Hooked on Hook's

  Back from Japan just a week and we already have the hungries for sushi. So off we go to the best in Tampa Bay, Hook's on 9th Street in St. Petersburg. We've been a fan of Hook's mastery with a knife since he left Sushi Rock Grill and opened his first restaurant, right across the street. He's friends with many local fishermen so his fish is always fresh.

  One dish he makes is our favorite and you don't see it being prepared in a lot of restaurants, if at all. It's Usuzukuri. We use to think that usuzukuri translated from Japanese as "always different", because very time we ordered it it was different. Usuzukuri is traditionally thinly sliced fluke with vinegar sauce. We finally realized Hook was tailoring the dish to our tastes. He always used his freshest fish, but he also knew we liked spicy food. So, he would spice up our usuzukuri or add an additional twist of lemongrass or our favorite, fresh mint. 

  Hook's TST roll, hamachi, tako and unagi sashimi and ice cold Sapporo's complete the meal.

Peg's in Gulfport

  Memorial Day weekend and let's start it off right, with lunch. Peg's recently remodeled an old bungalow on Beach Boulevard and relocated her restaurant. Well not just hers', it's a family affair with her husband and son on staff. They prepare freshly made Mexican food and my hands down favorite are their fish tacos. Fresh fish and a creamy chipotle pepper sauce combine for a perfect taco.

  But one of the best surprises is their extensive beer menu. The young heir to Peg's throne is son Doug and he manages the beer selections. With 12 imported and micro brews on tap and over 35 bottled beers, he has his work cut out for him, and he's found some real winners. He introduced us to a Japanese micro brew or Ni Biru from the Kiuchi Brewery, located north of Tokyo. They produce Nest Red Rice Ale and Nest White Ale. The red is a strong pale ale with hints of sake. But if you want the perfect beer match for seafood try the White Ale. It's a Witbier with clove, coriander, orange and nutmeg. I know it sounds strange but it's the perfect beer with Peg's fish taco's. Far East and South West hand in hand again.

Welcome Back?

  Props to Publix for trying. Maybe give it a C+ compared to the bento boxes I was feasting on last week. Maybe dining on this bento while flying along at 180 mph on a bullet train with Mt. Fuji peaking out behind glowing white clouds would raise the grade a little. But, I am sitting at my desk in the newsroom of the Tampa Tribune overlooking the ever so slow flowing Hillsborough River. I took a minute to run next door to Publix for a lunch sandwhich and what do my kanji starved eyes spy, but a bento box.

  The box consists of a roll with brown rice, salmon and tuna sashimi, seaweed and calamari salads edamame, no wasabi or ginger and what the hell is this...... southwestern chicken. Little pieces of chicken with "SOUTHWESTERN SPICES" sprinkled on it!! Whens the next flight out?

Old Favorite

  We were taken to Palette Restaurant in Ebisu the first time four years ago on out first trip to Japan. It was so delicious, Jane and I returned by ourselves the next night. We visit every time we are in Tokyo. It's Sri Lankan cusine, similar to Indian. The same chef works the two man kitchen for the tiny, seven table restaurant. We talk about his family and remember that he was becoming a Japanese citizen while on our last visit.

  This time we got to meet the owner, a woman that not only owns the restaurant but also works with several NPO's in Japan. They work with people that have mental or physical challenges. When she found out we were in Japan working with a like NPO in Okayama, we became fast friends, exchanging small tokens.

  This multiple course dinner is the perfect end to an exciting and adventurous trip. We return to St. Petersburg tomorrow, but it was good to end this trip visiting with an old friend.

Dessert at Palette

Coconut/ginger ice cream.

Sapporo Beer Hall

  In the heart of glitzy and fashionable Ginza is the Sapporo Lion Beer Hall. A real German Beer Hall serving Bavarian and Japanese foods and the full line of Sapporo beers. Built in 1934, the mosaic murals behind the bar of nude Japanese maidens bringing in the hops and barley are spectacular. Beside the big beers pictured above, we had the chance to sample Yebisu Black, a dark lager, excellent. 

Last Bento Box

  Time for one last bento on the shinkansen from Okayama to Tokyo. I chose octopus three way; broiled, fried and in rice balls. And as only the Japanese would, a small hot dog cut into the shape of an octopus. I really need to introduce true bento boxes to Florida.

Dining On Art Island

   Naoshima was the most beautiful island we visited in Japan.  The view from the Terrace Restaurant was simply spectacular.  Our lunch visit was interesting in that I had one of the most unusual dishes of the trip, but neglected to take a photograph.  It can only be described as chili with a cold over-easy egg on top.  I have to admit it was pretty good.  

   Dinner was another course menu which I began with a salad (la nicoise) in Naoshimi style. The only difference I could see from a plain la nicoise salad was in the dressing which was a Naoshimi vinaigrette.  However, David's appetizer of carpaccio of green vegetables with fish aioli sauce (pictured above) was excellent.  It was more of a sashimi dish with the addition of the crispy little shrimp that like to stare at you from the plate.  Some of the fish had a rub on it that was really tasty.

  With a selection of Kihei sake, David had a fish course of conger eel (pictured below) that ranked up with one of the best he had on the trip.  For the meat course, David selected the carpaccio of Sanuki beef which was also truly amazing.  So tender, you could slice it with a fork.  I was giddy with anticipation for my Sanuki cohin.  Next thing I know, the waitress brings me.... chicken???? What??? Where's the beef???  Lesson learned, cohin is chicken and the Japanese like their chicken with the skin on top.

   As a final addition, I had to prove that as the cheese girl, I could find cheese anywhere and Japan was no exception.  Our cheese course included a local Okayama cheese that was everything I could expect.  The waitress couldn't understand how we were too full for the dessert course and offered to pack it up, but we had to explain we were finally two full and satisfied travelers. 

Eel Course at Terrace Restuarant, Naoshima

Cheese Course at Terrace Restuarant, Naoshima

Going Away Sake

  Manabe-san presented us with this beautiful bottle of sake as we left Okayama. We traveled south to the tiny "Art" island on Naoshima  where we enjoyed it's fragrant semi-dry flavor as well as it's beautiful bottle. Note: The fish are goldfish and not koi.

Hello and Goodbye

  It seemed like we had only said hello to old friends and meet new ones before we had to say goodbye. Our last night in Okayama was filled with many smiles and a few tears, all played out before a pot luck dinner provided by artists, parents and friends. Spread out before us was steamed rice dumplings, stir fried pork with broccoli, fish paste, fresh fruit and vegetables. All prepared at home and brought to the Okayama Art Link Center. Biru and Okayama sake were there to satisfy artistic thirsts.

  Two local artists, Manabe-san and Yuziki-san fired up the griddle and started making homemade Okonomiyaki. Okonomi means "what you want" and yaki means "grilled or cooked". We have had Okonomiyaki a few times before but we can say this was the best.

  We really got to enjoy home cooking on this trip to Japan, and it made us see that maybe we could actually prepare some of these dishes at home.

  Thanks All...... Ja Mata!

The Artist Chefs at Work

Yuzuki-san and Manabe-san, Okayama artists, work their magic preparing Okonomiyaki.

Work In Progress

Okonomiyaki on the griddle. Bacon anyone?

Return Visit

  Last night we had a free evening so we decided to pay a return visit to the restaurant we had enjoyed with a large group on our first night in Okayama. We wanted to sit at the bar so that we could observe the chef at work. So, we arrived at e-jaro shortly after they opened and found ourselves the only two patrons, "Oni ni Kanibal" (no problem). The best part was that it was just us, one waitress, the chef and the OWNER! How great.

  With the help of the owner's phone and English speaking friends on the other end we enjoyed a wonderful hour long meal prepared just for us. The owner guided us from sake to sashimi, local fish to pumpkin tempura, bitter smart weed to again the best strawberries we have ever tasted.   Language barrier, what language barrier, dinner conversations bring people together. They asked what we had eaten in Japan and if such foods were popular in America. We replied that if only Americans would experiment more that they might enjoy it. Sou desu ne!

Tempura at e-jaro

Sushi Train

  All Aboard! Last night Kotaro-san, his mother, father, uncle and aunt took us to a sushi train restaurant, or conveyor belt sushi restaurant to those in America.  I'm sure someone in America is making much money with this idea, but we have not seen it yet.  

  You can make your sushi selections from the train.  The plates have the cost of the sushi listed on them.  Another option is to order selections from the menu and these will be sent on special plates.  This restaurant was so popular we had to wait for a table.  When you enter the restaurant you write your name on a list which gives you an idea of how long you will have to wait.

  The sushi coming down the tracks was endless. Fatty tuna, anago and unagi. Salmon, a local fish we can not remember and a shrimp the likes we have never seen. We believe it to be a fresh water variety, but from where ever it was it was oishi.

    I cannot describe how much fun we had here with Kotaro-san's family.  We were using keyboard translators which made the evening very amusing, for at one point an incorrect entry led us to believe we had ordered the whole garage!  This place served VERY large beers as you can see from my picture below.  We call them Big Boy beers.  

Big Girl Biru

The Damage Done

Izakaya Night Out

  One night we had creative Japanese style dinner (modern izakaya) with friends including Kotaro and his mother (pictured above). It was a small restaurant, down a side street just off of the main covered shopping street, Omotecho Street. The staff consisted of two, both cooking and serving. There was a small counter with about six seat and tables for about 12. We took up half the restaurant.

  Our dinner began with macaroni salad which was excellent, due mostly to the Japanese mayonnaise.  We next had lettuce pieces which we dipped in sauce which we identified as Worcestershire sauce.  Our dinner continued with a parade of deep fried items to dip into the sauce.  Items included pork, onion, bacon with mushroom, egg, scallops, quail egg, beef and pumpkin.   Side items included potato salad,a dish like ceviche and the largest edamame we had ever seen.  

  One of our dinner companions, Yuzuki-san was freezing to death as the weather had turned slightly cool, we rather enjoyed the brisk weather. We learned a new phrase a dinner, "Oni ni Kanibal" which means "no problem." A very useful phrase.

Izakaya Dinner

Onsen and Nan

  Road trip. We head out of Okayama to Katsuyama on the open road for the first time. Though we have visited Japan several times before, this is the first time we have traveled any distance over open road. The landscape slowly changes from hurried city activities to winding open roads. Through tunnels cut into the hilly countryside we make our way west. We stop for a short time at a mountain onsen (hot spring), for a soak, and then off for the Hishio Gallery in Katsuyama. The gallery is located in an old soy sauce distillery. The walls reach up to wooden beams that have seen the slowly passing history of this small town. 

  Attached to the gallery is a small cafe that offers up some of the best curry we have had. Served with salad and crispy nan, it was the perfect pick me up after the relaxing waters of the onsen. Iced coffee drinks followed, before our return to Okayama and dinner at an Izakaya!!!

Ramen Holiday

 Ramen noodles are Itami-san's favorite type of noodle so we went to a Ramen noodle shop for lunch.  We ordered the noodles with slices of pork on top.  There are various toppings to choose from including garlic, hot dried peppers and kimchi style bamboo.  The Japanese slurp up their noodles in one long motion.  When they run out of noodles, they can request more. Two of our companions also had rice and sausages on the side.  Having rice and noodles at the same meal surprised us, but must be common.  

Dinner With Friends

  Tano-san enjoys cooking, so one day we rode bicycles to go grocery shopping.  It was more than a grocery store as it also had sections for clothing, books and just about anything else you could need.  Tano-san showed me their produce selections and we tasted samples of sausages which we purchase.  There was a man making gyoza and he handed me samples.  After sampling Tano-san walked away saying too expensive, but he man called her back and said for two such beautiful women, he would reduce price for us.  So, we now had some gyoza and shrimp dumplings for our dinner.  I was full on all the samples he kept handing me.  

 After making our purchases, we put our groceries in our bike baskets to pedal to Tano-san's house.  I had to put my purse over my head and wear it  as a necklace.  It was a very funny sight, and I regret that I have no pictures.  At Tano-san's house I watched her cook and she even used onion that her father had grown.  She has bags of rice at her house which are delivered to her.

 When the feast is completed, we boxed it up and took it to the Artlink Center to share with our friends.  We had a lesson on how to make our rolls.  We took nori and added our choice of toppings which included lettuce, cucumber, radish, tuna salad, sashimi and sausages.  We then rolled it up and dipped into soy.  Oishi.  The most unusual combination of the night was when Yuzuki-san added gyoza to his roll.  Not many people use gyoza in a roll. We had our beer course and sake from Kyoto.  At the end of the meal we had strawberries which were still the best we've ever had.  

Home Cooked Meal

Okayama Dinner

  

  Our first night in Okayama, our friends took us to e-jaro for a course dinner.  It is a small, intimate restaurant with four tables in the front and bar that allows  you to watch the chef cook all the delicious dishes.  We were in a separate room that allowed for the eight of us to sit at one table.

  We tasted many delicious items, but two stand out in my mind.  The first is pictured above and contains tastes of sashimi with peanut sauce, egg, bamboo shoot and baby eel with miso and mustard.  The second is pictured below where my scary fish reappeared.  Our friends immediately asked if we could eat it as they know some Americans are wary of fish with head and fins.  I replied that it was fine, that I just didn't know how to eat it and explained about my mangled Miyajima fish.  My kind friends explained that the head of fish must be on left, then you use your chopstick to cut line along fish.  This allows the meat to flake easily off the fish. When finished on this side, you flip the fish and repeat on the second side.  Now the fish isn't so scary.  Manabe-san also showed me how to flip out the fish cheek which he says is best part.   

We had many other courses and a local Okayama sake which is also pictured below.  I must say that every sake we have tried has been delicious and all are served cold. 

Very Good Scary Fish

Okayama Sake

Semi-sweet and very very smooth.

Cold Udon Noodles

Our first lunch in Okayama was at an Udon noodle shop.  We learned you can order your Udon noodles either hot or cold.  David had a traditional pork Udon noodle dish, while I opted for a cold Udon noodle dish topped with tempura shrimp.  There is a special name for this dish, however I forgot to write it down.  It came with a soy type sauce which you pour over the noodles.  Also, there are some shavings that you add on top reminding us of topping a dish with Parmesan cheese. 

Far East Meets Southwest

Habenero infused sake

Finally

My Anago Meshi, BBQ Conger Eel, and was it worth the wait. Smokey flavor with a real hint of the sea that is just out the front door of this tiny restaurant. Tables are packed with the last remaining Japanese tourists enjoying their Golden Week holiday. Enjoyed with an ice cold bottle of Asahi beer, or two. And Jane, she apparently likes the oysters, she had the fried oyster set for lunch. 

Now, off sake hunting ....

Miyajima Street Vendors (and deer)

Miyajima Street Food

After a hike to Mt. Misen to visit the wild monkeys and see one of the top three scenic views in Japan, we found a street with vendors selling various items on sticks.  There were many selections including octopus, pork and fish on a stick.  We chose the fried oysters on a stick as Miyajima is known for it's oysters.  Did I say "Cat's Eye" oysters were the best?  I now think fried oysters on a stick are the best.

Walking another block there is a line formed.  I go to see what the excitement is about and find more oysters!  This time a man is roasting them (see picture below).  My new favorite is roasted oysters!  I'm so easily swayed.  

Roasted Miyajima Oysters

Traditional Japanese Style Dinner

  Miyajima is a very spiritual Japanese island, so we decided to stay at the traditional Japanese style inn.  Dinner and breakfast are included in the cost of your room.  Dinner is served in your room and breakfast is in the restaurant.  At check-in, you give your preferred dinner time.  

  At the requested time, there is a knock at our door and the little lady assigned to our room enters with our dinner.  She speaks very little English, but is able to describe the dishes to us.  We have miso soup, 3 types of sashimi, whelk (like conch), pickled veggies, wild greens salad, tempura prawns, rice and two more interesting items.

  The first is meat, onions and broccoli which cooks in a little pot at your table.  Eventually the flame goes out, so you don't need to attempt to blow it out like I did.  This dish is delicious. Tender beef in a broth with vegetables.  

  The second dish is frightening to me (see picture below).  Scary fish looking up at me from the plate.  How on earth are you supposed to eat this?  With some effort I manage, but my final plate looks like mangled fish parts.  I hope no one is offended.  Really, not the kind of fish I prefer.  

  The dinner was saved by the fresh strawberries.  We are from Florida and the area is known for strawberries.  However, these strawberries were the best we've ever had.  Yummy.

Scary Fish Dish in Miyajima

Lunch on the Rails

First bento box of the trip on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka. It's an Unagi (fresh water eel) box with rice done two ways, Bar-B-Q and broiled. I look forward to trying Anago Meshi (BBQ saltwater eel) that is a specialty in Miyajima. Can't wait!

Kazan Tasting Course

  The entry to Kazan is discrete.  You just know good things are behind that door, but you need to be adventerous  enough to enter.  We enter.  The atmosphere is romantic with dimly lit rooms and smokey mirrors.  Our server speaks English and in addition to the usual course dinners on the menu, hands us a card for an additional special tasting tonight.  We opt for this course dinner which is Y5000 (about $50 per person, not including beer and sake).

  After ordering one of the home brewed Kazan beers, we were served our first course.  We were offered a choice of three and I began with the sashimi shrimp and orange caviar cold soup while David had the gelee of Sea Urchin (see picture below).  We can recommend both.  They were served in mini martini-like glasses.  My soup was like a shrimp bisque.  My only concern was which piece of silverware to use.  We had chopsticks, forks, demi spoons and the one I finally settled on,  a long stemmed  mini spoon.  I was relieved when I saw another diner choose the same. 

  We next perused the sake menu to see the offerings.  David chose a Katatobi while I continued with beer.  His sake was excellent.  Smooth and elegant.  Our "Cat's Eye" Oysters were the best we've ever tasted.  You could taste the ocean in your mouth.  There were two choices of sauces, one was the traditional red sauce and the other was an anchovy cream.  Both were good, but who needs sauce when you have the best tasting oyster in the land.

  The next course were a duo of sashimi octopus mixed with zucchini, carrots and barley with a smokey flavor paired with sashimi angel prawn with a red dipping sauce.  Amazing.  (see picture below)

  At this time I moved on to order sake.  I ordered a Seamon sake; however as soon as our server left the table, David told me it was the wrong sake.  We attempted to change our order, but ended up with one of each.  Good for me, I preferred the Seamon.  Our next course was another type of Angel Prawn, this was coated with panko and deep fried served with a Japanese tartar sauce.  This was also delicious, but still could not compare the largest Prawns we have ever had in Mozambique and have to yet find any that compare.

  The next offering were Quebec Welks (see picture below) served in a miso sauce with green pepper. We were then served the best dish of the night, and possibly of our life.  Whale meat steak with a red wine and berry sauce.  We had to verify this dish as we never dreamed whale meat would like steak.  It was as tender as a filet Mignon and you could slice it with a fork.  We were so excited we forgot to take a photo, we just dug in.

  We needed nothing after that, but the meal continued with a pasta course and assorted desserts.  The evening ended with the staff bowing to us as we strolled down the street, in total happiness.

Sea Urchin Gelee and Shrimp Sashimi in Orange Caviar Cold Soup

Prawn Sashimi from Kazan/Ginza

Quebec Welk from Kazan/Ginza

So Sorry

No wireless internet at our hotel in Miyajima, as advertised. No internet anywhere!

In Okayama now, will catch up with tales of whale meat steaks, fried oysters on a stick and spicy sake ASAP.

Dine and dash

  We learned a valuable lesson the first time we attended the Kabuki-za in Ginza, make lunch reservation before the performance starts. That first time, during intermission, everyone made their way to one of the several restaurants located in the theater or munched on bento boxes they brought with them. Jane and I just walked around hungry.

  This time we made plans. We booked our lunch reservations at Hanamichi, a restaurant located in the basement of the theater. You pre-order your meal, so we pointed at sign that had a lovely photograph of food on it and found our seats.

  Two and a half hours later came intermission, it was time for lunch. Off we went, finally finding our restaurant and two lovely lunches waiting for us. By the time we were seated, others were finishing. Jane and I looked at each other and this beautiful bounty laid out before us and dug in. I didn't recognize everything we ate, there was miso soup, shrimp, pickled vegetables and about ten other items. But I didn't have to recognize them, I just had to eat them. Ten minutes later we were finished and walking back to our seats. The lunch was good, but I learned another valuable lesson, don't dally around when it comes time to eat a Kabuki lunch.

Chococro Breakfast

  Before our day of Kabuki we stopped by one of our favorite coffee shop chains in Japan, CHOCOCRO. We first discovered them on our last trip to Japan in Nara. Always a smiling face to greet you at the counter and always great coffee and good breakfast grub. Like: pigs in a blanket and egg and bacon stuffed sandwiches. Nothing says good morning in Japan than a freshly baked pig in a blanket. Jane thought she was ordering a little sandwich stuffed with ham. Well, it was a little sandwich, but it was stuffed with something pink and kinda sweet. Two outta three ain't bad.

Tsuki No Shizuku

Our first night in Ginza we requested the hotel staff make reservations for us at Tsuki No Shizuku.  They were excited to assist and printed directions that looked just as puzzling as the directions we had found.  It put the restaurant in the middle of a roadway.  They were kind to explain that the restaurant is below an elevated roadway. Oh!

  The stroll to restaurant was short and took us past Chanel, Cartier and DeBeers shops.   One of us was in window-shopping heaven.  We arrived at the restaurant and gave our name.  We were quickly seated after stopping to remove our shoes.  We attempted to put on the wooden sandals in the hallway and were told no.  We later surmised these are the sandals provided for us in the going to the restroom.

  We walked past a few rooms with boisterous entertaining and were shown our own room which had seating for four at a table in a little nook with a sliding wood door for deliveries of our food and drink.  We had a doorbell to ring for anything we might want.  They also provided an English menu for our convenience.

  We sampled the complimentary amuse bouche of what we will describe as squishy tofu aperitif with fish roe.  Let's just say this is one dish we wouldn't order on our own.  We begin by ordering the premium draft beers.

  Ready to order our first selections, David rang the bell for the waitress.  He began by ordering a bottle of Shochu called Yumemonogatari "Tuki".  The waitress was surprised as there were only two of us, but accommodated his wishes.  

She arrived with a jumbo bottle of Shochu and our first selections.  The fried tofu with cream cheese was an interesting texture and was a good choice for two people who never usually order tofu.   An assortment of pickles was ordered for David consisting of four selections.  This round of food also consisted of  Jane's favorite of the night, a Yuba roll (a type of wide noodle) with tuna & avocado. We also had duck and leek served on Hoba leaf.  The display of this alone made it worthwhile.  It was served on a dried leaf with a little pot of fire below to cook the duck to your liking. 

  After passing on the horse meat sashimi in honor of the KY Derby, we rang the bell for our second round selections.  This was the fried food round.  After indulging in a little Shochu and traveling for more hours than we could count, we went for comfort food.  Spicy fried okra and David's favorite, Fried Mugifuji pork with Camembert cheese (a house speciality).  This dish was as beautiful as it was tasty.  The final dish we ordered was fried crispy things from the picture on the non-English menu.  It ended up being octopus that was too heavily breaded for our liking.  

  Our night ended with David falling asleep at 8:30, something he'd never done before in his life. I might need to keep a bottle of Shochu at home, it could come in handy.

  Cost: 9,401 Yen

Limo, plane, plane, tram, train, subway and finally by foot

It took a while but here we are and Ginza awaits. Kabuki all day tomorrow followed by the Ginza Lion Sapporo Beer Hall and Sake Museum. But tonight we dine at Tsuki no Shizuku. Read about this restaurant at bento.com. More tomorrow.