two. ate.

My friend Ajiki-san and got together this evening to dine on some more traditional Japanese fare. She found a place called DaDa close to the Ebisu Station in Tokyo.

Miso oden, egg and daikon (image from DaDa's website, apologies in advance for nicking this...)

This underground (as in basement floor) restaurant is ambience central. You walk down a narrow flight of twisting stairs that opens up on a smallish trianglular room with a gently curved counter. There are a few tables off to the sides as well. The lighting is subdued but it's not so gentle that you struggle to see. The counter is lined with many large bottles of sake (and yes, they serve all of them...)

With atmosphere like this, the food is going to have a Herculean task in front of it...

...the food is straight-forward traditional Japanese "izakaya-style" with a decent concentation on one of my favorite dishes: oden.

Oden is chunks of different foods (daikon, chikuwa, hanpen, egg, potato (mountain and other), tofu and so on) all cooked in a thin dashi-based broth. It's hearty, satisfying, good for a cold evening. In fact, during the fall and winter, oden street stands pop up all over Tokyo offering a warm respite to passersby.

DaDa offers up three different styles of oden: regular (dashi), Nagoya style (miso) and Ume (pickled, salted plum). I had only ever had the regular style so I knew that this would be an interesting ride.

We both had never had either miso or ume style oden so we started with the miso style. While were were waiting for the oden to be prepared, we ordered a potato-mentaiko (spicy cod roe) appetizer and an order of miso kushikatsu.

The potato-mentaiko dish came in a big bowl with what looked like two tied cheesecloth bags floating in a light broth. The real fun started when we tucked in... I am fairly sure that the wrapping was a tofu sheet of some sort tied with a fettuccine-width strip of daikon. Inisde was a very finely textured mixture of potato and cod roe. The trick was to convince yourself that you weren't about to bite into a cloth bag....the covering gave way fairly easily to the filling which was rich in texture but light in taste. The whole thing was very playful. And extremely delicious. No one flavor dominated the mix of broth, poato and subtly spicy mentaiko.

The miso oden arrived and it looked like no other oden I have even seen. Perfectly cooked chunks of egg, daikon, tofu, chikuwa and konnyaku sat in a wide, shallow dish slathered with a dark chocolate colored miso. There was little to no broth as in the "oden no moto" (dashI) style. We comtemplated the dish for a second or two then started in on one of the most unique Japanese dishes I had in some time. The miso was sweetish and slightly smoky but never once masked the flavors of the main ingredients. We sliced and broke things up and nearly licked the bowl clean.

Since this was so interesting, we ordered a few items from the ume oden menu plus a shiso-mochi appetizer to end the meal. The hanpen (white, smooth fish cake) and yama-imo (mountain potato) arrived looking like the oden I'm used to: a literal chunky soup. However, the broth had an intense salted plum component to it that was fantastic. Not overly salty, it nicely flavored the somewhat netural hanpen and yama-imo. Sipping the broth afterward was a nice way to wash it all down.

The shiso-mochi dish came last and offered an interesting texture of sticky (mochi) and leafy (shiso) and crunchy (a bit of panko). It was small enough to not make us burst.

I am positive that there are other places in Tokyo that serve dishes like DaDa does but for this evening one could not beat the interesing and delicious food and atmosphere. This one will definitely be on a return trip.

DaDa is on the West side of the Ebisu station (on the Yamanote train line). Exit the out of the West portal and walk past the Tokyo Metro-Hibiya station staying on the right side of it. Cross the street at the four-way intersection, staying on the left side of the street you remain on. DaDa is about half-way down the block. You'll need to look for the Japanese characters "だだ". As usual, ask someone in the area where "DaDa" is if you get off track...

Posted by wjc at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I came across a beautiful set of vegetables at a stand/restaurant in Shimokitzawa on Sunday. Go here for some pictures. I was real tempted to have lunch right then and there...

Posted by wjc at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last year, I discovered Hiroki. Les and I were in Japan for a second time and we were lamenting the disappearance of the little no-name okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) shop just beside the Akihabara station which served up thick slabs of super-delicious okonomiyaki.

Hiroki popped up as offering Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki and so we treked out, nailed our target and had a feast. So it was time for a return engagement, so off we (I) go...

...okonomiyaki is known in the US as a "Japanese pizza" which is just about the worst description possible for this treat. It is literally a small, thin pancake topped (or bottomed, read on...) with grilled seafood, vegetables or meat PLUS cabbage, noodles and other delights. All of it is grilled in front of you (depending on the place: by you or by the grill-master) and slathered with a sauce that is redolent of soy and mirin and sugar.

Hiroki serves Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki which involves either soba or udon noodles as part of the dish. Kanto-style okonomiyaki omits the noodles and is more, er, flat...hence the "pizza" description.

The restaurant itself is very small (one review says "shoebox") but it's comfortable for one or several. There is a main set of seats around their largest grill plus two small tables with their own grills. The extent of "grilling-your-own" is limited to cutting wedges of your okonomiyaki with a flat, spade-like utensil...

Sitting at the main grill is a treat in itself. All of the action happens right in front of you as you see your order go from raw to cooked. I suspect that they do have an English menu but since I read a decent amount of Japanese (especially food-related Japanese), the regular menu is my meal ticket. There are many different types of okonomiyaki with a myriad of toppings: squid (ika), shrimp (ebi), scallop (hotate), mochi (pounded rice cake), cheese (!), lettuce, garlic (niniku) and others. You can also pile up multiple ingredients as well. Then you choose between soba (thin, buckwheat noodles) or udon (thick flour noodles). For this trip, I chose the ika (squid) with soba noodles. Six thick, domino sized chunks of squid made their debut on the grill first...

The okonomiyaki starts off with a ladle of batter swirled into a thin pancake about 6 inches in diameter. Your choice of noodles is then placed on the grill along with your topping(s) choice in separate piles. The pancake is then topped with an impossibly high mound of shredded cabbage and two pieces of pork loin, sliced thinly, bacon-style. That whole pile is then seasoned and turned upside down so the pork can cook.

In the meantime, the noodles are seasoned and flipped. The toppings meet the same fate. We're getting close to eating...

An egg is cracked on the grill and swirled into a 6-inch omelette (ok, a rough omelette) then the noodles are placed on top of the egg. The pancake and cabbage pile is pulled close and the egg-noodle pile is inverted on top of the pancake-cabbage pile. All the while, your okonomiyaki master is keeping the pile contained by scraping stray bit back into the pile to keep it round.

The nearly-finished okonomiyaki is then painted with okonomiyaki sauce which is a not-to-sweet mix of thickened soy, mirin and sugar similar to, but not as strong as, a tonkatsu sauce. Green onions and flaked nori seaweed are then sprinkled on top followed by your grilled topping. A little patch of pickled ginger completes the okonomiyaki as it's pushed toward you ready to eat.

Since the okonomiyaki still sits on the grill, it stays piping hot. You cut wedges from it with the spade-like utensil and shovel it onto your plate. You can opt for more sauce and a little dab of mayonaise. It's a messy dish so you really don't have to worry about everything falling apart. Relax, enjoy, watch the show of the other patron's orders....your last bite of okonomiyaki will be a hot as the first.

The taste? There are so many textures and taste all going on at once. You get crunchy but cooked cabbage merged with hot noodles and sweet-savory sauce. The egg adds a nice richness as well. The topping add yet another dimension. It's all very satisfying and delicious.

Hiroki also makes yakisoba (fried soba noodles with meats and sauce), small dishes of grilled mushrooms, garlic and pork and other nibbles that you can eat with beer while waiting for the main event.

Hiroki is in Shimokitazawa (下北沢) which is a few stops from Shibuya (渋谷) on the Inokashira or Odakyu train lines. (The Inokashira is best ridden from Shibuya; the Odakyu from Shinjuku, although there are transfer points between Shibuya and Shinjuku to get there...). Once at the Shimokitazawa station, find and take the South exit of the Shimokitazawa station, walk straight-ish out into the main shopping street. At a four-way, heavily diagonal intersection, turn to your extreme left and up the diagonal street jutting out from the left, almost backtracking. If you see a curry shop to the right, then you're on the right street. Hiroki is about 200 paces up on the left. The restaurant front has a blue canopy with the word "Hiroki" in white on it. It's across the street from a corner, open-air Italian restaurant. Since Shimokitazawa is small, you can also ask just about anyone in the area for directions.

Posted by wjc at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Tokyo food tour has begun in earnest. After a day of trying to keep dry in a somewhat rainy Shinjuku, it was time again for ramen.

One bowl! (image from Kazuki's website, apologies in advance for nicking this, I had no camera this evening)...

Kazuki Ramen is a small gem among many ramen places in Tokyo. I'm sure it's not the absolute best ramen place but to me it serves a pretty near-perfect bowl of ramen. There are at least two locations of Kazuki that I have seen: one near the Azabu end of the Hiroo suburb and one out near Yokohama near Higashi-Totsuka.

Want a steaming, comfrorting bowl of noodles? Here's what's in store...

...Kazuki has a ordering system typical of thousands of shops serving hot, fast and delicious food. You queue up to a ticket vending machine and insert your money then press the button for the dish you want. Out pops a ticket that you then give to the counter person. Minutes later: food!

The choices at Kazuki are many. The basic roasted pork ramen (char-shuu ramen) is inexpensive by Tokyo standards but it's much better dolled up with other ingredients. Seaweed (laver), shredded green onion (spring onion), bamboo shoots and more are available for piling on top of rich pork broth and thin, chewy noodles. My favorite combination is roasted pork, spring onion, bamboo shoots and a semi-hard boiled egg (a "seasoned" egg). Total: ¥1200 (about $11.50)

The broth is a rich but not too thick concoction that has definitely benefitted from hours on flame. The broth itself is medium brown and flavorful but the extra flavor kick is provided by pouring it through a smallish ladle of pork fat (of the same pork used to create the broth). You can specify "less oil" or "more oil". The difference is the number of times the broth is poured through the pork fat. The "regular oil" bowl (not less, not more) broth is a nice balance, so I opt for that. I have had the "less oil" version as well and it's good too.

You can also specify the softness of the noodles. Again, the "regular" style is best although I have had the slightly more chewy version. I still prefer the regular.

After settling down at the counter, it only takes a few minutes for your ramen to arrive. You get a wide and pretty deep bowl, steaming hot. All that's left to do is grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in.

Actually, before you dig in you can further season the ramen with a bit of crushed garlic, white pepper and other condiments on the counter. A bit of garlic and pepper usually does the trick.

Now, I cannot emphasize how hot the ramen is. One of the main reasons for slurping noodles is to cool them so you don't singe your tongue. So slurp with wild abandon - you will thank yourself for it. (One tip: exhale before you start guding the noodles into your mouth. Exhaling before will allow you to have the breath to slurp...)

Almost nobody (I mean *NOBODY*) finishes all of the broth in a bowl of ramen. You pick your way through all of the ingredients, slurping and chewing and ladling spoonfuls of the broth to wash it all down. At some point, all of the noodles, pork and other things are gone and that's around the time to stop. Kazuki's broth, though, is so good that you may be tempted to finish the whole thing. Massive fullness awaits you if you do...so be warned!

There is something very satisfying about ramen in Tokyo. Kazuki is my favorite and if you're in town, it's worth the trek.

Posted by wjc at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I cannot really believe that it has been two whole months...

Lots of things going on in the household...plus a modicum of cooking adventures. At some point, we have to post details about most of these (and pix too) but for now we have been busy with:

- exploring restaurants in our neighbourhood, namely El Titanic (a very unlikely name for a restaurant) which is a pretty amazing Mexican seafood restaurant.
- continuing to explore the Mexican markets in the area, Los Cuates which has a stunning selection of all things Mexican food-wise including a dynamite fresh salsa/ceviche/sauces bar and equally amazing meat counter.
- cooking everything from a cornmeal crust sea food pizza with a light lobster white sauce as a base, to a salted cod and potato gratin, to another batch of pork rillettes, to a very delicious black bean chiliquiles. Inspiration strikes and we set it off, devour it and then say, "oops, we forgot to take pictures for Two. Ate....". Ah well, it's all about the post-prandial dip, don'tcha know.

BTW, I added all of the older "Mise en Place" blog entires a few week ago. They're all sitting in the "mise en place blog (old)" category. Mise en Place was our first attempt to food-blog and I thought it made sense to include them here...

Posted by wjc at 08:42 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)