Kyoto Eats

Our Kyoto experience was probably one of my most favourite destinations. The two days we spent there was enchanting and full of inspirations. It's where old and new Japan perfectly co-exits. It is quite evident by just looking at modern Kyoto station, the old charms of Gion and then mixture of bustling streets and quiet alleyways of Downtown Kyoto. The past and present are united.

Surrounding those areas are the period piece feel of the beautiful Arashiyama area, the stunning temples and scenic mountains surrounding Kyoto. But within this prefecture also lies an abundance of great food and culture.

Here's some of the places we visited on our trip:

Nishiki Market

This is a must visit when you're Kyoto. It's a long shotengai filled with so much fresh and amazing produce from fish to Kyoto veggies and fruits. There are knives shops, dried fish, tofu, shops with loads of spices from shichimi to yuzu spice. There's also soft serve shops! I also came across a lot of pickled stuff, mochi based treats, unagi specialty stores, yakitori and kushiage shops. The list goes on!

Nishikikoji-dori, Nakagyo-ku (between Teramachi and Takakura)

Opening hours:

Varies, 9am-5pm, varies for individual stalls.

Gogyo Ramen

This izakaya-looking ramenya is owned by parent company Ippudo. Gogyo does Kogashi or burnt ramen. Ladles of lard tossed into a fiery wok and the leftovers are poured onto the broth giving the broth the wok hei element. It is then seasoned with either miso or shoyu.

Try their famous kogashi miso ramen with extra chashu (¥1130), which came with thick egg noodles, slices of tender chashu, naruto, nori, half soft-boiled egg and some greens. The chashu here is fatty and tasty. Noodles are cooked perfectly but the broth here is the star. The broth consistency is close to medium thick range scale, which was rich, bold and had a lot of smoky goodness. Their Kogashi shoyu ramen (¥880) is almost the same except the broth has more subtle flavours while still containing a lot of smokiness. We also ordered gyoza! A perfect balance of pork and ginger flavours with an amazing caramelised crust formed on one side of the dumpling.

For lunch, you can upgrade to a larger size ramen for free!

452 Jumonji-cho, Yanaginobaba Dori, Takoyakushi-sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

(Kawaramachi station

Opening hours:

Opening Hours: 11:30 am – 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm – 12:00 am (Mon-Fri); 11:30 am – 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm – 12:00 am (Sat); 11:30 am – 4:00 pm, 5:00 – 11:00 pm (Sun)

Arashiyama sweets and treats

You must visit the Arashiyama area and explore its old town charms and the bamboo groves of course! You can also shop for beautiful premium bowls, chopsticks, plates etc. But you cannot miss the food this place has to offer especially sweets and snacks like yomogi mochi mitarashi dango, yatsuhashi, and of course soft serves like my ever-favourite Cremia soft cream!

Street Snacks outside Fushimi Inari

One of Kyotos many wonders is the Fushimi Inari Shrines at it's thousands of of tori gates! On your way or after visiting the shrines, stop by the area near the entrance to indulge on some snacks like taiyaki, karaage and kushiyaki-style snacks.

Coffee

In the heart of the Gion area is where you'll find the modern gallery-looking cafe Arabica %. Located near the Yasaka pagoda is Kyoto's famed trendy and chic coffee shop that boasts a stunning slayer espresso machine and baristas with next level latte art skills. Their green beans are sourced from Australia's Latorredutch Coffee Traders and roasted in-house. We came here twice and had their blend, which had sweet and dark chocolate notes. Milk was textured well and temperature was not too hot. This is a must visit for coffee lovers.

Arabica%

87-5 Hoshinocho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

Opening hours: 8am to 6pm

Giro Giro

Giro Giro Hitoshina or just simply Giro Giro has been dubbed punk kaiseki by food critics. This is due to their modern take on traditional Kyoto kaiseki style of cuisine. The menu changes to suit and optimize seasonal produce.

The place is situated between Takasegawa canal and Kamogawa River. It's an ex-warehouse converted into an intimate bar seating restaurant. One of the fun things about Giro Giro is that is has an open kitchen right in front of you and you get to watch the chefs prepare this pieces of art. The experience cost roughly ¥4,000 for an 8-course meal, includes drinks at the time.

Here's a list of what we had:

1. Fresh turnip carrot and soy milk.

Deepfried sardines, daikon with sweet miso, sea cucumber with vinegar, Tuna with mayo, fish with mushroom sauce

2. Soup, Japanese sea bream wrapped in cabbage, mushroom in a pottage, turnip.

3. Japanese shiitake, crab in tamago, ginger, Crab roe puree

4. Flathead fish sashimi rolled with nori, Soymilk and soy sauce, Pickled mustard.

5. Beef wagyu, mashed potato, blossoms, rice bubbles, white miso & yuzu soup.

6. Scallops, seasoned veggies and vinegar jelly, hints of wasabi.

7. Red miso soup, pickles (young radish & ginger), Yam rice with fried lotus root), Roasted rice tea

8. Dessert: Hot milk, sake, mint, kintam (Japanese orange), sorbet (Creamy with sharp liquor and tangerine notes).

Giro Giro Hitoshina

420-7 Nanba-cho, Nishi-kiyamachi-dori Matsubara-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku

Opening hours (7 days): 5:30p.m.-11 p.m.

Other Kyoto Eats

Yayoi

Unlike here in Sydney, Yayoi in Japan is more casual. The Yayoi on Shijo-dori near Nishiki Market is open 24 hours. Yayoi has our breakfast was sorted everyday. You can get succulent quality meals for no more than ¥1,000 like tonkatsu or karaage chicken set.

Yayoiken

716-1-2 Nishinotoin-cho Sijyodori Shiogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8327, Kyoto Prefecture

Open 24 hours

Floresta

A kyoto or any Japan food adventure is not complete without trying out kawaii snacks like cute animal-themed doughnuts from Floresta. They don't just look cute but they actually taste great too!

Convenient Stores

Japan has of the best stocked convenient stores I have come across. Places like Lawsons and Family Mart has shelves and sections dedicated to sushi, oden, bento and more.

Cafe Kentaro, Surry Hills

One of the things I miss about Japan is the abundance of omurice (omelette rice) shops. But thanks to Cafe Kentaro, my omurice cravings is now sorted!

Chef Kenny Takayama

Cafe Kentaro is the second instalment to the successful Cafe Oratnek and it is located on Bourke Street (between Devonshire and Cleveland), Surry Hills. The space has an industrial interior with touches of homey decor. I saw familiar faces during my visit. My homie head chef/owner Kenny Takayama was in the kitchen and general manager/barista Daryl was behind the La Marzocco machine. I knew I was in for a treat. Just like the first shop, the food here is heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine and served in a familiar Australian cafe fare way.

Matcha lamingtons

Latte

The beans used for their latte ($3.80) is a house blend from Aroma. It had sweet, nutty and chocolate notes with medium body. The textured milk temperature was just right.

Hojicha latte

The hojicha latte ($4.20) was quite strong and the flavours punched through the milk nicely. The tea itself had roasted sweet earthy notes.

Katsu sando

Everyone's Oratnek  favourite, the signature katsu sando ($13) is available here too! 200gms of fried crumbed fatty pork fillet, cabbage, Japanese bbq sauce and mustard in soft white slice bread. I love how the perfectly cooked tender pork with crisped coating, tangy umami packed tonkatsu sauce and sharp mustard works well together.

Omurice

I remember that time when Ken-san posted a photo of his omurice ($18) for staffies. I told him he should do it as a special for Oratnek. Now, it's actually part of Cafe Kentaro's menu. This tomato fried rice filled omelette was amazing! Other fillings that come with the rice are: fatty plumpy bacon pieces, peas, gooey pieces of cheese. The omelette itself was slightly spongy and dense and the tomato sauce used for the rice had a nice spiced tangy taste.

Japanese poutine

My mind was blown again with their Japanese poutine ($15), which is tender pulled braised beef, dark miso gravy, shallots and goats cheese on perfectly cooked chips. This is an umami packed spud dish! The chips were nicely crisped on the outside, fluffy inside and seasoned just right.

Cafe Kentaro is all about warmth and comfort.  This applies to their service and great food. Ken-san and crew has done it again!

Ramen Raff was invited by Cafe Kentaro as a guest.

Cafe Kentaro

616 Bourke Street

Surry Hill NSW 2010

7 days - 7.00am to 3.30pm

Mate Burger Truck, Western Sydney

Someone once said that: "one of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood". Burger truck Mate Burger understands what burger lovers really need: next level delicious burgers that are not over the top.

Henry Paraan is the genius mind behind Mate Burger. A burger truck that features both Filipino and American influenced burgers. Expect legit burgers and fries that draws inspirations from Filipino favourites like lechon, sisig, tocino and even Adobo! Then you have classic American diner-style burgers and cheeseburgers with a twist.

Adobo burger

The adobo burger ($12) is pork belly braised in adobo sauce with cucumber, coriander, sriracha mayo, aioili and pickled Spanish onions in a soft milk bun. The soy, garlic and vinegary flavour components came through well. The cucumber, coriander and pickled onion help cut through the richness of the pork.

Longanisa burger

The pork based patty of the longanisa burger ($12) is inspired by the popular Filipino sausage of the same name. It was peppery, sweet and garlicky. Legit longanisa flavours! It worked well with atchara (pickled papaya), tomato, cucumber, corriander and egg (can't have longanisa for breakfast without egg!).

Lechon burger

The lechon burger ($12) is spit-roasted pork belly burger that also includes onion rings, green apple and green mango mint salad, black truffle mayo and special Mate burger sauce. It may sound hectic but the flavours are well balanced. The crackling was just divine along with the generous amount of tender flavoursome lechon meat.

Double It Burger

Then there's the "double-it" burger ($15) which is a double everything cheeseburger! It is one of the best double cheeseburgers I've had in Sydney: double beef smash patty, double sexy melted cheese, double glazed bacon, pickled onions, caramelised onions, pickles, jalapeños, and mate sauce in a lightly toasted soft milk bun. Juicy flavoursome meat with caramelised crusts. The meat is coarsely minced, which leads to creating pockets of juice within the patty. The sweet and sour flavours of the condiments cuts through the richness of the burger. The jalapeños and mate sauce seals the deal with some heat and extra umami. In spite of being a big, it actually handles well. This is my kind of burger!

Jack Burger

The latest addition to the mate menu is their Jack burger ($12): beef patty cooked in duck fat, caramelised lychees, smoky crisped bacon, melted jack cheese and black truffle mayo in a soft milk bun. The highlight here is how the buttery jack cheese compliments the patty. Then there's the added effect of the tartness of the lychees and smoky salty bacon that works well with the rest of the burg. 

Then there's Mate's lechon fries which is probably one of the best loaded fries I've had in Sydney. Big chunks of lechon with them glorious crackling and truffle aioli!! So damn good!

Ice candy

You can also get Filipino style ice pop called ice candy by Ice Kendy Australia. Flavours available: lychepine (lychee and pineapple), calamango (calamansi and mango), tarojack (ube and jackfruit), avoconut (avocado and coconut), manfrad (mango fruit salad), melonrock (rockmelon cream).

Henry's truck is another burger force to be reckoned with. I'm looking forward to try more of his burgers soon!

Mate Burger

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