Serenading a Hong Kong saké shop

Elvis! I can't read most of this blog, but I know it's another reason to get back to Hong Kong!

Notes from the saké and cheese tasting

*The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that cherry blossoms will open earlier than usual this year. Check here for the forecast.*

The saké and cheese tasting at Cooks of Crocus Hill was a great success. Ken Liss of Premier Cheese Market and Mark Hamer of Vino Source led the group through the tasting with 6 cheeses and 5 sakés. I thought that we would try each saké with one of the cheeses, but we tried each saké with each cheese. Of course, that made a lot more sense and it was amazing to try all the combinations.

Cheeses
1. Greek Kiss, Alabama, goat's milk
2. Brie de Meaux, France, cow's milk
3. Patacabra, Spain, goat's milk
4. Prairie Breeze, Iowa, cow's milk
5. Cereta alt Urgell, Spain, cow's milk
6. Shropshire Blue, England, cow's milk
Bonus cheese: Ewephoria, Sheepsmilk gouda

Sakés with some notes on the pairings
1. Nanbu Bijin (Southern Beauty), junmai ginjo
No notes...was this the last saké we tasted???

2. Mukune (Shadows of Katano), nigori junmai ginjo
People tasted mushrooms with the Brie de Meaux, a candy taste with the Prairie Breeze and "turned butter" with the Cereta alt Urgell. I actually liked the Cereta alt Urgell pairing.

3. Mukune (Root of Innocence), junmai ginjo
Chocolate was noted with the Greek Kiss. The class favorite seemed to be the Shropshire Blue. Again, I liked the Cereta alt Urgell. Do I have bad taste? Others found it bitter.

4. Sato no Homare (Pride of the Village), junmai ginjo
This saké, when combined with the Certa alt Urgell, made for a strong chocolate taste. My favorite pairing with this was the Patacabbra.

5. Chiyonosono (Sacred Power), junmai ginjo
I liked the Greek Kiss with this. Interestingly, it cut the aftertaste of the saké.

The differences in the pairings were pretty amazing, especially considering that all the saké were junmai ginjo. It would be fun to try pairing cheese with other saké, such as a koshu, honjozo, even a junmai daiginjo (would the cheese overpower the most delicate saké?) I guess that's a homework project!

I want to mention that Ken Liss knows cheese...I'm really looking forward to visiting the shop. They are taking part in "Ladies' night out" on March 12th at 50th and France and offering 10% off all purchases from 4-9 pm and men can get in on the deal too.

Story on moto-i with video of sake making

Here's a story on moto-i with a video of sake making.

Sake seminar at moto-i

Get a load of this: 8 hours with 2 sake experts, a 20-page manual, over 20 different sakes to taste, a tour of the brewery and lunch and snacks for $150. Amazing!

Become a Sake Expert - Monthly Sake Seminar at moto-i

On the first Saturday of every month, moto-i is offering a full day seminar for anyone interested in learning more about sake. Comprehensive, informative, and fun, participants are promised an education on sake unparalleled in Minneapolis! We aim to have the most knowledgeable, savvy sake aficionados here than any other city in North America. The 8-hour seminar will focus on various topics like sake history, sake grades and styles, the brewery process from start to finish. The class, conducted by Blake Richardson, moto-i head brewer, and Elise Gee, assistant brewer, includes a 20-page manual for you to keep, tastings of over 20 different sake, brewery tour, lunch and snacks. Cost is $150.

The next class is Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 9am to 5pm.

In order to fully understand sake, tastings are needed in order to hone one's palate. The 20 sake students shall taste will provide a good understanding of grades, styles and flavor profiles. We have scoured far and wide to obtain the best selection of sake for our seminar-- some are even hard-to-find rarities, unavailable for purchase in Minnesota.

Here is a list of the sake students will try:
Akitabare Honjozo "Spring Snow"
Dewazakura Dewasansan Junmai Ginjo
Gekkeikan Futsuu
Gekkeikan Horin Junmai Daiginjo
Houhoushu Sparkling
Kasumi Tsuru Junmai Kimoto
Kasumi Tsuru Junmai Yamahai
Masumi Junmai "Mirror of Truth"
Murai Family Nebuta Honjozo
Murai Family Tokubetsu Honjozo
Murai Family Junmai Ginjo
Murai Family Daiginjo
Momokawa Junmai Ginjo Nigori Genshu
Momokawa Junmai
Nambu Bijin Jnmai Ginjo Nama
Nambu Bijin Junmai Ginjo
Sake One G Junmai Ginjo Genshu
Sato No Homare Junmai Ginjo
Watari Bune Ginjo 55 Muroka
Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo Nigori

The lunch offered with be a choice of either a rice or a noodle dish from moto-i's menu.
Snacks include a choice of two small plates under $10 each from our menu with a sampler of moto-i's own sake.

Email us at class@moto-i.com to sign up for a seminar.

Sake and cheese class in Edina

Cooks of Crocus Hill is offering a Sake and Cheese in February.

February 27th 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, $55 Ken Liss, Mark Hamer

You may know about wine with cheese or beer with cheese....but what about Sake and cheese? Really? Yes really! Without the tannins of wine, you can focus purely on the textures, flavors and sensations that come with pairing this rice beverage with cheese. The result is a completely new experience! Join Mark Hamer from Vino Source and Ken Liss from Premier Cheese Market as they pair 5 sakes with a variety of cheeses and share all the ways to serve and taste both.

Sign up here.

Japanese Hand Craft

I found a link to this blog on Melinda Joe's blog and fell in love with it immediately. It's full of Japanese culture and beautiful photographs along with some great recipes. When you've finished reading the blog, check out the store for some truly exquisite sake ware among other things.

Japanese Hand Craft Blog
Japanese Hand Craft Online Shop

Looking forward to Moto-I!

From their website (http://www.moto-i.com/)

What is moto-i
moto-i is the first sake brewery restaurant outside of Japan. Located in Uptown, Minneapolis, moto-i is a full service restaurant with liquor, beer, wine and, of course, sake! moto-i makes draft sake or namazake. Nama is unpasteurized, and needs plenty of care as it can never get warm.
Our menu is reminiscent of an Izakaya, a Japanese Pub. With small plates as well as noodles and rice dishes, we incorporate many Asian ethnicities and keep the focus on street food of the best Asian Hawkers.

This is obviously very exciting news!

More Tokyo

There was nothing sake-related to report on Monday, although I did win $10.00 from Rob on a bet about a book and that's very newsworthy, although maybe not because I nearly always win my bets with Rob.

On Tuesday (March 11th) we went to Mr. Nitta's (of Yushodo) "friendship" dinner for about 25 booksellers. The dinner was at Kagurazaka, a fish restaurant at the Umi Hotel. As Nitta-san hosted the dinner, we didn't actually see menus, so I'm not sure what sake I had, but the restaurant's web site assures me that it was "the best-selected sake that goes best with the fish." Nitta-san and his wife, Mrs. Nitta-san, are two of my favorite hosts, always gracious and always generous, and, most importantly, always fun! Mr. Nitta, Rob and Robert Frew (who has a way with profanity that I very much appreciate) were drinking shochu with a nice, big ume dropped in, and that really got the party started.



Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were book fair days, so we were very busy. Happily, we got to have a nice dinner Friday night with our friends, "Masa and the other Masa" (they gamely let us refer to them this way), and they are fun Japanese academic party animals. They seem to be very amused by me as I'm interested in antiquarian books, cats and the Japanese cat cafes (here's one), and sake. One of the reasons it's fun to hang out with these guys is that they're both brilliant English professors and they alway bring a bunch of questions for us. They want me and Rob to explain the meaning of things like "riding shotgun." Sometimes they ask us the same questions year after year and I wonder if they are looking to catch us explaining things which we know nothing about.

Tokyo! and flea market sake

Rulon-Miller Books exhibited at the Tokyo International Antiquarian book fair in March, so I made my sixth trip to Japan and Rob made his twenty-somethingth, probably close to thirtieth, trip. We arrived in Tokyo on the 8th and checked into the Hilltop Hotel, known as "the hotel with personality" and "the hotel to maintain health, probably the only hotel, which circulates oxygen and negative ions into the rooms for the guests to appreciate the refreshing atmosphere as of Karuizawa while in Tokyo." It was a nice change from our usual place, the New Otani, which I still get lost in after spending a total of about three months of my life there. The Hilltop was the tiniest bit threadbare, but it made up for that with an abundance of charm and it is near bookseller street as well.



We ignored jetlag and headed out early on the 9th to check out some flea markets. The first, at the International Forum, was disappointing. There were very few sellers and it seemed that many of them were selling new items. Still, the venture turned out not to be a complete failure because there was a section of food stalls and I found one selling what one of the salespeople called "farmer's sake." The lady in charge of the booth (pictured on the left) was able to speak a bit of English and explained to me that I shouldn't store the bottle on its side. She was right...there was a hole in the cap (which seemed to be there on purpose...so the bottle didn't explode??) with only a piece of paper under it, so I had a mini disaster in the mini bar. Unfortunately, I think I waited too long to drink this. It was a really thick, chunky sake and whenever I see something like that, I expect it to taste like a pina colada. This was very bitter, so much so that I think it had gone bad. Very fizzy too, which I thought was probably not unusual for fresh, farmer's sake.

The second flea market was bigger, but just as unsuccessful. There were quite a few kimono stalls, but the competition (mainly foreigners) was fierce so I stayed away.

Dinner the first night was at Yamano-ue, the famous tempura restaurant at the hotel. It turned out to be quite a treat. I had 2 fresh prawns ($15.00 each), asparagus, kiso (white fish) and sweet potato, which was served last because of the time it took to prepare the fist-sized vegetable. It was served with brandy and very tasty. The server was very sweet...Rob asked her a question and she said "yup," and Rob asked if she had been educated in Britain. She was very embarassed at having been caught being so informal with a customer, but I really liked her. She suggested the sake that I had with my meal, Tateyama (Toyama Prefecture) according to the notes she made for me. It was a very fine sake...light floral aroma with a taste almost like lightly flavored water. Rob tried it and said "smooth, easy, cherry."

What's hot and what's not

A new list of what's hot and what's not was just published by the American Restaurant Association. Scroll down to page six to see alcoholic beverages and cocktails. It's a bit sad to see that sake ranks below energy drink cocktails and mojitos, but interesting that it's ahead of red, white and sparkling wine, vodka, tequila and rum. I found this link on Andrew Zimmern's food blog. He also posted this link to a youtube video of Kobayashi going up against a bear in a hotdog eating contest. It looks like it was an unfair competition!

Another Minneapolis event: December 5th

DECEMBER 5th EVENT: SPARKLING AND SUSHI!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

What : "Sushi & Champagne Tasting"
When : Wednesday December 5, 7-9pm
Price: $38
Where : Nami, Downtown Minneapolis at 241 1st Avenue North
(corner of 1st Ave North and 3rd Street)
Buy Tickets at tc-uncorked.org

Time once again for our annual "Sushi & Sparkling" event to get you into the holiday spirit! Swill a little sparkling wine and champagne and sample a bit of sushi and rolls from our good friends at Nami. We also hope to have a few sakis so you can try a sip of those as well. Join us and kick off the holiday season!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Cheers!
~ Pam, Toni, Tracie, Rachel, Tom, Lana, Kelly, Mark and Jonathan

Sake tasting dinner at Spill the Wine in Minneapolis

This should be fun!

Sake Dinner
Presented by VinoSource, who will be sharing tasting notes on the wine for the evening and our Chef who will be discussing the food.
November 29th, 2007 | 7pm
$69/person (includes tax and gratuity)

Course One
Mango Crab Salad with Cucumber, Lime and Mint
tozai living jewel, kyoto

Course Two
Miso Tofu Soup
with Fish Stock and Green Onion
rihaku wandering poet, shimane

Course Three
Ribeye Carpacio
Thai Style, Green Papaya Red Curry
tentaka hawk in the heavens, tochigi

Course Four
Tuna Tataki
Black pepper and Pickled Ginger Rice
mukane root of innocence, osaka

Course Five
Green Tea Panacata
tozai snow maiden, kyoto

Go here to find out more about Spill the Wine and to register.

Oldtime saké rituals

I was cataloguing a book today by a member of the Circumnavigators Club and I found an interesting description of saké drinking at a mid-1920s Geisha-Dinner Party. I like to think of all the men getting a little rambunctious and smashing sake cups into their heads! Here is the description:

The only wine consumed during the dinner was saké, and a few words regarding this are necessary.

In color, saké looks much like weak tea, and is always served hot in small shallow cups which hold about three table-spoonfuls. In taste it resembles hot sherry, and it is probable that its content of alcohol is about the same. All through the dinner saké was constantly being brought in and served to the guests. The customs surrounding its consumption are somewhat curious, and in brief are as follows:--

The first cup of wine is drunk by the guest of the evening. The host selects a cup, names the guest and says, “Dozo saké ippai onomu nasai” (Graciously condescend to imbibe a cupful of wine), at the same time touching the cup to his forehead and bowing toward the guest. The latter bows to his host, accepts the cup, touches it to his own forehead and holds it forward on the palm of his hand for the maid to fill, at the same time replying, “Arigato gozaimasu, itadakimasho,” (Thank you, I sure will). He drains the cup, rinses it out in a tureen of water which stands beside him, touches it to his forehead and returns it to his host with the request that he have one himself. Formalities satisfied, everyone else begs the privilege of a cup with the guest, and after him whomsoever he may fancy. To the uninitiated a word of caution: ‘Ware the cup that cheers in Japan, for the custom above outlined is easily capable of being carried beyond the realms of a joke, and in his desire to be polite one may learn that hot saké in sufficient quantities, and taken in small doses, “biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.” Furthermore, saké does not behave well in mixed company.

JOHNSON, GEORGE A. The log of a circumnavigator being a series of informal narratives descriptive of a trip around the world. Boston: The Stratford Co. , 1927.

Trader Joe-san's Sake

Sake at Trader Joe's...who knew? On a recent trip I found two varieties, a junmai ginjo and a sparkling sake. Here are the specs and my tasting notes on each:

Junmai Ginjo Premium Sake
Alcohol 14-15%
SMV +3 (medium dry)
Serving suggestion: Chilled
Texture: Soft and smooth
Pairing food: seafood and lightly grilled meats
Produced and bottled by Oimatsu Shuzo Co., Hita
Tasting notes: The scent is very pleasant, yeasty, and full of butterscotch. Taste is light and earthy, no fruits or sweetness at all.

Sparkling Sake
Alcohol 7%
Produced and bottled by Ume no Yado Brewery Co., Nara
Tasting notes: The aroma out of the bottle is ricey and fruity. The color is a creamy yellow and the bubbles are tiny and abundant. This was less sweet than the other sparkling sakes that I've had. I think I could confidently serve this to a skeptical champagne lover, while with something like Hou Hou Shu (which I love) I'd be worried it would be too sweet.

An aside...

I was in Washington D.C. last week for the Rare Book School class Japanese Illustrated Books in the Edo Period, and I had the opportunity to have dinner at Citronelle. There was no sake served with my tasting menu (why not?!), but I thought the meal was worth mentioning here because it was so ridiculously delicious. I had the Promenade Gourmande tasting menu with the wine pairing:

PROMENADE GOURMANDE

AMUSE BOUCHE, egg surprise, tuna sausage, escargot crumble

Champagne A. Margaine, “Brut Premier Cru” Villers-Marmery

"A NEW VICHYSSOISE", potato flakes, leek milk

SOFT SHELL CRAB, corn risotto

Riesling Grand Cru “Rosacker”, Domaine Sipp-Mack 2004

ROCKFISH, vegetable pearls, lemon verbena emulsion

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, “Les Gallimardes,” Domaine Giraud 2004

LOBSTER BURGER

Meursault, Domaine Sylvain Dussort 2004

VEAL, black angus steak, sweetbreads, morel sauce, asparagus

Gevrey-Chambertin, “Cuvee Pere Galland,” Domaine Jean-Michel Guillon 2003

SELECTION OF IMPORTED CHEESE

Shiraz, Mollydooker Wines, “The Boxer”, South Australia 2006

RASPBERRY VACHERIN

CHOCOLATE THREE WAYS

Banyuls, “Helyos”, Domaine Alain Reynaud 2002

PETITS FOURS

Well, the cost was quite shocking, but I have to say, I'm often disappointed by expensive, extravagant meals, but it wasn't the case with Citronelle. The food really was fantasy-like as was the service. I was dining alone and they gave me a wonderful table with a great view of the kitchen and I felt like they treated me like a princess. Maybe it's time to start saving up for my next trip to D.C., because I absolutely want to go back!

Rare sake tasting event in Minneapolis: a review

In August there was a sake tasting at Zipps Liquors in Minneapolis, organized by Jason Kallsen of Twin Cities Wine and featuring sakes imported by JoTo Sake. Here is the official description of the event:

Hey everybody -- short notice here, but we just arranged for one of the top sake experts in the country to do an informal (but extraordinary) tasting of some of the best sakes available!

The importer is JoTo sake, run by a fellow named Henry Sidel (a Carleton grad to boot). JoTo Sake is a specialist in importing the smallest production, truly artisnal sakes available. Many of these sakes were only available in their local prefectures. Henry's new midwest manager, Midori Roth, is flying in from Chicago for this event.

More info on their portfolio can be found at www.jotosake.com

If you've ever been curious about sake, wondered how to 'talk the talk' at the sushi bar, and were curious just how good sake can be, this will be an event second to none!

Zipps Liquors
2618 Franklin Avenue East
Minneapolis , MN 55406
612-333-8686

The tasting was great fun and it was nice to meet the Joto representatives. The sakes we tasted were:
Shiichi Hon Yari Junmai
Taiheikai Tokubetsu Junmai
Kasumi Tsuru Yamahi Ginjo
Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo
Kasumi Tsuru Kimoto Extra Dry
Yuki No Bosha Komachi Daiginjo
Watari Bune Junmai Daiginjo

And a few other sakes that Zipps carries:
Rihaku Tokubetsu Junmai
Wakatake Daiginjo
Hananomai Junmai Daiginjo
Mu Junmai Daiginjo
Hakutsuru Junmai Daiginjo

My favorites were the feminine, floral Shiichi Hon Yari Junmai and the velvety (yummy!) Yuki No Bosha Komachi Daiginjo.

Sake Samurai in Tokyo (nearly a year later!)

On our first full day in Tokyo, we went to Sake Plaza, located in the Central Brewers' Union's Building in Shinbashi. This was fun, except for the fact that all of the information was in Japanese. Of course, I bought all the little sake booklets. Other purchases included a water pitcher and cups and a hydrometer to measure the smv (this is currently useless to me as I can't read the instructions). We also got sake calendars which apparently are much collected, something that sake lovers wait all year for. Upstairs there is a library with some nice exhibits, including big scrapbooks filled with sake bottle labels. The best part of the visit was finding out that later in the afternoon there would be a large sake tasting. There were about 325 sakes to taste and I did a pretty good job. Spread throughout the room were several spittoons which I laughed at at first, but by about the 5th sake I too was spitting like a pro. Mayu was with me and she is from Chiba, so we made a point of trying all the sake from Chiba. That was fun as it put a focus on the tasting that I otherwise wouldn't have achieved. All the tasters received an official "sake samurai" tasting cup, a very nice souvenir.

Nagasaki

While visiting Nagasaki we stayed at a spa resort on Ioujima. Check out the iron kettles we sat in while looking out onto the harbor and the volcanic ash we COOKED in at the spa. We had dinner at the resort both nights, the first being a Healthy Meal, the highlight of which was collagen jelly and the second being an entire meal of various courses of fugu. We had fugu sashimi, fugu nabe, deep fried fugu and seared fugu. For this meal we brought the bottle of nama sake that I picked up from the mama-san in Osaka. I had a sake flight with the healthy meal, but, unfortunately, I didn't take notes.

In Nagasaki we visited the Atomic Bomb Museum and we all felt that the displays were much more graphic than those in Hiroshima. If you want to get a first-hand account of the day the bomb was dropped and its aftermath, you should read The Bells of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai, a doctor who cared for the sick and dying while he was sick himself. It's very moving. Also (on a lighter note) the doctor advocated using sake for medicinal purposes:

"Rice wine, or sake, proved to be an excellent medicine. There were examples of dying persons being cured at the last moment by drinking a large quantity of their favorite sake."

Nagasaki is a sister city of St. Paul's and we were charmed to find a St. Paul Street and even a St. Paul parking garage!

Hiroshima

On our final day in Osaka (way back in December), Mayu and I spent the afternoon at Spa World where I contemplated sticking my feet in a pool swarming with minnows as this is supposed to be very relaxing. I chickened out at the last minute... Afterwards we met Rob at the station and left for Hiroshima.

We went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum which was very moving, although Mayu and I were still a little numb from visiting the Killing Fields and S-21 in Cambodia. Still, seeing melted bottles and iron shutters and children's burned school uniforms and charred lunch boxes was sobering. We found that in Hiroshima, as we would find in Nagasaki and as we had found in Cambodia, the residents were really concerned that the world remember what happened.

At our two meals in Hiroshima, we also found that the locals were very proud of their food and their jizake. On our first night we stopped a young couple on the street and Mayu asked if they knew of a good izakaya and they excitedly told us they had just had a great meal at one and they walked with us for several blocks to show us where it was. It was called Hina Matsuri (which is the Girl's festival on March 3rd). The chefs were so happy to have us there. I must say, everyone loves Mayu and she makes friends very easily, luckily for us! We ate tuna, octopus, sardine and yellowtail sashimi, grilled Japanese smelt, agadashi tofu, fried chicken, yakitori, and we were presented by the chef with Hiroshima style ozoni (a mochi in soup) that is usually only eaten on New Years Day. We asked for Hiroshima sake and were given Ugo no Tsuki, about which John Gauntner has this to say:

Ugo no Tsuki, or "the moon after rain," is among Hiroshima's finest. It has a soft and melting quality, perhaps better closer to room temperature than chilled, as a well-grounded sweetness and several ripe fruit essences become apparent. Clean and light. You don't need to go as far as a daiginjo, either. Ugo no Tsuki also makes a fine tokubetsu junmai that is similar but perhaps more sturdy and less airy.

I've found that I can get it in the U.S., so it's on my list of things to get...it'll be nice to partially relive that special meal.

The next day we went to Miyajima Island and visited the floating torii, the wild yet tame deer, and the streets full of cute shops. We stopped at a tiny restaurant and had tonkatsu, chicken and rice and fried oysters and lots of beer. For the ferry ride back to the mainland, we bought momiji manju which are maple shaped sweets.

Our dinner that night was actually one of the highlights of the trip for me. Mayu used her amazing skills to hunt down an out of the way izakaya called Shikon (shi = lion; kon = spirit or soul). A trio of young people owned and operated the restaurant and they were thrilled to find out that I was interested in sake and very proud of Hiroshima sake. Miho said that her favorite sake was Biho, brewed by a lady brewer also named Miho. There apparently is some connection between the characters for mi and bi which is why Miho named her sake Biho. I only realized after I got home that this is the same brewery that makes Moon on the Water which I can buy right here in Minneapolis.

Our Miho suggested that we go to Chokotto, a local sake bar, and she actually walked us there and stayed and had a few drinks with us. The snacks were delicious: pickled eggplant, daikon radish, Hiroshima greens, roasted ginko nuts. We were also served an extraordinary water that a local brewery used for it's sake and Miho explained to us how important water is while drinking sake. She said we should take a sip of water between every sip of sake. We left Chokotto very satiated and with new friends and a poster showing Hiroshima sake labels.

Sorry, but I love Cute Overload...

Cats like sake too!