1) Men, udon, soba, pasta

Jaja Men

I’ve just spent a nice holiday away from it all in Iwate Prefecture in the North/Tohoku Part of Japan, in Morioka more precisley!

Whenever you mention Morioka City in this country, the Jpanese will firts say noodles, ramen, Ja Ja Men and so on!
A paradise for the Missus who is a me, vermicelli, udon, soba and pasts addict!

The picture above shows the Ja Ja Men, maybe its most famous morsel in taht field (I will write a more detailed report on my visit as soon as I more time!)

Yasai Soba Salad

Soba are next and this particular cold soba served with loads of finely chopped carrot and cucumber and katsuo bushi/dry bonito havings was simple and tasty!
The Missus certainly enjoyed them!

As for me, I had sake soba!

The small flask at the right contains cold sake. I poured it over the two-tier soba dishes. The sake will drip into the bttom dish (thrid one) and will be added tothe suace later. Served with mushrooms and grated daikon.
Now, that was a beauty!

Tororo Soba

Tororo means grated yama imo/yam. Another Missus’ favorite (I mean another “favorite”, not another “Missus”).
We ate that in Hiraizumi on top of a mountain!

Cold tomato Spaghetti salad.

I had this in the same restaurant, It was made with local products only!

Local Korean restaurants serve their own variety of “Re men/cold ramen”!
Very tasty indeed and always serve dwith a slice of fruit in it!

2) Sanma/Pacific Saury

Sanma O-tsukuri: plate of Pacific Saury sashimi

Although Iwate Prefecture does not have as long a seashore as in Shizuoka, it’s nonetheless noted for its fisheries, especially sanma/Pacific saury!

As it comes absolutely fresh in that Prefecture, it is best savored raw in season (right now) when it is “fat”.
We ate the above in a great little izakaya in Morioka City.
The fish was cut in almost paper-thin slices and served with grated ginger, momijioroshi/grated daikon with chili pepper and finely chopped thin leeks to be dipped into soy sauce.
A must for sashimi officionados!

3) Spiny Lobster

As previously mentioned, I’ve just spent a nice holiday away from it all in Iwate Prefecture in the North/Tohoku Part of Japan, in Morioka more precisley!

Although Iwate Prefecture does not have as long a seashore as in Shizuoka, it’s nonetheless noted for its fish and crustaceans, especially spiny lobsters/Ise Ebi/伊勢海老!

The above sashimi dish was served to us for dinner at our hotel in Shizukuishi, a noted area for skiing and hotsprings.

The spiny lobster is estremely fresh of course and its raw meat is very sweet, a real morsel here in Japan.
The fish are maguro/tuna toro and sanma/Pacific Saury.

A great extravagant combination!