Hina-no-Sato does it again! Spicy Curry Set Lunch and Herbal Tea

Hello lovies!

I am still working on getting the photos up from Mike's visit to Minamiboso, but I just wanted to share the photos from the DELICIOUS lunch I had at the cafe' in Hina-no-Sato last Friday!

I went there Friday after work to have lunch and then a lesson with OK-Sensei.  Since Bingo Burger was closed, we decided to try the cafe' there.  They seem to focus on teishoku (lunch sets, pronounced tey-show-coo) and also coffee+cake, and had several Japanese-style and Western-style food options.

After a little thought, OK-Sensei and I both decided on the spicy curry set lunch.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't have high expectations.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all...the bowl is huge.  It's bigger than my face - definitely American sized. Secondly - check out the artistic presentation, the nice brightly-colored vegetables!  When I cook I don't care how the food looks (and you can tell), but if I am paying money to eat, I want my food to be pretty, people!  Take notes!

Plus, the curry is CHOCK FULL of meat and veggies.  I hate when I get a curry and it's all sauce on rice.  This has onions, mushrooms, and big, tender chunks of chicken in it (and not all that heavy oil that you get from chain curry restaurants).

The spice level was definitely on the hot end (for Japan), but for me, it was just right!  I love when my lips sting just a little.

Also...check out the right side of the tray - do you see that salad dressing?  That's actually handmade in small batches by a local restaurant.  I LOVE that dressing and often go to Hina-no-Sato to buy it, so I was very excited when it came out with my lunch.  I also discovered that they have several flavors to choose from, so you adventurers should go for it.  I, however, like to stick to tried and true...

Again, a scene much like feeding time at the zoo commenced, but it was so much food, that for the sake of my Japanese lesson afterward I decided no to try to eat all of it.  I wish I had though.  I wish I could eat it right now.

So, OK-Sensei and I finished our food and moved over to the free seating area outside of the restaurant to begin our lesson (she teaches me Japanese).  OK-Sensei offered to treat me to something to drink, and we both decided to go for herbal tea.

Can I just say, that was a GREAT DECISION on our part?  It was basically omakase (oh-mah-kah-say, which means you leave the details to the chef), but they came out with 2 herbal teas in glass pots so you could see how tasty they look.

What, did they think just because I'm a girl I would like pink tea?

I hope so, because they were right, absolutely 100% correct.  Pink tea is so much cuter than brown tea. I may never be able to go back...

Maybe my standard are low, but I figured they'd just bring out one kind of tea, and I was prepared for it to be in a tiny bag with a string.  Imagine my surprise when they bring out not one, but two PINK TEAS brewed in glass pots from loose leaves.  Plus, they brought out sugar syrup so that we could "enjoy another dimension" of the tea.

They are just going to get all of my money...I eat this kind of stuff up!

Both were a rosehip base, but one had notes of lemongrass and whatnot, and the other has notes of mint and whatnot.  Clearly I was not listening closely to the explanations, but both of the teas were very good, and at the end I mixed them together and added a little sweetener, and that was the BEST. As I tasted it I thought, "Who needs juice when you have tea that tastes like this?"

I'll be going back to Hina-no-Sato for my lesson tomorrow.  Perhaps  I'll have something new to post! Perhaps I'll just get the exact same thing :-P

-Liz