Lunching Sea Urchin Rice Pot; Asakusa, Tokyo
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After the temple, I decided to have early lunch here in Asakusa rather than in the heart of Tokyo. I figured it would be much more interesting to have lunch here in Asakusa. There are many little streets with low rise house like places in the area. Shave ice places, Soba houses, knife stores, textile houses, kimono shops, tea houses, paper shops and much more! There are many interesting traditional looking places here in Asakusa. I started to stroll a bit to find a perfect spot for my little lunch here!
OK, At the end I decided to go to this lovely place below for “Kamamesh: An individual rice pot with various ingredients that you can choose from their offer. I eyed on this place earlier. My ‘ Travel Instinct’ was smelling it again. ” You know what? This place will be great!”
A jack pot for me!! A beautiful lady and two gentlemen gracefully dressed in lovely hue of Grey Kimono lively greet me. ” Irrat -shiamase!! ( Welcome!) Yes, I’m in a right place and I already know the lunch will be fab!
Here the menu describing what I am having, Kamameshi!! I just started trying Sea Urchin. In Japan and Korea both Sea urchin is very popular and it is considered as delicacy. I never liked how it looked but I tried one day on a bed of fresh cucumber with shiso leaf and I really loved it. The texture was actually nice. Not too mush or slimy as I always imagined. It has the flavor of fresh ocean and natural sweetness. Now I really like it! So I order the Sea Urchin pot!
Everything is made to order, So I wait for good 20 minutes: 20 minutes for rice gets cooked to a perfection in this small individual pot with nice and chunk wooden top. This is truly “Slow Food”. Pre-cooked Pasta? Forget about it!
As I open the wooden top, I smell the aroma of sweet Sea Urchin and comforting rice all mixed happily and that subtle smell of sake! Ahhhhhh, This is going to be ammmaaaazing!
Oh My God! I only had a little bite and it is absolutely delicious! The rice is perfectly seasoned in broth. It’s not too hard or over cooked. I just know the Sea Urchin is the top of the quality. And simple hearty miso soup to go with. Deliciousness wraps around my head and body and I feel wooed by it…!
Hahahaha, look at my busy hands!! hihi.. By the way, in between while you are eating, you want to cover the pot with the wooden top.
Good to the last piece. Yum Yum Yum!!! The meal was about $20.00 including miso soup and japanese pickles. So worth it! There are many amazing restaurants in Asakusa that have more of traditional attitude. You will really love it!
Walking back to main road to catch a taxi to head out to Ebisu to stop by at store Capital, and I keep finding more amazing sights here. Below is a family run traditional rice cracker place. They ‘Hand’ grill each rice patty on the charcoal grills using chop sticks. I see Grandpa, Grandma, Son and everyone here. It almost looked like a movie set. This shop is more than 100 years old.
The name of the shop. Hmmm I can’t really read this one…
Bye Bye Asakusa, Thank you for lovely morning and the lunch! I’ll be back!!!
Seoul Story 4: Sulong Tang!
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Rich milky beef shank and bone broth, “Sulong Tang” with Mom and Dad. We come here at least once when I’m in Korea now. The broth is simmered and prepared in enormous iron pots for days and nights sitting on traditional wood burning fire pits. There are multiple pots simmering and brewing this rich broth separated by parts of the cow this restaurant uses.
Here we have a core table of Korean Sulong Tang! Kimch, young green peppers and rustic miso paste to be dipped, finely chopped fresh scallion. Check out the soup! How milky that is. Sulong Tang is never served already seasoned. The broth is just water and cow bones that are boiled forever. You will need to season by using good old simple rock salt. Here this restaurant uses Bamboo Baked Sea salt which comes in bit of grey shade. What’s in the soup? Bits and pieces of meat, slices of Ginseng, mushroom. Clean and rich flavor. Actually this soup is ideal for cold winter days, it will fill you up and heal your soul…!
Seoul Story 2: Garosu Gil
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After a long day of fitting and all with our vendors in Seoul, Daniel, Amy and I headed out to Garosu Gil in Seoul. Garosu means “Trees that are lined up on the side walk” and Gil means the Street. Garosu Gil is a small area in South side of “Han River” that has many cafes, Restaurants and small boutiques that reminds of Nolita in NY. Bit Young, lively, bohemian and somehow also bit polished.
Here a home style cooking Korean Restaurant, “Modern Bapsang”. You will find many places that are literally residential property transformed into a lovely small businesses in Seoul And I like it for it’s approachable warm attitude. I love the pink wall against the green along the rustic wood paneled passage way. You pass the small alley then you will hit the open yard staging the open door restaurant filled with people dining. It’s very Lovely!
One After another plenty of open door restaurants are lined up along the Garosu here in Garosu Gil. It was a Monday evening but it seemed like it did not matter to anyone here. Hustle an bustle, the night is just not long enough!
A open kitchen Japanese Restaurant.
A sake house.
Sorry I didn’t pay attention to the name of this place, but You can’t miss it! This hugely open rustic modern coffee shop is quite fantastic with a roof top as well. The street becomes the coffee shop and the shop becomes your street.
Here’s another good example of a private residency turned into a lovely Italian restaurant. Every inch between the building has been used up for outdoor space business here in Garosugil.
This little and very much old school ” Oden” house is epitome of bohemian soul of Koreans. Just right amount of space and your perfect friends sitting right next to you chatting and sipping. I find this place superbly designed thinking of your tired soul in mind.
Any Second floor offers just important business opportunities as the ground floor in Seoul. Just like in Tokyo it’s a big metropolitan city that needs endless space for endless ideas.
After bit of wondering, here we sat down and had some street food with a modern twist at ” School Food”. It’s a restaurant where offers all the street food that every Korean had grew up on during the school years. Above pic shows 9 flavor mini kimbap ( korean style maki roll)! Can you see the Squid ink rice maki with spicy squid inside? The rest futures toasted baby anchovies, kimchi, tuna with fresh sesame leaf, bulgogi ( thinly sliced bbqed sirloin) and more. Yummy!
This Ttuck bocki will put your tongue on fire! The #1 street food for all the students in Korea. Rice cake simmered in spicy chili broth with onions, cabbage and oden bits. Water please!!
Here some of cute shops on Garosugil. This shop called ” Happy Lady” had some great soft tops at reasonable price.
If you are visiting Seoul one day, Garisu gil is a place to check out. You will have fun strolling!
Seoul!
Seoul Story 1: Chadolbeghi!
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It’s day 3 with my family in Seoul and everything has been really around the food so far. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Catching up with cousin Yoonhee all day, she took us to this little run down “gogi jip” in YongSan Dong. The restaurant is called ” BongSan Jip” (Youngsan Dong 3 ga 1-21, T: 793-5022) and my cousin even saw a party of 6 of a Fashion designer, Muccia Prada here once. It’s a family run Meat specialized restaurant. You go in, you sit down where you want and order the usual. Chadolbeghi! (Brisket)
The charcoal man brings his small batch of charcoal. Then the circular grill that looks like one made out of bunch of metal chopsticks with center coverage. The light soy based dipping sauce with freshly chopped green scallion and young peppers does the job and also the super thinly sliced the beef Brisket. The thickness of the brisket will change everything. Now what do you do? Wait until the grill gets sizzling hot then put the beef on the grill until it shrinks (cooks) to the perfection, dip it in the sauce and don’t forget to grab a good mount of scallion and the peppers. Delicious!! You have an option to order a spicy Miso in a small pot and a bowl of rice to finish the meal! Ton of tofu and more chadolbeghi are in there! Yum!
paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint : Heavenly Pizza
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Superbly ingrediented Napoletana brick oven Pizze, Friendly owner who resembles Matin Scorsese and the Awesome space. Check it out! 60 Greenpoint Avenue. www.pauliegee.com
Waaaaay, It’s so hot!!! A quick simple lunch in the garden! Yum Yum Yum!
2 organic graded Zucchini, half cup peeled and chopped shrimp, 1 organic whole egg, half cup flower, 1 cup seltzer water, sea salt, pepper. Make into a one big batter and pan fry into a individual size on a hot griddle with olive oil until the edge gets crispy and brown. Deeeeelicious! The dipping sauce here is mixture of water, soy sauce and white vinegar. Mix them into 1:1:1 ratio.
1 shaved cucumber, 1 table spoon white vinegar, drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and couple of ice cubes. This is So summery, crunch and delicious!
Enjoy the Summer!
Bestest
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Chelsea market has become really really good grocery shopping place for all kinds of things! The Lobster House has the best and freshest sea food at much better price than Whole food. So I stopped by at the market the night Rosita was coming and I cooked real delicious cod with vongole sauce!
1.Start with the freshest and “Wild Caught” Cod: Any fish you buy , You always should buy “wild caught”. Because this nation feeds anything and everything with “Corns”. In ocean, there is no Corn naturally but in the fish farm, the man feed fish the corns, the massive commercially grown corn. booooo!
Good sharp and flaky “Maldon” Sea Salt, fresh crackled black pepper, My mother in law, Livia sent young green extra virgin olive oil from Italy, spring red onion, Italian parsley. Set under the broiler.
We have a vintage “Chambers” iron oven from circa late 30’s-early 40’s. It has a fabulous broiler under neath and griddle on the top feature. We use this literally all the time from toasting slices of good bread to dinner like this and to pancakes and, and and ….!
2. On a hot pan add good olive oil, chopped two handful of sweet cherry tomatoes, finely chopped onions and fresh crushed garlic ( more the better) and let it simmer on the medium to low heat. Add salt and fresh pepper. When the tomato gets all softened up add well cleaned live Vongole (about good 2 dozens have been sitting in the sea salt water to spit out sands, drain and rinse thoroughly…) , add more parsley and shot of white wine. Simmer for another few minutes until all the vongole get pretty much cooked but not to the perfection yet!
3. When the fish is almost ready with edge gets bit crispy, pour over the delicious vongole tomato sauce over the broiled fish and broil for another 7-8 minutes to allow the fish and the sauce get all happy together. Drizzle bit of olive oil so the Vongole don’t get dry under the flame.
4. Served family style on the biggest oval shaped thick and heavy milk white porcelain plate we have in the middle of the farm table. Everybody got a glass of Gavi di Gavi ( one of our favorite White)..! Deeeeeelllllllllicious!!!!!!!!! Going and gone in a second! Perfectly cooked flaky fresh cod and sweet Vongole and tangly tomato sauce just dance all together in your mouth heavenly. An Explosion of flavors!!!!
My All time absolute favorite side vegie: Lemon Garlic Olive Oil Kale. Yum Yum Yum!!!!
Try it! They are Delicious!!
Food Works: Calling it all!
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Why not remember all the glorious moments with delicious food and all my friends and family. ( you may not show, but you were there!)
The food opens your senses and heart. It weaves stories. It travels you.
Jessica, Philipp, Kit, Kaja, Jay, Kaja’s Mom, Alex, Lara, Heidi, David, Ana, Keith, Emi, Gael, Jaehee, Daniel, Beppe, Alino, Fufa, Tamara, Daniel, Andrea, Glenda, Franziska, Giorgio, Suzy, Angela, Tania, Tito, Naomi, Mom, Dad, Akyung, Don Diego, Giovanni,Cynthia, Felix, Kelly, Yoonhee, Denny… Love you all!
Hmmm Escargot…? : Why not, We are in Paris!
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Ahh, It’s much warmer than Berlin here. Bon Marche with Kelly then met with Felix and Cynthia for a dinner.
Butter, and lots of butter with fresh Garlic, parsley,( I think… Emi, I needed you there!), baked. See I wasn’t sure about trying escargot… Something about it . The texture and how they move… Hmmm, bit hesitant. But I liked it! I mean mostly tasted like garlic and the herb but the texture was kind of between shell fish and octopus. Green and Beat salad. Green bean and more green salad.
Cynthia swears this is it. The best roasted chicken in town! Roasted with mushroom and potato. A glass of Sancere.
There’s a name for this. I just remember. But anyway, puff pastry, ice cream, toasted and shaved almond and chocolate syrup….
Walking back: The Alley, cobble stone and the couples… Belle Paris!
