April 5, 2017

Coming Home/帰宅

Thanks to my brother and sister, I've been able to return home. Last week, I took the Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo to Echigo Yuzawa. Like I usually do, I bought a can of beer and some snack at the kiosk before riding it.
兄と姉のおかげで、帰宅することができました。先週、東京から越後湯沢行きの上越新幹線に乗りました。いつも通り、乗車前にキオスクでビールを1缶と軽食を買いました。
Nodogoshi Nama. Not exactly a beer but a beer-like alcoholic beverage under the category of "dai-san (third) no beer".
Cheeza, which contains 53% cheese, never ever fails to satisfy me.
のどごし生。正確に言うと、ビールではなく、「第三のビール」というカテゴリーの、ビールに似たアルコール飲料です。
チーズが53%も入ったチーザは、いつ食べても美味しいです。
Spring is late in coming here in Niigata. The cherry trees are yet to bloom.
新潟に春が来るのは遅いです。桜はまだ咲いていません。 

My son surprised my wife and me by suddenly coming home on the night of April 1...
息子は、4月1日の夜に突然帰って来て、妻と私を驚かせました。

The next day, he gave us these two presents.
次の日、息子からこんな2つのプレゼントをもらいました。
Nama Nori (product name), nori no tsukudani (nori seaweed seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings) and sanuki udon. Both are souvenirs from Kagawa prefecture, Shikoku.
生のり(製品名)、海苔の佃煮と、さぬきうどん。ともに、四国の香川県のお土産です。


Just put some of it on top of hot rice.
温かいごはんの上に乗せるだけです。

My son's birthday is in April, and we went to our favorite soba restaurant, Tabata-ya.
息子の誕生日は4月なので、私たちの大好きな蕎麦屋、田畑屋(たばたや)に行きました。
The spacious seating area (zashiki), with tatami mats laid out, will make any Japanese feel at home.
畳を敷いた広い座敷で、どんな日本人でもくつろげます。




My daughter ordered a "chahan set".
娘は「チャーハンセット」を頼み、
I ordered a "tenju set".
私は天重セットを頼みました。
Tenju is short for tempura jubako (tired box). I think the term tenju set is a misnomer for this set because it contains a tendon (short for tempura donburi) not a tenju.
天重(てんじゅう)は、天ぷら重箱の略です。このセットには天重ではなく、天丼が付いてくるので、誤りかと思います。

As usual, my son and wife ordered 3 servings of hegi soba and 1 tempura plate.
息子と妻はいつも通り、へぎそばを三人前と、天ぷらを1皿頼みました。
"Hegi" refers to a wooden frame, like the one shown above, used to place coils of soba beautifully. Here in the Uonuma region of Niigata, soba contains a type of seawead called funori, which gives the soba a greenish color and a firm and sleek texture.
「へぎ」とは、このような、コイル状に巻いたそばを美しく盛るために使う木の枠のことです。新潟の魚沼地方では、蕎麦には「布海苔」という海藻が入っているので、色は緑っぽく、腰のある、滑らかな食感があります。
The right piece is a fukinoto (butter bur sprout) tempura.
右のは、フキノトウ(ふきのとう、蕗の薹)の天ぷらです。
(The bottom left piece is buna shimeji tempura that I gave my son from my tenju set.)
(左下のは、天重セットから息子にあげた、ブナシメジの天ぷらです。)
 
Later, my daughter ordered gobo (burdock root) karaage.
後で、娘はごぼうのから揚げを注文しました。 
We shared the dish, natually. Believe it or not, this particular gobo karaage is the best-selling snack at this particular soba restaurant.
もちろん、みんなで食べました。信じられないかもしれませんが、このごぼうのから揚げはこの蕎麦屋で一番売れているおつまみです。

10 comments:

fred said...

It's been a long time since your last post about restaurant food!
Gobo karaage seriously looks tasty,
I ever tasted kinpira gobo once but already forgot how gobo actually taste.
And it just reminds me about gobocha I was ordered few days ago from chashoan, can't wait for the next 1-2 weeks to arrive!

Hiroyuki said...

fred: My family eat out only about 2-3 times a year, usually in April (for my son's birthday), September (for my daughter's birthday), and November (my wife's and my birthdays). And, when we eat out, it's usually this soba restraunt, because my son is an absolute lover of the hegi soba served there and insists on going there.

I really can't describe what gobo tastes like, but I can say it's a must in tonjiru (pork miso soup), because it goes very well with pork.

ErinBear said...

Hello Hiroyuki,

Welcome back home again! I am so glad you got to go out to dinner with your family. The food looks so delicious. Happy birthday to your son!

I read the conversation with Fred. I like gobo, and I think it must be very healthy. To me, gobo has a very earthy flavor. It also has a very firm, crunchy texture, which is very nice. Kinpira gobo is so good. I was eating some just a couple of days ago!

Best wishes from California,
Erin

Hiroyuki said...

ErinBear: Thank you for your description of gobo. You have described it much better than I have!

I've stayed with my family for ten days, and I have to go back to my parents' house to support them today!

Amy said...

I remember your posts on eGullet about Tabata-ya! How wonderful that your family's still going, and that it's still your son's favorite restaurant. Speaking of your son, what a great surprise! Here in the US, I don't think that many sons who attend college would make the effort to surprise their parents with a visit... :)

I hope you enjoyed your visit back home with your family. Off-topic, but related to the last comment I left you, I found an article in Japanese about the drama and manga Samurai Gourmet/Nobushi no Gurume: http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2086548/full/

diu said...

Hun !! Delicia, parabens pro son I have my youngest birthday girl 2 April, 30 years old.

Khash said...

The restaurant photos look so good. Looks like a fantastic day out with family.

Happy birthday to your son 😉

Hiroyuki said...

Thanks to everyone for their comments!

Amy: eGullet!? You have a very good memory!!!

okasan said...

息子さんにお誕生日おめでとう!
My kids birthday also in the beginning of April. The nama nori looks yummy. I think I've seen it in grocery store but not sure what to do with it, now I know. As for the Hegi soba, beside the texture and color does it taste the same as regular soba? Would love to try one day. Fukinoto is a spring specialty in Japan, another food item I like to try.

Hiroyuki said...

okasan: ありがとうございます。もうすぐ21歳になります!

I had imagined that the Nama Nori would be different from regular nori no tsukudani 海苔の佃煮, but actually, it was no different from regular ones except it was greenish rather than blackish. Hegi soba has the aromatic smell of the seaweed. Fukinoto is bitter, but we just can't do without having it a couple of times when spring comes. Besides, the fukinoto and other edible wild plants in snowy regions are said to be better than those in snowless regions.