Big in Japan: Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo’s top tourist attraction, is limiting access

by Matthew Firestone on

No trip to Tokyo is complete without a visit to Tsukiji Market (????????, Tsukiji shij?), the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. According to estimates, over 2000 tons of fish worth over US$15 million are sold here daily – that’s a total of 616,000 tons of fish worth over US$4.25 billion each year!

If it comes from the ocean, then chance are that you’ll find in at the Central Fish Market, which is literally home to acres upon acres of commercial vendors. Of course, the highlight for both foreign and domestic tourists has always been the daily tuna auctions, where hulking 600 pound behemoths can fetch prices of up to several thousand dollars per head.

If you’ve never had the privilege of watching Tsukiji’s famed tuna auction, the action commences around 5am when buyers are admitted onto the showroom floor. Here, rows upon rows of frozen tuna are meticulously poked and prodded by expert hands in search of the highest quality meat. Soon after, the scene erupts into a frenzy of calls and responses as buyers seek to outbid one another for the choicest fish.

Sadly, tourist access to this incredible scene is being restricted following increasing complaints by fish traders that tourists were distracting them from their work.

As of April 1, 2008, tourists will only be able to watch the tuna auctions from a designated area, and entry times are also being restricted from 0500 to 0615. Depending on how successful these new regulations are in curbing distractions, there is a chance that stricter regulations may be implemented in the near future.

According to Ihei Sugita, who works at the Central Fish Market, foreign visitors were taking to the habit of touching and photographing fish that came from their home countries. “At a place that auctions several hundred tunas in a day, this is affecting our business. We do feel bad to completely turn them down since they are visiting all the way from abroad, so that’s why we are keeping this window of time that will affect us the least.”

In the past, the daily tuna auctions at Tsukiji were only attracting a handful of in-the-know foreign visitors each day. However, in recent years the popularity of the event has surged, especially sincemore and more world travelers have becoming increasingly more curious as to the humble origins of their favorite sushi.

Since there is a good chance that the tuna auctions may become completely closed off in the years to come, it’s probably worth trying to catch a glimpse of this wholly unique event while you still can. If you happen to find yourself out at night in Tokyo, our recommendation is simply to party hard in Roppongi until the sun rises, and then hop a quick cab to Tsukiji. True, an impending hangover and the smell of raw fish are anything but a wise combination, but trust us – being in the middle of the auction madness is worth the risk!

** All photos were snapped by yours truly at a time when foreign visitors to Tsukiji were still permitted to get up close to the action. **

“Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel: Season 2, Bolivia

by Jamie Rhein on

Location: Bolivia, highest and most remote country of South America. Home of naturally freeze-dried potatoes, the Andes, llamas galore, and a fondness for cooking EVERY part that’s at all edible.

Episode Rating: 4 Sheep Testicles (out of 4) using Aaron’s system from last week’s recap.

Summary: My immediate response to this “Bizarre Foods” episode was “Yep, Bolivia is definitely on my go-to list.” In between relishing dishes of animal innards, host Andrew Zimmern traveled widely tossing in cultural tidbits between sampling mostly soups and dried meat. The significance of llamas, bowler hats, witch doctor rituals, women’s wrestling and a traditional feast rounded out Zimmern’s eatfest.

First stop, La Paz, the world’s highest capital. Beforehand shots of sheep and lambs prancing on Bolivia’s high altitude plateaus indicated dishes to come. Here, markets are places for wandering and sampling. Zimmern bought salted pickled pigs feet straight off. The lamb jerky, he liked, although the hair still on it gave him pause. He described it as “Hard as rock… it tastes like the pile of hay the lamb sleeps on.” Perhaps, skip that and try Mocochinchi, a drink also called booger juice. Zimmern said the light peanut version tasted like peanut milk.

The food markets reminded me of Asia where choices can be overwhelming. When deciding which stalls to dip into, Zimmern suggests looking at the cook and seeing which stall looks nice. That’s worked for me.

At La Casa de los Pacenos, Zimmern feasted on: 1. Lamb kidneys–“Wow! could have used a good soaking in milk;” 2. Tripe–“as clean as any I’ve tasted, one might think it’s cold slaw”; and 3. Penis soup. Bull penis soup to be exact. “Ya have to like the rich chunky texture. . . richness of bone marrow and texture of a pear.” Well, okay if you say so. Imagine the chopping–or not.

For llama brains with tongue, sauteed in garlic sauce, Zimmern went to an artsy looking restaurant, Pronto Delicatessen. “You could put the garlic sauce this guy makes on an old tennis shoe and it would taste good, ” Zimmern proclaimed. Frankly, I’d stick with the fish served with lime called Carpaccio de Ispi.

Other Bolivian food tasting locations:

Yapacani, Santa Cruz where at a small Mom and Pop type place, Pop’ll head out the back door to kill dinner. How about well cooked armadillo and feral pig? Achachira, a fruit similar to mangosteen looked delicious, and, according to Zimmern, is indeed.

Altiplano –Up in these mountains the signature dish is naturally freeze-dried potatoes, a process that takes several days and involves skinning them by walking on them with bare feet. The result isn’t pretty and tastes earthy, but they’ll keep for 25 years. I loved this segment the best. The family featured was very sweet–the type who calm jangling nerves just by being around them.

Lake Titicaca–At the feast of Altiplano, Zimmern waxed poetic about the Quinoa dumplings, trout and corn. The landscape was gorgeous–and the feast a worthwhile stop.

Unusual cultural detail: At the Witches Market in La Paz you can get your fortune-told with cocoa leaves and buy fixin’s for a llama fetus offering. Burning one of these brings good luck.

For more episode details, Andrew’s blog can fill you in.

Big in Japan: Japan’s top ramen shop opens up NYC branch

by Matthew Firestone on

If you’re a fan of Japanese soul food, namely the heaven-sent goodness that is ramen, and you happen to live in the New York City area, boy do we have some good news for you!

There is no shortage of truly gourmet ramen in Tokyo, though few bowls can compete with Ippudo (?????), which is widely regarded as one of the country’s best noodles shops. Originating in the city of Hakata (????) on the island of Kyushu, Ippudo pays homage to its roots by serving up some of the best damn Hakata-style ramen on the planet.

Hakata ramen is distinguished by its rich and milky pork-bone broth, thin noodles and unique toppings such as pickled ginger, crushed sesame and pickled greens. However, Ippudo expands on this traditional recipe by adding fiery Tokyo-style red miso, savory black sesame oil and a wide range of toppings such as soft-boiled eggs and thick sheets of nori.

And now, if you happen to be a New Yorker in need of some serious ramen, all you need to do is head to the brand-new Ippudo NY, located at 65 4th Avenue in downtown Manhattan.
Although ramen has always been regarded as something of a blue-collar staple in Japan, Ippudo was one of first major commercial enterprises to vault this hearty dish to truly gourmet levels. The story of Ippudo is really the story of Shigemi Kawahara, who is widely regarded in Japan as the ‘King of Ramen.’ After launching his first ramen restaurant in 1985, Kawahara went on to open up a total of 34 shops throughout the country, and is currently aiming to bring his epicurean noodles to the international stage.

According to Kawahara: “The restaurant is the stage and the business is the art. We are not just making ramen, but creating and instilling a feeling of gratitude. My ambition is to have Japanese ramen take root around the world.”

Kawahara is credited with several ramen innovations, most notably the incredibly refined texture of his handmade noodles, which are made from several different types of blended flour. The ramen master also builds his soup stock from no less than three individually blended mixes, and is extremely proud of his roast pork, which is slow-cooked in a closely-guarded secret sauce. And finally, Kawahara is regarded as the first chef to use color designation (red and white) as a way of defining his signature miso-based ramen soups.

With a history dating back over 300 years, ramen noodles have undergone an incredible transformation from their humble origins as Chinese-inspired fast food. And, needless to say, true ramen is nothing like the Styrofoam-packaged Cup o’Noodles that are something of a staple amongst American college students. With that said, if you’re still unconvinced that ramen noodles can be as gourmet as a finely aged cheese or a hand-plucked wild mushroom, head to Ippudo NY and see what you’ve been missing.

Ippudo NY is located on 4th Ave between East 9th and 10th Streets, and is open daily for lunch and dinner. For more information, check out www.ippudo.com/ny.

Camel cheese – coming soon to a grocery near you

by Jeremy Kressmann on

As any proper Bedouin will tell you, camels are an essential part of a nomadic desert existence. They provide a convenient method of transportation, require little water and can stand up to great extremes of temperature. We now also know that they provide the perfect compliment to your next cheese and cracker platter. I’m talking more specifically about camel cheese, the latest delicacy to make its way to grocery stores here in the U.S.

The camel cheese trend started in the African nation of Mauritania, site of the world’s first and, to the best of my knowledge, only camel dairy farm. Mauritanians consume camel milk as part of their everyday diet, but it was a local expat named Nancy Abeiderrahmane who first got the idea to turn the milk into cheese to preserve its shelf life. The idea was a hit, and Nancy has been producing camel cheese ever since.

The cheese made its debut in the New York City area this past month. Connoisseurs compare it favorably to goat cheese, citing its subtle “barnyard flavors” and the ability to spread it easily on bread or crackers. When it comes to food, nothing wins me over quicker than when I hear phrases like “barnyard flavors.” Pick up some now for your Final Four party this weekend!

[Via Buzzfeed]

Mississippi places moratorium on Mississippi Mud Pies

by Jamie Rhein on

Appalled at Mississippi’s recent status as the least healthy state of all 50, the Mississippi’s State Department of Health, as part of the “Eat Right” initiative, has asked bakery shops and restaurants to remove Mississippi Mud Pies from their menus. When examining the reasons for Mississippi’s slide to last place, beating out Louisiana, last year’s loser, it became clear to state officials that Mississippians’ current health problems began as far back as right after World War II when women stopped following exact recipes as time saving measures.

Throwing cooked hamburger, frozen peas and diced potatoes together in a casserole dish willy nilly with dashes of salt and pepper as seasoning was one thing. Who would eat too much of that? But, when women began layering gooey chocolate cake with chocolate crumb crusts and ice-cream in any old amount, sweet tooths could not be stopped. Like the kudzu that grows thick in Mississippi’s countryside, chocolate has seemed to be taking over. It is not uncommon for even the most sophisticated of eaters to have at least a trace of chocolate on the corner of their mouths from time to time.

The health department is beginning with the Mississippi Mud Pie moratorium to see if that won’t curb some of the state’s chocolate fixation and cut down on obesity since Representative W. T. Mayhall’s bill to ban over-eaters from eating out in restaurants seemed excessive.

The state’s most upscale spas are asking if any unused chocolate could be sent their way as they are expecting a run on chocolate wrap body treatments as Mud Pie addicts attempt to detox. For tourists looking forward to the state’s signature dish, you can pick up complimentary recipe cards at tourist information booths off I-10, I-20 and I-55, but only if you’re leaving Mississippi. You will need to show a driver’s license to prove you are not a Mississippi resident.