About food in Japan

Suzukake (鈴懸) - Japanese sweets from Kyusu (九州)

I found people making a queue at a sweets shop in Isetan Shinjuku department store.

The queue is for very small pieces of cute Japanese sweets. The shop is called "Suzukake" (鈴懸) comes from Hakata (in Fukuoka) in Kyushu (九州) region with over 70 years history there.

The sweets shop's famous products are these two.

Suzu no En-mochi (鈴乃○餅) and Suzu no Monaka (鈴乃最中)

En-mochi looks like "Dorayaki"(どら焼き) casual Japanese sweets, known as favorite of Doraemon, but it is much smaller. 

The cake is moist and more elastic, sticky compared with Dorayaki.

Monaka is also smaller than what we can find normally. The bell (鈴) shape looks cute and unique.

It is enough tiny to have it at one bite. But I tried to cut it into half...

I found it surely "monaka" (sweet sandwich) with stuffed anko, sweet beans paste.   

The outer layer has crispy texture and an paste is not too sweet.

Both are made from very fresh ingredients and it is recommended to consume them within 1-2 days. Please enjoy them while you are staying in Japan!

At Suzukake sweets boutique, other products are also available and all of them look attractive even visually.

Suzukake 

Isetan Shinjuku department store (3-14-1 Shunjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)

Official home page (Japanese only): http://www.suzukake.co.jp/

YEBISU bar - エビスバー

Yebisu beer is one of major Japanese beer brands considered as one of the highest quality beer. To be the proof of that, the beer brand is sold at a bit expensive price at super markets. People are likely to purchase the Yebisu beer cans only for special occasions such as birthday party or any kind of celebrating events. If you prepare Yebisu beer when you invite someone to your home, guests would feel special welcome.

Yebisu beer was born 120 years ago, in 1890. Sapporo Breweries LTD. who produces Yebisu beer, opened "Yebisu bar" in Tokyo by celebrating the 120th anniversary of the brand beer.

I visited the first bar unit in Ginza, where five different versions of "draft" Yebisu beer welcome guests.

Yebisu, Yebisu the black, Kohaku Yebisu (琥珀　amber), Yebisu Staut creamy top and Silk Yebisu...

Only by the fantastic beverage choices, beer fan must be excited. All food menu are also selected and created for the best match with Yebisu beer. I found different icons with each food menu. The icons suggest with which kind of Yebisu beer the food plate has the best "mariage". Food menu is mix of Japanese and Western. Some of them are made by original recipe. Others are cooked with Yebisu beer!

For example, what I ordered....

Kyo(Miyako 京) style Fish and Chips: It looks normal? Sea bream (鯛 tai) is used as ingredient of the British menu. Sea bream is known as fish that Yebisu (God in Japanese local belief) holds. 

A small bowl of pink color sauce made from Shibazuke (しば漬け, Japanese pickeles) is served with it.

Cream cheese: dipped in tamari (thicker) soya sauce and coated with seaweed powder

It can't look like cheese any more...

The amount of bill is not so expensive as much as the beer brand image.

That must be a good experience to enjoy taste of Japanese fine beer together with unique excellent food.

Restaurant name: Yebisu bar

Address: 1st floor Yamashita build. Corridor-gai, 8-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Related Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/yebisubar-g/
Sapporo breweries LTD. :  http://www.yebisubar.jp/

RESTAURANT SANT PAU - Spanish

The Michelin-two-star restaurant is located in Nishonbashi, Tokyo. In spite of the real central location with hundreds of history and traditions, known as financial district at the same time, during weekend, it is rather quite area.

Restaurant Sant Pau is situated in a shopping complex Coredo-Annex. The dinning room is on the second floor after going up from the spacious bar lounge with a wine storage room and through a staircase with leather handrail. Leather and wood furniture and original paintings arts on the wall create warm and cozy atmosphere in the luxury restaurant, even during this chilly Winter in Tokyo. 

 

Restaurant Sant Pau, leads by the chef Ms. Carme Ruscalleda, has its flagship restaurant in Barcelona, Spain and keeps Michelin star since 1990, serving mixture of local food in Catalonia and modern cuisine. The restaurant in Tokyo inherits the concept and cooking style from the orginal one. 

Dinners are welcomed with its iconic "Micro menu", 4 kinds of very small starters. 

Every plate entertains its guests not only by taste but also by visual presentation.

The combination of ingredients is unique and sometime big surprise for us.

Pluma Iberica pork served with mandarin confit & pistachio mousse

We could not stop ordering its cheese set called "contrasts". Five different types of cheese from different countries are offered with suggestions of food paired with pieces of cheese.

A small card telling the contrasts pairs through illustration by the chef Ms. Carme Ruscalleda.

This is definitely a good souvenir of the excellent dining experience.

 

The-beyond-expectation experiences did not stop till the end of the lunch time.

The last plate was this colorful and joyful one with coffee.

 

Surely it is worth spending some amount of money and time for the Michelin 2-star Spanish restaurant.

Restaurant name: Restaurant Sant Pau

Address: Coredo-Nihonbashi Annex, 1-6-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Toky

Website: http://www.santpau.jp