Thursday, March 25, 2010

kani kani kani

After coming out of the wind and the rain, we checked into our hotel, Hotel Urban Port Hana Tsubaki, located along Obama Bay.

The welcome service kind of surprised me as they gave us some matcha (green tea) and sweets (mini creme brulee, cake and yokan (bar of jellied sweet bean paste). (At most places, you receive tea or juice or nothing at all.)

After checking in, we went to the separate bathing areas and took a nice soak, working up a nice appetite for a dinner of...kani (crab).

The particular hotel plan that Satoshi signed us up for served crab for dinner...

Besides the appetizers and sashimi (sliced raw fish), there was boiled crab, grilled crab.

There was also a crab hot pot, chawan mushi (savoury custard filled with crab, unagi (eel), some shrimp, ginan (gingko) & yurine (lily bulb)), zosui (porridge using the stock from the hot pot, leftover crab, rice, egg and green onion), tsukemono (pickled veggies) and dessert (black sesame ice cream & fresh fruits (papaya, strawberry & pineapple).

Boy! were we stuffed after dinner. We calculated that each person had about 2 crabs each. Satoshi was surprised that I ate most of my share, as most times I leave a large portion of my food for him to finish.

My favorite crab preparation would have to be boiled, it was the easiest to eat. Grilled crab was the hardest to eat because it stuck to the shell.
The next day, we awoke to a beautiful day.

If you thought dinner had a lot of food, breakfast the next morning was almost just as large.

Grilled fish, sashimi, a little hot pot & other foods. It was really filling and everything was delicious.

After a very hearty breakfast, we were ready to explore some of the sights in Obama.

Hotel Urban Port Hana Tsubaki
72-1 Obama-shiratori
Obama, Fukui
Phone: 0770.53.2001

13 comments:

KirkK said...

Man, that's a crab-ba-lishish feast! I love the photos too.

ilif said...

You know what, i never missed your post because i feel this kind of warm vibe when i'm here. It feels really homely. It may not have those professional and confine look but it is definitely welcoming and comfortable when reading your blog.

Keep posting :)

Hannah said...

I'm very confused inside right now, because on the one hand I'm crazy, crazy envious of your crab feast and fancy breakfast... but on the other hand it's my last night here in Paris and I'm eating chestnut fondant cake, and will next have an entire round of goats cheese and a baguette all to myself... so I'm pretty happy about that!

Why can't I get all these foods in Australia? *sob* :P

Jenster said...

I absolutely love seafood, especially crab, so your dinner and breakfast sound like my idea of heaven!

I had a chuckle over Satoshi's surprise that you ate everything at dinner. Wonder if he was planning on eating your leftovers, in case two crabs weren't enough for him? ;)

gtrine said...

oooh i love crab! Sounds like you had two fantastic meals in a row!

Rowena said...

I saw the sashimi photo on Flickr and thought that was good....little did I know HOW good! This post is making me want to visit Obama real bad now. Craaaaaaaaaaaaab!

Admin said...

Kat I have a question with chawan mushi. I think I ate one similar to your pic but it's not custard, it's tofu. Is it the same?

K and S said...

Thanks Kirk :) crab-ba-lishish, love the word!

Thanks Ilif!

Am jealous that you are in Paris Hannah, hope you can get some delicious things in Australia soon!

I think he was more relieved Jenster, at the end he was saying "no more no more"! (lol)

Thanks Gtrine, they were filling but yummy!

You gotta come to Japan soon Rowena, so much to do and EAT!

I think you may be thinking of tamagodofu Mikuru, it does look like this and I think it is similarly made. Chawan mushi has fish and "stuff" in it. Tamagodofu is just the custard, nothing else in it. In summer, tamagodofu is served cold. Hope this explains it.

Take care everyone!
Kat

Tamakikat said...

Hi there Kat.

Lookss like you had a delicious time in Obama.

A great way to kick off Spring.

TK

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! It sounds wonderful. You make me hungry and you make me miss Japan sooooooooo much!!!

K and S said...

The way the weather has been TK, I'd have thought it was still winter :0

Thanks Momiji, you need to come back soon :)

Take care you two.
Kat

Deb in Hawaii said...

OK, tea, sweets, a hot soak, crab for dinner and breakfast?! Sounds like my kind of hotel! ;-) Glad you had a great time.

K and S said...

Thanks Debinhawaii :)

Take care.
Kat