tokuya & kenninji

Saturday, we went to Kyoto. There was an exhibit that Satoshi wanted to see at the Museum of Kyoto.

So while he did that, I walked around Sanjo.

Afterwards we met up and headed towards Gion.

While we were waiting to cross, we were standing right next to a geisha...not 5 seconds later, bazillions of foreigners across the street pointed their smartphones & cameras at us.

When the light changed, boy, could she walk really fast and boy, did we photobomb everyone's pictures...

As we walked down Hanamikoji-dori, I remembered a sweet shop that I wanted to try...Gion Tokuya.

So, we stood in line.

They have warabi mochi & kuzumochi on their menu as well as shave ice.

It was a little to cool for shave ice, so we had warabi mochi & matcha kuzumochi.

This warabi mochi is served on ice and was silky...delicious with kinako (soy bean powder) and a little kuromitsu (molasses/black honey).

But be careful..if you try to "slurp" it, the kinako will hit you first, you will choke/cough and the mochi will go projectile...trust me, I am now forever traumatized by this...thank goodness no one was sitting right next to our table to see...eep!

The matcha kuzumochi was also served on ice and delicious, but really slippery.

With my chopstick skills this was also embarrassing...lucky for that wooden spoon...

We loved the chunky sweet bean paste as well as a mound of matcha to sprinkle onto the kuzumochi.

Down the street is Kenninji, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto.

For 500 yen, you can walk around their property AND take pictures...most places don't allow you take photos.

The highlight of this temple, in my opinion, is the twin dragons which is on the ceiling of a separate building and is 11.4 meters (37.4 feet) by 15.7 meters (51.5 feet) (the size of 108 tatami mats, which I think is a symbol for Buddhism/Zen)

If the weather is nice you can also sit on their wooden decks and reflect.

Despite my earlier traumas...it was nice to get out and about.

Gion Tokuya
510-217 Gionmachi-Minami-gawa
Higashiyama-ku,Kyoto
Phone: 075.561.5554
Hours:12:00-18:00 but closes early if they run out.

daily stuff

The one on the left...my mom bought for me years ago...if you look at it, it is missing part of the spatula..eep!

I love this spatula, it has the right amount of flex and gets in all the crevices (plus it's from my mom).

I didn't want to throw it out until I found the exact same thing...

When I was in Hawaii in December, I tried to look for it at Longs, where (I think) she bought it from...no luck.

The other day, I finally found the same one at Tokyu Hands!

And what was cool was that they let me use some points from my point card to pay for it...whoo!

So even though I don't want to throw out the one on the left, I think it is time to.

Thanks Mom!

thank you!

It might be an April's Fool thingy but apparently we were chosen as one of the top 40 Japanese food blogs in the blogosphere...thank you!

Check out the others here.

jiro's pickles

Have you watched the documentary, "Jiro : Dreams of Sushi"? We have.

Recently my cousin asked us to call to make reservations at Sukiyabashi Jiro's for his BIL.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make reservations for them, they ask that the people dining make their own reservations, or the hotel you are staying at make the reservations for you.

Afterwards, I asked my cousin what had happened and he said that his BIL and family were able to dine there...whew!

Anyway, while I was looking at Sukiyabashi Jiro's website, there was a recipe for pickles, so I scribbled it down.

Jiro's Pickles

3.5 tablespoons sugar
300 milliliters water
300 milliliters rice vinegar
1.5 tablespoons salt
2 chili
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic (optional)

Heat liquid until salt & sugar melt and pour over your favorite veggies.
After it is cooled, refrigerate.

NOTES: actually the recipe is so that you can use the vinegar on his online shop to make the pickles.

I left out the chili & garlic, and made only half the liquid.

This was puckery but we enjoyed it.

He suggests pickling myoga (Japanese ginger), so I might give that a try when it is in season.

I am glad I tried this and would make it again.

kochujang "sausage"

After seeing Jalna's post on Kochujang "sausage", I had to try.

It was a nice way to use the surplus of kochujang I have in my fridge.

Don't you hate it when you think you don't have something (like kochujang)...buy some, only to find out you already have some in your fridge...grr!

Here's the recipe:
Korean Kochujang Sausage : Courtesy Glenn Shinsato

2 pounds ground pork
1/2 cup kochujang sauce
6 tablespoons garlic powder
1 ounce honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 large egg
1/4 cup fruit jam
Won bok kim chee, chopped (optional)

Combine ingredients and mix until sticky.
Shape into 4-inch patties about 3/4-inch thick.
Heat oil in pan and fry patties.

NOTES: this is super easy and got a thumbs up from Satoshi.

Anyway, I cut this recipe to 1/4 and left out the egg since I was gonna stir-fry it.

Cook on medium-low heat or it will burn because of the honey in there.

The mixture turns red, so it is also hard to tell when everything is cooked.

The recipe calls for fruit jam, Jalna said that her husband used an ume jam, since I didn't have any, I used some ume paste.

Also, instead of mixing in the kim chee, I served the kim chee on the side.

Next time I cook this I am gonna put everything on a paper towel to soak up some of the oil.

This was delicious, Jalna, thanks for sharing!

snackage

When we first moved to Japan back in 2001, the "trendy" food items in the US would usually take several years before catching on here.

These days though, it seems that a lot of "trendy" food items can be found more easily.

I recently found these snacks at Lawson under their "Natural Lawson" brand.

Coconut & Amaranth cookies...the cookies remind me of anzac biscuits.

Manuka Honey glazed almonds, crunchy and doesn't stick to your teeth.

Coconut sugar chocolate.

72% cacao & bits of coconut has a slight crunch to it...delicious!

What are you enjoying these days?

tempura makino

Friday, Satoshi had an appointment and would finish early, so we met up in Umeda for dinner at Tempura Makino.

This is part of the Marugame Udon chain except that this place only does tempura.

I ordered a beer while Satoshi ordered cold sake...boy, do they fill the container up to the rim!

Closer look.

In fact, when Satoshi moved to pour some into his ochoko (cup for sake), he spilled some...mottainai (what a waste!)

Satoshi's dinner had 8 tempura items plus asari-jiru (clam soup), while mine had 7 tempura items.

Satoshi had some different tempura items, so what I'm showing you is the ones I got to try.

Total for our dinner with our drinks was about 4200 yen (tax included).

A nice feature of our meal was this sakura salt...dehydrated sakura blossoms and salt...crush and use with your tempura, so delicious!

First up...shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves) with tiny shrimp...fried perfectly!

Sayori (half beak) & madai (red seabream)...forgot to take a photo before I started eating the madai...oops!

Highlight of the meal...tempura-ed...soft boiled egg!

Crisp around the edges and oozy yolk! so good!

bamboo shoot & nanohana(rape blossom).

Bummer that the bamboo shoot was on the tough side!

There was also a perfectly cooked shrimp but I forgot to take a photo of it...eep!

And Satoshi's asari-jiru (clam soup)..so many clams!

We really enjoyed this dinner. Everything is fried to order and comes out pretty steadily as you eat.

We'll be back!

Tempura Makino
Sanbangai 2F
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6372.0501
Hours: 10:30-23:00