Culinary - Blogabond

Kyoto, Japan

In the aftermath of the Gion Matsuri I would like to speak about the stalls there. Lots of different food is sold at every matsuri, some of which became the trademark of these summer festivals. There are also other stalls around, like I mentioned in my post about the Gion Matsuri, so I will focus on the culinary part here.

BBQ

BBQ
Skewered meat from the grill, either with BBQ-sauce or with dry rub. Do I have to say more?

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Takoyaki

Takoyaki
Fried octopus balls (eating some while I write this). The batter is filled in a special fryer, basically a skillet with lots of cavitieis), spices and a piece of octopus added and the whole thing gets turned over while baking/frying to archive a ball form. Really good, those things. Served with various toppings and normally sold in sets of six or eight.

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Taiyaki

Taiyaki
Not really a matsuri food, but there was a stand at the Gion Matsuri. It's a sweet cake-like thing in the form of a fish and filled either with cream or anko (sweet bean paste). Again a special fryer, this time basically a waffle maker, is used to get the batter in shape.

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Fruits

Fruits
Great to cool down a bit, fruit skewers are readily available.

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Ikayaki

Ikayaki
Grilled squid. Basically the same as BBQ, just substitute the meat with a squid (cross cut for better grilling).

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Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki
This specialty of the Kansai region is often described as a savory pancake. A bit of batter is put on the hot plate and formed to thin, round layer, on which lots of cabbage, grilled seafood and basically whatever you want is put. The one I ate (not at a matsuri) had bacon on top. The whole thing is then flipped over and when the cabbage is soft and done, placed on a layer of egg (yes, scrambled and grilled in the form of a thin layer). Flip again, add special okonomiyaki-sauce and spices and you are done. Delicious and really filling.

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Yakisoba

Yakisoba
Grilled noodles with cabbage and meat. A typical food in japan, easy to make and delicious.

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Candy fruits

Candy fruits
Those are really sweet, had trouble to finish mine. They take the fruits (the classic is an apple, slightly boiled) and dip it in liquid sugar (or whatever lollipops are made from). Various fruits available.

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Kakikoori

Kakikoori
Shaved ice. You can choose your flavor and it is added in the form of syrup/juice poured on top. Cool and sweet.

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Burger

Burger
Yes, they are here to, and they are big!

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Corn-on-the-cob

Corn-on-the-cob
A classic for BBQ.

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Frankfurts

Sausages
Called Frankfurts, don't look like the ones I know.

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Cucumber-on-a-stick

Cucumber-on-a-stick
Again, for cooling down.

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Karaage Chicken

Karaage Chicken
Fried chicken pieces with various flavors (chili, garlic, soy sauce, salty, ...). You buy a cup (3 sizes) and fill it with whatever types you want.

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Crepés

Crepés
They are a hit in Japan and really good. Quick definition: A thin pancake, filled with cream, fruit, chocolate etc. and rolled up into a cone.

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Noodle dish

Others
There are of course others as well and they differ from region to region. I don't even know exactly what kind of noodle-dish it is, I took a picture of here.

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And a note for the beer-drinkers: There are the constant shouts of "Nama Biru!" at every corner, praising their beer and tempting you to buy.
The interesting thing is, the price rises with reduced distance to the main part of the matsuri. When I started at the Yakata shrine, a fair distance from the boiling center, the beer at the Convenience Store is about 230yen a can. Once you enter the area of the matsuri you can buy it in cans of in cups for 300yen, if you go near it its 400yen and when you are right in the middle of the whole thing, meaning where all the different stalls are, one can is 500yen.
Of course the prices of every stall are probably higher than elsewhere, but it's really obvious with the beer.
By the way, a beer stand I saw looked like this:

Beer guys

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

written by

JuergenS on July 22, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan

from the travel blog: Two month of Japan

tagged Culinary

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Kyoto, Japan

I would like to show you some of the local food I had the pleasure to try in this post, here we go:

Tonkatsu set

Tonkatsu
Basically fried pork chop/loin. An easy and popular dish in Japan, it probably has as many variations as Wiener Schnitzel has in Austria. The one in the picture was more on the side of a Cordon Bleu, filled with summer veggies. Classical sides are rice and shredded cabbage. The place I visited had a piece of tofu, some pickles, rice, tea, cabbage and miso soup. The last four were all-you-can eat, meaning they would be refilled as often as you wanted. Whole thing cost about 9eur.

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Kyoto's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Kyoto-style
I talked about those already in my post about Matsuri Stalls, just wanted you to see another picture. Also, there is of course a multitude of ways to make these things, with thick dough or just a thin crust, with noodles or w/o, with seafood or meat. Depends on the place you eat at, there is no definite style. The one in the picture actually had a main body of egg with cabbage, topped with bits of meat and Bonito flakes and a side of Yakisoba.

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Hiroshima's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Hiroshima-style
In Hiroshima they put noodles (soba, udon) in their Okonomiyaki, a great fit, if you ask me.

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Noodle bowl

Ramen (and other noodle bowls)
Inexpensive, filling and really good, Ramen are a Japanese fast food almost everybody loves. You can choose your toppings and the type of soup base you want (salt, soy sauce and miso usually) and dig in. There are other dishes like Ramen as well, differing in type of noodles or way of serving.Tthe picture above actually does not show Ramen, as the noodles are different.

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Katsudon

Katsudon
Breaded fried pork chop over rice, served with a special sauce and egg. A classic, really, and always good. It also became famous because in many detective stories a suspect would be tempted to confess using a Katsudon, after many hours of interrogation without food or sleep.

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Fukui's Sauce Katsudon

Sauce Katsudon
A specialty of Fukui, differing from normal Katsudon through the difference in meat (its port alright, but a different part), the different breading and the different sauce used. The sauce is served in a separate dish, the customer can adjust the intensity of the flavor to his liking.

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Tempuradon

Tempuradon
Fried shrimp (or other seafood) over rice. A bit dry, but good nevertheless.

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Hamburg steak

Hamburg steak
A burger patty with sauce, served with or without fried egg and with a side of rice. Another classic in Japanese households and inspired by the American burger.

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Hiroshima's Oysters

Oysters - Hiroshima-style
Local oysters from Hiroshima, grilled right in front of you.

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Summer curry

Curry
The Japanese love curry, its a common dish in pretty much every household. Without giving favor to any kind one can safely say that a Japanese curry exists, different but not inferior to its ancestor from India. Curry is served pretty much everywhere and there are several food chains offering only different curry dishes. And there are a lot, really. The one in the pictures had summer vegetables and chicken in it.

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Giant Apple

Giant fruit and veggies
Found those apples in the picture at a market and yeah, they are big. Almost to big to finish one in one go. Also, there are many other fruits and vegetables that are way larger than those I am used to and readily available in every super market.

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I will do a post for food on the go in the future, featuring Convenience Store lunches and Ekiben.
Oh, and yeah, I do get weird looks sometimes when I take pictures of the things I am eating.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

written by

JuergenS on July 25, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan

from the travel blog: Two month of Japan

tagged Culinary

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Culinary: Matsuri Stalls

Kyoto, Japan

Culinary: Local Specialties - Part 1

Kyoto, Japan

Heading South?