Ryozanpaku 京·百万遍 梁山泊

One of our favorite restaurants in Kyoto is Ryozanpaku (梁山泊).  

I was intrigued when I read about Ryozanpaku in magazines years ago.  The name suggested a Chinese restaurant for Ryozanpaku was where the characters of Shuihu Zhuan (水滸伝, one of China's Four Great Classic Novels, commonly known in English as "The Water Margin" or "All Men Are Brothers") lived.  I was surprised that the food was Kyo-ryori (京料理), the elegant Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine. 

Owner/chef Hashimoto Kenichi-san (橋本憲一さん), with his desire for his guests to eat and drink with great pleasure and abandon, named his restaurant Ryozanpaku as the characters in the novel lived a lifestyle of “eat, drink and be merry” with “big bowls of wine and big plates of meat (大杯酒, 大塊肉)”. 

Every morning Hashimoto-san goes to the Kyoto Wholesale Market (Kyoto’s counterpart of Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market) for the best seasonal fish and vegetables that his kitchen turns into impeccable dishes.

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Ryozanpaku is in an extraordinary traditional Japanese house.  One walks through the wooden gate along a stone path in the small garden to its front door.  Immediately one is greeted by the kimono-clad Okami (女將, the Mistress of the restaurant) with a smile.  Beyond the foyer is the large front room with an exquisite hand-crafted oversized square wood table.  On the right is the open kitchen with a counter for customers.  Hanging above the counter is a long hand-written menu.  On the left are cabinets with displays, and the steps to an elevated level of zashiki (tatami rooms).  The floor of the front room is laid with flat stones and the ceiling is covered with latticed woodwork.  The tatami rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated in the traditional manner, each with tokonoma (alcove) that displays an ikebana arrangement and a scroll of painting.    At day time one can enjoy a lavish view of the garden. 

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 Here are some examples of the food we had at Ryozanpaku.

Sakizuke (先附) – Appetizers of chaburinamako (茶ぶり生子, sea cucumber shaken in tea),

 takenoko (筍 木芽和, bamboo shoot), kazunoko (数の子, herring roe)

 Osuimono (お吸いキの) – Clear soup with ebi, tofu and nama yuba maki

 Mukozuke (向附) -- sashimi (お造り) of sea trout, saroyi (針魚), kawahagi (皮剥),  

okoze (虎魚,scorpion fish), mongou ika (紋甲いか, cuttlefish);

Condiments of matcha-shio (salt with green tea powder, kimo sauce, and soy sauce

 Takimono (焚物) – Seasonal Kyoto yasai

Buri saikyouyaki (冰見鰤 西京燒, Kyoto style grilled Japanese amberjack),  

バナナ梅干わさびクリ一ム和 (banana and dried ume in wasabi cream), 

karasumi daikon (唐墨大根, dried fish roe on radish), 豆腐ス乇一ク (smoked tofu on mandarin), 

goma kon’nyaku (胡麻蒟蒻, sesame “devil’s tongue” jelly), namasu (膾, carrot and radish in vinegar)

 Yakimono (燒物) -- Awabi in kimo sauce (燒あわび)

 Gohan (御飯) – Green shiso gohan

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Ryozanpaku offers a large selection of sake as well as Champagne and Burgundy wines.  We had our first sparkling sake there a few years ago.  It was specially brewed by a sake toji (brew master) for Hashimoto-san.  Rice wine obviously could not produce bubbles like Champagne.  Nevertheless the fizzes were very pleasant.  Hashimoto-san also stocks Japanese whiskeys at the restaurant.  One evening, he paired our dinner with whiskey – Hakushu 12-y.o., Hibiki 17-y.o., and a special Hitomi 19-y.o. (a single cask of vintage 1991 by Yamazaki Distillery).   At another sumptuous meal, he shared with us a bottle of Jadot 2009 Beaune 1er Cru “150^th Anniversary Cuvee”.

    

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 Hashimoto-san is an exceptional chef, a gourmet of Japanese, Asian and European cuisines, and a connoisseur of fine Burgundies and whiskeys.  The Okami, elegant Mrs. and cheerful Miss Hashimoto, are most gracious and hospitable.  They ensure that every detail of the meal is properly attended to from the time of the guests’ arrival to their departure.  We have always enjoyed ourselves at Ryozanpaku whether we ate at the counter or in the tatami rooms.  Always the warm welcome, excellent food and drinks, impeccable service and lovely ambience; what more can we ask?

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In recent years, a number of eateries named “Ryozanpaku” have popped up in Japan, Hong Kong and the U.S.  They have nothing to do with our all-time favorite, the one and only Michelin 2-star Ryozanpaku in the Hyakumanben area of Kyoto (京·百万遍).  

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Restaurant website: 京·百万遍   梁山泊 www.ryozanpaku.net

Address: 5 Izumidono-cho Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 京都市 左京区 吉田泉殿町5

Braised Pork Trotters 紅燒元蹄

With the approach of Chinese New Year, the talk of braised whole pork trotters brought back memories of the festival in the "old country".  Typically a winter dish because of the high fat content and the relatively long cooking time, it is also a Chinese New Year dish because of the "wholeness" and the lucky symbolism of the pork trotters (supposed to bring unexpected lucky money).  Done properly, pork trotters melt in your mouth and don't taste greasy at all - which could also be a problem as you throw your cholesterol count to the wind and dig in.

My mother made the best braised pork, whether she made it with trotters or with the shoulder.  I mentioned in a previous post her recipe called for browning of the whole trotter with skin on all sides in a heavy pot, then adding the red fermented soy bean curd (南乳) with onions, anise and pepper.  The braising took a couple of hours.   By the time the pork was done, the sauce would be reduced to the right consistency, the skin and the fat would have attained an almost translucent texture that would give you that melt-in-your-mouth sensation.

One of the best braised whole pork trotters I tasted in a restaurant was again made by chef Patrick Chuang at Delicious 好清香 (see my earlier post on Pork belly buns).  We made a return visit just to try this special dish which had to be ordered in advance.  It was worth the trouble of preordering.   While the trotter was done just right, the dried vegetables on which it was served was even better.  It was tasty but not salty and it had taken in all the flavours of the braised pork.  A whole pork trotter was obviously too much for two but it tasted even better the following day so we took half home and ordered another dish just to save our arteries.

Meat Pie of Northern China

I first learnt of this tasty treat from my daughter who was studying in China as a foreign student. So, when I visited her there, I asked to try it. It was a cold winter day. She took me to an area of narrow alleys adjacent to her university, and strangely, to a small shop that sold trophys, banners, and flags. It turned out the shop owner rented out a tiny space at the front to a vendor selling meat pie. On that cold winter day, there was nothing better than standing next to the vendor's coal-burning stove and munching those meat pies.

Fast forwarding to Toronto today, it is great that this dish is now available in a number of restaurants. However, one opened up that has meat pie as its main attraction (see name and address below). Its Chinese name means "Old Mother's Meat Pie". I have been there a number of times and here are some of the items that I enjoyed: Peking Style Meat Pie, Sesame and Peanut Butter Pancake (a dessert) and Hand Made Noodle with Green Onions and Chili Sauce (a hot dish). The photo below shows the three dishes.

The hand made wide noodle is on the left. It was made with the right degree of firmness. The meat pie on the right consists of a thin pastry with a thin layer of meat stuffing. The stuffing can be beef or pork. The dessert pancake is shown at the bottom.

La Mere Restaurant

3278 Midland Ave
Scarborough, ON M1V 4W7

Midland a little north of Finch
416 297 0297

The secret behind a flaky pie crust!

It's no secret, it's science!  Take a tip from our guest blogger Helen, a former chemist -

The following are some lessons learned with my recent pumpkin pie. The most amazing part is the crust did not turn soft till the third day - when I polished off the last piece and the bottom was just starting to soften.

Here's the secret. After rolling out the dough and transferring it to the pie pan, refrigerate for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes. Bake with pie weight (I use pennies) till almost done, then add hot pumpkin filling while the crust is still hot from the oven and finish baking. (I had some angst as the pie plate is pyrex and I had to move it from freezer to hot oven)

The LONG scientific explanation is "Gluten is formed when water is added to flour. During rolling the strands of gluten get stretched and if not allowed to rest they will snap back when baked. Resting does not occur if the crust is placed immediately in the freezer after rolling as the water freezes and holds the gluten in place... Frozen crust is much flakier than refrigerated crust... Dough and fat have different heat tolerances. For frozen dough the dough heats up and starts to set relatively quickly compared to the time the frozen butter takes to melt and then vaporize. By the time the water in the butter turns to steam, the dough has started to set and hold the shape, rather than allowing the soft dough pockets to collapse and hence make the dough denser..." If you have the book Baking Illustrated from the Cook's Illustrated, a more detailed explanation is on the section on “Pies and Tarts”.

A few other tips gleaned from the book:

1.      Crisco shortening makes flakier crust, as “the oil has been hydrogenated, when hydrogen gas is pumped in to incorporate air and to raise the melting point… Crisco is 10% gas and does a good job of lightening and tenderizing”. However if hydrogenated oil is worse or as bad (healthwise) than butter, I’d prefer to use butter. But that means revamping my 15 year old tried and true pie dough recipe.

2.      “Some liquid ingredients tried included buttermilk, milk, cider vinegar, etc. and none were deemed better than water”. I have however experimented with vodka as the liquid, with the rationale being that it evaporates during baking and hence I can make the dough softer and easier to roll out.  I’ll try this the next time, as “less water means a more tender dough”.

3.      When rolling out dough, “make sure it is well chilled before rolling, and add a minimum of flour to the work surface…If the dough seems too soft to roll, it’s best to refrigerate rather than add more flour”

4.      For pumpkin or custard-like pies, “pre-bake pie crusts…make sure that both shell and filling were hot when assembling the pie, so the custard could begin to firm up almost immediately rather than soaking into the pastry…Bake on bottom shelf, where the bottom of the crust is exposed to the most intense  heat”

Enjoy your baking adventure!

A Christmas Feast of Crabs and Lobsters

On the day before Christmas Eve, Mr. A bought two Dungeness crabs and two Maine lobsters on impulse.  Only when he placed the sea creatures in his kitchen sink did he realize that he and Mrs. A would be eating shellfish for days.

 

Mr. A immediately went to work.  He killed the live crabs by pulling off their top shells.  He proceeded to clean the bodies and steamed them whole.  Next, he poached one lobster in a large pot of boiling water with heat off.  He severed the tail from the head of the second lobster and placed it in a bowl of icy cold water to firm up the meat for sashimi.  He saved the crab miso and the green lobster tomalley for later use.

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Mr. A wasted no time to made lobster sashimi.  The chilled meat was firm, crunchy and sweet.  The flavor became more complex when the pieces were seasoned with a little bit of wasabi and dipped gently in tamari.  The sashimi was followed by roasted quails with sautéed rapini.  The quails were marinated briefly with a dark soy sauce and Kosher salt before being pan roasted in olive oil.  The rapini was sautéed with bacon, pancetta and red chili pepper.  The wine for dinner was a grower-Champagne from Avize.

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Mr. and Mrs. A feasted on more crab and lobster dishes the rest of the 2012 Christmas week --  egg custard in crab shells, lobster instant noodle, crab and lobster risotto, lobster chowder (twice), Chinese scrambled egg with crab, and finally udon with crab and mushrooms.  

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Egg custard in crab shells:  Mrs. A placed some crab meat in the two empty crab shells.  She filled up the shells with beaten egg mixed with crab jus, crab miso and chopped cilantro, and steamed them for a few minutes.  The result was different from chawanmushi  (the Japanese dish of egg custard with chicken, shrimp, and ginkgo nut steamed in a small lidded ceramic bowl) -- the color was not a pure soft yellow because of the crab miso, and the surface was not mirror smooth because the shells were too shallow for the egg to cover the solid ingredients.  Nevertheless, the dish was a success.  The aroma was intense; the flavor savory and totally umami.  Despite the small portion, its richness made the dish a meal by itself.  

Lobster and sardine instant noodle: Mr. A fried some shallots in olive oil from a can of “Parthos” brand sardines.  When the shallots were soft and slightly browned, he added pieces of lobster head and legs, cilantro and negi.  He warmed the small whole sardines in the pan to finish off the cooking.  The sauté was then placed over bowls of spicy hot “Boku-Uma” brand ramen noodle.   It tasted good.  (“Parthos” from Portugal is the only brand of canned sardines that Mr. and Mrs. A like.  It was packed in olive oil with red chili pepper, clove, a slice of cucumber, a slice of carrot and salt.  The texture and flavor of the fish are impeccable.)  

Crab and lobster risotto:  The idea was inspired by a dish Mr. and Mrs. A eaten not too long ago at Namu Gaji, a New Wave Korean restaurant.  The restaurant version was crab risotto with white truffle from Alba shaved tableside.  Mr. A’s version had no white truffle (sigh!).  He stirred Carnaroli rice in olive oil with chopped onion and garlic, and cooked it with lobster stock and clam jus, adding linguica, lobster tomalley, lobster tail and crab meat, and cilantro along the way.  The risotto took on a green colour from the tomalley.  Yum!  The wine: Roederer Estate l'Ermitage Brut 2003.

 

Lobster chowder:  Mr. A made the base with roux and lobster stock, seasoned it with paprika and white pepper, then added cream, cream style corn, beaten egg, and at the last minute some lobster meat.  The bowl was garnished with fingerling potato roasted with rosemary and thyme, linguica, cilantro, and fried sage on the lobster claw.  Following the chowder, Mr. and Mrs. A shared a piece of beef filet.  They drank a Fixin, which went well with both dishes. 

 

Mrs. A liked the lobster chowder so much that Mr. A made it a second time with some modifications.  He used a bottle of supermarket clam juice to supplement the remaining lobster stock.  He skipped the cream, potatoes and linguica to stay healthy.  But at the last minute, he put in chopped “4504” hot dog, the infamous bacon studded hot dog (so much for being healthy) and garnish of chives.  Mrs. A liked that version too.

Chinese-style soft scrambled egg with crab meat:  Mrs. A stirred slowly and gently beaten egg, mixed with crab meat, chopped yellow chive, in a Chinese wok over low heat until it was no longer runny.  Chopped cilantro was added before the egg was completely set.  The scrambled egg was fluffy and moist, the chunks of crab meat sweet, the herbs fragrant.  It was Mr. A’s favorite dish. 

Crab udon:  It was Sanuki udon in a kombu broth seasoned with kanro (a thick dark soy sauce), topped with hedgehog mushrooms and maitake, juliennes of abura-age (deep-fried tofu pocket), negi and crab meat. 

Dessert for the week was of course Christmas cake, the pannetone of RubiRustichella d'Abruzzo, made with sultana raisins, candied citron and egg.  It was supplemented by the rich Walker’s shortbread.

Eat Fresh at Subway in Tokyo

The Marunouchi area sits between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace.  It is the financial center of Tokyo. It is also the premium shopping area for the affluent.  Practically all buildings in the area are skyscrapers.  The street level shops are boutiques of big name Japanese and foreign fashion designers.  The interconnected basements of these buildings have many small restaurants catering to office workers.  

One day I happened to be at the basement of the Marunouchi Building.  There I found a unique shop of the Subway Sandwich chain.  It was growing its own lettuce in an enclosed hydroponic “Subway yasai lab” (yasai is Japanese for vegetable).  To me that was an interesting concept.  Even though the “yasai lab” could hardly produce enough lettuce, it supported the advertising slogan “Eat Fresh at Subway”. 

Apparently I was the only person who had any interest.  From the picture, you can see that people eating lunch at the counter paid no attention to the “lab” at all.  I found out later that the”lab” was installed two years earlier in 2010.  Its novelty must have worn off long ago.