Tonkatsu

Have you heard about Tonkatsu?
Tonkatsu is  popular Japanese dishes which are deep fried pork cutlets.
It's usually(always?)  served with thinly sliced cabbage and miso soup.

Tonkatsu sauce is made from fruit and vegetable purees such as apple and tomato puree, sugar, salt, spices, starch and caramel. The ingredients are similar to Western Worcestershire but the consistency and taste are different.

Today,I went to Tonkatsu restaurant to eat lunch.
Needless to say,it was delicious!!!
Sometimes I cook Tonkatsu as my dinner because it's easy to cook and almost all Japanese people love Tonkatsu!!!

Matsusaka

A couple weeks ago,I went to Matsusaka in Mie prefecture to enjoy Yakiniku (It's the food that grille a thin sliced beef and dipped in a soy-bean sauce based sauce. It's really tasty. Most of Japanese love this style of BBQ.)
Have you heard about Matsusaka beef?

Matsuzaka beef is  form  wagyu (Japanese beef)beef which is produced in Matsusaka, Japan, in Mie Prefecture. This beef is famous for its tender texture, complex flavor, and beautifully marbled appearance, and it typically commands very high prices when it is offered for sale. Some people feel that Matsusaka beef is of a much higher quality than another famous type of Japanese beef; Matsusaka beef certainly tends to have a more strongly developed flavor.
The term “wagyu” is used generically to describe several breeds of cattle raised in Japan. Matsusaka beef comes from Japanese Blacks, and by tradition, only heifers are raised in the area, and they are never bred, because this is said to influence the flavor of the beef. The cows are allowed to live until they are three years old, creating a much more distinctive, beefy meat; by contrast, most cattle in other regions of the world are slaughtered at around 18 months of age, or sometimes at two years old.

This restaurant is very popular 

I was so excited to eat Matsusaka beef,so I've forgotten to take some pictures about the beef...sorry.

Before the restaurant,I went to a museum which were built in 18 century.
The residents were rich,there are about 20 rooms and  garden.

Matcha parfait

Uji is also the most famous tea growing district in the Kansai area of japan,so I went to a green tea cafe to sample some of the local green tea products.

The shop I chose in names "Ito-Kyuemon"after it's Edo period simply because the name has a nice,Edo flavoured ring to it.

The menu had many choices but I went with the green tea parfait which was labelled the NO.1 popular choice with customers.
It was delicious as I expected,but as is usual with any remotely famous cafe or restaurant,during holidays or weekend we had to wait almost an hour to be served.

Matcha anmitsu



Matcha dango parfait



  

Byodoin

Uji,situated between Kyoto and Nara is the location of the famous "Byodoin"temples,which appear
s on the 10yen coin and a registered world heritage site.Built in the 11th century it's original colorful decorations have faded but it was built in the 11th century by the Fujiwara's to show off their wealth and power,so at that time it was richly decorated with gorgeous paint and gilding topped by 2 bronze phoenix which were believed world attract more wealth.

Nowadays,Byodoin has lost some of it's lavish splendour,the colors having faded over the years,but the phoenix remain and it retains it's ancient atmosphere.

The surrounding gardens are in the traditional Japanese style,rich in natural themes.There is a big pond,rock,gravel and shaped pine trees but the most famous garden exhibit is huge wisteria covered trellis way which was in full bloom when I went there last week.

Ryotei

Sprinked water in front of the restaurant  means "we are Open"

Ryotei is an expensive restaurant that serve Japanese traditional Kaiseki-ryori(haute cuisine of Japanese) in private Japanese-style room . There are plenty of ryotei in Kyoto.
Luckily I had a chance to go there!!!Food was delicious and really comfortable room so I had a great time.

Kaiseki ryori is a traditional Japanese multi-course meal prepared from fresh, seasonal ingredients. Some dishes are served hot, while others are served chilled or at room temperature — just the way they're meant to be enjoyed.

Recently, some high-class restaurants have begun offering meals in a single container, such as a basket.

The restaurant was located along the liver