About food in Japan

China Town in Yokohama

Like other cosmopolitan cities, China Town exists in surrounding of Tokyo.
Yokohama is less than a half hour of train ride from central Tokyo. The big port town is an intersting place to walk around and to feel the international atmosphere in old and new eras.

Under the clear sky, the main street of the China Town is packed with tourists. Along the street, stands for steamed buns, roasted chestnuts all are in a row on both sides and attract these tourists. I felt this time that so many restaurants offer "eat as much as you want"(食べ放題) system. Tourists does not have to worry about how much they have to pay at the end.
The restaurant I booked for today's lunch is also providing such system. But we dare not to take the way, because we know that the price would not be so different finally.

Daichinrou serves dimsum, seafood and country food by experienced chef from Hong Kong. It is a popular restaurant which is often featured by media. It is also known for a dining for chefs in China Town. It means that the food is enough good to satisfy even professional Chinese cooks. The tables are occupied fully from noon thorugh to afternoon. Even on late lunch time after 14 o'clock, guests are asked to wait for a while until a table is cleared.

What we had today...
dimsum is one of must.

and a seasonal pot, duck and chestnuts stew. Food cooked in a pot is rate to find at a Chinese restaurant in Japan.

Restaurant name: Daichinrou main building  大珍楼 本館
Address: 202 Yamashitacho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-city
Website: http://www.daichin.co.jp

Starbucks coffee at convenience shops

The international coffee shop chain collaborated with a Japanese major beverage company for the brand's first canned coffee. The new products, called "STARBUCKS DOUBLE SHOT" are available at major convenience stores in Tokyo and surrounding regions.

This is the second attempt of collaboration between Starbucks and Suntry for develpping "ready to drink" coffee available not at the coffee shops but at other retail stores, after the first work on cupped coffee. Canned coffee is quite popular especially among Japanese businessmen and is often taken as breakfast or in office. It is much less expensive than a cup of coffee available at Starbucks stores but the quality also matches with the price. I believe that is the opinions of majority.

STARBUCKS DOUBLE SHOT costs Yen170 for 140g. It is much expensive compared with other canned coffee(average price Yen100-Yen120 for around 200ml) but much cheaper than normal Starbucks coffee(starts from around Yen300).

It offers two kinds of taste, Expresso Doppio and Expresso Con Panna.
As per the press release, like ones at the coffee shops, high quality coffee beans "Expresso roast" are used for the production. I tried both taste and felt that they are stronger coffee than other brands canned coffee and that they succeeded in produce something brought the Starbucks's brand image appropriately. The size is small like an expresso cup and it does not take long to finish a can. It is good to have it just for a short time of refreshment.

When you do not have time to drop by a Starbucks shop and cannot wait for a cup of coffee prepaired or when you do not have enough coins...the canned Starbucks at convenience shop could be an alternative option.

Related Website(Japanese version only):
http://www.starbucks.co.jp/doubleshot/

 

Amazon started selling food on its website

From 15th October 2008, Japanese version of the online book store, Amazon.co.jp started selling fresh food and grocery products on the website. This is the first attempt of the online giant to launch food store, after they did in the home country, United States.

As per the press release, it lines up over 20,000 food products at the store, from pet bottled drinks(which they have had even before) to seasonal fresh fruites or crabs, frozen food.
Seeing the website, following companies are suppling products to the Amazon.co.jp food store.

Oisix - A major online supermarket focucing on organic vegetables, other safe food products
Takashimaya - A major department store, selling dry sweets there
Seijo Ishii - An upscale supermarket chain in Tokyo, directly importing good quality wine etc
Joel Robuchon - A well-known French Michelin star winning restaurant group

Like other goods sold on Amazon.co.jp, deliverly cost is free, when an order value exceeds YEN1500(around USD15).

I believe that its success depends on whether the site is able to bring variety of attractive products at reasonable cost.
Well, let's shop around a bottle of nice wine there!

Website:

http//www.amazon.co.jp

Hawaiian - Kula

Hawaii has been the closest paradise or the most popular international resort destination among Japanese for decades. The popuratity of the resort island culture is seemed to be retained with increasing attention on the local dance "Hula" as exercise.

The Hawaiian restaurant Kula is located just in front of Odaiba artificial beach in Tokyo.
By taking a train for 15 minutes from the city centre, we are able to enjoy being in a seaside resort feeling AND watching skyscrapers view there at the same time.
The restaurant concept is really a good match with its location. It enhances the beach resort atmosphere.

Well, Hawaii historically accepted a number of immigrants from Japan and the island has rich food resources from the Pacific ocean. Then the local cooking is also very attractive for Japanese people.

Loco Moco is the most well-known and popular Hawaiian food. A humburg steak with gravy sauce is on rice and a fried-egg is always on top of it.
Nothing in the bowl is unfamilier for us.
Another top popular menu is Poke, Hawaiian style "sashimi" and glasses of cocktails with tropical fresh fruites also cannot be missed here.

This is a perfect choice easily to feel a sunny beach resort by having only a short time journey from Tokyo.

Restaurant name: Hawaiian restaurant Kula
Address: Marine House 2nd floor, 1-4-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://www.hawaiiankula.com/

Monaka (最中、もなか)

Monaka is a kind of Japanese traditional sweets.
Sweet beans paste(an, anko, 餡) is sandwiched by two pieces of thin crispy crust made of rice powder.

It can be seen in many places across Japan. Each traditional confectionery house produces own shape and size of monaka as a local speciality of town.
The crust is delicate as it is thin. We can imagine how hard it is to make and to keep fresh small crust in unique shape over and under beans paste. Finally it delights the eye as well as the tongue of people who encounter hold the sweets.

Today's sweets: Suzume monaka (sparrow monaka) in shape of the bird
A piece of monaka is finely wrapped as below and the sweets.

Suzume monaka is available at a traditional Japanese confectionery on the old "Tokaido" (main avenue connects East and West Japan).

Shop name: Torinoko
Address: 3-5-12 Minami-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

Laduree, the French patisserie finally arrived in Tokyo

The prestigious patisserie in Paris opened its branch in Tokyo finally.
Laduree was considered among famous patisseries in Paris as the last one that has not been arrived yet in Tokyo. Pierre Herme, Jean-Paul Hevin, Dalloyau, Fauchon; they are names we can find in Tokyo.

There had been rumors for last few years about with which company the icon of Paris patisserie would work in Tokyo.

Laduree's first cafe and boutique in Tokyo is located on the second floor of Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza. The estabilished retailer is not a surprise for Japanese as a partner of Laduree. At the corner of Ginza 4-chome crossing, where two luxury brand shopping streets meet each other, it is the best location to be the most prestigious tea salon in this country.

I had been waiting for a chance to visit the tea salon since it opened two month ago.
Just after the opening, people had been making a long que for long hours!
It depends on time and day whether the salon seats are full or not.
But at least a long long que(around one hour or longer) is still daily event for the boutique to buy macarons and other Laduree sweets.

The price difference between Paris and Tokyo is tiny.
The flavour is almost same even though it is less selections in Tokyo.
It is not a bad idea to enjoy taste of Paris in Tokyo.

Cafe and boutique name: Laduree
Address: Ginza Mitsukoshi 4-6-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Tunisian restaurant Illissa

The Tunisian restaurant, Illissa is in residential area of Tokyo, called Musashi-Koyama.
It is situated on a narrow street just behind the vigorous shopping arcade of Musashi-Koyama.

The sliding door entrance and couter seats that we face just after stepping in the small dining remind us that the place was a former noodle shop.

It is very casual space where the friendly owner chef works around, solely and hard.
We foud a brochure produced by Tunisian Tourism Board on the table so guets, even who do not know well about the country, can learn some ideas about it.
On the menu, only couscous is relatively familier for Japanese and other plates are the unknown world for us.

Here a part of what we had today, to understand what Tunisian foods are like.

*Salad Horia (carrott, olive, sardines and eggs)

*Bread and Harissa(hot chili paste)

 

*Brique(potate and egg pie)
This is what we cannot miss here... A half-boild egg is in triangle shaped pie.
It matches well with Japanese taste.

*Tajin(potate omlette with vegetables)
Egg cake and vegetable stew... I would not have been surprised if I were told that this is Japanese menu. It looks like grandmum's cooking.

*HirgmaBakri (tomato stew with beef shin)
It contains a lot of "collagen"that makes beauty-conscious Japanese girls happy.
In addition the dish made us get warm. It must be good to have in the winter particularly.

The Islamic restaurant serves only non-alcohol drinks.
We enjoyed fruit juice and Tunisian mint tea at the end as well.

Restaurant name: Illissa
Address: 3-19-5 Koyama, Shinagawa, Tokyo
Website: http://illissa.jp/

Omrice オムライス

Omrice(or Omurice, omerice?) is a Japanese-English or Japanese-French word. It is "omelette with rice" then is called "omrice" in Japan.

It was invented in Japan in early days of 1900's. The traditional version is chicken rice with tomato ketchup and wrapped by thin egg crepe.
The sweet ketchup flavor well harmonizes with egg cake. This is one of my favorite menu.

Omrice is available at family restaurant chain unites, Western style restaurants rather than Japanese restaurants. Each of them makes some unique arrangemet. For example, cream, demiglace or tomato source on top of the rolls, ingredient fried with rice - seafood, mushroom etc.
Let's try different combination of Omrice tastes at different resaurants!

Moon cake? No, "Moon burger"(Tsukimi burger, 月見バーガー)!

Today is the day of enjoying full moon in the sky. (tsukimi, 月見, moon-watching)
Chinese people have moon cakes as their local speciality of the season on the day.
In Japan, the American hamburger chain, McDonald's provides "Moon burger"(tsukimi burger) at their units across Japan.

A round-shaped fried egg, which implies the full moon, and a slice of bacon are on top of a piece of hamburg as fillings. This year the hamburger chain offers three types of tsukimi burger; normal, cheese and double burger.

If you feel that it is exactly what is called "bacon egg burger" in all other parts of the world or at other hamburger shops. Yes it could be so.
But never mind! Anyway, enjoy the full moon !!

Tsukimi burger is available at McDonald's in Japan until 2nd October 2008.

Festival of sanma(さんま、秋刀魚、saury)

Sanma(saury) is a seasonal icon of Autumn. In Japanese, the name is expressed as "秋刀魚", fish of autumn sword, from the linear shape.
The best way of enjoying the seasonal delicacy is simply to grill and put salt and juice of sudachi(a kind of green citrus in Japan).

The festival of sanma is taken place on September in Meguro-ku Tokyo every year since 1996.
A traditional comedy story of Rakugo tells about a shogun(General) in Edo era who was fascinated by grilled sanma in Meguro. Just remind you, Meguro is 30km away from the sea and there is no port in the area. So the fish was caught somewhere elese obviously. The fact makes the story funny and interesting. The festival of sanma in Meguro come from the famous comedy story.

Today it is one of the festival dates. Thousands of sanma were grilled by local people and served to visitors at free. So the festival receives a lot of visitors who filled the main road of Meguro. They have to make a long que for getting a plate of sanma.
To get the best seasonal dish is not always easy!