Food Fridays - Kyoto
Three words come to mind when describing Japanese food: preparation, presentation, and perfection. There is a lot of care and practice that goes into creating these beautiful morsels. Although indulging in steaming bowls ramen was on our must-eat list, Kyoto's thirty-degree temperatures made us unable to resist the sweet temptation of cool icy treats.
Onigiri is a rice ball (or in this case, triangle) wrapped in seaweed and a perfect on-the-go breakfast to start the day. They come with different fillings and a very specific unwrapping process to ensure the seaweed comes out undestroyed.
This little gem is a matcha pineapple bun (we think). Very soft and full of green tea flavor and sugar crunch.
Baked goods in Kyoto are seriously good. They've perfected the ratio of crust to chew for French bread and then stuffed then with delicious things like bacon, potatoes, or cheese.
The thing to try in the Nishiki food market is this stand that sells various sized octopuses with a surprise inside. It was more interesting than yummy.
Parfaits are everywhere right now. This one has French vanilla and matcha ice cream topped with red bean, mochi, assorted green tea cake pieces, grass jelly, and whipped cream.
Shaved ice. A quick tasty way to cool down after a hot muggy day of travel. Sold in a multiple of fruit flavors (this one is mango) and a decent deal at ¥300.
Even shaved ice can get a little fancy. Strawberry syrup, milk, mochi, and vanilla ice served with a cold glass of roasted milk tea on ice.
Even though it's over 30 degrees and humid out, we still keep ordering soup. Umewakame (Japanese sour plum paste and wakame seaweed) with udon, sake-nori gohan (salmon flakes and dried seaweed on rice), and bright yellow Japanese pickles.
Kakuni (roast pork and egg with soba noodles), mentaiko gohan (spicy fish eggs and seaweed on rice), and more Japanese pickles.
Ramen. Jimmy's favorite dish. Ordered from a vending machine. My favorite ordering method. Musoshin's ramen is all about the soup base, so thick and rich it was almost like a drinking sauce. Our favorite ramen so far on the trip.
We went to this restaurant in Kyoto Station for the tender, delicately flaked pork katsu, but stayed for the free refills of barley rice, shredded cabbage, and miso soup. Oh, and unlimited pickles and whole self-serve jars of dipping sauces.
Yakitori, a.k.a. Delicious grilled chicken pieces on a stick. In this case, chicken and leeks, liver, heart, skin, and gizzard.
Ah, teppanyaki. An iron griddle incorporated into the table ensures food stays sizzling hot. We ordered a little gyu tan steak, or beef tongue, on a bed of bean sprouts.
These delicate dumplings from Chao Chao Gyoza are wonderful, but little (about the size of my thumb) so forget the half order and just go with the full one.
Tender beef gristle stew with cold seasoned cucumber pickles and miso soup, comfort food for the travelling soul.
A trip to Japan wouldn't be complete without sushi. We ordered a set assortment. Saba sushi - chub mackerel with salt and rice vinegar rolled in kelp. Maki sushi - shiitake mushrooms, kanpyou (white flowered gourd), mitsuba (Japanese hornwort), and sweet omelet. Hako sushi - the sushi variety pack of omelet, prawn, red sea bream, and roasted conger. And no soy sauce required!