Sheng Jian Bao (生煎包) from Xiao Yang Sheng Jian (小楊生煎) in Shanghai:
So deliciously crispy on the bottom with a savory soup inside. They seem to have remodeled a bit in the past year, but it’s still crazy cheap and filling (~$1 for 4 dumplings, and 6 of them will fill you up plenty). Try a meatball soup while you’re at it.
I really like how everything gets decorated and themed for the season in Japan.
I always end up going for the seasonal specials at restaurants. Last week’s autumn flavor spaghetti had three types of mushrooms in it. Today, I tried an autumn ramen, which was a spicy-sweet ramen with ground meat and chestnuts. The other day at a cafe, I had the autumn pancake dessert, which had sweet potato, caramel, and, yup, chestnuts.
I was thinking, the U.S. loves fall as well, with all the cider pressing and hay rides going on. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what the equivalents are …
Japan.....................USA
kabocha...................pumpkin
chestnut..................apple
sweet potato, dry.........sweet potato, soggy
mushrooms galore..........??
lotus root................??
bamboo....................??
persimmons................??
??........................cinnamon & nutmeg
caramel...................?? maybe maple syrup?
I didn’t get very far.
(I didn’t count food only eaten on Thanksgiving)
From Uo-Katsu (魚可津), Azabujuban, Tokyo
sketched from reality, finished from memory.
Part of an excellent lunch set (here’s the menu). You get to pick which fish you want to eat, and it comes with not only the usual pickles/rice/miso soup, but also sides of raw maguro, silky tofu, and some other kind of braised fish.
From Ladureé, Ginza, Tokyo:
St Honoré Pistache Griotte: Fond de pâte sablée nantaise, pâte à choux, crème allégée pistache, compote et confe de griotte, crème chantilly pistache. Sketched from reality, finished from memory.
This didn’t actually taste that good, but it looked pretty fancy.
Afternoon tea for 2 was a bit too much sugar for me; it all ended with a vague feeling of nausea. Same thing happened last time I had a French tea. I think I prefer the British version. Scones, house-made jam, clotted cream, yum.
Shiromaru ramen at Ippudo, Ebisu, Tokyo
sketched from reality, finished from memory
All the tasty food bits in the drawing are hiding in the tonkatsu broth. Pretty darn good. The eggs in Japan have amazingly deep orange yolks.
I’ve actually had a whole bunch of ramen in Tokyo, but I’m usually too busy gobbling them down to bother sketching.
At Koots Green Tea, Azabujuban, Tokyo.
sketched from reality, finished from memory
I really liked the toasty hoji flavor. Had an even better parfait, matcha flavored, at Kyo-Hayashiya in Aoyama, the week after that.
From Pierre Hermé, Aoyama, Tokyo:
sketched from reality, finished from memory. so very pink.
Steve’s been wanting to try a macaron from Pierre Herme ever since our unsuccessful attempt in Paris. Luckily, they have shops in Tokyo. We got this fancy one along w/ a 5-pack of regular little macarons. Someone is now researching macaron recipes for when we go home.
うれしいプリン from Mahakala in Naka-Meguro
Sketched from reality, finished from memory.
Deliciously cute and tiny and round. They sell this in a small glass case in front of the restaurant, outside of regular hours, in 4 different flavors.
Part of a home-style set meal at Sakura Shokudou in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo.
Pencil sketched from life, pen-outlined and computer-colored from memory.
I like meal sets, with each food item in its own special container. The fish was buttery on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
