Category Archives: Shizuoka Cuisine

Beef, 牛肉, 美食, 野菜, 観光, 駿河牛肉, 農業, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

French Gastronomy: Suruga Beef at Pissenlit in Shizuoka City!

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Service: excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to slightly expensive, good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products.
Entirely non-smoking!

One does not have to explain how good, and why for that matter, Japanese beef is.
Recently, beef produced in the Western part of Shizuoka Prefecture has attracted a lot of attention under the name of Suruga Beef!
Suruga is the name of the large Bay off Shizuoka Prefecture!
I took the occasion of a recent visit to Pissenlit in the company of a good friend to sample two parts of the same animal!

The bavette (above two pictures) is the part covering the bottom of the throat and the top of the breast.
Its texture is halfway that of a filet and of a stew.
Chef Touru Arima first fried the piece of bavette then roasted it before seasoning it with a Madeira wine sauce.
The vegetables were all organically grown at Shizen No Chikara Garden in Shizuoka City.
They included butternut squash, “mizunasu” aubergine/eggplants and buckwheat seeds.

For a closer look of the buckwheat seeds which married so well with the sauce!

My friend had an even better part, actually the best part of the animal, namely the filet!
It was prepared with a heady red wine sauce after being first fried on a hot fire and being finished in the oven.

The organic vegetables were also butternut squash and “mizunasu” aubergine/eggplant while the buckwheat seeds were replaced by Inca Mezame potato!

But the buckwheat seeds were concealed under the filet where they made a beautiful combination again with the sauce and meat!

To be followed (great desserts coming soon!)…

PISSENLIT
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
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

野菜, 野菜亭, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Seaweed, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian cuisine

Vegan’s Paradise in Shizuoka: Yasaitei!

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Service: Very friendly and attentive
Facilities: Very clean overall. Superb toilets.
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Great choice of local & Japanese vegetables. Kansai-style oden. All traditional ladies staff in tradtional izakaya. Good wines, shochu and sake List.

Spring is a boon for an izakaya like Yasaitei which specializes in vegetable cuisine (although you can get anything from fish to meat). Although I’m not, it is always great fun to ask for vegan or vegetarian dishes to Ms. Aki Suzuki/鈴木朋, chef at Yasaitei.

As vegetables are only seasonal, it is a good idea to sit at the counter and have a good look at them:

I will let you guess them out (mind you, it is not too difficult!)!

Enormous, aren’t they?

Local, fresh and big!

While I was teasing Aki San I was brought my snack with my first drink.

This seaweed is called “mekabu/和布蕪”. It is found in the shape of balls in the nearby sea and has to be chopped first before serving it with some ponzu and sesame seeds. It is said to be extremely healthy, full of nutrients and especially beneficial to humans! After all, seaweed is the vegetable of the ocean!

As for my drink I chose a rice shochu, brewed by Hana no Mai Brewery in Hamamatsu City, called Acho no Tsubome.
Incidentally, this shochu is vegan! And the art so cute!

I was not here for a full dinner but for a quick snack before going back to work.
So Aki san fried shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes and plenty of Spring cabbage in peperocino style and served them decorated with local fresh cress.

For such cuisine Aki San will use only absolutely top-class Italian virgin olive oil and a minimum of seasoning, mainly salt, pepper and chili so as to preserve the true taste of the vegetables.
Let me show you some closer shots for a better look!

From the top.

From the top, a little bit closer.

A side view.

And another.

Although she cooks all kinds of dishes, including omnivore, Aki San will be glad to oblige and devise strictly vegan or vegetarian dishes for you and even a full meal if requested at least a day in advance!

YASAITEI/野菜亭
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa-Cho, 1-6-2 Green Heights Wamon 1-C
Tel.: 054-2543277
Business hours: 17:30~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Reservations highly recommended
Seating: 6 at counter + 12 at tables
Set Courses: 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 yen
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
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野菜, French gastronomy, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

French Cuisine: Shizuoka Agricultural Products at Bistro Gawa!

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Service: Friendly
Facilities: old but very clean. Very clean washroom!
Prices: very reasonable
Strong points: excellent French cuisine without ostentation. Great local products from the land and the sea
no-smoking-logoentirely non-smoking!

People and restaurants in Mishima City in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture are lucky!
Mishima and the mountains of West Hakone is a paradise for vegetable growers and organic agriculture in general!

Bistro Gawa is located inside an old unpretentious building just near the Mishima Hitokoji Station (Izu Hakone Private Line)

Although it is perched on the second floor you can’t miss it with its very visible menu boards before opening and

and after opening!

Make a point to look at the specialties of the day!
Not that they do not use any artificial taste additive!

Once inside you know what kind of cuisine to expect!
It is a small place with only 12 seats at tables and 6 more at the counter. It is a good idea to call and reserve beforehand.

This was my first visit and as I was due to hold an interview in Shuzenji in the afternoon, I took the opportunity to take my lunch there. Lunch is always a good sign of what level to expect.
Although they accept any order from any menu they propose three different sets for lunch: Petite Palette (650 yen), normal lunch (1580 yen) and La Palette (1880 yen).
I chose the latter with a glass of wine I could choose from 4 different bottles.

It consisted of Jamon Serrano (Spain) atop a salad of organic greens from Hirokawa Garden and black and white rice in butter with sauteed wabuta (Japanese pork).

Cheese creme Brulee, Medai brandade (a brandade made with a local grouper), marinated mackerel and pan-fried black bass from Suruga Bay.

Non-mayonnaise potato salad and vegetables sticks, all organic from Hirokawa Garden.

Home-baked bread.

Organic Spring cabbage potage.

And the coffee was served with real milk and sugar, a clear indication of better attention in Japan!

This is only a start as there is a good menu to go through and also as I will have to visit Mishima City very regularly in the coming weeks.
See you at dinner next, then!

Bistro Gawa
411-0856, Shizuoka ken, Mishima Shi, Hirokoji Machi, 1-37, 2F
Business hours: 11:30~14:00, 18:00~
Closed on Sunday, Thursday lunch and Saturday dinner
Tel.: 055-972-5040
Cards OK (+5% handling fees)

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

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野菜, 農業, Japanese Gastronomy, Leaf Ginger, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tempura, Tourism, vegetables

Shizuoka Agricultural Products: Kunou Leaf Ginger at Tomii!

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Service: Professional & Friendly
Facilities: Very clean overall, beautiful toilets
Prices: reasonable to expensive
Strong points: great choice of Shizuoka sake. Seasonal cuisine only. Shizuoka oden. Top-class Japanese food at reasonable prices
Non-smoking at counter

You will never be disappointed at Tomii as they work only with seasonal ingredients.
Going there just for a quick snack is something of an adventure!

When I visited the place last night at around 6:30, they were in a bit of roar busy as they were with large reservations.
They still found the time to prepare a delicacy before I moved upstairs to Aquavite!

As I said in other articles, Kunou District in Suruga Ward in Southern Shizuoka City is famous for its leaf ginger (also called stick ginger, or hashoga/葉生姜 in Japanese).
Tomii had some fresh ones on hand and prepared them rolled in fine pork slices and dipped into batter before being deep-fried.

This is a very popular delicacy in Shizuoka City restaurants and I never tire of it, what with the slightly different recipes found in various establishments.
The deep-fried leaf ginger prepared at Tomii was a great and delicate marriage of flavors between the ginger which had become almost sweet thanks to the cooking and the succulent pork dipped in fine and light batter!

Do try it!

TOMII
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg, 1F
Tel.: 054-274-0666
Business hours: 17:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
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Bento, 野菜, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, 帆立貝, 弁当

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’11/22): Scallops & Broad Beans Bento!

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The Missus was back into the “square bento mode” today.
I called it a “scallop and Broad Beans Bento” because of the “rice box”!

She steamed the rice with the whole contents of a small can of small scallops and their juices poure on top of the rice.
Once they had been cooked, she mixed the rice and the scallops so as to break the latter for better inclusion. She then added boiled and peeled broad beans and mixed the lot roughly.
She topped the whole with finely cut home-pickled ginger for extra seasoning.

Now the “salad box” wasqite intricate:
From right to left:
-Suteed egg plants/aubegines with a dash of ginger jam (ginger cooked with honey only).
Sweet carrot salad with whole sesame seeds and ground sesame seeds.
Cress from Shige Chan Garden in Shizuoka City.
-Mimosa egg.
-Kiwi fruit, orange and mini tomatoes. great colors!

As usual very tasty and satisfying!

Clumsyfingers by Xethia
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

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野菜, 野菜亭, 観光, 農業, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, vegetables, Yasaitei

Shizuoka Agricultural Products: Hatada Garden Leaf Ginger at Yasaitei!

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Ms. Aki Suzuki/鈴木朋, chef at Yasaitei.

I said in my previous article that there are many Shizuoka products worthwhile introducing not only to the general public but also to restaurants who work hard promoting food originating from our Prefecture.
Another such place is Yasaitei in Shizuoka City!

Like in the other article, after having interviewed Toshikatsu Hatada/畑田敏克 at Hatada Garden/畑田農園 in Kuno/久能 in Shizuoka City, I called Ms. Suzuki to tell her I was bringing fresh leaf ginger and I wished her to create some dishes with it to which se immediately genially agreed! Yasatei thus the second restaurant I visited on that day!

I had my usual (I’m a regular there, too…) glass of Doman Shochu (brewed by Hamamatsu-Tenjingura Brewery in Hamamatsu City) with a snack consisting of kogomi/こごみ/ostrich fern in sesame dressing.

Aki keeps things simple with a respect for the natural taste of ingredients.
The first serving was the leaf ginger cut and served with red miso paste. A great snack for the shochu!

Keeping in mind I wanted something light to accompany the drink, she lightly fried in olive oil and a minimum of salt and pepper thin strips of leaf ginger, bacon and strips of yellow sweet pimentoes.

Great balance between the salty taste of bacon, the sweetness of pimentoes and spiciness of the ginger!

She was back in true vegetarian mode for the last dish:

A salad of very lightly fried strips of leaf ginger and cucumber topped with thin strips of raw radishes for an interesting and slightly piquant salad!

Did I say I was enjoying my work at Agrigraph? LOL

YASAITEI/野菜亭
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa-Cho, 1-6-2 Green Heights Wamon 1-C
Tel.: 054-2543277
Business hours: 17:30~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Reservations highly recommended
Seating: 6 at counter + 14 at tables
Set Courses: 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 yen
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
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野菜, 葉生姜, 観光, 農業, Ginger, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Leaf Ginger, Mando, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, vegetables

Shizuoka Agricultural Products: Hatada Garden Leaf Ginger at Mando!

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Mr. Takeshi Hirai/平井武, Manager of Mando Restaurant

There are many Shizuoka products worthwhile introducing not only to the general public but also to restaurants who work hard promoting food originating from our Prefecture.
One such place is Mando in Shizuoka City!

Mando, Neo-Japanesque Bar, is the third restaurant of the BECK Co., Ltd with Cafe & Bar Cherry Beans and World Beer Restaurant GROW STOCK.
Mando is particularly interesting to me as they serve food in tapas style and are always looking for new products.
After having interviewed Toshikatsu Hatada/畑田敏克 at Hatada Garden/畑田農園 in Kuno/久能 in Shizuoka City, I called Mr. Hirai to tell him I was bringing fresh leaf ginger and I wished him to create some dishes with it. He genially agreed and I was no my way to his restaurant!

Mr. Hirai usually does not work inside the kitchen, although he is a fully-qualified chef, but he wouldn’t let anyone taking care of a product he knew, but not that of a producer he was aware of.

He marinated some of the fresh leaf ginger into hot amazu/sweet vinegar for later use, although it could be eaten right away as a snack with a drink, which I did. beautiful combination, like eating a dessert on a stick!

The Japanese love their leaf ginger fresh as they are with some miso paste. Mr. Hirai served some to me with white sweet miso. They didn’t last long! They go well with any drink!

He then came up with sawara/鰆/Spanish Mackerel (it the season in Shizuoka right now), fried with Japanese sake and a little yuzu koshio/柚子胡椒/lime pepper paste and served with a stick of leaf ginger marinated in amazu. Perfect marriage for a great fish!

Leaf Ginger Pork Belly Roll Fritters!

The last dish was a delicacy that Japanese and expats alike would kill for!
Using thin slices of Shizuoka-bred pork belly, he wrapped them around leaf ginger before dipping them in batter. The whole were deep-fried and served with a beautiful salt and pepper mixture.

For a different view!

Decidedly, my work for Agrigraph is becoming sheer fun!

Mando, Neo Japanesque Bar
420-0031, Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Gofuku Cho, 2-4-6, Mori Blg, 1F
Tel/Fax: 054-221-5103
Business hours: 17:00~26:00
Parties possible on 2F
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

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Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shimada City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, 島田市

Ramen Restaurant: Tsubame in Shimada City

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Service:  Busy but friendly and smiling
Equipment & facilities: Very clean overall, excellent washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: superb and generous ramen, gyoza

For all the ramen shops literally brandishing their flags and noren/shop entrance curtains, if not assailing visitors with all kinds of garish photos of their menu placarded outside, some places are so concealed that you wouldn’t find them without an insider’s information!

The full car parking lot is not much of an indication either as the only signs you will see belong to other shops!

Early queues fast forming might be the cue then…
I was lucky that my good friend Aki Suzuki from Yasaitei was on hand, what is with being in an city i still have to learn about…

The entrance is small and does not give much indication as to what is waiting for you inside…

Finally a noren with “Tsubame” written on it hung over an inside door tells you are in the right place! “Tsubame” as the motif suggests means “swallow”! It could become a good joke in English, though!

And a big picture right inside confirms it!

A busy place right from the opening at 6:30 a.m.!

You can either sut at a counter or at a table, although you might not be able to choose if the place is too busy!

Plenty of gentle staff to look after you! Tough work to look after hungry customers from 06:30 to 15:00! Yes, it is not open in the veenings, and that is rare indeed!

A simple but clean place. I did not notice anybody smoking…
The food is served not in cheap plastic bowls, but in real clay bowls!

If you are lucky, you can sit in your own cozy corner! And a lot of customers think so, too!

When you read the menu bear in mind they serve only the red-circled items between 6:30 and 9:00 a.m.! The simple reason is that they are just too busy then!

There is a lot to choose from, including original gyooza, and it certainly deserves a few more visits.
Aki chose a typical ramen dish: “Tsubame Kossari Soba/燕こっさりそば”. It certainly looked delicious. Note that she ordered “Oomori/大盛”, meaning “large size”!

As for me, I asked for “Tsubame Wafuu Tsukemen/燕和風付け麺”, meaning Japanese-style ramen with soup dip.

The ramen (large serving) with their char siu (large serving again!) to be dipped into hot soup before eating.

The hot soup! Very tasty!
I rarely go out to eat ramen, but this definitely a place to go (and again!)

Tsubame/麺屋燕
Shimada Shi, Osakaya Machi, 8770/島田市御坂屋町８７７０
Tel.: 0547-34-2223
Business hours: AM 6:30~ PM 3:00 (or earlier if stock soup is exhausted)
Closed on Tuesdays and third Wednesday

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

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Chinese Cuisine, Chinese Restaurants, 野菜, 農業, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, vegetables

Chinese Gastronomy: Shizuoka Products at Cham

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Service: excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great cleanliness overall
Prices: very reasonable, good value.
Strong points: Great use of local Shizuoka Vegetables and products. Great Chinese Teas!
no-smoking-logo non-smoking at lunch time/Fully non-smoking from April!

Chinese is a very popular cuisine, but when you discover it is exclusively made with local vegetables, meat and seafood, you have no reason left to ignore it!

Mr. Atsushi Tomura, a very talented young chef, opened Cham in Sptember 2008 with his wife and an apprentice.
He will actually move to another address nearer to the JR Station in April, while his apprentice will go back to his family’s business in Fujieda City.
Check both addresses and homepage at the end of this article!

Since it was my firs (belated) visit I opted for the lunch set.
It is superb combination of vegetables I stopped counted and some meat and seafood.
All vegetables exclusively come from the farm of Mr. Furuya in Asabata, Shizuoka City!
Since they obviously use only seasonal vegetables, you can expect this particular offering to change rapidly!

I’ll try to explain what I had the pleasure to savor, but I’m sure to miss a lot as they were simply too busy to explain in detail. That will have to wait until my next visit(s)!
The above is a dish concocted with5 different daikon, meat and miso paste with eggs in soboro style served with ice plants and red lettuce for warpping.

Pork belly wrapped in Chinese Cabbage and served with katsuona Leaf vegetable.

Kiku imo.

Violet and white Cauliflower and Romanesco Cauliflower and Daikon/turnips.

Ajiwai Dori Chicken roll.

Broccoli and shrimps.
Most dishes had their sauce or dressings under the vegetables for better viewing!

Wakame seaweed and egg soup.

Home-made almond toufu for dessert.

They also offer a great choice of rare Chinese teas of extremely high quality!

The one I chose was called 西湖龍井茶. a real beauty!

Naturally they other Chinese favorites suc as Shoyu raamen, Shyo Raamen, Kuro Kosy\ho Tantanmen, Kuro Kosho Chahan and Yaki Gyoza.
But that is for my next visit!

Incidentally, given one day in advance, they can devise a completely vegetarian menu on order!

Cham
420-0072 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, 2 Ban-Cho, 4-1
Tel/Fax: 054-253-1300
Business hours: 11:00~14:00; 17:00^22:00
Closed either on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Call beforehand!
(Until end of March)

Shizuoka Shi, Suruga Ku, Minami Cho, 6-7, inside Irifune Yokocho
Tel.: 054-285-71115
Business hours: 17:00~24:00; lunches on order only (1 day advance)
HOMEPAGE
(from April 17th)

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野菜, 農業, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka Cuisine, vegetables

Shizuoka Food Fair 1

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Shizuoka Prefecture has put some efforts into advertizing their own goods, as for agriculture and crafts, for some time, and a fairly big Food Fair (しずおか食の彩典) was organized on the 19th and 20th of February at Twin Messe in Shizuoka City.

The event was a good start, but I wished it would have been a bit better organized and more lively, but Shizuoka is probably the most conservative prefecture in Japan for all its incredible products and producers and it will take some time before it really becomes a full-fledged event. At least let’s give them a chance!

Still, there was a lot to see (and taste), and I will try to show everything in a series of easy-to read articles!

Next time I meet some of the organizers I will tell them (it is my “job”, actually!) to better indicate the way!
Only one board (in the wrong place) and no sign at the entrance of the actual hall!

Although I came at the very time of the opening, I can’t say that the information desk was very useful…

I tried to follow the “official sequence” and started with the JA/Japan Agriculture (government-sponsored) booths.
This is the JA Suruga (Suruga Bay) booth with plenty of oranges.

JA Shimizu (Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku) does represent a very large area and products.
They chose to concentrate on “Red Ole” tomatoes and “Harumi” oranges!

The JA Shizuoka City, covering an even larger area!

Beautiful green tea for all to enjoy!

JA Oigawa, from Central Shizuoka Prefecture.

“Aoshima” Oranges. So cheap!

JA Hainan, a vegetable-growing area.

Beautiful lettuces and shiny daikon!

JA Shizuoka Prefecture. Now, that is covering an area with the population of New Zealand….

Celery! Fair enough, Shizuoka Prefecture produces half of the total national crop!

Shizuoka Prefecture Strawberry Growers Association.
Now, we are talking about big business!

I must say that the “Strawberry Lady” had a great way with customers and reporters!

“Benihoppe/Red Cheeks” Strawberries! Considered as the best in Japan!

The next series of booths dealt with ready-to-serve-food in general.
Pizza Nao from Hamamatsu City.

Oven-Baked pizzas inside a trailer!
Looking forward to my next trip to Hamamatsu City! LOL

Soft Ice creams at the Cornette trailer!

Judging form the looks of the lady, these soft ice creams ought to be delicious!

Shirokiya Cakes!
After proceeding from A7 directly to H1, I found myself searching in the program for E20…. (Organization, please!)

But the Japanese cakes/wagashi certainly looked beautiful and yummy!

To be continued soon (hopefully in the proper sequence! LOL)

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

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Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tempura, Uncategorized, 天婦羅

Simple Recipes: Dragonfruit Shoots Tempura

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The Missus came back home last night with an unsual “vegetable”: Dragon Fruit Shoots.
The Japanese have come with the best idea to sample any new vegetable: tempura!
Technically speaking it originated in Portugal whose sailors introduced it to Japan a few centuries ago. The word itself is Portuguese.
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My better (worse?) cut them into halves and prepared batter. She favours her own style, heavier than the Japanese, but lighter than the European/American “fritters”
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She took the opportunity to add some other tempura made with shrimps and goya.
Served with ma-cha tea powder and salt mixed with sakura/cherry blossoms powder, it just turned out perfect with beer and sake!

Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tasting, Uncategorized, Vegetarian cuisine

Izakaya: Nanase

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It was the turn of Mr. Kawashima, a member of our “Monthly Monday Eatout Group” to choose our meting place in August, and he elected for our ever-growing group (we accounted for 7 participants this time!) an original izakaya called Nanasei.
The restaurant was created 6 years ago by Mrs. Junko Sunada on the first floor of the large house she lives in with her family.
Actually the first floor consists of a counter (see picture above, sitting 6) and a Japanese tatami room (sitting 6~7).
The place is very comfortable and easy-going but sophisticated at the same time, all that for comparatively reasonable price. You have more the impression to eat at home than in izakaya/restaurant. It makes the place all the more attractive for small groups searching relative peace and quiet in an intimate environment.
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Mrs. Sunada makes a great use of local products, especially vegetables, with an accent on lightness and familiar (as of family) tastes, all the while creating original cuisine for all to enjoy, whatever the age or gender. A vegetarian (that I am not) could very well order or reserve a full meal there!
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The more you eat, the more you feel like drinking, and I have a suspicion that Mrs. Sunada has mastered the art to induce a customer into sampling her drinking menu!
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Now, the last is the real reason behind our friend’s choice!
As he is a fervent lover of sake, the menu gives him ample cause for rejoicing apart of the beer and wine:
I will cite only the truly local sake among the long list:
Kaiun (Doi Brewery, Kakegawa City)
Shosetsu (Kanzawagawa Brewery, Yui City)
Hatsukame (Okabe-cho, Sida Gun)
Karakkaze (Hana No Mai Brewery, Hamamatsu City)

I would recommend Nanasei both to couples and groups who wish to share a gastronomic adventure away from the tussle of the town.
Set menus and a la carte are available. I would suggest both for value and interest to choose the set menu of the day and eventually add one or two more dishes if you are still hungry!

Nanase
Address: 420-0833 Shizuoka City, Higashi Takajo 2-40 (Go up Kitakaido from Shin Shizuoka Center, turn right at Casino Pachinko, second corner)
Tel.: 054-2495551
Fax: 054-2486644
Business hours: 17:30~22:30
Closed on Sundays and 2nd and 3rd Mondays
Reservations advised

Shizuoka, Shizuoka Beer, Shizuoka Cuisine, Sports Bar, Uncategorized, White Ize

Sports Cafe/Bar: White Ize

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Many of my friends, expats and Japanese alike had been telling me about this new sports bar opened in July 2006, so it was about time I visited it!
Interestingly enough, although Shizuoka City are blessed with a plethora of good Izakaya, simple, unpretentious and well-stocked bars are almost a rarity.
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The least I could say is that they are extremely well-stocked as far as bottled beers are concerned: no less than 96 brands and still looking for more!
I even had the occasion to taste a beer from the French Island Corsica called Pietra I had never heard of! (A fine beer, by the way!). There are varieties for everyone, including a whopping 14 degrees ale from Austria!
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White Ize has 3 screens for customers to watch all current sports. The coming Rugby World Cup will be shown live from France from September 9th. Ozzies and Kiwis had better reseve their seats!
Apart of beers, cocktails and other drinks are available. Food is Tex-Mex and reasonably priced.
The owner, Mr. Kazuyoshi Harazaki is an old hand at both fishing, boating and boozing and always keen to share a chat. He is known to go on boating excursions with his customers, so better keep your ears open!

White IZE
420-0857 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku,　Miyuki-cho, 7-2, Amano Bldg. 2F (near Den Den Building, a few minutes walk from Shizuoka JR Station)
Tel.: 054-2551336
Business Hours: 17:00~02:00
Closed on Mondays
Parties welcome
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sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Soba, Soba Restaurant, Tasting, Uncategorized, Vegetarian cuisine, Yoshino Soba, 吉野そば

Soba/Buckwheat Restaurant: Yoshino

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I love soba, and many Japanese and expats do too!
It is not only great for health (vegetarians, listen carefully), it is tasty and satisfying!
Unfortunately there is soba and soba. Meaning: a lot of places do have to be avoided…
What makes Yoshino special is that they are very exactting about their quality and serve only soba on the day. If they run out, they simply close the place!
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For the connoisseurs hey serve both ni-hachi (80%) and ju-wari (100% which tend to run out quickly!)
Although Mr. Hiromichi Yoshino opened his restaurant only in 1999 after serving his time in another famous soba restaurant, Kuromugi in Shizuoka, the place has become so popular you do have to choose your time of the day to enjoy the food. Actually, you ought to take your time as this is a real “slow-food” soba restaurant. As it sits only 22 plus a few at the counter, you will understand it could become a scramble sometimes.
The more for its side dishes (“tsumami”):
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The “tamagoyaki” (fine, some vegetarians might not agree!) and the:
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“yakimiso” (soba/buckwheat powder mixed with miso and cooked under the grill), a must in any good soba restaurant.
But people who really know me would not be convinced if I fail to mention that also serve Shizuoka sake!
They serve no less than 8 kinds!:
Fujinishiki/Arabashiri (Shibakawa Cho)
Hatsukame/junmai + Kame dai ginjo 3 year-old koshu (Okabe cho)
Isojiman/ dai ginjo + junmai ginjo (Yaizu City)
Kikuyoi/daiginjo (Fujieda City)
Onnanakase/Oomuraya-Wakatake daiginjo (Shimada City)
Kokkou/junmai ginjo (Fukuroi City)
Now, a little secret for the sake lovers, these high-quality sake certainly come cheaper than anywhere else!

Apart of the whole gamut of cold and hot soba, they serve exquisite tempura, satsumaage, oniage, yakimiso,and so on.

Last but not least it becomes a no-moking place at lunch!

Yoshino
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo Machi, 1-7-10 (just behind Shin Shizuoka Center)
Tel.: 054-2553277
Business hours: 11:00~22:00 (or until run out soba)
“Kaiseki course” on reservations

Ratatouille, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tasting, Uncategorized, vegetables, Vegetarian cuisine

Simple Recipes: Ratatouille

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Ratatouille as accompaniment to Stuffed Tomato and Grilled Goat Cheese

In Summer Ratatouille will please both omnivores and vegetarians as it can be served on its own as it is or as an accompaniment to other foods (see pic above).
It can be made in almost any country in the world, but particularly here in Shizuoka Prefecture due to the abundance of great vegetables!

Ingredients (for 4 to 6 people):
Onions: 3 large
Aubergines (egg-plants): 4
Courgettes (zucchini): 4
Tomatoes: 500g
Peppers (pimento): 2 to 4 (mix colours)
Garlic: 2 cloves
Olive oil: 1 cup (extra virgin oil PLEASE!)
Bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, laurel)
Salt & pepper to taste
Soft spices to taste (clove, nutmeg, sage, etc.)

Recipe:

Peel and slice the onions, aubergines and courgettes. Cut the tomatoes in pieces. Cit in strips the peppers after ridding them of their seeds.
Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan. Throw in the onions first and one minute later all the vegetables the garlic cloves , the bouquet garni, salt, peppers and spices.
Cover and let simmer on small fire for one hour and thirty minutes, mixing now and then to prevent the stew to stick on the bottom of the saucepan.
If too much water is rtill left in the stew, half cover halfway. Take garlic and bouquwr garni before serving.
NOTES: This the basic recipe. I usually add some tomato puree. The size of the cut vegetables depend on their purpose. The smaller they are cut, the shorter the cooking time. Can be served hot as accompaniment (side dish) or as main course for vegetarians (add chick peas!) or refrigerated as snacks for beer in summer.