Sashimi, Wagyu & Wasp Larvae

As always, our trips are as much about food as they are about the travel. And Japan was a veritable feast of great cuisine. In many of the cases below, the pictures do most of the talking.

One of favourite meals was in fact one of the strangest and cheapest. On our first night, wandering the alleys and lanes of Osaka, we stumbled upon a long line of locals going up some stairs and into what we assumed was a restaurant. This looked like as good as any hint of good food, so we joined the queue. During our 20 minutes or so in the queue, we had to inform an attendant that there would be two of us dining. Eventually we were ushered through the door only to be introduced to a vending machine! Some confused looks and pointing finally to us to the realisation that we were to order our meal from the vending machine. The restaurant specialised in ramen, and from the vending machine you selected your order and then made a number of selections about how you wanted your ramen: how strong the flavour; how rich the soup; how much garlic, how much spring onion; and how much "special sauce". Taking our tickets from the vending machine, we were then ushered around the corner to a bizarre line of individual booths. As we sat down in our booths, a hatch opened up in front of us and our tickets were taken from us from a mysterious individual behind the hatch. At this stage, this was one of the weirdest eating experiences we had ever had. However, the reward came 10 or so minutes later, when the most amazing ramen ever was presented to us back through the hatch. The broth was the most incredibly flavoursome I have ever had, the noodles tender, with a deliciously soft boiled egg that we had also ordered. It was a strange experience sitting within your booth, but we were so engrossed in our ramen you forgot where you were.

This ramen was firmly imprinted on our mind for the rest of the trip. So it was pretty exciting when we noticed a familiar sign at the end of the trip when we were in Tokyo. Apparently it is a chain renown for its special ramen broth, and it certainly didn't disappoint when we had to visit for the second time.

However, equally amazing as this simple ramen were our numerous Kaiseki experiences. Kaiseki is a multi-course banquet served at the traditional inns as part of your accommodation. There are many dishes using local ingredients, some intricate and visually stunning.

Our initial introduction to Kaiseki was at Koyasan at the monastery we stayed in. The monks are all completely vegan, and the idea is that you eat as they do, but they also seemed to have a liking for very bitter food, which literally become difficult to swallow towards the end.

However, we had the first of many amazing Kaiseki experiences at our accommodation in Takayama. This very unassumingly looking inn presented us with one of the more memorable dining experiences of our life. Arriving to the dining hall in the evening (which we had to ourselves), a massive feast was awaiting us. It was some of the most amazing meals of our life.

An equally impressive Kaiseki was served up to us at our awesome inn in Tsumago in the Kiso Valley. There were lots of local specialties - including wasp larvae, which was actually quite tasty. Dish after dish came out over the night, and by the time the green tea sponge came out, we were stuffed! (You have to excuse the robe they insisted we dine in).

You might be suspecting already that I might have forgone my pescetarianism during this trip. The opportunity to taste some of the finest beef in the world was something I didn't think I should miss - and the Wagyu certainly didn't disappoint.

Our first experience came completely by chance. We were dining out in Kyoto and had already finished off a very nice meal and were enjoying the last of our drinks when a sizzling plate was whisked past our table. Our interest peaked, we tried to ask the waitress what it was without much success. So we just communicated that we would like to order the same to find out. Soon after, our own sizzling plate came to the table, with only four thin slices of beef. But oh my, this was beef like no other. It was so tender that it basically just melted when you put it in your mouth. And the taste was so rich and juicy. It was a true marvel. Of course, it was only when we tried to work out our bill at the end of the night that we found out it must have been approximately $80 for just those four slices! As we left, we also managed to find out what we had from one of the chefs - top grade Nagano Wagyu beef.

We then had Wagyu served up in a number of Kaiseki meals, all amazing, if not quite amazing as that first one. It was pretty obvious where the rich flavour came from when seeing the beef in butcher shops. It is so marbled with fat that some pieces look nearly completely white. The other great Wagyu experience came in one of the more unlikely of places. Walking down one of the streets in Takayama we came across a hole-in-the-way joint selling little strips of Hida Wagyu, another of the top grades. Sure beats the pie cart!

Of course, not to be outdone was some of the incredible seafood we had. The two most special seafood meals we had were from restaurants in two of the fish markets. The first was in Kanazawa where we were able to track down a restaurant famed for its Kaisen-don (sashimi on a bowl of rice). It must have come with nearly 20 different pieces of seafood - including raw squid and raw prawn and the famed Kanazawa snow crab - and even topped with gold flakes!

The most memorable fish market though was the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, astounding and depressing at the same time for the shear quantity of fish. A little guiltily we did go to one of the sushi joints that surround the market. By now we had worked out the best way to choose your restaurant, select the one with the longest queue. It took about 30 minutes to work our way through the queue, ordering before we went in. The sashimi certainly didn't disappoint - you can't help but understand why the Japanese are fanatical about their fish.

One of the more unusual market snacks we had was the Takoyaki, a specialty in Osaka. They are spherical balls of boiled octopus cooked in a soft and chewy batter. They are a little unusual to eat, especially when you try to eat them when they haven't cooled enough and you have to loll it in your mouth to try and stop them burning it. There was definitely a bit of an art to making them - the cook having to roll them as they cook to give them the shape and ensure all the batter is cooked - but I can't see them making the Weight Watchers recommended snack list.

Back on the noodle front, the udon and the soba wasn't outdone by the ramen. Though we were slow converts to the popular dish of cold soba. We saw it a couple of times on the menu and couldn't piece together how it could be appetising, until we were offered by a friendly fellow diner to try some why eating at an Izakaya bar. Coming with a dipping sauce, we were surprised how tasty it was and made sure we ordered it when we saw it next.

One thing we learnt was that there is an art to eating your noodles, and in particular, the all important slurp. There seemed to be number of techniques: there is the quick fire short slurps; the long hard slurp finishing with a snap (a favourite of old men); and of course, the polite tentative slurp of the tourists. But the longer you stay, the more comfortable you get with the slurp and start giving it a bit more of a go. Though, I could never quite work out when some of the Japanese men slurped when they were eating something that didn't even have noodles or a sauce to slurp!

On the subject of noodles, this brings us to the obvious need for chopsticks, at which Anna was initially hopeless a using. For days it looked like she was trying to pick up her food with a couple of tooth picks. She just could not get it right, despite all the coaching by myself. It wasn't until about a week in to the trip when an old chef showed her what to do (exactly the same thing that I had been showing her!) that she picked it up. Though we were both still well short of the expertise shown from the locals around us. The first time we had to try and eat a grilled mackerel with chopsticks we made a bit of a mess of it, only to look across from us to see a guy deftly picking out the meat like it was picking up peas. But we did get better, and by the end of the trip using chopsticks was like second nature.

Of course, blogging about Japanese cuisine wouldn't be complete without referencing the ridiculous displays of plastic food outside most of the restaurants. I'm not too sure the objective of these, as they do look ridiculous and in no way appetising. The most unappetising we saw was the spaghetti bolognese below, though anything brown looked more like the thing that comes at the end of your digestion rather than something you want at the start of it. The lengths some of the models went to was quite amusing though, we liked the glass of milk shown pouring into the iced coffee below!

Like a lot of things in Japan, the cuisine could range from the sublime to the somewhat bizarre. I enjoyed both.

This gun's for hire...

Not so much dancing in the dark, as dining in the dark. In the ongoing run of tin-arse proportions, Anna and I recently won a table for four at the 'Dining in the Dark' evening to be held at one of Auckland's best restaurants Clooney - and selling on TradeMe for over $600. Our tickets arrived as the blindfolds we were due to wear for the dinner and we invited Tom & Rae to join us for what was an awesome night.

We arrived on the night in the midst on NZ celebrity - the usual Auckland exhibition of Shortland Street actors, designers, and newsreaders. Alas, our entrance was not as sought after, as the photographer decided to skip asking us to strike a pose (nor did we make it onto the Close Up feature - see chapter four). Picking up champagne on the way through to our table, we were quickly served up a canape of - raw tuna and cured salmon, topped with a wasabi foam and caviar. Suspicion that we had invited only invited Rae so that we could drink her wine and eat her seafood are unfair, though we took full advantage!

We were then briefed that the lights we about to go out and that we were to don our blindfolds. We were also told that we were to be served up five courses, each accompanied by a different wine - to be told what the dish was after we had finished.

Though we all picked that the first dish served up was seafood, it was Anna who first to pick it was scallops. But none of this picked the foie gras. Though Rae - who had a non-seafood dish - out did us all...claiming that she had a potato risotto, only to be told it was a pear souffle! All accompanied by a Riesling.

Second course was a bit easier, ravioli filled with goats cheese. Though none of us picked the anchovy butter sauce - especially Rae, who supposedly doesn't like seafood. We certainly didn't pick the wine - a Pinot Noir...though as a white Pinot Noir, this wasn't surprising.

Next up was the most unusual dish of the night - it had us all stump. Beef was an early call, though I was putting my money on some kind of kidney or liver - which ended up being kind of close. Though I was well off with my dim sum dumpling call. It turned out to be lobster and veal sweetbreads! With artichoke, white asparagus and hazelnuts. The lobsters was obviously somewhat wasted on us, but it was a good way to introduced to sweetbreads. The easiest part of this course to pick was the wine - a Chardonnay.

Fourth course was pretty amazing. Anna showed off - picking early the venison on cauliflower puree, with cherries and cocoa flakes in a licorice sauce. Well, everything but the licorice. Served with a Pinot Noir - a normal one this time - this course was absolutely delicious.

The last course - a chocolate dish - was a bit easier to pick, especially with Tim Tams Classic Dark being a sponsor of the event. Though none of us picked that it was Sherry and not Port that accompanied it.

Our assumption that each dish would be presented in a form easy to eat blindfolded was very wrong, as each dish was set out on a plate and required deft use of both knife and fork. It was hard not to take a peak now and then to watch others chasing their food around the plate. Rae took nearly 5 minutes to stick it to one bit of asparagus. It also took a while to get used to conversation blind-folded, as you kind of projected your voice at a few decibels than what was probably required. Even going to the toilet required sticking your hand up to be led by the staff - though wisely blindfolds were removed once you got there.

The food overall was simply superb, and if we had paid $150 each to attend, I wouldn't have been disappointed. The experience of eating blind was also very cool. Interesting, rather than heightening the rest of your senses, they actually seemed subdued. I guess meaning that seeing your food is important to the overall taste you get from the food.

Part One – London’s Calling

Woohoo, a month away. Surely the best way to use a year’s worth of annual leave. Though of course it starts with the dreaded long haul all the way to Heathrow. And on the first leg it seemed it was going so well.

We were on one of the new Air NZ planes to San Francisco. They definitely have more legroom, and the seats seem that little bit wider. And in what seemed like a full flight, we also seemed be fortunate enough to have the one spare seat next to us. Of course, we should have known that this would balance out somewhere else…

We had a four-hour stop over in San Francisco. Not enough time to head into the city, but just enough to track down the Anchor Brewery Bar and have their very good brews. So despite getting no sleep on the first leg, I was feeling good about the second leg to London. That was until we boarded our Virgin Atlantic flight. It had the old style seats, which we had forgotten how little they “recline”, staffed by what seemed a select sample of the Chav population out of Essex. And then…my personal entertainment system didn’t work. And with the flight completely full, I couldn’t move anywhere else, and the staff didn’t seemed to care anyway. So I had to go the whole sleepless 12 hours to London with nothing to do.

Of course, at least I had the treats of London awaiting us. Deb meet us at the airport and from there it was back onto the tube (with my old Oyster card which still had money on it!) and into Putney. After a couple of groggy showers, down we headed to The Bricklayers Arms to meet up with all the crew. The Bricklayers was still as good as I remembered it, all the Timothy Taylors range, plus a couple of additional handpulls they have installed for more guests. But I only had eyes for the Dark Mild – and it wasn’t disappointing.

It only took a few pints to throw off the grogginess and it was like old times again in London. Later on we wandered down the road to another old haunt – Putney Tandoori – where I was greeted like a long lost son (though the stroking of my hair seemed a little weird!). Somehow Anna and I found ourselves back at Todd & Nic’s, going strong until 1.30am when we finally thought we should try and get some sleep (I had gone some 60 hours without any by then) – and sleep we did.

Sunday was meant to be a lazy afternoon up at The Telegraph – a pub up in Putney Heath that had been the talk of the town ever since I left. It calls itself a “country pub in London”, and that is a pretty accurate description. I’m not sure how it happened, but next thing I know it is 11pm and I am only just leaving the Coat and Badge after an all day Sunday session. Not a bad start of the holiday!

We only had one more day before we flew out to the Czech Republic, so we dragged everyone out again for a drink after work before Anna and I went out to dinner with Deb and Carl to Gordon Ramsey’s Murano. For those of you who know (or care) about these things, Murano is headed by Gordon Ramsey’s protégé Angela Hartnett. I think this is the third time we have eaten at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, and it didn’t disappoint, either the palate or the wallet. At £215, it’s not cheap, especially in NZ dollars, where it converts to $lots!

It had been a great first weekend in London to kick the holiday off – though didn’t help to shrug off the affects of jetlag – and it was great catching up with everyone. Next stop, the Pilsners of the Czech Republic…

Ponsonby Cafe Files: Landreth & Co

It's been a long time between Lattes you might say. Saturday morning hangovers haven't been condusive to getting out for early morning brunches....

Landreth & Co sits amongst a tight cluster on cafes along Ponsonby Road, and Anna and I decided to have lunch there on a fine and crisp Auckland winter's day (after having it confirmed that my finger is broken). Having never ventured there before, we were pleasantly surprised by the warm and dark interior, with one wall crowded with many framed mirrors and the opposite with NZ art for sale. It also seems to attract a more alternative set in Ponsonby, the dress of the group enjoying the tables outside being a somewhat strange mix between Grease and the Sex Pistols.

We took much pleasure in seeing that Allpress was the coffee of choice here, and once again produced a damn fine Trim Flat White. Ordering off the specials menu I had Portobello mushrooms and grilled Halloumi served on toasted sour dough, while Anna had the corn, courgette and coriander fritters. Along with sharing a couple of jokes with the guy serving, the food was delicious. This could become a favourite.

Dinner 1988-style

A two-course dinner for two at one of Auckland's best seafood restaurants for $85 - can't be done? Well, it could this week....

Harbourside Restaurant is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and to mark it, this week they are serving their 1988 menu at 1988 prices. So not being ones to miss out on the opportunity to have a top class meal at discount prices, we quickly booked ourselves in - which was just as well as it was booked out in a couple of days.

In 2008, it isn't easy to get $8.50 entrees of Deep-fried Squid and Hot & Cold Salad with Pan-fried Sole; and $17 mains of Whole Snapper with Ginger Sake Sauce and Tempura Seafood Platter. It isn't often that your bottle of beer and glass of wine will cost more that one of your mains, or that your bottle of sparkling water will be more than one of our entrees. In fact, in the 2008 menu - entrees and mains are twice these prices.

And I can report that good fresh seafood tastes like good fresh seafood in whatever year's menu it is cooked.

Ponsonby Cafe Files: Jafa

OK, so the Ponsonby Cafe Files didn't get off to a great start - well, it depends which way you look at it - with three visits to the superb Richmond Road Cafe in a row. However, on Saturday morning we drag ourselves somewhere else - Jafa Cafe. For Stu, and others persnickety about suburbs, Jafa isn't strictly in Ponsonby and is more West Lynn. However, it's still a short distance from our place and attracts the "Ponsonby-set".

Not only is the fare of Jafa Cafe of some repute, it is also infamous for being involved in a dispute over the 'Jafa' name, which will see them have to change it. So it was about time we went to see what all the fuss was about and trundle of there on Saturday morning with the old man and Jimmy in tow. First stop, the coffee. As at Richmond Rd Cafe, Allpress are the beans on brew, and once again is very good - a nice reward for an Ironman who tried to stay away from the coffee in the last throws of training. The menu wasn't the most varied, but Anna was able to indulge herself (and bore me) with her usual choice of Eggs Benedict, while I threw together some assortments from the grill, with Black Pudding again a feature. The organic eggs were quite delicious, and this Black Pudding was again nice and spicy and included chopped bacon for something different.

Overall, Jafa Cafe was pretty good, the only negative mark that the service was a little slow (though maybe we were all just very hungry). If Anna can avoid the clutches of Richmond Rd Cafe next weekend, hopefully we will have another new entry.

The Ponsonby Cafe Files: Richmond Rd Cafe

With the prospect of "Pub Watch" reviews short in supply back in NZ, I'm starting a new series on the superb cafes around Ponsonby - all within walking distance of our place.
The first entry suitable goes to the Metro 2007 Best Cafe winner, Richmond Rd Cafe. From their October edition:

"Cafe is a study in contemporary urban chic, with sharply modernist décor, attentive service, lots of magazines (all of them glossy), a big balcony and a leafy, picture-window outlook. The food and coffee are superb. With close-packed tables and all that über-cool."

And it certainly lived up to its reputation, being one of the best cafe brunches we have ever had. The flat whites were strong and delicious and it too some restraint to order another straight after the last gulp. Anna ordered the bianci di spagna beans, with chorizo on sour dough, and I the breakfast grill, which came with no less than 2 poached eggs on toast, 2 rashers of bacon, 5 mushrooms, 6 tomatoes, a kumara rosti and 2 large pieces of the most delicious black pudding I've tasted (Jabs - this was up there with the black pudding at Gleneagles). In fact, all the servings we saw come out were nice and large, something that can be of a rare quality at many cafes.

It was so good, it is going to be difficult to continue this series as we will want go back there each time!

The Return of the TongMaster

With such good weather since we have been back, it's no surprise that one of our first purchases has been a brand new spanking BBQ. And it is no rickety Argos cheapo like we got for Rich & Titch's place back in London (though you can't expect much for £50). This is the Broil King Royal 1, somewhat more expensive, but with a lifetime guarantee. Tom & Rae bought the same model (we got a discount for buying two) and we took theirs for a test drive last night, the BK putting on a great spread. I'm looking forward to getting ours up this weekend (moving day tomorrow) and getting that tong-grip back into shape.

The Ivy

With the weeks ticking by, it was time for one last extravagent night in London - destination The Ivy. Famous not so much for amazing food or a pricey menu - but for the difficulty in which it is to get a table there. We had in fact booked nearly six months ago, which is par for the course for The Ivy. So why so popular? Well, the food is very good, and for the quality, quite reasonably priced. But The Ivy's infamy is mostly connected with its popularity with celebrities.

So how did we go? After a selection process that came down to who bribed us the most, Rich & Titch joined us on our night of glutony and celebrity-spotting. In the spirit of the evening we started with a bottle of champagne at the bar before moving to our table. We made the most of our (strictly alloted) three hours there, getting through a further bottle of Pinot Noir and then a Saint Emilion Reserve. Three courses all round of course, Anna's scallop entree probably looked the best, and the baked alaska Titch and Anna had for dessert the most extravagant (though my seared tuna on puy lentil salsa was delicious). And how did we go with the celebrity spotting? Well we thought having Rick Gervais and Jeremy Piven there wasn't a bad return, but I let you decide that for yourselves....

Putney Tandoori - Kursey Lamb

The girls had organised themselves to go out and see the Dirty Dancing musical, so while they were putting baby in the corner, the boys got themselves together for a night of ale and curry - I know which sounds better to me!

We started off at The Bricklayers Arms (my favourite local pub) for a few Timothy Taylors before heading down to Putney Tandoori (my favourite local curry house) for their special Kursey Lamb - "a whole leg of tender lamb roasted in Indian style with spices & herbs, marinated in a special sauce, garnished with lettuce, tomatoes & cucumber". We actually had to order this the day before as 24 hours notice is required - to marinate the lamb overnight.

Well, if you think it sounds good, it tasted even better! As you can see from the pics, we didn't leave much behind....

Hell's Kitchen

Well, if this is Hell's Kitchen, it's pretty tasty. Anna and I treated ourselves to one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants - at Claridge's Hotel - earlier in the month. It was certainly a great experience - the service was superb, the decor plush, and the food terrific. And watching some of the ponces in there was a bit of a laugh as well.

We had the Menu Prestige menu, which is a little like a degustation, with 6 courses. So what did we have....

1. Bouillon of smoked ham hock with autumn vegetables and 'pease' pudding tortelli.

2(Sam). Ballottine of foie gras marinated in white port, with french bean salad, truffle vinaigrette and toasted brioche.

2(Anna). Risotto blanco with pine nuts and parmesan. (She wasn't brave enough to try the foie gras)

3. Roasted sea scallop, with carrot, pine nut and caper salad.

4(Sam). Steamed line caught sea bass, with crushed potatoes, roasted salsify and vanilla jus.

4(Anna). Roasted loan of Balmoral estate venison, wrapped in parma ham, with honey glazed vegetables and cinnamon and star anise jus.

5. Granny smith apple and calvados bavarois and walnut mousse.

6. Caramalised banana parfait with a coconut tuile and passion fruit glaze. (that's Anna getting stuck into it)

Everything was superbly cooked - Anna claims the risotto is the best she has ever had - and they weren't small portions either. I think we were both pretty much full halfway through the 4th course. By the end of the night we nearly had to roll ourselves out the door. Was a very nice night, though the credit card had the last laugh, as with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses of champagne it cost us £255! Not cheap, but a great experience.

Oxo Tower

It was the last week before Rae & Tom left London on their return to NZ (via Africa and Australia) and they had always wanted to have dinner at Oxo Tower. Not ones to turn down an invitation - Brad, Sharon, Anna and I joined them on the Thursday night before they left. You could not fault the venue, the views are fantastic (that pic is actually taken with my mobile phone). The cooking probably wasn't quite of the standard you would expect at the prices, but the dishes were an interesting mix of ingredients and flavours. So what did me have....

Me
- Starter: Slow roast partridge, quince and autumn truffle, chesnut dressing
- Main: Roast sea bass, celeriac, saffron and vanilla, oscietra cavier
- Dessert: Raspberry panna cotta

Anna
- Starter: King scallops, roast chorizo, Oloroso caramel
- Main: Venison loin au poivre, sweet potato, tamarillo, grand veneur sauce
- Desert: Passionfruit souffle

Washed down with a couple of fine bottles of French champagne chosen by Tom - with a baileys coffee to finish. A good night out in all and a more civilised send off for Rae & Tom than eventuated that Saturday night.