French Restaurant Yamaguchi: Now I can die happy.

[sigh]
[ため息]

Last night, I went to French restaurant "Yamaguchi" in Tateyama for an end of the year party.
昨日の夜、忘年会で館山にあるフレンチレストラン「ヤマグチ」に行ってきました。

I don't think I can explain how good this food is in words.
この料理の美味しさって、言葉じゃ伝えられないかも。

I've been staring at this screen for 10 minutes.  I don't know where to begin.
この画面を10分ぐらいジーと見ているのに、どこから始めれば良いか分からない。

[sigh] Well...let's start with the pictures.
[ため息]　じゃあ、まず写真からね。

This is the outside.  Now you can see how much my camera sucks.  Anyway, it's in Tateyama just past the castle, a little hidden away, and the place just opened in April. You probably can't see, but the outside is really nice, with a well manicured garden.  There's a wall around the place, too, so once you step inside you really feel like you're stepping into a different world.  ( Thanks, Sugar, for making the reservation!)
レストランの外の様子。今年の４月に開店した、館山の城山公園よりちょっと先にある隠れ家。見えないだろうが、その庭がとても奇麗なんです！レストランの周りに壁があるから、門を超えたら、まるで別の空間に入っているようです。

We started with a white wine.  It was light, crisp, and fruity...the kind of wine that really anyone can drink.
ワインから入りました。このワインはフルーティーでさっぱりしてて、とても飲みやすいワインでした。

This is the first wine.  If I ever see this wine, I am buying it on the spot. Delicious.
これがその最初のワインでした。このワインをどこかで見た時にその場で買います。美味しい。

Cauliflower soup.  Creamy, but very mild and light. It definitely tastes like cauliflower, but not in a gross frozen-mixed-vegetables-at-a-buffet way.
カリフラワーのスープ．クリミーなのに、優しい、重みのない味です。カリフラワーの味がちゃんときいているけど、バイキングの蒸した冷凍野菜のようなカリフラワー味じゃありません。

A light and fluffy whole grain rosemary focaccia - not at all oily like many focaccias.
フワフワなローズマリフォカッチャ。全然油っこくない。

The second wine...it was spicier (?) than the first but it still had a bit of sweetness and it smelled like honey. I think it would pair really well with the poultry dish.　For some reason, I liked that it was cloudy.
二つ目のワイン。最初のワインよりちょっと辛かったけど、少し甘みがあって、蜂蜜に香りました。鳥の料理とよく合うかもしれません。なぜか、その濁りも好きでした。

This was BOSS!  On the left is a roasted(?) duck with carrots and a balsamic vinegar sauce. AMAZING.  I don't usually like duck because more often than not it is too bloody, too tough, or too gamey.  This was tender, not a hint of gamey-stinky-ness,  and the flavor pairing was on point.
これ、うめ〜！左側にはロースト(?)鴨肉とにんじんとバルサミコ酢のソース。すご〜く美味しかったです。鴨肉は良く、レアすぎるか硬いか臭みがあるから普段食べないです。この鴨肉は柔らかくて、全然臭みがなくて、にんじんとソースとの相性が抜群でした。

On the left is a vegetable terrine.  I don't usually like terrines either because I don't understand why anyone would take perfectly good food, smash it together, and serve it cold.  This was really yummy and refreshing, though.  I think it had celery, broccoli, radishes, two types of potatoes, and mushroom wrapped in perhaps cabbage.  It was held together by a jelly that tastes like it was made of vegetable broth. The great thing is that all the vegetables were cooked to about the same consistency - smooth and soft but not falling apart.  I will definitely be giving terrines another shot.
左側にあるのは野菜のテリーヌです。テリーヌも正直、あまり好きじゃないです。なぜありのままで全然おいしい料理を押し合わせて冷やして出すのが理解できないです。でも、このテリーヌは美味しかったです。セロリ、ブロッコリ、大根、２種類の芋とキノコがキャベッツに包まれた（と思います）。間に野菜の出し汁のようなゼリーがありました。でも、この料理のすごいところとは、すべての野菜が同じ硬さー柔らかいけど崩れないーに湯でてあったところでした。これからもテリーヌを食べてみようと、これで決めました。

The fish!  I didn't order this but I tasted my coworkers' fish.  SO FLAKY AND MOIST AND GREAT!  I can't even tell you what it tasted like, I just know it was some of the best fish I've ever had.
魚！これは私の注文じゃないけど、仲間が自分の魚を試食させてくれました。フックラしていて美味しかったです！どんな味か、もう覚えていないけど、今まで食べてきた魚の中では上位です。

This is not chicken. No no.  It's guinea fowl.  I thought people only ate that in stories about the Renaissance.  Screw chicken.  I am sooo over chicken.  This guinea fowl was THE BEST BIRD THAT EVER TOUCHED MY LIPS.  The skin was crisp for a half a second and then just melted in my mouth along with the meat.  Again, I only had a taste of my coworker's chicken so I can't really explain the taste, but I am DEFINITELY GETTING THIS NEXT TIME.
これは、鶏じゃあるまい。いや、ほろほろ鳥です。まさか。。。人がほろほろ鳥を食べるのはルネサンス時代に限るかと思いました。鶏はもう良い。もう要らない。ほろほろ鳥は真面目に最高に美味しい！この皮は一瞬パリッとしてたのに、すぐ口の中で溶けたようですーお肉と一緒に。まぁ、これも一口しか食べてないから味は説明できないけど、またヤマグチに行く時に絶対にこれを頼みます。

Alas, the meal I did choose.  If I could cook beef like this I'd probably never eat out again. I don't even think you can buy beef of this quality at the supermarket.  It literally had the consistency of custard.  I'm not sure you even have to chew this beef.  The sauce was fabulous...not too heavy, but I have no idea what to say about it because I was in total ecstasy...I lost my sanity while I ate that beef. Oh, but the white sauce was kind of cheesy and really good!
いよいよ、私が注文した料理の登場。こんなお肉が作れたらもう２度と外食しない。こんな上質な肉はスーパでは買えないと思います。プリンのような食感なのよ、本当に。噛まなくても良いかもしれません。このソースもとても素晴らしかったけど、この牛肉自体に無我夢中だったからソースの味も表現できません。食べる喜びに我を忘れました。あっ、でも、この白い方のソースはチーズっぽくて好きでした！それだけは覚えています。

When I came back to my senses, this was all that was left.
気がついたら、これしか残っていなかった。

The last wine - a Cabernet Sauvignon that the waitress brought out for those of us having meat.  It was flavorful without being too heavy, too sweet,  or too sulfate-y.  I wish I knew the name because I'd buy this one too.
最後のワイン。ウェイトレスが私たちお肉を食べていた人のために出してくれたカベルネ・ソービニヨンです。重すぎず、甘すぎず、苦すぎずけど薄味でもなかったです。このワインの名前を聞いたら良かったのに。

Desert was a fruit pastry of sorts with fresh vanilla ice cream.  As you can see, I dug into this one before I remembered to take the photo.
デザートはフルーツのデニッシュっぽいお菓子と手作りバニラアイス。見ている通り、写真のことを思い出す前に半分食べちゃった！

There was also tea and coffee at the end of the meal, but by then, my camera was dead.  As I am told, the meal was around 4000 yen per person(before you add in the wine). I am definitely coming back to this place sometime soon. I wonder if they'll let me order fish, poultry, AND meat next time?
コーヒーと紅茶も出してくれたけど、もうカメラのバッテリがきれてしまいました。今回のコーズは一人4000円ぐらいそうです（ワインは別料金）。また近いうちに行きます！今度は魚料理も鳥料理も肉料理も一緒に頼んでいいのかな？

Liz

Charity Flamenco Concert in Maruyama!

Good morning, lovelies!

I just wanted to write and let you know about a charity event taking place in town!  This Sunday, December 11th at 1:00pm there will be a charity flamenco performance at Rosemary Park Theater Hall.  Foreign residents can go for FREE!

As I am told, the dancers are all students, mainly college students but there may be some grade school performers as well.  I hear that last year's turnout wasn't so great, so I am really hoping there will be more people there this time.  I will definitely be there!

Oh, and during the intermission, there will be grilled chicken and soft drinks!  I'm not really sure what that's about, but really, is there ever a bad time for chicken?

The doors open at 1:00pm and is scheduled to end at 4:30. Of course, bring your Japanese friends, too.  General admission is 1500yen. 

If you can read Japanese, check out the flyer below!

Mike's Visit! Fourth Stop: Gake Kannon

For out last stop, Mike and I tried to catch the sunset from Gake-no-Kannon. Gake (gah-kay) means cliff, and a kannon (like Cannon cameras) is a type of Buddhist deity.  As you can see, it's pretty much a temple built into the face of a cliff.

Fail.  This was my fault.  I'm not very good at taking photos.

Mike semed to feel contemplative...

"Where is my life going?" or "What should I eat for dinner?"  Your call.

The black things are birds!

Well, we stayed up there for about 30 minutes until we felt it began to get colder outside, and realized that if the sun went down on us we'd have a tough time getting down the steps.  Still, it was a nice, relaxing way to end the day.

-Liz

Mike's Visit! Stop Three: Tateyama Castle!

Ok...so, if you've noticed a lot of the places I took Mike are in Tateyama.

You might be thinking, "Hey, that's not Minamiboso City!  Traitor!  Off with her head!"

But c'mon, let's be real...Minamiboso City literally wraps around Tateyama like a hot dog in a bun...if you go to one you'd probably go to the other, so CUT ME SOME SLACK!

It's all considered the Minamiboso AREA, so I decided it's ok to showcase some of the places I like which are technically in Tateyama City, too.

Sooo...I took Mike to Shiroyama Castle and park in Tateyama!

Behind the castle there is a lookout point.  Most Japanese castles are built on hills, so you can usually catch a great view from someplace in or around the castle.

From here, you can see the town and the ocean.

"I'm on top of the wo~rld!"

Along the way up the hill, there is a garden/zoo sort of thing.  You can just walk in there, it is free-of-charge and largely unattended.

These chickens look like they're wearing Japanese-style helmets! 

He came to me...

He walked up to the fence as if to protect his women...

"You've been sitting here all day and that's all you've got?"

These ducks' quack sounds EXACTLY LIKE the squeak of a rubber ducky.  It all finally makes sense.

You should've been here!  Oh well...Mike and I were on to the next spot!

Liz

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