Today Christmas has completely blended into Japanese culture. The triumph of commercialism is complete; there absolutely no religious aspect of the holiday except among Japan’s very small minority of Christians. Now new culture is invading here again from the West – mainly from America. It is Halloween. Window cases of shops and stores are decorated with Halloween characters. Pastry stores sell Halloween themed bread, cakes, candies and ice cream. Even a...
Read MoreMisho yuzu
It is not just yuzu; the very best are called Misho yuzu. There is a popular description in Japan which tells how long it takes typically for some trees to bear fruit after planting their seeds. “Momo, Kuri San’nen; Kaki Hachinen. Yuzu no Oobaka Juhachinen.; translated: “It takes three years for peach and chestnut trees to bear fruit from seeds, and persimmon tree, eight years. When it comes to slow-growing yuzu , it is eighteen years”. It takes...
Read MoreHarold McGee and all-in-one breakfast bun
We stopped at a local bread store for a cup of coffee on one morning in Kyoto. Harold was enchanted with unusual looking extensively displayed varieties of “pan” (the name reminds us that bread was introduced by Portuguese in the 16th century) or, as we call them, breads in the display case. In the case we saw so many varieties of breads. These included curry pan (a deep-fried bun stuffed with Japanese curry), piroshki (a Russian deep-fried bun stuffed with...
Read MoreSoba lunch; a satisfying one
Soba is always my preferred choice for a light and satisfying lunch. Which soba restaurant I choose in the physically huge city of Tokyo depends on where I will be at lunch time. Today’s lunch was at Nanaki in Ebisu (3 minutes walk from JR Ebisu station) because I was visiting my mom. My mom, who lives in the neighborhood, took me there some years ago. Since then Nanaki has been one of my favorites. The inside of the restaurant has an antique look or in a...
Read MoreAncient beef?/ Kodai-gyu
Today after meetings I stopped and shopped forsome healthy, easy-to-prepare food items at the famous Ginza Mitsukoshi Department Store food court. I wanted to buy some nourishing tretats for my mom who just returned to her home after one month hospitalization. On my way out of the store to the subway entrance I passed a butcher which had an unusual display case of beef (the photo below). Out of curiosity I stopped and stared at each of the large blocks of beef in the...
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