The Lady's Set Is Great for Variety in One Meal

You might be wondering what a Lady's Set is...
In Japan, you'll often find these on lunch menus in many restaurants. It's basically a lunch that is not so heavy, but comes with a variety of little dishes. Japanese women often can't decide what to order especially when there are so many choices and often say they would like to try a little of everything.  Of course they can't order every item because either it wouldn't fit into their stomachs or the bill would be too large in the end. Somebody had the brilliant idea of creating a lunch that would satisfy these women and give them an easy choice. Women are also known to like a tea or something sweet after their meals so many Lady's Sets also include these.

I visited a washoku (Japanese-style cooking) restaurant at the Dai Nagoya Building, just across the street from the East entrance of Nagoya Station. The Lady's Set on the lunch menu posted outside the restaurant drew me to try this shop, Shutei Kanda Sakuma, for the first time.

The decor itself gave this place an eastern Asia feel (not completely Japanese). The tables were set far apart so it didn't feel busy or as if you had to rush your eating. I was shown to a a table in a small room near the back of the restaurant since all the front seats were taken. As I peeked into the rooms at the farthest from the entrance, I could see that there were also tatami mat tables. There was a large menu for alcoholic drinks so I assume that for dinner it's more of an izakaya (Japanese Pub).

The Lady's Set was also called the Obanzai lunch (about ¥1300). Obanzai are basically side dishes meant to go with a main. However, sometimes as in this case, a variety of obanzai can be served instead of one main dish.

Today's obanzai lunch included some simmered veggies in a Japanese broth, tai (sea bream) sashimi, kinpira gobo (stir-fried burdock root), okara (seasoned tofu curds), pickled cabbage, tempura, grilled fish, tamagoyaki (rolled egg omelette), miso soup, Japanese pickles and rice. The picture doesn't include the small chawan mushi (steamed savoury egg custard), but it was also part of the lunch.

Obanzai Lunch (Lady's Set)

To be honest, nothing really stood out in terms of flavour. They were all very standard obanzai, similar to the obanzai I can find in the prepared food section at my local grocery store. The chawan mushi tasted as if it had some sort of cinammon-like spice in it, but I could not tell what gave it this unusual flavour. All-in-all, a great Lady's Set, a combination of several small dishes just as it should be.

Area: Nagoya Station 名古屋駅, Dai Nagoya Building 大名古屋ビルヂング

Restaurant: Shutei Kanda Sakuma 酒亭・神田さくま

Map: https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23059263/

Hours: Lunch 11am-2:30pm (LO 2pm), Dinner 5-11pm (food LO 10pm, drink LO 10:30pm)

No Need to go to a Festival for Great Grilled Octopus Balls (Takoyaki)

Takoyaki has made its way to cities in the West, so you may be familiar with them. They are said to have originated in Osaka which is why you'll see so many takoyaki stands in that city. At these shops you'll often see batter being poured into special grills which are made up of several half-sphere concave molds. A small piece of tako or octopus is put in each mold full of batter, then when it starts to brown on one side it is flipped with a single skewer so that the batter runs back into the circular mold to form a full sphere. The balls are taken out and usually placed into a paper container, then topped with a sweet and savory takoyaki sauce and perhaps some mayonnaise. They are so enjoyable to bite into because they are soft and pillowy, and in contrast the octopus gives you something juicy to chew on. The sauce too adds so much umami and flavour.

Another place you will see takoyaki is at festivals around the country. Many festivals have food stalls where typical festival food such as kara-age (fried chicken), okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake), chocolate covered bananas, crushed ice drinks, skewered and grilled meats, and bite-sized castella cakes. Takoyaki is another one of those foods that can be found at festivals since it is easy to hold and eat while walking.

Apparently every family in Osaka owns a smaller version of these special takoyaki grills, and they have been known to hold takoyaki parties with friends or family. But here in Nagoya it may not be so popular to own a takoyaki grill, and so we need to go out to get our takoyaki fix. I recently found a great stand right by Kurokawa Station that makes excellent takoyaki.  It's called Koyama No Kinsan, and I think it's the owner working there all the time because the hand drawn picture of a man looks like him!

Takoyaki stand by Kurokawa station

For just 500 yen, you can get a box of 6 balls, larger than a standard home takoyaki grill. If your lucky the employee may throw an extra one or two! There are a variety of sauces you may choose from including the regular takoyaki sauce, soy sauce, salt flavoured and you can also have it dipped in a cup of dashi (a style called akashiyaki). I tried the takoyaki sauce on one occasion, and the salt flavour on the other. Both were very good but I think I prefer the more subtle salt flavour since it brings out the flavour of the ball itself. Either way, I do recommend a topping of mayonnaise, ao nori (dried crumbled seaweed) and katsuo bushi (shaved dried bonito flakes). Biting into the soft ball gives such a big burst of umami flavour. It practically melts in your mouth until you get to the piece of octopus which adds to the overall flavour with its natural umami. 

'Shio' or salt flavoured with mayonnaise, aonori and katsuo flakes

Area: about 100m away from Kurokawa Station 黒川駅
Shop: Koyama No Kinsan こうやまの金さん
Map: https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230110/23063933/dtlmap/

The Tirol Chocolate Series (Flavours #1-3): Better Than Japan's Famous Kit Kat Bars

Japan's Kit Kats are already very well known for the array of flavours available. However, there is another chocolate that I find just as exciting, if not more: let me introduce you to the Tirol chocolate world in Japan:

• In Japanese it would be known as cheroru choco, since there is actually no "ti" sound in the alphabet. 
• Tirol chocolates are bite-sized, individually wrapped, square chocolates usually found in convenience or "dollar" stores (in Japan they would be 100 yen stores).  Depending on the size, they can be from 20-42 yen per piece, or about 100 yen for a small bag.
• Since its production that started in 1979, there have been hundreds of different flavours and/or different designs. Every year, depending on the season, one can look forward to finding either a new, or re-introduced popular flavour in the stores.
• There are conventional flavours such as strawberry chocolate, milk chocolate, coffee or nuts. There are flavours based on other desserts such as coffee jelly, cheesecake, warabi mochi (a traditional soft, pounded rice dessert), strawberry shortcake or pudding. There are collaborations with other companies that have produced popular desserts such as ice cream maker Cold Stone, chocolate maker Royce, producers of the red bean paste ice cream bar called Aisu Manju and the shu cream or cream puff maker Beard Papas. There are flavours that seem novel such as fried banana, waffle cone, croissant and coconut cookie. Lastly there are the flavours that you may not expect in a dessert such as senbei (savoury rice cracker), kare-pan (a fried bun with curry filling), pizza and yuzu kosho (a spicy condiment with a hint of citrus flavour). 

Do you see the appeal in these chocolates? Not only are they of good quality, they are cheap, the perfect size, and there are so many flavours depending on the store and the season. You won't be able to find all the flavours at one time, which is part of the appeal and excitement.

And now for the fun part, I'm going to gradually introduce flavours on this blog post, so keep checking back for new updates!

1. Tirol (1979)

I'll start with the very first Tirol chocolate ever. It's packaging and flavour hasn't changed since! This is one flavour that can be found all year round.

The very first Tirol chocolate produced in 1979

Flavour: Coffee Nougat

The bitterness of the coffee goes well with the sweetness of the chocolate. I would say it's chocolate for adults. The nougat is rather chewy giving it a toffee-like texture that may get stuck in your teeth.

An airplane design

Coffee nougat filling

2. Milk (1990) - photos to come

This is another signature flavour that can be found at anytime of year and in most convenience stores.

It says 'including heavy cream' above the word Milk

Flavour: Milk chocolate with a heavy cream and milk filling

I can see why this flavour is sold everywhere. Both children and adults can enjoy the sweetness of the milk chocolate and the milky white filling. It's like a cup of hot chocolate in solid form!

The wrapper. Each Tirol square contains about 50-60 kcal.

Solid, but creamy, making a clean cut

3. Tirol Chocolate Bar (1962)

Although not really part of the square Tirol series, this bar is the very first chocolate the company sold.

The first Tirol chocolate

Flavour: Milk nougat covered in milk chocolate

Like the coffee nougat, the milk nougat is pretty chewy and gets stuck in the teeth. However, this one has no bitterness so it tastes sweeter overall.

Conveyor Belt Sushi by the Famous Crab Resto KANI-HONKE

Just recently I was around Kanayama station feeling like some sushi for lunch. I was walking around the south side of the station when I came across that restaurant with a big red crab protruding out of the wall above the entrance. It seems like any big city in Japan has at least one of these crab specialty shops. But this time was different, it was called Sushi-Honke instead of Kani-Honke (literally meaning crab house).

Stepping inside, sure enough this was a conveyor belt sushi shop, but it was produced by the same company as the crab specialists. The restaurant itself seemed a bit run down, but that didn't deter me at all. Although there were sushi plates revolving around in front of me, I was given a lunch menu of about 5 or 6 choices. One was a sushi combo and the rest were donburi or rice bowls topped with sashimi. Lunch being only 850 yen, I went for the salmon sashimi and ikura (salmon roe) bowl.

While waiting for my meal to come, I tried some plates off the moving belt. There was one called engawa which is the part of a white fish near the fin. It was so delicious, with a good amount of fat making it melt in my mouth. That got me excited for my lunch to come.

Every lunch set comes with a bowl of red miso soup, with a bonus of a small piece of crab in it. I was a bit pleasantly surprised but I suppose I should not have been; after all the parent store is a crab restaurant! So, not surprisingly, the chawan mushi or savory steamed egg 'custard' (380 yen) also had crab in it.

Salmon sashimi and ikura rice bowl

The salmon had just the right amount of fattiness to give it a slight sweetness that went well with the well-seasoned sushi rice. I like my sushi rice to be completely balanced so that one seasoning doesn't stand out from the other (vinegar, sugar and salt are used). Seasoned salmon roe is always such a great combination with salmon, and the sweet tamagoyaki (rolled egg omelette) was a nice addition to the bowl. The miso soup was simple, with a bit more depth of flavour coming from the crab, and had just the right amount of miso so that it was neither too salty nor watery. The silky chawan mushi too lived up to the standards of the rest of the meal.

Overall, a common lunch that may be seen in many restaurants across Japan, but Sushi-Honke does it well and I would definitely want to return.

Restaurant: Sushi-Honke 寿司本家　金山店
Area: Just outside the south side of Kanayama Station
Map and Website: https://www.kani-honke.co.jp/location_kanayama.html
Hours: 11am - 10pm, open everyday except January 1st

Ants Garden Cafe; Experience Japan's Beloved Cafe Breakfast (Closed June 2019)

Nagoya is a rather large city, but doesn't attract as many tourists as Osaka or Kyoto. There are many great things about it that maybe aren't big enough to bring in the tourists, but make it a nice city for the people living here. One of these things is the "morning service". This is the name given to the affordable breakfast you can get from almost any kissaten (Japanese-style coffee shop) or in some more modern cafés. For the price of just one drink, a light meal comes with it.

At Ants Garden Café, kind of a mix of a kissaten and café, the morning includes the standard toast and hard boiled egg. They jazz it up a bit with the addition of a healthy salad, and a choice of regular bread or the bread of the day. Today's bread was sesame.

Morning at Ants; buttered sesame bread, salad and boiled egg

Coffee 380 yen

The thick piece of bread was moist yet toasted nicely and came slathered with plenty of butter, melting and seeping into the pores of the warm bread...yum. The egg and salad were pretty standard, and the coffee was obviously fresh. A great breakfast for only paying 380 yen for the coffee!

Area: about 450m from Nakamura Nisseki Station 中村日赤駅 (Higashiyama subway line 東山線)

Restaurant: Ants Garden Café アンツ

Map and Shop Info: https://tabelog.com/en/aichi/A2301/A230113/23035528/dtlmap/

Hours: 8am-5:30pm (LO 5pm), morning 8-11am, lunch 11am-2pm