There are many variables that contribute to the taste and quality of premium sake. Rice, water, production methods and the brewer’s skill all help define the profile of the finished product. However, one of the most prominent and easily quantifiable… Read More
Obtaining Japanese knowledge and techniques in Melbourne I started my current journey in New Zealand in 1982. I went there on a market research trip and was shocked by the volume of fish. It was also my first encounter with… Read More
How has Japanese cuisine evolved here over the years? It started out very small. The first restaurants were just run exclusively by Japanese chefs and there weren’t many of them. What really helped push Japanese food in Melbourne was a… Read More
On 8 April is the festival celebrating Buddhaʼs birthday. In Kawakami, Nara Prefecture, ʻhiuchi-mochiʼ (ʻflint rice cakesʼ, so called because they are made in a shape of a flint stone used by Buddha) are made as offerings for this occasion…. Read More
‘Hinakko mochi’ is made in Akita Prefecture’s Kakunodate, in Kawasaki city. People make them at home too for Hina-matsuri (Dolls Festival) and put them on the doll stand as an offering. In Kakunodate, a castle town, not only dolls passed… Read More
Hatsu-uma Dango are a cocoon-shaped sweet offered on the first ‘day of the Horse’ in February (‘Hatsu-uma’) at Inari shrines all over Japan, to pray for good harvest, good fortune, and the safety of one’s family. Sometimes a single azuki… Read More
In December 2013, UNESCO placed ‘Washoku: Traditional Dietary Cultures of the Japanese’ on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In its application, which revolved around the concept of a ‘respect for nature’, the Japanese government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries… Read More
Where there are people, there is alcohol. Where there is alcohol, there are drinkers. Where there are drinkers, there are bars. And while there are all sorts of bars, one type particularly beloved far and wide is the Izakaya. Of… Read More
This year’s ‘ramen boom’ has seen new restaurants open across the city in quick succession. The number of people have had their eyes opened to, and fallen in love with, the dish in Japan has no doubt grown also. However,… Read More
These are some of the reactions that Japanese people have to some iconic Australian foods. Well… what do you think of these Japanese delicacies? Looks weird? Sounds terrible? Yeah, we understand. But just try them because the tastes express their… Read More
