Maybe it's because I don't usually go along this street at lunch time, but I've just noticed that Warung Bintang now has a cute little hawker's street cart outside.
It's advertising the daily set lunch menu, which apparently includes a couple of cans of beer...
These photos were taken just after lunchtime, which is why the sign says "Tutup", which of course means "closed" — from the bahasa pronunciation of "Shut Up" (yes, lame joke...)
UPDATE: Warung Bintang is now closed
Buri-daikon – simmered buri yellowtail with a hearty chunk of daikon cooked down in a rich savoury shoyu broth. It's one of the classic dishes of winter, the kind that warms the heart as well as the stomach.
It also goes exceptionally well with sake...
We did a small comparison tasting of these two fine fellows. Two different high-octane nama genshu brews from Oroku (Shimane):
What else did we eat? Well, this was our last stop of the evening, after dropping into a number of other places. So we kept it simple: an kimo (monkfish liver) in ponzu. Because it's the season. Because it's one of my all-time favourite foods...
...and because it goes so well with sake.
If there's a problem with Kuri, it's that there's too much choice. This was the range that they currently have in stock from just one kura (Zaku, in Mie-ken). At least you can choose if you want a taster, a glass or a full ichigo (180 ml) flask.
Powerful stuff. And a very fine nightcap.
I posted about Kuri when the Ginjo Bar was held there. I also mentioned it in my JT column.
Here is Kuri's home page...
And here's a map link...
It's harvest time for these sea vegetables...
The wakame is hauled in by boat, then dipped briefly into boiling water, which turns it a bright green colour...
When it's freshly blanched like this you can eat it just the way it is — though a little seasoning helps — or even grilled over charcoal.
Then it's pegged up to dry in the winter sun. It always tastes better if the male workers wear blue waders, the women red coats, and the pegs are sky blue...
I love the colour of the wakame as the sun shines through it...
When it's dry, though, it shrivels up until it's almost black. That's the way it's sold in the shops.
As mentioned in my last post, I have cooked and eaten sea vegetables for longer than 30 years. But until the other day I had never eaten — or even witnessed — charcoal-grilled wakame.
Harvested from the bottom of the Miura Peninsula, this wakame was anointed with plenty of olive oil and served with bacon and shirasu (whitebait), with a few pumpkin seeds sprinkled on for good measure. Tasty.
The venue was Charcoal Bar Green, in Yokohama, close to Ishikawacho JR Station.
It's one of the few places in that area worth stopping off in, especially as they serve Baird beer.
Here's a link to their site...
And here's a map link...
I have cooked or eaten seaweed — sea vegetables, properly said — almost daily for longer than 30 years now. I see them being harvested and dried, and on sale in shops and markets. They are an integral part of daily life.
But I've never seen seaweed look as beautiful and mysterious as this...
These photos are part of a series of x-rays of flowers by Hugh Turvey, which I first found on the Daily Telegraph site, over here...
The actual photos I borrowed from trendland, where you can also see the whole series in their full glory...
Food writer and restaurant reviewer for the Japan Times contact: foodfile (at) me (dot) com
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