Noodlebowl

Koyasan

Dinner day 2, originally uploaded by snapperwolf*.

“Quickly Quickly, eat eat” We followed the monk garbed in brown down dark corridors, our slippers flip flopping akwardly against the wooden floors. Swoosh. The screen doors slipped open and we were rushed in.

Seemingly alone within our screened alcove, we perched ourselves properly but numbingly on the pillows in front of the many red trays and dishes. It’s a bit like Christmas opening up the lids of all the bowls and trying to figure out what was within. I try to listen hard to the guest in the other room who is asking questions in Japanese about the food to the monk.

The head monk pokes his head in the door looking for another guest, we point to the next door. He grins. The screen doors snap shut again.

I love all the food there, so many interesting textures and variety. The speciality of sesame tofu was great, but not so much the odd jelly leaves that aren’t quite sweet enough for dessert. I especially love the seaweed + rice combo for breakfast. A swathe of small nori that are used to envelop rice with your chopsticks to make little sushi bites.

By the end of the 2 days, we felt we had become part of the rhythm of the place. Morning prayers and news. A walk around. A nap. A walk around the garden. Dinner. Evening stroll. Early to bed. Nice.

Project 52: Week 22

Week 22. We have been trying out a new weekly cooking trick. One of us receives a mystery box of 5 ingredients and must cook a meal out of it using at least 2 of the ingredients from the box within an hour. You can also use any other ingredient in the house. J was first to receive the mystery box from me containing spring onion, dried porcini, pasta, lettuce and truffle pecorino. And this was the result! YUm!Check out Jess’s day at FushMush!

Sushi Komatsu Yasuke

Sushi Komatsu Yasuke, originally uploaded by snapperwolf*.

The first thing we did when we arrived in Kanazawa was to find out where this elusive sushi restaurant was. I had it scribbled in my notebook, transcribed from a magazine travel article following Tetsuya around Japan.

I practiced how to say “May we please have a reservation for 2?” in Japanese whilst walking down the street to the non descript restaurant sheltered in a business hotel in downtown Kanazawa. With the help of notes and sign language, we were granted a quick lunch date the next day from the obliging waitress.I felt like we were going for a job interview as we loitered in the hotel lobby at 11.20am ready for our 11.30 lunch appointment. A group of well dressed ladies that lunch gave us the once over and I wished I wasn’t wearing my regulation travel kit.Ushered in and seated, the waitress wrote down the price on a post it note and asked if this was okay? We nodded happily, quickly converting in our heads. A bargain lunch at $45 a head. There was no menu, only a 9 part selection chosen by the chef.The sushi spoke for itself. Each piece was perfection. The seafood so fresh and delicately seasoned. We were told what to dip in soy and how each had been seasoned. My favourite was the conger eel hand roll. The nori was toasted, the eel umami and the rice melted away in warmth. A unique combination of crunch, sweet and savoury delight.The theatre of sitting at the bar watching the master in action was fascinating. The deftness of the knife work, the precision of the seasoning and the repartee between chef and customer was wonderful to observe. The sushi chef chatted to each customer and I noticed that other customers were receiving different combinations to us based on his whimsy.Ending with a warm bowl of miso soup and green tea to warm our bodies. We were thanked effusively and bowed out of the restaurant back into reality from an efficient 40 minute visit into the world of high class sushi.

Project 52: Week 21

Once a week, we get an organic fruit and veg delivery from Lettuce Deliver. Its always a lovely surprise(not sure why its a surprise, since I ordered it) to open the door and see the box there with all its yummy freshness. We get a small mixed fruit and veg box that is sufficient for us for about a week of lunches and dinners from home. Sometime we supplement depending on if we’re cooking something specific. It’s been good to get out of a rut of buying the same fruit and vegetables - we are challenged by vegetables we don’t always think to get such as silverbeet, radishes, squash etc. I can’t recommend it highly enough

Check out Jess’s night at FushMush

Kanazawa: Kenroku-koen

Kanazawa: Kenroku-koen, originally uploaded by snapperwolf*.

One of the top three gardens in Japan.