Category Archives: Shizuoka

美食, 酒, 観光, 鮪, Fish, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Restaurants, Shizuoka, Tourism, tuna

Japanese Izakaya: Maguro-Ya (Honten)

2 Comments

Service: Shy but friendly
Facilities: old but clean. Traditional
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Tuna! Tuna! Tuna! Good list of sake and shochu

A lot, and I mean varieties as well as volume, of tuna swim past Shizuoka Prefecture and it simply becomes evident that a Japanese izakaya would specialize in tuna gastronomy, be it raw or cooked!

We have such a place in Shizuoka City called Maguro Ya/まぐろ家, that is “Tuna House”!
It is located on the second floor of a venerable building in Takajyo, an area replete with izakaya as well as first-class restaurants.

Their menu is certainly worth taking photographs as the explantations become a real study!

Even the snack coming with the first drink includes cooked tuna (featured above with duck and pickled cucumber and octopus salad)!

The following will give you a good indication of you can sample at reasonable prices:

“Three-colored Tuna Sashimi Plate”!

Hon-maguro Akami/Blue Fin Tuna lean part (back).

Hon-maguro Chu-toro/Blue Fin Tuna semi-fat part (belly).

Tonbo-Maguro Toro/Albacore Tuna fat part (belly).

Maguro Kushiyaki/Tuna brochette with plenty of mayonnaise and chopped scallions.

There are plenty of sake, shochu and more for all according to their tastes and priorities!
They also serve 4 different sake from Shizuoka Prefecture in the traditional Japanese way: overflowing glass!

The menu is not all tuna! Try their deep-fried prawns!

Sizzling hot, they will please all, Japanese and expats!

Negitoro and daikon salad. Grated tuna with plenty of thin daikon sticks.

A healthy salad served with an egg yolk you mix with all beforehand!

They offer a six-nigiri sushi plate according to the season!

But the personal reason for my visits is their tuna hamburger (called slider in some countries!)!

A slice of tuna is prepared as deep-fried seafood and sandwiched inside a bun with lettuce and tartar sauce!

Far healthier and tastier than many offerings in notorious diners! LOL

To be continued…

MAGURO-YA
Shizuoka Shi, Aoi ku, Takajyo, 1-11-8, 2F
Tel.: 054-251-410
Business hours: 17:00~24:00
Credit Cards OK

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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, 野菜, 観光, 農業, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

French Gastronomy: Organic Eggplants, Foie Gras and Organic Burdock Root Sauce

4 Comments

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!

As I said yesterday the seasons change and excellent gastronomy follows the same seasons! Fortunately it’s not all about the heavy rains we have been treated with these days!
It is the season for eggplants/aubergines in Japan and Shizuoka Prefecture!
This is the second of two creations I have just savored for lunch at Pissenlit: Eggplants/Aubergines, Foie gras and Burdock Root Sauce!

Incidentally, all the vegetables used in this recipe are organic and were grown by Shizen no Chikara Garden in Shizuoka City!

The eggplants/aubergines, a variety callled bei-nasu/美茄子, were first fried and then baked to allow them to basorb back their own juices while protecting the shape of their cuts and juicy tenderness!
They made for a soft bed for the foie gras whose strong taste they balanced so well!

For all the succulent calories it was also a very well-balanced healthy dish with the fibers and vitamins provided by the lettuce!

The foie gras!
It was simply sauteed/”poele” before its juices and fat were reduced with Madeira and Port wine and added to the burdock root sauce.

As for the burdock root, not only it was a true beauty but it was also a mystery!
Chef Touru Arima would only tell me that it consisted of finely chopped burdock root, a short and white variety, olive oil and juices of whatnot…
To think that such a simple root can be turned in the perfect sauce makes you the humbler for it!

To be continued…

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

美食, 野菜, 観光, 農業, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, Gastronomy, Restaurants, Shizuoka, Tourism

French Gastronomy: Eggplants and Crab Terrine at Pissenlit!

2 Comments

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!

The seasons change and excellent gastronomy follow the same seasons!
It is the season for eggplants/aubergines in Japan and Shizuoka Prefecture!
This is the first of two creations I have just savored for lunch at Pissenlit: Eggplants/Aubergines and Crab Terrine!

For once I will start from the bottom:
The tomato sauce is made with “mateta” tomatoes organically grown by Mr. Ishitani in Hamamatsu City!
As the terrine was warm, the colder sauce made for more a combination than a contrast contributing just enough sweetness to the aubergines!

As for the terrine itself the aubergines organically grown by Mr. Hirokawa in Mishima City were very probably first grilled and then peeled before being placed into a terrine dish with the snow crab/suwagani. The terrine was served warm (not hot) for a very pleasant soft touch on the palate!

As for the sauce with its beautiful golden color it was conceived with olive oil and curry powder.
When you realize that aubergines originally come from India, it is only natural to serve them in a manner reminiscent of the gastronomy of their birthplace!

Some garam masala powder added an artistic touch as well another spicy contribution to the whole dish!

The crown of the dish consisted of two unctuous gnocchi made with “kujyukuri kabocha/九十九里” (from Hokkaido) that Italians would kill for!

To be continued…

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

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

Sashimi: Shizuoka Fish at Ekimae Matsuno Sushi Restaurant!

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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)

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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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, 野菜, 観光, 農業, French gastronomy, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Restaurants, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism

Vegetarian Organic Steak at Tetsuya Sugimoto!

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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 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…

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

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

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

Lunch at Kogawa Fishing Harbor Canteen!

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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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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, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Festivals, Japanese Gastronomy, Mishima City, Shizuoka, Tourism

Japanese Festivals: Mishima Taisha/三嶋大社

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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!

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

美食, 野菜, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Soba, Tourism

Soba Restaurant: Iwa ichi!

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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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, 野菜, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Organic Vegetables, Shizuoka, Tourism, vegetables

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

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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

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!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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, 酒, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Shizuoka

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Sanwa Brewery: Garyubai Ginjyou Hamare Fuji

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Although Sanwa Brewery in Shimizu Ku, Shizuoka City, has never used and probably never will use the Shizuoka-made yeasts, they nonetheless use many home-grown varieties of rice, especially Homare Fuji with which they come up with brews as high as junmai ginjyo!

The “Homare Fuji” banner.

This brew being a junmai (no alcohol blended in) genshu (no water added), it gives a fair indication of what to expect!

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 55%
Alcohol: 16~17 degrees
Dryness:+3
Acidity: 1.4
Bottled in July 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Fruity, very dry: pineapple, banana. Alcohol and junmai characteristics
Body: Fluid
Taste: Strong junmai attack backed with strong and pleasant alcohol.
Complex and fruity. Custard, Macadamia nuts, almonds, oranges, dry plums.
Lingers for a while with very dry lychees and plums.
Apricots appear with the second and third sips.
Junmai petillant coming back strongly with food.
Marries welll with any food.

Overall: Brewers in Shizuoka Prefecture seem to have mastered the still new brand of Homare Fuji sake rice. They easily porduce as high as a level as Junmai Ginjyou with happy results.
This very brew, in spite of its strength, is particularly suited to food.
A sake for lovers of strong sake with a character!

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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, 農業, Fruit, Gastronomy, Iwata City, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

Nashi-Japanese Pears at Ichikawa Garden in Iwata City!

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Two generations of Japanese Pear growers: Takeshi and his parents, Toshiyuki and Kumiko Ichikawa/市川、利行、久美子さん!

Nashi/梨/called Japanese Pears, Nashi Pears or Sand Pears and many other names are the fruit of hot summers par excellence!
One has to bite into one of these crunchy and extremely juicy, and absolutely delicious, fruits once to understand why Nashi Pears are also venerated as the true fruits of life!

It was another blinding hot day again yesterday and I was certainly grateful for Takeshi San to come all the way to Toyoda Cho Station and then to take me all the way again to their fields and house!
The same fields are heavily protected by nets for all kinds of obvious natural reasons!

Housui Pears/豊水梨!

The Ichikawas mainly grow two varieties of nashi pear, Housui/豊水 and Kosui/辛水, the former ripening in August and September and the latter in full production right now.
Both are extremely juicy and tasty!

Hosui Pear, still comparatively small.

Kosui Pears/辛水梨!

The Kosui Pears are lighter in color wth a different skin pattern.

Growing nashi pears organically at sea level is practically impossible but all that grass proves that the Ichikiwas use only the strict minimum of pesticides! Actually, they have cut all ties with official “Agriculture Associations” so as to conduct the agriculture they think is right!

A lot of pears fall naturally and they will be included with other natural fertilizer to be mixed with the soil when they till the ground between the trees in winter.

I can assure you it is tough work to keep these orchards clean in their three locations for a total of 40 acres, what with typhoons and other unpredictable weather conditions!

For all the hard work harvesting lettuces in winter, corn in spring, pears in summer and rice in autumn, they never stop smiling!

The crop of the day!

A lot of manual and mechanical work involved!

Takeshi’s father started his orchards 30 years ago and gradually replacing all these trees takes time and care.
The above have a difference of more than 25 years! The old one is actually about to collapse!

The orchards have to be protected not only with nets against birds but also with electric wires against civets!

Takeshi san took me to another field where new trees had been planted 5 years ago and bore their first commercial crop!
A lot of investment is involved there!

These new branches will be bent down into a canopy at head level for better reach and control!

These are actually a new variety called nikkori/にっこり that matures as late as October!

You will not find the Ichikawas’ pears in any shop as they sell them only directly at their orchards or from personal order!
Even so they have a hard time satisfying all the demand. A proof of the extravagant quality!

Already all packed and ready to go!
Don’t worry, I managed to get mine!
Actually I can help you get them personally!

As any farmers worth their salt, the Ichikawas grow all kinds of vegetables for their own use and extra earnings!
I took a big batch of those beautiful okra back home!

To be continued…

ICHIKAWA GARDEN
Takeshi Ichikawa/Chouchou Farm
438-0804 Shizuoka Ken, Iwata Shi, Kamo, 200
静岡県磐田市加茂２００
Tel/Fax: 0538-34-0629
Mobile: 080-1614-2271

Lettuce: October~April
Corn: June~July (May for greenhouse)
Japanese pears/nashi: August~September
Rice: Middle of September
Other vegetables (please call for more information!)
Private orders welcome!

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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, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Izakaya, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

Shizuoka Izakaya: Waga!

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Daikon Katsu!

Service: Very friendly and easy-going! Slow food!
Facilities: Very clean overall. Large and clean washroom.
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Great list of sake and shochu. Typical izakaya gastronomy with a personal touch!

I’ve always been a great fan of Waga since it was open. Pity I cannot visit it often as it is just too near my workplace! LOL

The design is definitely modern and comfortable allowing you to choose between seats at tables, tatami (with dug space for your legs!) or at the counter.
Food here is definitely of the slow and attentive variety and generous!
On top of that the difference is made with some interesting specialties!

The o-toshi/snack coming with the first drink are worth a second look: salmon deep-fried in cornstarch served with fine ratatouille!

Small deep-fried renkon/lotus root sandwiches and mushrooms in sweet and sour sauce!

Like in any Shizuoka izakaya worth its salt the sashimi is first-class: madai/true seabream!

A Waga specialty: deep-fried nagaimo sticks!
The nagaimo being fried, it is not sticky at all, but tender and crispy! A discovery!

Another Waga specialty (you might do well to order it in advance!): Daikon katsu!

The daikon is first slowly simmered in dashi souip stock, then drained and cooled down before being covered with breadcrumbs/panko like for tonkatsu/pork cutlets, deep-fried and served cut seasoned with a personal dressing!

Another Waga’s classic: kabocha croquettes baked with tomato and cheese sauce!

Waga’s tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette is special! (at the back are three cups of different sake for comparison!)

For a better view!

The original arrangement will make you think you are eating two different kinds!
Incidentally I always have it for dessert!

Served with an original sweet seaweed sauce!

WAGA
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, takajyo, 2-1-20, Kuroyanagi Bldg. 1F
Tel.: 054-271-7121
Business hours: 17:30~23:30, 17:30~26:00 (on Fridays, Saturdays and National Holidays)
Closed on Mondays
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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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, 野菜, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Japan, Pork, Shizuoka, Tourism

Italian Gastronomy: Shizen No Chikara Garden Organic Vegetables and Mangenton Pork at Aquavite!

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<a href="http://shizuokagourmet

Service: Excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great and very large washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to expensive. Top-class Italian wines. Private room for~8 people.
no-smoking-logo1 Non-smoking at counter!

On August 6th, Aquavite opened the second page of their “Shizen no Chikara Garden Presents” Series featuring organic vegetables from Shizuen no Chikara Garden in Shizuoka City and Mangenton Pork from Sanoman Co. in Fujinomiya City!

As this kind of report is both work and pleasure I always sit at the counter to be able to share a word with Chef Aoki!

And like this focaccia with organic mini tomatoes I can see everything coming out of the oven!

Little beauties, aren’t they?

A menu was provided for all to consult and take away!

This was service, semi-dried tomatoes and mushroom crostini.

First pasta dish: Cold Capellini with organic tomatoes and Italian water buffalo Mozzarella.

For another view!
Lke all the vegetables of the day, the basil is organic from Shizen no Chikara Garden.

My piece of focaccia!

The antipasti misto!

Grilled eggplant/aubergine rolled in raw ham.

Kabocha pumpkin marinated in balsamico.

Okra and their flowers!

Potato fritatta and goya/bitter melon fritatta!

Okra flower!

The second pasta dish!

Home-made stamp pasta corzetti with oba/large perilla leaf sauce and sauteed shrimps!
That soft sauce was a beauty indeed in perfect coupling with the home-made pasta!

Beautiful finish as usual. The care of a great chef!

The pasta stamp!
Which means that each piece of pasta has to be cut individually!

The main dish!
Mangenton pork belly confit and Shizen no Chikara Garden organic vegetables combination!

The Mangenton having been confit beforehand, the fat was crispy and combining so well with the leaner meat without any fat dripping away!

This is what I call a flying tomato!

For a better view of the vegetable design!

I know you were waiting for it: the dessert!

For a closer view at the tip of the “fork”!

Blueberries and raspberries tart!

Soft red tea panacotta!

To be continued… of course!

AQUAVITE
Address: 420-0034 Shizuoka Shi, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg. 3F
Tel. & fax: 054-2740777
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00 18:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

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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

焼酎, 美食, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shochu

Shizuoka Shochu tasting: Sugii Brewer-Saisuke Shizuoka Imo

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Sugii Brewery/Distillery in Fujieda City has been noted for quite some time as producing not only top-class sake but alsoo shochu of a superlative level.
They also have the merit to use local ingredients whenever possible!

The imo, or satsuma imo/薩摩芋/sweet potatoes used in this shochu are exclusively grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Sweet potatoes (Shizuoka-grown)
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Kooji/麹: Yellow kooji
Distillation: Normal pressure type
Alcohol: 25.5 %
Bottled in March 2009

Clarity: very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Strong. Nutty. Complex. Hints of pineapple and dry bananas
Body: fluid
Taste: Strong but smooth attack.
Lingers for a while warming up back of the palate.
More complex than expected.
Sweet but dry on the tongue.
Pineapple, nuts, dry almonds, walnuts.
Marries well with food.
Drunk on its own or on plenty of ice mainly reveals a dry nutty, almost sweetish strong accent to rapidly grow into a very dry invasion of the palate.

Overall: A shochu more elegant than expected!
Its strong nutty taste is very pleasant and marries well with any food.
I personally appreciate it on its own poured over a lot of ice like I do for any higher quality shochu, although great with the addition of lemon or lime juice or mixed with Perrier water!

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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, 野菜, 農業, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism

French Gastronomy: Shizuoka Komatsuna and French Summer White Truffles

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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!

I’ve decided it is about time that I ceased to describe the full dinners of some of my favorite restaurants for the simple reasons that so many dishes deserve an article of their own!
In the future you can expect a full dinner (not all, mind you, especially for the new establishments I’m bound to discover) to be fragmented into delicious episodes!

The other day Tooru Arima/有馬亨さん surprised me again with one of his typical creations: Shizuoka-grown komatsuna and French Summer White Truffles!
The komatsuna/小松菜/Japanese mustard spinach (they don’t taste like mustard!) were organic naturally, and from Hirokawa Organic Garden in Mishima City.
Komatsuna is usually stir-fried, pickled, boiled and added to soups or used fresh in salads. It is an excellent source of calcium.
It is very popular in Japan, Taiwan and Korea and Shizuoka is a big producer and exporter.

Since truffles, be they French or Italian, black or white, are naturally organic, the whole dish can be considered as fully organic except for some sauce ingredients.

Tooru kept things simple by frying the komatsuna in olive oil with a minimum of salt and pepper.
As the komatsuna produce a lot of juices when fried, Tooru added lemon juice and fond de veau/veal stock to the juices for the perfectly balanced light sauce the vegetables deserved.
He then “simply” sliced plenty of those white truffles all over them!
Extravagant!

Note that he could have made the dish completely vegetarian or vegan (he would on request!) by replacing the fond de veau with Madeira wine for example!

To be continued…

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