Kyoto Lunch

I have been in Kyoto and was enjoying some very nice food both at lunch and dinner time. One of my favorite restaurants here is called Mumokuteki. The food is all organic, looks delicious and is very tasty.

雑穀米 Zakkoku rice

Zakkokumai or Zakkoku rice (雑穀米）means “mixed grain rice”. The mix I am eating has a reddish color. It may contain akamai (red rice) or maybe kuromai (black rice) in it.

Delicious

Miso Soup

It is probably best not to rest your chopsticks across the bowl, called watashi-bashi 渡し箸, unless you are signaling you have had enough and maybe didn’t like the meal. I certainly haven’t finished the meal in this photo, but just wanted to show off the nice grain of wood on the chopsticks.

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Sakura mochi

I had some tea and Sakuramochi while in Kyoto. Sakuramochi is a type of wagashi, Japanese sweets, made from red bean paste and wrapped in a sakura leaf. Th leaves are normally dry preserved from the previous season. The Kansai sakuramochi is made differently to that in Kanto. Can you tell the difference?

Hojicha

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Margarita pizza with fireplace in the background

Went out to dinner in Ebisu with a friend this evening and enjoyed pizza and pasta at Mercer Cafe. Very nice restaurant with a real fireplace in the center of the room. The pizza was particularly delicious, thin and crispy.

Food in Japan is great.

Ebi pasta

Deserts were from another place in Ebisu, also very nice.

Mango crepe

Chocolate dessert

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Chicken Salad

A hot day today in Tokyo. I joined the ABCLoop team for lunch in Daikanyama near their new office in Ebisu. The cafe we went to is in front of Daikanyama station called “Sign”. It is quite well known and always full of people. Strangely, we were told smoking seats were inside and non-smoking was outside.

Everyone got to take a photo of their food.

Vegetable curry that looked quite spicy

More curry

Some chicken salad with background atmosphere

There was no lamb on the menu

Have you been to Daikanyama?

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Plenty of bread for those who want a break from instant ramen

It has been 3 weeks since the earthquake in North Japan. Whilst supplies are no doubt in short supply in the areas hit hardest by the earthquake we can see some footage on television of evacuation centers receiving goods and how grateful people are just to get the basics delivered.

Their was a slight shortage of some supplies in Tokyo immediately following the earthquake, but things are quickly returning to normal. The photos I took today at a supermarket were taken about 1pm, so the store had already been open for quite a while. As you can see the stocks are returning to the shelves in force.

Bread, bread, bread

Lots of different bread brands at differing prices

The milk is lined up and ready to go

Not that much water to be seen, but lots of great alternatives. I am a pocari sweat fan!

A few limits on buying up drinks in bulk. Good idea until people start to realize supplies are available as normal

Lots of choice here

Rice in quantity and quality

Instant ramen is making its way back to normal supplies

Some frozen produce

Eggs a plenty

Umeboshi and other goodies

I saw on the news that natto was in short supply, causing some concerns. Are you a natto fan?

Plenty of fruit available here

Tomatoes ready for the picking

Mushrooms and more

These look really nice

Fish going cheap at 98 Yen, that is about $1

Food piled high here

The healthy stuff keeps coming

Toilet paper back in stock

Nappies been missing from the shelves are now back

More rice available here. Buy it by the sack load

It is good to see things slowly getting back to normal in Tokyo. It is not that far from the earthquake damaged areas to the North, but was lucky to escape any serious large scale problems. Hopefully, people and businesses in Tokyo can focus on their work but also provide some assistance to those not so fortunate in the Tohoku region.

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Most of the fresh produce has been sold out here

A few people have asked me about convenience stores and supermarkets since the earthquake. Most people are calmly going about their activities, obviously worried about images they see on television from Sendai and other parts of Northern Japan. We are hearing minute by minute reports of trouble at nuclear reactors and seeing scenes of towns like Minamisanrikucho which have been literally washed away by tsunami waves.

A few items left, but mostly gone

Depending on what you are buying there is still stock on the shelves

Fish

Fresh eggs

People have bought up a lot of the water bottles that were here, but you can see there are still some drinks available

The aisle on the left used to have lots of instant ramen.

Cereals were on this shelf before

Here in Tokyo the scene is quite different. Apart from some isolated damage to factories and some buildings, most of the issues we are facing are nothing like those in the North. The supermarket shelves look a little bare at the moment, but it is hard to say whether panic buying or just lack of incoming supplies is the problem. People don’t appear panicked and a shopkeeper mentioned to me that the truck supplies just were not arriving at the moment.

In general, life in Tokyo is quite orderly and people are not causing a panic. They seem more worried about their friends and family members who are suffering near Sendai.

From Monday we are expecting rolling power outages due to a shortage of running electricity generators. We are being asked to conserve power where possible, particularly as business get back to work.

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Chocolate House

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Yudofu. Hot Tofu. Good on a cold night

Prawns from Setonaikai, eaten with the shells on. Very good and crispy!

Egg plant and asparagus in tempura style

Sashimi from Setonaikai hidden in onions. This tasted delicious

Kuri

Octopus

Yakitori from Tori Tori in Tokushima

Camel in yakitori style (without the tori)

Cha-han

Prawn pizza in Tokushima. Quite a different look for a pizza

Curry Udon

Japanese style steak

Wakame Udon at Naruto Bridge

What is your favorite Japanese food?

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The food here is very good. I tried this Thai meal which is always popular

Up until about 2 months ago I had never really appreciated the taste of beer. Thinking it was time to get better acquainted with what looked like the best way to beat the hot summer, I decided to try out various different kinds of beer. Starting with those sold in the convenience store and quite a bit of drinking alone, I soon decided to venture out to some bars for a more international and festive beer drinking experience.

A friend recommended that I visit this bar called Cataratas in Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya. The owners are very friendly people and have visited many overseas countries in their research of beer. An evening spent in their bar leads to conversations about their trips overseas and a look at their many photos. Thanks for the recommendation. Keep them coming!

Customers and owners of Cataratas pose for a photo opportunity

The atmosphere is super friendly. It is perfect to go down with friends or just by yourself. The staff are keen to talk about overseas travel.

The signboard outside competes with the other restaurants and bars

Cataratas has beers from all over the world. Each beer has its own special glass it is served in. If you ask the owners about the reason for stocking each beer they will tell you about where they first tasted it overseas and why it is special to them. This is more than just about drinking the beer, but also about enjoying a good story behind the brew.

A little bit hard to find, but worth looking for. Level B2 of this building

Sakuragaoka-cho, lots of charm, lots of action

This is a slightly difficult location to find, but well worth the effort. The bar is small but very cheerful. I recommend getting there early so not to be disappointed. For location details see the map below or take a look at the Cataratas web page.

Anyone know any other good bars in this area?

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Izumo soba

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World Cup winners

This restaurant in Shibuya, Spain-zaka is celebrating the win!

Spanish Restaruant, Shibuya

Spain zaka, Shibuya

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Pineapple Ice Tea

I was thinking of Hawaii at lunch time and decided to grab lunch at Kimuraya in the Ginza. They served up a pineapple ice tea which was delicious. I wish I was in Hawaii now !

Nice sandwiches to go with the tea

Kimuraya Ginza

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