Oden at Ebisugawa Enraku | Kyoto • 0 comments • When our tea ceremony was over, our friends took us to one of the most popular restaurants in Kyoto: Ebisugawa Enraku. They wanted us to try Oden, a traditional dish in Japan. Consisting of fishcakes, boiled eggs, daikon, and konjac, it's basically a soup. The aforementioned ingredients are stewed in a soy-flavored dashi broth to make a one-pot meal. I'm not certain if Ebisugawa Enraku does this, but I've read that some restaurants keep the broth as a "master stock", meaning they replenish it while it simmers over months, sometimes years, to add depth and complexity to the flavour. This finally answered our question of "What is that?" when we saw a bunch of foreign-to-us items stewing next to the cashier at 7-Eleven or Family Mart. Ebisugawa Enraku, however, doesn't serve convenience store oden. The quality is one of the reasons it's loved by locals for a nice evening out. We can see how this can be a comfort meal in the evening or during cold months in Japan. Honestly, we preferred the sashimi. I think this is something that would be so much more enjoyable if the flavours were introduced to your palate at a young age or if you're a huge seafood fan. We're grateful for friends who introduce us to new things - this was such a fun experience. The restaurant is beautiful and, while they do have chairs, we sat at a chabudai on the floor which, at 6'2, Alex always struggles with. I'm fairly flexible and it does take some getting used to. Eating soup over a table while sitting cross-legged can be challenging! Ebisugawa Enraku also serves izakaya dishes that we'd love to try if we ever find ourselves in Kyoto again. - Mina *** FIND US ON INSTAGRAM: @minaseville | @alexanderseville
Sushi no Musashi in JR Kyoto Station 寿しのむさし • 4 comments • On our way home from the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine we took the convenient route of stopping for dinner at Sushi no Musashi in the Kyoto train station. Despite its location, it's popular with locals and tourists alike. Kaiten-zushi (回転寿司) translates to "rotation sushi". Plates wind through the restaurant on a conveyor belt and you can just pick up whatever you're craving. Your bill is determined by the number and style of plates left on your table. Yoshiaki Shiraishi invented this style of dining when he has issues staffing his small sushi restaurant and managing people on his own. The idea came to him while watching beer bottles on a conveyor belt at an Asahi brewery. It took him 5+ years to develop the design and speed of the operations. The very first conveyor belt sushi restaurant was opened in 1958 and now they're famous around the world... including a certain touch screen one that we've visited more than a few times. Sushi no Musashi has the most unique assortment of sushi options we’ve seen at one place: eggplant, roast beef, raw horse & mane (???), baby sardine, and grilled corn nigiri, in addition to high quality favorites. If that isn't enough, you can also make custom orders. It's a spot worth adding to your list if you're in the area.
