Long before I stepped foot on the shores of Japan I had an ongoing fascination with the sweet boozy nectar that is umeshu梅酒, a traditional Japanese spirit of which the primary ingredient is green ume é’梅. All too often mistranslated as ‘plum wine’, both these words are more or less lost in translation. Ume are in…
Welcome to another instalment of the Mochi Diaries, Chapter 6 Gomatamago ã”ã¾ãŸã¾ã”! While these guys really aren’t mochi but in fact intricately designed cakes, they are omiyage ãŠåœŸç”£ and so kawaii I couldn’t resist!!! During my last top to æ±äº¬ I picked a box of Gomatamago ã”ã¾ãŸã¾ã” (Lit. Black Sesame Egg) cakes on my way…
Today I bring to the table The Mochi Diaries Chapter 5 – Ninja Kusa Dango è‰é¤… I picked up this box on a recent trip to the Iga Ueno Ninja Festival (伊賀上野 NINJA フェスタ ) a 5 week event that is run by the city of Iga 伊賀市 in Mie prefecture 三é‡çœŒ from April 1st to May 6th…
Bringing you yet another yatsuhashi instalment of The Mochi Diaries, this is Chapter 4: Haru Yatsuhashi 春八ã¤æ©‹. Although the sakura have come and gone, spring is certainly in the air and all over Japan at the moment (my hayfever can attest to that) and so during a recent trip to Osaka I decided to…
Now I’m well aware that dango and mochi aren’t exactly the same thing, but they are both made from mochiko (糯粉; rice flour) and I’d like this segment to cover a wide array of omiyage and traditional Japanese sweets! Residents claim that Okayama was the original setting of the Japanese fairytale of Momotaro and subsequently…
Welcome to Chapter 2 of ‘The Mochi Diaries’ (餅ã®æ—¥è¨˜) ☆〜（ã‚。∂） Today I shall be introducing the original mochi that began my infatuation many years ago during a trip to Kyoto!! Without further ado I present my holy grail of mocha – the triangular, deviously delicious Nama Yatsuhashi 生八ã¤æ©‹!!!! Nothing screams ‘I’ve just visited Kyoto’ more than bringing…
Come with us now on a journey through time and space……. and mochi! I bid you welcome to Chapter 1 of ‘The Mochi Diaries’ and invite you to join me as I indulge in my infatuation with exploring the world of the sticky delicious Japanese sweets known as mochi!!! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ But Daniel, you…