Food from Hiroshima and More

I couldn't leave Japan without stopping to get something good to eat. And with the Yurakucho Line being the train I took from Ikebukuro Station to Gokoku-ji, Ginza-itchome Station was not a problem to get to. Once again I bought a few things at TAU Hiroshima.

Walking back through Ikebukuro Station, I had to enjoy the flowers.

Very pretty but that price, and I don't know if customs in the US would allow it.

I actually enjoyed a couple MR. waffles on another day. This Belgian Liege waffle was almond.

And this unusual Belgian Liege waffle was not green tea. It was mung beans and a springtime Japanese vegetable that I do not remember. Nanohana maybe?

I did enjoy on my last day a couple of the treats I bought at the local market, when I went there during the snow day. I found a little Mont Blanc pudding!

This was a nice find since a lot of the food shops were closed due to the virus. I couldn't resist enjoying one of the really big strawberries with it.

Yes someone inspired me to try this. And it was delicious.

I was also really happy to find little fresh tomatoes.

I enjoyed them on a 7-Eleven Caesar salad. They were sweet, acidic and juicy. So good!

Remembering the oysters I ate at TAU Hiroshima last year. What a wonderful meal that was. Canned oysters are not quite the same, but these drenched in Setouchi lemon were really good.

One last izakaya moment, enjoying the oysters with that nice sake that I always get.

Just a few things that made it home with me. I saw this and wanted to try it. Hiroshima Oyster flavored yakisoba. Along with a bottle of Setoda Lemon Ale from Yamaguchi Narutaki Kogen Brewery. This was a really good pairing.

I love how Japanese instant foods have drawing so you know how to prepare it.

Fun feature is this little steam vent grate that you open up after you put hot water in.

Of course always make sure to take out the seasoning packet before putting the water in.

I added a little cabbage. This was actually tasty and made me wish I had bought more. Having this to eat after my long flights home was a really good idea. And those flights are the subject of my next blog post. Because it was definitely different this trip.

Hiroshima Italian at MERI Principessa

I wish I had an exciting photo for the start of this entry. But I don't. However, it was a little exciting for me. Because I have been wanting to eat at Italian restaurant MERI Principessa in TAU Hiroshima for a long time. I finally was able to. 

It helped that it was the tail end of their lunch hours. Which is why there was only one other diner still in there. Outside the day was still cloudy and grey. Holiday color helped a little.

The other thing that helped me was that I knew what I wanted to eat. For lunch, MERI Principessa has set menu items and then special items for the season that feature ingredients from the Hiroshima area. 

I picked Setouchi limoncello for my drink. As for the salad, it was very nice with a light dressing.

The main course arrived.

Hiroshima Salmon Toasted Butter Sauce Spaghetti.

The salmon is rainbow trout from the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima. This was a light and flavorful dish, perfect for lunch. 

MERI Principessa's website is here https://www.tau-hiroshima.jp/shop/3f/meripri

Later that night I enjoyed a couple more things that I bought at TAU Hiroshima. The Setoda Lemon Ale from Yamaguchi Narutaki Kogen Brewery was just as nice as the first time I tried it on a previous trip.

I was able to heat up this delicious Hiroshima oyster curry at my hotel. I believe the company it is from is called レイニボ, which is Rainbow. Warm food was perfect after the long walk in the cold that I took before this. Which will be in my next post.

Hiroshima TAU Ginza Oyster Bar

One of my favorite places to visit for dining and shopping in Tokyo is Hiroshima brand shop TAU (pushuu~).  So when I read that they were going to have a oyster bar...

Of course I had to check it out. Don't let this case fool you, they had a lot of oysters. Along with a lot of customers.

The good thing was that it wasn't just one weekend. And they have held an oyster bar for a few years now, because it is popular. The oysters offered come from the Hiroshima part of the Seto Inland Sea.

I went for the tasting of three oysters. The lemon also came from Hiroshima. The first oyster was from Etajima-cho, Etajima-shi. Miura-san's oysters. I remember it had a briny flavor. As for the sparkling wine, it was a chardonnay from Hiroshima. Villaqua, produced from Japanese grapes by Miyoshi Winery.

The flavor of the wine was light and lovely. It was a good choice to go with the oysters. The second oyster was from Suzuki Farm in Higashino, Osakikamijima-cho. They are called Claire oysters and are aged which gives them a sweet and rich taste. This was definitely a flavorful oyster. I could taste the sweetness.

However my favorite oyster was Z.  The Z oysters came from フルスイout of Akitsu-cho, Higashihiroshima City. Since I could not find a Romaji version of their name, it could be Furusai or Full Sai. It's the problem with unusual katakana words. As for the oyster, I did find that it was really delicious. I definitely would go for enjoying this again.

Three oysters wasn't enough for dinner, so after a little shopping I came back to try the Kanazawa fried oysters. 

These were amazing! Definitely the best fried oysters I have eaten. Tender and tasty. I wish I could have some now. And there was a second glass of Villaqua sparkling chardonnay. Because it was also very good.

I bought a couple things that night. Along with this ginjo sake from Nakao Sake Brewery. They have been brewing sake in Hiroshima since 1871 and they became renowned for using their original apple yeast when creating their sake.

Besides it being a very nice sake, the bottle came with a sake cup in this beautiful vivid blue. That was the reason I picked this sake out of all of the sake sold at TAU. Plus it was a really good sake.

So besides getting to try delicious Hiroshima oysters, wine and sake, I tried something else new that night. I discovered the Yurakucho Line train has a station right by the store. Ginza-itchome Station is under the street at Hiroshima TAU. TAU's address is Ginza Ueichi Building 1-chōme-6-10 Ginza, Chuo City, Tōkyō-to 104-0061. 

Hiroshima Cafe and More

I wasn't done shopping that day. Taking the Marunouchi Line to Ginza, I stopped at a favorite place for food items. But first, dinner. I decided to try the Hiroshima Cafe at TAU.

I had seen they were serving cold curry noodles from Jinraiken restaurant in Hiroshima. Of course I had to take a photo with mini acrylic Mana.

This was a good choice for the hot humid weather. I was surprised at the spiciness, which was just right. The cold shrimp were marinated in lemon juice. I'm glad I finally was able to try one of Hiroshima's well known cold noodle dishes. Jinraiken's website is here https://www.kure-reimen.com/

Following my meal I picked up a few things. Water jellies are very popular in Japan in the summer. This one is from Baken Mozart Shop, known for their baked goods and sake jelly.

No sake in this one. It has "Hiroshima's famous water" and Hiroshima hassaku oranges. I was expecting sweet but this was a bit bitter. Once I got beyond my surprise, the cool jelly with the juicy orange slices was enjoyable.

Seriously, it's hard to resist taking photos with acrylic Mana. Like my dinner the next day. Karaage chicken from one of the little shops in Ikebukuro Station. 

Along with a Setoda Lemon Ale from the sake shop in TAU. It is produced by Yamaguchi Narutaki Kogen Brewery and I enjoyed it. The lemon flavor was just right. I also bought a small bottle of sake, because Hiroshima brewers make really good sake.

Also part of my dinner that night was unagi roll from Midori Sushi in Ikebukuro Station. I've written about them before. It's nice how they change some items for each season.

Another beer I picked up was this Shimanowa Beer Kure Ginjo, from Kure, Hiroshima. It is made using Hiroshima sake yeast. The taste was more like a dark beer. I didn't think it was bad, but I preferred the lighter Setoda Lemon Ale.

Speaking of lemons, of course I bought a couple bottles of lemon juice. It's hard to find lemon juice that has the natural sweetness like the ones produced in Hiroshima. This bottle comes from Shimagocoro, a company known for the lemon cakes they make. It's 100% pure Setoda lemon juice, recommended for drinking. Also for drinking is the Onomichi Port Opening 850th Anniversary Coffee, from Geishu Onomichi Coffee (芸州おのみち珈琲) in Onomichi. They are a new coffee roaster there. It is a blend of six beans and is very nice.

I am going to find some more food specialty markets for my next trip. I love trying out special items from different areas. Sometimes Uwajimaya market near where I live has events from different areas in Japan. Their Sapporo food fair was really tasty. And I will always go back to TAU Hiroshima in Ginza because I'm always finding new foods and drinks to enjoy.

From Meguro to Ginza

I'm always looking for interesting things to see when I travel. One day during my last trip to Tokyo in March this year, I found myself walking along a long river under sakura trees. 

It's interesting and sometimes sad to see what Japan does with their waterways in their urban landscape. Not just the sides are bricked up, but the bottom too. 

Even so, it was a pretty river. And even prettier when when the sakura bloom. 

Along the way I came across what I think is Jizo, possibly for travelers along this river side road.

Along with this balcony full of aliens. 

Sadly the sakura were not blooming yet. The buds meant it would happen soon. 

As for the river, it was Meguro-gawa. 

and in Meguro, I was headed to this place. 

However I didn't realize there was a number of steps required to enter the building. First one went in another building to get a number. It appeared people were filling out forms there. After that one had to wait in this line. Information that is missing on the English Starbuck's website. 

I wasn't too bothered by this, since Starbucks isn't high on my list of places to visit, in part because there are Starbucks everywhere in the US. I just thought it would be interesting because it was brand new in Tokyo.

Heading back to the Naka-Maguro Station, I still wanted something to drink. I stopped in this cute little restaurant Longcafe Stand.

I enjoyed a bit of iced tea while figuring out where I wanted to go for dinner. 

One train ride later I found myself back under that moon. 

In the luxury shopping center of Tokyo. Where I made a reservation for dinner the next night at the Vampire Cafe.

Yes it's Ginza again. 

Fun to see this Queen pop-up shop in front of one of the ritzy stores. Japan still loves Queen. 

It was nice to see again the astrology clock of Ginza Diamond Shiraishi.

Since the Moi-même-Moitié collaboration dinner at Vampire Cafe didn't start till the next day, I headed over to my other favorite place in Ginza. TAU Hiroshima Brand Shop. I thought I would try the Italian place upstairs, MERI Principessa. But unfortunately the whole restaurant was reserved for a company that evening. My luck this day was not going well.

So I ended up at a place I'd eaten at before. But the name of the place had changed. It's now Koi Koi. But they still serve Hiroshima okonomiyaki.

And they still have the long grill where it gets a little warm. So it was one of those moments that a tall beer was welcome. 

While I watched the show. Fire up that okonomiyaki! 

Or slather it with this white gloop. That white gloop was grated mountain yam, naga-imo.

And that was my okonomiyaki. 

 And it was quite good. I was happy to sit down and enjoy this meal. If you happen to be traveling to Tokyo and want to try okonomiyaki, Koi Koi in TAU Hiroshima Brand Store in Ginza is one place you can do that.