タコスバー

There's some good news if you are a fan of Mexican food and live in the Nagoya area. A new Mexican restaurant has opened in Moriyama-ku, just up the road from Motoyama.
Tacos Bar is operated by the same team as the popular Las Delicias in Kamimaezu.

Large portions (try the Mega Tacos) and doing a thiving trade in take outs, Tacos Bar has seating for around 20 people and is an informal, friendly cantina-style Mexican eatery. Lunch sets are as little as 500 yen. Favorites include Tacos de Picadillo (spicy beef) and Quesadilla. Vegetarian options available.

There's a well stocked bar with Mexican beers and tequila and events every second and fourth Sundays. Vamos amigos!

Tacos Bar
Obata-chiyoda 14-3,
Moriyama-ku,
Nagoya
Google Map
tel: (052) 791-3807

Tacos Bar is situated at the Shiroshita crossroads, a 10 minute walk from Obata Station Exit 2 on the Meitetsu Seto Line or take bus #11 from Chayagasaka Station on the Meijo Subway Line. The restaurant is on the south-east corner of the Shiroshita intersection.

Turn left at the Obatamiya-mae intersection on Seto Kaido, then 400m towards Chiyoda-bashi.
Not far from Kinjo Gakuin Women's University. If coming by car turn north off Dekimachi Dori and drive past the Apita store on your right.
Parking spaces available.


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アユ

The ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis) or "sweetfish" is a summer delicacy in Japan and is caught in rivers throughout the country by anglers and by comorant fishermen.



The ayu, a member of the salmon family, has a one year life span and is also found in rivers in China and Korea. Usually grilled with salt over a charcoal fire, the fish is known for its deliciously "sweet" taste and is a traditional summer experience.

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ラ-メン

I've never been a huge fan of ramen (Chinese noodles). Yes, I enjoyed the quest for the perfect noodle in Itami Juzu's movie Tampopo but the strong smell and strenuous slurping usually put me off.



However, hunger got the better of me yesterday and I tried the 400 yen asari (light) ramen at a stand-up noodle joint at Meitetsu Chiryu Station, washed down with a 440 yen draft Asahi beer. Verdict. Not bad, at all.

Stand up ramen stalls are especially common on or around railway stations and service passengers wanting a quick snack between trains and tipsy salarymen sobering up before the last train home. Look out for the noren curtains and that characteristic smell.



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新宿　二丁目　らあめん屋


Shinjuku Ni-Chome (i.e. the “Shinjuku No.2 District”) is home to the main Tokyo gay and lesbian scene.

Weekdays in Ni-Chome are by no means empty, but are pretty quiet compared with weekends. But on any day of the week, it is a nighttime scene, meaning that there are also a lot of restaurants and small eateries in the area who rely on hungry gay boys’ and girls’ nighttime appetites for a lot of their business.

There is the Uoya-Itcho Japanese-style izakaya in the BYGS Building, and several ethnic restaurants, including Chinese and Indian. The 24-hour MOS Burger store across Shinjuku-dori Avenue is a popular late night hangout for the gay party crowd, and features particularly gay-friendly staff.

However, one of the most photogenic is the raamen store, also on Shinjuku-dori Avenue featured in the above photo, with its cute ceramic rendition of the main meat ingredient in this particular store’s noodles: a porky pig.

No good drinking to excess on an empty stomach - and certainly no excuse to do so in Shinjuku Ni-Chome.

Read more about gay Shinjuku Ni-Chome here.






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鳥羽

If you are visiting Toba in Mie Prefecture to see the Mikimoto Pearl Museum or the Aquarium, find time to drop in to one of the small oyster bars serving up fresh shellfish in the JR Station Shotengai.



The row of shops is near the inland entrance to Toba station away from the sea, not the main seaside entrance near the coast where the tourist office is....on the other side. Turn right as you come up from the platforms.

Usually run by a middle-aged woman who dispenses local news along with the beers, the shops serve up delicious shellfish. Ask the kindly matron which type is "in season." The shellfish are kept in water tanks at the front of the shops and you just need to point: abalone, clams, mussels, lobsters, oysters, periwinkles, scallops, sea urchins, sazae (turban shell), whelks.



My favorite place is Mizunuma Sasaeten (水沼さざえ店) run by Mrs. Nakamura, who will be encouraging you in to her small shop as you pass by.

Mizunuma Sasaeten
Tel: 0599 25 2511

There are Kinstetsu trains to Toba from Osaka and Nagoya (1 hour, 35 mins) and there are overnight highway buses from Ikebukuro via Kuwana and Tsu to Toba.

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組飴

Japanese artisanal candy has long been a favorite of travelers passing through Kyoto and other towns hosting the last few remaining "candy lanes" still operating in Japan.

For the first time in the United States, one type of Japanese handmade candy, called kumi ame (rolled candy) is now available. Kai's Candy Company, based in Philadelphia, worked with candy artisans in Japan to make a special edition of kumi ame for the US Presidential campaign season.



The Obama candy pack is currently available, with a McCain set coming in August. The Japanese craftsmen see these distinctly American designs as a fun way to introduce this style of Japanese candy making to the US.

Kumi ame is a form of candy making that is not practiced in the US, and even in Japan, it is a dying art form. As with many other handicrafts, the demands of the global marketplace favor automated, high production volume over the unique qualities of hand-crafted work, causing skills such as kumi ame making to slowly die out.



The kumi ame making process starts in a way that is similar to "crystal cut" or rock candy - boiling sugar and other ingredients, including food coloring. The real talent comes in the next step - as the candy starts to cool and solidify, the candy makers have a very limited time to shape the different colored pieces into the design they wish to make.

They form the design within a wide, fat, cylinder shaped candy. After the design is done, they then roll the candy so that it gradually becomes narrower and longer (it's similar to rolling a piece of clay back and forth between the palms of your hands). This long and narrow candy is then sliced up into individual pieces. For the lollipops, the sticks then need to be inserted. And remember, this all has to be done before the candy hardens!

Kai's Candy Company will be importing more kumi ame soon, with specially made designs for Halloween and Christmas. The company plans to expand its offerings to other, unique styles of Japanese candy as well.

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