Yokoso, ようこそ, means "welcome" in Japanese. The Sunday before last, the 17th January, we enjoyed being welcomed to "Japan in Melbourne". The City of Yarra, through a grant scheme, had enabled a group of Japanese restaurants, musicians, dancers and market stall holders, (and Dylan, from Chotto Motto's mum) to create an excellent opportunity for Melbournians … Continue reading Yokoso – Welcome to Japan in Melbourne?
It has been nearly a year since COVID put a big, fat STOP sign on nearly all international travel. Being obsessed Japanophiles, Super Sake Boy and I have tried to take the travel ban graciously, while feeding our need for Japanese food, sake, culture and connection with the language. We were last in Japan in … Continue reading The Enduring Exploits of Super Sake Boy and Nihonshu Girl
My last post was about ramen. How much I was missing it, and how I was unable to obtain it within my 5km lockdown zone. Then with the easing of the 5km restriction to 25km, I was still unable to make it to any of my favourite ramen restaurants, and was feeling very disenfranchised about … Continue reading Lockdown Ramen Obsession
To say I like food is somewhat of an understatement. A million years ago I trained as a chef, then I studied nutritional medicine and now I teach cooking in a primary (elementary) school. I love everything about food, and when I teach, I teach the culture, the history and the social aspects of food, … Continue reading For the love of RAMEN!!!
Yoshoku is Japanese western style cooking. In my experience, every dish that the Japanese adopt and alter ends up being more delicious than the dish they started with. Yoshoku translates literally as "Western style cuisine", as opposed to Washoku 和食 which translates to Japanese style cuisine. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) after more than 200 … Continue reading Uniquely Japanese- Yoshoku 洋食
The first two times I visited Japan I was a pesce pollotarian. I ate fish, but not meat and so I had never tried many of the iconic Japanese dishes because of this. When Super Sake Boy and I started seeing each other, I had recently begun eating meat again. I had been dreaming about … Continue reading Hamburg Steak (hanba-gu sute-ki) ハンバーグステーキ
When I looked up "best Japanese restaurant" in Canberra, Raku was the obvious front runner, with many people extolling its virtues. I always look up the best local Japanese when we travel, as we love eating Japanese food and I am always interested to see how other places do it differently. We are lucky in … Continue reading RAKU- A sublime dining experience.
Twenty five days ago I wrote a blog about our impending trip to Japan. It feels like a year ago. Needless to say our plans have been completely disbanded and even if we wanted to leave the country, we could not. I am somewhat relieved we were not stuck in a difficult situation of being … Continue reading Love in the Time of Coronavirus… or The Quiet Ryokan
Walking through the door at Chotto Motto is like stepping through a time tunnel. An incredible space that looks like it is straight out of Tokyo in the Showa Era, maybe circa 1975? There is Ultra-man, Godzilla and retro pop-culture everywhere you look. So many Peko-chan and Anpanman, a haven for lovers of Japanese collectables. … Continue reading Chotto Motto, a little more…..
Earlier this year, a wonderful little bar opened near the top end of Gertrude Street in Fitzroy. Dark and mysterious, but cleverly illuminated with a welcoming glow from inside, Tamura Sake Bar has all the wonderful things a sake bar in Japan has, namely great sake, great food and wonderfully generous hospitality, here in Melbourne. … Continue reading Tamura Sake Bar- A Haven in Fitzroy
