Saturday, June 23, 2012

Ippodo - Kyoto いっぽど


Recently I met with friend Kyoto Foodie at Ippodo - a famous Kyoto tea shop on Teramachi dori north of Nijo dori and South of Marutamachi dori. He introduced me to Koicha - a very thick tea made from a larger than usual quantity of matcha (maccha) or high quality, powdered green tea.  Michael tells me it has about 5 times the amount of tea powder normally used and therefore packs quite a punch of caffeine - however the buzz is not that of coffee (due to a component in tea that brings on a certain calm and relaxation) -so one is awake but not climbing up the walls. 

Although the mixture has the appearance and viscosity of green wall paint its flavour is smooth, savoury and deep - meaty if you like.... I love Matcha but this is not a version I would opt for every day... a special occasion Matcha perhaps. It is certainly a must to try once. 
As always with Matcha/Maccha a traditional sweet (Wagashi) is served alongside it. As it is the beginning of summer the colour of the top sweet reflects cool and calm. At formal tea ceremony you are usually invited to eat the sweet first before drinking the tea but its fine to be more casual at Ippodo - sipping and nibbling as the urge takes you.
Once you have finished the majority of the Koicha the waitress will remove your cup and whisk hot water into it so that you can enjoy the rest of the tea as the standard thinner matcha. A two for one deal - what's not to like. 
I won't give too much detail about the tea itself or Ippodo - instead I will link you to Kyoto Foodie's post from 2007 plus a link to the shop itself. If you have never experienced a traditional Japanese tea ceremony but want to taste some professionally made matcha then make sure you check out Ippodo - its only a short walk north on Teramachi from the city shopping district.  You can pick up a variety of tea to take home too!

While we are on the subject of sweets - ok so not quite on but lurking around it, any excuse and all that - check out these beautiful summer offerings. They both turn up in shops around May/June for the rainy season and early summer.   The first, made from beans, with a jelly like top set with Kanten and green maple leaf promotes the "feeling" of cool. 

The second is a speciality made from a seasonal fruit - Natsu mikan or summer mandarin/tangerine. The slightly bitter juice is sweetened and made into a jelly before being set in the hollowed out fruit skin. It is chilled and sliced into wedges for serving -  and eaten with a small spoon. So refreshing on a hot day. 






Kurio restaurant - Gion くりお


Running along the western edge of the Takasegawa (Takase river) to the west side of lower Kitayama dori/street (ie below Shijo dori) are a couple of casual spots to enjoy local vegetables - one of them is 'Kurio' (pictured above). Here's a link to a map

A few doors south (pics soon) is a fab little joint specialising in all forms of Negi (Onion, Leek, Scallions etc)  -but also serves a small selection of other seasonal, local vegetables. 

And yes both do a variety of meat too, some very lovely pork in the case of Negi restaurant  -but the veg is the hero. Excellent choice of venue for small groups that comprise of both vegetarians and carnivores.   I believe there are English menus available at both - even though it may not appear that way when you first arrive - go inside - they will help you. 

The photos below are from Kurio  - the food was mainly fresh and flavoursome with the odd dish only slightly underwhelming. I will post a couple from the Negi restaurant soon. 
Just made tofu - scoop its luscious curds still warm from the pot - with fresh ginger and a little soy for drizzling
Excellent Korokke (potato and mince croquettes)


This was supposed to be cha siu but it was more like European style roast pork -with rubbery crackling... yummy sauce and lots of negi made up for the faults in the dish. If you want to try some excellent chargrilled pork with lots of fresh spring onions like this - do go to the negi restaurant a few doors down - its addictive. 
Fried eggplant and vegetable tempura with dashi /soy broth
Grilled miso chicken
tender beef cheek and tofu hotpot
Leek gratin


Friday, June 22, 2012

Random Kyoto Images end April/May/June 2012

Flowers of many kinds...

A stroll down Teramachi...

Unusually meaty behaviour for a major shopping/tourist strip...
I'd feel reluctant to grill my sausages on this bbq of beauty...

 T-shirts I would die for, but not before I am what I wasn't  - a parasite but not useless.... ah the joy of Japlish...
This one is pretty straight forward...
 Some interesting looking shops
Local poster - there's some resemblance to someone I know...
Hmmmm....
Monkey business...
Hair

Late afternoon delight...

Staring in windows....

Staring at stairwells

Staring in the mirror
Yes... this is Kyoto....