631103 Wed Jun 24 03:38:09 -0700 2009 2 45 Japan 0 4800919 In Japan, my wife and I visited Kyoto and Tokyo in May/June. Rather than having one enormous post, I'll break up the Japan portion of the trip into 2 posts in this thread over the coming days. We also visited Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an in the same trip. I'll post a link to the Seoul thread once it's up, and the China thread can be found here now: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/628324 Wed Jun 24 03:38:09 -0700 2009 223025 GordonS 1 4800921 First up - Kyoto Venue: Owariya Address: 322 Kurumayacho-Nijyo, Nakogyo-ku Total Bill: Y 3,300 English menu: Yes English spoken: A little Incredibly, this small soba restaurant has been around for more than 500 years - so they must be doing something right! Stepping into this place was like stepping back in time - being an avid fan of Asian cinema, it found it reminiscent of eateries I've seen in Edo-period Japan, with shoji sliding doors, noren curtains, and just the overall look and feel of the place - what a great find! There are some pictures of Owariya on the Kyoto Foodie blog here, but note that these pictures really don't do it justice (I don't think there was an English sign up outside the restaurant, so these pictures will help you identify it!): http://kyotofoodie.com/owariya-540-year-old-soba-restaurant/ Both tatami mats and western-style seating is available, and a waitress politely ushered us to one of the two tables (which suited me just fine, as I find it quite painful sitting cross legged for any period of time!). Green tea was promptly served while we perused the menu - I ordered soba with tempura, and the wife ordered soba with fish. I also spotted some buckwheat spirits in the drinks section, so thought I'd give them a try. Quite a large glass of the sprits arrived first, along with a teapot of soba water to add - water that soba noodles have been boiled in! Randomly, to me it tasted a bit like cachaça (Brazilian spirits made fron sugar cane juice) - nice! Two large bowls of soba noodles in dashi broth arrived shortly after, with a stack of tempura on the side for me, and large piece of fish on top of the wife's. Now, with the exception of shellfish, octpous and squid, I really don't like fish (in the wrong country, I know...!). This was the first time I'd ever had dashi broth, so I was a little nervous about whether or not I would like it - my concerns were not warranted, as the broth didn't taste fishy at all. In fact, it was quite delicious, with a deep, smokey, slightly sweet flavour. I sampled a little of the wife's fish, and it too was rather nice - it had been smoked and also had a slightly sweet flavour to it. The substantial stack of vegetable tempura was good, but not the best I was to have in Japan - more on that later. The real star of the show was of course the soba noodles - without question the best I've had, with a great flavour and just the right amount of chew to them. Two full bellies later, and the bill came to Y 3,300, which is good value. We were also given some free buckwheat confectionary - which might sound a bit odd to western tastes, but was really delicious. I only wish we'd gone back to buy some more before leaving Kyoto :/ I highly recommend anyone visiting Kyoto to try Owariya for lunch or dinner. Venue: ?something? Tofu Address: Higashiyama Total Bill: Y 4,800 English menu: Yes English spoken: A little Sorry again - I didn't make a note of the name or address of this place at the time :( We were walking round Higashiyama to see the Kiyomizu-dera and Jishu-jinja temples at the time and stopped for lunch at this large tofu restaurant. It was directly opposite a smaller tofu restaurant, if that helps at all. As we walked in we went past a large, 'open kitchen' where people were making tofu on-site. A good sign we were in for a treat :) There were several set meals on the menu and we picked one at Y 2,400 per person. We got a lot of food for that! First to arrive was some chilled soya milk. At least, having never tried it before, that's what I think it was. To me it tasted like a thick, creamy cow's milk. Quite nice. First up were various tiny dishes containing nicely presented tofu and tofu skin items - all were excellent, with the firmness of the tofu varying between dishes. Next to arrive was a truely enormous pot of large, very soft tofu cubes (each was around 2 inches). I think it was called 'yobufu'? There was soy sauce and pickles on the table to eat with it. This was some really delicious tofu, but there was no way we could finish all of it! Next up was some vegetable tempura. No sauce or salt was providing for dipping, but when it arrived our waitress told us this was because it was already salty. The batter was salty. And oh-so delicious! Some excellent tempura that beat what I'd had the previous night at Owariya (but you still _have_ to go to Owariya for their soba noodles :) The final item was particularly delicious - skewers of grilled, firm tofu with some kind of sweet (red?) bean paste on top. This was my favourite dish. I'd recommend anyone in the area with a hankering for a tofu-feast to give it a try - hopefully someone else on this site can help pin-point it's location! Venue: Asuka Address: Jingumichi Nishi-iru Nishimachi 144, Sanjo-dori Total Bill: Y 2,700 English menu: Yes English spoken: A little This tiny restaurant doesn't have an English sign outside, so look for a red lantern outside - we found it easily enough. Inside there is a small bar and 3 tables with tatami mats (oh, the pain, the pain!). Time for more tempura! Both the wife and I ordered large stacks vegetable tempura, which came with miso soup, rice and pickles. The tempura came with a dipping sauce, and was the best so far - the batter was just perfect! It had been perhaps 2 years since I last had miso soup (and that was in Brazil, randomly) and I'd forgotten how good it was - Asuka's rendition was delicious! The Japanese-style pickles were a great accompanyment too. The total bill came to Y 2,700 including a coke and a beer - really great value, and recommended! Venue: Asuka Address: Jingumichi Nishi-iru Nishimachi 144, Sanjo-dori Total Bill: Y 2,400 English menu: Yes English spoken: A little Yes, back to Asuka again... we had been intending to sample some udon noodles at Omen on Gokomachi-dori, but we couldn't find the place - we walked right up and down the street a few times, but it just didn't seem to be there - has it shut down or something? Anyway, after giving up we tried to find somewhere nearby with an English menu, but after 30 minutes hadn't found anything. The wife was hungry and grumbling, which of course was my fault, so we ended up back at Asuka. The wife, predictably, had her beloved vegetable tempura again, while I opted for 'Japanese style fried chicken', which came with rice, miso soup and pickles. While the chicken, which was in the most amazing, crisp, lightly spiced batter was certainly delicious I can't testify to its Japanese-ness :) The total bill came to Y 2,400 including a coke and a beer. This was another great meal, but we were a bit dissapointed we couldn't find Omen :( Wed Jun 24 03:40:03 -0700 2009 4800919 223025 GordonS 1 4820383 Next, Tokyo. I'm afraid I'll post these in dribs and drabs, as I don't have much time at the moment :( Venue: Imaiya Address: 6F Marunouchi Building, 2-4-1 Marunouchi Total Bill: Y 6,550 English menu: Yes English spoken: A little When we arrived this place was very busy. There were no tables left, so we took the last 2 seats at the bar. And as it happens, at the bar, in front of the open kitchen is the best place to sit at this great izakaya on the 6th floor of the Marunouchi building! We were served by a waitress that spoke some English, and we also got an English menu (although there were a few amusing mistakes on it, the meaning was quite clear). I'd only ever had sake a couplke of times before, and so I asked the waitress for a recommendation. I think she pronounced it like English 'you'. Anyway, Y 1,000 got me an enormous, chilled glass of the sweet sake, which was particularly nice! We ordered several grilled skewers: leek, shitake, peppers, chicken breast with leek, chicken meatball with raw egg yolk, chicken hearts. We also ordered some rice with sour pickles, which was nicely presented as a triangle of rice containing the pickles. Everything was cooked to absolute perfection and was delicious! My only complaint would be that it's relatively expensive, and each menu item is only one skewer with 3-4 pieces on each. A couple of nights later we went to another izakaya. Tanyu Kurumaya in the Caretta Shiodome (write up will follow) - prices there were perhaps 40% cheaper, but the food is just as good (although it doesn't have the same atmosphere and buzz that Imaiya has). Wed Jul 01 04:11:46 -0700 2009 4800919 223025 GordonS