GOOD EATS

I'm always intrigued by peoples' itineraries when they come to Japan.  Where they want to go, what they want to see, what they want to do.  At some point in the laundry list they inevitably say, "And of course we have to eat sushi."  Yet there is so much more to Japanese food than sushi, and some of the most amazing things I've had here had nothing to do with fish.  After detailing some of the exceedingly strange things I've eaten in the Land of the Rising Sun, I want to pay homage to the best, in no particular order.  

Taiyaki, Nara

Taiyaki. Taiyaki is a kind of snack food made by pouring batter into two hot, fish-shaped molds.  Some sort of filling (sweet or savory) is placed on top of the batter, and then the molds are pressed together to make a whole fish.  Popular flavors include adzuki (red bean paste) and vanilla custard.  Also available are German potato, cheese, sweet potato, etc.  

You can find taiyaki a number of places, but my favorite is in Koriyama in Nara prefecture.  To get there, go east out of Kintetsu Koriyama station.  Walk down the main road until you come to a left turn with a Mos Burger on the corner.  Across from the Mos Burger is a little taiyaki shop.   

Asuka ruby strawberries, Nara

Fruit.  The quality of the fruit in Japan is remarkable, and it's one of the things I'll miss most about living here.  In America, buying produce can take eons as you rummage through the bins to find a few pieces that aren't blemished, bruised or half-rotten.  In Japan you can shop quickly and with confidence, knowing whatever you pick up will be fresh and perfect.  The flip side, however, is that fruit is expensive, on par with meat or fish.  This is due to the fact that Japanese farmers grow relatively small crops in order to maximize the nutrients absorbed by the plants.  So if someone plants melons, they will prune any offshoots of the vine so that the water, fertilizer, etc. is concentrated into one melon instead of six.  Many crops are grown in specially designed, climate controlled greenhouses in order to provide perfect conditions for growth.  Thus, it's a costly process, and the consumer bears that cost down the line.  However, having sampled the finished product, I have to say it's worth it. 

Spicy pickled cucumber, Osaka

Soup dumplings, Osaka

Din Tai Fung.  These two dishes are somewhat of a cheat, as they both belong to a Taiwanese chain called Din Tai Fung that has restaurants all over the Pacific (including the American west coast).  DTF is renowned for its soup dumplings, which are literally meat and hot broth wrapped up in a delicious wonton wrapper and steamed.  Many of my dining companions have speculated as to how the dumplings are made; at our last feast, someone guess that they use a syringe to inject the soup.*  Whatever it is, keep doing it.  I can't get enough.  Also excellent are their towers of pickled cucumbers with garlic and chili oil.  

The Osaka branch of Din Tai Fung: 
5-1-5 Namba Chuo-ku 
Osaka 542-8510 
(7F Takashimaya Dept. Store) 
TEL：06-6633-1103


*Note: LAL made an inquiry at DTF and her server told her that the broth is frozen into pearls and then placed with meat in a dumpling wrapper, which is steamed, melting the pearls.  You tricky geniuses. 

Kobe beef before

Wagyu beef, Kobe

Kobe beef.  You hear things about Kobe beef, wonderful, improbably ecstatic things that may sound exaggerated.  It's the food of the gods, one of the must-eats of your life, it melts in your mouth, etc.  

Everything you've heard is true.  

The first time I ever heard about Kobe beef was (oddly enough) when I took a semester of Mandarin in college.  One of my classmates had studied in Japan for a time, and the first story he told me was about hiking to the top of a mountain to this village where they serve Kobe beef.  He went into a restaurant filled with small tables with little hibachis, sat down, and waited for the waitress to bring him a steak.  "It was tiny," he said, "And cost about $100.  She told me to lightly salt and pepper it, and then sear it for only a few minutes on the hibachi."  I waited with bated breath for the punchline.  His eyes misted over as he went on, "When I took that first bite, a single tear rolled down  my cheek.  I knew I was never going to eat anything this delicious ever again."  Short of crying, this pretty much describes my first taste of Kobe beef.  All the delicious fat marbling the beef had liquefied to make it the tenderest, juiciest, most gorgeous piece of food I'd ever tasted.  A friend called it "a transcendental experience;" I have to agree.

Wakkoqu
3F Shin-Kobe Oriental Avenue1, 1-Chome Kitano-cho Chuo-ku Kobe-City   

Kagoshima ramen, Kyushu

Ramen.  Ramen is one of those dishes that is served everywhere in a country, like pizza or hamburgers in the United States.  However, in Japan each region has its own take on this ubiquitous soup; different toppings, cuts of pork, concentration of broth, etc.  I've said this elsewhere on the blog, but I'm going to say it again because it's so vitally important: Japanese ramen is not to be confused with Cup of Noodles.  Any association between the two hedges on blasphemy.  Yes, they are both called ramen, and yes, they both originated in Japan.  But there end the similarities.  Real ramen is hearty, rich and oh so tasty.  The quintessential comfort food.  

Pleen once told me a story about a friend of hers who works in Asia.  He was working in Japan for an extended period of time with a Japanese team, and at the conclusion of his trip, he decided he wanted to take them all out for dinner.  He suggested they go to a really great ramen restaurant, which they did, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, until sometime later (days or even weeks), he found out that he had made an inadvertent faux pas.  Ramen is not considered "high class;" it's more of a casual meal out with friends, late night drunk food, or a hangover cure than fine dining.  But who cares.  It's wonderful.  

Ippudo is a well-regarded chain of ramen restaurants that uses 6 different pig parts to make their bowls of deliciousness.  There's a location in New York that's good.  My favorite, however, is ramen from Kyushu, which is light and flavorful and uses kurobuta pork.  

Jellyfish and spicy pickled cucumber, Kyoto

Cephalopods.  It won't surprise you that the Japanese are masters at preparing fish, especially delicate varieties like squid, octopus, and cuttlefish.  The trick, of course, is to cook them without letting them become rubbery.  From calamari to baby octopus on a stick, the Japanese knock it out of the park every time. 

The photo above is of jellyfish (which is not a cephalopod, but I'm throwing it in there because of the tentacles) at an izakaya (bar) in Kyoto.  The jellyfish had a little bit of body, but wasn't chewy (or alternatively, gelatinous).  It was marinated in a spicy vinegar sauce that was simple but killer.  Highly recommended if you're feeling adventurous. 

5am maguro at Tsukiji Market, Tokyo

Sushi.  I know, I know.  You've been reading along, wondering "Where's the sushi?" The truth is, the best sushi I've eaten in Japan was at an uncomfortably tiny mom and pop restaurant in Osaka.  You eat whatever they have fresh that day, and that's that.  There are no reservations, and if they are packed when you get there, then too bad.  Still, you can get decent sushi pretty much anywhere.  In fact, what I've found to be the deciding factor between the good and the unpalatable has nothing to do with fish (though you can certainly discern the difference in quality between the different cuts).  Instead it's the rice that can make or break your nigiri.  If the rice is fresh (sticky, lightly seasoned and maybe even still slightly warm), it makes each bite so much better.  

Nara zushi- this is salmon or mackerel nigiri wrapped in persimmon leaf to keep out bacteria

There is a documentary on Netflix that has received raves, called Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  Octogenarian sushi chef Jiro is a total badass- he has been named a national treasure by the government of Japan, and received three Michelin stars.  The amount of care and attention that go into his food is amazing.  

The film is pure food porn, and it will make you want to get on a plane to Tokyo and hunt down a reservation at his tiny restaurant within Ginza subway station.  However, if you're a foreigner, be prepared to hire a Japanese guide to "escort" you through the meal.  Jiro won't let unaccompanied foreigners eat at his restaurant.  If you're a woman, you can also expect to treated differently; Jiro nonchalantly states that he serves women smaller portions than men.  If you don't like it, tough.  At Jiro's restaurant, he is god.  

Favorite sushi place, Osaka
KOYOSHI 
1-3-12 Shibata 
Kita-Ku, Osaka (train stop is Hanku Umeda)