with cocktails, with a South Asian slant. But that was a year ago or more. Syn in the Raffles was also trying to lift the profile on mixed drinks. I'd met an Israeli mixologist who was consuling there and at Indus about two years ago who was working on their skills and repertoire. I've had decent martinis in Q, but good luck keeping them from being spilled on you. And then you have to deal with the ladies with big hands and deep voices. Aqua at the Four Seasons courtyard is very comfortable, and they're good with martinis. Oh, and just because you have to, if it's not raining, do Vertigo on the Banyan Tree's roof. The cocktails are competent (at least the martinis) and the view is spectacular. I try to get a couple of drinks in there every now and then. Hmmm, there must be more......
-
March 16 – Music for Airports Why is the music I hear so dated? As I waited for Scud at domestic arrivals at Itami, they were playing Beautiful Dreamer. I’d arrived about an hour early, giving myself enough time to be lost, but the directions I’d been given proved exemplary. I was having an Asahi (I think. I just asked for “biru”, but I think I saw Asahi ads), and they brought some edamame out, as you can’t “just drink” in Asia. I like edamame with drinks. It’s a toss up of these or Columbian potatoes. I’m not certain which is better with a cold beer. I was keeping one eye on the arrivals board and the other on the crowd. There seemed to be an inordinate number of people wearing dark sunglasses at 8 p.m. As you’ll have gathered from the postings, the boy made it without any problems, unless you count the loss of any sense of how to dress (a blue and white Vancouver Canucks’ coat, of all things. At least I can spot him in a crowd). We manhandled the luggage back through the monorail and the underground to our place near Dobutsuen-mae. I’d had them add a futon for Scud, and that, with the suitcases, meant we basically had to step on each other for the next few days. Interesting times make for interesting memories, I told him. “Do we have internet?” “Yes.” “Okay, this’ll do.” Our next big concern was to get some food in us. I hustled us back to the upscale side of the tracks in Shinsekai, and we did a quick tour of the restaurants. Very quick. It was only around 10, but everything was shutting down. Some of the places we’d considered on the first pass were closed when we got back. Heck, even these guys were stuck out on the street with nowhere to go. I’d been seeing this odd, fat statue for awhile around town (and had first seen it here in Shinsekai). Rona had mentioned that it was the Billiken, and had been created by an American as the mascot for the Shinsekai area. I dug into it a bit (I love the internet age), and this sprite originally came to a Ms. Florence Pretz of Kansas City in a dream. She patented it (?) in 1908, and then the same guys that had made a success of the Teddy Bear from Theodore Roosevelt figured they could repeat this with William Taft. We all know how well that went over (“William who?”) But when Lunar Park was in its heyday in Shinsekai, back in 1912, the Billyken was “enshrined as a symbol of Americana and there was revered as The God of Things As They Ought To Be”….which does sort of sound like William Taft. One report has it that he’s seen as the “second coming of Ebisu, the merchant god”. Briefly, I toyed with the idea of just feeding Scud ice cream from the vending machine, but then I had a background idea of what Yoonhi would do to me if she found out (and I know she’s reading this). Anyone want to jump in and identify what’s on offer here? I’m assuming the top right is green tea (one of Serena’s favourite flavours)? With everything shutting down, and that fat, gold guy mocking me with his tuft of hair, I’d go with a landmark, and gave Zuboraya another shot, but this time the modern hall across the street from where I’d eaten before. They were a little cautious…okay, they were a lot cautious. We needed to be out by 11, which, at this point, only gave us 45 minutes to eat. I assured them of my good intentions, and we settled down for Scud’s first meal in Japan. “You can never go wrong with fried things,” and we started with a tempura of prawns, vegetables, and some really nice little mushrooms, their heads just peeking out of the covers. Scud wanted sushi, and this he got. Uni, prawn, squid, unagi, tuna, and two types of fish I couldn’t identify, but the yellow one had a very nice fat content. And then we finished, just in time, with a nabe of king crab. Nice and fresh, with lots of greens and mushrooms. And there might’ve been a few flasks of sake there. I wonder where they came from? Back at the room, while I enjoyed a Suntory and Scud ate some prawn crackers, we caught up on important stuff, like what had happened in Naruto Shippuden (I didn’t want to know), and the price of tea in China. At this point I opened up the plum liqueur jello that I’d put in the fridge to set (Rona talked of this earlier). I did show off the Sparkling Hop can to Scud. He was really impressed by the ribbed texture on the can, giving it a lingering feel and came up with one of those insightful comments only the youth of today can make…. “Hmm. Someone on crack could spend hours with this can.” Now we can get started on the odd parts. Next: Crisco In the Hair
-
Yes! I need a can of that before I go! I love the way that fin just sort of hangs in there!
-
Rona, "Dogs and cats." This is the problem when my notes get sloppy and the days pass by (and I get old and grey) I should have bought some of that fugu sake! I didn't realize it was for drinking. I wonder if I can find it anywhere here in Tokyo? Oh, and the "special desserts", I should send some back with Scud for his school buddies. Yeah, yeah, I really will get back to work soon. Hiroyuki, yes, we should get some shots of me in there at some point. Scud took over the still camera once he arrived, while I worked the beast for video, so we'll see if there's anything publishable (although the last shot was pretty close....maybe it had too much hair?)
-
Whoops, double post. While I'm here, you'll be glad to know I've got my hands on a Michelin guide, finally. They were sold out at the places here in Roppongi, but the Kinokuniya at Shinjuku had them at the counter. This should allow me to do a better job of planning out my remaining meals. We have a very late appointment tonight at Ryugin which should be interesting. But you'll have to wait for the writeup on that. A place I'll endorse heartily at this time is Popeye's Beer Club. Again, that'll get a fuller write up later. Can anyone recommend a brew pub in the Roppongi area? I've been to Hobgoblin now, and the Hub. Also, the guide has one unagi place - Chikuyotei. We'd held off on ordering unagi, which Scud really likes, as we'd always thought of it as more of a Tokyo dish. Are there any places of note for this besides this one? Okay, I'll get back to work. It's what? March 27 and I'm still not done with the 16th.
-
March 16 – The Running Man With lunch settled, we did some more of the Dotonbori neighborhood, dropping in on the Glico store to ogle the famous armpits. Ah, Ezaki Glico. How can you not admire the people who make Pocky? Whether you’re young or old, the appeal is there. They’ve just done so much to make so many so happy. Consider, if you will, their philosophy on life. A Wholesome Life in the Best of Taste Be inspired by tastefulness! Provide delight through wholesomeness! Glory in the resplendence of life! At Glico, we are inspired to contribute to a tastefully wholesome delight in the resplendence of human life. Aren’t those words to live by? Just reading them makes me want to go out and resplend! I hadn’t realized before this trip how far back the Glico brand goes. It stretched, at one time, across the Japanese Empire, with factories not just in the islands, but in China as well. Glico, a name taken from glycogen, “a starch-like polysaccharide harvested by boiling oysters”. This was used to make Glico’s original candy, the heart shaped caramel brought on the market in 1921 by Ezaki Riichi. The founding date is officially given as 1922, though, as that’s when the goods went on sale at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Osaka. (On the topic of vending machines, which we’ll touch upon from time to time, they first started selling goods in vending machines in Tokyo back in 1931.) And the landmark Glico poster in Dotonbori that we were looking at earlier had its first appearance in 1935. The war put them back for awhile, their factories being bombed out, but by the 1950’s they were back in business, producing candy for the people. In 1966 they brought Pocky to the market. Sure, they’re other work in curry roux and food additives has been extensive, but it all comes down to Pocky. We love Pocky. Scud’s been going through about three boxes a day for the last two weeks (but I’m getting ahead of myself). Besides the caramels and Pocky, though, there were plenty of other snacks, many with anime/manga tie-ins and other gimmicks to get your attention. Here’s just a small selection of the okonomiyaki senbei they were offering (with the trademark spatula on the box). These looked good, but I was still full from lunch, and starting to fret about the evening pick up of the boy. As you can tell from this picture of Rona and I, I was feeling nervous about Scud making the transfer from Narita through Itami. It was hard to get a smile back on my face. Still, I can only fret so much, and contented myself with looking at what else was on the shelves of Osaka. What’s this one? It’s fugu of some sort, but what? The 100 Yen store got me out of the dumps a bit. Whatever name or currency you put to them, these are some of the best stores, especially if you want a spatula, or Hello Kitty shoelaces, or some other indispensable item. The store leaves you with those puzzling questions you know will disturb you for weeks. Why would you sell fake fingernails in multiples of 12? On the other hand, some things are made crystal clear. The fake dog ears were clearly labeled “White ears for white dogs” and “black ears for black dogs.” Lord knows what would’ve happened if I’d got that wrong. Okay, the 100 Yen store, combined with the Sanrio Gallery cheered me up to a certain extent. And then this really brightened my day. I spotted a place alluringly named Brewsky’s that looked to have late-night potential, but then our attention was snagged by the name next door. Seriously, who uses a name like this for a public shop? I know that in some cases the use of romaji is more a style issue, but don’t people look in their dictionaries? This we had to have in a picture. Okay, that had me in a good enough mood that I could do chocolate. We were off to Ek Chuah, Rona’s favourite place for hot chocolate. (Ek Chuah is the Mayan god of merchants and selling. I had to look that up) It’s worth visiting just for the building its’ nestled in, an old wooden affair that hosts Ek Chuah and a few other boutiques. Inside it’s the sort of place I love, at least when I’m sober and not walking head first into timbers. Rafters and beams and staircases to lofts. We sat up above and ordered some hot chocolate, and some dessert for Rona. Rona told me their chocolate is Valrhona, and the flavour is very, very good. Extremely smooth as you take it. And the cup they use is beautiful, custom made for the shop. There’s a lace of ceramic to hold the cup at its base, part of the saucer. Rona told me that they would be willing to sell this as a set, but with a price tag that indicates that they’d rather not. I’ll allow Rona to comment upon her dessert, as I’m not qualified. But you have to appreciate a sweet that’s so anxious to please you that it can hardly contain itself. I love the tableware they use here . The Japanese put everything they can into everything they do, and making the proper presentation is something you know they’ll pull off to perfection. I’d thought of the Black Cat as handling shipping and moving, and I was correct. But it’s not just the luggage and household side of things, but everything down to the delivery of purchases and gifts. And then, of course, I remember Kiki’s Delivery Service ( Majo no Takkyubin ). That’s where I’d heard the word takkyubin before. It makes sense that they’d deliver confections (although without the flying broom). I’d be happy if a witch dropped by with a box of hand made chocolates topped with bits of candied citrus and nuts. Come to think of it, didn’t Kiki have a black cat? Calmed down, and knowing how to get to Itami Airport now, we finished our sweets, poked about the boutiques, and then split up for the day. I had to get the boy. Next: Music For Airports
-
Oh, cool! McDonald's is giving out Naruto toys! We may have to get a happy meal after all!
-
I found it a little on the sweet side. Not cloyingly so, but enough that I wasn't thrilled. As for the order of eating.......I think it was there with everything else, and I just assumed it came at the end. It looked like it belonged there. Rona, jump in here and correct me. Maybe I should get one of those little scanners and feed my notes into it?
-
March 16 – Part 2 – Clowing Around We ate at the sign of the Clown, cui-daore (that’s how they spell it). If you look it up it’s “kuidaore” – taken from an old proverb as “indulging in food until you’ve ruined yourself financially”. I can respect this as a lifestyle choice. The restaurant is a landmark in Osaka, so I dug through the link that Rona sent me. Cui-daore opened in 1949 as a two-story wooden affair, the house specialty being sukiyaki. The founder, Yamada Rokuro, in a famous bit of advertising, walked an ox carrying a steel pan through Dotonbori. In 1950 he topped this bit of Madison Avenue with the clown, which was intended to draw in the kids. (Scud still gets uneasy around clowns, ever since watching Steven King's It when he was small). In 1952 he preempted the modern American style of having television screens in restaurants by installing one of the first tv’s in Osaka at the front of the shop, so crowds would gather to watch the couple of hours of broadcasting available during a week. By 1959 it was time for the old building to go, and a 9 story air conditioned edifice went up. It was at this time they were talking about getting rid of the clown as “too old fashioned”, but the clown hung on, and by 1970, with Expo, things were going well for Cuidaore Taro in Osaka. When the Emperor passed away in 1989, and they changed the clown over to black and white stripes for the memorial, he went into national fame, and he was safe to stay. In 1990 they started swapping him out on special occasions with a “banzai” version. And in 1992 they started putting up “I can’t swim” signs on him as protection against the local habit of tossing look-alikes into the river when the Hanshin Tigers are doing well in the baseball standings (Colonel Sanders’ immersion led to the Curse of the Colonel, but that’s another story). And speaking of stories, they serve on 8 floors. The fourth to eighth floors are “Kappo”, full course meals; the third floor is for set menus in a more casual atmosphere; the second floor is their bistro/izakaya; and the first floor is intended for the rug rats. We ate on the third floor, as there was tempura on display. Rona – sensibly - subscribes to the school of “frying is good”. Several pieces of tempura on a bowl of rice, sauce for the tempura, miso, and something in the small bowl that I can’t remember. Obviously, my note taking goes to the dogs when I’m busy socializing. Showing my usual indecisiveness, I went for a set that covered both fish and meat. It’s like when they ask you those tricky questions “Would you prefer the beef, or the fish?” “Yes.” The was tuna and something paler (I told you, my notes were off). Hiding in the back is a pretty little thing of sweet rice wrapped in a seasoned sesame leaf. The beef was thinly sliced meat from Kagoshima. Not a bad dish, and one that stopped the rumbles in my stomach. The meat was soft, and had enough fat to keep me content, and the broth that came out was just the way I like it. And my dessert, if I can trust the scribble I have written down (maybe I should’ve listened to my mother and been a doctor? I’ve got the handwriting for it) was a chawanmushi, a steamed egg custard. Not something I would rant about, as I’m not a big pudding sort of guy. When it comes to a sweet, I’d rather have bitter chocolate on a stick. Next: Armpits Galore
-
What to buy in Japan? Where? Knives? Else?
Peter Green replied to a topic in Japan: Cooking & Baking
Besides the knives (the knife shops I've been too will spend time with you to explain the care of the knives, so don't be too worried), the plates, shuriken, ninja outfits, suits of armour, maid and schoolgirl outfits, and the other things that you'd expect....... bring back as much good sake as you can. Don't stint. Think of a way you can convince customs that the 4 year old is actually 21, that'll get you another bottle or so. Cheers, Peter -
This is one of the things that had been bugging me before I came. In the English version of Aza Manga Daioh, they talk about stereotyping Osakan kids as having "meatball sandwiches" in their lunchboxes. It wasn't until a few days ago that I was able to see the anime series (with subtitles) and there it was clear that everyone in Tokyo expected Osakans to have takoyaki on the brain. I would love to figure out how to rig a tourist flag on a prop in front of me so I could follow it around. Alternatively, I guess I could rig up an old budo thing on my back, and be my own standard bearer. It's tough travelling on my own. P.S. - Scud refuses to walk in front of me with a flag. Whatever happened to filial piety?
-
That's it! Thanks, John!
-
Actually, it was quite good. What is the basis for the protein in this one if not malt? I'd have to say, at this point, near the end of the trip, I'm settling down with Yebisu Malt as my standard beer. I'll post the "wall of beer cans" when we get to that point.
-
March 16 Osaka is described as the “kitchen of Japan”. It was time to get into the kitchen. Rona met me for lunch, and a wander about Namba, which is just a couple of stations away from where I was staying (around a 20 minute walk). As expected, I messed up the directions, and was at the wrong place. But, in Japan, like in Korea, all you need for a rendezvous to get back on track is a cell phone and the number of a station exit. I had both. We started by making certain we could find the sumo hall. We had tickets for the 18th, and I feel it’s always good to reconnoiter if you can. Okay, we were just wandering around. But it makes it sound more like we knew what we were doing. I like the tie in of booze with sumo. There were big casks stacked up around the entrance, And Asahi Beer appeared to be a proud corporate sponsor. There were stands inside where you could order your food that would be delivered to your box for the match, all ready for you, and there were plenty of souvenirs to be had. And there were the wrestlers themselves. Big boys coming in and out. Big, big boys. this photo would be better with something to scale it by. Like a bull elephant or something….. We ambled from there, taking in the Otaku district in preparation for Scud, and checking out the interesting food bits to be found. Here’s a shot of Rona and I. And then we popped down the food street ( near Ebisu dori?), or rather the covered arcade, and gawked at all the stuff. I’d already mentioned the Japanese passion for pastries. It did seem like every second shop was selling something beautiful and baked, but the other stores also looked good, with cooking pots and tools, plates and dishes, and foodstuffs galour. And we were even able to keep abreast of the new ideas in candy marketing (Yes, I know it’s a horrible line, but I had to get it off my chest) As you'd expect, there’s the usual assortment of the usual culprits to be found. KFC, McD’s, TGIF, and Wendy’s. But they seem to be doing a lackluster business in comparison with the takoyaki stands, which were busily turning out product for the passing crowd, who in turn were happily eating (sitting down on the benches, of course. You don’t walk and eat here). In Aza Manga Daioh they say it’s a stereotype that the Osakans are crazy for takoyaki. there may be something to it, though. And down every side alley, there’s always more to be found. And, finally, we came to Dotonbori and the icons of the city. The Kani Doraku crab (and its imitators), several meters across, and mechanized. More Zuboraya, with their huge pufferfish, This one I don’t know, but it looks friendly. Can anybody jump in on this one? The clown, Kuidaore Taro, with his mechanized drum And the Glico Man (he must shave his armpits). And here’s the explanation of it all…. But enough of that, let’s get a meal in us, and then I'll talk more.
-
Us? Drink a lot? Like I said, there are times when luck just starts rolling in. Having PekoPeko with us, with a good background in technical Japanese, was a blessing, and I do recommend Kyoto Foodie for those of you in the Kansai. And I was going to get to the plum liqueur! Do I look like the sort of fellow who'd not?
-
I'd always thought of horse as being a French thing, but then again, I do remember as a youth being around Pike Place Market in Seattle, and there was a butcher there that did horse. Steingarten has a good piece on this somewhere in one of his collections, discussing how (at least in the 90's) horses were slaughtered in America, but then the meat was exported, as there wasn't really a domestic market for Mr. Ed. Unfortunately, while I always go back to Steingarten's books when I worry that I might be becoming too obsessive, I didn't pack them with me for this trip. I need to prepare better for my travels. It was a few years back in Bangkok that I found Uomasa off of Thonglor, down in that Japanese enclave back down one of the sois. Along with whale, they also had a selection of horse sashimi. Having been a big fan of tartare and raw meats in general, I figured it was worth a try. What you get, there and here, is very nicely marbled meat that's very, very smooth to eat. No gaminess, and a good buttery feel. Tough old nags? Not by any means.
-
Is it true that the blue circles in the bottom of the sake cup are to test for clarity? ← I honestly can't say. After I'd finished about a litre, I think clarity was one of my challenges.
-
If ever if ever a horse of course...... Serena is going to be very unhappy with me, I know, but I really like horse meat. Now, if I can get french fries done in horse fat.......
-
eG Foodblog: fengyi - Win(e)ing and Dining in Beijing
Peter Green replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Oh, that sounds good! I can't wait to get back! I'll be buff (finally).