Pączki!! Aoyama Farmers Market / ポンチキ！青山ファーマーズマーケット

photo courtesy of Miho

Life in Tokyo is not about doing exclusively Japanese things of course. Traditional international options, especially food, are available in great abundance. I found, In fact, that often times these items created or prepared with exceptional attention to detail and authenticity.

The day after tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras). Around this time of year, my Polish-American roots begin to scream out with a yearning to eat Pączki— those wonderful jam-filled polish doughnuts that make their rounds each year at this time, and have remained a favourite treat thoughout my life. Pączki happen to be one of those Western treats that are painfully rare in this part of the world, so needless to say, I was super excited to find a shop making them fresh this year! I couldn't miss this unusual opportunity, so I set out with my wife early this morning to go meet up with some friends at the Aoyama Farmers Market in the Shibuya area where, I learned, we could get our Pączki on!

These Pączki turned out to be of those items that are made to perfection with great care for authenticity. Somewhat sort of surprisingly (well no, not really all that surprising), these turned out to be some of the best I've ever eaten! What’s more is, these Pączki we're obviously fried in lard, which, in my opinion is the only way it should be done! There were five varieties available: rose, raspberry, prune, chocolate and sesame. Sesame, of course, is not a particularly traditional flavour, but I figure that since the more customary poppyseed jam is not available locally, this new flavor was born, which certainly agrees with the palates of locals.

After indulging in these wonderfully nostalgic delicacies, we hung out for a while to check out the rest of the farmers market. As farmers markets go, this is definitely one of the most gorgeous ones I have visited, even among those in America and Europe. The Aoyama Farmers Market was definitely a fun and very pleasant way to spend this chilly Sunday morning in Tokyo. I definitely recommend it!

Birthday BEEEEEEF! / 誕生日のぎゅ〜〜う肉！

I don't usually like to write posts that celebrate my own day-to-day personal life events, but this time it seems worthwhile and is relevant to the subject matter of my blog, so please forgive me for this Happy-Birthday-to-me post. Yesterday was my birthday, and to celebrate, my wife took me out for an incredible, amazing dinner!

She took me to Kagurazaka Shōzantei (神楽坂 翔山亭), recently-opened in the neighborhood of Hongō (本郷), nearby our home. This new local dining spot is a restaurant that specializes in very high quality yaki-niku, meaning "grilled meat" (焼肉). As indicated on the red Noren , this restaurant buys their meat by purchasing the entire black-haired Japanese wagyu cow (黒毛和牛一頭買) which means they can get very special and select cuts of beef that most places cannot provide. This also keeps their costs lower, a savings which they happily pass along to their customers. Upon being seated at our table, which was in a very modern-japanese minimalist style room, we found a selection of three dipping sauces waiting for us, and we were greeted with complimentary champagne in honour of my birthday, which was a wonderful surprise and delightful way to start the evening.

After getting situated, we got right down to business by ordering a plate of beef tongue, selection of specialty beef cuts, a seasonal veggie plate, some pickles, and I ordered a glass of shōchū (焼酎) on the rocks. The first to arrive were the pickles which were as delicious as they were beautiful, and this wonderful beef tongue.

The vegetables and beef assortment came next and I could hardly believe my eyes when it came to the table! Take a look at this dramatic presentation-- this is absolutely gorgeous and extremely appetizing, is it not!? Honestly this is some of the best beef I have ever eaten in my life. The rich flavour, juiciness and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness were absolutely superb! From this plate, I think my favourite was the "Sasabara" (さだばら), which is outer rib meat from the area closest to the thigh of the cow. This was so incredibly tender and juicy that it was almost unbelievable.

After this selection of beef was consumed, we order a plate of "Horumon" (ホルモン) which in English is called chitterlings. This was definitely the highest quality horumon I've had up until now.

After achieving full meat intoxication we wanted to round off our meal with a bowl of Rei-men, which is very-mildly spicy chilled noodle soup (冷麺). The noodles were light but chewy, and this dish was both delicious and very refreshing after gorging on all that meat!

The restaurant space, the food and drink, and the special time with my wife-- one of the best birthday dinners ever!

Can o' Bread for Breakfast! ｜ パンの缶詰の朝食！

"What's for breakfast?" This is a very common question throughout all parts of the modern world. I think, however, that one of the most uncommon answers must be, "A can of bread from the vending machine." This is exactly what I had for breakfast yesterday, though! Here is a vending machine I found in Inokashira Park (井の頭恩賜公園) in Kichijōji (吉祥寺). The products in this machine are called "Pan no Kanzume" (パンの缶詰), literally, "Bread Canned Goods" from a company called Okaneya. So I found this machine; what's the first thing I do? Buy one of course, what else? (^_^) There are four kinds of bread along the bottom for ¥480 (currently about $4.50 USD) each, and along the top, bread "sticks" (which appear to be more like crackers) for ¥250 each.

I chose the Chocolate Chip Bread (チョコチップパン), which is on the bottom left in the title photo; the other three options being Strawberry Bread, Milk Bread and Caramel Bread. All of these are apparently from from Okaneya's "Bonne Chance" product line. The can opens with a pull-tab and there was a loud pop-hiss sound when the can opened which seemed pretty promising, at least I knew it wasn't likely to be dry.

Here's what the product looks like inside the can-- the bread sits upside down in the can so what we're seeing here is the underside, and its standard bakery parchment paper wrapping.

 

Unfortunately I was not able to get the bread out of the can in on piece. I got the bread about halfway out, and I couldn't manage to free it from the can without getting it stuck in the rim where the pop-top lid used to be. Here's the bottom half of the bread with the parchment paper removed. Not bad eh?

So moving on to the eating part. I was not expecting much. After all, I just bought canned bread from a vending machine. How good could it be, right? Well, very surprisingly good, to be honest! The bread is soft, tender and moist but not at all mushy or overly "spongy." The texture is very similar to Italian Panettone. There is cocoa marbled throughout the bread and mini chocolate chips mixed in. I kinda figured this part might be overwhelming to the point where this experienced moved away from being breakfast and into the dessert category, but that was not the case at all. The only perceivable down-side is that people who really love their bread to have a nice crust would be disappointed, but luckily I am not too picky about that, and such a person would probably know better than to expect that from a canned good anyway. I have had a few experiences in which I purchased "fresh" bakery goods from a coffee shop that were not as good as this!

All this aside, this stuff can't be good for you, right? Well, I suspected as much and so I read the ingredients. Again I was really surprised! The ingredients included several different kinds of flour (including panettone flour which would explain the texture), milk powder, yeast, niacin, chocolate and cocoa! Then the last two in the list; not preferable, but expected, I would say, in a canned good like this-- Sorbitol and some kind of sodium-based preservative (I couldn't read the kanji for this one-- sorry about that). I thought it was probably sodium benzoate, but later I looked up the kanji for sodium benzoate and it wasn't that. I guess I should have photographed the list. That's pretty good I think! The product needs some kind of preservative after all-- the expiration date on the bottom was July 2017.

The verdict-- I would totally eat this again!I would love to try the other flavours. "In fact, what other kinds are available," I wondered. I looked up the company's homepage and found a large selection of bread AND also wine! They also make (not surprisingly) emergency food store items and supplies. Here's a link to their product line-up; pretty damned impressive! I also discovered that Okaneya has been in business since 1936 (昭和11年)! I guess they know what they're doing by now.

After yesterday's experience, I'm now thinking about trying an experiment-- see if it's possible to subsist solely on items purchased from a vending machine for a full day. Stay on the lookout for that in an upcoming post; I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it at some point.

Burger King Black Diamond Burger!

OK so I'm about a week late on this, but I wouldn't be doing my readers justice without a food review of the latest unusual offering from Burger King Japan, the Black Diamond (KUROヂアモンド) burger! I never eat at fast food franchise restaurants, so of course it took something as special as this to inspire me to order lunch at Burger King for the first time in over 20 years! So now I'm here to tell you about it!

As many folks already know, the bun and the cheese get their unique black color from being cured in a smoker fueled by bamboo smoke. Then there's the dark black sauce made from soy sauce, caramelized onions and squid ink! I had my doubts as to whether this would actually be good, because not only do I prefer to stay away from fast food like this, but I also assumed this would pretty much taste like a regular burger that's different only in appearance. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! The burger had a very mellow, distinctive smoky flavor that really accented the overall flavor. Whats more is that the taste of the squid ink was represented as well, bringing to mind the flavor of squid ink japanese pasta sauce; slightly salty and subtly sweet. I am surprised to be saying this, but it was delicious!

I think what surprised me all the more is that Burger King is pretty much a regular hamburger restaurant! The burgers are broiled when they're ordered and do not sit around under a heat lamp. I could see the staff preparing my lunch before me and I didn't expect that. Before today I hadn't eaten at Burger King in over 20 years so I'm no expert, but is this how BK operates in the U.S. as well? I always thought the sandwiches were made well in advance and kept warm. The food was made to order, which makes it slightly-less-than-fast food, but also made for a much better overall experience.

I guess my fast food franchise abstinence is now over, and I have no regrets. I definitely recommend this burger! Good stuff!

Salty & Sweet? Say What!?

Maple Bacon Long John
Glazed and Infused, Chicago

Do you like salty and sweet flavours combined? For the vast majority of westerners, the answer is a resounding YES! For this reason many visitors are probably surprised when they learn that this is a relatively strange concept to Japanese people.

In Japan, by and large, sweet goes with sweet and salty goes with salty; no mixing. I didn't think this could truly be the case at first, but daily life As well as talking to some friends and co-workers has led me to conclude that it's very true. One of my colleagues who was an exchange student in the U.S. during college even confirmed, "Oh, you mean like maple syrup and bacon? Yeah, those two do not go together." Gasp! What evil dost thou speak!?

Pancake Café Ohana, Sendagi, Tokyo. YUM!!

I obtained further evidence several different times while patronizing a pancake restaurant nearby my home. It's a "Hawaiian Pancake Café" so one might think, "surely they would understand this great marriage of salty and sweet?" Think again! On the menu is a smaller section for "on the side" items, but they're actually called "toppings" (because...what could you possibly want to order on the side, right? ^_^) One of the offerings is grilled spam since, after all, it's Hawaiian (fantastic, BTW, if you've never tried it). Every time I go to the restaurant I order something delicious like cinnamon-banana or caramel apple pancakes, AND a side-order (a.k.a. "topping") of grilled spam. Now keep in mind that there is also a main dish featuring spam because pancakes in Japan can be prepared either sweet OR salty. My order is not for the main though, just a small dish of grilled spam. Every time I place this order there's a sense of mild confusion in the wait staff's reaction (LOL!) followed by confirmation. "You want to order grilled spam? From the toppings menu?" (opens the menu and points to it...possibly concerned that I can't read Japanese too well) "Yes, please," I say. "Do you want me to bring it along with the other food?" To which I respond, "If you could please, yes." Finally the order is sent to the kitchen but still with a tiny bit of lingering hesitation.

This interaction does not bother or annoy me in the least; if anything it's a little bit amusing. It's a clear illustration, though, of how salty and sweet flavours are for the most part kept separate.

Reese's PB Cups mailed to me
from my good friend in Chicago.

So what are some other foods are caught in the crossfire of the feud between salty and sweet?

• Those Maple-bacon doughnuts that are so popular overseas
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (much to my dismay)
• PB & J (and to some extent peanut butter in general, but more on that later)
• Oatmeal (a couple of folks told me, "I might like it if it was salty instead of sweet.")
• Bacon-wrapped pineapple

There are surely others, but these were popular in discussion.

Royce Mild Bitter
Chocolate Covered
Potato Chips

For the sake of thoroughness, I need to mention that I've been seeing a subtle, gentle shift toward acceptance. I've noticed, for example, that "ham and pineapple" ("Hawaiian") has been added as a choice on the menu at the famous national pizza delivery chain, Pizza-La. Snack foods like chocolate covered pretzels, honey roasted peanuts, and chocolate dipped potato chips have also fallen to favor recently. The explosive popularity of Chicago's well-known Garrett's Popcorn has also led thousands of Tokyo residents to enjoy the delight of Chicago Mix (caramel corn mixed with cheese corn). Maybe the future is looking up for salty and sweet in Japan after all?

Skippy Peanut Butter
The price is the same
as in the U.S. but the
jar is half the size!

Finally, back to peanut butter. Luckily for visitors and foreign residents alike, peanut butter imported from the US, both smooth and chunky, is available at almost every supermarket. Hopefully you like Skippy, because that's the only game in town (thankfully, it's my favorite). From what I can tell, however, this is primarily seen as a food for children. I don't know anyone else my own age who eats it. One should also note that this product should not be confused with the local product, Peanut Cream (ピーナッツクリーム). Peanut Cream is much softer, thinner consistency and much sweeter flavour, it's not really very similar to peanut butter. For me, both are absolutely delicious so I like to keep some of each around the house!

It would be false to say that it's impossible to get your sweet and salty fix in Japan, but it's far from commonplace. That which you will find is most likely imported from overseas or has its origins there. When all else fails there's always the option of getting in the kitchen and making it ourselves. (^o^)

Biwa / ビワ

Today my wife brought home a package of fresh "Biwa" (ビワ) which I had never seen or heard of before. Wikipedia taught me that in English they're called Japanese Loquats. Any of my readers ever had these before!? They're wonderful! To give you a sense of scale, the dish they're sitting on is smaller than your average teacup saucer, so they're aren't very big. The flavor is somewhat delicate-- sort of like a mixture of persimmon and fresh apricot. The skin peels over very easily and they flesh is extremely juicy with a texture that's similar to a ripe red or black plum. There are three or four large shiny pits inside. These are delicious!! Moar please!

Kit Kat Pizza!?

Just this morning I posted about Japan's Kit Kat Culture, and then this flyer for a restaurant chain called Napoli Pizza came in the mail this afternoon! What we're looking at here is their "Adults' Dolce Pizza" topped with mangoes and those Toaster Kit Kats I wrote about in my previous post! Wow! Actually it sounds kinda good! This is another fine example of how serious we take our Kit Kat Culture here in Japan! 

Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 3

Go back to Enoshima / 江ノ島, part 2
The climb back up to the top of the island was a bit more challenging than the first time around. Despite being located in the Kantō region, Enoshima is quite a ways south of Tokyo, and it was getting hot outside. On top of that, I was getting hungry and thirsty. I stopped for another short rest in the gardens at the summit before continuing my journey.

While making my descent, I had one thing on my mind: ice cream! I was certainly not disappointed. I found a charming cafeteria called Enoshima Café, and their specialty is Enoshima coffee softserve (江ノ島珈琲ソフト)! I found a shaded table in the outdoor seating area and enjoyed the creamy frozen deliciousness while taking in the sights and doing a little people-watching.

Soon afterward I was ready for something a bit more substantial, so I headed for the beachside boardwalk. After doing a little shopping for some souvenirs to bring back home, I grabbed a table at a vendor who was making freshly grilled shellfish. I happen to be a real sucker for fresh clams (はまぐり / Hamaguri), and when I saw them I could not hold back despite their crazy price tag (¥1600 / $16 per serving [2 clams]). I also ordered a bottle of the local microbrew, Enoshima Beer, to go with them.

The Hamaguri were amazing!! They were freshest I've ever eaten (caught just several hours prior) and were plump, juicy and chewy yet tender, just they way the finest shellfish should be. 2 clams might not sound filling, but I was surprised to find myself feeling quite full. The beer was also wonderful-- like a full-bodied summer ale. I subsequently came to learn that Enoshima Beer won a special award in Japan's national craft beer championship.

Feeling content and happy, I decided it was time to head for the beach, taking the rest of my beer with me. I took off my shoes, rolled up my slacks, and enjoyed the long overdue feeling of the sand and sea on my feet. The chilly ocean water, the sound of the waves, the sight of children picking up seashells and the oceanfront views surrounded me. As I drank down the last few sips of my beer, I realized that this had really been a fantastic day!

I leisurely strolled around for a while longer, making sure to enjoy my time to the fullest. Finally, it started to get dark outside, so I figured it was time to get on the Enoden (short for 江ノ島電鉄線 / Enoshima Dentetsusen / Enoshima Railway) and start heading back home to Tokyo feeling relaxed, refreshed and elated.