Epic Journey - A Feast For The Eye....And The Stomach!

Is it April already?  Yes, my epic journey to Japan has taken place and I am still overwhelmed by all that I have learned and experienced.  Truly a journey of a lifetime!  I kept a blog while I was there, so if you are interested in more than just food relating to Japan, you might want to check it out at www.yonseiinjapan.blogspot.ca.

The food?  Wow.  The first thing I will say is that presentation is so important in Japan.  Everything is presented so beautiful...lacquer boxes, delicate dishes, gorgeous wrapping...it is something to behold.  In our Japanese-Canadian culture, we refer to boxed lunch as 'bento' boxes....well let's just say that in Japan, a bento box ('obento' in honourific culture...which translates directly to 'honourable bento box') is an art rather than a way to pack your lunch!

  
Small portions, beautifully cut, artfully presented....inspired a feeling of tranquility.  Zen.

And I LOVED breakfast!  Rice, tea, salted fish....you'd think you would get tired of it and yearn for an omelette?  Not me...I really enjoyed the Japanese breakfasts.  The only downside is that coffee (especially large, North American quantity) is not generally a part of it.  My fellow delegates and I could often be found in the wee hours of the morning, wandering swiftly through the hotel labrynth hoping to find the only coffee shop in the hotel open before our day began...the one with the good coffee and the BIG cups...some North American habits are hard to shake.

Kyoto really is the cultural capital of Japan, and there you will find unique, 'Kyoto-style' cuisine.  For example odofu is a meal of tofu.  Sound boring?  Anything but.  It comes in various forms...simmering in a lovely broth, infused beautifully with sesame (I need to find a recipe for that), covered with a thick miso sauce...all different ways to enjoy tofu as a main course.

On a 'free' and memorable night in Kyoto, my colleagues and I went out in search of a good restaurant in Gion. Gion is an area of 'old' Kyoto, a cultural hot spot where the Geiko (Geisha) and Maiko (apprentice Geisha) can sometimes be spotted.  We searched through the dark, narrow streets and finally came upon a place that seemed right.  It was a small restaurant and like most, we were greeted warmly at the door.  There was only one other couple in the restaurant, which made the experience seem much more intimate.  We sat at the sushi bar and ordered a multitude of amazing food and drink...including fried tempura, fresh sushi, grilled beef, even blowfish...and all finished off nicely with Japanese scotch.  If my colleagues are reading this, they will be waiting for me to say that I'm not exactly a scotch person, but I'll admit the experience was finished off nicely with the conviviality of a toast of scotch!

Inspired?  I am.  I am not having salted fish for breakfast today...but I am definitely feeling inspired both culturally and culinarily...is that a word??  Kampai!