The New Year is officially over. All the kadomatsu decorations have been taken down, and the kagami-mochi sitting in our front room have been whisked out of sight. But you can't (or are not supposed to) just chuck it in the garbage. It may be a bit dusty, and even mouldy in parts, but mochi is still food after all — the food of the gods, some might say.
What you're supposed to do — what they always did in the old days — is scrape off the inedible bits, break up the large round bulbous blocks and then grill or better yet deep-fry them nice and crisp. That's OK if you've only got one or two to deal with, but what if you've got a whole bank of them to get rid of?
As they do each year at Kanda Yabu Soba in Awajicho, where I dropped in last week for my annual toshikoshi soba pilgrimage. It's still probably my outright favourite soba restaurant in the whole city. Not for the food but for the stately elegance of the place, especially in the New Year when they have all their decorations in place.
I love the entrance, with its lamp and wooden gate, the flagstones that lead you through the little manicured garden...
I love the simplicity of the interior, tended with such care for 80 years or more...
I love the old-style ambience, the humble correctness of it all...
And I love the way the waitresses in their prim aprons deliver the orders to the manager, who then sings them out to the kitchen as if chanting sutras.
As for the noodles, well they're simple and good, not really outstanding but honest and filling, especially the kamo-nanban, which is what I invariably order. There's something about that combination of duck breast, negi leeks and the dark, rich aorma rising from that hot savoury broth, with the subtle citrus accent from that tiny cut of yuzu peel... I love it.
