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.

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/

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.

Pai-tan ramen

Ramen menu

Gyoza menu

 When not busy it’s a nice place to sit and enjoy the meal. Music was j-pop, rock playing quietly.

The interior

Area: east side of Nagoya station, Unimall underground shopping area

Restaurant: Hakata Hitokuchi Chibimaru Gyoza 　博多一口ちびまる餃子

Map and Info: https://retty.me/area/PRE23/ARE61/SUB6101/100001222005/?utm_y_pc_res_title

Hours: 11am-10pm (LO 9:30pm)

Nabehide: The Best Beef Hot Pot I've Had So Far!

It isn't just any beef hot pot, this restaurant specializes in motsu nabe, or intestine hot pot. It may sound unappetizing, but you should really give beef intestine a try (in particular the small intestine). It's a common favourite at yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurants for its juiciness when you bite into it. Also called horumon (sounds like the english hormone, but it has different roots), this cut of meat may look like a hunk of fat, but a lot of it is actually collagen which is what makes it so plump when cooked. Putting it into a hot pot makes the soup fill with great umami flavours from the fat.

What made the hot pot one of the best I've ever had at Nabehide was the broth. We ordered the most popular, the white miso broth. The miso gives it a kind of creaminess and its flavour goes so well with the motsu. Sometimes motsu can have a peculiar smell to it, but the restaurant prepares it well to rid the meat of any strange smells. The strong garlic flavour not only adds an accent to the broth, it also helps get rid of the motsu smell. The pot is brought to the table already to eat, no waiting for it to be done. I think this is to prevent the motsu from overcooking, shrinking and becoming rubbery. The veggies in the soup also go well in the pot. The nira (resembling a flat green onion stalk, also known as Chinese chives) has a hint of garlic flavour, and the large pieces of cabbage add some sweetness. The soup coats the veggies well so they are just as delicious as the intestine.

Motsu hot pot

Other dishes tried were the gyu aburi (red meat that has been grilled/fired on the outside), and the nama senmai (stomach) in a house-made ponzu sauce. Both were great. However I'd skip the pickled cucumber, a bit too salty with the addition of msg sprinkled on top.

It's a busy restaurant and I can see why. You may not need a reservation, but it is a small restaurant so I'd recommend one especially if you have a party of more than two.

Area: Iwatsuka Station (Higashiyama Line), 岩塚駅（東山線）
Restaurant: Nabe Hide 鍋秀
Website and Map: http://nabehide-iwatsuka.com/access/
Hours: 5-11pm (LO 10:30pm), Sundays and Holidays 4-11pm

Japan's Ice Cream Flavours Are the Best

I've always thought of Haagen Dazs as a high-end brand of ice cream. They had all types of flavours in Canada such as praline pecan, caramel, cookie dough, Belgian chocolate, mint chocolate chip, all very common flavours found at the grocery or ice cream stores. So when I came to Japan I was surprised to see the multitude of flavours available. You can of course find the most popular, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and matcha at any time, but Haagen Dazs puts out seasonal flavours that are unlike those I've ever seen before. Not only that, in Japan they come in cute little personal sized cups containing approximately 110ml or 250 calories, so there's no chance of guilty overeating.

Today I'll share with you two flavours I recently tried:

1. Black Tea Latte
If you've heard of Royal Milk Tea in Japan, you'll know what I mean when I say this ice cream is like that (think black tea with lots of milk and sugar). It does however seem to have a higher depth of tea flavour compared to royal milk tea though. This ice cream combines two different types of tea, assam and dimbula. They aren't mixed all together, rather each individual flavour of ice cream is swirled into the cup. The maltiness of the assam is great in this blend of tea ice cream.

You can see that there are two different teas in here

2. Cherry Custard Pie

This one is an interesting because it tastes like what it should by looking at the picture on the container. There are actually pieces of pie "crust" in this ice cream, however it's not the pie crust that you are probably familiar with. In Japan when they say pie, they usually refer to a light and flaky pastry similar to the French palmier cookie. It goes well with the creamy ice cream and swirl of cherry puree sauce. 

Both of these flavours are seasonal (you can tell by the characters 期間限定, which means limited). I will try to try and the interesting new flavours as they come out and update them on the labeled 'Ice Cream Series' in this blog!

Tapioca Tea: The Newest Big Buzz in Japan

Bubble tea, the dessert drink that originated in Taiwan, has already gained popularity in Japan years ago. However just as the fame started dying down, it once again has become a huge hit, with more bubble tea shops opening up than ever it seems. In Japan, they call it Tapioca Tea. In Nagoya alone, there are at least 13 tapioca tea shops and 5 or 6 of those opened just this year.

So what's so different about the new bubble tea?
When I first tried tapioca tea in Yokohoma several years ago, I didn't think much of it. I had been a big fan of bubble tea while growing up in Toronto, often the Chinese bubble tea cafes were the place to go with friends because not only were they delicious, you could sit and chat, and pass the time while not spending very much money. So when I tried my first tapioca tea in Japan, I was a bit disappointed because the 'pearls' (tapioca) had no flavour and they had the texture of a firm jelly with no bite. I suspect they were made with kanten which is a type of agar used in dishes to make them gelatinous, similar to gelatin.

The new craze with tapioca tea seems to be chewy and sweet pearls. These new stores are using dried tapioca balls straight from Taiwan. Although they already have a slight sweetness to it, some stores are letting them soak in kuromitsu (a syrup similar to molasses but milder) before adding the tea to it. I have a hunch that it is the bubble tea I know and like from the stores in Toronto. To be honest I have yet to try this new style tea in Japan since lineups are crazy and they are a bit pricey.

With all the talk of tapioca tea here, I began to crave some bubble tea. I found a tapioca tea frappe in the freezer section of a Family Mart convenience store, and it was only 330 yen. When you purchase it, the store employee will take off the lid and squeeze the cup a bit to break up the frozen drink. Then you take the cup to the drink machine where you press the button for hot milk, melting and mixing the drink even more. You'd think that it wouldn't really be a frappe anymore, but it stays cold and icy for quite some time. The milk tea was delicious, not too sweet, a bit creamy with a flavour that reminded me of the bubble tea back home. The tapioca however was not the same, it didn't have the chewiness of Taiwanese pearls. Glancing at the ingredient list I saw that these tapioca were made with konnyaku, a soft jelly-like product made from a konjac potato (if you have heard of shirataki noodles, these are also konnyaku). While konnyaku is a bit bouncy when bitten into, it doesn't have the chewiness of something made from tapioca flour. 

Family Mart convenience store's version of bubble tea

Machine adding steamed milk

While it wasn't exactly the bubble tea I am used to, it still satisfied my craving!

Saru Cafe: For a Tasty Japanese Tex-Mex Dish (Closed 2019)

Although Tex-Mex is not easy to find in Japan, they do have a dish that can be considered Japan's version of Tex-Mex. It is called taco rice and you can find it in cafes, family restaurants or on the tables of home-cooked meals. To get my Tex-Mex fix, I went to try a cafe version at one of Nagoya's long running popular chain stores, Saru Cafe.

On Sakuradori road

Taco rice is basically the fillings of a taco put on top of a bed of rice; usually you'll find seasoned ground meat, lettuce and tomatoes. Saru cafe adds to the regular toppings with flavoured tortilla chips (much like Doritos) crumbled on top, fresh avocado and an onsen egg (runny egg, similar to poached). The chips made it more like an actual taco with a nice crunch (except after a while they get a bit soggy or stale). The meat was well-seasoned with chili powder and reminded me of the Te-Mex I’ve eaten back in Canada. The combination of the meat, the chips, the grated parmesan cheese and cesar dressing made it very salty overall, but that’s why the plain rice underneath it is necessary. The runny egg is also a nice addition to mellow out the saltiness a bit. The lettuce and avocado add some lightness and refreshing flavours making the dish easier to finish the last bite.

Taco Rice

Topped with an onsen egg

This particular branch (on Sakuradori road, just east of Nagoya Station), was busy on the Saturday of my visit. Saru Cafe tries to cater to the young working class, so it is open for lunch and late dinner and has a more lounge/bar type vibe. Their dinner menu is extensive with various appetizers (hot and cold), salads, hamburger skillets, pastas, pizzas and rice dishes as well as a complete alcoholic drink list. It was lively with the voices and laughter of other customers drowning out the music playing over the speakers. A good place to get together with friends for some chat or a celebration. 

Seat located at the entrance

Area: 5-minute walk east of Nagoya Station 名古屋駅
Restaurant: Saru Cafe 猿カフェ
Map: www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000739522/map/
Hours: 11:30am-11pm (LO 10pm), open on holidays