A few snaps from the robata restaurant where we feasted on hokke, pork sirloin, green onion, and grilled potato.





[1-3. c. lynn]

I had to post about this amazing tempura (天ぷら) restaurant that was recommended to us on our first night in Sapporo. Ebi-ten serves up the most delicious tempura that I've had—just as amazing as the tempura that we once had in Kyoto at Ten-ichi (a high-end tempura restaurant that Clinton visited during a presidential trip to Japan).

At Ebi-ten, we enjoyed the Hokkaido tempura set meal, which included the most delicate squid tempura, as well as tempura kabocha (カボチャ) or winter melon, succulent hotate (ほたて) or scallop, potato, salmon, Hokkaido surf clam or hokkigai (ほっきがい), and shungiku (春菊) or garland chrysanthemum. We also had to order the kuruma ebi (くるまえび) or Japanese imperial prawn, which is served as a piece of tempura prawn accompanied by a tiny popcorn-sized tempura prawn head (atama, あたま). I firmly believe that I could eat these by the bowlful, which makes me wonder about how potentially delicious crickets and grasshoppers could be served in the tempura style. 

(Below: The ultimate onion ring: a tempura pearl onion)




[1-4. c. lynn]

From Nanjing, we took the high-speed train to Shanghai. The train ride used to take upwards of 4 hours, and now, they've shaved it down to one and a half hours. Here we are clocking in at around 215 miles/hour.

Our stop in Shanghai was brief but we managed to pack in a lot. First things first, there was a trip to the Din Tai Fung for the best xiaolongbao (Shanghai soup dumplings) in town. Did you know that you can now get these delicious pork soup filled dumplings at their L.A. or Seattle branches? How lucky for us!




[1. J. Aaron Farr; 2. AA, 3. c. lynn, 4. AA]

We feasted on the most delicious Chinese noodle dish at Suzuran (中華そば すずらん) in Shibuya today. It is called zha jiang mian (炸酱面) or fried sauce noodles. The noodles are handmade and the sauce is very savory with soybean paste, green onion, ground pork and flecks of hot pepper. The version we ordered was served cold, so I can only imagine how heavenly this dish would be served warm. However, I'm one to eat leftover Chinese food right out of the fridge—so it didn't matter to me!

[1-2. c. lynn]

 

We visited Kappabashi-dori (or kitchen town) near Asakusa earlier this afternoon. This kitchen supply store-lined street reminds me of the restaurant supply district on the Bowery in New York and boasts an enormous assortment of inedible plastic display food (sampuru) that is commonly found outside restaurants in Japan. There are composed popular dishes like katsu karē (カツカレー^?) or breaded pork cutlet over curry and rice, ramen, and agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) or fried tofu with hot broth. They also have a variety of sliced meats for shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ) ,restaurants as well as sliced fruits, scoops of ice cream, mixed drinks, sushi rolls, glass of beer, etc.

It was pretty wild to see all of the fake food in the same room and the level of detail was astounding. One of the cucumber and tomato sandwiches actually had visible tomato seeds from the side view. The manufacturers are also known to custom-tailor the sampuru to reflect each restaurant's specialty. According to wikipedia, many of the fake food manufacturers fiercely guard their industry replication secrets and some extraordinary examples of sampuru have been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in Britain.

I was hoping to pick up a bunch of reproduction food for my friend's daughter and her play kitchen, but everything was pretty pricey; apparently the plastic food reproduction in Japan is a multi-billion dollar industry.


[1. c. lynn]

For its May issue, Apartamento magazine teamed up with DesignMarketo to create a pop-up art installation/cookery workshop/design store called FoodMarketo featuring the work of over thirty international artists and designers. Contributors designed kitchen tools, gadgets, and food-inspired art; all of which are now available at the online shop for a limited time.

Some of the design objects are quite clever: a cutting board that comes pre-soaked in a beet-like hue, a light fixture seemingly cobbled from clementine cartons, a slanted knife block that flips on its side to double as a cutting board, a beautiful reverse imprint of a cauliflower, and, of course, a clever save-the-world tote bag.

[1-5. FoodMarketo]

This work week has been such a whirlwind. I've been pulling open the shades each morning to reveal light gray skies and I can't even begin to explain how much I miss all of the shades of green that I saw in Portland.

However, it would be unfair not to mention that despite the weather, there are still many good things going on here, including a brilliant eggplant parmesan recipe that I tried out recently from Food52, a new favorite food blog of mine. The secret to this recipe is that the lightly dredged layers of eggplant are baked instead of being fried in oil and that there's only one layer of creamy mozzarella cheese in the center, which makes this dish a lot less work and much healthier; a maximum return on your effort without worrying about future dates with the gym. We've been working on our leftovers for a week already and it has only gotten better.

[1. Sarah Shatz for Food 52]

I think one of the best things that we learned about Portland on our scouting trip was that the people here know good food and appreciate eating locally, sustainably, and seasonally. We never picked a mediocre restaurant and we embraced all of the sultry winter flavors served up in a range of inventive ways at each place we visited. Food, as you can tell, is a pleasure for us and its high on our list of criteria for places we could possibly live.

One of the places that we tried for dinner upon the insistence of friends, is Park Kitchen. We devoured a chestnut ravioli with cranberries and red cabbage, black cod with potato gratin and oyster sauce, a shaved apple and toasted hazelnut salad, and a few pieces of xocolatl de David.

We also gobbled up tasty pollo verde tacos at Por Que No? tacqueria on Hawthorne. The atmosphere of this popular taco spot was lively and casual with recycled and thrift store elements sprinkled throughout the decor.

For a comforting bowl of tomato soup paired with a classic grilled cheese sandwich, we tried Blueplate lunch counter, a homey luncheonette that specializes in milk shakes with local Cascade Glacier ice cream.

For a range of festive holiday beers, we tried Henry's 12th Street Tavern which has over 100 craft beer on tap and very inexpensive happy hour dishes (think $2 melted Reuben sandwiches). Henry's tavern now operates inside of the same building that used to house the Blitz-Weinhard Brewery which produced quality beer for over 140 years.

We tried Ten 01 in the Pearl District and were treated to the tastiest northwest oysters (my favorite), a delicious roasted chicken with celery root-butternut squash risotto, a beet salad, handmade black pepper fettuccine, and chocolate peanut butter bread pudding with pretzel bark and malted ice cream. Oh yes it was good.

I should also mention Mother's bistro, which we visited post-Christmas for the perfect holiday hangover Bloody Mary.

[Park Kitchen]

I’ve been a subscriber to Marlow & Sons’ Diner Journal since 2007. The journal is upscale served downtown, with an unmistakably artisanal nod to recipes and local farms alongside all the nitty gritty details in that fresh Brooklyn aesthetic. Interesting food issues, edgy food photography, and feasts that you can recreate on your own makes this subscription worth it. Subscribe here.

[1-3. The Diner Journal]

Heirloom tomatoes have made their way to the market and so I decided to whip up a simple spaghetti dish with heirloom tomatoes, toasted bread crumbs, and mozzarella cheese. All A had to say was, and I quote, "this is fantasy pasta." The fresh tomatoes simmer down to a velvety sauce and the addition of the bread crumbs gives the pasta the comforting feel of a crunchy baked outer edge. I worked off a recipe from Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Put a large pot of heavily salted water on to boil over high heat.
2. Toss about 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs with a teaspoon olive oil, spread them on a baking sheet, and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown.
3. Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and add a sprig of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of thyme, and let them sizzle. Add 3 chopped shallots and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium and add 5 smashed garlic cloves and cook another 3 or 4 minutes.
4. Drop pasta in the water and cook until al dente.
5. Turn up the heat on the onions and add 2 cups of chopped ripened heirloom tomatoes with 2 pinches of salt and a couple turns of the pepper mill. Stir the tomatoes often and cook about 8 minutes until juices of tomatoes are released.
6. When pasta is al dente, drain reserving about a 1/2 of the pasta water and add both the pasta and the reserved water to the tomato sauce that has reduced. Toss well and cook over medium heat for another 2 minutes until the pasta water boils off. Turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup chopped basil, 1/2 cup cubed mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs. Toss to combine and transfer to a warm pasta bowl.



[1-4. c. lynn]

Last weekend's birthday party was a fantastic success. We served a pineapple sangria, champagne with raspberry sorbet, and a mod-Mex/Spanish Fiesta inspired menu that was just perfect.

Brochettes of Melon, Serrano, and Fresh Mozzarella
Chile-Corn Custard Squares
Lamb Meatballs with a Mint Tarragon Sauce
Mini Crab Cakes
and a Tres Leches Cake from our favorite Mexican restaurant in NYC

Here's the recipe for the yummy sangria that we made:

Pineapple Strawberry Sangria
Ingredients:
1 750-ml bottle Spanish table wine
4 6-ounce cans pineapple juice
4 cinnamon sticks
2 cups 3/4-inch cubes fresh pineapple
1 tangerine, sectioned
1/2 cup hulled strawberries

Splash of Orange Patron
Ice cubes


Preparation:
1) Mix first 6 ingredients in large pitcher. Cover and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
2) Fill tumblers with ice. Pour sangria over. Garnish with orange slices and serve.

[1-2. Bon Appetit Magazine]

It was our last night with J and K  so we went out for dinner together in Omotesandō (表参道). We ordered sake, beers, and umeshu sodas and spent much of the night chowing down on grilled fish and rice. Oh and we played a little game of memory with sushi flashcards which I picked up at MoMA store Japan. Do you know all of the proper Japanese preparations for your favorite fish?

[1. c. lynn]