Japanese Archives - - Page 4 of 8

Some hot picks for Kyoto

Every time my wife S and I go to Kyoto, one of our all-time favourite cities, we discover new things to tell friends and family (and you) about. One of the single most popular posts on this blog is our 2009 Kyoto Guide. Recently, we’ve been blogging about some singularly spectacular things to do in Kyoto, such as staying in the city’s most unique ryokan-style resort, exploring Arashiyama, learning zen meditation, or taking a cooking class to learn some great Japanese home cooking techniques. The following are just a few more recommendations to add to my always growing list of hot picks for Kyoto – awesome things to see, do, eat or buy in this amazing city. Continue Reading →

Haru Cooking Class: A lesson in Japanese home cooking in Kyoto

Japanese home cooking may be pretty simple, but if you haven’t had the chance to witness the actual practice of preparing the dishes, there are always nuances that are lost when you just follow a recipe. This is often exacerbated by the inevitable inaccuracies of translation. How you work out what kind of starch is used to dust tofu for frying, gauge whether oil has been heated to the right temperature for deep frying tempura or whether you’ve wrapped your gyoza correctly is made so much clearer when an expert shows you how to do it and talks you through the process as you try your hand at it. It’s doubly useful when the person guiding you speaks the same language that you do. This is why Haru Cooking Class in Kyoto is such a gem of a find. Continue Reading →

Pantry Basics: Roll Cake (ロールケーキ)

When my toddler, T, had his first taste of this roll cake his wee face broke into a wide smile that lit up his eyes and entire face. Like him, I can’t seem to get enough of this light-as-a-feather roll cake. Asian incarnations of the Swiss roll are decidedly lighter than their European forebear. The Japanese, in particular, have catapulted the roll cake (ロールケーキ or ro-ru keiki) into another stratosphere. Their roll cakes tend to be lightly, rather than assertively sweetened. And they have a soft, delicate texture and moist, fine crumb I absolutely love. I was heartbroken when the Arinco stall in the basement of Ion where I had indulged in many a salted caramel roll cake air-flown from Japan closed down. Continue Reading →

Totto-ed: Ramen hot spot with broth that you want to slurp and slurp

I spotted Totto from a distance by recognizing the crowd outside. Yes, it is one of those places that have chosen to forego reservations altogether, instead preferring to have a crude pen and paper waitlist. Located in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC, this place is touted to be one of the top ramen places along with Ippudo and Momofuku (neither of which takes reservations either). Continue Reading →

Zen meditation class in Kyoto

One of the things that all visitors do in Kyoto is visit temples. It is, after all, an ancient capital city with over 1600 temples. What a lot of first-time visitors don’t know is that many of these are actually subtemples, i.e. temples housed within larger temple complexes. One of the biggest such complexes is Myoshinji, located in Kyoto’s Northwest. It is home to around 50 sub-temples, one of which is well worth the visit, not because it’s the oldest or most beautiful. It’s worth visiting Shunkoin temple because of its charming and articulate Vice-Abbot, the Reverend Takafumi Kawakami, who leads daily classes in Zen Buddhist meditation. Continue Reading →

One day itinerary for Arashiyama, Kyoto

During our most recent trip to Kyoto, my wife S and I had the pleasure of staying in a gorgeous resort in the Arashiyama region. But whether or not you stay overnight in this area, Arashiyama is well worth visiting. Its history as a popular destination stretches back to the Heian Period (794-1185). Today, its combination of stunning natural landscapes, Tenryuji Temple, postcard-worthy bamboo groves, and a treasure trove of small restaurants and shops make this far Western part of Kyoto (among domestic travellers) the second most visited tourist area in Kyoto. Continue Reading →

Hotels We Love: HOSHINOYA Kyoto (part 2 of 2)

When you stay in a traditional ryokan in Japan, it’s almost always assumed that you’ll be having dinner on property. In many cases, the price of your dinner is automatically included as part of your room rate. And you simply don’t have the option of bowing out of the meal. At HOSHINOYA Kyoto, however, because the resort is both more modern and flexible in its packages and because it caters to guests that often stay for multiple days, guests can choose whether or not they wish to dine on premises. In my opinion though, if one stays at this gorgeous property, it would be a travesty not to have dinner in HOSHINOYA’s restaurant and to taste the truly exceptional cuisine of Chef Ichiro Kubota. Continue Reading →

Hotels We Love: HOSHINOYA in Kyoto (part 1 of 2)

Ever since the HOSHINOYA resort opened in the scenic Arashiyama region of Kyoto in December 2009, I’ve been dying to check into this very special property. While Kyoto, one of my favourite cities in the world, is home to both modern (Western) hotels and ultra-pricey, ultra-exclusive traditional ryokans, HOSHINOYA is unique in that it offers the best of both worlds, in a resort setting unlike any other. Continue Reading →

Friday Food Porn: Kakigori (shaved ice) with kuromitsu in Kyoto

Nothing beats a shaved ice dessert on a hot day. The gorgeous dessert pictured here is from a cool cafe in Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. My wife S and I are presently in Japan – taking a week’s break from Singapore. Continue Reading →

High-end Kaiseki kappo-style in Singapore at Yoshiyuki

Last week, I had the immense pleasure of dining in one of Singapore’s most beautiful new restaurants. Yoshiyuki, named after head chef Yoshiyuki Kashiwabara, is a gorgeous Asylum-designed Kaiseki restaurant. Hidden in a discrete corner of Basement One in The Forum shopping centre, this 20-seat restaurant is set to redefine the high-end Japanese dining experience in Singapore. And given the credentials of the team behind Yoshiyuki, I have no doubt it will be a success. Chef Yoshiyuki was previously the personal chef to the former Japanese Ambassador to Singapore. His partner is none other than Ignatius Chan, whose restaurant Iggy’s is ranked by several internationally respected authorities as Asia’s number one restaurant. Continue Reading →

Okinawan Taco Rice, one of the best fusion dishes ever

Okay… I’ll admit it. I was actually a huge fan of the fusion food movement when it first emerged in the 1990s. But I think that’s also because my first experiences with fusion food — or East-West cuisine — were with chefs whose abilities to pair ingredients from the Orient and the Occident were actually (especially in retrospect) pretty exceptional. I’m talking about guys like Peter Gordon and Roy Yamaguchi. And while fusion became a bad word for a while, because of a whole slew of not-so-talented chefs who threw ingredients together without really understanding them, today, combining products and ingredients from around the world has become standard fare for many of our most celebrated chefs. But what’s important to understand is that way before someone decided to label East-West cuisine, it existed. One of my favourite early fusion dishes, and admittedly one of the oddest, is taco rice. Continue Reading →