...oh, uh...
hey...guys...no, it uh, hasn't been about 6 months since my last update...
nope, no siree...
heh.
yeah.
um.
so.
right, okay, so it HAS been like 6 months since my last update. i've had lots of stuff i wanted to write about, just -- didn't have time to do it, since the things i wanted to write about are the things that've been keeping me busy.
but i digress.
anyway today i'm here to talk about cupcakes.
oh cupcakes, you say, why not just write about apple pie and baseball and the american dream while you're at it.
no need to be snarky, i have a perfectly good reason to write about cupcakes.
so i was scrolling through facebook, like you do, when i happened upon a picture of some cupcakes, perfectly baked by my dear friend michelle. and then it hits me, man, i could go for some cupcakes. i already had the perfect icing recipe (better than the stuff in a can, not to say that the stuff in a can isn't great, because it is, no doubt--but my swiss meringue buttercream recipe is out of this world), all that was left was the cupcake.
so i hop on my trusty japanese recipe search engine and pick out the most popular cupcake recipe to make. visions of fluffy and moist cupcakes are dancing through my head as i make my first batch of cupcakes in god knows how long. but the results were far from stellar. they ended up more like brownies -- and not like good brownies, i mean like on the dry side brownies. this is definitely NOT what i remembered cupcakes tasting like.
so once again, consulted my go-to recipe engine and decided on another recipe to try. the results were fluffier, but terribly dry. this isn't a cupcake at all. what's wrong with japanese cupcake recipes?? why are they all NOT cupcakes?
this was serious.
i decided it was time to take my plea to facebook, because good lord there's gotta be SOMEONE out there who knows a good cupcake recipe. and lo and behold, a voice.
okay, not a voice, but a post!
gwyn so graciously introduced me to the cupcake project blog -- not only do the recipes look promising, but they also look delicious. the only catch is converting stuff to grams, which i've already touched upon (not fun). when i think about it, i've only really made cupcakes from a mix before -- but as i'm mixing the batter, i start to realize that the batter smells EXACTLY like i remember cupcake batter is supposed to smell like. i've got a good feeling about this.
and after about 14 minutes, the cupcakes are done. the difference is clear before i even take a bite -- they feel lighter and smell richer than the previous cupcakes. taking a bite only confirms it -- yes, THESE are the cupcakes i remember! rich! light! moist! CUPCAKES! this is amazing! honest to god cupcakes HERE! in hiroshima!
okay, so? you say. what's the big deal? they're cupcakes, not a cure for the common cold.
no see, it's super hard to find a taste of home here. i mean, it's not like i go out of my way to look for stuff that tastes like home -- it's hard to do in general because ingredients and stuff are different here, i can respect that. i'm fine with that. but sometimes, you just want a bowl of mac and cheese. or cupcakes. and they just don't have that readily available here. not that that's a bad thing, it's just the truth. so finding something that tastes so much like home is a huge discovery. it's like finding atlantis. you've never seen anyone so excited about cupcakes -- i could have danced out into the streets broadway musical-style, belting out songs about cupcakes to the masses. this should also illustrate to you just HOW BAD the japanese recipes for cupcakes were. those cupcakes sucked all the moisture out of your mouth the instant you took a bite. they were like...the anti-cupcake. evil cupcakes.
but now i have two foolproof cupcake recipes to make whenever i'm in the mood for some sweet cuppin' cakes.
next year'll mark 10 years in japan for me. 10 years. ten. that alone is pretty mindblowing, but it's taken me that long to really start to miss things about home (does that make sense?) cupcakes are something you grow up with as a kid -- and to find something from your childhood on the other side of the world? that's pretty awesome. and cause to write a blog, i'd say.
2015年6月8日月曜日
2014年12月29日月曜日
nen-matsu
alas we've come to the end of 2014. after the tinsel and glitter of christmas -- and i do mean RIGHT AFTER -- japan turns into nen-matsu-mode with traditional japanese music everywhere you turn, decorations like shime-nawa and kagami-mochi (like the one pictured above).
this is actually my first year to put up an actual kagami-mochi, which is pounded mochi rice that they shape into two rounds, a big one on top and a small one on the bottom, with either mikan or daidai at the top (the little clementine looking guy). now buying it is all well and good, but i had no idea WHEN to actually put it on display, so naturally i decided to ask my husband since he's, y'know, japanese.
"hey," i says to him, "so when do we put this thing on display?" the kagami-mochi is sitting in a vacuum-sealed piece of plastic at this point.
"uh... the 31st...?"
clearly he's making this up and has no clue.
"oh really?" i says, pulling out my iphone, "let's see what google has to say then."
according to the internets, kagami-mochi is traditionally set on display on the 28th, because 8 is a lucky number, and then it's taken down and eaten on 1/11 (having all those 1s in a row is apparently auspicious). so after boiling the mochi in its plastic packaging, i set it on a piece of white paper with red edges (red and white as auspicious as well), and then bought a bag of small mikan with their leaves still attached and balanced one precariously on top. and voila!
now all that's left to do is to wait until the 11th and either boil or broil it to crispy mochi perfection!
hope everyone has a great new year, and look forward to more posts in 2015!!
2014年12月15日月曜日
stuff you miss
it's been a long time since i had thanksgiving at home.
so long, in fact, that i can't even remember what year it was -- though i recall it was at my aunt and uncle's house in missouri. i think. this is before i went back to japan for work, so already pushing 8 years ago.
i won't lie -- i miss thanksgiving. it was one of those holidays that i really enjoyed. getting up semi-early to help my mom in the kitchen, making stuffing, sweet potatoes, and hoping that this year the turkey would come out perfect. i never got the chance to ask my mom her recipes for thanksgiving before she passed away, and when faced with the chance to make not a turkey, but a roast chicken, i really wish i had.
so i made a roast chicken today for the first time. i found i reliable site to help out with chicken prep, but i couldn't find just the right stuffing recipe.
scrolling through pages on my phone, i started to piece together fragments from that kitchen in columbia. raw turkey wrapped in white paper. boiling the neck to make broth. lots of cubes of bread. mushrooms. onions. sewing up the turkey. butter. taking snapshots of memories and turning them into a patchwork movie. and then i got to work.
since we always have baguettes in the store, i took the leftovers from that day and cut it up into cubes, then let them sit out overnight. heaven knows it's so dry in hiroshima you could probably make beef jerky overnight, i figured they should be good and dried out by the morning. my plan worked perfectly. by the time the lunch shift ended, i was ready to prepare the stuffing. chop up an onion and some mushrooms, sautee in butter, then add the bread cubes. since the chicken was coming in later in the afternoon, i had to make due with chicken broth, adding in a little at a time til the consistency was like i remembered. salt, pepper, and some herbes de provence for good measure. surprisingly, it tasted a lot like i remembered.
turkeys are massive -- that's about the only thing i could think when the chicken arrived that evening from our meat guy. turkeys take 4-6 hours, whereas chickens take 1. i'm fortunate to have a gas oven since y'know, own a restaurant, so i at least have an easier time baking chickens than your average japanese electric oven.
one of the other snapshots that sticks out in my mind is sewing up the turkey at the end. it's such a bizarre image -- i mean, it's a turkey, not a pillow, right? but it's also really fun. and so after cramming as much filling into the chicken as i could, it was time to finally bake the thing and see if my hard work had paid off.
so long, in fact, that i can't even remember what year it was -- though i recall it was at my aunt and uncle's house in missouri. i think. this is before i went back to japan for work, so already pushing 8 years ago.
i won't lie -- i miss thanksgiving. it was one of those holidays that i really enjoyed. getting up semi-early to help my mom in the kitchen, making stuffing, sweet potatoes, and hoping that this year the turkey would come out perfect. i never got the chance to ask my mom her recipes for thanksgiving before she passed away, and when faced with the chance to make not a turkey, but a roast chicken, i really wish i had.
so i made a roast chicken today for the first time. i found i reliable site to help out with chicken prep, but i couldn't find just the right stuffing recipe.
scrolling through pages on my phone, i started to piece together fragments from that kitchen in columbia. raw turkey wrapped in white paper. boiling the neck to make broth. lots of cubes of bread. mushrooms. onions. sewing up the turkey. butter. taking snapshots of memories and turning them into a patchwork movie. and then i got to work.
since we always have baguettes in the store, i took the leftovers from that day and cut it up into cubes, then let them sit out overnight. heaven knows it's so dry in hiroshima you could probably make beef jerky overnight, i figured they should be good and dried out by the morning. my plan worked perfectly. by the time the lunch shift ended, i was ready to prepare the stuffing. chop up an onion and some mushrooms, sautee in butter, then add the bread cubes. since the chicken was coming in later in the afternoon, i had to make due with chicken broth, adding in a little at a time til the consistency was like i remembered. salt, pepper, and some herbes de provence for good measure. surprisingly, it tasted a lot like i remembered.
turkeys are massive -- that's about the only thing i could think when the chicken arrived that evening from our meat guy. turkeys take 4-6 hours, whereas chickens take 1. i'm fortunate to have a gas oven since y'know, own a restaurant, so i at least have an easier time baking chickens than your average japanese electric oven.
one of the other snapshots that sticks out in my mind is sewing up the turkey at the end. it's such a bizarre image -- i mean, it's a turkey, not a pillow, right? but it's also really fun. and so after cramming as much filling into the chicken as i could, it was time to finally bake the thing and see if my hard work had paid off.
oh yeah, it did. i also made way too much stuffing, so i baked the rest separately.
the whole time the chicken was in the oven, i couldn't just stand around watching, i had to like peek in every 10 minutes, brush some more olive oil over it, and then peek in again. it just made me so happy to have this pseudo-thanksgiving going on in the kitchen. it brought me right back that kitchen i loved so much, waiting for the turkey to finish.
and when i finally cut into the chicken and took a big bite of stuffing, it was like coming home. it tasted EXACTLY like the remembered it, even if it wasn't baked in a turkey.
it's things like this that i find i miss the most. stuffing used to be the november norm, something you could count on like clockwork. and then you move to another country and that clock stops. i just happen to be fortunate -- i'm in a situation where i can get whole chickens year round from a great distributor, and where i have a reasonably large oven to fit it too.
but i won't ever be able to have turkey and stuffing that my mom made again. or any of the meals that she used to make either, for that matter.
that's what i miss the most.
so for now, i'm just going to have to try and recreate them in my own way. and i'm pretty sure my mom would like that, too.
2014年10月13日月曜日
review: haagen-dazs "nagomi azuki"
because i haven't done enough reviews or blogging lately:
haagen-dazs' newest flavor, nagomi azuki!
nagomi azuki? the heck's that mean?
azuki is "red bean" and nagomi is like...ugh..."relaxing" or something but i'mma just call this ice cream "red bean ice cream" because they're just trying to make it sound cooler than it is.
which isn't to say that this ice cream isn't AMAZINGLY good because IT IS.
let's have a look.
pretty packaging, check.
azuki ice cream base with swirls of sweetened red bean paste and actual whole red beans? check.
oh haagen-dazs, you GET me. lightly sweet with that slightly thick, grainy taste of azuki -- i could eat this all year long. even people who are all "ewww red beans~" (not to name names or anything, but you know who you are) will find themselves wondering why they ever doubted the ways of azuki. it's THAT good.
A＋＋＋ MOAR
haagen-dazs' newest flavor, nagomi azuki!
nagomi azuki? the heck's that mean?
azuki is "red bean" and nagomi is like...ugh..."relaxing" or something but i'mma just call this ice cream "red bean ice cream" because they're just trying to make it sound cooler than it is.
which isn't to say that this ice cream isn't AMAZINGLY good because IT IS.
let's have a look.
pretty packaging, check.
azuki ice cream base with swirls of sweetened red bean paste and actual whole red beans? check.
oh haagen-dazs, you GET me. lightly sweet with that slightly thick, grainy taste of azuki -- i could eat this all year long. even people who are all "ewww red beans~" (not to name names or anything, but you know who you are) will find themselves wondering why they ever doubted the ways of azuki. it's THAT good.
A＋＋＋ MOAR
2014年10月6日月曜日
sashi-ire
happy monday!
typhoon 18 is causing havoc across the kantou area (which includes tokyo) but not to worry! hiroshima only got some rain and occasional gusty wind. hiroshima really misses all the weird weather it seems -- much like maryland actually. but that's not what i'm here to talk about today. today is all about sashi-ire.
so, sashi-ire (sa-shee-ee-ray) is basically something that someone brings for you. so like say i'm going to a friend's house, then i would bring her something sorta as a way of saying thanks for having me over. the "something" is usually food (snacks, sweets, etc) but it can also be drinks, magazines, comics -- most anything. so like when our friends were revamping their restaurant (by hand), we brought them energy drinks as sashi-ire.
i kinda feel like being a foreigner entails you to slightly more sashi-ire than your usual japanese guy/girl -- i get stuff from people i haven't even met before. okay, wait, that sounds really sketchy. lemme rephrase. so i'm on instagram, and some of my followers live in hiroshima and they'll come to my store for the first time, usually with some kinda cookie-type thing. i haven't met them before per say, but we've "met" on instagram -- yeah, that doesn't make it less sketchy, but they're all like 20-30 year old women so... less sketchy? i dunno. anyway!
sashi-ire is one of those omotenashi things they do here -- omotenashi basically means being a good host or visitor. and hey, everyone loves free food, right?
P.S. i totally got some sashi-ire today, which reminded me to write a blog about it. the sashi-ire came from the mother of a (former) regular customer who came by for the first time in like...a year today, with his mom and dad in tow. the mother was so super sweet -- actually, the whole family was. anyway, when they get up to pay the bill, the mother hands me a small bag with these guy inside:
score! odango from my beloved momiji-an! from left to right, mitarashi (sugar, soy sauce, good stuff), spicy peanut, and isobe (soy sauce-dipped with seaweed on top -- i LOVE isobe). odango are made of rice flour and water, rolled into balls, and then boiled until chewy and soft before they roast them. if you're lucky to get one freshly roasted, they're AMAZING. not that they're horrible if they've been sitting around -- they're still awesome, but oh man, freshly roasted odango are like getting a freshly baked pizza, y'know, with the cheese still bubbling and stuff? heaven.
typhoon 18 is causing havoc across the kantou area (which includes tokyo) but not to worry! hiroshima only got some rain and occasional gusty wind. hiroshima really misses all the weird weather it seems -- much like maryland actually. but that's not what i'm here to talk about today. today is all about sashi-ire.
so, sashi-ire (sa-shee-ee-ray) is basically something that someone brings for you. so like say i'm going to a friend's house, then i would bring her something sorta as a way of saying thanks for having me over. the "something" is usually food (snacks, sweets, etc) but it can also be drinks, magazines, comics -- most anything. so like when our friends were revamping their restaurant (by hand), we brought them energy drinks as sashi-ire.
i kinda feel like being a foreigner entails you to slightly more sashi-ire than your usual japanese guy/girl -- i get stuff from people i haven't even met before. okay, wait, that sounds really sketchy. lemme rephrase. so i'm on instagram, and some of my followers live in hiroshima and they'll come to my store for the first time, usually with some kinda cookie-type thing. i haven't met them before per say, but we've "met" on instagram -- yeah, that doesn't make it less sketchy, but they're all like 20-30 year old women so... less sketchy? i dunno. anyway!
sashi-ire is one of those omotenashi things they do here -- omotenashi basically means being a good host or visitor. and hey, everyone loves free food, right?
P.S. i totally got some sashi-ire today, which reminded me to write a blog about it. the sashi-ire came from the mother of a (former) regular customer who came by for the first time in like...a year today, with his mom and dad in tow. the mother was so super sweet -- actually, the whole family was. anyway, when they get up to pay the bill, the mother hands me a small bag with these guy inside:
score! odango from my beloved momiji-an! from left to right, mitarashi (sugar, soy sauce, good stuff), spicy peanut, and isobe (soy sauce-dipped with seaweed on top -- i LOVE isobe). odango are made of rice flour and water, rolled into balls, and then boiled until chewy and soft before they roast them. if you're lucky to get one freshly roasted, they're AMAZING. not that they're horrible if they've been sitting around -- they're still awesome, but oh man, freshly roasted odango are like getting a freshly baked pizza, y'know, with the cheese still bubbling and stuff? heaven.
2014年9月25日木曜日
quirky japan: episode 3 "bitansan"
it's that time of the blog again -- that's right, quirky japan!
this time it'll be short and sweet because i'll be talking about bitansan （微炭酸）.
bee-tawn-sawn.
three little syllables that take all the fun out of carbonated drinks because bitansan means something like "lightly carbonated" -- so it's like drinking flat soda even though you just opened the bottle.
i honestly don't know why it exists -- most people who enjoy sodas ALSO happen to enjoy that fizzy-dizzy goodness known as carbonation. i mean, it ceases to even be soda at this point. it's just...really sweet juice with a flat-soda bite at the end. and it's not even a good bite.
seriously bitansan, taking all the fun out of the soda game. and it's tricky too -- they hide the fact that's bitansan by writing it in itty-bitty letters on the bottom of the label, instead of putting a big fucking sign on it like they should that says BEWARE NEARLY-FLAT SODA DESU.
on the plus side though, sometimes they sell like SUPER carbonated soda which is like getting kicked in the teeth by a pressure cleaner -- now that's the kind of carbonation i can get behind.
this time it'll be short and sweet because i'll be talking about bitansan （微炭酸）.
bee-tawn-sawn.
three little syllables that take all the fun out of carbonated drinks because bitansan means something like "lightly carbonated" -- so it's like drinking flat soda even though you just opened the bottle.
i honestly don't know why it exists -- most people who enjoy sodas ALSO happen to enjoy that fizzy-dizzy goodness known as carbonation. i mean, it ceases to even be soda at this point. it's just...really sweet juice with a flat-soda bite at the end. and it's not even a good bite.
seriously bitansan, taking all the fun out of the soda game. and it's tricky too -- they hide the fact that's bitansan by writing it in itty-bitty letters on the bottom of the label, instead of putting a big fucking sign on it like they should that says BEWARE NEARLY-FLAT SODA DESU.
on the plus side though, sometimes they sell like SUPER carbonated soda which is like getting kicked in the teeth by a pressure cleaner -- now that's the kind of carbonation i can get behind.
2014年9月17日水曜日
review: unagi ice cream
it was just another day.
my husband was out running errands and comes back with a small tell-tale konbini plastic bag in his hand.
"i got you something for your blog!" he exclaims placing the small bag down on the counter.
"oh really?" i replied, examining the contents.
unagi ice cream.
"...serious?" oh god, i think.
"yeah!" he's serious.
so here goes.
eel ice cream, ladies and gentlemen.
now okay, some of you may be aware of japan's...odd ice cream flavours. most of them are like locally produced omiyage type things (like wasabi or beef tongue or...whatever) and not really the type of thing you see at konbini. but maybe circle K is an odd kind of konbini, because there it was.
maybe it's like unagi pie, i mean, that's delicious, right?
maybe it's just got like a hint of unagi sauce, which is just like soy sauce and mirin...so like sweet and salty?
this could work.
i'm optimistic as i pry the lid off and take a big scoop off the top.
AND IMMEDIATELY REGRET IT BECAUSE OMG THIS IS SO NOT GOOD.
it's nothing like unagi pie because unagi pie is actually edible, enjoyable, downright delicious in fact. this is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
it's sauce overkill. the ice cream is already flavoured with unagi sauce already, but for whatever reason they decided that wasn't enough and put in these broad ribbons of straight up sauce in there too for maximum saltiness impact. it's just bad. it's doubleplus bad. it might be the first time i've ever thrown ice cream out. ugh.
my husband was out running errands and comes back with a small tell-tale konbini plastic bag in his hand.
"i got you something for your blog!" he exclaims placing the small bag down on the counter.
"oh really?" i replied, examining the contents.
unagi ice cream.
"...serious?" oh god, i think.
"yeah!" he's serious.
so here goes.
eel ice cream, ladies and gentlemen.
now okay, some of you may be aware of japan's...odd ice cream flavours. most of them are like locally produced omiyage type things (like wasabi or beef tongue or...whatever) and not really the type of thing you see at konbini. but maybe circle K is an odd kind of konbini, because there it was.
maybe it's like unagi pie, i mean, that's delicious, right?
maybe it's just got like a hint of unagi sauce, which is just like soy sauce and mirin...so like sweet and salty?
this could work.
i'm optimistic as i pry the lid off and take a big scoop off the top.
AND IMMEDIATELY REGRET IT BECAUSE OMG THIS IS SO NOT GOOD.
it's nothing like unagi pie because unagi pie is actually edible, enjoyable, downright delicious in fact. this is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
it's sauce overkill. the ice cream is already flavoured with unagi sauce already, but for whatever reason they decided that wasn't enough and put in these broad ribbons of straight up sauce in there too for maximum saltiness impact. it's just bad. it's doubleplus bad. it might be the first time i've ever thrown ice cream out. ugh.
review: japanese chestnut häagen-dazs
häagen-dazs is holding out on you guys back home.
seems like every month there's some new limited edition flavour that i'd never seen in the US.
cafe au lait.
white peach and raspberry.
lemon ginger float.
pumpkin (which i need to review!)
and today, i'll be reviewing the latest fall addition: wa-guri (japanese chestnut).
it's essentially chestnut flavoured ice cream with swirls of chestnut paste -- not like in the marron sense, but in the "i boiled some chestnuts in sugar and made 'em into a paste" sense. it's got a great natural chestnut taste to it -- not too syrupy sweet, just buttery and rich chestnut. i only wish that there was more of the chestnut paste in there. come on, it's like...the width of human hair, give me MOAR!
these guys generally show up at konbini first and then move on to grocery stores, but you can bet i'll be buying it again. seriously, häagen-dazs needs to get their game together and give the US some of these flavours too.
unless i'm wrong and you do get them? i dunno, someone fill me in.
2014年9月12日金曜日
review: ajiwai marron pino
okay to be fair, i warned you that tons of limited edition snacks come out in the fall, so... i hope none of you are surprised by how many reviews i'm doing.
and besides, i wrote a quirky japan blog last night too, so it's not like i'm...shirking my blog responsibilities or...whatever.
anyway!
first things first, pino (made by morinaga) is another one of those standard japanese snacks. it's little bits of ice cream covered in chocolate, and they bring out LOTS of limited edition flavors throughout the year, so you'll definitely be seeing these guys again.
because it's fall, we have the ajiwai marron which i'll loosely translate into just marron, since it's pretty much saying like "tasty marron"...
look at the fall colours~
look at the giant chestnut~
the box boasts using "fragrant italian marron" in the ice cream, which sounds really promising.
until you take a bite.
... *closes eyes and waits for the "fragrant italian marron" to kick in*
... ... ... *still waiting*
... ... ... ... yeah okay, i got nothing.
i wouldn't even know it was marron-flavoured if i hadn't have bought the damn things myself -- there's hardly any marron flavour at all. it's not like it tastes gross or anything, it just tastes like vanilla.
and pino usually does a mildly good job at these limited edition things too...
i guess you can't have a winner every time.
but don't worry, in about 1 or 2 months, another flavour is bound to crop up. so until then!
and besides, i wrote a quirky japan blog last night too, so it's not like i'm...shirking my blog responsibilities or...whatever.
anyway!
first things first, pino (made by morinaga) is another one of those standard japanese snacks. it's little bits of ice cream covered in chocolate, and they bring out LOTS of limited edition flavors throughout the year, so you'll definitely be seeing these guys again.
because it's fall, we have the ajiwai marron which i'll loosely translate into just marron, since it's pretty much saying like "tasty marron"...
look at the fall colours~
look at the giant chestnut~
the box boasts using "fragrant italian marron" in the ice cream, which sounds really promising.
until you take a bite.
... *closes eyes and waits for the "fragrant italian marron" to kick in*
... ... ... *still waiting*
... ... ... ... yeah okay, i got nothing.
i wouldn't even know it was marron-flavoured if i hadn't have bought the damn things myself -- there's hardly any marron flavour at all. it's not like it tastes gross or anything, it just tastes like vanilla.
and pino usually does a mildly good job at these limited edition things too...
i guess you can't have a winner every time.
but don't worry, in about 1 or 2 months, another flavour is bound to crop up. so until then!
2014年9月7日日曜日
review: fall wagashi (or momiji-an never fails)
it's becoming more fall-ish everyday.
the humidity is less oppressive, the cicadas have finally stopped their incessant chirping, and the stores are filled chestnut and sweet potato flavoured snacks galore.
it's 食欲の秋 (shokuyoku no aki) -- loosely put, "fall is for food!" and you can bet i'm making the most of it by going to my very favorite local wagashi-ya, momiji-an!
let's have a look at their fall line-up: kuri daifuku, tsukimi ohagi, aonori ohagi.
kuri daifuku 【栗大福】 chestnut daifuku
a small, rounded daifuku made of soft mochi with a chestnut (boiled) and koshi-an inside. usually you see these with a sickeningly yellow chestnut inside (kanro-ni -- basically they boil chestnuts in sugar and likely add yellow food colouring) but not so with momiji-an. they give you the chestnut almost as is -- boiled until fluffy and slightly sweet. these guys only come out once a year, and you can bet i'll be back for more.
tsukimi ohagi 【月見おはぎ】moon-viewing ohagi
tomorrow is actually the traditional day for moon-viewing -- it's always held in september when the full moon is its brightest. it's more an excuse nowadays to eat tsukimi dango (moon-viewing dango, little rounded balls of rice flour or mochi) and drink, but i digress. this ohagi is mochi rice wrapped in sweet potato paste (see? it kinda looks like a glowing full moon!) the sweet potato is so smooth and creamy with a great natural sweetness to it. to contrast, the mochi rice inside is slightly salty to balance it all out.
aonori ohagi 【青海苔おはぎ】 green seaweed ohagi
okay, i was skeptical. i mean, look at it! it's frickkin' green! but being a HUGE fan of aonori, i couldn't pass it up. tsubu-an wrapped in mochi rice, rolled in fluffly aonori -- the aroma of the aonori hits you first -- it's...hard to describe how it smells. but it's kinda of like the green grass smell that green tea has, but with a salty tang. that salty tang works so well with the thick sweetness of the tsubu-an inside and i'm in love with this ohagi at first bite. aonori is usually used on more savory things (okonomiyaki, yakisoba, takoyaki...basically if it has sauce on it, it's usually got aonori), so i was surprised at how well it worked with sweet things too.
the humidity is less oppressive, the cicadas have finally stopped their incessant chirping, and the stores are filled chestnut and sweet potato flavoured snacks galore.
it's 食欲の秋 (shokuyoku no aki) -- loosely put, "fall is for food!" and you can bet i'm making the most of it by going to my very favorite local wagashi-ya, momiji-an!
let's have a look at their fall line-up: kuri daifuku, tsukimi ohagi, aonori ohagi.
kuri daifuku 【栗大福】 chestnut daifuku
tsukimi ohagi 【月見おはぎ】moon-viewing ohagi
aonori ohagi 【青海苔おはぎ】 green seaweed ohagi
2014年9月4日木曜日
eating grapes
eating grapes 【ぶどうを食べる時】
okay, i know what you're thinking.
grapes? you're writing a blog about eating GRAPES? how hard is it??
yeah, i know, but hear me out.
the first time i had grapes in japan, i was hanging out at a friends' house. she brought out grapes for dessert, and i promptly popped one in my mouth, like usual, and began to chew without thinking too much about it.
my friend, however, looked at me like i had just stuck a grape in my nose and started dancing around the room.
horrified, almost.
no, no, she hastily explained, you don't eat the skin! (you silly foreigner! sidenote: same goes for apples too)
that's right, here in japan, you peel grapes before eating them.
first of all, grapes are much bigger than their american counterparts (at least the ones i remember), ranging from 1～3 inches. this also makes the whole 'eating them whole' bit kinda hard.
pinch the skin-side with your thumb and middle finger and the grape should pop right out!
okay, i know what you're thinking.
grapes? you're writing a blog about eating GRAPES? how hard is it??
yeah, i know, but hear me out.
the first time i had grapes in japan, i was hanging out at a friends' house. she brought out grapes for dessert, and i promptly popped one in my mouth, like usual, and began to chew without thinking too much about it.
my friend, however, looked at me like i had just stuck a grape in my nose and started dancing around the room.
horrified, almost.
no, no, she hastily explained, you don't eat the skin! (you silly foreigner! sidenote: same goes for apples too)
that's right, here in japan, you peel grapes before eating them.
first of all, grapes are much bigger than their american counterparts (at least the ones i remember), ranging from 1～3 inches. this also makes the whole 'eating them whole' bit kinda hard.
these are hakata pione -- big and sweet!
for the sake of size, this is your average spoon. pretty big.
so the best way to go about these guys is to first cut them in half.
and THAT my friends, is how to eat grapes in japan (without getting weird looks).
wagashi: kuromame daifuku, zunda-mochi, mizu-manju
wagashi 【和菓子】 "japanese sweets"
i love wagashi.
i'm also fortunate enough to have a rather esteemed wagashi-ya (japanese sweets shop) about 20 seconds away -- momiji-an （もみじ庵）.
while popular in japan, it's not likely that you see them all that often in the US (esp. not in MD). it's a shame too, since they're really, really good. there are many different kinds too, but this entry will be focused on just three: kuromame daifuku, zunda-mochi, and mizu-manju (don't worry, there will be more blogs on wagashi to come).
kuromame daifuku 【黒豆大福】
kuromame, or black soybeans, are large black-skinned soy beans. the beans are cooked but they're rather firm in texture, and are slightly salty. the beans are mixed into mochi (pounded glutinous rice) and then the mochi is wrapped around a ball of anko (sweetened red bean paste).
momiji-an makes all of their wagashi at their store, so it's fresh when you buy it. this means that the mochi is so, so soft and so, so chewy -- it's like biting into a cloud. the hard kuromame give the soft mochi a great texture, and the salt too brings out the subtle sweetness of the anko. i have to admit, i wasn't a fan the first time i tried kuromame daifuku, but that was because i bought one of those mass-produced ones they sell at the konbini. fresh made daifuku and mass-produced daifuku are two completely separate things -- and it was love at first bite with momiji-an.
zunda-mochi 【ずんだ餅】
green, eh? hmm...green tea?
wrong.
it's actually edamame. you know, green soybeans?
...i know, i was wary too! so wary, in fact, that this was actually my first time eating it!
zunda is a paste of ground edamame mixed with sugar (i KNOW, i know...). the paste is then wrapped around mochi and voila! zunda-mochi.
it actually doesn't taste all that different than regular anko, if not a little buttery (like salted edamame, who'da thought?) and it works well -- surprisingly well. the two azuki (red beans) on the top add a dash of sweetness too. there's no end to the magic that beans can do for sweets it seems.
mizu-manju 【水まんじゅう】
okay let's be honest here -- i'm not a huge fan of jelly-like things. and this is a very jelly-like thing. to be specific, it's kuzuko, which is a type of starch made from kudzu or arrowroot. the starch thickens and turns into a wiggly jelly when cooled, which makes it ideal as a refreshing treat on a hot day, if you're into that kinda thing. the kuzuko jelly is wrapped around anko and served chilled on its own, or sometimes served in a bowl of icy water, and is also known as kuzu-manju.
kuzu itself doesn't have a taste per-say, it just tastes kinda...plant-y? has...medicinal tones? it's VERY subtle, whatever it is, but all i know is that i don't like it in large doses. unfortunately, this is a rather large dose.
the anko is phenomenal -- a lightly sweetened koshi-an that's just as smooth as the kuzu jelly. the whole thing goes down easy, and hey, i'll admit, it is kinda refreshing. i just can't get around the large percentage that is not anko.
while it may not be my cup of tea, it could very well be yours. if you're a fan of things like jell-o, then you'll probably really like mizu-manju. as for me, i'll stick with shaved ice in the summer.
i love wagashi.
i'm also fortunate enough to have a rather esteemed wagashi-ya (japanese sweets shop) about 20 seconds away -- momiji-an （もみじ庵）.
while popular in japan, it's not likely that you see them all that often in the US (esp. not in MD). it's a shame too, since they're really, really good. there are many different kinds too, but this entry will be focused on just three: kuromame daifuku, zunda-mochi, and mizu-manju (don't worry, there will be more blogs on wagashi to come).
kuromame daifuku 【黒豆大福】
kuromame, or black soybeans, are large black-skinned soy beans. the beans are cooked but they're rather firm in texture, and are slightly salty. the beans are mixed into mochi (pounded glutinous rice) and then the mochi is wrapped around a ball of anko (sweetened red bean paste).
momiji-an makes all of their wagashi at their store, so it's fresh when you buy it. this means that the mochi is so, so soft and so, so chewy -- it's like biting into a cloud. the hard kuromame give the soft mochi a great texture, and the salt too brings out the subtle sweetness of the anko. i have to admit, i wasn't a fan the first time i tried kuromame daifuku, but that was because i bought one of those mass-produced ones they sell at the konbini. fresh made daifuku and mass-produced daifuku are two completely separate things -- and it was love at first bite with momiji-an.
zunda-mochi 【ずんだ餅】
green, eh? hmm...green tea?
wrong.
it's actually edamame. you know, green soybeans?
...i know, i was wary too! so wary, in fact, that this was actually my first time eating it!
zunda is a paste of ground edamame mixed with sugar (i KNOW, i know...). the paste is then wrapped around mochi and voila! zunda-mochi.
it actually doesn't taste all that different than regular anko, if not a little buttery (like salted edamame, who'da thought?) and it works well -- surprisingly well. the two azuki (red beans) on the top add a dash of sweetness too. there's no end to the magic that beans can do for sweets it seems.
mizu-manju 【水まんじゅう】
okay let's be honest here -- i'm not a huge fan of jelly-like things. and this is a very jelly-like thing. to be specific, it's kuzuko, which is a type of starch made from kudzu or arrowroot. the starch thickens and turns into a wiggly jelly when cooled, which makes it ideal as a refreshing treat on a hot day, if you're into that kinda thing. the kuzuko jelly is wrapped around anko and served chilled on its own, or sometimes served in a bowl of icy water, and is also known as kuzu-manju.
kuzu itself doesn't have a taste per-say, it just tastes kinda...plant-y? has...medicinal tones? it's VERY subtle, whatever it is, but all i know is that i don't like it in large doses. unfortunately, this is a rather large dose.
the anko is phenomenal -- a lightly sweetened koshi-an that's just as smooth as the kuzu jelly. the whole thing goes down easy, and hey, i'll admit, it is kinda refreshing. i just can't get around the large percentage that is not anko.
while it may not be my cup of tea, it could very well be yours. if you're a fan of things like jell-o, then you'll probably really like mizu-manju. as for me, i'll stick with shaved ice in the summer.
unagi pie
unagi pie.
shizuoka's greatest gift to the japanese omiyage business.
that's two japanese words now i've used without explaining, so i guess
unagi 【うなぎ】 eel.
omiyage 【お土産】 souvenir (it can take on a variety of meanings, but for now, souvenir)
the omiyage business is booming, and while new omiyage are born everyday, only a few remain legends, standards of the industry.
unagi pie is one of them.
...so, what exactly IS unagi pie?
do they bake eel into a pie? is the eel wrapped in pie dough?
is it savoury? is it sweet?
the answer is sweet.
unagi is one of the most interesting concepts for foodstuff.
someone in shizuoka prefecture thought hey! why not combine eel and sugar and butter together to make a delicious, crispy mille-feuille snack? and let's add garlic too! and thus, unagi pie was born. though it doesn't taste like eel (in fact, you'd never know unless someone told you), it is addictive-ly delicious and a standard omiyage to bring back to friends, family, and coworkers.
i generally get a box once or twice a year from a regular shizuokan customer. this time he brought me unagi pie VSOP, which is their premium line made with macadamia nuts and VSOP brandy -- yum! and take a look at this fancy GOLDEN package.
CLASSY.
here's what's inside.
and what's inside again!
layers of crispy, buttery, sugary, brandy-y pie...sprinkled with unagi and macadamia nuts!
the brandy definitely stands out, giving your tongue a buzz before the butter and sugar hit. and you can easily eat like...6 or 7 before realizing OMG I JUST ATE 6 OR 7.
so if you're ever planning on living in japan, you can be sure that at some point you'll be given these tasty little suckers by someone you know. and if you're planning on visiting shizuoka, definitely pick yourself up a case or two to bring back, because sharing is caring.
...or because hoarding them all for yourself is fun too!
shizuoka's greatest gift to the japanese omiyage business.
that's two japanese words now i've used without explaining, so i guess
unagi 【うなぎ】 eel.
omiyage 【お土産】 souvenir (it can take on a variety of meanings, but for now, souvenir)
the omiyage business is booming, and while new omiyage are born everyday, only a few remain legends, standards of the industry.
unagi pie is one of them.
...so, what exactly IS unagi pie?
do they bake eel into a pie? is the eel wrapped in pie dough?
is it savoury? is it sweet?
the answer is sweet.
unagi is one of the most interesting concepts for foodstuff.
someone in shizuoka prefecture thought hey! why not combine eel and sugar and butter together to make a delicious, crispy mille-feuille snack? and let's add garlic too! and thus, unagi pie was born. though it doesn't taste like eel (in fact, you'd never know unless someone told you), it is addictive-ly delicious and a standard omiyage to bring back to friends, family, and coworkers.
i generally get a box once or twice a year from a regular shizuokan customer. this time he brought me unagi pie VSOP, which is their premium line made with macadamia nuts and VSOP brandy -- yum! and take a look at this fancy GOLDEN package.
CLASSY.
here's what's inside.
and what's inside again!
layers of crispy, buttery, sugary, brandy-y pie...sprinkled with unagi and macadamia nuts!
the brandy definitely stands out, giving your tongue a buzz before the butter and sugar hit. and you can easily eat like...6 or 7 before realizing OMG I JUST ATE 6 OR 7.
so if you're ever planning on living in japan, you can be sure that at some point you'll be given these tasty little suckers by someone you know. and if you're planning on visiting shizuoka, definitely pick yourself up a case or two to bring back, because sharing is caring.
...or because hoarding them all for yourself is fun too!
review: more fall snacks!
welcome to another edition of fall snacks: the review!
today's line-up:
bourbon's blanchul mini DX noukou marron (rich marron)
bourbon's mochi chocolat ganache chocolate
it's a bourbon matsuri! huzzah!
alright, so, blanchul mini DX (short for "deluxe") is bourbon's upscale series for blanchul mini, which is essentially chocolate sanwiched between two thin langue de chat cookies. here we have two marron flavored cookies sandwiching a piece of rich marron chocolate.
okay, this is really, really good. semi-sweet was a great choice of chocolate -- it gives you a punch of flavor without being too sweet or too milky and actually HAS a discernible center this time! plus OMG MOCHI ＋CHOCOLATE OMNOMNOMNOM
A＋＋ would buy again!
today's line-up:
bourbon's blanchul mini DX noukou marron (rich marron)
bourbon's mochi chocolat ganache chocolate
it's a bourbon matsuri! huzzah!
alright, so, blanchul mini DX (short for "deluxe") is bourbon's upscale series for blanchul mini, which is essentially chocolate sanwiched between two thin langue de chat cookies. here we have two marron flavored cookies sandwiching a piece of rich marron chocolate.
it tastes the way that marron syrup tastes -- sweet and rummy -- but they're so little and light that you don't mind the intense hit. i'd recommend having a glass of milk or cup of coffee ready for these guys.
next is a new flavor in the mochi chocolat series (see previous review) -- a dark chocolate center wrapped in a semi-sweet chocolate ganache.
next is a new flavor in the mochi chocolat series (see previous review) -- a dark chocolate center wrapped in a semi-sweet chocolate ganache.
okay, this is really, really good. semi-sweet was a great choice of chocolate -- it gives you a punch of flavor without being too sweet or too milky and actually HAS a discernible center this time! plus OMG MOCHI ＋CHOCOLATE OMNOMNOMNOM
A＋＋ would buy again!
"traditional"
so, a tourist came into the cafe the other day.
not that this is unusual, but anyway.
he asks the usual questions (where are you from? is this your cafe? how long has it been open? etc, etc) and goes about enjoying his cafe au lait.
meanwhile, it starts to pour down rain. i'm talking like rainin' sideways type lashing rain.
it was still august then -- and hiroshima has gotten 3 times its usual amount of rain. we had all of two sunny days last month, no joke.
i'm looking out the windows at the head of the cafe and scowling. business gets slow when it rains like the world is going to end.
tourist boy notices and casually asks what there is to do in hiroshima on a rainy day.
"what indeed," i replied, and went to rattle off a list of stuff to do in the rain. it was a short list, but i digress. the tourist taps some stuff into his ipad, nodding every now and again at my explanation of landmarks, before he asks,
"do you know any good places to eat for traditional..."
traditional japanese food, my brain finishes, immediately pulling up kaiseki (super traditional japanese lunch/dinner courses) restaurants and places to get good, authentic japanese food. i've got like 6 mental tabs open by the time he finishes saying the word "traditional" and moves onto the next word.
"oh, oko&$#@%&-yaki?"
okonomiyaki?!
my eyes must've bugged out.
okonomiyaki is a local hiroshima dish (okay, they have it in osaka too, but that's osaka-style, it doesn't count), but it's just not something that ever struck me as being traditional. i mean, i guess it is? because it's been around for ling enough, but it's not. it's b-kyuu gurume which basically means like cheap, everyday foods. you'd never hear okonomiyaki described as "traditional" --- it'd be like calling grilled cheese or PBJ a "traditional american sandwich".
y'see what i mean?
can food be considered traditional even?
does that even make sense?
classic, sure i can see that, but traditional?
you got me there.
not that this is unusual, but anyway.
he asks the usual questions (where are you from? is this your cafe? how long has it been open? etc, etc) and goes about enjoying his cafe au lait.
meanwhile, it starts to pour down rain. i'm talking like rainin' sideways type lashing rain.
it was still august then -- and hiroshima has gotten 3 times its usual amount of rain. we had all of two sunny days last month, no joke.
i'm looking out the windows at the head of the cafe and scowling. business gets slow when it rains like the world is going to end.
tourist boy notices and casually asks what there is to do in hiroshima on a rainy day.
"what indeed," i replied, and went to rattle off a list of stuff to do in the rain. it was a short list, but i digress. the tourist taps some stuff into his ipad, nodding every now and again at my explanation of landmarks, before he asks,
"do you know any good places to eat for traditional..."
traditional japanese food, my brain finishes, immediately pulling up kaiseki (super traditional japanese lunch/dinner courses) restaurants and places to get good, authentic japanese food. i've got like 6 mental tabs open by the time he finishes saying the word "traditional" and moves onto the next word.
"oh, oko&$#@%&-yaki?"
okonomiyaki?!
my eyes must've bugged out.
okonomiyaki is a local hiroshima dish (okay, they have it in osaka too, but that's osaka-style, it doesn't count), but it's just not something that ever struck me as being traditional. i mean, i guess it is? because it's been around for ling enough, but it's not. it's b-kyuu gurume which basically means like cheap, everyday foods. you'd never hear okonomiyaki described as "traditional" --- it'd be like calling grilled cheese or PBJ a "traditional american sandwich".
y'see what i mean?
can food be considered traditional even?
does that even make sense?
classic, sure i can see that, but traditional?
you got me there.
2014年8月29日金曜日
matsuri (episode 1)
matsuri【祭り】
hiroshima has a good number of matsuri throughout the year. these lively events have less to do with the god or godlike being that the festival is held for, and more to do with the gathering of the community and having a good time, eating yatai food and wearing yukata or dancing the bon dance.
here are some local and prefectual-wide festivals in hiroshima city:
lots of yatai, which are street vendors that sell everything from food to toys to goldfish. we got some takoyaki (octopus dumplings?) and some taiyaki (fish shaped cakes with anko in the middle), which are standard fare for any matsuri. the place is milling with locals enjoying a beer and chatting with neighbors and friends.
mmm...octopus.
there's an altar with candles and incense surrounding a jizou statue. often translated as the "guardian deity of children", these jizou statues are often built at the site of tragic accidents or for stillborn children. they are also placed at city or village limits to protect the land and its inhabitants.
since i wasn't sure the implications of taking a picture of a jizou statue while a festival was being held in its honour, i didn't take a picture, but here's one i found on the web of a typical jizou statue.
(they almost always have red bibs around their necks)
next to the jizou statue was a stage where lots of different events were being held. high school bands, bingo games, and kagura, which is a type of "shinto theatrical dance" (thanks wiki!). basically, ancient myths and folklore are acted out using song, dance, and dialogue with ridiculously elaborate costumes and flashy movement. the music is all traditional japanese instruments -- high pitched flutes and drums of all ranges, working together at fever pitch during the intense fight scenes, or quietly giving rhythm to the performers' speech...not like i could understand the bulk of what was being said since it's in like old-school japanese, but that's beside the point. the point is, it's hella entertaining -- this was actually my first time seeing live kagura and i have to say, i was enchanted. there are still lots of kagura-dan or kagura groups that are active in northern hiroshima and shimane prefecture (just north of hiroshima prefecture), and if given the chance, i would LOVE to see another performance.
what struck me most about this festival was the sheer locality of it. kawahara-machi is by no means a huge part of the city. there were likely 50 people there, at best, and all of them residents of the area. parents talking to parents while kids run about with plastic masks or glow sticks, elderly residents watching kagura with their grandkids, middle school girls moving in herds while snacking on kara-age (fried chicken)... it's just a great way to unite the community, if only for two days, and a great excuse to go outside and enjoy the (relative) cool of summer nights in hiroshima.
hiroshima has a good number of matsuri throughout the year. these lively events have less to do with the god or godlike being that the festival is held for, and more to do with the gathering of the community and having a good time, eating yatai food and wearing yukata or dancing the bon dance.
here are some local and prefectual-wide festivals in hiroshima city:
ebisu-kou 【えびす講】
touka-san 【とうかさん】
flower festival 【フラワーフェスティバル】
zenzai matsuri 【ぜんざい祭り】
sorasaya-inari jinja matsuri 【空鞘稲荷神社祭り】
kawahara-machi jizou-son【河原町地蔵尊】
there are likely more, and i also don't have all the proper names, but these are the main matsuri going down in hiroshima city and in the dobashi/tokaichi area (where i happen to be centered).
today we'll be looking at the kawahara-machi jizou-son matsuri, held in late august.
summer festivals are great -- bon dancing and yatai under the chouchin (paper lantern) light.
we were apparently too late for the bon dance -- which is a simple dance that involves moving around in a circle around a large tower-thing where taiko drums are being played. was looking forward to getting some pictures, but alas. summer festivals are also great places to wear yukata (light summer kimono), and i did see some people dressed in them here. but then again, this is a really small festival, taking up maybe 3 blocks of the street for the weekend. here's a look at the main road:
there are likely more, and i also don't have all the proper names, but these are the main matsuri going down in hiroshima city and in the dobashi/tokaichi area (where i happen to be centered).
today we'll be looking at the kawahara-machi jizou-son matsuri, held in late august.
summer festivals are great -- bon dancing and yatai under the chouchin (paper lantern) light.
we were apparently too late for the bon dance -- which is a simple dance that involves moving around in a circle around a large tower-thing where taiko drums are being played. was looking forward to getting some pictures, but alas. summer festivals are also great places to wear yukata (light summer kimono), and i did see some people dressed in them here. but then again, this is a really small festival, taking up maybe 3 blocks of the street for the weekend. here's a look at the main road:
there's an altar with candles and incense surrounding a jizou statue. often translated as the "guardian deity of children", these jizou statues are often built at the site of tragic accidents or for stillborn children. they are also placed at city or village limits to protect the land and its inhabitants.
since i wasn't sure the implications of taking a picture of a jizou statue while a festival was being held in its honour, i didn't take a picture, but here's one i found on the web of a typical jizou statue.
(they almost always have red bibs around their necks)
next to the jizou statue was a stage where lots of different events were being held. high school bands, bingo games, and kagura, which is a type of "shinto theatrical dance" (thanks wiki!). basically, ancient myths and folklore are acted out using song, dance, and dialogue with ridiculously elaborate costumes and flashy movement. the music is all traditional japanese instruments -- high pitched flutes and drums of all ranges, working together at fever pitch during the intense fight scenes, or quietly giving rhythm to the performers' speech...not like i could understand the bulk of what was being said since it's in like old-school japanese, but that's beside the point. the point is, it's hella entertaining -- this was actually my first time seeing live kagura and i have to say, i was enchanted. there are still lots of kagura-dan or kagura groups that are active in northern hiroshima and shimane prefecture (just north of hiroshima prefecture), and if given the chance, i would LOVE to see another performance.
what struck me most about this festival was the sheer locality of it. kawahara-machi is by no means a huge part of the city. there were likely 50 people there, at best, and all of them residents of the area. parents talking to parents while kids run about with plastic masks or glow sticks, elderly residents watching kagura with their grandkids, middle school girls moving in herds while snacking on kara-age (fried chicken)... it's just a great way to unite the community, if only for two days, and a great excuse to go outside and enjoy the (relative) cool of summer nights in hiroshima.
2014年8月27日水曜日
review: le triskel
yesterday was my birthday and also 5 year wedding anniversary. yay!
as such, husband made reservations at le triskel, a french restaurant listed in the hiroshima michelin guide (listed, not rated). i'd seen the place before and had had my eye on it, but completely forgot until we actually arrived.
it's on the second floor of an old building in nobori-machi. the interior is well-lit with about 5~6 tables. lunch is course only (i think there were 3 courses to choose from, varying in price) -- he reserved the gourmand course, ranging from amuse bouche to dessert. here's the run-down.
amuse bouche
foie gras crème brûlée
beneath a crunchy layer of bittersweet burnt sugar lies a thick, yet light foie gras mousse. the combination of sugar and salt was great -- it was unlike anything i've tasted to date, that's for sure. there was also a hint of rum in the mousse, which just added to the overall taste experience.
second course (salad)
kadaif-wrapped hamo (daggertooth pike conger... what?) with zucchini fondant and red pepper sauce
hamo is a popular...fish? conger? ingredient. to use in the summer in japan. it's very much like a light white fish in texture, melting in your mouth. by wrapping it in crunchy kadaif, it gives a kick to the hamo in the texture department. the vegetables in this salad are local and very flavourful -- they're also kept as raw as possible, even the kabocha squash is raw (which i haven't had before -- crunchy!). really goes to show you how much faith they have in their vegetables. the zucchini fondant was also a first for me -- it was light, like a mousse, and captured the flavor of zucchini along with vegetable stock to give it a slightly salty punch. the sweet red pepper sauce and extra-virgin olive oil drizzled alongside brought a refreshing sweetness to the whole salad.
third course (fish)
komatsuna or "japanese mustard spinach" is a leafy green vegetable that i kinda associated with having a bitter taste. so i was a little wary of the rich green sauce -- but of course, i was wrong. but first, beef cheeks!
beef cheeks, or hoho-niku, are one of my favorite cuts of beef. admittedly, it's a pain in the ass to prepare since you have to stew it for a long time to make it tender and delicious, but when it's done right (and it was), it's just gorgeous. thick cut and tender, you could cut it in half using your fork -- no need for knives with this little beauty -- the meat was so tender it was practically falling off by itself. the sweetness of the red wine paired with a salty tones of the komatsuna sauce brought out the best in each other and i've hardly chewed the meat before it practically dissolves in my mouth.
the vegetables paired with the meat (broccoli, golden potato, red onion, toumyou or green pea sprouts) are all local grown and packed with flavor. toumyou has that earthy bean taste without being astringent, the broccoli was brilliantly and decidedly green in flavour, and the red onion was roasted perfectly, bringing its own sweetness to the plate. and that potato -- fried until slightly crisp with its own mild sweetness -- it went exceptionally with the sauce.
it was a meat lover's dream and a vegetable lover's dream at the same time.
fifth course (dessert)
terrine chocolat with mango sorbet and fresh fruits
because it was my birthday, they made a special dessert plate for me. brought out on a chilled stone plate, the first thing that catches your eye is that vibrant golden mango sorbet. underneath is terrine chocolat, which is like a rich and dense chocolate mousse. the intense sweetness of the mango sorbet (it was like eating mango puree, in a good way) accented the rich milky chocolate, and the raspberry sauce underneath it all provided just the right amount of sanmi ("acidic sourness" -- sourness?) to complement the sweetness.
they also wrote "bon anniversaire" on the plate in chocolate <3
an excellent and carefully prepared course using local ingredients well-deserving of its price.
i don't know what more you can ask for.
--------------------------------------------------------
le triskel
nobori-machi 5-7
naka-ku, hiroshima-shi
082-511-5031
as such, husband made reservations at le triskel, a french restaurant listed in the hiroshima michelin guide (listed, not rated). i'd seen the place before and had had my eye on it, but completely forgot until we actually arrived.
it's on the second floor of an old building in nobori-machi. the interior is well-lit with about 5~6 tables. lunch is course only (i think there were 3 courses to choose from, varying in price) -- he reserved the gourmand course, ranging from amuse bouche to dessert. here's the run-down.
amuse bouche
foie gras crème brûlée
beneath a crunchy layer of bittersweet burnt sugar lies a thick, yet light foie gras mousse. the combination of sugar and salt was great -- it was unlike anything i've tasted to date, that's for sure. there was also a hint of rum in the mousse, which just added to the overall taste experience.
second course (salad)
kadaif-wrapped hamo (daggertooth pike conger... what?) with zucchini fondant and red pepper sauce
hamo is a popular...fish? conger? ingredient. to use in the summer in japan. it's very much like a light white fish in texture, melting in your mouth. by wrapping it in crunchy kadaif, it gives a kick to the hamo in the texture department. the vegetables in this salad are local and very flavourful -- they're also kept as raw as possible, even the kabocha squash is raw (which i haven't had before -- crunchy!). really goes to show you how much faith they have in their vegetables. the zucchini fondant was also a first for me -- it was light, like a mousse, and captured the flavor of zucchini along with vegetable stock to give it a slightly salty punch. the sweet red pepper sauce and extra-virgin olive oil drizzled alongside brought a refreshing sweetness to the whole salad.
third course (fish)
koshoudai (crescent sweetlips, which, btw, is a GREAT name for a fish) and scallop sauté (the scallop is underneath -- i really should have gotten a better picture of it. why? you'll see) in a white wine sauce.
first, the koshoudai. the skin was perfectly crisp and the flesh was tender -- not overcooked, not undercooked, just the right amount of ...hagotae.
damn it, hagotae is one of those words that i really can't put into one english word. it means like when you bite into something, it has just the right ...density? consistency? so that you feel like you're biting into something (as opposed to having it like...mush in your mouth) but it's not like you're biting in rubber or something unbelievably hard.
it's really easy to ruin white fish when you sauté it, but they nailed it.
but the star of this show is NOT the koshoudai, it's the scallop.
had i had known how life-changing this scallop was going to be, i would have taken more pictures because OMG BEST SCALLOP EVER.
it was actually "compliments of the chef" because it was my birthday, but sweet holy moses, might be one of the best gifts i've ever gotten. the scallop was sautéed in butter, the top slightly crisp and browned. i cut it in half -- the center is still slightly raw so that the scallop has just the right amount of hagotae when you bite into it: soft, yet firm. it's incredibly flavourful --- i would guess that these aren't frozen scallops, but raw ones (i didn't ask -- i should have). you can taste the ocean when you close your eyes, and then the butter hits, the wine sauce hits, and it's like this beautiful explosion of seafood.
life. changing. scallop.
that's all there is to it.
fourth course (meat)
beef cheek red wine ragu with komatsuna sauce
damn it, hagotae is one of those words that i really can't put into one english word. it means like when you bite into something, it has just the right ...density? consistency? so that you feel like you're biting into something (as opposed to having it like...mush in your mouth) but it's not like you're biting in rubber or something unbelievably hard.
it's really easy to ruin white fish when you sauté it, but they nailed it.
but the star of this show is NOT the koshoudai, it's the scallop.
had i had known how life-changing this scallop was going to be, i would have taken more pictures because OMG BEST SCALLOP EVER.
it was actually "compliments of the chef" because it was my birthday, but sweet holy moses, might be one of the best gifts i've ever gotten. the scallop was sautéed in butter, the top slightly crisp and browned. i cut it in half -- the center is still slightly raw so that the scallop has just the right amount of hagotae when you bite into it: soft, yet firm. it's incredibly flavourful --- i would guess that these aren't frozen scallops, but raw ones (i didn't ask -- i should have). you can taste the ocean when you close your eyes, and then the butter hits, the wine sauce hits, and it's like this beautiful explosion of seafood.
life. changing. scallop.
that's all there is to it.
fourth course (meat)
beef cheek red wine ragu with komatsuna sauce
komatsuna or "japanese mustard spinach" is a leafy green vegetable that i kinda associated with having a bitter taste. so i was a little wary of the rich green sauce -- but of course, i was wrong. but first, beef cheeks!
beef cheeks, or hoho-niku, are one of my favorite cuts of beef. admittedly, it's a pain in the ass to prepare since you have to stew it for a long time to make it tender and delicious, but when it's done right (and it was), it's just gorgeous. thick cut and tender, you could cut it in half using your fork -- no need for knives with this little beauty -- the meat was so tender it was practically falling off by itself. the sweetness of the red wine paired with a salty tones of the komatsuna sauce brought out the best in each other and i've hardly chewed the meat before it practically dissolves in my mouth.
the vegetables paired with the meat (broccoli, golden potato, red onion, toumyou or green pea sprouts) are all local grown and packed with flavor. toumyou has that earthy bean taste without being astringent, the broccoli was brilliantly and decidedly green in flavour, and the red onion was roasted perfectly, bringing its own sweetness to the plate. and that potato -- fried until slightly crisp with its own mild sweetness -- it went exceptionally with the sauce.
it was a meat lover's dream and a vegetable lover's dream at the same time.
fifth course (dessert)
terrine chocolat with mango sorbet and fresh fruits
because it was my birthday, they made a special dessert plate for me. brought out on a chilled stone plate, the first thing that catches your eye is that vibrant golden mango sorbet. underneath is terrine chocolat, which is like a rich and dense chocolate mousse. the intense sweetness of the mango sorbet (it was like eating mango puree, in a good way) accented the rich milky chocolate, and the raspberry sauce underneath it all provided just the right amount of sanmi ("acidic sourness" -- sourness?) to complement the sweetness.
they also wrote "bon anniversaire" on the plate in chocolate <3
an excellent and carefully prepared course using local ingredients well-deserving of its price.
i don't know what more you can ask for.
--------------------------------------------------------
le triskel
nobori-machi 5-7
naka-ku, hiroshima-shi
082-511-5031
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