Japan 2019 - 13 My New Chef Friend

Our friend Robert Yellin took Joan and me to a wonderful little Japanese place in Kyoto called Kiharu, one of his favorite haunts. In addition to having an excellent meal, of which but one example is this grilled chicken dish,

Grilled chicken with scallions

I bonded with the the joyous owner chef, Takashi Tsubaki. Here you can see Tsubaki-san hard at work, and loving every minute of being a chef.

Chef Takashi Tsubaki at work

It was persimmon season in Kyoto and somehow I got to talking about my persimmon tarte tatin. Tsubaki was very intrigued and asked about other things that I considered my specialties. I mentioned my crusty Persian rice, which he had never heard of but, as a rice specialist and lover, was excited to try.

So we made a plan to have a dinner party for our Kyoto friends at Kiharu, for which Tsubaki-san and I would prepare the food, preferably including the persimmon tarte tatin and the Persian rice. The fact that he has no oven makes the tarte tatin a challenge, but I hope to work through it somehow. The rice can be made anywhere. What a rare opportunity!!! I can hardly wait.

A good time was had by all, as you can see.

Chef Tsubaki, Robert, Chiho, Joan and me at Kiharu

Bobby Jay

Japan 2019 - 12 Kyoto's Nishiki Market

I love Kyoto and one of my favorite things to do there is to visit the Nishiki market, a large covered street market that is open every day. Some food snobs have told me that it does not have the best of everything, but since I am mostly just looking, the huge array of every kind of Japanese food item is perfect.

As at any great market, the vendors are very specialized. Here a bean seller, a dried-fish seller who makes gorgeous fish chips, a squid seller and, of course (!) a sparrow yakitori place.

Bean purveyor

Dried fish seller who makes fish chips

Sparrow yakitori anyone?

This year I had a nice experience returning to a sembei (Japanese rice cracker) dealer whom I had visited in 2017. When I told her that, she expressed really touching gratitude and delight, as can be seen in this photo.

My friend the sembei seller

One of my favorite stops is the dried bonito maker. They sell dried bonito cakes, which you can shave at home to make dashi, the all-purpose broth used in Japanese cooking, or they shave it themselves and sell it in packages, the way you've seen it in stores.

Dried bonito, whole and shaved

And, of course, the seller of ingredients for oden, a broth served with all kinds of (mostly rubbery) seafood based products, like fish cakes, as well as weird vegetable things, including konnyaku (kind of a superhard potato-basdd jello).

Oden ingredients

This year I saw a new display: Snoopy's tea shop, which included teas and also cookies and cakes to eat with tea. Part of Japan's kawai (cuteness) culture.

Snoopy's tea shop

I love takoyaki, grilled dumplings stuffed with bits of octopus and served with a sauce and, typically, pickled ginger. Here you can see the process: batter poured over octopus in takoyaki pan (center), dumplings coming together (left) and nearly complete takoyaki, moments away from sale (right). Once I made this with my friend Kondo Hiromi, a wonderful Kyoto art jewelry dealer who happens to be a great cook.

Takoyaki in various stages of preparation

Other favorites include freshly made mochi with matcha powder and some mysterious cream cookies, which I foolishly didn't try.

Freshly made mochi and cookies

Oops, I almost left out this seller of squid in a different form than shown above, grilled on skewers and ready to eat.

Grilled squid on skewers

I have already gone on and on, and could do more, but you get the idea. The Nishiki market is a must for any visitor to Kyoto who loves food.

Bobby Jay

Japan 2019 - 11 Breakfast at the Ritz

The ceramics tour being over, Joan and I went to Kyoto, one of my favorite places in the world. We stayed at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Hotel.

The Ritz's Western-style breakfast buffet is formidable -- one of the best anywhere -- but we went to the Japanese restaurant for a traditional breakfast our first morning there. It was a pretty stunning array of Japanese breakfast favorites, served beautifully in a gorgeous room.

Our last Japanese breakfast of 2019 was a good one.

Bobby Jay

My New Santoku

Like many people who like to cook, especially guys, I like knives. When I was in Kyoto in October, I went to the famous Aritsugu, which has been in business since 1560, three times but bought nothing. Why not? Because I decided to buy a knife at the much less well-known Shigeharu, which has been in business far longer, since the Kamakura period (1190-1329). My decision was made easier when I found out that Aritsugu's knives are actually made by a different company in Osaka, while Shigeharu's are made in Kyoto.

Based on the recommendation of a website of the Haru Cooking School, I decided to buy a standard grade, medium-sized santoku, the most all-purpose of Japanese knives (but you still can't use it to cut even tiny bones).

Armed with this knowledge, I went to Shigeharu, a not very prepossessing shop that is not particularly convenient and where English is not spoken, thus challenging my very limited Japanese.

Shigeharu knife store

Shigeharu knife store display

When I walked in the lady in charge called for her husband. I told him I wanted a two-edged santoku, and he brought me some samples. I opted for a standard grade, medium sized knife, in carbon steel (he told me that stainless steel, while easier to care for, would never be as sharp as the carbon steel). As he was packing it, I asked the man who had made it and he pointed to himself. I then asked where he had made it, and he pointed to the back of the very store we were in, through the blue noren.

Mr. Shigeharu, nth generation knife maker

I loved that, because I am always thrilled to buy things from the artisans who have made them, particularly where the family history is measured in centuries (in this case at least seven).

So here's my knife, which I am enjoying immensely. It does nothing that I can't do with my others but when I use it I feel a connection with Mr. Shigeharu and his ancestors that I just don't get from a Wüsthof,  Henkels or Sabatier knife.

My Shigeharu santoku

Happy cutting!

Bobby Jay

Japan 2013 - Kyoto's Fabulous Nishiki Street Market

We had some free time in Kyoto and, with two couples from the tour, I returned to one of my favorite places in Kyoto, the Nishiki Street food market. This is one of the most interesting and attractive food markets in the world, with many of the best artisanal products available in Kyoto on display, including pickles of all kind; rice crackers; tofu and yuba (tofu skin);  fu (wheat gluten); dried fish; fresh meat, fish, poultry nad vegetables; tea sweets; spices and fresh roasted tea. Many stores offer free samples, which we downed with pleasure.

Before we hit the food stores, we stopped at Aritsugu, the famous knife and kitchen ware store that has been in business for more than 400 years, where one of our tour members bought two knives. New knives are sharpened before they are packed and, if the purchaser desires, engraved, as seen below.

Santoku being engraved at Aritsugu

That mission having been accomplished, we entered into the heart of the market. Here are some of the most photogenic displays we encountered.

Edamame

Tea roaster

Rice crackers with soybeans, black beans and peanuts

Miso pickled eggplant

Baum küchen - layer cake made on a spit

Yuba and rice crackers

Gift package of fu

Pickled radishes

Nori (seaweed) concentrate

Dried baby fish

Young woman pounding mochi

And on and on . . .

Bobby Jay

Japan 2013 - Kyoto's Omen Noodles

Not all food in Kyoto is gorgeous kaiseki cuisine. The city has the full range of Japanese food, from sushi to humble noodles, curry rice and burgers.

One of our favorite noodle places is Omen, with its main restaurant near the temples in the eastern part of the city and a branch downtown on Shijo-dori. The flat udon noodles are perfect, clean tasting and just slightly al dente. And the broth, to which customers add their own spices (from a choice of four proprietary blends) and freshly ground sesame seeds, is also excellent. The tour went to the charming main restaurant; after the tour J and I went to the Sanjo-dori branch as well.

Flat udon at Omen

Udon doesn't get much better than this.

[Omen has a highly regarded branch in New York's Soho, but it is a regular Japanese restaurant and the noodles did not capture the magic of the original when I went there, admittedly a number of years ago.]

Bobby Jay

Japan 2013 - Kyoto's Kanamean Ryokan

Our next stop was Kyoto, the capital of Japan for hundreds of years and the city where the traditions of Japan are best preserved to this day. Kyoto is my favorite tourist destination in the world, a city of magnificent temples and gardens, beautiful streets and areas that look much as they did hundreds of years ago and, not insignificantly, refined and elegant cuisine.

We stayed at the Kanamean Ryokan, a centrally located inn that has been in the same family for 140 years, or five generations. The accommodations are excellent, with old charm but modern conveniences, and the food is sensational. We had a traditional kaiseki dinner, consisting of seasonal dishes beautifully presented on elegant plates by significant artists. The food was authentically Japanese, but the menu was carefully constructed to avoid some of the tastes and textures that would be difficult for Westerners. The only false note was the surprise of gloppy potatoes at the bottom of what otherwise was a beautiful crème brûlée: a bad fusion idea.

I can do not better than to let the most picturesque dishes speak for themselves. I urge you to click on the images to appreciate the details in all their splendor.

Breakfast, too, was a treat, with an array of well-prepared dishes made with ingredients of impeccable quality and presented with Kyoto flair.

I highly recommend this ryokan, which has received a Michelin star for its excellent cuisine.

Bobby Jay