Trip to Japan (5)

今日は両親と一緒にボストンに持って帰るお土産を買うために四条までやって来ました。まずは祇園近くを歩いていたのですが母が鍵善さんでくずきりを食べたいというのでへ行くことにしました。今まで何百回とお店の前を通っていますが実は中に入るのは初めてです! 写真は喫茶室から見える中庭。 Today my parents and I came to the city center (Shijo area) to buy souvenirs that I will bring back to Boston.  When we were walking around the Gion district, my mother requested to visit Kagizen,  a Japanese sweet shop famous for "kuzu-kiri" (noodle-like strips made of the starch powder from the root of the kuzu plant, served with brown sugar syrup for dipping).  I passe by in front of the shop several hundred times, but never tried their kuzu-kiri in my life.  This was the first time for me!

素敵なお花もいけてあります。 Their tea salon was decorated beautifully with flowers.

席に着くとまずお茶とお干菓子 (菊寿糖) が運ばれてきます。 As soon as we sat at the table, a cup of tea and the dried confectionery (called "higashi") were served.

父はくずきりではなくお薄と生菓子のセットを注文。生菓子は5~6種類の中から選べます。これは秋らしく栗のお菓子。 My father ordered the namagashi (antonym of "higashi", freshly made Japanese sweets) and matcha.  You can pick one namagashi out of 5 or 6 choices, and my father chose this one (chestnut).

お薄。味見してないけどおいしそうでした~。 This is the matcha - real one (contains no sugar), not something you find in the US that is very sweet.

くずきりは二段重ねの大きな器に入って出てきました。 My mother and I ordered the kuzu-kiri, which was served in this two-layered, big container.

まず蓋を開けると黒蜜の入った容器が現れます。ちなみに白蜜か黒蜜を選ぶことができます。 Open the cover, and you find the small container with the brown sugar syrup (you can choose brown sugar or white sugar, but definitely brown sugar is better).

黒蜜の入っている容器を取り外すと、くずきりが出てきます。これを濃厚な黒蜜につけて食べると最高! もちろん吉野葛を使っているので歯ごたえがすごいです。 Take out the container with the syrup, then you see kuzu noodles swimming in the cold water.  Transfer the noodles into the syrup with chopsticks,  then eat it!  Mmmm, yummy.  The syrup is very rich and the noodle is chewy (in a good way).

これは喫茶室入り口に飾ってあった吉野葛。実物を見たのは初めてです。 This is the root of kuzu plant decorated at the entrance of the tea salon.

百貨店などでたくさんお土産を買った後、遅いお昼ご飯となり、四条通にある尾張屋さんにおそばを食べに行きました。 After the shopping, we decided to have the late lunch at Owari-ya, a soba noodle(buckweat noodles) restaurant.

母はしっぽくそばのセット。私は子供の頃このしっぽく (私はおうどん派ですが) が大好きでした。 My mother ordered the set menu with "shippoku soba" (buckweat noodles with fishcakes, shiitake mushroom, egg and green vegetable).

セットにはかやくご飯がついてきます。 The set came with the rice.

父はただのせいろ、私は天せいろにしました。天婦羅がさくさくでとってもおいしかったです。あ~、やっぱり日本はいいですね~。ボストンに帰るのがちょっと嫌になります。 My father ordered the cold buckwheat noodles served with the dipping sauce on the side.   I ordered the same thing but with tempura.  Everything was very tasty.  Ahhhh, I love Japanese food.  I don't feel like going back to Boston!!