Breakfast Monday at Okehase, at the Granvia Hotel, a traditional Japanese
meal that began with fresh carrot juice and hojicha tea. We were then presented with our own trays
with several smaller dishes; this is considered a meal of temple traditions.
Starting at 12 o’clock, a puree of white fish and pumpkin, in a slightly
sweetened and thickened dashi-style broth. To the right, and dashimaki, or egg,
roll. Just below them, miso soup. In the bottom right, was a dish with finely
minced scallions, which could be mixed in with the natto (fermented soybeans)
in the bottom right corner. The large bowl in the middle is gohan, which means
rice. This was sort of a porridge style, and the pitcher to its side, a
sweetener for it, but not all that sweet by our Western ways of thinking. To
the left of the gohan was freshly made pickles (Kyoto is well known for its
pickle varieties), and on the far side, kombu (seaweed) and itty bitty dried
fish; both of these dishes could be mixed into the gohan. At 9 o’clock, there’s
greens with shaved bonito, steamed salmon, and in the top left corner, was a
small pureed chicken ball with carrot, daikon, and kabocha squash that was
carved into the shape of a leaf.
Lunch was on our own, and we found a noodle house and I had my first udon
with tempura.Yumyumyum!
Group dinner was at a place near the Gion district. This was
essentially a kaiseki dinner, or meal of multiple small, seasonal dishes.
Starting with,
at 9 o’clock, squares of freeze dried tofu, middle one black rice, 12 o’clock,
fiddle head fern greens (watercress?), 2 oc –kobocha squash, 3 oc – purple
potato, 5 oc – a potato salad, 7 oc – eggplant with miso, 11 oc – miso with
winter melon; in the middle, hijiki seaweed.
Then was a
sashimi course, a young red hamachi. Octopus. Mackerel.
Tempura with
fish puree (kamabuko); these were particularly nice, as they had rice
“crispies” on the outside, and kabocha squash.
Noodles
(nu-men) with sesame, scallions, ginger.
Faux tofu,
made from sesame seeds (tasted like tahini).
Gohan (rice)
with the itty bitty fishes, pickles, and miso.
Bancha tea. Tapioca and
red beans with soy and coconut milks.
Leaving Kyoto
on Tuesday morning, we headed to the north east to an indigo dyer, who dyes using
traditional methods. Along the way, saw both sorghum and buckwheat that had
recently been harvested, as well as rice.
We had lunch
not far from his village and were treated to freshly made (that morning!) green
tea soba noodles.
First
presented with kabocha squash with pickles, followed by the new season’s rice
with mushrooms, also in season. And then
the delicious cha-soba noodles with a dipping sauce of dashi and shoyu.
We continued
to the north to the ryokan (inn) of Miyamasa, a 3-starred Michelin
establishment, complete with ofuro, or hot, communal baths. Apparently, the
place does not book many foreigners, our tour group has been going for a number
of years, and the staff appears to be genuinely pleased to have their repeat
business. It’s apparently a vacation spot mostly for Japanese
We had a small
welcoming ceremony upon arrival, with akebe (sp?) tea (really a tisane, as it
didn’t contain tea leaves; it’s a local plant, had a nice light bitterness to
it), horse chestnut mochi, and then matcha tea. {Oooops, I wrote most of this post when we didn't have internet connections, and I realize now, I don't have the photos downloaded; will have to add them in later, sorry!}
Dinner was a
production, to say the very least! We were seated on tatami mats on the floor;
fortunately, our little chairs had backs to them, as dinner lasted over 2
hours. As each dish as brought in, the young women who are our waitresses come
and sit down on their knees in front of you, bow slightly to you, and ask if
they can take the previous dish away. In between dishes, they are constantly
refilling sake cups and water glasses, as it’s impolite to pour them for
yourself.
1 – Ginko nuts
and miso with mushrooms, served on a magnolia leaf, over an individual charcoal
grill; one of my favorite dishes of the evening; and kabu, or pickled turnip;
these first two were served with handmade chestnut chopsticks, which Is what
shogun would use before going into battle – very auspicious!
2 – Shiro miso
soup with kobocha squash and a tiny bit of mustard; so incredibly fresh and
creamy – I’ve never had a miso that creamy before. Paired with koi sashimi,
which was fresh, but a bit rubbery, and without much flavor.
3 – Mukago (a
rhizome/tuber) with kuzu sauce
4 – The small
cup had delicious tofu made from walnut milk. Small dish on right had an egg
yolk pickled in miso. I am not a yolk person (unless they’re scrambled in with
the whites), but I forced myself to try it. Smooth, gelatinous, sticky. Faint
yolk flavor, and I nearly gagged on it, sorry. Crysanthemum something. Ayu, a
riverfish, prepared roasted, a bit bitter. Roasted chestnut. Boiled peanut.
Roasted edamame. Crawfish, Small white square you can’t really see, we think
it’s a jerusalem artichoke, and it was really good. Koneyaku is the jelly-like
paste made from the konjak (?) plant, with horse chestnut breading.
5—Mackerel
with sushi rice (gohan) and ginger.
6 – Matsutake
mushrooms (seasonal) with yuzu -– delicious! They make a bonito broth, and then
add mushrooms, greens, and eel. When serving, add a piece of yuzu fruit to the
pot, and pour out the liquid into a cup, then eat what’s left in the pot. The
broth was so rich tasting!
7 – Ayu with
roe, grilled on cedar planks; great smell, rather granular with the roe.
8 – Mushroom
hot pot, with 4 kinds of mushrooms, lotus, mochi. Good, but not as good as the
mushroom and yuzu.
9 – Gohan with
chestnut, with seaweed and cucumber pickles.
10 – Jellied
akebe fruit, with grapes, persimmon, and Asian pear.
Lots of small dishes! Would hate to be the dishwasher in these parts. But such a beautiful meal, not just this one, but the other ones we have taken part in, and it's been great to experience traditional Japanese foods and cultural traditions.
Gochiso sama desh'ta! It was a feast!
