Eating Kyoto // 京都を食べる

Japan is the ideal country for those attempting to satisfy their wanderlust at maximum capacity. The JR Pass (Japan Rail) can take you from opposite ends of the country within a day on the shinkansen (bullet train), with local trains peppered throughout stations to shoot you to the hundreds of shrines, restaurants and events the nation has to offer. The seemingly endless opportunity to travel within the country is perfect for seeing Japan in the big picture, but it’s so easy to miss the details that make the country so spectacular.

While I’ll be the first to admit that my sole reason for booking a trip to Japan in October was to root for Scotland Rugby at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, I soon fell in love with the precious in-between moments we got to explore the various cities in greater detail.

We landed in Osaka and immediately set of for Kyoto, where we spent just 3 days. I was eager to experience all Kyoto had to offer in terms of traditional and modern cuisine - pairing it with endless sight-seeing and walking down endlessly winding streets (which turned out beneficial after eating 4-5 meals a day).

Pontochō// 先斗町

One of Kyoto’s more atmospheric dining areas, Pontocho is a series of narrow alleys west of the Kamogawa River revealing countless opportunities to explore every region of cuisine you could imagine. We arrived with the intention of drinking Japanese whisky, and drink Japanese whisky we did.

We learned to take our time navigating the narrow alleyways so as not to miss the tiny doorways that open up into lavish underworlds revealing culinary geniuses and expert mixologists. In the end, we popped in and out of as many hole in the walls as we could before jet lag inevitably conquered us.

Lorimer// 京都

Brought to Kyoto from Brooklyn, Lorimer celebrates traditional Japanese breakfast and lunch using seasonal regional ingredients.

We were lucky enough to chat to Jerimy, the Brooklyn raised head chef, about the intricacies of the breakfast he was preparing - watching him and his team expertly craft plate after plate was the closest thing I have ever come to watching true art in motion. With cooking chopsticks and torches in hand they maneuvered and charred each ingredient in isolation, and crafted a plated story not unlike edible Ikebana.

The miso is the regional pride of Kyoto, and is to be enjoyed piping hot, so instructed our chef. The onsen poached egg borrowed its title from the famous baths of a same name - placed in a slightly uncomfortable heat intended to shove the bather into submission and relaxation, and slowly cooked to perfection.

The menu, constantly changing based on season and whims of the masterminds who work behind the kitchen island, is always safe because everything (everything) is expertly created and dangerously delicious. Filled with hubris I inquired about additional restaurants the wonderful Lorimer chef’s would recommend, while I have'n’t myself been I am filled with confidence they are as outstanding as our breakfast.

• Hisa Dori// 久三酉 - Yakitori

• Monk - Pizza with a Japanese twist

Traditional Japanese breakfast served at Lorimer utilizing traditional and seasonal ingredients.

- Red Snapper brined in rosemary & lemon, onsen poached egg, squash with tofu, fried seasonal rice ball, regional miso, sencha tea.

Omen Ginkaku-ji// 名代おめん 銀閣寺本店

Founded in 1967 at Kyoto Ginkakuji Temple, Omen takes its name from it’s staple dish: noodles.

The restaurant serves delicate buckwheat Udon noodles alongside Hokkaido kelp and bonito broth to be paired with three crafted spices to enrich and enliven the dish: Ginkakuji, Pontocho and Kodaiji. We enjoyed tatami seating in the lower level dining room (which proved to be a spectacle as a group of 4 above 5”10 - some creeping above 6’6” attempted to keep our legs crossed for over two hours).

We began the meal with the seasonal appetizer set, from then we were committed to exploring the flavors of Fall. Duck meatballs served in a rich broth, perfectly balanced out the lightness of the udon (diners do have an option to request extra noodles, but by the time the men had finished slurping they had inadvertently become horizontal). As an addition to the perfumed udon dish, we were served a side of tempura’d oyster mushroom the size of our fists.

We had an easy time maintaining a reservation the day before in October - but were told that once Cherry Blossom season arrives, lines can wind down the narrow street. In general, we found that reservations are a necessity for more popular restaurants and events throughout Japan.

Honke Owariya// 本家尾張屋

Almost nowhere else in the world do people have the opportunity to experience what was commonplace over 550 years ago. What first began as a confectionary shop in 1465 during the Muromachi period soon became a soba restaurant in the late-Ebo period to keep up with the skyrocketing demand of soba-kiri after Zen trainee monks brought the dish from the Chinese continent. Around 1700, Owariya and its founder, Denzaemon Inaoka, became goyo-soba-tsukasa (purveyor of soba noodles to the Imperial Palace).

The restaurant is a ten minute walk from the Imperial Palace’s Sakaimachi-Comon Gate (and a much needed rest place after a long walk around the palace grounds). If you have time, pay a visit to the Sentō Imperial Palace// 京都仙洞御所, a secondary palace complex in Kyoto Imperial Park with breathtaking gardens and a chance to view Imperial architecture up-close.

What to order…

• Soba Shōchū - (to drink)

• Hourai Soba (cold) - Hearty portions of soba and eight small toppings: shiitake mushrooms, shredded thin omelet, sesame seeds, shrimp tempura, wasabi, nori, Japanese leeks and grated daikon.

• Tsukimi - Kake soba topped with a floating poached egg, mitsuba and nori.

• Nabe Yaki Udon - Udon served sizzling in a hot ceramic pot with a topping of shrimp tempura, siitake mushroom, kamaboko, egg, yuba, chicken and mitsuba.

Nikka Coffey Grain | 45% ABV 700ml, 750ml (USA)

Whisky Review: Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky //

It smells like if you slow roasted cranberries with brown sugar or applewood - or whatever they use to make southern barbecue. But of course that is to say it smells hot- not hot like smoke, hot like heat. Slow heat. Like apple pie or something that you know took hours to achieve the ideal temperature. Like something watched over and cared for. Like what a long days’ work in the colder months coming to an end must smell like - Like being welcomed back from sea.

It rolls over your tongue like a wave when you’ve finished with the smell, for now. Slightly to the left, no- my left- and numbs the inside of the cheek. Not like anesthetic, more like black licorice (if you don’t like that sort of thing). It starts to tingle then trickles to the lips like ants would if you accidentally left the sugar jar lid on the counter. And that’s not to say it isn’t a wonderful experience, the sensation not at all unpleasant - it sparks the senses curiously and urges you to sip again.

It’s about feeling, after all.

But we can’t forget about the taste. After it twirls along the lips, it goes for the newly numbed tongue and dances to the tune of honey and what I imagine silk would taste like. A hard water that’s soft and smooth.

It doesn’t taste like home - It’s subtle and restrained in all the ways Japanese things are and Scottish things most certainly are not. The shrine to the castle. The samurai to the highlander. The kimono to the tartan. There’s a hardness I’ve grown so fond of growing up with drams of Lagavulin, Ardbeg - anything peated, really. There is, of course, many occasions for lightness, especially when paired with the delicateness of Japanese cuisine or the specific instance of me wanting to try something new - but I can’t deny that it doesn’t pang of nostalgia. And more often than not, the smoke and the smell combined with the feeling of kin is what draws me to the spirit.

In fairness, I think one could only truly tell the geographical difference if one had never heard of the placebo affect. Nikka Coffey Whisky is a perfectly balanced and complex whisky, one suited for sipping but made to be blended with soda water and a fresh squeezed lemon wedge.

The first time I drank a Highball was in Yokohama, at the Scotland v. Russia game at the Rugby World Cup in October of this year. In fairness, it was less of a highball and more of a watered down cheap whisky drink crafted to be drank swiftly and within a half. I was with my father and my boyfriend, the first time spending large amounts of time with two out of three most important men in my life, and an introduction of my partner to the sport that in many ways defines my relationship with my father, and in a way my culture that I feel in many ways so distant from. These moments of impact in our lives is where whiskey so naturally seeps in, regardless of its origin.

Whisky Highball

The Nikka Highball (with a capital “H”) is ideal for a hot day - make it Californian by replacing the lemon with the grapefruit.

What’s In It:

• 2 oz. Nikka Coffey Whiskey

• 6 oz. Q Club Superior Club Soda

• 1 - 2 wedges of lemon

Assembly Techniques:

• Gather ingredients (simple enough)

• Fill a Highball glass two thirds of the way with ice

• Pour Nikka Coffey Whiskey into glass

• Top with Club Soda

• Garnish with a squeeze (or two) of lemon