Finished packing for the most part and hunger was setting in, so I walked down to MOS Burger and tried the new Tobikiri Hamburger with cheese. Not bad. From the brief examination of the menu blurb, it might be domestic meat. The cheese is white and melty like a fluid or sauce. The meat is brushed with a teriyaki sauce before assembly. Those who know me know I don’t particularly care for teriyaki-anything, but since this sauce was more on the salty side and less on the sweet side, I could accept it. It was good overall, taste and quality wise. Since it is gettng into winter, the salad fixings are getting rather unhappy – the lettuce is pallid, and the tomatoes grainy. Value-wise, it is about on par with other midrange Japanese burgers, in other words, a bit expensive compared to what you’d get in The States, and volumetrically much smaller. I’d still get this again, though I would have preferred the cheese being less runny. Continue reading ‘Last Lunch’
Archive for the 'Food' Category
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This strong, dark ale from Hitachino is in the classic stout vein, from the dark roasted malt and almost syrupy decoction, to the strong hopping. This stout from Kiuchi Brewery in Ibaraki Prefecture in central Eastern Honshuu, Japan was more in the vein of the heartier Guinness Extra Stout than the lighter nitrogen-charged Pub Draught Stout in flavor, body, and gas saturation. It was a different experience altogether from even Hitachino’s own Sweet Stout. Since this was my beer of choice at a “BYOB” restaurant, I didn’t have the luxury of a glass, so I didn’t get to observe the color, clarity, head, or carbonation. The first taste was very strong on the hop, but this moderated on subsequent sips, allowing the malt flavor to shine through. It was less hoppy than say a Deschutes Obsidian, but significantly more than a Guinness Draught. This would probably put it in “danger beer” territory for chronic light American lager drinkers. The flavor was initially very hoppy with a dark-roasted malt note. The hop flavor was flowery, but leaned more toward the astringent than the sweet, but it was only mildly bitter. The perceived dryness was added to by the carbonation, as opposed to the more mellow, creamy effect imparted by nitrogen in a widgeted stout like Guinness Draught. The malt flavor was not dark to the point of being “smoky” or coffee-like, and the mouthfeel was thick and spreading with a moderate level of carbonation. The hop and malt tones faded out evenly to the finish, the malt lingering maybe slightly longer. Continue reading ‘Beer is Good – Hitachino Nest Beer XH’
Stumbled across this at Foodland today and had to buy it. “Limited edition”, is this like the Beanie Baby tactics of the beer world? Anyway, I’m a sucker for a dark beer that promises to be good, since I like Guinness Stout. The draft widget one can’t be beat, except on tap. Anyway, on to this aniversary edition. Pours with a good head, opaque almost black, but doesn’t have the amazing inverted bubble action of the wiget or tap stout. Aroma is nowhere as intense as their usual stout. Taste is likewise. Hints of the classic smokiness. It’s pretty clean and dry, moderated bitterness that tapers nicely. The blurb on the label describes it well, “a refreshing taste, which underlies the complex flavor of stout.” I’d call it Guinness stout lite. It hints at stout, but lacks the originals intense flavor, creamyness. It is quite drinkable. I’m just about done with my first and contemplating another. No idea of the ABV percentage, stouts typically are low, I feel a good buzz hitting. But I also had about 3 shots of sake with dinner about an hour ago.
I’m not sure how to rate this. I’d take a draft Guiness over this any day, but it’s good. And as mentioned, quite drinkable. The normal Guiness stout tends to be a heavier slower drinking affair. And doesn’t always get along with food. I’d give it 3 out of 4 tipsy monkeys.
A few thursdays ago, Dave got the urge for pizza. And no, we did not want to settle for the ordinary Pizza But or Papa’s. And somewhere with beer is a definite plus. Fabio brought up J.J. Dolan’s, a less than year old eatery, located downtown on the fringe of Chinatown. He’d been there, but Dave and I haven’t yet. And they got beer. So it was off to find parking in the somewhat sketchy streets of downtown after dark. Kinda wish I didn’t have my bike in my car, should have left it at w0rk. Anyway, after scrounging up $6 in loose change to feed the parking ransom, I met the boys on Bethel Street. Continue reading ‘J. J. Dolan’s – pie and suds’
Speight’s dropped a dollar to $10.99 USD in today’s Foodland ad! I’ll pick up a spare case on the way home…
(0)Soup curry is quite popular in Hokkaido, a viable alternative to warm the body from both within your belly, and from your tongue. The name is an appropriate descriptor, it is somewhere between a soup and stew/curry. The broth is thin like a soup, but is spiced like a curry. It’s gotten so popular that like ramen, there exists a soup curry yokocho (alley) where you can find shop right next to shop next to shop all serving soup curry. This past winter I made it to Hokkaido to ride the powder and was fortunate to have friends lead me to one soup curry joint that was quite enjoyable. 
After that experience, everytime I went food shopping I’d keep my eyes open to see if some company would create a soup curry mix just like you can get the wafu style curry roux blocks everywhere. No such luck. I chocked it up to the thought that it hadn’t gained enough mainstream popularity elsewhere in Japan to gain the attention of the food manufacturers. Until tonight. Part of the problem was I was looking for the wrong thing. Tucked out of eye level sightline on the top shelf at Marukai was this small 6 oz. jar of soup curry paste. Had to pay attention as there was no English characters, but there it was. I checked it out, pork and chicken fat were the top ingredients, how can you go wrong with that? The only thing that was holding me back was the latest best buy date looked to be 5/30/09. Three months…. The stuff is chock full of salt…. The cap wasn’t bulging…. It should be okay…. Continue reading ‘Soup Curry!’
The next selection from Kiuchi Breweries, their take on the classic weissen, wheat beer. A light amber, pours with a moderate head that quickly dissapates, and like a good weissen some sediment you should swish around the last bits to pour into glass to make it properly cloudy. There isn’t an overwhelming aroma. The prominent flavor is citrus. On the verge of being sour. You’d swear someone already squeezed a lemon into your beer. There’s some pleasant floral tones hiding under there, but you have to pay attention. Clean finish. Dare I say it, it almost doesn’t taste like beer. Flirting dangerously close to a chick beer. Good thing I had this after my soup curry meal, I’m pretty sure it would not have gone well during. 5% alcohol content, not buzz packing juice.
I would have prefered a little less sour and taste more of the grain, but this is still a good drink. I would have to interject a caution of it may not go well with some food, it worked out well for me being almost a dessert after my meal.
3 out of 4 weissen monkeys.
I tried a Chang Thai Beer from Cosmos Breweries in Thailand with dinner at Saeng’s tonight. This Pilsen-style lager pours golden with a high level of carbonation. The aroma is peaty or musty, and the initial flavor is moderately bitter with a light malt flavor. The malt flavor comes out a little more in the middle, and the flavor tapers of cleanly. It isn’t as smooth as say Wernesgruener, but it is a very well mannered, easily drinkable beer. Tiger is still my favorite Thai beer, but this is my second favorite.
5.0% ABV
Recommended
Three out of four drunken monkeys
After last Saturday’s ride, I went by Hale on Makaloa next to the Ghostbusters building for dinner. I had downed some Endurox R4 after the ride, so I wasn’t ravenously hungry, but my body told me that I needed protein and the associated amino acids above and beyond what soy-based products could provide. They had a fish entrée and burger, the fish of the day being ’Ono (Wahoo). I went for the burger because the entrée version was startlingly expensive, and I wasn’t sure what some of the side dishes would turn out to be. Continue reading ‘Edible Briefs – Hale Macrobiotic Restaurant’
I had dinner over the weekend at a Macrobiotic restaurant, and they had several organic beers that I haven’t tried before. I gave this one a shot based only on the brewery name recognition. I’ve had a couple of other Deschutes varieties, and I have to say this one is not unlike them. On initial pour, the color of this ale was dark amber, almost red. The server tilted the glass and didn’t’ give a full pour, so it didn’t form a head. I subsequently rectified this. The carbonation level was moderate – bubbles continued to rise throughout the life of the beer. The aroma was hoppy and sweet, and similarly, the first taste was fruity from the hopping. There was only a faint malt flavor in the middle with a bitter note from the hops. The finish faded out on the bitter note. The overall impression was that of Obsidian Stout with a lighter roast on the malt. If you like Deschutes other offerings, give it a try – I didn’t particularly care for it. Specifically, I was disappointed in the underwhelming malt flavor, and the overwhelming hop flavor. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Deschutes Green Rivers Organic Ale’