Beaujolais Nouveau Season in Japan again

It's that time of year again when Beaujolais Nouveau wine hits the market in Japan. When I was working at Takashimaya we would start taking orders for these wines more than a month out. According to this article in The Japan Times it states that sales are on the decrease in Japan. I was surprised to see though that 46% of the Beaujolais Nouveau wines are imported to Japan. Then again, seeing how much of it we sold, I should not be surprised.

Foodie's Guide to Tokyo - Part 2

Where to go for great food in Tokyo. This insider's guide will tip you off on where to go for tempura, ramen, sukiyaki, yakiniku (Korean food, but done well in Japan), tonkatsu, yakitori and fruit.

My favorite izakaya, complete with a sommelier and a nice wine list, may be my top tip on this list.

A trip to Japan for foodies will be much better by hitting one of these places.

Quick and Easy Japanese Pickles to Make at Home

Japanese pickles are a snap to make at home. Here are some basic recipes and techniques to get you started on pickling veggies on your own.


Summer’s bounty tempts me most when it’s presented as pickles—in the steamy season, cool pickled vegetables are particularly welcoming on the palate. The good news is, making your own tsukemono is one of the easiest tasks in the Japanese kitchen. You just have to learn a few techniques before you’re ready to pickle a wide variety of vegetables.

Transforming vegetables into tart, tangy or piquant pickles is worth the minimal effort—all you need a plastic bag and some salt. If you must, invest in a pickle pot that applies pressure to the marinating veggies.

There are many types of pickling methods, including shio-zuke (salt), su-zuke (vinegar), nuka-zuke (rice bran) and miso-zuke (miso). Shio-zuke and su-zuke can quickly be mastered at home. Experiment with different produce and see what tickles your tongue.
My grandmother encouraged me to start pickling 20 years ago by showing me how to throw some Japanese cucumbers, cut up into bite size pieces, inside a plastic bag with a bit of salt. Massage the bag, let it rest in the fridge for up to 15 minutes, and you have your first batch of pickles. Enjoy them as a snack with beer, or with a bowl of hot rice and miso soup. In lieu of salt, try a handful of shio kombu (salted strips of kombu) or some yukari (dried, salted purple shiso leaves). Use this same technique with cabbage, turnips or daikon, and you will quickly gain confidence.

For vinegar-based pickles, combine 6 tablespoons of rice-wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small pan. Heat until the sugar dissolves, then cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, take vegetables such as carrots, daikon or thinly sliced renkon (lotus root), and toss in a bowl with some salt. (This process draws out the water from the vegetables and brings out the umami.) Rinse in water, pat dry, then put into a plastic bag (or pickle pot); add your sweetened rice-wine vinegar and marinate. For citrusy notes, add julienned peels of yuzu or lemon.

Many vegetables just call out to be pickled. Myoga (from the ginger family) or baby ginger turn a blushing color when marinated in the sweet vinegar. Tender Japanese eggplants are a nice contrast to the cooked aubergines we usually see. The bitterness of turnips softens with a soaking in salt. Green leaves from vegetables such as daikon can be transformed into pickles instead of meeting their usual fate of the trashcan.


Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can start to play around. Try pickling with kombucha, umeboshi or soy sauce, or use combinations like cabbage, salt and sesame seeds; or cucumbers, soy sauce and katsuobushi. Throw in a bit of julienned ginger for some extra heat. It’s hard to mess up when you’re making pickles, except for maybe over-salting, so taste as you go along and have fun with it.

If you are in a rush, check the supermarket for instant “asazuke.” Just sprinkle it over vegetables in a plastic bag, massage, and you’re ready to go.

If you’re not inspired to make your own pickles, you can still get creative in the kitchen by cooking with ones that you buy at the store. I like to throw some chopped-up pickles into cooked rice for a maze-gohan, or into the pan when making chahan (fried rice).

The charming restaurant Kintame in the shitamachi area of Monzen-Nakacho may be the best place to sample a wide variety of pickles (above). The colorful array, each with its own texture and aroma, makes for an interesting and offbeat dining experience.

In depachika, you will find several stalls tempting customers with a comprehensive array of colorful and tart pickles. While at the depato, stop by the sake department and pick up some nihonshu, which makes a complement to tsukemono.

Some regions of Japan are particularly well-known for their pickles. Kyoto is famous for senmai-zuke, which are thin slices of large turnip pickled with kombu and a sweet vinegar. Neighboring Nara specializes in a heady and funky Nara-zuke, which is various vegetables pickled in sake lees and salt. In Tokyo, you’ll find sweet bettera-zuke—daikon pickled with koji yeast and sugar.

You too can be as cool as a cucumber this summer if you get this technique under your belt.

Kintame 1-14-3 Tomioka, Koto-ku. Tel: 03-3641-4561. Nearest stn: Monzen-Nakacho. www.kintame.co.jp

http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/751/localflavors.asp

Takashimaya Partners with Hankyu and Hanshin (H20)

This article in The Japan Times talks about the merger of Takashimaya Department Store (my former employer in Tokyo) with Hankyu and Hanshin Department Stores (H20). Both Takashimaya and H20 are based in Osaka.

This is following the announced mergers of Isetan and Mitsukoshi and the other merger of Daimaru and Matsuzakaya.

As a former employee of Takashimaya, it will be interesting to see if/what changes at Takashimaya. Or, if there are changes at Hankyu or Hanshin as a result.

Ochugen Summer Gift-Giving Season

Ochugen is the summer gift-giving season. My two years at Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi had me working very hard during the ochugen season. Many customers would come into the wine department and order "kohaku" wine sets. A bottle each of white wine and red wine packaged conveniently into a box. The colors of red and white together has a meaning of good fortune. Price points are set at about 3,000 yen, 5,000 yen, 8,000 yen, 10,000 yen (and of course upwards).

If you go to Takashimaya department store now through August 15th, head up to the 8th floor where you can see gift sets, many of food, but also of other items, that can be sent to friends, colleagues and family. Many of these can be shipped without having to pay for the shipping fees.

Tanabata Festival at Depachika

Tanabata is the July 7th (7/7) festival celebrating two stars that meet once a year in the skies. This day at Mori no Ike we would write out our wishes on colored sheets of paper and tie them onto a tree.

Some depachika are offering limited edition cakes and sweets on this day. Check out the following depachika if you have a sweet tooth and are in Tokyo until July 7th.

Mitsukoshi in Ginza

Chuo-ku, Ginza 4-6-16

www.mitsukoshi.co.jp

Keio in Shinjuku

Shinjuku-ku, Nishi-Shinjuku 1-1-4

http://info.keionet.com/foreign/index.html

Odakyu in Shinjuku

Shinjuku-ku, Nishi-Shinjuku 1-1-3

www.odakyu-dept.co.jp

Baikatei wagashi

Suzukake

桂新堂海老煎餅 Keishindo

もちクリーム

モチクリームは全部で２４種類です。店舗によっては１２種類しかおいていない店もあるようです。冷たくやわらかいモチで、生クリームとフレーバーあんを包んでいます。それでは、フレーバーあん全２４メニューをご紹介します！
■カフェオレ
■ロイヤルミルクティー
■クリームショコラ
■キャラメルプリン
■モンブラン
■桃クリーム
■紅芋■黒ゴマ
■スイートポテト
■ブルーベリークリーム
■クリームりんご
■スイートプラム
■クリームバナーヌ
■チョコレートミント
■バレンタインナッツ
■パッションオレンジ
■クリームチーズ
■黒豆きなこ
■大納言
■桜
■ずんだ豆
■クリームマンゴー
■ハロウィンプリン
■クリーム宇治金時

すごいバリエーションです。これがとっても可愛くて、きれいな色をしてお店のショーケースに並んでいます♪　見ているだけでも幸せな気分になりました。　そのなかでも人気が高いおすすめのフレーバーあんは、クリーム宇治金時やキャラメルプリン、クリームショコラです。生クリームがそれほどコッテリしていなし、ちょうどいい甘さなのです。食べたことのない人は是非食べてみて下さいね！！

銀座アスター

Tokyu Norengai Floor Map

東急 Food Show Shops

Peck at Takashimaya

オリーブマーケット 松屋 銀座

にんべん 松屋銀座

銀座コンシェルジュ

銀のぶどう

松屋 銀座 デパート

Harrods