It was early April and already the weather was warm enough for Mr. A to
wear tee-shirts. But only a week earlier, he was shivering in
frigid weather in Biei, a small town in central Hokkaido of northern Japan, despite
wearing a down jacket, long john and a lined cap with ear flaps. How his environment had changed in just a few
days!
The word "Biei" means beautiful crystal sparkles. Tourists
flock there in summer for its flower fields, tree groves and blue ponds. But in winter, with everything covered in snow,
there is hardly anyone around.
During their 90-minute scenic drive, Mr. & Mrs. A came across only two
other cars with their occupants stayed inside.
Amazingly two fearless cyclists were resting on top of a small
hill, braving the wind and the sub-zero temperature. Their driver dutifully stopped at every scenic
spot and stepped out of the car to show them the best vantage point for
picture taking, despite Mrs. A’s plea for him to stay warm inside the vehicle.
The scenery was at times a bright snowscape under a blue sky, but mostly
a minimalist sketch in infinite shades of gray. Mrs. A remarked that it reminded her of
scenes in the epic movie “Doctor Zhivago”. Mr. A thought the famous groups of trees, with
fanciful names like “Ken and Mary”, “Christmas Tree” and “Parents and Child”, made
famous by television episodes and commercials, looked beautiful in close-up snapshots
but somewhat of a letdown when viewed in person as they appeared so
insignificant in the open field.
 |
| “Parents and child”: note the two large trees with a small one in between them |
Anyway, Mr. A did not go to Biei in late winter for snow and trees. He went there with Mrs. A for lunch at an 18-seat Italian restaurant, Antica Osteria del Valore. He read about this place on the internet and had the urge to eat there. His reasoning was simple: if a small Italian restaurant in the middle of nowhere had survived for years, it must be pretty good, right?!
They took an one and a half hour train ride from Sapporo to Asahikawa and transferred to a local train for Biei. At the Biei
Station, they hired a taxi to go out of town, went down the highway, turned into a side road somewhere and
eventually arrived at Valore. It was a small house surrounded
by trees. Except for the road, parking
lot and a path, everywhere was a thick blanket of pristine snow. Across the open fields, snow capped
mountain ranges adorned the horizon far away.
The door at Valore opened promptly at 11:30. Mr. & Mrs. A received a warm
welcome and were led into the narrow dining room.
There was just one row of wood tables and chairs along the front
wall. The setting was simple and rustic so as not to distract
the diners from the colorful plating of the dishes and the flavors of the
ingredients from local farms and purveyors.
Their seven–course lunch lasted almost three hours. It started with a potage of Japanese turnip,
dressed with foie gras flan, a turnip slice, leaf, and foam of turnip greens. The lovely light green and pink over the white
symbolized the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The smoothness of foie gras flan played well
with the creamy potage, and its mild savory flavor complemented the earthiness
and slight sweetness of turnip.
It was followed by a light salad of
kani (crab) in aspic, with raw sayori
fish on top, and framed by radish slices, cherry tomatoes and herbs. The brilliant colors of the radishes formed a
striking composition. Raw saroyi was one of Mr. A’s favorite fish.
House-made egg pasta was served with a botan-ebi (the large Hokkaido prawn), sakura-ebi (the tiny shrimps, most likely from Shizuoka), and tempura of local shiitake mushroom. A rich mushroom
broth was poured into the bowl at tableside.
The broth was pale in color but intense in flavor. In the process of eating the dish, the stock
was dyed by the head of the botan-ebi and took on a deep color.
A leaf of purple endive at the same time concealed and highlighted a
piece of seared hakkaku (a delicious winter
fish unique to the Hokkaido waters) and grilled takenoko (son-of-bamboo, a.k.a. bamboo shoot). Takenoko
was at its best in winter. Mr. A
appreciated its preparation -- the chef quartered a young shoot lengthwise,
grilled and served it with the husk. The
tender tip, which was the edible part, was not quite two inches long. Its texture was superb -- juicy, crunchy,
tender. The subtle and mild flavor, with an elegant fragrance of nature, invoked a sense of “Zen” that was beyond words.
Mr. A was brought back to earth with the meat course and a glass of red
wine. The meat was “misugi” of local Biei beef.
On the same plate were various greens, including asparagus, broccoli,
brocollini, Brussels sprout, cauliflower, okra, baby lettuce leaves, and fava
bean puree.
(Note: “Misuji” is known in
the U.S. as “Market Steak”, a relatively inexpensive but very tender and
flavorful cut. It can be found at meat shops
that butcher their own cattle carcass.
Availability is very limited as there are only a few hundred grams of it,
about four small steaks, in each carcass.)
Dessert was a sakura (cherry
blossom) and vanilla mousse cake and sakura
gelato. Just like traditional tea shops
all over Japan serving green tea and sakura mochi, the
pink rice cake wrapped around with a pickled leaf, in March and
April, the chef at Valore offered his take to celebrate the coming of spring.
After tea and coffee were served, a second dessert arrived at the table.
It was a cannoli filled with lime cream, resting on a lime marshmallow, and a
spoon of ume (plum) ice. Their light tartness provided a very
refreshing finish to the meal.
Mr. & Mrs. A were glad that they had made the trip to Biei. The food and service at Valore were good. While the meal was not luxurious (luxury was
never an important factor to them), it succeeded in its celebration of the soon-be-gone
winter and the soon-be-here spring with proper ingredients, using their colors,
texture and flavor meticulously. It
showed the chef’s love of Biei, nature and cooking. The travel to Biei took special effort, but train
rides in Japan were relaxing and enjoyable; and the quiet beautiful scenery along
the way was soothing. Mr. & Mrs. A enjoyed
the day tremendously.
