The Nagoya Foodie: September 2019

Friday, September 27, 2019

Cheese Tea Cake (FamilyMart)

As I peeled off the covering, I immediately got a waft of the smell of sweet cheese. The top white layer is a very mildly flavoured light sponge cheese cake. I found the flavour of the earl grey tea pudding underneath overpowered the cheese (or perhaps you can say the cheese mellowed out the flavour of the tea). I have to say I didn't exactly like the texture of the cake as it felt a bit soggy. The pudding was good though with a strong milky tea flavour and silky texture.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Aroma: Great for the Japanese Kissaten Experience

A kissaten is the Japanese word for cafe, however it usually has the connotation of an "old-school" cafe, one from the showa era (1926-1989). Sadly, these kissaten are slowly diminishing in numbers due to aging owners giving up their shop when they can not keep up with the work and maintenance. If you come across one, most often found in and around residential areas, you should definitely open the door and take a step back in time!

Exterior of Aroma Kissaten with the revolving light

Walking up to Aroma, I instantly knew it was a cafe open for business by the revolving light on their sign placed just outside the door. Inside, there are the typical signs of a kissaten; an elderly couple running the place, a customer smoking in the corner enjoying his coffee and paper, a television mounted on the wall for everyone to watch, red bench seats and a shelf of magazines and manga.

Interior of a typical kissaten

The menu at Aroma consisted of teishoku set meals where the mains were items such as yakizakana (grilled fish), yakisoba (stir fried noodles), fried egg, and tamagoyaki (omlette). There were also various sandwiches listed. You could order any of the items posted on the wall as well such as champon (ramen with a veggie stir fry topping), gyudon (beef rice bowl), curry udon and nabeyaki udon.

Today’s daily lunch was an omlette but I went for the yasai itame or veggie stir-fry (650¥, 20¥ cheaper with a smaller bowl of rice). Cabbage, onion, carrot, pork, bean sprouts and thinly sliced green pepper were simply stir fried. It wasn’t seasoned very much which is why the waitress brought some soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and chili flakes to season to one’s liking. First I tried it with just with soy sauce, and then added the worcestershire sauce which made it have a yakisoba flavour. The veggies were juicy and still had crunch. From the photo you can tell the egg was a bit overcooked, but it had a rather enjoyable crunchy edge. As I sat quietly eating my lunch a regular customer yells out to the owner "hey master, this yakisoba doesn't have much flavour!", to which the master replied "I'm looking out for your health!". I suppose this is why he doesn't put too much sauce and salt into his dishes.

Today's teishoku, yasai-itame

It was a teishoku, so naturally it came with soup. It was a red miso soup with lots of wakame (seaweed) and tofu for a bit more protein balance. It was a good bowl, again, not too salty and on the milder side of miso soups. For the rice, you can choose between a small and a large bowl, but I went for the smaller one; no wasting here! As a bonus it was nice that the meal came with a warm cup of green tea.

Overall I felt like my dish was something that anyone can make at home, but I didn’t come here for gourmet food. I like the simplicity and freshness (veggies were cut upon ordering). The best part by far is the kissaten atmosphere.

This kissaten is not bustling so it's very relaxing. I could hear only the sound of news on tv, preparation of food (plates and chopping) and voices of the owner couple talking with their regular customers. I didn't feel rushed at all, which is how I like to eat my lunch.

Area: Nakamura-ku, about a 5 minute walk from Nakamuranisseki station 中村区、中村日赤駅
Restaurant: Aroma アロマ喫茶店
Map: https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230113/23068039/dtlmap/

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Hakata Hitokuchi Chibimaru Gyoza: Even Though Gyoza is the Specialty, the Ramen is Worth the Trip

Hakata ramen (from Fukuoka) can be smelly with its tonkotsu broth (pork broth has a distinctive smell) and it can feel quite heavy in the mouth. However at this restaurant, the signature ramen is made from chicken broth. The noodles are thin, characteristic to hakata ramen and are cooked al dente; even to the last bite, they don’t get soggy. The broth's chicken flavour is very prominent and is creamy like a cream of mushroom soup with less fat compared to a tonkotsu pork broth. It coats the noodles nicely, not too thick. The tree ear fungus gives no particular addition in flavour but adds a crunchy texture in addition to the negi (Japanese leek), which makes it a bit healthier with some veggies. The coarse black pepper provides a good disctraction from the saltiness (as does the negi). The housemade chicken cha-siu uses thigh meat so it’s fairly juicy and flavorful. The outer layer of skin is melt-in-your-mouth soft and adds great chicken umami. The nitamago (boiled egg that has been flavoured by simmering or marinating in a soy sauce based broth) is not too salty as often can be, and goes perfectly with this chicken based ramen who's broth brings out the creaminess of the yolk. I don’t usually drink the broth of my ramen, but this is one that I like to do. I still have to drink lots of water with it though to cut through the saltiness.