foodie wednesday in kyoto

Ummm....My little blog which only had a little over 300 visitors per day...had over 5,000 hits yesterday....thanks again blogs of note!

So, onto the foodie adventure...Apparently, it is 50 years that Paris and Kyoto have been sister cities. To commemorate this (I think), the Kyoto National Museum is having an exhibition of the art of Paris from 1830 to 1930 which runs until November 3rd.

I had never been to the Kyoto National Museum, and am not too familiar with French art, so I was interested in checking this out.

The museum is located in a part of Kyoto called Okazaki. It is semi-next door to the Heian Shrine. (I didn't realize it but they were preparing for the Jidai Matsuri Parade (one of three big parades in Kyoto) to be held later that day.

The weather was overcast and there was rain forcasted for the afternoon, but I went anyway.

When I got there, there were already several groups of older ladies looking at pieces. I didn't see this, but apparently no pens were allowed, as I was jotting something down I was given a pencil (you know the kind that you get when you fill out an entry form?) As I didn't know many of the artists, I walked through quite quickly. I guess the most interesting part for me was to see photos of the building of the Eiffel Tower. Of course at the end of any exhibit or tourist attraction in Japan, there is the gift shop...there were cafe au lait bowls, postcards and other items, unfortunately nothing was made in France :(

So after checking out the gift shop, I walked across the street to Au Temps Perdu for lunch. I had seen this cafe on a local television show and was interested in eating lunch there. I ate on the terrace though it would have been better if the weather were nicer.

For 1500 yen (about US$15), the lunch plate came with Quiche Lorraine, Pate de Campagne, a green salad, Ratatouille, carrot rape (grated carrot salad), part of a baguette & a madeleine. The lunch also came with a drink. You could choose from a set list--various teas, juices or alcohol. I chose tilleul (linden flower) and verveine (verbena) herb tea.

There were many housewives lunching and chattering, some were turned away when all the seats inside and outside were filled. Everything was delicious and filling. I loved the flaky crust of the quiche and was happy that the dressing for the salad was a vinaigrette and not Japanese-y.

Feeling quite full after lunch, I walked around a bit and picked up some wagashi (Japanese confection) at Heianden.

The kurikinton was a whole kuri (chestnut) covered with chestnut paste---360 yen (about US$3.60). Not too sweet, good with green tea or coffee.

A little way down from the wagashi shop, I went into a tsukudani shop, Sanmikouan. They had all kinds, I thought that the ko-dako (tiny octopus) 840 yen (about US$8.40) looked interesting as well as the tenjinume. The octopus was tasty and good on rice and since Satoshi liked tako, he enjoyed this too. The ume (apricot) was huge (315 yen about US$3.15 for one ume) not too sweet or too sour.

After buying the Japanese sweets and tsukudani, I decided to walk to the Hankyu Kawaramachi station via Sanjo. On the way, I went into my favorite gamaguchi shop and window shopped then I went to my favorite Kyoto macaron shop, Patisserie Kanae.

Since my theme for the day seemed to be French (well, besides the wagashi and tsukudani), I picked up her Paris set--citron (lemon), lavande (lavender) & caramel sale (salted caramel)--though there were some autumn flavors like sweet potato and mont blanc that I was interested in. Each were 200 yen (about US$2). I was pleasantly surprised as each one had a chocolate flavored ganache, all were nicely flavored not overpowering or fake....just delicious. It was a great day and I made it home just before the rain.

Au Temps Perdu
64 Okazakienshoji-cho
Kyoto
Phone: 075.762.1299

Heianden
Heianjingumichi, Horiike-machi, Sanjo-agaru
Higashiyama, Kyoto
Phone: 075.761.3355

Sanmikouan
Jingumichi Sanjo agaru
Higashiyama, Kyoto
Phone: 075.771.0952

Matsuhiro Shoten
3-12 Sanjo Ohashi Higashi hairu
Higashiyama, Kyoto
Phone: 075.761.5469

Patisserie Kanae
Kawaramachi Takoyakushi Higashi hairu
Kyoto
Phone: 075.212.4771 (UPDATE: closed 8/2011)

foodie friday in kyoto

Today after my lesson, I jumped on the train to Kyoto. There are a lot of places to holo-holo (hawaiian for "go wandering")--eateries both traditional and modern, plus lots of shrines and temples. If there is one place you should visit in Japan, it is Kyoto. You can see architecture dating back to the early 1900's mixed in with modern buildings. Most buildings have a height limit --this is to protect the beauty that Kyoto holds.

My adventure started at Ichizawa Hanpu--they have been at their site for over 60 years, but I think they have been in business for longer than that. Their bags are very simple looking but very sturdy because they use sailing cloth. I'll have to save up my $$ though because they are quite expensive.

I then walked along Sanjo-dori to a store I have visited in the past, Matsuhiro Shoten. They make these gamaguchi purses (purses with these metal clasps on top). They use all kinds of different fabrics--some from old kimonos, some modern prints. Satoshi and I went there a couple of years ago and the store was so packed that it was hard to leisurely look and choose. Today, it was relatively quiet, so I had a nice time opening and closing the clasps and listening to others doing the same "pa-chin pa-chin".

Lunch was a little late at a little shopping area called Kyoen, at a restaurant called Chaimon--this restaurant specializes in foods made with sweet potato. I had their o-kayu (gruel) set. Rice cooked soft with sweet potato. There is an (a thick broth) to pour over the o-kayu.

And side dishes (from the back--forward) of kinpira (seasoned strips of burdock root and carrot), komatsuna (chinese cabbage) stir-fry, sweet potato tempura (fried) with purple sweet potato salt, an umeboshi (pickled plum) and some roasted pine nuts. The dishes and gruel were really good and tasty.

There was even imo-cha (sweet potato tea)--this didn't taste too good, almost like they made the tea from the skins of the sweet potato...kind of earthy...still, it was interesting to try.

After lunch I continued on Sanjo-dori and came upon a Japanese snack shop--Funahashiya. I've written about them before when Satoshi had his staff over for dinner last year.

I bought a package of arare (rice crackers) for Satoshi's omiyage (souvenir). When I told the girl at the register that I didn't want a plastic bag, she looked at me like I was crazy.

My last stop was a trip to Patisserie Kanae. This little shop was featured recently in a Japanese foodie magazine. The pastry chef/owner makes different types of cakes, has a patisserie class, and also makes macarons!

I've been trying a lot of traditional flavored macarons but what really caught my eye was her Japanese flavors.

Here's what I got: Right row: Sesame Noir (black sesame), Poivre Japonais (sansho--Japanese pepper), Sakura vert (the leaves of the cherry blossoms), Matcha (green tea) Left row: Charbon de bamboo (bamboo charcoal), Yuzu chocolat (citron chocolate), Sojavert-Epinard (soybean with spinach)

Everything was delicious and tasted exactly like the real thing--although I'm not too sure how charcoal is supposed to taste though it was a bit gritty .

Well, the weather has been great for the past couple of days--lovely for walks or just to be out and about. Too bad it is supposed to rain tomorrow.

Hope you have a great weekend.