Archive for the 'Food' Category

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Beer is Good – Yoho Suiyoubi no Neko Belgian Ale

Published on April 27, 2014 in Culture, Food, Review and Travel by risu. Closed

This is another beer that I’ve seen a few times but never tried. I came across it again while trying to search for Kawaba using “Japanese weiss” as search terms. I shortlisted it for a taste test. All I needed was the chance to get one, and on the way back from Noboribetsu, I got the chance. The “cat beer” can is unmistakable. It does make one ponder who the intended market for this beer is. The same brewery also makes Yona Yona Ale and Tokyo Black beer. Neither of these sounded that intriguing, especially when I already had some special brews from Noboribetsu Beer already in my pack, so I just got the cat.

Now as to the brewery, the katakana on the can has them as “Yahou”, like as you’d call out from a mountaintop. The website listed on the can is the romaji “yohobrewing dot com”. When you go to the site, they use the romaji “Yo-ho”. Seriously? Do they not know themselves what their own company name is? Continue reading ‘Beer is Good – Yoho Suiyoubi no Neko Belgian Ale’

Edible Briefs – Taiyou no Mate Cha

Published on April 27, 2014 in Culture, Food, Review and Travel by risu. Closed

The Coca Cola company has introduced a bottled Yerba Mate drink in the Japanese market. Sold as an unsweetened tea, there is no indication on the bottle that it contains caffeine, so you’re left to your own knowledge as to what Mate contains. The specific Yerba Mate they use is fairly mild: It is lightly smoked, so it doesn’t have the “green” taste of unsmoked leaves common in American health-food markets nor the strong smokiness of traditional Argentinian leaves. If not for the label, you might think you’re drinking a lighter houji-cha. I like it. The English, “Latin biorhythm Mate, Play! Eat! Drink Mate,” marketing text is a little weird though. Go figure – this is Japan!

Continue reading ‘Edible Briefs – Taiyou no Mate Cha’

Just a Little Bit(ch)

Published on March 3, 2014 in Culture, Food, rant, Snow and Travel by risu. Closed

Back from dealing with buffet sensou with yelling Chinese tourists in Noboribetsu.  Figured going to a less-known property would be a safer bet against the throngs of foreign tourists, but apparently where we went was specifically marketing themselves toward the package foreign market.  Onsen itself was not bad, though the scenery was lame, and the baths themselves set in the concrete industrial underside of the hotel.  Had some good gyutan for lunch in a new place in the basement of JR Sapporo-eki, North of the Mexican restaurant.  Dinner was at an unremarkable ramen-ya.  Organic, but not all that good.  If you like niboshi-based broth, you’ll like it, but if you lean more toward chicken bone or pork bone bases, you’ll find it painfully fishy.  I guess I’m not too upset I forgot both my camera and phone in the rush to get dinner.  It’s in Maruyama, around the corner from the second location that Bozu was in before he went under.  The place screams, “former salaryman with a dream to open a ramen restaurant”.  There was a centimeter or two of new snow in town, so that might be enough to get me motivated to catch the bus out to Kokusai tomorrow.

Wet and Messy

Published on February 27, 2014 in Food, Gear, rant, Snow and Travel by risu. Closed

The warm weather has made all the unremoved snow in the streets melt and the vehicular traffic has churned it into a brown slurry.  The snowpack on the sidewalks are corny slush in the sun or slick ice-slides in the shade.  I’ll never understand the half-measures in this city.  It’s not like it has never snowed before.  It’s not like they don’t have front-end loaders and dump trucks.  They’ll clear the center turn lane and the inner traffic lanes of a four-lane highway, but leave mountainous piles of snow in the outer lanes.  I can understand just getting some lanes open immediately after a blizzard, but that’s where the work stops.  They don’t clear the remaining mess in subsequent days and it just keeps piling up.  When the temperatures drop next week, all that slush in the streets will harden up into an ankle-twisting egg-crate of ice. Continue reading ‘Wet and Messy’

Beer is Good – Sapporo 2013 Furano Vintage Classic

Published on February 27, 2014 in Culture, Food, Review and Travel by risu. Closed

I didn’t get to drink this last November, so it’s been waiting faithfully in the refrigerator for me until now.  This limited seasonal from Sapporo Breweries is distinguished by its use of freshly picked hops (Tsumitate nama hop shiyou) grown in Furano, Hokkaido for a wonderful burst of Pilsen-bitter.  The decoction is essentially the same as other Sapporo lager products, so the taste-bud-pleasing maltiness is similar to their other products.  The carbonation in the glass after the pour is fleeting with no significant head, but there is still bubbling on the tongue when imbibed.  This is a very good production beer.  I like it better than the Suntory Malts Premium Pilsener, which is unfortunate, since I’ll never be able to get it again!  Launching at the end of April, there is a similar Sapporo Kuro Label The Hokkaido that is using both the Furano hops and Hokkaido-grown barley.  That one is both a limited edition and Hokkaido limited sales product.  With any luck, I’ll get to try that one too.  Here’s hoping! Continue reading ‘Beer is Good – Sapporo 2013 Furano Vintage Classic’

MOS Karamiso Chicken Burger

Published on February 27, 2014 in Culture, Food, Review and Travel by risu. Closed

Wow.  That’s the tenderest whole chicken sandwich I’ve ever had.  One of the current seasonal selections at MOS Burger is the Karamiso (spicy miso) Chicken Burger.  This one takes a little bit to arrive, since they grill up the chicken when you order the sandwich.  Topped with a special sauce made from a blend of three kinds of miso – spicy Korean kochujang, sweet Chinese tianmianjiang, and sweet Kyoto-style miso – blended with aibiki (ground beef and pork), carrot, onion, and other vegetables, the juicy chicken thigh sits atop cabbage in a soft bun.  The sweet and spicy sauce and the crisp, sweet cabbage balance the salty savoriness of the marinated, teriyaki-style chicken. Continue reading ‘MOS Karamiso Chicken Burger’

SLC sushi not myth

Published on January 20, 2014 in Food, Review and Travel by taro. Closed

We had rumors of Salt Lake City, UT having good sushi. So far in the years we’ve been visiting, it has not been so. Today we found some, you have to go downtown. Takashi I can report was excellent. Yes there was a fairly long wait, but this was a good sign. Our waiter was good, friendly, knowledgable in the menu and specials. The sushi and nigiri was excellent, included a number of selections ive not usually seen. Honestly it rivaled some of the best I’ve had. Only criticism I’d have was the rice was a little too mushy. Not the perfect balance where the grains were individual yet sticked together.
Aside from that I’d say it was worth the $60 per head bill we racked up.
4 out 4 finally sushi satisfied monkeys.

Horn of Wonder

Published on January 11, 2014 in Food and Review by taro. 1 Comment

Back in August I blogged about doing a job on Maui, what I neglected to write about was the wonder that is Stillwell’s cream horns. This past Thursday I found myself back in Kahului for work. I had enough time before my flight to take a quick drive toward Wailuku to Stillwell’s and pick up a dozen of their signature mini cream horns. These pastries are different from the cream horns I’d been used to from the Japanese style bakeries I’ve had before. Instead of a bready pan, it is a flaky pastry shell coiled into a horn shape. Then filled with a great custard filling, the ends sealed with chocolate, and finished with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. Continue reading ‘Horn of Wonder’

Maui

Published on January 9, 2014 in Food and Travel by taro. Closed

Pound beer, dang it notice too late they get Hoegarten, go to gate, no need wait, timed just right as end of line going in. See u at hnl.

Beer Is Good – Blue Moon Mountain Abbey Ale

Published on January 8, 2014 in Food and Review by taro. Closed

Blurb says something about dark Belgian sugar, so I approached with a little trepidation. pours a dark redish brown, small head that dissipates quickly but does leave some lacing on the glass. My sinuses are acting up so my taste is pretty muted. Roast comes through in aroma, but there isn’t a strong smokeyness. There’s a fair bitterness, but not a lot of floral. Guess it works with the sugar as the bitterness doesn’t linger as long as some other beers, and there isn’t the syrupiness that often turns me off, its nicely balanced here. Medium mouthfeel balanced with carbonation to keep it clean. A solid medium dark beer.

3 out 4 Belgian sugar monkeys.