MoGa

I'm still working my way through the list. My plan for now is to make a personal google map with some of the restaurants on the Udon Map pinned onto it. This map I'll print out and take with me. I'm pretty set on chikusei for the moment though. I'll assume for now that I'll be covering the area between the JR train station and Ritsurin Koen and, naturally, I'll be prepared to be flexible if someone there gives me an earnest recommendation. If you know of any places that would allow me to see udon being made, this is something I'd be particularly interested in. And I'm not too concerned with how picturesque the udon ya is. Obviously, if the restaurant is beautiful, then that's wonderful, but if it looks like a shed, that's wonderful too. (Just to give you a hint as to my tastes, I'm probably more fascinated with accounts of the day to day lives of Shimazaki Tōson's family than with chronicles of the shogunate or the minutiae of a geisha house, and I'd rather spend the evening in a shitamachi sento than having a facial at an upmarket spa. It's more the people than any locations that make 'Beautiful Japan' beautiful to me) Basically, I'd love to know where you would head for were you to find yourself in Takamatsu for the day JasonTrue, than you very much for expanding on your comments. I appreciate it.

Also worth mentioning, and this is particularly relevant to food gifts, in some instances that gift may end up on the family altar. This allows departed family members to have their share too. There is no way of knowing in advance if the host family will present your son's friend's gift to their shrine, but seeing a thoughtfully wrapped package sitting by the photographs of the hosts' grandparents won't be embarrassing in the way that having a gift swathed in a crumpled plastic bag occupy this honoured position would be.

Oh. Is that where I pointed to on the map? I was hoping it was the place where they matured their soy products. (I didn't even realise they had an Udon Ya) Still, it's not on the cards for me on this visit anyway, but a tour around a soya manufacturing facility certainly seems like a worthwhile venture should it be possible - and something I'd get more out of with the interpreting facility I married in tow

Oh dear me, that looks soooo good! I was able to get a good quality soy sauce relatively recently in London which has changed my attitude to this humble sauce forever. Kamebishi Ya is one heck of a draw for me. I found the website: http://www.kamebishisyouyu.com/ And the address on the website points to this place on google maps. Only a few stops out from Takamatsu and less than 1.5 miles from what I assume is Takada station (高田) So near but.... oh I just haven't the time on this trip. But the salt and the shoyu are certainly on the menu for things to bring home, so I'll hunt them out in a Takamatsu store. Good job this will my last proper day in Japan, I'm sure I'll be broke afterwards. This is exactly the kind of recommendation I cherish. Thank you all over again!

I assume that the taste won't be a million miles off from the black dried natto soya beans I've enjoyed in Kyoto (quite pungent, not like stringy natto though). And considering my current obsession with whole broad bean douban jiang, I'll certainly be hunting these out. Only a small pack though... some things are best in moderation. prasantrin, thank you for the blog link. I find it interesting that Sakaeda was mentioned as this name has cropped up a few times. Thanks to the map link from helenjp, I even know how to find it: http://www.e-sanuki.com/udon/shop/sakaeda/index.html さか枝 - On Google Maps And here's the embarrassing part I misunderstood about "The" Udon place in Takamatsu I failed to take the advice literally Here it is: http://www.e-sanuki.com/udon/shop/don/index.html And its name is ＴＨＥ どん (THE Don) Chikusei is this one: http://www.e-sanuki.com/udon/shop/tikusei/index.html (Is that tamago tempura? - a couple of shops have photos of similar eggs) I just put this page through an electronic translator and the accompanying report is extremely complimentary. I'll definitely give this place a try. ---- I think I'm starting to get a feel for this, as helenjp has suggested, it seems each shop has their own speciality. I now have a wonderful head start, invaluable as I'm only there for such a short time and only a limited physical capacity for ingestion. I'm sure I'll be able to make every choice I can fit in my belly count. Thanks again! I'm thrilled with all the information that's been given here.

Thanks, but I'm in the UK. This is not a particularly easy magazine for me to buy or read. And no mention on the Saveur website about Takamatsu recommendations. Can any Saveur readers give me a hint? (Even if it's a PM). I'm going in just a few days and won't have internet access once I'm gone.

I once soaked my rice and didn't rinse it first I forgot to). The rice cooked perfectly but there was a noticeable, unappetising crust of scum formed on the top. Yuk! I've never failed to rinse it since, and I've never had scum form on the top again. That's all the convincing I need.

I'm already creeping over my budget by going to Takamatsu in the first place, so I'll need to give the udon taxi a miss. This time round anyway. It's great to know it exists, and who knows, I may return with my husband and a friend (it's in the planning stage) and, split three ways, the price starts looking reasonable. Thank you for your very helpful suggestions (I'd seen that you'd mentioned udon in this region before so I did cross my fingers that you'd have some advice ) I'll certainly give kama-age a try, I will in all certainty give the curry udon a miss (the stuff reminds me of English school dinners.) Kama-tama-yama sounds heavenly. Hiroyuki helped me work out how to add egg to my own udon and I've been grating nagaimo onto the result - it would be wonderful to find out how it should be done. I had this dish in mind when I decided to go to Kagawa in the first place, I just had no idea what it was called! That's another problem you've solved for me. And the map link is great - I tried to glean some goodies from the web site it comes from but there is so much information there I felt swamped and couldn't get anywhere. ---- The Ikkaku chicken suggestion I'll save for my husband as it's his favourite kind of flesh. I've picked on poor old fish and their cousins as the boundary to what I myself will eat, I don't consume any other kind of meat. Not knowingly anyway. And if you do suddenly remember the name of "the" udon restaurant, do please share. I'll be able to refer to this thread until 26 May. Thanks again!

Thankfully you don't need to be rich in Japan to enjoy all of this country's culinary highlights. I'll be taking an overnight bus from Okayama late on the 7th June, this gives me the opportunity to visit Takamatsu in Shikoku. Although I am drawn to Ritsurin Park, there's another compelling draw: Udon! This area is famed for the quality (and the cheapness) of its udon and I very much want to try some fine examples of this locally venerated noodle. I understand that there are a huge amount of restaurants offering this speciality in the area, and I'm at a loss to know which are well regarded by connoisseurs. The Takamatsu city pages give a link to a Japanese website http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/englis...nkou/index.html Finding reliable recommendations in English is tricky, few of the mentions offer more than a romanised version of the restaurant name. I guess there is less of an international following for this than there is for ramen. Does anyone have any personal recommendations for Sanuki Udon in this city (or which can be reached using public transport) or know of any Japanese websites with trustworthy recommendations? I can usually decipher information in Japanese once I know what I'm looking for, figuring it out from scratch is way beyond my capabilities, certainly this time I'm hoping to try some outstanding examples, especially as I've heard so much about this kind of noodle. And having tried excellence, I hope this will help me improve my own udon making skills.

Happily, she has written a fair bit about the island, but this means that it took me a while to navigate through to this part which confirms your own gut feeling: http://dollarbooks.tripod.com/moooobar/facts.html "Warning: Most Japanese people, especially the International Villa reservations people, will tell you there is no food available on Shiraishi, so you must bring your own. What they mean is that there is no Western food available on the island. As long as you are willing to eat like a local, there is plenty of food here in the local supermarket. They also sell milk, bread, eggs, cheese, butter, etc" Although I'll assume there won't be any butter on the island This trip is getting better and better all the time, I do so hope I get a chance to try some of the locally grown vegetables and freshly caught fish. The posts in the Niigata thread have been making me drool for weeks! And wasabi does sound like an excellent idea, Hiroyuki - perhaps I should take a little grater with me (mine's tiny) just in case I come across any of the real stuff.

It's the basics I'm worried about. There's a "what's in your pantry?" thread in this forum, and my list of basic ingredients is as big as anybody else's. In a Western Kitchen at a hired apartment I could probably count on salt, oil, sugar, coffee, tea, and... err... not much else really. Are Mirin, Soy Sauce and vinegar viewed as kitchen essentials in a Japanese Kitchen? (I'll assume I'll need to take Sake). I saw some people had written about a store on the island, but there seems to be a big difference in what is available/open in July/August and what there is in early June. The email confirmation I got gave me lots of info about finding food at Kasaoka but none about finding any on the island - it doesn't seem like something I can depend on. So far I'm thinking: rice Mirin, soy sauce, vinegar, ready made dashi (this is where it starts getting heavy) sake - I suspect I can get this on the island packets of fish cakes Katsuobushi tofu in sealed packet (the freeze dried option in the other thread suddenly seems very appealing!) A couple of cans of fish High quality aka miso (which I'll happily take back home with me) sheets of nori (same) Wakame (same) Furikake (same) Assortment of dried noodles Whatever vegetables and fruit I like the look of and can carry And you're right, prasantrin snacks would definitely be a good idea. I've left out tons of other staples, like sesame oil (I still can't decide between sesame oil and vinegar). But does this list make any sense, or is there anything I don't need, or could substitute or should add? Anything light without too much fish in it (Customs) that I could take back to London would be suitable. If I can take it back I won't need to finish it off or throw it away. I had the fantasy of making okonomiyaki, but by the time I get all the condiments I can't make it worthwhile for such a short trip (a month yes, 7 days, no) I wouldn't usually use powdered dashi (some of the ones I've had in England have been appalling!) but this might be an exception. Any brands that aren't too bad? The supermarket at Kasaoka is a Marunaka Seaside Mall. I've never come across this chain before. I'm also conscious that I won't have that much time to shop there before the last ferry departs (I want to see Himeji castle on the way there). http://www.marunaka.net/

And please don't say Cup Ramen! I'll be spending a full week on Shiraishi Island later this month and I'll need to fend for myself whilst I'm there. I discussed my experiences of cooking for one in Tokyo in a recent thread and mused that it would be different out in the country. It seems I'm about to find out just how different. I'm actually convalescing at the moment - the original plan was to stay in Corsica. As I started making plans it turned out that it cost little more to come to Japan. The convalescing part is important here, I am recovering from back injury and this makes what I plan to do particularly challenging. I'd like to imagine that local vegetables will be on sale at Shiraishi Island, but I can't afford to presume too much. The safest assumption is that I should get the basics I need at Kasaoka before boarding the ferry. There is a kitchen with equipment and basic condiments I can use at my lodging. The advice is not to expect to find any restaurants once I'm there. So the challenge I'm hoping for help with is: "what should I buy to take with me?" The choices need to be economical, they can't weigh too much (although I'll have a roller case specifically for this), and just to make things even more difficult, I eat fish, but no other kind of meat. Any suggestions for feeding myself in this kind of environment? I stress again my need to be frugal. And anything I should bring from the UK? (I can get a bag sent from NGO to the ferry port at Kasaoka - I'll be going straight from NGO to Osaka and spending 3 nights there before moving on to Shiraishi Island). And no internet once I'm there, I'll need to take any recipes with me. I also have the option of spending ¥900-¥1,000 for a return ferry trip should I run out of food completely. _______ I'd love to hear your opinions.

That actually sounds like a lot of work to me, and I don't like the idea of the scum forming. I've started cooking a lot of brown Japanese rice this year. Both the organic Akita-Komachi brown rice sold by the Japan Centre in London and also grains labelled Sukoyaka Genmai (genmai means brown rice). First stage is to give it a good rinse using a sieve. Let it drain. Measure out a big mugfull, measure out at least 1.5 mugfulls of water, leave the water and rice to sit for at least an hour and a half. You'll need a nice heavy pot for this with a heavy lid that will 'stay put', but once the rice has soaked for a while, put the pan with the rice and water on a large burner/hob and whack up the heat to full with the lid on. Listen out, and once the water gets to a rolling boil (if you can tell without peaking so much the better as you lose steam by lifting the lid) move the pan over to the smallest hob you have and turn the heat to as low as it will go (you may need to have it a smidge higher depending on your cooker). Depending on the rice, it should take 30 minutes from the point you move the hob over plus another ten minutes with the hob turned off. Some of the Japanese brown rice will require more water, some a longer cooking time, but once you figure it out it's very simple. Rice comes out as nice and fluffy as you could expect this rice to, no scum, no faffing or scalding yourself. I've never had undercooked rice this way. I've not experimented with other kinds of Brown rice as I enjoy the japonica varieties so much (and grew up eating paellas and Spanish Arrozes which are at least cousins) and it's unlikely that I'll be doing so any time soon.

Go to a tapas bar that really appeals to you, if a group of people come in and seem to only be staying temporarily ask them where they are going next / if they have any suggestions. Go somewhere, get chatting, accompany the people you are chatting to to the next locale and continue with that group or talk to someone else there. Repeat until sated or until the pubs close. I can't give you suggestions because a good tour of the bars is a disorientating affair. When I've been out with Madrileños for tapas (students and those in careers) it tends to be as part of a group. Although there are plenty of places which will serve a wide assortment, in my view, many of the best tapas bars specialise in their own particular dish with little else offered, this is a prominent reason why people crawl from bar to bar. When there's a group out together each member comes with their own favourite haunts and recommendations and the group discusses the accumulated options before lurching from one place to the next, sometimes the group fractures, sometimes they merge, sometimes someone will learn of an unfamiliar tapas bar from a random discussion and the group goes to try it out. As plenty of alcohol is generally consumed enroute, it becomes very difficult for a visitor to keep track of all the different places visited in a night. Even so, I still maintain it's best to ask, and even better to go with the flow. Going for tapas should be a chaotic, unrepeatable adventure, where the people you meet are just as memorable as anything you might eat. If you're sociable, can show your appreciation readily, and are happy to just 'join in', there are hundreds of tapas tours snaking their way around Madrid and you are welcome to join a great many of them. When you plan a tapas tour (in the way you might plan a tour of the Museums and Galleries) it seems to me that you miss out on the whole essence of the endeavour.

I'm more than content NOT to call my taco inspired dish 'taco'. I also hope that I've given nobody the impression that I think that my recipe results in genuine tacos. But I thought it was fitting to give a European interpretation of this very American speciality. Especially as a dish from my part of the world is being worked over by those from the Americas (and seems fair game for anyone else who wants a pop at it) in the Paella Cook Off Thread. At least it seems clear to me that I'm not making genuine tacos, whereas in the other thread....

And our main reason to go to Tokyo is to actually be in that non-descript area neither I nor my husband could recognise. http://bp1.blogger.com/_n1sjt7SfiAw/R5jnjC...00-h/walk22.jpg

Hmmm... if it only it was a liiitle bit clearer. Even so, no landmarks I can make out from that picture at all. It wasn't from the Hotel Century Southern Tower (ほり川 Horikawa) view: http://blog.tokiobleu.com/image/horikawa3.jpg (from Shinjuku towards Ginza/Tokyo And I don't think it was from anywhere else in Shinjuku. You definitely weren't in Shingawa. From Shibuya looking Westish??? (I can't help but suspect you were enjoying a typical view from Tokyo of Mount Fuji)

Just a quick follow up report now I've actually tried soda with goya. I used a wasabi grater to grate the end of a goya (about 2-3cms or so, I used a Thai winter melon so it was much fatter than the Japanese goya I've seen) this turned into a fine pulp very easily but left an inner 'rind' which I discarded. I added the equivalent of a heaped teaspoon or so to a glass and poured on a can of Lemon Fanta (I would have liked to try Canada Dry but none of my local shops had it - I thought this might approximate the classic English Drink - Bitter Lemon). And it did taste like Bitter Lemon. Actually, it was rather nicer. The goya taste was fresh and vibrant, I can best explain it as a Sorrel (almost grassy) taste and aroma but with a bitter finish. Lovely 'clean' flavour, very pleasant to drink. I'll probably reserve the ends of any goya I buy in the future and try this with other soda combinations. A wonderful alternative to tonic water.

By the way, dagordon, when I recommended in the other thread that you try soba, this wasn't what I had in mind

3rd stop was すみれ Sumire Specialising in みそ・こってり - miso . kotteri http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/se...area=ramen&no=1 Own page: http://www.sumireya.com/ 2nd stop was 一幸舎 Ikkousha specialising in とんこつ・こってり - tonkotsu . kotteri http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/se...area=ramen&no=7 Own page: http://www.ikkousha.com/ 1st stop was 宝屋 Takaraya specialising in しょうゆ・あっさり - shoyu . assari http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/se...area=ramen&no=4 Own page: http://www.takaraya.info/ All the ramen restaurants in Kyoto Station's Ramen Alley can be found on this page: http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/se...=zone&key=ramen Clearer photo with descriptions of four of the restaurants can be seen here: http://picasaweb.google.com/3H2OCu2sky/Kyo...057186861346114 ---- Sorry, I can't give you specific info on what you ate at each place (my husband's the ramen enthusiast and he's elsewhere) I do know what all the buttons you pressed meant At Sumire you did indeed select Miso Ramen 味噌ラメン At Ikkousha you selected Ramen ラメン - as the speciality seems to be tonkotsu that's what you probably had and very likely in the Hakata style (looks like tonkotsu to me... but I reiterate that I am no expert) At Takaraya you selected Takara Ramen 宝ラメン which I assume would be the house speciality. It's described as "麺に程良くからみつくスープは絶妙なバランスで自慢の一品です" On this page: http://www.takaraya.info/menu/takararamen.html Hopefully someone who does read Japanese can translate this for you - it's certainly clearer than 宝ラメン I've been learning the difference between kotteri and assari foods this evening - apparently very important when related to ramen

I'll come back with a photo report later this year, but for the moment I have to admit that the name of this thread makes me extremely uneasy. Rogelio's initial post is a pitch perfect demonstration of one of the thousands of rice dishes a Valencian will accept and acknowledge as Paella. The problem is that even though there are thousands of permutations, the parameters for paella seem very narrow to those from outside the region. Adding onion or chorizo, or mixing meat and fish catapults a dish right outside the boundaries. And as a word 'paella' is already horribly, horribly misunderstood and misrepresented. The worst part about it is that too many people sincerely believe they are making authentic paella dishes when what they are really making Spanish inspired rice dishes - I can't help but wonder if this thread just perpetuates that delusion even though it has had a faultless start. (And I commend Rogelio for his wonderful introduction, plenty of his fellow countrymen also misunderstand this dish). The word I'd like to see here to describe these recipes is 'Arrozes'. There are some marvellous and delicious looking arrozes already contributed to this thread. To get my point across, it's like a thread being called 'Champagne' with most of the contributors describing Cavas, Proseccos and Crémants. Of course there's nothing wrong with Cava, and a review of a Cava certainly has a place in a Champagne thread... just so long as the Cava described isn't actually called Champagne. --- I'm sorry if anyone feels put out by this, but I have strong Alicantinian (part of Valencia) roots. Here's a link to a post giving an idea of how important this dish is to me: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1558649 --- And how do you pronounce paella? Rogelio was right to break it down as pa-el-ya, just as it's right to say pa-ey-ya. The 'll' sound in paella doesn't quite translate to an English 'y' sound - there's a hard edge to it... it's the 'y' sound 'cooked al dente'. One could also break it down into pa-edj-ya or pa-ej-ya. The trick is to trip lightly through the l/dj/j consonant, like stepping on an eggshell without breaking it. This can take some practice, so pa-ey-ya is absolutely fine!

May as well join in the fray with my own recipe Mediterranean take on the taco (soy española). I acknowledge and apologise for its lack of authenticity on every level. And to annoy purists further, it's vegetarian. The soul of this dish is the bean cake. This is made with cooked kidney beans (I generally use two cans - feel free to cook yours from scratch). These are crushed with a fork into a paste. In a hot skillet cook a diced onion in a couple of tabelspoons of olive oil, once these are soft and starting to brown add as much chopped garlic as you like (I suggest 2 cloves), as much chili powder as you enjoy, a heaped teaspoon of sweet paprika if your addition of chili powder was only moderate and salt to your liking. Once the garlic begins to brown pour the contents of the skillet onto the bean paste and mash together. Put the skillet back on the flame (medium heat) and add the bean paste mixture - flatten it with a fork and leave until the underside has browned. Turn the bean cake over and brown the other side. Take off the heat. It slices like a cake - spreads like a pâté. Next step - warm up flour or corn tortillas (I sometimes make them from scratch, sometimes buy them), add chili bean cake to taste, add your choice of additional ingredients (sliced leaf, diced tomato, avocado or guacamole, grated cheese, sour cream, jalapeños... your call), fold and eat. Quick and easy to make, extremely economical (the reason I came up with this in the first place) and pretty healthy. If there are a few people eating I just cut the bean cake into wedges, put the rest of the ingredients into bowls, heat the tortillas and let everyone make up their own 'a su gusto'. (I do something similar with Temakizushi - lay out ingredients and let guests compose their own - prefect for impromptu dinner parties or picnics) Of all my food she's tried, this seems to be my Spanish omnivore mother's favourite - it's certainly the dish she requests most from me, and my father occasionally calls me to remind him how to make it.

Having been alerted to this thread here's my first contribution. Summer in London comes in batches, we just had our first attempt at this elusive season. In celebration I made cold noodles three days in a row. The first was a Vietnamese inspired rice noodles and shredded cabbage dish to celebrate my purchase of real Vietnamese Fish Sauce (considerably harder to come by than the Thai kind). I like the Vietnamese Sauce more for raw and cold dishes, the Thai stuff is wonderful with cooked/hot food. After that I made two very different stlyes of Hiyashi Chuka. I started a dedicated thread for Hiyashi Chuka as I'm very fond of it and posted details of what I made there: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=115595 So far this year at least two of us have made cold noodles. Now I know this thread exists I'll take some photos of my next attempt. Weather has cooled already in London, hopefully we'll have another installment of Summer before the year is out and I'll make more.

Not quite. I'm pleased I can get away with just grating the goya and don't have to blend it (my back is not good and picking up and washing the glass liquidiser not such a great idea) Also I completely got it wrong about the non-calorie advice that was given. I suspected that using club soda/Perrier would not be to my taste (the photo of ginger ale as a base caught my eye) so it makes sense that she is warning against it and not recommending sparkling water. Anyway, I have goya left over from yesterday so I'll give this a try today. Thanks so much for translating this for me, I suspected I'd got parts of this wrong, I'm very happy you've pushed me back on track.

Perhaps you can help me here - don't let the post count fool you, I'm very much an egullet newbie (I just have more time on my hands than most and the enthusiasm that comes from not having been able to do much cooking or food shopping for a year). Someone else has been thinking about this, in another forum (Flyertalk) I learnt about the Miele Guide which is now accepting votes for its guide to Asian restaurants. You need to give them the first 6 digits of your VISA card to qualify to do this. More information here: http://www.mieleguide.com/ The guy who instigated this talks more about this scheme here: http://chubbyhubby.net/blog/?p=530 He had the same misgivings about the same list I had. As this requires contributions from those familiar with Asian restaurants I'm not sure where the best place to put a thread inviting people to vote would be. The more discerning people who do so (and who better than an egulleteer? ) the more useful it will be for everyone. Asia is an Aladdin's cave for anyone who loves food - but it's vast, the caverns, numerous winding and intricate, the treasures magnificent and plentiful, beyond the wildest mercury fueled dreams of Qin Shi Huang Di. Another English speaking guide would be welcome. Michelin Tokyo doesn't seem to be a bad start though, they've been refining their entries for other cities, hopefully they'll do the same for this one - it has the potential to become an authoritative resource in perhaps 5-10 more editions (I doubt they nailed France on their first attempt)