The day the jellyfish became a cloud: Cool restaurant in Kanazawa

Dining for 2 overlooking the floodlit garden

Well after 10 months of living here I thought I'd sampled my fair share of some of the wonderful eatieries in Kanazawa but none that could quite match this little hidden gem. I say hidden because this really isn’t a restaurant any tourist or gaijin resident of Kanazawa would simply stumble upon, unless you get totally lost down the back streets down the back of the samurai district and even then you wouldn’t know it was a restaurant!

And I say gem because, well....I’ve not been to anything that mixes contemporary cool with the traditional so brilliantly, it made me feel totally untrendy! My only caveat here is that I’m not a tourist in Kanazawa, I live here on a measly ALT wage and quite possibly there are many other top hidden gem restaurants in Kanazawa that I just can’t afford to go to. Cue the boo hoos...

So a few weeks ago I was sat in a bar with my friend Maylee and she showed me this cool little wooden ketai chain (like a keyring for mobile phones) explaining that a work colleague had taken her to this fab restaurant with a wickedly bizzare name..wait for it.... "The Day the Jellyfish became a Cloud" (くらげが雲になる日 or in romanji : kurage ga kumo ni naru hi) that had a member/loyalty scheme. Basically the first time you go to the restaurant you get given a blank key ring and a first timers menu, the 2nd time you get the next menu up with a few more dishes added and even cooler they engrave your little wooden key ring with a kanji symbol. Not just any kanji either, it’s the first kanji symbol for the The Day the Jellyfish became a Cloud.

Anyone looking for a break from Japanese cuisine but still wants modern Japanese style and ambience then this IS the place well that’s if you can find it, hehe.

I mean even as you enter through the Japanese courtyard it’s hard to know whether you’re not wandering about in some randoms garden...blink and you’ll miss the sign outside and no signs for anyone who walks into the courtyard. Just follow the stepping stone path to the right and through the door to the deceptively large and beautiful Japanese garden all lit up, it gives you a good feeling of a place.

Floodlit garden, sorry only had my mini camera

Although Maylee had been once before she started walking across the garden but I had an intelligent moment (first time for everything) and noticed that she was making fresh footprints in the snow and questioned whether that was the right way. It wasn’t!

Anyway round the back we found a tatami screen door, no sign or anything, and cautiously entered. Yep this was it, hallelujah. After literally unchanging..well shoes off, coats off, and then multiple unpeeling of layers we had a chance to marvel the inside of the restaurant.

A superb place with a orori (traditional fireplace) in the middle centrepiece, urban Japanese style, a long dining bar and a unique 2 seat dining set up exclusively overlooking the beautiful garden. How romantic, check it out! Even the table accessories were very cool. See pics

Menu was quite simple, about 5 choices of noodles and curry “pan asian” according to Maylee who was now looking at her members menu…I was so jealous, she had more choices! I opted for the Beef noodles which were sensational and really woke up the taste buds again. Awww fresh lemongrass and coconut, close your eyes you’d think you’re in Thailand. Well sort of.

Anyway didn’t want this to turn into a long, gabbling post but if you’re in Kanazawa and fancy a wonderful “pan Asian” dinner (especially if you’re a couple) then this is the place to go. Oh and apparently they’re open every evening apart from Sunday 5pm-10pm.

I could only find websites and blogs with more photos in Japanese but feel free to have a look at these fab pics

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/teamnorinori/59591530.html

http://30min.jp/place/376974

What are you waiting for?!

PS Google map below



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Sapporo Snow Festival: Eating wagyu beef, kind of..

All this cold and we fancied a big piece of steak. Well Hokkaido is famous for the fact it has cows, horses and actually just animals unlike some places in Japan.

Maylee found a Steakhbouse serving wagyu, you know that famous Japanese beef? Its almost a delicacy here, renowned for its flavour but more so by breeding techniques such as massaging the cattle and adding sake to their feed.

Reservation made, a quick download of the address onto her trusty iPhone (all in kanji, you see its not as simple in Japan trying to find places when you can’t read the kanji!) and we were on our way to Steakhouse Ushitei in town.

For those thinking about going to Ushitei a reservation isn’t needed, only if you’re in a big party. It was quite a casual place but really friendly staff and an English menu. Unfortunately for us poor earners (ok me not Maylee) the wagyu steaks way too expensive at Y 6,500 for 250g which is about £45. Oh to earn proper money again!!

Anyway, we ordered the 350g hamburger steaks instead forgetting that in Japan hamburgers don’t usually come with the bread bun, the salad, onion and gerkin! Yes in Japan they come as they are, a hambuger steak with sauce. It didn’t matter as we ordered some rice as accompaniment and I can honestly say it was soooo gorgeous.

We then asked her if the burger steak was wagyu and she said no. only the steaks. Shit! We’d gone out of way to find a wagyu steakhouse and didn’t even eat the real macoy..

Ah well we made ourselves feel better by remarking on how much money we had now saved for hitting the bars in Sapporo for a second night running.

Sapporo Snow Festival: Snow sculptures in a blizzard

Woke up with a good old cracking hangover, nothing a bit of traditional Japanese breakfast of fish, rice, pickles and miso can’t sort out”! Weather, sub zero but actually sunny. Wow, it all looks so welcoming! Decided to head out to the Tsudome site (snow tubing and mazes) and then come back and see the snow sculptures at Odori Park after. My idea and in hindsight it was a crap idea.

We spent the most part of the morning trying to find the bus stop then we managed to get on the wrong bus, each of us relying on the other that we knew where we were going, it was hilarious. By the time we got off the wrong bus and had boarded the right bus heading in the right direction a huge snow blizzard had started to the point that I didn’t really want to get off the cosy bus!

We stayed about an hour there, the snow tubing was brilliant fun and there was this place where a snowmobile dragged inflatable tenders around a track, now that's a great alternative to sledging, I’ll have to tell Ben!

Got back for the snow sculptures but our timing was not great as the blizzard had decided to hit the city. I’ve never seen anything like it, I couldn’t even lift my head up! Could but only because her glasses were blocking out the snow!

Check out these scenes....

Watching the Sapporo snowboarding competition in a blizzard

Bloody hell, this snow blizzards giving me a right headache

Yep Maylee is under there somewhere...

Japanese girl in mini skirt in snow blizzard

Oh and of course we’re in Japan so you’re still going to see a handful of people with their mini skirts on and no tights (and some kind of weird tail thing going on)

Near the bottom of the Odori Park we came across the international snow sculpting competition which including competitors from the US, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong, China etc. Each team (it looked like) got given a block of packed snow a few feet high/wide and a set time to create something amazing.

Well...the Dutch decided to do nothing with theirs (is there enough snow in Holland for them to even have professional ice carvers?!) and so instead handed out snow gifts, basically a snow brick hacked off and wrapped up with some ribbon, with an underlying message about the icecaps melting. Personally I wondered if they just knew they wouldn’t win so went for the easy option instead of slaving away on the ice? Ok that’s me being totally cynical.

Over to the Finnish sculpture and a very cute family in the sauna scene, the Singapore team and a wonderful flower display, China working on an amazing Buddha image and then to the US....

Well we all know the US usually excel in all competitive events but I was sneakily chuffed to see that the US sculpture was absolutely dire, a guy from Portland trying to sculpt some grapes which didn’t really look like grapes. To rub salt into the poor guys’ wounds his neighbour, the super talented Hong Kong team, had carved what could only be described as a Chinese looking dragon masterpiece. Well see the pics and maybe you’ll see what I mean.

Sour grapes.....

Walking on a bit we stumbled on what my friends know as a personal favourite of mine; an international outdoor food hall. Brilliant. Since the Japanese don't do anything but chipolata sized Frankfurter plastic tasting sausages I just couldn't resist a fat meaty Brazilian sausage on a stick....

He looks friendly but I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of this guy.. check out knife

Sapporo Snow Festival: Ramen experience no 2

Both numb with the cold we decided to save the larger snow sculptures until the next day and head to the ramen shop that the head lady at the ryokan recommended. Ramen Alley? She said forget it. This ramen shop (sorry dont know the name!) was her personal favourite.

The ramen shop was......well a typical ramen shop; tiny, packed with people (mostly men) slurping on their ramen and beers and Japanese cooks with those towels on their heads running about.

Struggled a bit with the all Japanese menu but Maylee (who has no fear) asked the guy “ichi ban oishiee” and “ichi ban Hokkaido no yumei” which probably isn’t the best Japanese to ask for the best most famous ramen in Hokkaido but he understood (or probably just sent along with it as we were clueless tourists speaking broken Japanese) and recommended “Ichigo” and “shinshue”.

I opted for the spicier one served with a Sapporo beer (when in Sapporo and all that....)

To be honest I’m still not convinced why people rave on about ramen so much; glorified super noodles with a piece of fatty pork floating on the top and a pinch of spring onion springs to mind (god have I just committed total ramen sacrilege here!)

Maylee assured me that it wasn’t that great and she’d eaten better Hokkaido ramen in Kanazawa. “What?” I said “You mean you think that you can get better Hokkaido ramen in Kanazawa than the one at this ramen shop recommended to us by a local?” (She later told me she got it confused with ramen from a completely different area in Japan, DOH!!)

Maylee totally has the slurping thing down to a tee. I, however, seem to nearly choke every time I try and slurp. I still can’t quite get over that cultural hurdle though.

Maylee with bowl bigger than head slurping away with the rest of the locals in the ramen shop.

Before anyone starts commenting and in my defence can I just say that I read in "Eat, Sleep, Sit" that Zen Buddhist monks in training were also forbidden to make noises when they eat!

Anyway, ippai with ramen we headed back to the ryokan to get ready for our big night out in Sapporo!

Omi-Cho Market: Kanazawa's Kitchen

Wow, I can't believe I have yet to write a post about the wonderful Omi Cho market in Kanazawa. This is a must for anyone visiting Kanazawa.

Omi-Cho has around 200 shops, stalls and restaurants so give yourself at least an hour. The atmosphere in there is fantastic; a chorus of "irasshes" (welcome) from the stall holders who follow up by shouting out their deals and whipping the customers crowds into a frenzy of buying.

These stalls overflow with seasonal Kaga veggies, specialised dry foods, tubs of fresh pickles and of course seafood. If you're only visiting Japan this is a great opportunity to see what the locals eat and even try food out for yourself. One stall owner was cracking open fresh oysters for passing customers at ￥300 a pop. If it wasn't for my stomach's turbulent relationship with shellfish I would have had one.

You can also eat some of the fresh seafood in Kanazawa both on the market floor (there's a couple of good sushi belt restaurants) and on the 2nd floor above the market (more upmarket) When mum was here we went to a really popular restaurant upstairs, just take the escalators to the 2nd floor, take a right and look for the restaurant with the live fish tank just inside the entrance (sorry Ive lost the photos) . The menus aren't in English but the waitresses are so friendly and can help you choose. This place must be a favourite for the locals as by 12.30pm the place was full with a queue forming outside. Our food was absolutely out of this world.

I have been to the market so many times but it was an amazing sight in December, snow crab season, where an eye boggling amount of fresh (some still live) crab were being sold everywhere you look.

Some crabs, with ridiculously long claws, were being sold for ￥8000 each (about £55) or is that a batch of 10? I'm not sure!

I had a great day taking pics, just wandering around the bustling market and marvelling at how lucky I am to have a fresh market to buys my groceries. Make sure you go if you're in Kanazawa.

NB Most of the shops at Omi-cho market are closed on Sundays and holidays.

My first bowl of ramen in Japan

Yes I've lived here for 10 months now and ashamed to admit that I have yet to eat a single bowl of ramen...well until this weekend. I blame it on the fact my friends have all been here for years and the novelty of eating shed loads of Japanese food has worn off. Ramen, for those who don't know, is a a Japanese noodle dish that originated in China.

After knocking back an infiniate number of vodkas, dancing badly at Apres, stumbling out at 4.30am and roaming the streets on Saturday night what better time to try out the infamous ramen! So the three of us fell into the ramen shop. Eating ramen in Japan is probably akin to hitting the kebab shop in the UK after a boozy night out (except ramen is eaten during the day in specialised ramen shops too unlike those nasty kebabs....) Full of drunk men with fags hanging out of their mouths (yes they still smoke indoors here) and falling over themselves to speak English ("Allo, you are total beautiful") Well that's until the ramen arrives and the deafening chorus of slurping begins.

I opted for the shoyu (soy) ramen (the other was miso ramen), a steal at only ￥500 (about 3 quid) If I'm honest I wasn't that impressed, really salty. I could have made better super noodles at home.

If you want to try ramen in Kanazawa there is apparently a good ramen restaurant called Ippudo. http://www.ippudo.com/store/#koshinetsu. It's just on the street around the corner from Zara in Tatematchi (the paved shopping street in Katamatchi) Good luck!

My British cookery lesson debut!

Looking the professional chef as ever

Last month my Japanese teacher Yoko somehow roped me into agreeing to teach at one of her monthly cookery classes. Each month they cover a different nationality and she decided it was time for a British one. Cue lots of panic, sweat and gooogling "traditional British food" and before you think "fish and chips" don't, I'm not going to be blamed for reinforcing that stereotype!

I was lucky enough to be going home for Christmas so just thought I'd get a ton of practice in for my actual lesson scheduled for 24th Jan. I'd originally decided to make beef and ale pie, a proper British dish but after a failed attempt at home (the meat was so dry it was like chewing cardboard..) I decided on a more festive option; mince pies, brandy butter and mulled wine. OK not exactly great for January but it'd do.

So the day before I hopped on a flight back, my sis in law Hels, nieces and me squeezed in some last minute practice making mince pies for the first time using this really handy pre-rolled frozen pastry. They turned out really well although mine looked ready for the pig trough and Hels' looked liked Delias ; )

Anyway, back in Japan and I'm brimming with confidence. The day before my cookery lesson I set out with a shopping list as long as my arm. I found a lot ingredients with no hiccups but where are the cake tins? I went to every cookery department in Kanazawa slowly realising that the Japanese just don't use them! Ahh of course not because they don't bake. Why? Because they don't have ovens!

So my friend Ayako, bless her, ran around another part of town looking for anything that looked remotely like a cake tin taking pics of on her phone and sending them to me for checking. In the meantime, I was sending her pics on my phone of foods like sugar bags and flour for her to read the Kanji for me and check that I wasn't buying salt when I needed sugar. You see, things are twice the challenge sometimes in Japan!

I also discovered on my `rapidly turning stressful` shopping trip that the Japanese don't sell icing sugar, that raisins are considered a semi luxury item in Japan (a small fancy looking bag will cost ￥780, about £5) and the worst news of all, they don't sell that really handy pre-rolled frozen shortcrust pastry, agggggh.

Sunday came. I was soo worried. Having lugged a dead body weight of a rucksack full of ingredients to the cookery school, I hurriedly prepped everything up and it was time to start. About 15 people showed up, all women apart from Nori my helper at school, thank god it wasn't 40 like she had at Christmas.

Some of the cookery school gals

The lesson kicked off with Yoko telling everyone what we were about to make and I gave out my wonderfully prepared handouts with some history of eating mince pies & drinking mulled wine. Good start. Next though was pastry making. I can hand on heart say reveal that this was the first time I'd ever made pastry. I somehow managed to convince them I knew what I was doing as each group would ask me to check the consistency of their pastry was right and I authoritatively would tell them they needed more flour/water etc. Hahahahaha

Once the pastry was all in the fridge they were all asking what next at which point I'd check my step by step recipe guides hidden away on a side table.

Rock n Roll-preparing to roll my rock hard pastry... (note look of horror on ladies face)

I thought the worst was over but oh how I was so wrong! When the pastry was ready for rolling, Yoko thought it'd be best for everyone to watch a pastry rolling and cutting demonstration from me first. So in front of 15 keen and eager cooks huddled round a cooking station, I picked up the pastry (which was now rock hard, eeek?!) and tried to pretend I knew what I was doing. Well the minute I rolled it out it fell apart. It almost blew my cover but then behaved itself enough for me to cut out 2 round shapes for the top and bottom of the mince pie. Typical my luck, the pastry cutters were too small. What a pavala.



My class then went back to their stations and it was like police academy meets cookery school. Flour was everywhere, gooey dough sticking to the hands and then on the opposite scale dough that was falling apart at a touch. Somehow everyone managed to line their tins with pastry (although some poor buggers had to use muffin tins)



In comparison to the pastry, making the mincemeat was a dream. I think the Japanese ladies were a bit shocked at how much booze I poured into the mincemeat mixture, although I did note a few gleeful looks amongst them too.



I had used suet bought from the UK for the mincemeat (I'd at least had some sense that the Japanese wouldn't sell suet) but I hadn't anticipated them asking me on the spot what they could use as an alternative! Errrrrr....maybe cornflour I said?



The mincemeat worked out perfectly and I had a lot of "iee yo ne's" (smells good) and caught a few of them dishing out spoonfuls of the stuff to taste.



Next was the mulled wine, nothing too stressy here. They did find sticking the cloves into the orange halves quite fascinating and akin to poking a voodoo doll. I also made a non-alcoholic mulled wine with grape juice which didn't taste too bad (In Japan you can't even drink a sniff and drive)



I honestly didn't realise how tricky it is to line pastry tins. I cleverly decided against doing my own "show pies" during the lesson knowing they'd turn out like a dogs dinner. Awwww that wonderful fresh baing smell filling the kitchen and the mince pies were finally ready.





What do you think? OK they don't really look like mince pies but I didn't think we did too badly for a first attempt. Three and half hours later we were ready to sit and eat our freshly made pies and drink mulled wine.



Such a fab day full of laughs. I think everyone enjoyed themselves by the looks on their faces!

Fun shinkansen sushi train at Mori Mori restaurant, Kanazawa

Saturday night I was invited to join the lovely Kimura sensei and family for dinner (along with Nori, my assistant aka the assistant's assistant) in Kanazawa. It's so nice to mingle with teachers out of the school staffroom. They always seem so stressed at school, well its no wonder really. They don't have a single break the entire day and just run about like headless chickens. I'm so glad just an ALT.

Anyway we went to もりもり (Mori Mori sushi) restaurant for dinner. Embarassingly I have to admit this is the first conveyer type sushi restaurant I have been to in Japan, yes and I've lived here 9 months! My friends here are just not that into sushi so we never end up going (although I do buy mountains from Omi Cho market and my local supa)

So I had been doubly excited when I found out we were going to MoriMori as this is restaurant renowned in Kanazawa (probably amongst kids in playgrounds) as the restaurant with a mini shinkansen (bullet train) that delivers sushi to your table. Wicked!

I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw it chug along the track for the first time that evening and I actually screamed with delight. In fact I was more excited than the kids who probably thought it was so old hat.

The girls were adorable though and the elder one Mizuki (10 yrs old) had been learning English and bodly chatted away to me in English. The younger sister Haruka (5) just wanted to practice her ninja dance she'd learnt at nursery school, shes soooo cute!

The sushi was fab. One dish that Nori ordered was called "Hotaruika" (ホタルイカ) which literally means "firefly squid". In my defence I thought I was just eating regular squid sushi at the time but no this is a special squid.

About 4 cm in length and the smallest in the squid pack, these little blighters illuminate the sea just like their firefly pals do on land. They're common both in the Noto Penninsula area as well as Toyama Bay but are apparently expensive in Tokyo. I just read that apparently in Toyama you can go on a tour where the local fisherman will throw them in the air to light up the pre-dawn sky. Yes they went down the hatch. Don't worry my mouth didn't light up like Blackpool illuminations, they were dead!

I can't say they were that tasty, a bit salty but apparently we're eating them out of season. I guess I'd better try again in March....

Mori Mori Sushi on the 6th floor of Forus Shopping Mall, right next to Kanazawa station.

Map below





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