Christmas in Japan

[prasantrin]

The fruit looks like a yamamomo (mountain peach), called yumberry in English.

Yumberry! Isn't that one of those "new and exciting" food fads? It's supposed to be quite healthful or something like that. I really enjoyed it. I expected it to be tart, like umeboshi or a raspberry, but it was sweet.

Beautiful! I love Koyasan, and you're right-- it really suits the fog.

I'm really enjoying your report, and paying special attention because my parents are coming this spring. Does anything from your Mom's visit stick out so far as a must see, or complete waste of time?

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Hmmmm, from my point of view or my mother's? We both loved Koyasan, but we were quite happy we didn't do it at the very beginning of her trip. I think once one experiences the crowds, litter, etc. of the average big city, one appreciates Koyasan all the more. It's a beautiful place, but even more beautiful when comparing it to the city.

From my point of view, I could have done without going to Horyuji. From an outsider's point of view, I think unless you're well-versed in Japanese history, the temple, itself, really doesn't seem that different from other temples. My mother really enjoyed that trip, though. That being said, I think she enjoyed it more because of the people she met than because of the temple.

As for food, we never tire of Katsukura (which I still think is one of the best examples of katsu around). Aside from the Italian place near my apartment, Katsukura is the only restaurant my mother has wanted to return to in all the times she has been to Japan. I think we've eaten there three of the four times she has visited me. Last spring we ate at the shojin-ryori restaurant at Tenryuji, and although we're both happy we tried it, in terms of food, it could definitely be skipped. If you go to Koyasan, the meals you get there will probably be tastier.

And if you're a chocolate fan, go to Ek Chuah! I just tried another very expensive chocolate place last weekend (Palet d'Or, which charges a whopping Y1400 for their chocolat chaud), and Ek Chuah blows it out of the water!

[prasantrin]

I'm going to finish this today even if it kills me! But I only have a bit left, so I am sure I will live quite a long time after I finally do finish...

My mother's last full day in Japan was spent mostly in Kyoto. We had an appointment to get her hair cut (at the same stylist I've used the entire 9 years I've lived in Japan--even when I lived in Tochigi, I'd still have my hair cut by him whenever I was visiting Kyoto). After her morning of beauty, we went to Nishiki. This was great, because it wasn't very busy that day, so we could really take our time to wander through all the stores (at least the stores that were open, since quite a few were still closed for the holidays). I don't have any pictures of the stores, but it seemed the colours were more vibrant than usual, and the foods were tastier. We bought three packs of those tiny fish simmered in soy sauce and mirin with walnuts (my favourite preparation of chirimen jako), several bags of snacks, a 5-pack of botan ame (my all-time favourite Japanese candy), and I can't remember what else.

While my mother was getting her hair cut, I was reading Kateigaho. I subscribe to the international edition, but I rarely if ever read the Japanese edition. This particular one had a focus on Kyoto foods! What luck! So I chose our lunch place from one of the articles.

Maruyata is a relative newcomer to Nishiki. It was established in Showa 63, which I think translates to 1988. It specializes in what I thought was unagi from the pictures (when I read in Japanese, I skim, assuming I won't understand anything, anyway), but turned out to be anago. I like both, so aside from feeling a little sheepish when being corrected after I gave our order, everything was A-OK.

We both had the anagodon. It was a rather small serving for my tastes (and I was quite hungry, as well), but in terms of quality, it was great. I think it was about Y1300 or Y1600.

After spending a few hours at Nishiki, my mother had to make one last trip to her shrine of shrines, the Y100 shop. She picked up a few odds and ends, I don't know what, and then we went for tea at Daimaru.

Actually, I had hot chocolate, and my mother had water at Wittamer. I like the idea of Wittamer--beautiful chocolates and cakes, white tablecloths, etc. It looks so rich...if only the quality matched up. I don't know what Wittamer in Belgium is like, but Wittamer in Japan is vastly over-rated.

They do use very nice hot chocolate pots for their hot chocolate, though. And you get the equivalent of two servings, since there is hot chocolate in your cup when you are served, plus enough for one more cup in the pot.

I had the hot chocolate set, which included cake, one piece of chocolate, and hot chocolate. I ordered the foret noir, expecting black forest cake, but this was more a riff on black forest rather than black forest. I couldn't find any cherry in my cake at all, not even as a flavouring agent. The complimentary macaron was about as good as the macaron from Angelique (which are still in my fridge). The chocolate was some kind of caramel, but I think even I could have done better in terms of flavour. Even the shell had an off taste to it.

My mother had the mont blanc. Again, this was more a riff on mont blanc than a traditional one. It was good, but again, not as good as others, and certainly not as good as we had expected. The marron glacee was quite tasty, though.

I think that's it for pictures from our holiday. We missed a few places...lunch at Tengayu in Ashiya with my neighbour--good tempura, but Ten-you was better, lunch at Katsukura (always reliable katsu--we always get one ebi katsu and one tonkatsu, and we share so we can get a bit of each), etc. One place I regret missing was Mont Plus. It was mentioned in an article about places in Kansai that have good hot chocolate, so since I'm on a hot chocolate kick, I insisted we go. Unfortunately, I did that skimming thing I do, and I didn't notice they only served hot chocolate for about one month, from the middle of January until the middle of February. I found out when I read the article more carefully, after trying to order it and being told it wasn't available. Oops. But we had some really delicious cake there--my mother had a pistachio cake that was loaded with whole pistachios. Even in Canada, you would rarely if ever find so many pistachios on a cake. I'm going to go back one day soon for the hot chocolate.

Our last meal, by the way, was bulgogi pizza from Pizza Hut.

ETA: A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to y'all! Thanks for reading!

Edited January 23, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[prasantrin]

She's baaaaack!

My mother arrived last night, and we're already eating too much! I met her at KIX with Beard Papa chocolate choux in hand--she ate one while we were waiting for the airport bus. I don't eat Beard Papa stuff very often, but when they have the chocolate ones, my will power weakens! Then when we arrived home, she ate some chicken soup I had made for her before leaving for the airport. It was surprisingly tasty--poached chicken thigh (with skin, of course), kabocha, and onions. I liked it (and so did she)!

Today I got out of work early (last day of exams--yay!), and we headed to her favourite Italian place for lunch. Look how happy she looks to be back at Trattoria Ihatovo!

She's gained a bit of weight since last year, but so have I. You know what they say...apples...trees...blah blah blah.

She had shrimp and mushrooms (and broccoli) in a cream sauce. I had the same thing yesterday when I ate there with my exchange student, so I can tell you it was very very good! I love cream sauces in Japan. I never thought I'd say something like that, because in Canada and the US, I've always hated cream sauces--rich, goopy concoctions that are heavier than my mother and I combined. But cream sauces in Japan tend to be very light and they let the flavours of the other ingredients shine through.

I had eggplant and bacon. It was good, but quite tomato-y for my tastes.

In honour of my mother's return, they gifted us with a piece of stawberry cream cake. They offered us each our own dessert (the other option was chocolate cake--a very dense, rich almost flourless chocolate tart), but since we're both in need of a good diet, we opted to share.

Immediately after lunch, we went on a very new shopping experience. A year ago, in this very topic, I said

I'd probably shop [at a depachika] even though I don't have the money, though. I'm just lucky there isn't one nearby, or I'd be in big trouble!

I spoke too soon! Nishinomiya Gardens is the largest shopping centre in western Japan, and it has a Hankyu Department Store! And it's just a 10-minute bike ride or a 1-minute train ride from my house! Woe is me! In the two weeks since it opened, I've been there three times, but only to three different stores--Seijo Ishii, Izumiya, and Hankyu--all for food! My students all make fun of me when they hear that...

Today we walked all around the mall, leaving Hankyu for last (save the best for last, doncha know). There isn't really a depachika at this store, because there's no chika in this depa (unless you count me ), but half of the first floor is devoted to food. There's much less variety than you would see in a full depachika, but there's certainly enough to keep me occupied! We walked around and did some taste-testing, and bought a couple of tins of ume konbu cha, which is really more like an ume kombu broth than a tea. It was tasty, and my grandfather will like it.

We didn't buy anything else, though, because we were on our way to Florido to pick up my brand new cool prescription sunglasses with funky frames, and imagine that! Florido just happens to be two doors down from my favourite Neapolitan-style pizza place, Fontegara!

Mom had pizza with homemade sausage. I'm always wary of Japanese sausage, but this was very very good. It had nary the sweetness I associate with sausage in Japan, and it wasn't heavily fennel-ed, either. And there was a lot of sausage on it! It also had some slices of red and yellow bell peppers buried under the sausage, but just a few. She loved it.

I had my usual--napoletana--black olives, capers and anchovies. It doesn't look great in the picture, but I assure you, it's very good. They use just the right amount of anchovies, and their olives aren't those tasteless canned things a lot of North American places use. It looks a bit greasy because I have a very bad habit of pouring chile-infused olive oil all over it. They make the best chile-infused olive oil, and I'm addicted to it!

I love the crust--when you first cut into it, you can hear the crunch crunch crunch as the pizza cutter slices through. But it's so tender--you don't have to struggle to bite into it like at many other places I've been to.

We took about half my mother's pizza home, but I managed to finish mine. I'm taking the leftovers on the bus tomorrow--it's "marking day", so I don't have to go into work, and although I still have 290 papers to mark by Tuesday, I'm going to Kurashiki! But shhhhh...don't tell anyone!

[CaliPoutine]

I hope you have a nice visit with your mom. She looks the same as she did in August( no weight gain).

How is the pizza compared to your favorite pizza in Chicago?

[Hiroyuki]

Glad to see your mother back!

Could you provide some more info on your ume kobu cha? My son (12) is a great fan of ume kobu cha.

[prasantrin]

I hope you have a nice visit with your mom.  She looks the same as she did in August( no weight gain).

How is the pizza compared to your favorite pizza in Chicago?

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I told my mother what you said and she said, "That's because she can't see my stomach!"

I like Fontegara better, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's a better pizza. The crust at Fontegara still has crispness, but it has a softer chewiness. Spacca Napoli was crispier, but had a tougher chewiness to it. My mother liked both, though. She said she couldn't remember Spacca Napoli's well enough to do a real comparison, though. Fontegara's chile-infused olive oil wins hands down, though. Spacca Napoli's isn't spicy enough for me.

  Glad to see your mother back!

Could you provide some more info on your ume kobu cha? My son (12) is a great fan of ume kobu cha.

Kobu cha, not kombu cha! I don't know why I always add extra letters all over the place!

It's an instant product made by Nagaike (I think that's how to read it) in Osaka. It's very tasty, and not too salty for an instant savoury product. I don't normally like ume-flavoured things, but even I really liked it. I can't understand much more about it (all that kanji...), but I know you only need 1 spoonful for 60cc of hot water! (Not very helpful, I know, but at least I could find the website all by myself!)

Edited December 13, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks for your reply and the link!

Very, very impressive product!! No chemical seasonings added, no flavorings added!

I must get one!

[prasantrin]

Thanks for your reply and the link!

Very, very impressive product!!  No chemical seasonings added, no flavorings added!

I must get one!

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If you're willing to PM your address, I'd be happy to send you one of my tins. They were selling it in the special section at Hankyu (where they just have temporary vendors), and they had a special price--2 tins for Y1050 so we bought two! They had regular kobu cha, too, but we weren't offered a taste of it.

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks for your kind offer, but I think I'll first search for it at stores nearby. If I can't find it, I think I'll buy it online, together with some of the other items I'm interested in. It's going to be a great Chirstmas gift for my son.

[Hayley Casarotto]

Yay! I really enjoy these posts of yours, prasantrin. Your mum looks so thrilled to be back I'm looking forwards to the next installment.

[prasantrin]

OK, so I kicked Peter Green's a** with our spring break installments, but what he doesn't know is that I haven't yet finished my Christmas stuff! Once I finish this, I really will be the champion of champions!

So. . .

pics can be found here, I hope.

On December 12th, despite the enormous amount of work I still had to do, my mother and I went to Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. I had been there once before on a short work-related trip, and I thought my mother would like it there, so off we went!

We were taking a bus, so we left bright and early to give us enough time to find the bus station. We arrived about 90 minutes too early, so we went to Starbucks to kill time. Have I ever mentioned that I hate Starbucks? The only things I like about it are that it's completely non-smoking, and you can sit for as long as you want without getting kicked out. I used to do a lot of my marking there.

Anyway, the Starbucks in Japan have macarons! I had read somewhere that they were quite good, so I wanted to try one. I chose caramel. Let me just say, YUCK!!! OK, that's not all I'm going to say. They were too large and dry, and the filling was disgusting. Plus it had little to no caramel flavour at all! What a waste of money. And the coffee was horrible, too.

I think it was almost noon by the time we arrived in Kurashiki, and we were starving! We walked to the historical area (only about 10 minutes from the train station), and found an udon shop. Kanaizumi is a fairly large restaurant considering it's not quite in the main tourist area, but it was the busiest restaurant we saw. The chef was making udon noodles in full view of passers-by, so we figured it would be decent udon. We were right!

My mother had gyu-udon. No, that's not gyudon, but udon with beef. She said it was good. I had a tempura teishoku. The tempura was OK. A bit greasy, as though the oil wasn't quite hot enough when they began to fry it. The udon was quite nice, though. I find udon is often over-cooked, but this still had a bit of bite to it, and the noodles were super long!

After lunch, we went walking around the tourist area for a bit. Kurashiki is really a pretty little town. It's really a city, but the tourist area looks like an old Japanese town. I just wanted to walk long enough to deserve a rest at my favourite coffee shop in Kurashiki--Kohikan!

I love this place, and I think their coffee is quite good. Coming from an infrequent coffee drinker, that's high praise! (I do prefer Inoda coffee in Kyoto, though.) My mother had cafe au lait, and I had Vienna Coffee, which is one of their specialties. No alcohol or chocolate in this version, just a big dollop of whipped cream (not real, but some kind of edible oil product), and a lot of large-crystal sugar at the bottom of the cup. I liked it, but it was very rich.

On the way back to the train station, we found a little shop that sold all sorts of coated legumes. We bought a few kinds for my mother to bring back to the Philippines as omiyage, and I bought a teeny bag of very delicious roasted peanuts (shelled). They were Y600 for maybe 1 cup of peanuts, but they were oh so good!

Back to the train station to catch our bus back to Kobe, and I think we just had my chicken soup for dinner that night.

[prasantrin]

The next day, we went to Kyoto. Whenever my mother comes to Japan, we go to Kyoto so my stylist can cut her hair. She loves him as much as I do!

After our morning of beauty, we went downtown for lunch. We weren't sure what we wanted to eat, but when we happened upon Ippudo, the Hakata-style ramen shop, we decided to eat there. Although it was about 2pm, there was still quite a line. We only had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated, though.

The Kyoto branch is much brighter than the Kobe branch, but it seems more cramped. There's a communal table (where we were seated and, unfortunately, where many families with very young children were seated), and also counter seating.

My mother had the Karaka-men. It's supposed to be spicy, but it really wasn't that spicy. It came with a little plate of half a slightly more cooked onsen tamago, a slice of fatty pork, rice, and nori. We weren't sure what she was supposed to do with this sides, so she put the egg and the pork in her ramen, and ate the rice and nori like onigiri. She really liked her meal, but she was very full after!

We also shared a little pork bun--this was really good! I expected something along the lines of chashubao, but it wasn't really like that. The bun was baked rather than steamed, and there was chile paste or sauce in there, too. We also shared some gyoza. I thought it tasted a little funny--couldn't put my finger on what the strangeness was, though. The gyoza at the Kobe branch didn't have that strange flavour, though.

I had the Shiromaru. I didn't really like it. The broth had a funny flavour to it. I don't know if it was the Shiromaru that I didn't like, or if it was just the Kyoto branch that I didn't like. I'm going to try the Shiromaru in Kobe the next time I go, so I can compare.

We left early, because we were both tired plus I still had all that marking to do.

[prasantrin]

OK, the last post is a short one, because I don't have any other pictures, and I don't remember what else we ate! All pics can be found at the link a couple of posts above.

On the 15th I had to go to the Okamoto area of Kobe to pick up our malaria prophylaxis from my doctor, so I decided to force my mother to eat one of my favourite sandwiches in Japan--the pate casse-croute!

Donq is a seriously good French bakery in Japan. One French acquaintance claims their baguette is the only "authentic" baguette he's every had in Japan. I seriously doubt the validity of his statement, but I've never been to France, so what do I know? The Donq in Okamoto is the main shop (and the original, I think), but Donq exists in Tokyo, too.

I had a caprese casse-croute. It was good, but the tomatoes had been rerigerated. I hate refrigerated tomatoes! I really like their fries, but I wish they'd give more. Next time I'm going to see if I can get some extra ones.

In the pate casse-croute, there is a surprisingly large amount of pate. It's not cheap in Japan, but this sandwich is very reasonably priced given how much pate they put in it. Now that I've looked at the pictures again, I need to go back and have another one!

Finally, on the 16th we invited my co-worker out to dinner at Ihatovo. They had an amazing dinner special--just Y2500 for a whole lot of food!

The only pics I have are of the appetizer plate and the pasta course. I think there was also a salad, and the main was sausage and spareribs. The spareribs were very tender, but I hated the flavour the sausage added to the dish. I was pretty full by then, so I just ate a little and we took the rest home for my mother to snack on the next day. We had dessert, too, but I can't remember what it was. Oops. See what happens when you wait 4 months to write about something?

That's it. A few days later we left for Singapore (Cambodia and Malaysia), and I've already written all that up.

But now I'm really done! Whew!