Category Archives: Japanese Gastronomy

Chicken, 美食, 野菜, 観光, 農業, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Restaurants, Tourism, vegetables

Suruga Shamo and Organic Vegetables at Tetsuya Sugimoto!

August 22, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Highly professional and friendly
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prefecture. Organic vegetables. Seasonal food only.

Map (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

This the third of the four-part report on the lunch I had the other day at Testuya Sugimoto in Shizuoka City!
Shizuoka Prefecture has been making itself a name all over Japan with its superlative chickens for quite some time now.
The chicken used by Testuya Sugimoto in this dish is Suruga Shamo bred by Mr. Moriyama up in the mountains of Shizuoka City in Ikawa!
These shamo chickens were originally Ikokku Chicken from Thailand bred in conditions and with food only found in our Prefecture to become a brand of its own!

Tetsuya uses only the males for their firmer and richer meat.
He will first fry the pieces on their skin before finishing them in the oven.
He does the same with the vegetables, all organic from Hamamatsu and Fujinomiya City.
As for the vegetables, he used okahijiki, Morokko ingen/large string beans, Sanjyaku susage, another long variety of string bean, mini carrots, Mangan Toogarashi, a variety of large mild chili pepper, Murasaki Shishito/violet chili pepper, butternut and Kouriuki gourd!

For another view!

As for the sauce he uses the juices of the chicken and vegetables with French Banyuls vinegar and Madeira Wine!
Incredible traceability for an extraordinary dish!

To be followed…

Tetsuya SUGIMOTO
４２０－００３８ Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Umeya,２－１３，１Ｆ
Tel./Fax: 054-251-3051
Opening hours：１１：３０～１４：３０，１７：３０～２１：３０
Holidays: undecided
Credit cards OK
ＨＯＭＥＰＡＧＥ

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With a Glass,
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Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

美食, 観光, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sashimi, Shizuoka, sushi, Tourism

Sashimi: Shizuoka Fish at Ekimae Matsuno Sushi Restaurant!

August 21, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

Red-tail Horse Mackerel/oakaaji/尾赤鯵!

Service: Very friendly, attentive and informative
Facilities: Overall clean if a bit old-fashioned
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Mainly local fish. Local sake. Always ready to improvise!

It is not friends like Sissi or LouAnnn I’m trying to convince, but more gastronomes like Chuck and Melinda whom I would like to pull screaming out New york and Tokyo to convince them to give up on what I call “decoration/trompe l’oeil sashimi amd sushi”!

One does not need to patronize an Edomae-style Sushi Restaurant and spend untold amounts of yen or dollars to truly experience this side of Japanese gastronomy so popular all over the World.
Just go to a good local sushi restaurant in Japan (and even abroad if like-minded!) which is willing (and should be!) to serve local fish as much as possible!
If you come to Shizuoka it is only an embarrassment of choices, but I definitely would recommend Ekimae Matsuno Sushi in Shizuoka City as they are one of the rare sushi restaurants that open all day and serve whatever you fancy!

Fine, you would say, but show us!
No worries there, mate (gal)!
Here is what I savored for lunch there today. I even asked them to exclusively serve me sashimi from Shizuoka (Suruga Bay, Izu Peninsula, etc.)!

Seguro iwashi/背黒鰯/Black Back Sardines

These seguro iwashi are very much in season right now with a lot of (fish) fat. They were actually served as a “snack” with my first drink (sake). Plain sashimi to be enjoyed with a little soy sauce.

Hirame/平目/Sole-Flatfish-Bastard halibut-Olive flounder

Hirame is abundant in the Suruga Bay.
Note that the little piece at the bottom is “engawa/えんがわ/the piece along the fish by the narrow fins” that we throw away in Europe!

Marusaba/丸鯖/Round mackerel

Served as “han-nama/半生/half-raw, that is lightly seared or boiled, it is so fresh in taste and absolutely without any “fishy” smell or aftertaste!

Tachiuo/太刀魚/Scabbard Fish.

One of my favorite fish. It is best appreciated (as above) in “aburi/炙り/ seared fashion after being sprinkled with salt. No need of soy sauce to appreciate the different textures and tastes as you bite through it!

Aji no Tataki/鯵の叩き/Horse Mackerel

The Suruga bay, especially around Yui and Kambara is one of the famous spots in Japan for Aji/Horse mackerel.
Simply served as Tataki/cut thin with grated ginger and chopped scallions and a little soy sauce!

No need for fancy seasoning!

Ekimae Matsuno serve the same fish lightly marinated in rice vinegar!

Katsuo hara/鰹腹/Bonito belly

Shizuoka is famous all over the country for its katsuo/bonito, but few people have had the occasion to try its belly part!

Kisu konbujime/鱚,鼠頭魚/Sillago

Sillago are a celebrated morsel all over Japan, but Shizuoka is particularly blessed with shirogizu/白鱚/white sillago!

Served as konbujime/昆布締め/marinated in seaweed, it does not need any soy sauce!

Oakaaji/尾赤鯵/Red tail horse Mackerel

This is a variety of horse mackerel with a deeper red flesh you will not see often away from these shores!

Perfect in tataki/thinly cut style with chopped scallions, grated fresh ginger and chopped nori/dry seaweed!

To be followed… I mean with more local fish from Shizuoka Prefecture!

EKIMAE MATSUNO SUSHI/駅前松乃寿
Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Koya Machi, 3-3 (Just in front of Shizuoka JR Railway Station
Tel.: 054-252-0123
Business hours: 11:00~21:00
Closed on Wednesdays and 3rd Tuesday
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Vegetarian Organic Steak at Tetsuya Sugimoto!

August 20, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Map (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

This the second of the four-part report on the lunch I had the other day at Testuya Sugimoto in Shizuoka City!
It certainly makes for an astonishing creation as it is a completely vegetarian hot dish conceived with local products of the highest quality!

All vegetables are organic, either from Hamamatsu City or from Matsuki Bio Farm in Fujinomiya City!

The large green eggplant/aubergine was first cut into a “steak” and fried/baked with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
Actually all vegetables were cooked in the same manner!
These included 2 types of zucchini, green and yellow, violet onion, “Seniorita” sweet red pimento and “Nitakikoma” tomatoes which were first half-dried before being sauteed.
Can you recognize the vegetables at the left extremity?

And those in the middle?

Or those at the right extremity?

A photo from the top might help you!
Incidentally the Italian parsley is also organic!
Were it not for the dressing, it would be vegan!

Beautiful taste, satisfying bite and an artistic composition!

To be followed…

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Appetizer at Tetsuya Sugimoto: Hamamatsu Eggplant & Mochimune Sardine Whiting!

August 19, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Map (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

It had been quite some time since I paid a visit to arguably the best French restaurant in Shizuoka Prefecture, namely Testuya Sugimoto in Shizuoka City.
Therefore, I went for lunch there today to “enquire” about the latest developments!
It ended up into a full lunch, and as it was a bit too long for a single article let me describe each dish in its individuality for easy reference!

Very slightly different photograph!

This is an appetizer combining the wealth of the land and that of the sea of Shizuoka Prefecture as well as both Japanese and French concepts/aproaches of gastronomy.
The whole is conceived as a cold appetizer.
The organic eggplant/aubergine from Hamamatsu City was first grilled. Then it was carefully peeled before being lightly marinated in the Japanese o-hitashi style.
The shirasu/sardine whiting from Mochimune was first steamed before being lightly chilled.

The white color of the shirasu was enhanced by the small cuts of various organic vegetables from Hamamatsu City placed in so artful a manner!
The whole was seasoned with a beautiful olive oil and Testuya’s lemon vinaigrette!

For the record I paired with a dry white wine from Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture!

So healthy, artful and delicious (and simple!)!

To be followed…

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Homare Fuji Sake Rice Fields Visit with Mr. Yuuji Miyata

August 19, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Mr. Yuuji Miyata!

13 years ago, some enlightened individuals realized that Shizuoka Prefecture would have to produce its own sake rice, at least a part of it, for many reasons even if some of them are pointedly ignored by many…
First, the culture of sake rice (as opposite to that of edible rice) is a risky venture financially and a steady supply is fraught with unseen complications. Moreover, most of brewers outside the main sake rice producing areas have to “import” their rice from Hyogo, Hiroshima, Iwate, Niigata and other faraway Prefectures.
Moreover, whatever some brewers might tell you when questioned in front of witnesses, the quality of such imported rice cannot be fully insured.

Mr. Muramatsu’s Homare Fuji paddies (30 acres) in Naka Shinden, Yaizu City.

The only solution is to try and grow your own sake rice locally!
In 1998, under the auspices of the JA research was initiated on the culture of the Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice strain, considered as the best by many, in the Iwata Agricultural Research Center.
7 years later, 1n 2005, the cultivation was started in earnest in privately-owned fields under the guidance of such specialists such Mr. Miyata.

The rice stalks grow a lot thicker and nearer to each other than normal rice.

The Yaizu Sake Rice Research Association grouping 15 farmers grows more than 60% of this Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice under the name of Homare Fuji Sake Rice. Actually the same Association grows Homare Fuji Rice on 10.3 ha, Yamada Nishiki Rice on 5.6ha and Gohyakumangoku Rice on on 4.7 ha.
Homare Fuji Rice is presently grown by 31 farmers in 7 distinct areas across the whole Prefecture.
Moreover, 20 out 28 breweries presently produce some of their sake with Homare Fuji Sake Rice up to Junmai Ginjyou level.

Mr. Yuuji Miyata with Mr. Hiromi Ikegaya of the JA Ooigawa

It has become serious business as from this year the Yaizu JA Agricultural Association (governmental) will assume the responsibility for the sales of Homare Fuji Sake Rice grown in the Yaizu City area!

The personal help of Mr. Ryohei Miyake of the Shizuoka Prefecture Shida Haibara Agriculture & Forestry Bureau was certainly welcome to deal with all these farmers and JA representatives!
Messrs. Miyake and Miyata were kind enough to pick me up at Fujieda Station and take care of me for the whole day!
They took me to 3 different paddies including that of Mr. Muramatsu mentioned above and introduced me to the JA Ooigawa Representative and other personalities of the business!

In every paddy Mr. Miyata took out a rice stalk to painstakingly open it with his nails to show me the grains already developed inside and to tell me thus exactly when the rice would appear and would be harvested by the day!

The second paddy was that of Mr. Matsumura (20 acres), Higashi Mashizu, Yaizu City, where planting and harvesting events are regularly held!

Homare Fuji Sake Rice has two big qualities:
its stalks are shorter and harder and will not break under heavy winds, even those of typhoons. Moreover, their rice contains a lot less proteins than others, which allows for an exceptional maturing of sake!

Yaizu soil is of two types whether the fields are on the former bed of Ooigawa River with a high concentration of sand like the above-mentioned two paddies or of a clay type if closer to the mountains. Naturally the soil quality has to be taken in account for each paddy!

The Homare Fuji Rice stalks are comparatively short (25 cm shorter that those of Yamada Nishiki) , but the proportion of the leaves and bottom stalks (“saya”) are longer and the very foot (“fushi”) shorter and thicker.

The third paddy I was taken to is the “heart of the Homare Fuji Sake Rice” as Mr. Toshirhiro Umehara has taken charge of growing the rice for the grains only to be re-planted elsewhere for the last 3 years!

This 30-acre paddy is located in Hirajima in Fujieda City!

The grains will appear in about 10 days and the rice will be harvested in October!

This is rural Japan!

The men behind our regional sake, Mr. Yuuji Miyata and Mr. Toshihiro Umehara!

This is what is going to grow into full-fledged rice thanks to these farmers and later become the nectar of Japan (and Shizuoka Prefecture) thanks to our brewers!

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Lunch at Kogawa Fishing Harbor Canteen!

August 18, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

A great way to eat top-class fresh fish for a ridiculously low price is to visit good fishing harbors in Japan!
Yesterday, in between two interviews held in rice fields in Yaizu City, two friends of mine took me to Kogawa Fishing Harbor/小川港, the real fishing harbor of Yaizu City!

Kogawa Fishing Harbor Canteen/小川港魚河岸食堂 doesn’t look much from outside. It actually very much looks like a big company cafeteria!

You have to look around to convince yourself you are inside a fishing harbor especially at 12:00 a.m. when all the trade of the day has been concluded.

You will feel a bit more convinced when looking at the posters describing the fish being brought to the harbor.
It is also difficult to imagine that you are actually inside one of the major fishing harbors in Japan!
Incidentally, foreign tourists ought to learn that to know this is not Tsukiji in Tokyo with dead fish all around, but a harbor where you can eat fish that was brought in by the boats the very morning!

It’s only when you get inside that serious things are really taking shape!

Menus are everywhere to be consulted, so have a good look, choose your order and buy a ticket at the entrance. You might need someone who can read Japanese then!

Inside does look like a canteen, doesn’t it? Old but clean!

If you still harbored (pun?) any doubts, just look at the big flag to convince yourself!
Can you see Mount Fuji!

Remember that customers early in the morning are local fishermen whereas at lunch time they are normal consumers!

Hand over your ticket and wait for your number to be called!

Meanwhile choose your table where you will find all you need!

Now, what did the three of us had?

I chose the “Negitoro donburi set/ネギトロ丼 for only 800 yen (9 US$!)!

Enormous portion of absolutely fresh tuna!

One of my friends chose the Maguro Zuke Donburi Set/鮪漬丼/Marinated Tuna for only 800 yen again and plate of katsuo/鰹/bonito sashimi for the 3 of us to share!

Yaizu City (Kogawa) harbour is the major source of Bonito in Japan!. This plate cost a mere 500 yen!

The marinated (tombo maguro) tuna!

My second friend had the Katsuo Steak Lunch Set/カツオステーキ定食/Bonito Steak Lunch for only 700 yen!

Look at those bonito steaks!

Don’t worry, they also sell drinks!

As one of my friends will help me interview the fishermen early in the morning in this particular harbor soon, expect more of the same. In fact this is only the start of a series of reports on Shizuoka fishing harbors!

Kogawa Fishing Harbor Canteen/小川港魚河岸食堂
425-0033 Yaizu Shi, Kogawa, 3392-9
Tel.: 054-624-6868
Business hours: 07:00~14:00
Open all year round except for the New Year and mid-summer O-Bon

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Shizuoka Umeshu Tasting: Fuji-Takasago Brewery-Limited Edition Umeshu with Shizuoka Tea

August 16, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Many Shizuoka Breweries have been creating umeshu of their own as a way to expand their range of already extravagant nectars!

Fuji-Takasago Brewery in Fujinomiya City not only made umeshu with their own sake and local Japanese plums, but they also added it local macha tea to it!
It is furthermore a very limited edition!

Fuji-Takasago Brewery’s “Diamond” mark!

Sake
Ume/Japanese plums
Shizuoka Macha Tea
Alcohol: 11 degrees

Clarity: Green cloudy
Color: Deep tea green
Aroma: fruity and sweet. Ume/Japanese plums and tea
Body: Liquorish
Taste: Very pleasant sweetish attack with typical umeshu taste.
Drier than expected. Turns even drier with second sip.
The macha tea is very distinctive but beautifully blends with the umeshu.
The macha tea will linger with a sweeter back note with further sips.

Overall: Soft liqueur impression.
Very feminine but unusual dryness will appeal to gentlemen too.
Best appreciated chilled as it will warm up quickly inside the palate revealing many facets.
In Europe would make for a beautiful aperitif!
Best drunk on its own as it would be a waste to mix with anything but ice!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Masamume Tokubetsu Honjozo Homare Fuji

August 16, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Takashima Brewery in Numazu City has been extending its range of brews made with the Shizuoka-grown Homare Fuji Sake Rice into the Honjozo variety, that is sake which has been blended with pure rice alcohol.

Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Masamume Tokubetsu Honjozo Homare Fuji

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in April 2011

Clarity: Very clear.
Color: Transparent.
Aroma: Light, discreet, fleeting.
Dry. Custard, banana.
Body: Fluid.
Taste: Dry attack. Complex. Fruity: custard, pears, almonds.
Disappears quickly with a dry pear note.
More dry pears tend to linger with further sips.
Turns even fleeting with food.
Faint notes of coffee beans and plums appear later.

Overall: A dry sake evidently conceived to balance heavy food such as of an izakaya.
Easy to drink but very dry.
Probably best appreciated with food although quite pleasurable on its own.

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Enshu Somen Noodles Lunch at Cafe Belle Equipe Vegetable in Shizuoka City!

August 16, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Service: Very friendly if a bit shy
Facilities: Very clean. Beautiful toilets
Prices: Reasonable. Very good value
Strong points: Healthy food. Great set lunches. Beautiful array of cakes.

The other day I decided to have lunch again at Cafe Belle Equipe Vegetable in Shizuoka City for a quick and healthy lunch.
As usual there were (far!) more ladies than gentlemn like it so often happens at lunch in Japan! Why, I wonder… (actually, I know! LOL)

I didn’t hesitate much when I saw “Enshu Somen Noodle Lunch Set” on the menu as somen are the perfect noodles for the summer and that the word “Enshu” indicated they were made in the Western part of our Shizuoka Prefecture! As usual it came with loads of local fresh vegetables!

It also included a white miso vegetables soup!

And a big chyawanmushi!

A very tasty and light chyawanmushi indeed!

These wheat flour somen were comparatively thick and offered a good bite. Perfect for a good appetite.
They were served together with the vegetables and their tsuyu/light soupstock sauce.
Very tasty!

As they are always different, I make a point to add one of their cakes to my lunch, even if it means extra calories!

Matcha Tiramisu Tart!

Appetizing, isn’t it?
Moreover, we could call it a Shizuoka-style tiramisu!

To be continued…

CAFE BELLE EQUIPE VEGETABLE
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tenmacho, 10-1, Villa Tenmacho, 2F
Tel.: 054-251-0200
Business hours: l0:00~22:00 (11:00~22:00 on Saturdays & Sundays, 11:00~21:00 on National Holidays)
Parties (small to large) welcome! Special party menus.
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Japanese Festivals: Mishima Taisha/三嶋大社

August 15, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

There are many interesting festivals in Shizuoka Prefecture and it is great fun as they offer a glimpse on true traditional Japan as well on a culture that will never fade away whatever the times.
Mishima Taisha Matsuri/三嶋退社祭/Mishima Shinto Temple Festival takes place during the third week of August (15th~17th this year) to coincide with the O-Bon Festival.
So I took a fast train this morning from Shizuoka City and got off at Mishima JR Station to enjoy the sights.
Follow, if you please!

True to say, as soon as I came out of the station, a parade had just entered the same street!

At 11:30 a.m. it was already blistering hot (over 30 degrees Celsius!) but the kids kept fanning the participants!

Tough work to pull that chariot along!

And playing music on top of it was even hotter!

I’m sure they could done better with the water of that well (a pun?)!

Volunteers at crossroads made sure everyone went the right way!

Mishima City is celebrated all over Japan for its eel restaurants dotting the streets!

Another one!

Another well for thirsty people!

The streets were lined with “yatai/屋台/stands well before the entrance to the Shrine!

These cold drinks should sell quickly!

Sakurabou/long pink light bread!

Shaved ice!

The torii/鳥居/gates for the birds. Such gates are the entrances of Shinto Shrines, never at those of Budhist Temples.

We know we are there!

Sake keg from Hana no Mai Brewery in Hamamatsu City. Unfortunately there is no longer any sake brewery in Mishima City!

More stands inside the premises before the actual entrance to the Shrine. Fujinomiya City-style Yakisoba!

Yakitori!

The Park is worth visiting at any time of the year!

Goldfish catching!

A photographer’s paradise (a pun again?)?

The real entrance to a Shinto Shrine is marked with a “giant straw belt”!

A young girl going bananas? We haven’t passed through the entrance yet!

Fukutarou “Happiness” buns!

A secondary entrance through the wall surrounding the Shrine. The blazing sun was starting interfering with the photography!

Clean water is available to wash your hands before the entrance of any Shinto Shrine!

Next year is the Year of the Horse!

If the chrysanthemum of the “mon/seal” has 16 petals, the Shrine is part of the Japanese Emperor’s Cult!

What’s happening there? We’ll check later!

It is always worth it to nose around a large Shinto Shrine: Ikebana/生け花/Flowerarrangement!

Hidden gardens…

Portable fireworks!

Back to that event!

But let’s go around it first! What a blazing sun!

Impressive roofs!

Imperial “mon”!

This roof really looks like a helmet!

Your future for 200 yen (2.20 US$)!

The ladies selling at a Shrine stand/shop are supposed to be virgins…
Look at her headgear!

Knotting one’s wishes for the coming year…

Now, why are these three gentlemen dressed in Edo Era’s garb?

Those ancient clothes are certainly very elaborate!

I see! A (very solemn) tea ceremony!

The ancient shoes of the three gentlemen! Like their clothes, they must cost a fortune!

An illustrious unknown?

I walked across the other side of the gardens surrounding the Shrine on my way back to discover more stands. Japanese karaage/deep-fried chicken! Certainly better than those of that fake army officer!

Charcoal-grilled ayu trouts!

Cute young girls in yukata/summer kimono waiting for their yakisoba!

Such trees at Shinto Shrines are venerated as symbols of virility and fertility!

Now, I fancy these yakitori!

There are plenty of secondary shrines on the premises near waterways and small bridges!

There was another parade chariot at the side entrance with some good percussion music!

But the old guy was already probably thinking about all the Japanese sake sitting beside him!

Now, getting this chariot was sheer brutal work in that heat! It took them three tries before they could manage inching forward!

Walking around the park back to the station is also worth the effort!

Beautiful water running down from nearby Mount Fuji!

The wild ducks certainly love it!

A small bridge turned into a personal garden!

Plenty of clean water to safely play in!

Young ladies certainly welcomed the fresh water!

Whole families were thus escaping from the heat!

i could have stayed hours in such surroundings!

In Japan, always keep a look for English signs!
I know that the Japanese are probably the longest living people in the World but I still wonder…

Back at the station, all these lanterns announced the Festival. Pity I couldn’t stay still night!

There was even an on-going Japanese drum concert by a whole host of teams!

The last image of the heat of the day before I boarded the train back to Shizuoka City.
Would you believe it was pouring 30 minutes later back there with a double-digit drop in temperatute?

More to come!

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Soba Restaurant: Iwa ichi!

August 15, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Service: Very friendly and easy-going.
Facilities: Very clean overall. Excellent amenities
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Soba of course, but traditional Japanese gastronomy on the whole. Excellent all-rounder.
English spoken!
Non-smoking at tables.

Soba has always been a pillar of Japanese gastronomy. In Edo times soba restaurants were the place to patronize if you wanted to drink sake (in good company?).
There are many soba restaurants all over the City, Prefecture and country, but the very good ones need a little research and exploration, if not luck!

Iwa Ichi/岩市 is not easy to find tucked away along a main thoroughfare away from the centre of Shizuoka City.
Although I live nearby and for all its 4 years of existence I hadn’t noticed it. I almost cycled past it yesterday after I had decided to investigate this increasingly famous establishment for a first visit at lunch.

The menu, whatever the time of the day or night, is written in English.
But the owner speaks English! No worries, then!
On that day I chose the set menu (3,000 yen/~40 US$): Kuroge Wagyuu Amiyaki Gozen/黒毛和牛網焼き御膳/Grilled Black Hair Beef Lunch!

Served on a wooden tray, it certainly looked appetizing and beautiful!
A great balance which had already convinced me to return for dinner and a serious chat!

Cold soba in their soup with freshly grated wasabi.

Chyawanmushi/茶碗蒸し/ Japanese salted pudding and Chinese cabbage pickles in front of the beef.

Now, this grilled beef is truly extravagant for a soba restaurant! It is Shizuoka-bred Black Hair Beef under the name of Suruga Gyuu/駿河牛/Suruga (as of Suruga Bay off the Shizuoka shores) Beef. An absolute beauty that even Argentines (and Americans?)would run for!

Served with grated daikon mixed with soy sauce and freshly grated wasabi (from Shizuoka) it makes for the perfect way to savor grilled prime beef!

Madai/真鯛/Seabream sashimi! So tender and delicious!

And a cute salad of Shizuoka-grown vegetables. With plain white rice it makes for a complete, so well-balanced and absolutely delicious lunch!

The Japanese pottery certainly makes for another difference!

But being French (a tame excuse if there was one!) I wouldn’t leave without sampling one of their three desserts:
Soba tofu pudding with brown sugar sauce!
I caught your attention, didn’t I? A dessert made without dairy products or wheat flour!

For a closer view!

Alright, I’ll see you at dinner soon!
After all, I need to talk to the owners!

IWA ICHI
420-01816 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Kutsunoya, 3-4-22
Tel.: 054-293-4151
Business hours: 11:30^14:00, 17:30~22:00
Closed on Mondays

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“Great Fisherman’s Catch Plate” at Hana Oto

August 14, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Very friendly and attentive
Equipment: Great general cleanliness. Beautiful toilets
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Great use of local ingredients in beautiful Chinese Cuisine. Great sake and shochu!

What is absolutely extravagant in Shizuoka, and I’m talking about the whole of Japan, is that you can (and should!) expect top-class sashimi even in a Chinese-style izakaya (and else!)!
Actually, Hana Oto in Shizuoka announced their sashimi of the day at the very top of their menu!

What is even more tempting is that they not only offer a range of individual sashimi, but also a whole plate of them over a bed of extra fresh Shizuoka-grown leafy vegetable, the whole called 大漁サラダ/dairyou sarada/Great Fisherman Catch Plate”, mostly featuring fish and seafood from Shizuoka!

This time it included nama shirasu/生シラス/raw sardine whiting, maguro/鮪/tuna, saba/鯖/mackerel, madai/真鯛/seabream and tako/蛸/octopus!

Not only it was absolutely delicious, but it was great fun to pick it all from the dish and arrange it on my plate for a photograph!

I’ll take the opportunity to show some other tidbits we had that day: mizunasu/水茄子/ “Water eggplant/aubergine eaten raw with thin sticks of daikon and seasoned with katsuo bushi/鰹節/dry bonito shavings!

Fried Amagi Shamo Chicken liver in Dijon seed mustard and marinated cucumbers!

To be continued…

HANA OTO/華音
420-0032 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Ryougae Cho, 5-8, Shin Kamogawa Bldg., 2F-D
Business hours: 17:30~24:00
Closed on Mondays

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Takashima Brewery: Hakuin ZEN Limited Yamahai Junmai Suntoh Yamada Nishiki

August 14, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

This is the second limited brew under the same generic name, “Hakuin Zen” that Takashima Brewery has produced this year to encourage local sake rice production.
Once again it was a limited edition, to no more than 300 bottles (720 ml)

Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice is probably the most famous of them all, and although it didn’t originate in Shizuoka Prefecture it can be grown here with very good results as proven by this Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice grown in Suntoh Gun near Numazu City.
The full name of this brew makes for another long staory!
Takashima Brewery-Hakuin “ZEN”, Special limmited Yamahai Junmai. Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice 100% grown in Suntoh!

Rice: Yamada Nishiki (100% Shizuoka Prefecture grown)
Rice milled down to 65%
Dryness: + 1.0
Acidity: 1.7
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Production: 300 bottles (720 ml)
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Discreet, fleeting. Dry. Fruity: banana, dark cherries
Body: Fluid
Taste: Very dry attack but soft on tongue and palate.
Fruity and complex. Dry oranges, apricots with faint hints of coffee beans, dark chocolate, macadamia nuts and banana.
Disappears fairly quickly with more dry almonds and nuts.
Turns even drier with food.

Overall: An unusual sake but typical of Takashima Brewery.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed it on its own, does exceptionally marry well with food.
Very complex and fleeting.
Turns drier with food but doesn’t interfere with the latter.
The fact it is limited will make a few cry with envy!

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Organic Vegetables from Matsuki Bio Farm at Uzu and Hana Oto!

August 13, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Summer Vegetables “Gorogoro” Salad at Uzu!

Matsuki Bio Farm in Fujinomiya City at the foot of Mount Fuji is a leader when it comes to organic vegetables agriculture.
True to say, as Shizuoka Prefecture is also a leader in the whole of Japan, there are many other organic farms in our Prefecture, but Matsuki Bio Farm is one of the larger and more reliable producers as well.

You do find their products on many restaurant tables across Shizuoka Prefecture and Uzu and Hana Oto make an extra large usage of them!
Both establishments serve them in many ways, two of which I’d like to introduce here today!

The picture above is another view of the top photograph.
Kenya Yoshimura at Uzu serves a big mixture of these seasonal organic vegetables as a Summer (also in other seasons!) Vegetables “Gorogoro” Salad/夏野菜ゴロゴラダ.
Varied vegetables are either kept raw, steamed or fried and then cooled down before mixing them with a dressing of Kenya’s invention.
A very simple and most appropriate way to serve vegetables at their best!
Such salads include some very unusual vegetables such as Hasu Imo, which is not actually the tuber itself but the stems, eaten as green vegetables. Can you see those three strange whitish slices in the front?

Misonaise Vegetable Gratin at Hana Oto!

Whereas Uzu is a Japanese-style Izakaya which serves these vegetables as vegetarian food, Hana Oto is a Chinese Cuisine Izakaya, a very happy hybrid of Japanese and Chinese gastronomies, which serve their food without any particular concern for vegetarianism.
Yuusuke Tozaki’s concept will appeal to all nationalities, especially in colder weather as it is hot and nourishing!

Now, what is “misonaise”?
A mixture of miso paste and mayonnaise!
Some of the vegetables are first fried while others are steamed, boiled or raw.
The sauce, including enough condiments to season the whole, covers a generous portion of those vegetables before being cooked as a gratin in an oven!
Try it at home! It’s worth it!

To be contimued…

UZU
Shizuoka City, Otowa-cho, 3-18
Tel.: 054-249-6262
Business hours: 17:00=23:00
Closed on Mondays and first Tuesday
Reservations recommended
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

Service: Excellent and very friendly. Very Japanese atmosphere.
Facilities: Excellent washroom facilities. Great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable.
Strong Points: Great sake from Shizuoka and Japan Great Shochu. Home-made umeshu. Mainly local products, especially organic vegetables.
Non-smoking on Sundays and National Holidays

HANA OTO/華音
420-0032 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Ryougae Cho, 5-8, Shin Kamogawa Bldg., 2F-D
Business hours: 17:30~24:00
Closed on Mondays

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Amagi Shamo Chicken at Uzu!

August 11, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Amagi Shamo is arguably the best chicken in Japan and it is bred by only one farm run by Toshiyaki Horie and his father.
The chicken are bred free of stress for 120~150 days up in the Amagi mountains in Izu Peninsula and being fed with grains, soy milk and wasabi leaves, the latter both from Izu Peninsula!

Not many restaurants can serve Amagi Shamo Chicken as the quantity is limited. You do need a personal introduction before you can purchase it!

Kenya Yoshimura of Uzu in Shizuoka City is one of the rare chefs who has a regular if limited supply of this succulent chicken!

So the other day we felt ourselves lucky to be able to savor at least some parts of the chicken. Practically the whole animal is eaten raw, semi-raw, seared, grilled or whatever. I’m afraid that people from Tokyo will have to travel all the way!
To make a long story short we sampled it in three different manners.
First as shown as above in broiled “tebasaki/手羽先” style remiscent of buffalo wings, but far more sophisticated!
The skin is crackling and the meat so tender and smooth!

The second dish was served in “aburi/炙り/seared style.
This is chicken thigh grilled only from the skin leaving the meat half raw.
Served with plenty of chopped scallions and fresh wasabi (from Umegashima, Shizuoka City), it is a morsel worth travelling miles for!

Finally we had a dish of fried hot/piquant innards including the liver and gizzards cut in small pieces and stir-fried with plenty of chopped chili pepper!

For another view….

The combination of crunchy gizzards and soft liver is just impossible to describe!
To be continued…

UZU
Shizuoka City, Otowa-cho, 3-18
Tel.: 054-249-6262
Business hours: 17:00=23:00
Closed on Mondays and first Tuesday
Reservations recommended
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

HORIE CHICKEN FARM/堀江養鶏
410-3203, Shizuoka Ken, Izu Shi, Yaguma, 296
Tel.: 0558-87-0644
Mobile: 090-7449-5655
Fax: 0558-87-0763
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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