McDonald’s Mega Potato

admin — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 08:13:12 +0000

McDonald’s Japan has recently started to offer the Mega Potato which is two large fries combined in one big package. At 490 yen, the Mega Potato is much cheaper than ordering two large fries.
While the food covered on Foodie Topography is often healthy, this is certainly not the case.

It’s hard to say how long the Mega Potato will be available, but if you want a gargantuan french fries, just head to the nearest McDo.

Kanei Soba in Kyoto

admin — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 23:45:21 +0000

As we stood in front of Kanei soba restaurant a solid 40 min before the opening, a man asked us if this was a soba shop and I wondered the same thing. Kanei is located a short distance from the center of Kyoto in a residential area and it looks just like a regular house with no sign. The location of Kanei is not exactly a secret since it earned a star in the Kyoto Michelin guide.

By the time the door opened at around 11h40, the line was snaking around the corner and people were hoping to get one of the 16 seats. Kanei is a small gem of a restaurant.

We were the first so we sat right next to the garden. But that’s it, simple and beautiful.

Our table with soba tea

Soba crackers

The hand written menu

I started by ordering a portion of cold zaru soba which is the simpliest of all soba.

The soba have a very mild taste and a great texture.

The dipping sauce has a really rich taste, very heavy on the katsuo. My wife says that it sometime to much for some Japanese customers but in my case, it’s heaven.

Fresh wasabi!

We shared the zaru soba.

My main dish was kamo (duck) soba.

It looks like nothing, but the duck and the soup were insanely delicious.

After the first sip of the soup, I was madly in love with this dish which is the most expensive on the menu at a 1600 yen. The broth is intense, complex and felt like a big band in my mouth.

My wife ordered the chicken soba soup which was also very good, but very tame compared to the duck.

I can understand how Kanei earned a Michelin star and if you are patient you can also enjoy a little bowl of ducky heaven.

It’s possible to reserve at night while lunch is a first arrived, first served kind of deal. I plan to come back for dinner and try some of the other stuff on the menu including an omelet only offered at dinner.

Kanei is the proof that patience in Japan is always rewarded.

Kanei Soba

075-441-8283

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Kanaya Sukiyaki

admin — Tue, 28 May 2013 23:30:42 +0000

The small town of Iga in Mie Prefecture is famous for its ninja museum which attracts legion of little ninjas and nostalgic foreigners. I was also promised a great sukiyaki and Kanaya meat shop was just what I needed after a visit to the ninja museum and Iga castle.

I like the idea of a meat shop serving meat. The entrance of the restaurant is on the right of the shop. The restaurant occupies the second floor of what turned out to be a massively long building.

The meat is not cheap and I warn you that Kanaya lunch menu is not cheap, it’s around 7000 yen per person.

Once you get to the second floor, we were taken to our private room.

The service at Kanaya is very important because the food is cooked table side.

The Iga beef is the star of the show and the portions are generous.

The supporting cast are great local vegetables

Like I said, the whole meal is made at the table.

Iga style sukiyaki is a bit different from the one I eat at home in Okayama.

First: sugar.

Second: soy sauce.

Third: lightly stir

Fourth: Eat after dipping in raw egg.

The result is a melt in your mouth beef like you will rarely eat.

The veggies were also delicious

After being cooked with sugar and soy sauce

The meal at Kanaya was a great experience which justified the high price.

The view from our room

The restaurant is really big, but don’t expect to eat there without a reservation.

If you visit Iga and you want to try the best of the best, you should go to Kanaya and enjoy local Iga products. Apparently, Iga offers a much better deal than Matsusaka which is almost double the price for a much smaller portion.

Kanaya Sukiyaki

http://www.gansoiganiku-kanaya.co.jp/

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Onsaya Toiyacho

admin — Mon, 27 May 2013 00:23:01 +0000

Onsaya café recently opened a new shop in Toiyacho and it’s very different from the original shop located near Okayama station.

I’ve always considered the Toiyacho area to be the weird Soho of Okayama. Toiyacho is a gentrified industrial area with a bunch of fashionable cafés and shops. It’s also one of the rare place in Japan where people can park on the street.

The new Onsaya is modern loft like space with exposed pipes and all, I could swear I was in NY or back home on rue St-Laurent.

The coffee is roasted at the original shop on a Probat. They have a nice selection of single origin coffees.

The dripping station is very nice.

It’s all Hario drippers and pots. The barista paid a lot of attention to preparation.

The result was a very decent coffee served in a paper cup.

I wished they had a real cup. It might look modern and all, but I much prefer porcelain to paper if I am sitting down to enjoy a coffee.

This Onsaya shop has a bakery in the back and they offer a lot of really nice pastries.

They also had cakes.

The menu at Onsaya is in English, so it makes ordering very easy.

Onsaya also has great opening hours: from 7 AM to midnight which makes it the perfect place for a post dinner coffee with friends.

Onsaya

http://onsaya.com/

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Morino Yoshino-Kuzu Honpo

admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:54:36 +0000

The area around Yoshino in Nara Prefecture is famous for kuzu, a starch made from Japanese arrowroot. Morino Yoshino-Kuzu Honpo has been making kuzu powder and sweets since 1616 and it is a must eat if you are anywhere near Nara.

The kuzu starch is used is considered one of the best for making wagashi and fine cuisine. It’s mostly use as a natural thickening agent.

We ordered fresh kuzu which is made to order.

The kuzu is served with kinako. It has an amazing texture.

We also ordered fresh warabi mochi.

Warabi mochi is one of my favorite and the one served at Morino is incredible.

Everything is made to order in the back of the shop.

The shop is also a kuzu factory.

Morino Yoshino-Kuzu Honpo

http://www.morino-kuzu.com/en

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Awa Naramichi

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:12:50 +0000

Nara is one of these places that almost every school children in Japan goes to visit at one point and it’s a must see. On our first night in Nara we decided to go the locavore way with a friend who was born in Nara and went to Awa in Naramichi which is famous for using the best Yamato vegetables and meat. Yamato is the old name of Nara.

Awa Naramichi is a beautiful restaurant located in the picturesque area of Naramichi. This is by far my favorite area of Nara.

We ate on the second floor

We ordered the beef menu which started with a platter full of small dishes.

Roast beef, ferns, pumpkin, konyaku, I got lost in the detailed description, but everything was really good.

More Yamato vegetables in a broth which was thicken with kuzu starch.

Yamato beef with a generous portion of Yamato vegetable.

The local beef is very tender and barely needed to be cooked.

Somen with a soy milk soup.

I forgot to take a pic of the red Nara rice, sorry.

The dessert was very simple: chocolate cake and a strawberry.

Awa is a fun restaurant with a good selection of local sake. They explained every single dishes in great details. It’s not a gimmick, the Yamato vegetables are really delicious.

You can read about the source of every single ingredients and see who produces them. If you plan to go, reserve early.

Awa Naramichi

http://kiyosumi.jp/awa-naramachi/

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Kura Beer Tei Kurashiki

admin — Sun, 12 May 2013 08:15:02 +0000

Kurashiki and especially the Bikan area are a major tourist magnet and I love to play tourist in my own town. I discovered Kura Beer Tei by reading a tourist guide about Kurashiki while sipping a cafe latte at Cafe Mugi. I think this little beer shop will make a lot of us happy.

I often drive in front of this place but I have never noticed it. Kura Beer Tei specialises in micro brewery beer from Okayama prefecture.

The shop is small, but they have pretty much everything which is made in Okayama: Kibidote, Kurashiki beer, Doppo, Tsuyama and beer Mabi.

It’s possible to sit there and drink the beer they sell. And they also have a selection of draught beer!

I didn’t try the draught beer since I was driving, but I bought a Mabi beer and a coffee stout from Kibidote.

I will go back really soon to drink a couple of draught beers.
It’s on the street right in front of the station and it’s a short walking distance.

Kura Beer Tei

www.kurabeertei.com

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Inspired by Starbucks: a new type of Starbucks cafe in Tokyo

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:43:12 +0000

I don’t often watch Japanese TV, but last night I saw an interesting segment on a news show about a new Starbucks concept store which recently opened in Tokyo, it’s called Inspired by Starbucks. The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, was there for the opening.

Original picture from the Japanese Starbucks website

I am sorry, I don’t have my own pics of the new shop since Kurashiki is way too far from Tokyo, but if I was anywhere near the capital, I would be heading to Setagaya to try it out. The new shop is not too far from the Futakotamagawa station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi line and from what I understand, they chose this location because the rent was a bit cheaper than central Tokyo.

From what I can see from the news reel and Japanese bloggers, the new shop is modeled after the Roy Street Coffee and Tea located in Seattle.

The coffee shop looks really good and they have hand dripped coffee, french press and Clover brewed coffee. I often drink french press Reserve Coffee at my local Starbucks in Kurashiki and it’s a great experience, so I would love to taste the hand dripped coffee and Clover version.

The new shop also offers a different food menu and they also have red wine, white wine, sparkling and two beers on offer including the Redhook ESB.

The goal of Starbucks is to open 1000 stores in Japan and they are almost there since Tottori is the only prefecture without a Starbucks so far.

If you visit this new shop, don’t hesitate to share your impressions.

Here is a couple of links from Japanese bloggers.

http://www.danshihack.com/2013/04/23/junp/inspired_by_starbucks.html

http://ameblo.jp/sakura-beautiful/entry-11523360454.html

http://foodplace.exblog.jp/18596150/

Here is the shop page in Japanese

http://www.starbucks.co.jp/inspired/

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Akafuku

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:36:52 +0000

Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture is probably one if the most sacred shinto site in Japan and it also has one of my favorite sweet, the famous Akafuku.

While Akafuku or at least the boxed version is widely available in the Kansai area, enjoying the original is a must and a necessary stop on any pilgrimage to Ise. So just line up!

When you walk in, the smell of freshly roasted tea welcomes you. Line up at the counter and buy a ticket. When you have a ticket, just move to the back.

On your way to the back of the shop, you can see a bunch of ladies preparing fresh Akafuku.

Just find a seat and wait for a lady to pick up your ticket.

The river view is really nice.

The fresh Akafuku is just hand made perfection!

I had the boxed version many time which is good, but the fresh version is worth the trip alone. The red bean paste is so light and sweet.

The main Akafuku shop has a beautiful garden.

If you still have a bit of stomach space, try the Akafuku shaved ice which is sold right across the street.

It’s only 500 yen and it has some good mochi and bean paste hidden under the ice.

Choices of sweets in Ise are plenty, but don’t skip on Akafuku.

Akafuku

www.akafuku.co.jp

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Kondou Tofu Naramachi

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:03:09 +0000

Tofu gets a bad reputation with reasons since the stuff we can find in supermarket is often bad and tasteless. But if you happen to be visiting Nara, you are in luck my friend, Kondou Tofu restaurant in the Naramachi neighborhood is the place that will change your mind forever.

Naramachi is a collection of nice little restaurants and shops in a less flashy touristy area of the city. The restaurant is located in a beautiful old house and since it’s pretty small, reservation is a must.

Kondou is a tofu maker first and foremost and the restaurant is there to showcase their products.

When you arrive at Kondou this is what you see.

You get a shot of tonyu ”soy milk” and Oburo tofu which is really rich as a small starter.

The oburo tofu has a great mouthfeel, like a rich and gooey camembert.

The little appetizers are not only pretty, it’s soy delicious!

Yu dofu is boiled tofu in soy milk. Simple, good, hot.

That’s it

Just a drop of soy sauce is all you need.

Yuba sashimi

Hanbey fu from Kyoto

Okura

Tempura

And the star of the show, YUBA!!!!

Yuba is coagulated soy milk

It’s really fun to make you own yuba.

Sesame tofu with Umi Budo from Okinawa and Kuya Mushi which is a tofu version the chawan mushi

A couple of veggies, clear soup and black rice

I ended this meal with a kuzu and soy milk jelly

After such a meal, I promise you will never see tofu in the same light.

Kondou Tofu

www.kondou-touhu.co.jp

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