foodie friday in kobe

Satoshi's went on a trip for work, so I have a couple of days to myself.

Thursday, it rained all day, so I stayed indoors, reading and just chilling out.

Yesterday, it was sunny, so I headed out to Kobe.

In the morning it was chilly, so I was wearing a long sleeve cotton shirt and a trench coat but by the time I reached Kobe it was blazing! I ended up carrying my coat around.

I had envisioned buying some baked goods at Ça Marche, but apparently they are closed this whole week...boo!

Bummed, I went a couple of doors down to Kitano Grocers to check out their spices. I picked up some seedless tamarind and fenugreek seed.

The lady at the check-out was surprised with my purchases and said, "most Japanese don't buy these items".

I mentioned to her that they were used in a curry recipe book I have, so I wanted to try the recipes with them.

She was very happy to hear this.

Then I went down the street to Kobe Halal to see what other spices they had. I picked up some curry leaves and raw peanuts (not shown).

Everything was super reasonably priced...love these shops!

Since it was nearing eleven-ish, I headed down the hill to L'Ami for lunch.

This tiny shop only has a "U" shaped counter with about 15 seats.

When I got there half the seats were already filled, and everyone seated were female.

I ordered the beef stew omelette...864 yen (tax included).

The omelette is fluffy with lots of sliced onions in it. The beef in the stew was so tender. The demi glace sauce was a little sweet.

Lunch also came with a small salad, miso soup, rice, some tsukemono (pickles) and a slice of orange.

The food comes out pretty quick and the turnover quite fast.

There are some items that Satoshi would like on the menu, we'll be back!

After such a big lunch, I wanted to walk around a bit, so I went in search of Coffee Stand Frank.

It was about 10 minutes away from L'Ami.

This is also a tiny shop, where you stand at the counter and drink your coffee.

Not knowing what it was, I ordered an iced shakerato...330 yen.

Turns out it is a espresso, that is shaken like a martini.

Apparently it is supposed to be shaken with some simple syrup, but when the barista asked if I wanted it sweetened, I told him I didn't.

Different but good! I'll be back.

Fun Foodie Friday...enjoy your weekend!

L'Ami
3-4-3 Sannomiya-machi
Chuo-ku, Kobe
Phone: 078.327.7225
Closed Mondays
Lunch: 11:00-14:45, Dinner: 17:00-21:30

Coffee Stand Frank (UPDATE: 2016 they moved and are now called Coffee Labo Frank)
3-1-11 Sakaemachi-dori
Chuo-ku, Kobe
Phone: n/a
Mondays-Fridays: 7:00-20:00, Saturdays: 10:00-20:00, Sundays & Holidays: 10:00-19:00