How do you know when you you've had one the best meals of your life?
We recently got back from Japan (where half of this team is from) and so it seems important to travel back in time a couple of weeks in order to recap some of our incredible food experiences from there. We had an extra travel partner (our non-Japanese mom) who enjoys getting to know a place through the cuisine as much as we do. Her pleasure is factored into the equation.
It is worth noting that
Tokyo is the first city to surpass Paris in its number of three-starred Michelin restaurants, essentially making it the world's greatest city for eating. Without hitting a single Michelin rated restaurant (as far as we know) we ate better in the ten days spent there than we do in six months in New York*. That said our best restaurant meals in Japan were actually in
Kyoto. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows about Japan. Every region has there own style when it comes to cooking but it is safe to say that Kyoto is known throughout the country as having some of the best food (and highest quality
Geishas) there is to have in Japan. They are most famous for soba, unsurpassed soy everything, and
kaiseki. We hit them all.
Our first meal in Kyoto was at the 300 year old soba-ya,
Misoka-an Kawamichiya. It was delicious, serene, and had some of the prettiest tiny little gardens ever. It was a perfect rainy day meal recommended to us by the owner of a tofu-ya that we asked about the soba-ya (now out of business) we ate at four and a half years ago.
Several other places we looked for had closed, due to the poor economy, since the last time we were there. You cannot imagine my relief when the familiar smell of tonyu donuts came wafting through Nishiki market. I am very grateful for the things that do not change, the market and its stalls seem to be a reliable constant. Donuts made with soy milk are lighter and fluffier than any other donuts. It would be sacrilege to put any type of topping on them and so they are always served without and usually served warm. We bought a small bag with a dozen of these tiny treats and the three of us devoured them before they got cold.
Another place we were able to revisit was
Tousuiro. A multi-course tofu restaurant we ate at the first time we visited Kyoto together and were lucky enough to be able to share it with my mom this time around. Our dinner there in 2006 I have long considered one of my favorite meals. The lunch we slowly savored there on this visit did not disappoint. For those of you that don't like tofu or have never experienced it in Japan this might just inspire you... if you have tasted the many textures, flavors and preparations Japan has to offer and still don't like it I am sad for you. Our first course was one of my favorite tofu dishes, goma dofu, which I've had in New York but it doesn't compare. Goma is sesame and this may look like a block of boring, slightly beige tofu but it is dense, rich and smooth and has the distinct sweet sesame flavor of a more perfect halva. There was also fresh yuba. We had already gorged ourselves on quite a bit of the stuff from several different stalls at the market and so when we tasted this one we were a little shocked at just how much better it was than anything else we'd had so far. Yuba is basically the cream of tofu - the part that, like cream, rises to the top. It forms a thin layer that is delicately removed and served separately; the higher the quality of soybeans the better it is.
This was some of the best I've ever had the pleasure of eating. It was so creamy and silky and and the ginger and tiny purplish sprouts it was served with complimented the flavor perfectly. My mom refused to finish hers until nearly the very end of the meal - not wanting it to be gone.
It was winter the last time we went and we had
yu-dofu but, this time we were there in spring so it was hiyashi oburo-dofu,(
hiyayakko) a very simple but totally refreshing cold tofu dish that is eaten with ginger, scallions and soy sauce and even though we eat this on a somewhat regular basis at home, this was an entirely different creature. Homemade fresh tofu is a food to be reckoned with. After a brief moment of distress when I found out that
nama-fu wasn't on the lunch menu... not even to order a la cart. After a short exchange between the chef (whom we remembered from our first trip) and Mr. Sakumensky, I had a plate of one of my absolute favorite foods placed in front of me. It comes on skewer with a slightly sweet miso sauce and it's almost like a toasted marshmallow in texture but surpasses it by far in the taste category. The desert was a small dish of delicious and refreshing soy milk sorbet. Not fancy but somehow perfect which is, in many ways, how I would describe everything about Tousuiro. It's a classic Japanese restaurant where you take off your shoes and the best seats are at the bar, where we watched the chefs create our meal and felt completely taken care of.
Now for the meal that brings me to my original question.
Giro Giro. It was mentioned in a New York Times Travel section article but we might not have ended up eating there if we hadn't noticed it while walking back to our house in the dark along Kiyamachi Dori. The street was filled with beautiful old style Japanese buildings but, we all stopped when we saw the one on the other side of the canal with the big window and lots of people sitting around a central bar enjoying themselves and what looked like very good food. The one of us that reads Japanese recognized the name of the place from the article and we made a reservation for our last dinner in Kyoto. As we sat down along the bar at Giro Giro we were all still a little full from our tofu lunch but that hardly stopped us from enjoying every bite of dinner. Maybe not kaiseki in it's classic form but Giro Giro definitely possesses a kaiseki soul. They use seasonal, and mostly local ingredients (following kaiseki protocol) but the young cast of characters putting on an unbeatable show impart a distinctly modern flavor to everything they do. There was a warm glow inside and it made us feel at home. It's a crowded, close quartered restaurant in a way that feels intimate rather than awkward. We had the pleasure of watching one of the newest members of the team, fresh from a career in sales, begin his culinary life where so many do - washing dishes. Incredibly friendly, he smiled at us constantly while handing a steady stream of clean dishes off to the chefs. Everyone was busy but nobody seemed the least bit undone by this. As each dish was set down one of the chefs would describe it to us and they were all willing to answer any of our questions without rushing no matter what else was happening.
The first of those dishes was a piece of hamo (a fish similar in texture but not in taste to eel) that was perfectly fried. Not a trace of grease, just light, crispy and full of flavor. There were eight courses in all including a more western style dessert. Every plate brought completely new flavors and textures and while we loved them all I remember some better than others. The combination of a burdock puree with two bite size pieces of perfectly ripened, mildly tart but also sweet
biwa fruit pretty much blew my mind. The last course before dessert was a bowl of rice mixed with chirimen-jyako (baby sardines) and topped with barely seared bonito and broken up pieces of nori. This dish compelled my mom to ask why anyone would want to
dry bonito when it's that good fresh. As we took our time enjoying each bite, one of the chefs let us know that not only could we have an extra helping of rise and fish but, when we were ready they would pour a savory broth over it all turning it into,
ochazuke, a traditional last course in a Japanese meal. As has been said before,
"This would have been enough" but then came dessert. There were several different bites but the one that did me in was a passion fruit macaroon. I consider myself a connoisseur of the french macaroon and I have never thought one outside of France (or Paris for that matter) was worth eating the first time let alone a second. Saying this was the best doesn't do it justice. It was everything a macaroon should be and probably more - a perfect end to a perfect meal.
There are so many elements that go into making a meal one of the best and this one pretty much had them all. Amazing food, great setting, charming staff and all of it for about $40. We wouldn't have been surprised or complained if we'd had to pay a lot more but it's nice to know that there are people making food like this and they want just about anyone to be able to experience it. I don't think any of us will forget this meal anytime soon. I'm looking forward to going back and to visiting them at their Paris location (and the Hawaii one once they open it).
Japan was filled with innumerable tastes, old and new. Because we aren't there often and this is only my second visit I tend to be excessive in the things I sample. Japan is the only place I have ever been to that gives out that kind of quantity (and quality) of free food samples. They are hard to avoid but it's fair to say that I seek them out... on the street, by walking into shops and most of all in my personal Japanese food shrine -
depachika.
An entire meal of deliciousness can be found underground including a variety of pickled vegetables, all sorts of dried fish, fish cakes, shrimp crackers, mochi, sponge cake, tea and chocolates. We even had a sales women prepare us the most perfect miniature serving of tofu pudding with real maple syrup and a sprinkling of kinako - we couldn't resist buying a full serving from her.
These were some of the highlights but not even close to all of them. I hope we've left you curious for more.
-Sakumensky
*I love New York and I love eating in the city I call home. There is an extraordinary abundance of great restaurants but there is just something exquisite about Japan and food.
We started out with the Spicy Pork Verde Tamale from Choncho's Tacos. The pork was well seasoned and the toppings of green chile salsa, pickled red cabbage, and fresh cilantro were all fantastic. My one complaint was that the masa, which is pretty much the point of a tamale, was not moist and fluffy but actually a little dry and dense. I suppose we should have had the fish tacos. That is what they are, in fact, known for.
Dave Sclarow, who owns the once brick now steel oven on wheels, has also been at the Flea since it's first year. Although the oven has changed, as well as the size of the pizzas, they are just as delicious if not more so. A thin, crisp and chewy charred crust with simple and fresh toppings done Neopolitan style. After its very brief trip to the oven the pizza gets sprinkled with parmigiano and drizzled with olive oil.
There was one more stop to make - dessert. I had already picked out the vendor and so Mr. Sakumensky got to choose which flavor we'd be enjoying from People's Pops. This was probably a wise call seeing as choosing between delicious things is not my strong suit. Mr. Sakumensky on the other hand had already decided to go old school but not entirely - Organic Lemon Shave Ice with a shot of mint. It was the perfect way to complete a summer meal - refreshing and so very tasty. I probably could have finished off at least three of them on my own but sharing one is so much more fun. I'll definitely be back for more.
