Tai Meshi Chidori: Sea Bream Rice is a Wonderful Japanese Dish

Tai Meshi is rice that has been cooked with sea bream. Although there are many types of fish available in Japan, tai or sea bream is the most often used for this dish. The mild taste and the leanness of the fish make it perfect to be slow cooked with Japanese short-grained rice. Jinenjo Tororo to Tai Meshi Chidori is a restaurant in Mozo Mall in Nagoya where one can try this delicate dish. Jinenjo tororo (grated mountain yam) is also a specialty of this restaurant but I was after the tai meshi this time.

The ladies set meal (1580 yen) came with a choice of 4 types of tai meshi, a choice of main dish, miso soup, Japanese pickles, a roast beef salad and a small dessert. I chose the simple salt seasoned tai meshi and the shio koji (fermented rice) marinated chicken.

The rice was so simple but flavourful with the sea bream after mixing it. It wasn't fishy or oily at all, it turns out sea bream is the perfect fish to add to rice. The chicken was almost like ham with the salted fermented rice marinade, but the shio koji added some depth and umami. The thick slices of roast beef gave volume to the salad and made this small looking meal rather filling.

It was a busy restaurant but the tables are spaced apart so it doesn't feel crowded at all. The food came out quickly. Overall I was happy with the meal and would like to go back to try the other types of tai meshi.

Area: 6-min walk from Kami Otai Station (上小田井駅), North exit (北口）
Restaurant: Jinenjo Tororo to Tai Meshi Chidori 自然薯とろろと鯛めしちどり
Website and Info: https://enso.ne.jp/chidori/mozo/
Hours: 11am-10pm (LO 9:15pm)

Kit Kat: Cheesecake Flavour

I came across another convenience store Kit Kat flavour at 7-Eleven, and this time it was cheesecake!
It was sweet like white chocolate is, and had just a hint of cheese. I'd say it was more of a chocolate mixed with a rare cheesecake which is milder in cheesiness.

Yakiniku Ran: For a Very Satisfying and Affordable Steak Lunch

Not all yakiniku, or Korean BBQ restaurants are open for lunch so it's interesting to see what's on the menu for lunches. At Yakiniku Ran there's only one option for menu, teppan grilled steak. You can choose the weight though, 100g (1000 yen), 150g (1500 yen) or 200g (about 2000 yen). For lunch the chef grills it for you and it is brought to your table in a hot skillet along with sides of potato salad, napolitan (Japanese ketchup pasta), and veggies. Being Nagoya, where napolitan is often served in a hot skillet with egg poured underneath, here too, egg was added into the hot cast iron skillet. Lastly, rice and a clear broth soup with wakame seaweed was also included. 

The meat definitely was wagyu (a Japanese breed of cow), and was so soft you wouldn't need a knife. You can use chopsticks and bite into the large thick pieces of meat. Once you sink your teeth in, the juice just succulently bursts out into the mouth. 

Area: West side of Nagoya Station, 3-min walk southeast of Kamejima Station 亀島駅
Restaurant: Yakiniku Ran 焼肉欄
Map and Info: https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23002384/

Gari-Gari Kun: Rich Salt Chinsuko Cookie Popsicle

 Gari-Gari Kun has come out with another interesting flavour. This ice cream popsicle actually a cross between ice cream and kakigori (shaved ice dessert). Chinsuko is a cookie coming from Okinawa, made from just flour, sugar and lard. Sometimes salt is added for accent and is called Shio Chinsuko. This Gari-Gari Kun uses chunks of shio chinsuko and there is a hint of caramel in the ice cream. It might seem a bit similar to cookie dough ice cream, but less creamy since it is more like kakigori.

Tirol Chocolate Flavour #23: Shiro Noir (2020 Version)

 23. Shiro Noir (2020 Version)

Shiro Noir is the signature dessert found at the Nagoya-based chain cafe, Komeda Kissaten. It's a danish pastry topped with soft ice cream and served with a sweet syrup that you can pour over whenever and however much you like. Tirol collaborated with them a while ago but this is the 2020 version, bigger and sold individually.

Flavours: White chocolate, butterscotch, flakey cookie

Although it's supposed to be a maple syrup, I thought the overall flavour was of butterscotch! This one had bits of those cigar or roll cookies in it so there's also a crunch and strong flavour from that as well. The white chocolate bottom gives the essence of soft ice cream. I honestly can't remember if this was any different from last year's version, but it was bigger for sure, allowing for a bigger flavour burst!

Oden, a Japanese Homecooking Favourite

 Oden is a favourite dish in Japan when winter comes along. It can be found in restaurants, convenience stores and in home kitchens when the weather starts to cool after Fall sets in. Items such as fish cakes, beef tendon, thick slices of daikon, konnyaku, fried tofu bags filled with mochi and hard boiled eggs are simmered for hours in a flavourful broth. The long cooking process makes the contents absorb all the flavours right down to the centre, makes the fish cakes burst with juicy broth, and the beef tendon so soft you don't need teeth to eat it. 

Tirol Chocolate Flavour #22: Milk 30th Anniversary Limited Edition

 22. Milk 30th Anniversary Limited Edition (2020)

The regular Milk flavour was first sold in 1990, so to honor that Tirol Chocolates has come up with a limited edition version.

Flavours: milk chocolate, cream

The original Milk has an outer layer completely made of milk chocolate, while the inside is a rich milk flavour. This limited edition version has a white chocolate layer on the bottom so it has an overall even creamier feel in addition to being possibly slightly sweeter.