Kaiseki dishes invoking Italian culinary techniques, served under the thundering of passing trains, surrounded by decadent or exotic anime artifacts – dining experience at Bii is almost surreal.
Kaiseki at 美伊
Beppu
A word of update, from yours truly
You’ve probably guessed it by my long absence: I am no longer in Beppu. It still seems as if I only left yesterday – boarding the bus to Fukuoka Airport, saying goodbyes to my dearest friends while hiding my tears behind the curtain. Yes, by that time I had grown to call Beppu home, which, I think, is sort of crazy because I hated it at first. Who knew a city with no movie theater could have so much more in store to enjoy? This blog has barely covered the tinniest bit of Beppu’s rich food culture.
Now I must apologize – I did not mean to stay quiet for that long. My last post was in April, after which I had had to focus on writing my thesis. The process left me completely enervated, and for months afterward I couldn’t produce a coherent sentence. Talk about sleepless nights powered by cheap coffee. Welp, never again.
I did not, however, cease to eat. Indeed, between August and November, I set out to try many places I never got enjoy before, mainly due to the high prices or far-out location. I mean, I’m leaving soon and possibly never coming back, so there was all the more reason to splurge. I still couldn’t get down to writing, however, as from November I was occupied with traveling, drinking, and working while struggling to finish my grad school applications.
But, now that I’m sitting here with plenty of photos that I sometimes share on my Instagram account, I thought I should do something about it. So, while this post originally aimed to update you guys with my whereabouts, I’d like to make an announcement as to the future of this blog:
I will be posting more regularly in the coming weeks. The content will be the same – a place, a story, and the people behind it, but there is bound to be some nostalgic notes as I recall my days in Beppu. There will be posts organized according to a theme, similar to that of my reimen or kakigori series. I will also try to select places that I know there won’t be any quality change.
In other words, BUCKLE UP ladies and gentlemen. It’s high time we lived the amazing food life in Beppu again.
Cheers.
(Photos taken on my last day in Beppu)
Cooking in Hell – Jigoku Mushi Kobo
When the earthquake hit Kyushu I was sleeping. The first week of school already left me exhausted, and I decided to go to bed early that evening after returning home from work. At 1:25am I jolted awake to the sirens of my phone going off, and before my sleepy brain could thaw everything began to tremble in the dark. Deafening thunders overwhelmed all my senses, and it felt as if the walls around me were about to implode.
Fortunately, my whole building stood strong that night. The aftershocks did not stop there, though, and for many nights I found myself unable to sleep, my brain on the alert for the slightest quivers under my feet. On social media my friends reported their shelves toppling over, broken glassware and chaotic kitchens. Nothing shattered in my apartment, and it came as a relief to me to see my bottle of wine (red) still sitting on my bookshelves. Beppu did not suffer much damage, but I wish I could say the same for Kumamoto and Yufu where the aftermath of the earthquakes is still putting lives at stake.
Nevertheless, it had been an emotionally taxing week. We’d had several minor earthquakes over the past few years with even closer epicenters, but never any that big. All classes were canceled at school. Some students had sought shelter at evacuation centers; some had flown out of Beppu and even Japan for fear of a bigger shock to come. I did neither, but at one point I was contemplating escaping to Taiwan for a few nights of quality sleep. Physical damage is one thing, but for many of us it was the unknown-unknown nature of earthquakes that made them psychologically unnerving.
But it’s a food blog, so please excuse my earthquake rambles. During the past few days I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands, and there was no better way to ease our anxiety than to eat a lot of good food. Even better when you are in good company, so on Saturday my friends and I went out for the Beppu gourmet experience.
Most people know of Beppu as the famous city for hot springs, but did you know that aside from bathing, you could also cook edible food with hot spring steam? There are several locations where you could enjoy this specialty in the city, but the most well-known to tourists is Jigoku Mushi Kobo in Kannawa.
Before heading there, we stopped by at a nearby supermarket to stock up on ingredients. You could also buy the prepared sets of ingredients on the premise, but bringing your own gives you the freedom to choose your favorite vegetables and meat. It can be a lot cheaper too, unless you’re hoarding the more luxurious options at the seafood counter.
Either way, you’d have to pay for steaming the food and using the utensils. Hand over your ingredients and the staff will plate them on bamboo racks for you. I’m not sure if there are rules as to which veggie should go with which meat, but the results look incredibly appetizing. I guess they know their stuff. We were given timers to keep track on our cooking. Eggs took about 7 minutes to reach a soft-boiled consistency, seafood, meat and vegetables took 15, and thick sweet potato rounds took up to 30 minutes.
Since everything is steamed the ingredients retain their original taste. There are only three condiments available: soy sauce, salt and ponzu. Of the three I should think that ponzu alone is enough: its distinct tartness greatly enhances the flavors of the food. I highly recommend getting the freshest ingredients, and for vegetables get those that are in season.
We were a party of five people and each paid about 2500yen for everything. We started eating at 2:30pm, and were full until late evening. It was the kind of hearty, filling meal that warms the heart on a chilly rainy day, and in our case it fought away the negative vibes the earthquakes had left in their wake.
Location: 5-Kumi Furomoto. From Kannawa bus station, walk down the slope and it should be on your right. For information on how to get there, this page has detailed instructions in English.
Time: 9:00 ~ 21:00. Closes every 3rd Wednesday of the month.
Kyushu has got a long road to recovery after this especially in terms of tourism – hotels have been receiving many cancellations since then. I’ve also heard that Kumamoto castle will take some time to be repaired. Since tourism is a big part of the economy, if you love Kyushu and would like to contribute some support, use the hashtag #九州が大好き when posting Kyushu photos on social media. Show people the beauty of this island!
For the Love of All Things Eggy – Uchinari Cafe
I’m a sucker for 卵かけご飯. It’s so simple a dish: an egg, cracked onto white rice, dressed with a few drops of soy sauce. With so few ingredients this is something that can be prepared every morning with minimal amount of efforts. Sometimes I’d have this for breakfast several days in a row.
Archetto アルケット
Ah Archetto, where do I begin? I have postponed writing about Archetto over the summer, and then over the winter, and even now I still cannot perfectly capture how I feel about this place. To put it in one word, I would probably say something trite and generic like fantastic, but that alone will not do Archetto justice. After all, this is the place that I could confidently profess my love for.
Othello Specialty Coffee Roast
Located near two other hot Beppu gourmet destinations, hibino pan and nicoドーナツ、Othello is a tiny cafe that specializes in drip coffee, with high quality beans imported from all over the world. Continue reading
Japanese Shaved Ice Is a Splendid Summer Treat
Although it’s mid-August already, summer is still far from over. Each day is a struggle (for me, at least) between going out to enjoy the vacation and lurking home with the curtains closed and aircon on full blast. Being under the sun in this weather is an admirable feat that deserves proper rewards, and there’s no better way to relieve the atrocious heat than the classic kakigori, or shaved ice.
Beppu Reimen
Nothing relieves the summer heat like a bowl of reimen, Beppu style.
hibino pan
As I write this hibino will be celebrating its first anniversary in exactly a week. For a tiny shop with such a big reputation in Beppu-Oita, this is quite impressive.
おやつ sima sima
Today’s review will be short and also sweet.
Short, because it’s only a tiny shop that operates twice a week, sometimes thrice. Everything is managed by only one person – the owner herself.
Sweet, because it caters to our innermost craving – our (or is it only mine?) insatiable sweet tooth.
Living The Food Life In Beppu 