The Snowlady Chronicles

Tofu, Tofu and More Tofu

December 26, 27 2009

Kyoto and Nara, Japan

Fabulous Winter Weather

I decided to chill out and reflect on the 3 years spent in Japan in Kyoto.  And while in the area, continued my culinary extravaganza by going to restaurants specializing in Tofu.  Kyoto and Nara (about 30 min from Kyoto) have many tofu specialty places as this is the center of Buddhism in Japan so Zen Vegan cuisine which is based on soy is a specialty. 

First restaurant I went to is right by Nanzenji in Kyoto called Okutan.  It is housed in a traditional old Kyoto style Japanese house and specializes in Tofu and is over 350 years old.  It originally started as a restaurant to serve the monks. So everything served is vegetarian and is based on Tofu.  I went there for lunch and they only serve Yudofu (boiled tofu) set menu which was very filling and delicious for only about 3000 yen.  All the tofu is made in house using a special recipe so the tofu is very fresh and delicious.  A very good and healthy way to start my long weekend in Kyoto.

Okutan Restaurant

The interior:  no Western style tables here!

Cold sesame tofu with fresh wasabi

Grated Japanese mountain yam (similar to taro root).  Its eaten with rice.

 

Tofu Dengaku:  Grilled tofu with a miso sauce flavored with yuzu (Japanese lime)

Yudofu:  Simmered fresh tofu in a seaweed broth

 

Fresh vegetable tempura

There are also table outside where one can enjoy the meal in the Japanese garden.

The main entrance of Okutan

The second day, I decided to go to Nara which is where Japan was founded and is the eastern end of the silk road.  On the main drag of Nara-machi,  I found another tofu restaurant to go to for lunch.  This one is called Tou-sen-bou and is a modern tofu restaurant.  Since I decided to splurge on food during this last week in Japan, I had the most expensive set menu which was 2400 yen.

It started with yuba(tofu skin).  This is the first time I had yuba freshly made.  Basically, pure soy milk is slowly boiled and as the skin forms, you take it out and dip it in a sauce and eat it.  Very good.

Skin is forming

Once formed, you dip it in this vinegary sauce and eat it.  You repeat the process until no more soy milk is left.

Konyakku  sushi:  Konyakku is a superfood and is traditional Japanese.  It is made from another unique yam from Japan.  It is served in a jellied form.   The sashimi is served with a miso based sauce. 

I was also served more yuba, a corn soup based on soy milk and a bit sized peace of tofu cake with strawberry sauce

The highlight of the meal though was the tofu croquettes

and the tofu shumai (dumpling)

As with all Japanese dishes, it ended with rice noodles in broth and rice with pickles.

 

I don't know of any restaurants specializing in Tofu like they have in Kyoto and Nara.  I'm sure going to miss it when back in the States.  I do know of though a tofu maker in Torrance so maybe I'll ask him how to make some of these yummy dishes and have a tofu party at my place in Malibu

KitaOhji Restaurant in Toranomon

Monday December 21, 2009

Toranomon, Tokyo

Cold but Clear

For my last Monday nite in Tokyo,  I went out to dinner with a client.  The client exec that works with me went with me and chose the restaurant.  It is called KitaOhji and serves traditional Japanese Kaiseki cuisine in private tatami rooms.  Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course meal that balances taste, texture and beauty.  It is seasonal in that the presentation and the ingredients are to depict the season.  Typically, Kaiseki is very expensive but at KitaOhji,  the prices are very reasonable given the high quality of service and food.  They specialize in Maezawa beef and its usually cooked on stone.  It's the 3rd time I've been there and I love the place.  Plus it is walking distance from my apartment. 

The entrance to KitaOhji

Our private dining room.  Each room is tastefully decorated.  Our first course is in the box.

It consists of yuba (tofu skin), fish and shellfish.  Very good and beautiful

Our second course was "osuimono":  clear fish broth flavored with egg and shrimp presented in a beautiful lacquer bowl.

 

Our third course was fresh sashimi.

After the sashimi, our individual stone pot was heated to cook the beef.  The beef was like butter!

Then came our palate cleanser of cold veggies.

Followed by perfectly grilled fish.

and tempura vegetables

And as always, finished with rice, miso soup and pickles.

Dessert was green tea cake with strawberry and hot tea. 

Everything was fabulous.  They have Kaiseki restaurants in the States but it is not quite the same as in Japan.  If you never had kaiseki,  KitaOhji is a good place to try it as in some restaurants Kaiseki can easily run 200 dollars a person without alcohol.  At KitaOhji the Kaiseki start at around 7000 yen so much more reasonable and you will leave the restaurant full.

An Italian Feast with Special Friends

Thursday December 17, 2009

Aoyama, Japan

Cold (Tokyo is exceptionally cold this winter, me thinks)

I'm getting spoiled.  Tonight I was introduced to Buca Junta, an Italian trattoria hidden in Aoyama.  Wow, what a fabulous meal.  It was especially special because of my friends who arranged it.  It was the perfect meal.  Champagne and wine were flowing, fabulous food in a very cozy setting.  Loved, loved the conversation, especially Osawa-san's travel adventures.  Can't believe I'm leaving Japan so soon.  I'm going to miss evenings like the one tonite. 

Another gem of a restaurant in Tokyo.  The owner/chef was trained in Tuscany.  Sweet guy.

My first course:  Shrimps in a light cream sauce over the freshest arugula.  The sauce was so good I could have licked the plate.

Everyone else had the antipasto special as a first course

Second course was a rustic Tuscan style soup with beans. 

 

Third course was another rustic dish:  pasta with winter vegetables

And the main course was grilled Wagyu beef with garlic french fries. Delicious!

A surprise special dessert was prepared for me as a going away present

Along with a glass of prosecco as a finale.

It was a special night with special friends.

Fried Food on a Stick - Yum!

Tuesday December 8, 2009

Yurakucho, Tokyo

Cold!

Through my best friend Karyn, I met a lovely couple Marian and David who are always game for any kind of adventure whether it be culinary, travel or shopping related.  So I asked them if they would be interested in going to a "dive" I was introduced to by my good friends at work Kagawa-san and Iida-san.  It is located by the train tracks of Yurakucho station.  I don't know the name of the restaurant as I cannot read the Japanese but knew how to get there.  Marian and David were excited to go so we met on a cold, blustery night at the lobby of the Peninsula hotel to embark on our culinary adventure.

About a 5 minute walk from the Peninsula hotel and the "rodeo drive" of Tokyo - Naka-dori, is Yakitori Alley.  Yakitori is a specialty of Japan and is basically pieces of grilled chicken on a stick.  They use every part of the chicken.  The alley is by the train tracks and it is a completely different experience from chi-chi Naka-dori, where all the restaurants are packed with busy salarymen and young folks enjoying the inexpensive and very good yakitori with lots of beer.  It gets quite rowdy during the summer where the tables spill out of the restaurants into the alleys and people have a fun time getting drunk while eating the barbecue. 

Kagawa-san and Iida-san took me to the alley on summer night and led me to a restaurant that is hidden from the main alley and on the second floor.  It is probably the only restaurant in the alley that does not specialize in yakitori.  This particular restaurant serves Kushi-Age which is actually a specialty of Osaka.  Bit size pieces of either meat, fish or veggies are delicately breaded and fried in front of you and served immediately.  You can dip them in the different kinds of sauces, salts or just have it plane.  There is no menu.  You just tell them what you do not like, and the fried food on the sticks are served to you one by one.  When full, you tell the chef you are finished and he counts the number of sticks and gives you your bill.  I've been to many Kushi-age places but this place is fantastic and very reasonable.  All the fish is extremely fresh and so are the veggies.  The restaurant is tiny but has 2 stories and the service in impeccable. 

Marian, David and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there and although we got biz cards of the restaurant, we still do not know the name!  Anyhow, the whole experience is a "real" Japanese culinary experience so highly recommend it if you can find it!

Yakitori Alley (this photo was taken in September)

 

The front display of my favorite mystery Kushi-Age restaurant

 

The chefs who cooked are food in front of us.  The shorter guy is definitely the boss. But between the 2, they served all of the customers sitting around the bar.

The chef in action

 

The name of the restaurant in Kanji:  I have no idea what it says!

Yosezaka Fujin

Wednesday December 9, 2009

Roppongi, Tokyo

Cold and Damp!

Well, winter is coming and now time to stuff myself with my favorite Japanese fast food - ramen and gyoza.  I promised a friend of mine - Cindy,  that I will take her to a Ramen-ya before I leave, so called her up to see if she was up to it.  She jumped at the opportunity.  Ramen is so fattening but great comfort food.  Basically, it is Japanese style Chinese noodle soup that is a main dish. Also, since it is pork based, I've been avoiding it but decided to make an exception on this cold Wednesday and as a favor to my good friend.   I spent all morning working from home and preparing for the move so built up an appetite for lunch.  I also had to go to Roppongi Hills to buy the 3 cases of wine for the wine party I was hosting on Friday, so took a walk down Roppongi Dori and ended up at a Ramen place I've always wanted to try called Yosezaka Fujin. 

The place attracted me because of the display in front of the restaurant.  It changes quite often but is always decorated with cute figurines, legos etc.  We had the classic ramen set:  Chasiu ramen and gyoza.  Chasiu is a chinese style roast pork and is extremely tender and flavorful.  Gyoza are basically pork dumplings.  I have to say both were very good and she loved it!  And I found out the owner is Chinese and a very fun person to speak to. So now that she knows what is all about, Cindy is going to explore the different Ramen-ya's all around Tokyo and Japan. 

The fun display in front of the restaurant.

Gyoza

Chasiu Ramen:  Fattening but Good!

Last Team Dinner at L'Essentiel

Tuesday December 8, 2009

Ginza, Tokyo

Beautiful Night

It's time for a party!  Holiday season is starting and as part of team building, our team went out to dinner to a wine bar that is a favorite of Honma-san's.   What amazes me about Japan are these tiny restaurants up several stories in a building located in a narrow alleyway.   L'Essentiel is one of those restaurants.  It is located in Ginza but hard to find.  How does Honma-san know about it is beyond me.  But wow, what a great wine bar!  The owner is a 30 something guy that worked several jobs to save money to realize his dream of opening a cozy wine bar with great food.  I probably could never find the place again but we had lots of fun.  Only complaint - smoking is allowed...

I tried Googling the restaurant in English but got no hits.  If you have Japanese friends, they could probably find it for you when in Tokyo.  I highly recommend it

 

Here's the thirty-something owner.  Very nice and humble guy. Tsurata-san brought some of his wine from his fabulous collection and the owner had no problem with Tsurata-san bringing it and did not charge us a corkage fee.

The Bar:  Huge selection of wines and alcohol

A very good Caesar's Salad

Pasta with crab and daikon.  Unusual combo but it worked.

Roast Duck:  I don't eat duck after watching the movie, Winged Migration ( I only eat things I can see get killed) but I understand it was fabulous.

 

The decor was warm and love that bottle of Chateau Petrus!

The Team:  That's me surrounded with great people and a cute chef.  A very happy girl!

Kanoko @Ginza

Early November, 2009

Ginza, Tokyo

Sunny and Cool

(Friend told me my posts on Facebook does not have photos. Have no idea why.  If reading in Facebook, click on "original post", then you'll get the photos)

One very early Saturday morning in early November, I decided to do a power walk around the Imperial Palace.  As I was power walking one, two and then three times around the palace I started getting hungry.  It was about 10am by the time I did completed the third round so decided to go to Citibank in Ginza, get some cash and take care of some banking stuff I've been procrastinating to do.  After completing my banking chore I got hungry but as I was in sweats, I was in a dilemma on where to get a good meal in swanky Ginza.  Then I thought of Kanoko.

I love Japanese sweets.  I actually like them a lot more than American or European sweets.  Typically for dessert, Asians, including the Japanese, eat fruit.  But in Japan, they have fabulous sweets for an afternoon break with tea.  I go to Japanese tea rooms about once every 2 months just to have some of the fabulous sweets.  I grew up enjoying the sweets.  When my mother took my sister and I to the depaato (department store) on weekends, we usually stopped at a tea cafe for a break.  When I was a child, I always ordered Cream Mitsumame.  Basically, agar, rice cakes with ice cream.  My mother always ordered anmitsu - same thing but with creamed adzuki instead of ice cream.  Now, like my mother, I enjoy anmitsu.  So off I went to the famous tea shop Kanoko in Ginza.

Kanoko is nice in that it is casual and also has simple a simple lunch menu.  The first floor is the confectionary store and the second floor is the tea room.  I ordered the special of the day which was chikara udon and anmitsu.  The udon had rice cakes in it which is a popular way of serving udon during the cold months.  It came with pickles and hit the spot.  The anmitsu was SOO GOOD!  It is served with a syrup that is similar to maple syrup but less sweet.  It even came with a chestnut as chestnuts were in season.  

It is quite a different experience than going to an European style tea room.  Japanese sweets are also quite different from European sweets in that it is rice and bean based.  But very good and healthy! 

Chikara Udon

Anmitsu

Kanoko

RazzleBerry

Early November, 2009

Shibuya, Tokyo

Early Fall Night

Catching up on all the blogs I did not finish before taking off to Cambodia and Laos. 

While leaving the Shibuya office one late nite I discovered RazzleBerry, a frozen yogurt place.  Finally, frozen yogurt has arrived in Japan!  Ever since I had Pinkberry in LA and Red Mango in Korea,I have been craving really good frozen yogurt.  I could not understand why the frozen yogurt craze did not reach Japan.  It started in Korea and swept through big cities in the States.  But I was happy to find that finally, it has arrived in Tokyo.   And in style!  Obviously geared toward the young Japanese girls, but didn't stop this "mature" woman.  I've been going there everytime when in Shibuya since I first discovered it.  Pretty good.  Only complaint - no adzuki beans available as a topping.  And it is my favorite frozen yogurt topping.  Everytime I go I tell them to add it so maybe it will be part of the menu.  But doubt before I leave for LA. 

RazzleBerry in Shibuya:  very pink and Kawaiii!

Everytime I go, its filled with Japanese schoolgirls.

They come in 3 sizes:  Cute, Sexy and Glamorous

I always go for Glamorous.

Tamahide

Early November, 2009

Ningyocho, Tokyo

Nice early Fall weather

My friend at work - Jennifer and I decided to go out for lunch on a work day in early November.  I've always wanted to try the Oyako Don at Tamahide so that is where we went.   Our office is near Ningyocho which has a very old Tokyo feel to it with lots of cute shops and traditional restaurants.  Tamahide is one of the most famous restaurants of Ningyocho.  It's specialty is the Oyako Donburi .  It was invented by the wife of the 5th generation owner of Tamahide in the late 1800s.   Basically she took left over soup, eggs and chicken, made an omelet and served it over a bowl of rice.  Oyako means parent/child and since dish is made with chicken and egg, she named it Oyako Donburi (donburi is "bowl").  It was one of my favorite dish to have for lunch while growing up in Japan.  So I was very excited to try the famous Tamahide Oyako Donburi.   We thought we got there early - just before opening time of 1130am - but there was already a line.   We waited for about 20 minutes, got in and ordered the 1300 yen special.  The Oyako Donburi came with some pickles and chicken bouillon soup.  I have to say it was disappointing.  I didn't think it was that good and definitely not worth the wait.  Jennifer also agreed but we were happy we went as it is a very well known landmark/institution in Tokyo.

Photo of Tamahide during the Edo days

 

The line to get in for lunch

The handwritten directions on how to line up.

 

Just when we thought we could get lunch, another line inside.

 

First we had to order and pay, then we sat down.  Tea and chicken soup were served while we waited for our Oyako Donburi.

Oyako Donburi:  The bowl on top had pickles in it.

 

This is what Oyako Donburi looks like.  The green stuff are the pickles.

Spending the Last 7 Weeks in Japan Eating: Daikokuya

Saturday October 31, 2009

Asakusa, Tokyo

Sunny and Glorious

On Friday October 30th, I started working on my move back to the US.  That is when it hit me.  I only have 7 weeks in Japan!!  Technically, it should be 9 weeks but since I'm going to Laos and Cambodia for 2 weeks, that only leaves 7 weeks.  Wow, time just flies.  There are many more places I want to go to but I won't have the time.  But that's an excuse to come back!   However, one thing I really need to do is to go out and eat in the fabulous restaurants around Tokyo. 

So on Halloween Day, instead of going to Omotesando to see the kids Halloween parade, I went to Asakusa to go have lunch at Daikokuya.  Asakusa is famous for tempura and Daikokuya is arguably the most famous tempura place in Asakusa.  It is over 100 years old and have been located in the same place since inception. It's kind of hard to find but is about a 10 minute walk from the Sensoji temple on a side street.  I was told there are usually lines to get in and sure enough there was one.  But as I was dining alone, I was able to be seated rather quickly. 

They are famous for Tendon- which is basically tempura on rice with a special sauce poured over it.  I had their special tendon of one prawn tempura, one kisu(sillago fish) tempura and one kakiage (mixed tempura).   Having tried to make tempura on my own, I know it is difficult to make perfectly.  So I was very excited to try supposedly Tokyo's best Tendon.  I was told the kitchen was backed up so there is a wait and wait I did.  It took about 30 minutes for my lunch to arrive.

When it arrived, I have to say it did not look tasty.  But when I dug into it... hmmm. yum!  Very good... With a huge prawn, very flavorful sillago fish and a huge mixed tempura.  Delicious!  I recommend it but not sure I'll stand in line for more than 30 minutes for it, after all, it is a tempura restaurant and there are alot of tempura restaurants in Tokyo that come very close to Daikokuya - however, without the long history that makes Daikokuya unique. 

The entrance to Daikokuya

People waiting to go inside

 

The Ambience

Tendon

There is also take out, but tempura is best freshly made.