I ate a lot of cold noodles during this trip.
Another tiny soba house in a residential area in Urawa.
I had a very nice cold soba with "tororo" (grated mountain yam with raw quail egg dipping sauce) dish. My sister liked her simple cold soba with nori (roasted seaweed) topping. Mom's "Okame" udon was a cute presentation of okame (classic female character) face.
In this stay, we had a few dinners at home...and drank a lot of wines.
Francoise
Bedel, Champagne “Origin’Elle” ...78% Pinot Meunier, 13% Chardonnay, 9% Pinot Noir. From average 40-year-old vines. 4 years sur-lie was followed by 5 years of bottle aging. Dosage 11.65g/L. It’s N.V., but it’s actually Millesime
2004. Really mellow and elegant. Aroma of honey, caramel, brioche, and
spice. Fine mousse and
minerality. Unlike most of Bedel’s
wines, this wine wan’t fermented or aged in oak. Gorgeous.
2009 Domaine
Cachat Ocquidant, Ladoix…small family-owned domaine. From average 50-60 year-old vines. Cherry, earth, subtle spice. Smooth tannin and nicely balanced.
2008
Littorai, Pinot Noir, Platt Vineyard (Sonoma Coast)…Natural wine. Deep berry and spice aroma. Dense texture. Complex. Very elegant.
2008 Tenuta
Sella & Mosca, Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva…Shiny garnet color. Aged for 2 years in oak. Rich aroma of dark berry and black
pepper. Smooth tannin. Nicely balanced.
2008
Littorai, Chardonnay, Charles Heinz Vineyard (Sonoma Coast)…Shiny light golden
color. Tropical fruit with spice
and minerals. Luscious texture and
long finish. Well-balanced oak
fruit and oak.
2010 Domaine
Maurice Gavignet Pere & Fils, Gevrey-Chambertin…Very charming village class
Gevrey with 18 month of aging in oak.
Non-filtered. Dark cherry,
tea smoke, spice, medium tannins.
2010
Vigneau-Chevreau, Vouvray, Cuvee Silex…Small biodynamic producer. Average 55-year-old vines. Fermented for 2 months in 600L
barrel. Ged for 12 months in 600L
barrel. Very clean and crisp
vouvray with lots of minerals, apple, honey, and herb nuance. Balanced acid and fruit.
2007 La Cave
de Gigondas, Gigondas, Le Brut du Foudre 56…Grenache 75%, Syrah 15%, Mourvedre
& Cinsault 10%. Traditional
style Gigondas, aged for 15 month in foudre, unfiltered. Round and dense tannins, aromatic spice
and berries. Long finish. Nice.
Pretty nice selection for hot summer.
As always, time flew really fast and it was already time to go back to LA. This time, instead of flying out of Narita, I decided to try a late-night flight from Haneda Airport. My family came to the airport with me to see me off. Because it was already after 10pm, most restaurants were closed except some izakaya-style places. So, we had a quick meal at an "Oden" (type of stew) restaurant...I had egg, wakame, yuba (tofu skin)-wrapped mizuna, konnyaku, and sardine tsumire (dumplings). Very good.
My flight departed past midnight, so I just took a small bite amuse with Champagne Jacquart, Brut Mosaique - 50% Ch, 35%PN, and 15%PM), followed by 2008 Flie a Deux, Russian Valley Chardonnay, and 2008 Dios Ares, Rioja Crianza. Dios Ares was quite deep and nice...which let me fall asleep nicely. After I woke up, I had just a salad (yuzu vinaigrette) and cheese plate...I didn't want to eat too much because I knew Jason wanted to go somewhere after he was picking me up at LAX:-)
As always, time flew really fast and it was already time to go back to LA. This time, instead of flying out of Narita, I decided to try a late-night flight from Haneda Airport. My family came to the airport with me to see me off. Because it was already after 10pm, most restaurants were closed except some izakaya-style places. So, we had a quick meal at an "Oden" (type of stew) restaurant...I had egg, wakame, yuba (tofu skin)-wrapped mizuna, konnyaku, and sardine tsumire (dumplings). Very good.
My flight departed past midnight, so I just took a small bite amuse with Champagne Jacquart, Brut Mosaique - 50% Ch, 35%PN, and 15%PM), followed by 2008 Flie a Deux, Russian Valley Chardonnay, and 2008 Dios Ares, Rioja Crianza. Dios Ares was quite deep and nice...which let me fall asleep nicely. After I woke up, I had just a salad (yuzu vinaigrette) and cheese plate...I didn't want to eat too much because I knew Jason wanted to go somewhere after he was picking me up at LAX:-)
