Category Archives: Japanese

Roan Kikunoi in Kyoto

Chef Maruyama-san and Chef Yoshihiro Murata-san.

“For whatever reason, modern Japanese have maintained their deep emotional linkage with the annual shifts in climate, ingrained from ancient times whether cultivating crops or fishing on the coast.  So much is this connection the heart and soul of a cuisine, that when I am asked, “What is kaiseki?” I often have  a very simple answer.

“It is eating the seasons.”

— Yoshihiro Murata, Kikunoi

Roan Kikunoi, according to the 2011 Michelin Guide for Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, was created by Chef Murata as a somewhat more  affordable option for the younger set as compared to Kikunoi Honten, his flagship fine-dining restaurant that’s garnered 3 Michelin stars.  His other outpost in Akasaka, Tokyo, won 2 stars and admittedly Roan Kikunoi has 2 stars for itself.  Though quite a high bar, lunch here is also possibly one of the best deals for sampling kaiseki in Kyoto.  Chef Yoshimi Murata has been something of an international celebrity, recently receiving accolades from Noma’s Rene Redzepi (best meal), providing consulting advice to Singapore Airlines for in-flight meals and releasing a gorgeous English cookbook that garnered him a James Beard nomination.  He also appears to somewhat controversial in Kyoto, as evidenced by this discussion string on Chowhound. Continue reading →

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Nojo – Hayes Valley

Nojo interior

To my delight, and cautious anticipation, we returned from Japan to a number of Izakayas opening in San Francisco.  We loved these establishments in Japan, known for providing beer, sake and small noshing plates to their patrons.  Roughly translated, the kanji for Izakaya 居酒屋 indicates sake-selling establishment (酒 – sake-ya).  We already have Nombe in the Mission, Bushi-Tei Bistro and O Izakaya in Japantown, Halu in the Inner Richmond and Izakaya Sozai in our neighborhood, the Inner Sunset.*  And perhaps because Izakayas are the New Big Thing, there appear to be a number of these bar-and-small-plates restaurants opening in our area over a fairly short span of time.  And I of course want to check them all out.  Kasumi is in the Outer Sunset on Ocean and has, thus far, received some somewhat tepid reviews.  Chotto, in the Marina, is in a part of the city we don’t much like to frequent.   So Nojo — in our old stomping grounds of Hayes Valley — won out.  Chef Greg Dunmore reached the Bay Area by way of Atlanta, a graduate of the CIA in Hyde Park, NY.  Dubbed a rising star chef in 2006 by the SF Chronicle, he first worked at the Michelin-starred Terra with Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani who mentored  him in Japanese cuisine.  Sone soon asked him to become executive chef of Ame (Asian fusion at the St. Regis Hotel), where he stayed for 4 years and also earned a Michelin.   After realizing he had a passion for Japanese yakitori and izakaya-style cooking, he’s now opened his own Izakaya-style establishment.  Nōjō, the japanese word for farm (農場), brings together this passion and reflects his commitment to small farms and seasonal ingredients.  It’s important to note however, that the food at Nojo seems to be distinctly Californian and heavily influenced by Japan, not the other way around.  Continue reading →

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Ippudo Ramen Osaka

Ippudo Ramen

We had perused the archives of Ramen Tokyo most assiduously in preparation for what to expect at a Ramen-ya in Japan.  We had read of the interminable lines and of the push-button Nihongo-only ticket pre-ordering with no photos whatsoever.  We read of tiny shops with only counter seating, and of patrons who dined solo, heads-down, looking and interacting with no one until their bowl is thus rapidly consumed.  We read of instances where couples and friends may not necessarily get to sit next to each other. We read of having to procure your drinks prior to arrival, or at least while waiting in line (usually there is a vending machine or two nearby), of the need to  bring a packet of tissues or your hankachi (handkerchief) since no napkins would be provided. Continue reading →

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Kichisen, Kyoto

Kichisen Counter

We should have asked.  We had noticed the young man standing by the sidewalk – not so much in the middle of the walkway, but on the edge, somewhat nonchalantly, looking around – crisp cream shirt, black trousers.  He stood in front of a quiet, understated entrance whose signage we did not initially see; we also didn’t want to gawk and only glanced in its direction (we thought it could have been someone’s residence).  We should have just asked, “Sumimasen, Kichisen wa, dochira desu ka?” (Excuse me, where is Kichisen, please?)

It took us an hour by Kyoto’s city bus to get to Kichisen on the other side of the city, approximately the same time estimated by Google walking directions.  It’s a good thing that we left the Shunkoin Guest House with plenty of time.

Kichisen was our first truly fancy meal of the trip, selected because of Michelin, recommendations and accounts by Kyoto Foodie, and some research on Chowhound. Continue reading →

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Last night in Tokyo

About to play with Liquid Nitrogen

Chef Jeff Ramsey, Molecular Tapas Bar, Tokyo

And so we’re back from Japan, and feeling a bit depressed not only at the prospect of coming back to the daily grind, but also at leaving a wonderful, magical, astounding and vibrant country and people.  This is not to say that we didn’t feel some travel fatigue at the end of our trip, having had our good fill of various temples and shrines over first 2 weeks.  By the time we reached Tokyo, the urge to see these lovely and ancient structures was definitely not as strong as it initially was at the beginning of our journey.

The Tapas Molecular Bar at the Mandarin Oriental was a perfect last dinner for us.  We had spent this last day running from Tsukiji Fish Market in the early morning to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.  The next day, we would head out for Narita and for home.

The Mandarin Oriental hotel is a swanky establishment, and it seemed that virtually every staffperson there spoke excellent English.  We were a little early for our scheduled 8:30pm dinner slot (every evening there are only 8 seats for 2 dinner slots – one at 6pm and one at 8:30pm) and thus were able to peruse the cocktail menu, which contained a nice selection of original as well as classic cocktails.  Alas, I can’t remember the name of the cocktail I eventually chose but it contained gin, yuzu liqueur, ginger ale and sudachi juice – my kind of drink — light, refreshing, gently acid.

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But What About the Food?

Beautiful way to start our meal - Kikunoi Roan

Hassun course at Kikunoi Roan: skewer of miso-marinated avocado, smoked salmon and Tai liver; grilled squid with nori seaweed and egg yolk; fava beans, mountain yam “butterfly;” poached egg-bearing octopus; Tai sushi with Kinome pepper leaf; Yurime lily root petals; Udo stalk petals; ikura.

Indeed, what about the food?  The trip was planned after all, in CCDD fashion, around food.  It’s been absolutely glorious – from the high-end to the low, from street food or market stands to Michelin-starred establishments and smoky izkayas, train station ekiben or small ramen-yas filled with salarymen… we’ve been eating very, very well.

In Osaka, I think I quite had my fill of takoyaki; DD kept wanting to sample these wherever we went, and we ended up tasting some from 4 different vendors.  We also loved sushi fresh from Kuromon market and Endo Sushi in Osaka’s Central Wholesale Fish Market, similar to, but not as big as Tsukiji.

Okonomiyaki in the Dotonbori

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Small note: I started this post before we left Osaka on the 29th.  Since then, we’ve been to Takayama and Shirakawa-go where we didn’t have broadband access.  We’re now in Kanazawa, in a little guesthouse called Minshuku Ginmatsu. We wish we had another night here but we journey to Kyoto this afternoon.

What does one do when one has just spent a somewhat stressful and bewildering wandering about of one of Osaka’s wards, looking in vain for an address that does not appear to follow any rational arrangements of ordering principles? What to do when you are the lucky beneficiaries of Japanese helpfulness and generosity, in the form of a wonderful couple out on a walk back from the suupaa, complete with cute long-haired daschund puppy and armed with gentle graciousness and working mobile phones with maps?  What to do when the above-mentioned angels deliver you quite efficiently to your destination, just in time for your 7:30pm yoyaku (reservation) and you awkwardly burst upon a teeny, tiny sliver of a room where there are 2 seats left at the 8-person counter and all eyes swivel towards you?  And, after getting through the formal bowings and greetings to the chefs behind the counter, after you’ve managed to order some sake somewhat successfully,  what to you when you realize that you probably can’t decipher in any meaningful way the beautiful calligraphy on the hand-written menu and that the chef does not appear able to communicate back, despite his smiles and goodwill?

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Day 1: Breakfast at Kuromon

Om nom nom nom sushi!

Breakfast at Kuromon Sanpei

A note: These update posts will be pretty minimal – but I’ll try to write with as much detail as time allows, as well as include photos.

Where to begin? Even while wandering around at midnight in the Dotonbori, a quintessential Osakan entertainment district, running parallel to the Dotonbori canal, one couldn’t get a true sense  of the crazy energy from even more Osakans and other Japanese (very few foreigners here, from what DD and I can tell) who emerged and filled the streets around the Kuromon Market, Den Den Town (or Osaka’s version of Tokyo’s electronics district, Akihabara), and the Kappabshi Dogugai, a restaurant-supply area also filled with eateries and other food establishment.  After we got to the end of the Dogugai, we managed to stumble upon the Takashimaya department store, where we encountered one of Japan’s fabled depa-chika food halls for the first time.

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The Arrival

Taken around 19:10pm

HIkari Shinkansen at Shinagawa Station

While long, the process of getting from Narita to Osaka, I’m happy to report, was quite straightforward and utterly lacking in any sort of stressful near-misses or complications.  Essentially we arrived at Narita Airport around 3:10pm, got through customs and immigration and finally made our way down to the train station by 4:45pm.  There were so many helpful individuals at Narita, whether it was the information desk clerk in the basement floor of the airport near the train stations, or the JR clerk who exchanged our JR pass vouchers for actual passes, apologized profusely when she found out the next rapid Sobu express to Tokyo was leaving in about 3 minutes (we declined and opted to take the next one arriving in another hour), most helpfully booked us reserved seats on the Hikari Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka-Shin, and gave us exceptionally detailed directions in great English.

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