tokyo food file

Why is this foreign dude wearing a Panama advertising Yoshinogawa sake?

Apparently, because actually he's gone and confused it with some remarkable "Western liquor" (maboroshi no yoshu). That's what the ad says, at any rate...

The sake is from Yoshinogawa in Niigata, which (the ad copy kindly tells us) has been brewing nihonshu since 1548 — longer than the country that this cat in the hat probably comes from has existed, of course. 

The bottle in question is the Gokujo Junmai Ginjo. A decent brew but hardly one that would confuse the taste buds of those of the foreign persuasion, surely.

And in case you'd like to read more of that scintillating advertising copy, here's a blow-up...

anpan a la Ginza

An afternoon rendezvous at the Ginza crossing, with just a few minutes to spare. That's just long enough to take in the Mikimoto window display, always exquisite ...

  

...then gawp at the cosmos — this season's theme for the little garden space in front of the store...

...and finally a quick foray into Kimuraya.

It's a traditional place — indeed, a Ginza institution — that's been in business for 140 years. The shop itself has of course been remodeled numerous times over the years but the decor tips its hat to its history.

From the very start, Kimuraya's best-selling item — indeed its very raison d'etre — has been anpan.

Anpan are a cross between a bread roll and cake, and they are stuffed like doughnuts. Kimuraya's are extra soft and fluffy — because they're made with sake yeast.

Originally the "jam" in the center was made from pureed red azuki beans. But these days Kimuraya stuffs its anpan with a range of different flavours. Among my favourites are the ichijiku (fig); jam (it tastes like strawberry); and the enigmatic uguisu, a green mixture that I've never properly identified.

sanma time

 

Autumn is here, bringing in one of our favourite fishes: the sanma (which translates in English as 'saury pike' or 'Pacific saury'). And with it plenty of puns, both in English and Japanese...

 

"Ichi, ni, sanma" says this poster, playing on the Japanese for "one, two, three"...

 

This teishoku set meal (above) at Ootoya costs ¥720 (including tax) for a whole charcoal-grilled fish, with rice, miso soup and a couple of little side dishes.

At En (below) you get slices of fresh sanma with an ume dressing.

 

In the shops, sanma are plentiful and cheap. In our local market they're three for ¥330 right now (though they were initially as low as ¥100 apiece)...  

...although the fancy stores charge rather more — ¥980 for two at Kinokuniya.

 

Even if you don't have charcoal, they're so easy to prepare.

 

You just clean them and sprinkle them with salt. Then under the gas grill at low until they're nicely browned...

 

Mmm... So good with a squeeze of kabosu — and a few thimblefuls of ginjoshu sake to go with it.

impassioned by (automotive) power

The sign says 'Since 1990'. But this is the basement of the new Shin-Maru Building, which only went up three years ago.

That's what happens when you get too impassioned — you lose all sense of time.

rice in the heart of the city

It may feel like summer still in the city, with temperatures continuing to hit the 30˚ mark (that's Celsius), but here's a welcome nudge to remind us that autumn's approaching fast...

In the heart of Ginza, the new harvest of rice has been hung up to dry in the traditional way, on sturdy wooden racks.

Not that it actually grew here. It's been shipped in from the fertile plains of Niigata, one of the great rice-growing regions of Japan.

The sign tells us this is a variety known as Gohyakuman-goku, a renowned sakamae — rice grown specifically to be brewed into sake. And it's been brought here by Taiyo Shuzo, the brewer that produces the excellent Taiyozakari brand of Niigata jizake.

But what's it doing out side the Oji Paper Company's poetically named パルプ会館 (Pulp Assembly Hall)?

Seems like quite a few people don't know/don't care/don't even notice...