Sushi
Well... the blog IS called Nick's sushi adventures, so I guess it's high time I put this up:
Yes, sushi. Finally.
Every neighbourhood in Japan should have some form of sushi-ya (ya means house. In this case, a restaurant). Fortunately for me, not all neighbourhoods in Japan are born equal, and I happen to have one of the best sushi restaurants located, conveniently, a short, 5 minute walk from my house. It's probably not the most recognized restaurant in the world, but it IS better than 93% of all the sushi restaurants I've eaten at.
Recommendations? The chef is actually licensed to do fugu dishes (pufferfish), and has a tank of 'em next to the sushi counter. But by FAR the best fish there is toro. It's heavenly anywhere, but this is seventh heaven goodness. An orgasm in your mouth. Coma-inducing ecstasy. And only a moderate sized hole in my wallet.
Because that's how you get through life with good food: pick a restaurant as your designated go-to, go regularly, befriend the staff, and never say no to the free food/discounts they will inevitably start piling up on you. Oh and buy the sushi chef sake.
(Not in North Carolina, mind, it's illegal for the chef to drink on the job. That being said, next time someone goes to Kurama, say hi to Mizaki-san for me, ok?)
Okonomiyaki
I've learned one thing so far in Japan about the food. It's delicious, light, but actually not all that healthy. They don't really eat vegetables. Thankfully, there's okonomiyaki, which probably has the most vegetables you'll ever find in a single Japanese dish. And it's a Kansai speciality too!
Not the pot in the middle, it's the things on the side
What is it you ask? Great question! Basically, it is a vegetable filled pancake with bits of meat, and you eat it with mayo, okonomiyaki sauce (think teriyaki. except not really), bonito flakes, and friends. There are a few styles: in Kyoto they eat them flat like the one in the back; in Kanto you can make your own, and it's generally a simple fare of cabbage and the eggy batter; here in Kansai the okonomiyaki are much thicker, are cooked in the kitchen and brought out to your personal metal plate fryer/heater thingy for you to eat over.... oh, a beer or four. It bears repeating: this is a Kansai speciality. Try it.
Yes that sentence back there is badly worded, but grammatically correct. So bite me.
Nabe
Japanese hot pot is amazing in the winter. Period. Their stock is sooooo much better than the Chinese versions that I'm tempted to call it the best. Except Duke HKSA comes to mind, and those really are the best hot pots, especially when I do the shopping/cooking/hosting :P
(Expecting a comment each from Jason and Boris!)
See also the photo from the last section
Best nabe in town? Hard to say. There's the restaurant that's 2 blocks from my house that serves whale nabe from time to time (picture above), which is delicious, but then there's this place a bit farther than has a nice Korean influenced nabe that is warmingly spicy (also good with beer), and most izakaya's serve it in some form or another. It's nabe, and it's good. I'll take it any day of the week.
Yakiniku
Speaking of that Korean nabe, that particular restaurant actually serves yakiniku as well. Which is... actually also Korean influenced. It's the Japanese take on Korean BBQ. And honestly? I think I prefer this one, and here are three reasons why:
Say hello to deliciousness, heart-attack, and I-die-happy.
Not sure I can find it again if I tried... Nate and I stumbled on it in Osaka. $50 a person for the course, but it included appetizers, rice thingys, dessert, and 2-3 other things that I don't remember. A bit pricey, but Nate got a phone number out of the trip, so it was worth it :P
It's not normally that expensive, and especially since tajima-gyu (commonly called Kobe beef, even though Kobe has absolutely NOTHING to do with it) come straight out of my prefecture, it is absolutely mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Kaki
Not exactly "local", but local enough. Kaki, oysters, are a speciality of Hiroshima, which is just a quick hour away on the shinkansen. I, for one, am looking forward to February when they have the kaki matsuri - oyster festival - but in the meantime the yakikaki will suffice to appease my oyster addiction. I pains me to watch them actually cook those little things, but they've just started to get in season, so the raw ones will start getting devilish right about Christmas, I think.
Woman A is cruel.Woman B is hungry (Annette Leung)
Kaiseki
The crown jewel of kansai cuisine, kaiseki dinners are 10+ dish affairs of whatever is most in season. The menus generally don't tell you too much because the point of kaiseki is to feature Japanese cooking styles. So there's something raw, something steamed, something marinated and boiled, something in broth, something with rice, something that's fried, something for dessert, etc. Each dish is not very large, but exquisitely and lovingly planned and cooked by the kitchen. You pay through your teeth for it, but it's worth it if you're celebrating something.
I think that was half the courses... maybe
Japanese Breakfasts
... are heavenly. Nothing quite like a bowl miso shiru (miso soup) to kick the day off, along with nama tamago gohan (raw egg rice - yes you beat a raw egg into a bowl of rice, stop freaking out), and a bunch of whatever they put on your large, fashionable box-tray-thing. Unfortunately, it is expensive, takes a VERY long time to make on your own, and so you only really get to eat it at ryokan's.
We were an hour late for breakfast :P
To follow soon.... photo essay of miyajima as well as part two of the report on Fooooooooood. Western food, go!
Also, Kooza is coming to Japan next year!!!! YAAAAAAYYYY!!!!! (and also way too many hours wasted on youtube this week because of that XP)
Yay! Thanks for the mention Nick.
ReplyDeleteAll of this food you just posted is making my mouth water. I really want to try some of that yakiniku right now mmmmmm