Yudofu lunch @ Kikusui, Kyoto (Japan)

I remember the first time we ate tofu as a meal in Japan, almost seven years ago. It was the meal that opened our eyes to the beautiful and tasty variety of tofu available in Japan, and I was converted! To those who like me who grew up with the bland and rubbery tofu common in Chinese cuisine, I urge you to try the Japanese tofu. There are so many different types, and my favourite is gomadofu (sesame tofu). When we were in Kyoto a few months ago, we went to Kikusui, a dining ryokan near Nanzenji that served kaiseki ryori and yudofu (tofu hotpot). There was also a large beautiful garden on site, and the general atmosphere was peaceful and tranquil (until we turned up with a 5-year-old and an infant!). It was very relaxing, and I'm sure that Kikusui would also be a lovely place to stay at. Service was typically Japanese - polite and efficient. No English here, and it would seem that meal choices are limited to yudofu lunch set for walk-in patrons. I would have loved to try the mini kaiseki course, but it's not surprising that something like that will require advance reservations. The food was delicious, and it was a nice gesture of the host to show us the lovely garden.

The waiting area by the entrance:

Large tatami dining room, and hubby was grateful for the chairs instead of having to kneel in the traditional manner:

Each table had a plaque with a different kanji character engraved on it:

Yudofu set, which includes silken tofu in hot dashi broth, tempura and sashimi:

We also enjoyed some nimono (simmered dish) of bamboo shoot, egg and mochi, some tsukemono (pickled vegetables), and a tasty bowl of rice seasoned with bamboo shoot:

Gorgeous well-kept Japanese garden complete with some koi in the pond:

We enjoyed good quality traditional Japanese food in a beautiful setting at Kikusui.

Kikusui
31 Nanzenji Fukuchicho
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Japan, 606-8435
Tel. +81 75 (771) 4101

Sushi lunch @ Tsukiji Sushi-sei (JR Kyoto Isetan Department Store), Japan

Sushi is one of my favourite food, and it makes me happy whenever we come across good sushi. It was easy to get good quality sushi when we were living in Japan, but in Hong Kong, the mid-priced sushi are honestly not that great. So sushi has become more of an indulgent treat since moving to HK - quite a big downgrade from sushi being a regular meal during our four years in the land of sushi. When we were in Japan a few months ago - our first time back there in almost four years - a sushi meal was inevitable. It was the first thing we ate shortly after getting off the shinkansen at Kyoto. There are a lot of good food to be found in the Kyoto Station Building, and Isetan Department Store is one such instance. In addition to the Food Floors that occupy the two basement levels, there are five floors of restaurants! We headed to the 11th floor, dubbed "Eat Paradise", and found long lines outside the two restaurants that interested us the most. We decided to put our names down at Tsukiji Sushi-sei and waited about 30 minutes in the queue. The sushi was worth the wait, and we enjoyed good quality Edomae-style sushi for lunch. Tsukiji Sushi-sei is a chain restaurant with its original shop in the midst of Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo (only a few minutes' walk from our old apartment!). We could choose counter seat or table, and service was typically Japanese: polite and efficient. The menu had nine or ten different sushi sets of varying costs depending on the items, and a-la-carte sushi was also possible.

The dining room with tables; counter seats with the sushi chefs were outside that doorway. The interior was simple but clean:

Hubby chose the Omakase set (3465 yen), or the Chef's Choice - chuu-toro (medium fatty tuna belly), tai (sea bream), akami (tuna), iwashi (sardine), tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette), kani (crab), uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe) and kazunoko (herring roe on kelp). This set also included miso soup, anago (saltwater eel) sushi and three mini tuna makizushi (sushi rolls) served on a separate plate which I neglected to take a photo of, and dessert (picture below):

Hubby ordered an extra serving of chuu-toro (medium fatty tuna belly) sushi:

I got the March seasonal lunch special (1680 yen) which included seven nigirizushi, gobo maki (burdock root rolls), a mini rice bowl with fish topping, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) and dessert. This was a good choice, and I enjoyed every single part of the plate, especially the shirasu (whitebait/baby anchovy) topping, which was quite different to the dried version I'm used to:

Good chawanmushi (egg custard), with such silky smooth texture and delicious savoury flavour:

The boy got the Regular Sushi Set (998 yen) which he chose mostly for the tamagozushi (egg sushi), but he enjoyed the anago, salmon and squid too:

Warabimochi dipped in matcha (green tea) powder and served with green tea ice cream. This was the dessert that came with hubby's Omakase Set, and it was so good. The dessert included in my set was similar, but without the ice cream:

That was a good sushi meal. Now I've got a hankering for sushi!

Tsukiji Sushi-sei (Isetan Department Store)
11th Floor
Isetan Department Store
JR Kyoto Station Building
Higashi-Shiokoji Shiokoji-Sagaru
Karasuma-dori
Shimogyou-ku, Kyoto
Japan 600-8555
Tel. +81 75 (352) 6223

Kyoto in one (and a half) day: Shinkansen, Hanami and Food!

I'm glad to finally get back to working on my backlog of photos from our trip to Japan, where we spent a couple of days in Nagoya and then we hopped onto a shinkansen to Kyoto. This was our third visit to this beautiful city (our first with kids in tow), and it was even more beautiful with the cherry blossoms. We were delighted to have our trip coincide with the gorgeous but fleeting sakura season (lasting only one or two weeks, and the timing depends largely on the climate that year). Kyoto is one of our favourite cities in Japan, and it was an easy 35-minute ride on the Nozomi bullet train from Nagoya. The train ride was probably the highlight of the trip for the 5-year-old boy who had been looking forward to riding on the shinkansen for years (though he was born in Japan and had ridden the bullet train before, we left for Hong Kong when he was only a wee 2-year-old). We took it easy since we had already done most of the touristy sightseeing stuff on previous trips, and I only put two things on our Kyoto itinerary: do the Philospher's Walk (which coincidentally is one of the best places to do hanami), and eat! Kyoto Station is a food mecca, and that's where we got most of our food from during the two days.

At Nagoya Station waiting for our Nozomi train to Kyoto:

At the bottom of the Grand Stair at Kyoto Station with a good view of the glass roof (in 2006 I took pictures of the stair itself crowded and empty):

Yatsuhashi-flavoured KitKat:

Beard Papa's at Kyoto Station:

Beard Papa's cream puffs to fuel the walk ahead of us - the original (vanilla) and cookies & cream:

Hubby said there's not enough photos of me, so here's one of the kids and I under the cherry blossoms on the Path of Philosophy:

One variety of cherry blossoms:

And another darker pink sakura:

Yes, I can see why the Philosopher's Walk is regarded as one of the best places to view the cherry blossoms:

The crowded street to Ginkaku-ji from the Path of Philosophy (we did not go that way):

The Philospher's Walk is aptly named - good for quiet contemplation:

One of the traditional houses we encountered on the way to lunch:

After lunch, we visited the grounds of Nanzen-ji. This was the huge Sanmon (Mountain Gate):

The big threshold of the Mountain Gate, with a goofy 5-year-old for size comparison (click here for a similar photo I took of hubby and the Sanmon seven years ago):

The main purpose of the visit to Nanzen-ji grounds was to show the kid the huge aqueducts:

The visit to Nanzen-ji grounds ended shortly after this shot was taken. The boy and I walked down the steps to meet hubby who was with the baby in the stroller, and I'm still not sure what happened exactly, but the boy must have been goofing off too close to the open drain (pictured to the right of the shot) and he fell in. Hubby pulled him right out almost immediately, and thankfully the boy did not hit his head on the embankment, nor was he hurt anywhere else (though hubby and I were both very surprised he was not hurt considering it was at least a 1m drop). He was wet, it was cold, so we headed back to the hotel:

From the bus back to the hotel, we saw a pedestrain footpath full of cherry blossoms. I'm surprised I managed to get a straight shot from inside the vehicle:

One of the foodie things I wanted was a bento dinner, and hubby grudgingly obliged (he preferred a nice restaurant meal, but cranky kids after a tiring day out do not allow us such luxury). Purchases from several shops in Kyoto Station - two bento boxes from a bento shop, yomogi mochi from a supermarket, and a couple of baked goodies from a bakery:

This was one of the more expensive bento boxes on offer, at around 2500yen. Such neat presentation, and I loved how Japanese this tasted:

The smaller bento was slightly cheaper, just under 1500yen:

We also ate a delicious sushi lunch and a yudofu meal while in Kyoto, so stay tuned for upcoming reviews!

Noodles at Hinode Udon, Nanzenji

My parents and Rob's mum were in Tokyo for a couple of days before coming to the Noto to visit us. On their last night in Tokyo, they visited a noodle place (one of those 'standing' ones that Japanese businessmen go to for a quick meal, slurp down the noodles whilst standing, and then go about their business. They found it a good experience - it was the first time my dad tried udon (and he loved it), and my mum and Rob's mum were so tickled at being the only females in the place.

Anyway, after our visit to Nanzenji (one of the temples in Kyoto), we realised that it was already almost 3pm and had not had lunch yet. So I flipped open the pages of the Japan Lonely Planet Guide for recommendations in the area, and saw that Hinode does good udon. This place is quite gaijin-friendly - there's an English menu and the owner has a good grasp of English.

There are various ways to have your noodles at Hinode: kare (Japanese curry) or broth; chicken, beef or seafood; in nabe (claypot) or bowl. There are three types of noodles to choose from: udon, soba, and ramen. They even provide disposable bibs for you to wear because they understand that it's a messy job to eat udon in a thick sauce like kare:



My dad, Rob and his mum ordered kare udon with their choice of meat. I had nishin soba - soba noodles in broth with herring that has been specially dried and prepared. My mum ordered nabe ramen with pork (claypot noodles). The Japanese curry, which is not really a curry in my definition, was quite tasty - the thick sauce complemented the thick noodles quite well. My nishin soba was also quite nice, although the broth was a bit too salty. I liked the herring which was very umami in a salty-sweet manner. Everything was pretty good and did very well to fill our empty stomachs up. Best of all, it was quite affordable with each of our dishes cost around 700 to 800 yen (AU$7-$8)

Kare Udon (with beef); Nishin Soba:

Parents' trip to Japan - Kobe, Himeji, Kyoto

Kobe

The next day, after wandering around in the Nanba area of the Minami (south) district of Osaka city (the younger/hipper part) and letting our parents sample takoyaki (octopus balls), we hopped on the train and headed towards Kobe. For lunch, we tried Kobe beef for the first time (review to come later), and then we sent our parents up to Nunobiki Habukoen (Herb Garden) up in the mountain. We didn't accompany them since we'd already been before, plus I had to rush to complete my Japanese test and post it off on that day. While we waited for them, we sat ourselves in a cafe and Rob ordered hot chocolate, which came out in a huge mug-bowl. Looking around us in the cafe, everything was served in huge glass bowls and mug-bowls. We paid only 500 yen for that huge serve of hot chocolate, which I thought was a pretty good price!

The mug-bowl of hot chocolate complete with whipped cream and a Pocky stick:


Himeji

It was late evening by the time we checked into the hotel, and parents were feeling a bit exhausted (and it's only Day 2!) so we had a relatively early night. Day 3 brings us to Himeji, home to the Himeji Castle, touted as the castle to see in Japan. We arrived at Himeji at lunch time, and we had lunch at a restaurant that served wonderful kaiseki meals. This was a place we wanted to try the last time we were here, but time did not allow us to. Review for this place will follow soon.

At the castle, the sakura (cherry blossoms) were beginning to bloom, and gave great photo opportunities for my parents and Rob's mum (one of the main reasons for their visit to Japan). The flowers were beautiful, but I can't say I quite understand the hype surrounding these short-lived blossoms during the Hanami season. I kid you not when I say that this is probably the number 1 national event as the Japanese people closely observe (almost obsessively) the Sakura Forecast and cities make plans for festivals and events around the forecast. It's said that the most important task of the year for the Japan Meteorology Agency is their forecast of when the sakura will bloom. Hm..

Close-up of the blooms


Kobe Harbour and Chinatown

We really wanted to show our parents the Earthquake Memorial Park in Kobe Harbour, especially since it would be significant to them after their experience with an earthquake. After the visit to Himeji Castle, we did our best to get back to Kobe before it got dark. After checking out the Harbour and the Memorial Park, we took a brief look at Nankinmachi (Kobe's Chinatown district), and had dinner at a noodle place. It was pretty late by the time we arrived in Kyoto to check into our accommodation.

Kobe Harbour at dusk: the tower and the rooftop of the Maritime Museum:


Kyoto

Having stayed in Kyoto for a few days last November, we had a good idea of locations worth showing to our parents. Since our parents do not have our stamina for walking and biking, we bought all-day bus tickets and took the bus to our destinations. I conclude that taking the bus is not the best way to see Kyoto - it takes too long (yes, longer than on the bike) and you miss out on many of the beautiful sights that are not situated near the main roads. We went to Kinkakuji (Golden Temple) and Nanzenji, and the gardens were full of spring flowers in bloom.

This photo was snapped somewhere in Kinkakuji:


By now our parents were feeling a bit 'templed-out' so we headed back into town and wandered through Nishikikoji Markets. As the sun was setting, we set out to Gion for some geisha/maiko-spotting. Although it was a weeknight, the street was full of tourists with the same intention. At first I thought the crowd was waiting for some procession to go down the street, but no - everyone was waiting, camera-ready, to flash their cameras at any unfortunate geisha or maiko who happened to use the street to go to their appointments. I didn't take any photos because I felt sorry for them - besides, I already had a photo of one from our last visit to this area.

Our homeward-bound train was in the early afternoon the next day, and we had a relaxing morning strolling along the river nearby our accommodation. The eki (train station) itself was worth spending an hour or so at, and then it was home time. After five days of travelling (double for Rob who came straight from his New York trip), it was good to finally return home. We were exhausted, but in a happy way - which is a good sign of a good trip.

Sakura trees in bloom along the river:

Spring is definitely in the air..

The birds are out to play. Frogs croaking. Cicadas chirping. And the annoying bugs are coming back (although not nearly as bad as summer)! Spring marks the new school and business year for Japan, and it is also the time much anticipated by the Japanese for Hanami ("flower viewing" - specifically cherry blossoms viewing).



We saw some gorgeous cherry blossoms whilst in Himeji and Kyoto last week with our parents. And a huge-arse bee-like insect (must've been the size of my pinky finger!).



Our parents certainly has had the opportunity to experience a lot of Japanese things: inaka (country) living, visiting huge bustling cities, saw some cherry blossoms, saw some geisha girls in Gion (Kyoto), ate lots of fresh sashimi (including ama-ebi [raw prawn], ika [squid] and sazae [snails]) as well as various other Japanese food (including kaiseki, Kobe beef, soba (buckwheat) and udon (thick flour) noodles, and all those mochi and yummy bakery goods). And let's not forget the terrifying earthquake experience. I think I can safely say that they've truly had a taste of Japan in the past two weeks.

Kyoto - Day 3: the final day

Kiyoumizudera

Tuesday was our last day in Kyoto, and we were scheduled to return back home on the 13:00 train. We woke up early in the morning to check out Kiyoumizudera, another popular tourist-y temple. The three temples we've visited thus far were the ones recommended by my JTE (Jap Teacher of English), and to tell you the truth, I was all 'templed' out after three temples - I don't know how anyone else can visit more. An American dude (teaching English in Korea) who'd just arrived that morning into Kyoto mentioned he had no idea where to start, so we invited him along with us.

This temple was full of tourists by the time we arrived at 9:00. It is situated at the top of the hill, and it certainly was a workout trying to ride up the hill on the bicycle! There were many students perhaps on a school trip to the temple, and there were so many omiyage (souvenir) shops along the hilly road to the temple and inside the temple itself! I felt that it was rather mercantile which tarnished traditional image of the temple.

The entrance at the top of the hill:


The view of the city from inside the temple grounds:


The people drinking the water must believe it would do them some good. Unfortunately there wasn't any English signboards explaining the significance of drinking the water:


Gion during daytime

We returned back to the traditional streets of Gion to show the American where to go in the evening, and also a chance for me to take a photo of the streets during daytime.



Cancelled train services!

After checking out of our lodging, we headed back to the eki (train station) to grab lunch and hang out while we wait for our train ride back home. Being a weekday, the eki was more quiet and less crowded than on the Sunday we arrived in Kyoto. The same Grand Stair was empty which gave a great photo op:



It was a very windy and chilly day, and it was nice to have shelter from the wind while we waited for our train to leave. Except that it didn't leave. This was the first time we'd bought unreserved tickets, and it shall be our last time - the few dollars extra for a guaranteed seat is so worth it. The trains homeward-bound to our prefecture had not been running since morning because of the bad winds, which we later found out was because of a freak tornado that hit Hokkaido. We waited for two hours, and still it was not certain whether there would be any homeward-bound train service leaving that day. I was quite stressed out because
1) there was only one bus service from Kanazawa to our town, and we'd already missed it (but I'd arranged for friends to pick us up from the next town); and
2) I would be forced to take nenkyuu (paid leave) for another day if there were no trains running home at all.
3) there was the communication language barrier problem we'd had to deal with while trying to figure out what the hell was happening!

By 14:45, we decided that we weren't gonna be waiting around for a train that might never leave. So we called our lodging to make sure our room was still vacant, got a refund on our tickets and called my school to let them know that I wouldn't be heading in to work the next day. There wasn't really anything else to do in Kyoto, so we jumped on the local train and headed into Osaka to spend our evening there, where we had a great time!

Kaiseki dining @ Mametora (Gion, Kyoto)

Like I said before, the Kyoto trip coincided with my birthday (hm, I wonder if that was a deliberate plan on my part?), so we decided to splurge a bit to celebrate. On recommendation by someone who has lived and dined in Kyoto for 23 years, we went to Mametora in Gion which served kaiseki at reasonable prices (well, they were still expensive, but more reasonable than most places that serve kaiseki). Kaiseki ryori is very much an artistic piece of work featuring seasonal ingredients, and are notoriously known to be really expensive. Some say that kaiseki ryori is the height of Japanese cuisine. Many kaiseki restaurants are not intimidating only for foreigners, but for natives as well because they are like super-first class restaurants requiring a certain degree of etiquette and formality.

On the streets of Gion searching for the restaurant, we saw several geishas on their way to their appointments. The poor girls - having people shoving cameras in their faces. Being entertainers, they surely must enjoy the celebrity status, right? (That was my justification for taking a photo):



The entrance to Mametora:


Inside, our seats had a view of a Japanese 'zen' garden. The restaurant had a very calm and relaxing atmosphere:


We went for Mametora's special Mame Sushi kaiseki, which is an 8-course meal for 8000yen (~AU$90) per person. Everything was immaculately prepared and presented and the service was friendly and helpful. The food was very delicious, and I'm not obligatorily saying it was delicious because it was expensive - no no I've had expensive crap food, but this was truly perhaps the best Japanese food I've had so far.

Entree

The entree course consisted of six dishes - there were tofu, beans, shrimps, fish roe, and a piece of daikon served with a deliciously sweet sauce. In fact, the sauce was so delicious, I'd really like to know what it was!

(Clockwise from bottom left) daikon with that yummy sauce; strongly-flavoured shrimp (perhaps fermented?); I can't remember what this dish was like; fish roe; and beans deliciously prepared. In the centre is the tofu:


Mushroom soup with goma dofu

Oo, this was soooo yummy! I have previously given an account of our first encounter with goma dofu, so perhaps you can understand our excitement to find out that the tofu pieces in this course were goma dofu. In the soup were an array of various Japanese mushrooms, including the oh-so-expensive-and-rare matsutake. The soup was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!

Big pot of mushroom soup:


Yummy goma dofu just for me!


Sashimi course

This included maguro (tuna), ika (squid) and a few other types of fish whose names I do not remember. The seafood was fresh and beautifully presented.



Fried sweet potato

We had the chance to enjoy one of the Japanese favourite autumn vegetable, which was either yam or sweet potato. The colour looked like yam but the taste was very sweet. When I asked if it was satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato), the waitress said another name and explained that it's like a type of sweet potato. We enjoyed it a lot anyway :)



Broiled fish

If I'm not wrong, the fish in this course is called ayu, which is a freshwater 'sweet' fish enjoyed during summer and autumn seasons. It is quite an expensive fish too. I enjoyed this fish, but I wasn't sure how to eat this fish, so I ate everything - head, bones and all. Rob was a bit more picky, refusing to eat everything and spent some time fiddling with the bones.



Sushi course

The star dish of the whole dinner is the sushi plate. One word: beautiful. The presentation was amazing, and the taste was even better! This dish included unagi (eel), hotate (scallops), ebi (prawn) and maguro (tuna) interspaced with vegetable sushi like daikon, seaweed and red onion.



Dessert

By this time I was stuffed. Dessert was a traditional wagashi: a green tea mochi with anko (adzuki bean paste) filling.




Phewy, this post took a while, didn't it? All this talk about food is making me hungry!