8.26.22
It’s already been a week since Father Ron and Koh returned to the states. My family’s visit made 10 days feel faster than it takes Father Ron to down an Amish market pretzel, and trust me, that takes him seconds without trying. It’s been a little lonelier, and some homesick feelings reawakened the night they left, but that makes me so grateful to have people that are so easy to miss.
Throughout their visit, they were able to meet so much of west Japan: Osaka, Hiroshima, the Seto Inland Sea, Kyoto, Okayama city, and of course, Yakage. And for all the sites they saw (and me when I tagged along with them) they ate like royalty. So, yet ANOTHER post will be dedicated to, you guessed it, food. At this point I feel like food’s been involved with all my writing…oops.
Osaka
Our big trip together was to Osaka, the third largest city in Japan, and what’s nicknamed “tenka no daidokoro” -- “the nation’s kitchen.” And we learned first-hand why Osaka deserves such a nickname.
Firstly, the teppan foods. Teppan is the equivalent of a griddle, but instead of flipping burgers or fried eggs, Osaka flips okonomiyaki. And instead of being hidden in the back, the teppan replaces a counter or table for the customer so food can literally be eaten off the grill.
But what is okonomiyaki? Put simply, it is Japan’s savory pancake. Now of course there’s a lot more to it…the base mixture is typically flour, egg, cabbage, and some secret spices which are mixed together before being poured onto the griddle as a CHUNKY AND THICK circle. There are all kinds of variations such as squid (which I got) shrimp, spicy pork, fried egg, but the best one is the pork belly version, as the fat helps make the okonomiyaki extra crispy and extra flavorful. This is then topped with a layer of brown sauce, zig zags of mayonnaise, a handful of dried bonito flakes, and some dried seaweed, ready to be pieced apart by the diner (who, at that point will inevitably be salivating over their food.) This is Osaka’s specialty, and the teppan place we went to proved this 110%. The place was legit the size of a walk-in closet, with only five bar stools and no leg space, yet HOLY COW when Koh, Father Ron and I put our individual first pieces into our mouths, we all just closed our eyes to appreciate the sheer goodness.
Our okonomiyaki experience followed with getting takoyaki–Osaka’s other infamous food. Usually golf ball sized and made with a flour/egg mixture with chunks of octopus, they are served in set of 6-10 at small street food stands. We went to yet another corner joint/hole in the wall kind of place where a granny was turning these takoyaki over like a pro. Holy COW once again because the outside was crisp, the inside was soft, and there was this other depth of flavor I had never gotten to enjoy ever before. Oh, it was also so fresh off the grill that it burned our mouths. But so worth it.
If I continue writing this in depth about all the foods we had, this post would end next year so a few other Osaka-only foods that we were blessed by:
- The go-to Osaka ice cream bar called “ice candies”... these were basically just milky popsicles but in the dense city humidity, they still hit SO. PERFECTLY.
- The Osaka chain, 551 Horai’s, meat bun…I was quite doubtful when in line because of how much of a chain it was, but one should never assume before taking the bite. Because the bread was soft, but still held together really well and the inside was steamy with a great mixture of pork, garlic, and onion. Superb. Especially wehn only $1.50.
- Chuka soba? I’m actually unsure of what it’s called. We went to yet another hole-in-the-wall type of place that did chinese-styled soba, and the egg literally GLISTENED. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it ended up being this ramen-esque noodle with lots of this chili minced pork, green onions, bamboo shoots and a raw egg you would just mix together. Despite having no broth, it was extremely flavorful and filled our then very hungry stomachs.
- Mouthwatering mont-blanc cake…we ate it for our mom as that’s her favorite dessert, but in retrospect I guess that was quite cruel of us because we enjoyed it for her. But this came after a very lovely breakfast of handmade bread, prosciutto salad and granola filled bagels.
- BUTTERBEER!!! We went to Japan’s Universal Studios (located in Osaka) and Harry Potter World was everything and more. I legit started tearing up and had goosebumps my whole time there. And in such a place, how could a frozen root-beer like drink NOT be magical, especially in 34F weather?
Ushimado
Onto our next stop…a quiet sea town sitting right on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea (as featured in the previous post.) Ushimado was a complete opposite environment from the ratchet hustle of Osaka with its ocean breeze, olive tree farms, crawling red crabs, and oodles of stray cats.
But yes. The food.
We came here for the seafood, and yet again, I had never had fish as fresh as I had it here. The sashimi (flounder, yellowtail, squid, sweet shrimp) was super meaty and flavorful since it was caught that day and a boat ride away from the minshuku we stayed at. We also had this karaage fluke that made puffer fish taste like Japanese fried chicken, and this came along with shrimp, pumpkin, and eggplant tempura. We also had this whole soup stewed fish as well as this triplet series of wasabi and roe flavored cold squid. There were of course other dishes, but these were the star plates. We definitely went to sleep with extremely happy stomachs.
Before our meal, we also had what’s deemed the second yummiest soft serve in Japan (I do wonder, what’s the first?) This was special to the Ushimado region because it was…olive ice cream. One of Ushimado’s agricultural specialities is the olive, so it was a very regional based dessert. And as unappetizing as an olive ice cream sounds (I also could only think of the super salty olives I take off my pizza slices) it was surprisingly so worth the try. It had this richer, deeper taste to the vanilla (I guess coming off of the olive oil?9\) and with some candied olive sprinkles placed upon the top, it was something that made Koh say “whoah wait this is actually good” more than 3 times.
We were able to experience two more places, though these I will only describe via haiku…the post is getting too long already.
EBI MESHI: Japan’s seafood shack? Orders passed and snatched in air; rice and shrimp grilling.
TERAYA CAFE: up on tera hill; retro, warmed, buzzed with coffee; one small sip of joy.
Okayama
It’s no surprise that Okayama, especially Yakage, spoiled our palates, our stomachs, our hearts with not only the food but the company and convos that came with the dining. Exhibited below: the highlights…
Asari soup and takikomi gohan: First, to explain what these are. Asari is a summer clam and takikomi gohan is a cooked rice mixed with various ingredients including, but not limited to root vegetables, seafood, meat, the works. This was our first meal together after 9 months, and it was the perfect way to celebrate our reunion. Clams were literally piled into a mountain in each of our bowls, and the rice was fully steaming and full of a very strong but calm soy sauce and root based flavor that made the bowl one fit for the Okayama deities. Our meal came together in a very untraditional way as well…the 51-yr renowned Okayama restaurant was recommended to me by Yuki for their infamous clear clam soup. Despite trying to make a reservation that morning, the phone would not connect. Turns out it was because the jiji owner’s back was hurting, so he had closed his shop that day. Yet, he still was willing to let us into the closed shop and make this special soup and rice for us. This act of kindness–by a stranger who had no reason to even interact with me–made the already extremely delicious dinner even more supreme.
Okayama’s PRIZED summer fruits: when boxes of a half-dozen peaches and a bushel of grapes are being sold for $30-$40 at the local discount supermarket, you know these fruits are something extraordinary. Yet, never having eaten them, I had no understanding why until…the first bite of peach literally felt like swimming in clouds of the perfect tart, floral sweetness and my first attempt at a muscat grape made me completely transform my dislike for grapes forever. Koh and father Ron should thank their lucky stars they also were here in time for the peak peach and grape season, as I’m sure they won’t ever have fruits as high quality as these.
Yakage fine dining with manki and james: where do I even begin!? James and Manki gifted us a dining experience–in Yakage, to my surprise–that I’d imagine a 3 michelin star dinner would be like. The moments from stepping in to stepping out was timeless, placeless, and truly an experience we had with food. Since I can’t describe it to its deserved capacity, I’ll just list out the courses so I don’t lose any more of that night (I’ve already lost too much.)
- Steamed squid, roasted okra and mini tomato vegetable medley, plated with a handmade pesto sauce
- Handmade ravioli with a shrimp, taro potato, clam filling, coated in a creamy beet and white wine spaghetti sauce.
- Home baked bread rolls
- Something I FORGET BIG SAD
- Grilled scallop with lightly salted and roasted summer vegetables
- Handmade spaghetti pasta with an octopus and spicy tomato sauce
- Peach and tofu vegan sherbet
Yakiniku: our last meal was owed once again to Ma-Chan and her wonderful, wonderful family. They took us out to Japanese barbecue–yakiniku–and we went to town on all types of meats, including but not limited to, beef tongue, chicken thigh, chicken breast, kalbi beef, cow small intestine, squid, cow heart, and some other kind of red meat. Let’s just say my sister and father were all proteined up to head back the next day. I’m typically not one for meat-eating, but getting to sit around a table grill and laugh, converse (or at least try), and learn about the yakiniku techniques with Noriko-san and Nana-san (who are pros) was truly the best way to conclude my fam’s time in Japan. How is it that Ma-chan always has a way to do so much for me every and any time?
