tokyo-morioka-miyako

From Tokyo, we took the Shinkansen to Morioka, about 3 hours.

Then from Morioka, it is 2 hour bus ride to Miyako.

Last year when we visited Miyako, we didn't get a chance to try their Bindon (bottle bowl)

Fresh seafood is packed into a milk bottle and you pour it onto rice and eat

Apparently back in the Jomon era, the fishermen thought of a way to bring back fresh uni (sea urchin) back to their villages.

They used their ceramic pots filled them with sea water and put the uni in to transport them. 

Inspired by this, Miyako thought of this fun way to eat seafood from their area

There are only 8 shops in Miyako that serve Bindon

We were lucky to try this at Janome.

The shop next door, Sumiyoshi did not get the seafood they needed for their bindon, so they were not serving bindon

Janome's bindon always has maguro (tuna), uni (sea urchin), scallop, ikura (salmon roe) and mekabu (type of kelp). 

The other items that are put into the milk bottle would depend on the catch of the day

On the day that we tried it, we also had salmon, ika (squid), tako (octopus)

There was also some whitebait and tamago (egg) to put onto your donburi

Satoshi had their medium size...his had a crab claw and tara (cod) in addition to the fish mentioned above

Satoshi's lunch also had grilled fish...my miso soup had bits of the grilled fish in it

we kinda figured that the rice makes the size difference and also the size of the milk bottle because we had pretty much the same foods on our trays

medium vs small

if you order the large, you'll get both the medium and small bottle filled with seafood

Since we had time after lunch before we could check in, we bought some tapioca drinks from Le Lait de Chevre, which we checked out last year

I didn't write about it but they use goat's milk in their sweets.

They also use goat's milk in their tapioca drinks

I had matcha and Satoshi had kokuto (black sugar) topped with soft serve

Dinner was at Ebisu

Amuse bouche...scallop mekabu and ikura

Kat went non-alcohol and had the drinkable yogurt

Iburigakko with cream cheese...love this combo!

Ikaoji, a local that thinks of different ways to promote the foods of Miyako came out with fried cod

Pair that with dashi shio fries and you have Ebisu's version of fish and chips

Eat with mayo and wasabi which is grown in the ground and not in water

The fish was fried perfectly

Ryusendo Pork before cooking on the Toban (ceramic pan)

Otokoyama

Since Satoshi had sake, he was given a taste of Hishiya

And given this pin with Miyako dialect

Apparently Kyoto dialect was heard all over Japan when Kyoto was the capital of Japan

"Ookini" which means thank you in Kyoto dialect also means thank you in Miyako dialect

The older generation still use "ookini" in Miyako

We wanted to have something sweet after dinner and found these shaved ice cups with condensed milk at a tiny shop, TomTom

It was a long day but we got to eat everything we intended to.

Janome

2-8 Sakaecho

Miyako, Iwate

Closed: Wednesdays

Hours: 10:00-20:00

Le Lait de Chevre

4-5-10 Oodori

Miyako, Iwate

Closed: Tuesdays

Hours: 10:30-18:00

Ebisu

8-14 Suehirocho

Miyako, Iwate

Closed: Sundays

Hours: 17:30-23:00

TomTom

2-4 Sakaecho

Miyako, Iwate

Open daily: 8:00-20:00

this and that

peanut spread with cocoa, apparently this is a new flavor for Nutella and it had been 60 years?! since they had a new flavor

it kind of reminded me of the chocolate JIF (I think they had a peanut version) I had many many moons ago, this nutella did not have much hazelnut flavor (to me)

apparently Calbee will go back to printing the front side of their packages.

not sure but I think sales must be down because of the somber "colors"

tried the pitaya smoothie from 7-eleven...pitaya, lychee and apple...tasty!

blended it is a fluorescent pink! (see the photo above)

setoka, a type of orange

Okagean used this variety for their shaved ice...refreshing.

Yakiniku King is having a Hawaii fair...we tried their garlic shrimp...it was just okay

I didn't know it but they have a "secret menu"...this is their potato salad it is topped with yakiniku meat bits and fried garlic...tasty!

another thing on their "secret menu" is the tsukune...meh!

Went to Single O to try their banana bread with espresso butter

the butter should just be regular butter because I could not tell the difference

I also tried their Killerbee Cold Brew, this was delicious

Asahi's tomato chuhai is delicious

goya amasuzuke...so easy and ono!

huge peach from Shunpachi, a green grocer that I tried back when they had a shop in Gotanda.

They now have a shop in Hatanodai, so I look forward to trying their bento again here

The peach was delicious, the smaller one was a little more firm and not as sweet as the huge one!

tokyo little people...loved his shirt!

reconnected with moto's kitchen's taco rice...mouth.on.fire

Tried Amei Pan's meat floss bread...the meat floss was bland and the bread has a sweetened mayo in it...they sell a lot of taiwan style breads, not sure I would go back but glad I tried this

one day when I went to run errands I got there before the shops opened so I had breakfast number 2...an butter sandwich and iced coffee at Milkstand by Coffee Milk so I could sit in the air conditioned area

I'm glad I tried this shop

On Sunday morning we were shaken up by a rather large earthquake

Actually the earthquake itself lasted a couple of seconds...the alarm was the thing that scared me the most since it was 2 in the morning!

The other week Satoshi had to be hospitalized to do some tests.

In order to watch tv or run the refrigerator, you need a tv card...1000 yen 

When he was released, you put the card into a machine and if you have points still on it, it will refund your money

I had 257 points left on it and was refunded 250 yen...hoping his tests have good results

so hot that we had acai banana and strawberry milk smoothies while walking home one day

hemmed the curtains (by hand!) I feel so much better about them now...ha!

so many natural disasters again...Nepal, Ishikawa & Toyama...sending good mojo

so many things going on, not enough time to post...hope you all are doing well.

tajima coffee factory

Tried a new (to us) place, Tajima Coffee Factory

This shop is only open on Sundays!
 

The interior is kind of dark because they also share the space with a bar

Satoshi had their Brazil, he thought it could have been served a little hotter

And he had this with a dorayaki

Kat had their espresso lemonade soda with a brown butter financier

So refreshing!

2250 yen (tax included) 

They will be moving to another location in September and hope to operate on Saturdays and Sundays...we'll check them out again after their move

Tajima Coffee Factory

2-7-11 Minami Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Only open on Sundays

Hours: 11:00-18:00

teshio gohan gen

There is a restaurant Satoshi has been wanting to try, Teshio Gohan Gen

It is in the basement of a building near the JR Kamata Station

Satoshi had their Teshio Teishoku, this had fish, and all sorts of veggie side dishes (no photo) 1500 yen (tax included)

Kat had their hamburger stuffed goya which was sliced thin then fried and fried veggies (onion & young corn)...1450 yen (tax included) 

Perfectly fried, delicious!

this also had a nicely cooked piece of eggplant, carrot salad and kiriboshi daikon

you can choose between white rice or zakkoku (different grains)

I also requested no soup

You can also have seconds of rice and soup, guess who had more soup, bruh! so much for watching salt intake

It looks like they have several shops in the Nakano area and several more shops around Tokyo

We'll be back.

Teshio Gohan Gen

8-1-6 Nishikamata B1

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: weekdays 11:00-15:30 (lunch) 17:00-23:00 (dinner), weekends & holidays 11:00-23:00

restaurant savy's

We tried a new (to us) place called Restaurant Savy's

 

they have mainly counter seating and one or two tables in the back of the restaurant

I tried their tomato omurice...delicious! 1000 yen (tax included)

Their tomato sauce is homemade and not sweet

It also came with a small salad and I requested no soup

Satoshi had the Savy's set...1600 yen (tax included)

This had a baked chicken with hamburger, fried shrimp, crab cream croquette

This also came with a small salad and soup

We enjoyed their food and look forward to trying other items on their menu.

We'll be back

Restaurant Savy's

4-5-6 Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: 11:30-23:00

*irregular days off, check their Instagram

chilling coffee and bake

Been wanting to check out Chilling Coffee and Bake for some time now, and finally got to the other day
 

This cafe is super teeny with only 7 seats.

Order and pay at the counter then have a seat

Glad I was able to get a seat, other customers had to wait outside (in the heat!) until a table opened up!

I tried their blueberry crumble bar and cold brew

Love that this had lots of blueberry in it!

And their cold brew was smooth

I want to try their carrot cake...I'll be back

Chilling Coffee and Bake

5-6-10 Hatanodai

Shinagawa, Tokyo

Hours: 11:00-17:00

*check their instagram for days off

regario

tried a new (to us) restaurant, Regario

Their menu is mostly Spanish and Italian cuisine

we ordered the Galician octopus...950 yen (plus tax)

The octopus was so tender! and the potatoes were perfectly cooked

The garlicky sauce was super tasty

I also like how “fancy” they made drinking water look

we ordered baguette so that we (Satoshi) could mop up the sauce from the octopus...400 yen (plus tax)

an order of their spicy seafood arrabiatta...lots of seafood in it and lots of kick! 1800 yen (plus tax)

bolognese...super peppery and meaty 1500 yen (plus tax)

We're glad we tried this place and want to come back for dinner...we'll be back

Regario

8-1-10 Nishikamata 2F

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: 11:30-14:30 (lunch), 17:00-23:00 (dinner)