Tokyo-quality Italian food, right here in Tsukuba!
I just wanted to introduce a restaurant to you TsukuBlog readers out there. It is not really a formal restaurant review but I will say that I was impressed by the place!
Faro, is an Italian restaurant located in the middle of some rice fields (this is a pretty accurate description!) which looks much like Tottoro's house...or a scene straight out of a Miyazaki animation movie! Apparently the restaurant moved from Tsuchiura to Tsukuba sometime ago, for expansion reasons. That being said, it is still a relatively small place - reservations for lunch are a MUST, unless you want to end up dining on the now-chilly outdoor terrace area.
I have not found any official website or advertising...probably because the place sells itself! People go there because of recommendations from friends or colleagues and it is clear that most of the customers know about the restaurant by word-of-mouth.
The focus is authentic Italian cuisine and there is much proof of it...in the back of the restaurant, I spotted a pig's leg displayed on a dolly - probably smoked prosciutto rolled out to be cut on demand. Somewhat grotesque yet all-the-while impressive! A well-stocked wine cellar can be seen from the dining area, too.
It was said (by my friend) that a famous sashimi/sushi shop owner in Tsuchiura highly recommends this Italian shop because he knew the owner buys seafood from the same purveyor as him. My friend's seafood pasta was loaded with incredibly fresh delights: JUMBO scallops, mussels, abalone, shrimp, squid...in tomato sauce cooked up with spaghetti. (Though it came at a price of around 1800yen)
The entrees all come with freshly baked bread - I dipped it in generous amounts of garlic-flavored olive oil, very tasty! My entree was the chicken, roasted with a twig of rosemary, generously salted and spiced...I was surprised to find the chicken plate included both a big piece of white meat as well as dark meat (skin-attached), chicken liver, chicken inners, along with spinach, round of potato, round of nagaimo mountain root, and giant button mushroom. They offer shirako au gratin, tomato cream seafood pasta, and a variety of dishes...it was VERY hard to choose! It is said that the chef goes to the market every day and whips up a menu the very same morning.
Dishes here range from 1400 to 2100yen at lunchtime. A nice leafy (fancy greens, not plain lettuce) salad is included in the meal but drinks are not included. (though non-alcoholic drinks are very reasonable...oolong tea and other drinks at 200yen...my freshly squeezed grapefruit juice was 300yen, banana juice, blood orange juice, other juices are also priced at 300yen) One can expect lunch to cost around 2-3000yen per person.
Desserts are not exceedingly decorated - they keep it simple here. Tiramisu, small creme brulee, seasonal Mont Blanc (with a HUGE glace chestnut!), gateau chocolate cake, banana tart, caramel flan, and so on. The prices are not listed but I am guessing the cakes are all around 600yen while seasonal fresh fruits are pricier, around 800-1000yen. One should expect dinner here to come to at least 5-6000yen/person, so it is an ideal place for celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.
HOW TO GET THERE: going North on Higashi-odori...go toward the Sakura technopark area...when you see the big green dragon and CHINRAI ramen shop, take a right (east)...then at the T-intersection, take a left...then a right...until you see a small greenhouse (onshitsu) and take a right there...go down the narrow somewhat winding road...and you will see the restaurant on your left. Remember what I said: looks like a scene out of a Miyazaki movie! The road there is very very narrow and might be a wee hazardous at night...be careful not to roll your car into the rice fields on the way there. ^_~
http://www.geocities.jp/ponite99/d_ex_1121_1.htm
This is a website I found with some limited information in Japanese...keep in mind that the address is no longer the one listed (in Tsuchiura) Oh, and the restaurant is closed on MONDAYS.
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Autumn mackerel (fresh, juicy and tasty!)
Autumn mackerel is divine - juicy, fresh, and easy to prepare! Every family has its own recipe for "miso mackerel"...here is a recipe I have come up with after some experimentation. I like mine strong-tasting but if you don't, please adjust this recipe accordingly. Takes only about 15 minutes!
SABA NO MISONI (serves four)
Mackerel - 4 pieces
1-2tbsp strained miso paste (I use 2)
1-2tbsp sugar (I use 2)
1tbsp mirin
dash to 1 tbsp soy sauce (I use 1tbsp)
1c sake (or 1/2c sake, 1/2water)
1-2 knobs of ginger, sliced (I use 2)
- Cut ginger into thin slices. (to make the fish tastier, lightly grill the mackerel in the fish burner)
- Pour 1 cup sake into pan and boil for 1-3 minutes. Add mackerel and ginger and boil 2-3 minutes. Lower heat slightly.
- Add sugar, mirin and miso (I like mine unstrained), cover and simmer for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
Optional: I like to add chunks of white konnyaku (lightly blanched beforehand) to the dish after the fish has been cooked. This dish tastes better the next day, after it has soaked up the rich miso flavor!
I am not sure about the authenticity of my Japanese dish but if there are any Japanese cooks out there who might comment on the recipe or add some helpful tips, do not hesitate to do just that!
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Okonomiyaki shop review
When you just don't feel like making it from scratch at home...
I don't know about you but I often get disappointed when I go to an okonomiyaki shop which does everything for you - that and I get impatient waiting for my order.
At Gojya okonomiyaki restaurant, they do all the hard work (cutting ingredients, measuring mixing them precisely...adjusting the taste) but you can enjoy savouring the best parts: cooking and eating it! One great benefit of cooking it yourself is that you can control the final texture - while some people like well-cooked Japanese pancakes, others like it somewhat soft and moist.
Gojya is reasonably priced, even at dinnertime (um...sorry, I mean only at dinnertime - it is not open for lunch!). The okonomiyaki entrees run from 700-something yen to 1000-something yen. (sorry, I forgot the specifics!) They have interesting side dishes much like those that are found at Japanese izakayas (pubs)...I really enjoyed the fried head of garlic with miso dish...that and tuna+mentaiko topped salad! The portions are perfect and my grapefruit juice was in a generously sized glass.
Many families and couples go there so it is best to make a reservation before you go! From 6pm the place starts filling up rapidly. While we were there a good 3-4 groups of people were politely turned away(lack of free tables). We concluded that Gojya is popular due to its reasonable prices, speedy service and excellent staff - surprisingly attentive and extremely polite. The restaurant is located next to another favorite restaurant of mine, Raja Indian curry restaurant. NOTE: be sure to call before you go because their holidays are a bit irregular.
Information: http://www.okonomiyaki.jp
Gojya restaurant, Ninomiya 2-2-3, 029-851-8906
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Any passionfruit lovers out there?
Though you can find tropical/specialty fruits at UNAGI-YA fruits market in Takezono (near Terashima drugstore and Kasumi), I just wanted to inform you of some passionfruit on sale now (100yen each...they just starting selling them today and will continue until the inventory runs out, I think - they look really beautiful with shiny firm purple/red skin!) at Yao-kane supermarket. If you want to go, hurry and go now because inventory often changes. I was also thrilled to find white asparagus there recently.
That particular shop is a typical friendly local supermarket selling mostly regional produce at prices often lower than typical major supermarkets. The seafood there is QUITE fresh (my housewife friends all praised the quality of the seafood there) and the man behind the counter is happy to clean the fish for you. Special fish at the moment: saba (mackerel) and sama (saury)...saury is best eaten salted and grilled while mackerel is really tasty simmered in sweet miso sauce and ginger! Assorted sashimi fish packs are reasonable and fresh there too.
How to find the place: Go SOUTH on NISHI-odori...turn right (West) on the Andersen Bakery/Doho Park road...and you can see the supermarket just one block down. The place is easy to miss but often you can see tons of cars parked along both sides of the street, mostly customers!
UPDATE: I was told that "tonari no yasai" shop (along Nishi-odori...near Onogawa area and the Coco's around there) also sells passionfruit. Apparently someone is growing passionfruit in Tsukuba these days, hoping it will spark a demand for it.
INFO: Passionfruit is tasty when cut open and eaten as is...though it is INCREDIBLY sour. Many people choose to open it up, put the insides of the fruit into a glass, mix it up with some water and sugar for a tasty passionfruit juice cocktail. Orange juice can be used instead of sugar, too.
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Having a Hard Time Reading Some Kanji?
Try going to http://www.rikai.com and using its helpful tool. The tool is especially useful for determining the meaning of some unknown Chinese characters. It can go both ways: Japanese --> English or vice versa. I am sorry to inform some of you (Japanese readers) that it works better from Japanese into English than the other way around. That and it probably works best for those whose Japanese level is intermediate or higher.
You can either plug in a website address or some text and the mouse pointer automatically defines some kanji. Just point and read! I often use it to read domestic news in Japanese because Japanese news translated into English often lacks essential details or at times, juicy background information!
You can even use this to 'cut and paste' messages sent from Japanese friends or colleagues. Because rikai.com is not a translating machine like Babelfish (Altavista), there is much less room for error. Try it out when you have the chance! I hope it makes your life in Japan a little easier.
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