Thursday, October 23, 2008

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)

25 comments:

The Diva said...

I would love to go to Japan but am worried that the food is so different than here in the US that I'd starve.

Vicki
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Anonymous said...

Hee, hee. I don't know if you will post this, but I found the first comment from "the Diva" really hysterical! Especially since my first reaction was: You won't starve in Japan, but you'll probably be very hungry since portions are very dainty!

I was actually going to comment that your lunch set looked pretty big! As well as delicious. The last time I was in Kyoto I tried to go to the Kyoto National Museum on my own and got hopelessly lost and ended up going home without seeing it. Afterwards, I realized I should have just taken a taxi. Oh, well, next time.

Congratulations on being a blog of note! Your entries are very worthwhile reading; I've learned a lot from reading your posts.

As for learning French, a book I once purchased (and didn't study) had little post it size notes with French words on them. The little notes were for you to stick on items in your house to give you more familiarity with French. For example, there were notes for television, chair, etc. Just a little hint for you. And you can edit my lengthy post if you want to. :) Best wishes!

Anonymous said...

This beats my Genki lunch hands down. If Japan had the same food as the states (cough cough), I'd be bored.

Phoebe said...

aww what good food and an awesome day! Certainly is an adventure!

Mister Allred said...

The food looks good. By any chance, have you happen to visit the Egg Dome?

K and S said...

Not sure what part of the US you are at Diva, but if you can get some Japanese food where you are that may be a little sample of some of the foods you could try when you visit. We also have our share of Western-style foods here too, so you wouldn't have to eat ONLY Japanese :)

Take care.
Kat

K and S said...

Hi Anon,
The portion of the lunch was big, I was surprised that it was worth the price. Most of the portions here are tiny but maybe that is actually "normal"?! I think I may have to build up my vocabulary in French :) thanks for the tip.

Ooh, Genki, haven't been there before Rowena...sounds good :)

Thanks Phoebe!

Sorry I don't know what the Egg Dome is Mister Allred.

Take care everyone.
Kat

Anonymous said...

I need to comment, your shots are just beautiful, and you simply took everything nicely. True enough you might have a good camera but it's the photographer's view differs each shots. Well done.

K and S said...

Thank you Ruzzlan!

Take care.
Kat

Jennifer said...

Mmmm....squid....
That red gate is a torii, I learned about it in world religion class ^^

K and S said...

Hi Jennifer,
Sorry it isn't squid, it is octopus. Glad to hear you learned about torii.

Take care.
Kat

Bella di Luna said...

Hello there. ^^ The Blogs of Note was right, this was a very interesting read. X3

I would love to be able to travel in Japan. ^^

I have this sudden urge to eat ume and kuri. ;_; Oh but not at the same time. >.>

K and S said...

thank you Bella di Luna, yes, ume and kuri together would not be too appetizing :)

Take care.
Kat

Unknown said...

Congratulations on being "Blog of Note". I really enjoyed my visit to your site and will be back often to keep up with your adventures.

I love to travel and a large part of the experience is trying local foods (not the tourist stuff) and searching out local markets. Usually, talking to people is a great way to find little treasures in a city. Since it normally takes more than a short vacation to find the best places, residents are a wonderful resource. That's what your blog feels like ... like I'm talking to a resident who has all kinds of good ideas.

Thank you for sharing!

Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Jennifer said...

I enjoyed reading your blog & looking at the pictures of the food. :)

Anonymous said...

Over 5,000! Woohoo - that's fantastic! ^_^ Thanks you so much for the package...I'm steadily making my way though each of the snacks, mmmm tasty, tasty! :)

Anonymous said...

all this food is makin me hungry!

genkitummy said...

That kurikinton looks interesting. So it's a chestnut covered with paste? so the textured outside is the chestnut paste? It looks a little like that taro puff dim sum.

Anonymous said...

yummy!i wish i could go to japan!

Deb in Hawaii said...

What a great French Foodie day! The lunch looks incredible as do the macarons. Congrats on being a "blog of note"--you deserve for all the wonderful posts and photos!

Anonymous said...

cool! i will go to tokyo end of this year! im very excited to go there,:D

Anonymous said...

will be really good trip for me end of this year!:D is there any other great things i must visit? :D no regret things? :D

K and S said...

Genki, the outside texture was a sweet chestnut paste.

Thanks everyone for your nice comments.

Take care.
Kat

grace said...

thank you for this post - i plan on visiting Kyoto in the Spring and have put Au Temps Perdu as well as the shops on my "places to check out" list. arigato! so glad to have found you through Blogs of Note!

K and S said...

Hope you enjoy Kyoto and Japan, Grace!

Take care.
Kat