Back home

Having been back in Japan for days, a report of my trip home is overdue. So here goes: I spent 13 days back home in Brampton (a suburb of Toronto, Can), and it was both the best and worst visit home ever. It started out well enough, or at least as well as a 14 hour flight can be: I had a window seat with a decent view, and next to me were two handsome rock stars. Unfortunately they were sitting on the side of my bad ear I didn't really catch the name of the band, and because I don't keep track of music these days I have no idea who they were (but if anyone knows any 4-member Toronto-based band that toured in Japan for 6 weeks this summer, do let me know).

Upon arrival home I was treated to a lovely dinner outdoors, featuring steak of course (as my family has long been under the impression that there is a beef shortage in Japan). It was perfectly cooked (by my brother, the bbq master) and everything was delicious, so I didn't complain. All of the food was good, and so was the wine, and so was eating out in the backyard--next to my family, a backyard is what I miss the most in Japan.

 

The bbq (or bbqs, since my bro has several) were in use pretty much every day I was back. The next day was cedar-planked salmon with a maple-whiskey glaze, and it was far better than this picture would have you believe.

 

Feeling nostalgic, I grabbed lunch one day at Sonny's, a burger place across from my old high school. Sonny's has been around forever, and while I don't think I ever went when I was actually going to school across the road, my family used to go when I was little and I have fond memories. My high hopes were only heightened when I entered the shop and saw a man in the back cutting up potatoes for the fries. So I ordered a burger and poutine (for you non-Canadians that's french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds) and then had my hopes horribly crushed: the burger was nothing special, the fries were barely cooked, and the cheese was all wrong. And I'd forgive the burger and cheese, but as far as I'm concerned there is nothing more ghastly than a pale, limp, undercooked french fry.

Another trip down memory lane involved this pizza, ordered from Joe's Pizzeria and Spaghetti House: something my family seems to do every Friday night. And I only just found out that this is the same Joe's we used to go to when I was little (it was always either Joe's or Sonny's) to enjoy panzerotti and Brio. Brio, if you don't know, is an Italian cola that I didn't even like but was so different and exotic that I always felt compelled to drink it, and panzerotti is what most of the world (except for Ontario and, for some reason, New Jersey) calls calzone. Anyway, I highly approve of the Friday night Joe's tradition, as the pizza is good. I do prefer the Neapolitan style pizza widely available--for a pretty penny--in restaurants in Tokyo, but Japanese delivery pizza is another story and Joe's beats it hands-down.

But my trip home wasn't just about eating. There was also plenty of napping (jet lag never spares me), and I even managed to get out for a nice walk. Everything looked very lush and green in my neighborhood, which was probably due to the very cool and rainy summer--Southern Ontario experienced the wettest summer on record, I'm told.

 

Sadly my foraging plans were derailed: the strange weather prevented the raspberries, usually just coming into their second crop at that time, from developing. And the saskatoon berry bushes (they're a bit like blueberries) we'd discovered on my last visit were nothing more than a few stumps. The culprit: the local beaver population.

 

The sight of these berries perked me right up though. The pretty little purple and yellow flowers identified them as a member of the nightshade family (members include tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes), and the berries looked like teeny little tomatoes. I ignored my father's warning about certain other, less reputable, nightshade plants and took a little tiny taste. It was sweet and intensely tomatoey, so I popped the whole thing in my mouth and gulped it down--and instantly my mouth was filled with a horrible bitter flavour. It was a long walk home, and never having actually seen deadly nightshade (aka the highly toxic belladonna) I had no way of knowing whether or not I'd just poisoned myself.

Wikipedia put my mind at ease, as the berry I ate seems to have been bittersweet, a relative of deadly nightshade that is only just mildly toxic. Nothing at all happened, which was actually a bit of a disappointment as I had read online that while the berries weren't extremely toxic, they will "clean you out at both ends". And if you suffer from a certain travel-induced condition like I do, you'll understand how that sounded like something I wanted to experience. But nope, no effect at all (I remember where they were though, and next time I'm eating three).

Surviving a near-poisoning is something to celebrate, so the family and I went to Symposion, a Greek restautant in Brampton. Living in Japan, Greek is one of the cuisines--along with West Indian--that I miss the most, and I go here nearly every visit home.

We started with saganaki, a gooey cheese dish that is set ablaze at the table and is sinfully good but requires a lot of bread to tame the copious amount of salt. It was the first time I tried it and I couldn't get its name right, and perhaps influenced by the flames, I kept calling it "nagasaki" (which amused no one but myself).

 

Next up: dolmades, or dolomades, or dolma, or whatever you want to call it: grape leaves stuffed with meat, served in a rich lemony sauce.

 

My brother, who has only recently discovered seafood, ordered this giant platter of shrimp, scallops and calamari. And was kind enough to share.

 

I had roasted lamb shank, and was so excited to see it that I couldn't even keep my camera steady (sorry about the blur). It was perfect, and made me wish that lamb was more popular in Japan.

Another fine meal was at Village of India, which serves a bargain-priced vegetarian Indian buffet. I only discovered this place on my last visit (thanks to a taxi driver's recommendation) but it is already a favourite. 

 

I wish I could tell you what all that stuff on my plate is, but I don't know. The only drawback to the place is that none of the food is labeled, but then again most of the customers seem to know what everything is so I guess it's not really necessary.

 

The place also sells Indian sweets to go, but they are all a bit too mysterious for me so I made do with a pinch of pan masala (candied fennel seeds).

 

The good eating continued on to Owl of Minerva, a Korean restaurant in North York. We were there to eat their famous pork bone soup but began with pajeon, a savoury pancake filled with long onion and squid (it's called chijimi in Japanese, where it is considered a Korean form of okonomiyaki).  

We also had deep-fried pork which was good and would have been amazing, except for the too-sweet sauce. Still, the combination of my favourite food themes--pork and deep frying--can never really be bad. The banchan (kimchi and other little dishes that are served free) were a treat, since they don't exist in Japan: you actually have to pay for them.

 

Next was dolsot bibimbap (called ishiyaki bibimba in Japan, where it is hugely popular), which is a searing hot stone bowl filled with rice and various toppings. Mashed up with a spoon, flavoured with kochujang (a hot and sweet chili paste) it is delicious, and is even better when left alone to sear for a while in hot bowl, in order to let the rice get crispy. 

 

And the main event: gamjatang (pork bone soup). I had heard all about how wonderful it was, and it didn't disappoint. The pork was tender enough to fall off the bone with little work, and the broth was rich, hearty, perfectly spiced, and wonderfully porky. Gamjatang is new to me (Korean restaurants in Japan focus on beef) but is now a favourite. I doubt if I can find pork bones in Japan so I won't be trying recreate it myself, but if anybody in Tokyo knows of a place that serves this, please leave a comment. Because I'm not due for another visit home until next year, and I don't think I can wait that long.

Next up, the last half of my visit. For now, you can check out a few more pictures from the trip in my Summer 2008 album.

Comments

[boolena]

Glad to have you back! I hope you had a substantial enough dose of your family (and missed food) to hold you for the year. (When my hubby and return for a month soon, there's a tacqueria that we'll pitstop before anything else.)
Really enjoyed the pictures, as usual.

[JoeInVegas]

Wow, you can still take a mean food photo even when not in Japan. You made it all look pretty good, even the cheese curds (well, maybe not those but).

[Aspasia]

Gah--The Owl of Minerva is just down the street from me! I'm also amused that the Aries cafe is next door to it. Next time, we'll do the Toronto tour.

Love the spiderweb picture, by the way!

[wheatlessbay]

Non-Canadians largely don't get poutine. Our friends look horrified when I explain it. We make it at least once a month at home because it's truly fabulous.

That said, I've never gotten bibimbop.

[pia Z]

i'm from brampton too. ah, memories. :)

[Maria]

Love the food pics. Love them! Your summer has been fab.
He he he he. Totally understand about wanting to eat three of those slightly toxic berries next time as I too suffer a bit after a long journey and this is why I never fail to forget to bring my 'bag' with me.
Ahem.

[Amy]

Thanks Boolena! I've never had proper tacos back home (things might be different now but used to be there was no real Mexican in Toronto), but trip to San Antonio, TX was a revelation. I want more, but that's the problem with visits back home--they take up so much time and money that there isn't much left for other places.

Thanks Joe! Poutine sounds and looks awful to the uninitiated but once you try it you'll be hooked!

Aspasia, so I guess you remain a vegetarian. Pity you have to live so near to such a temple of meat. Don't know Aries Cafe but I'm sure I'll find out next year. Can't wait--Toronto is like a foreign city to me know.

Wheatlessbay, I too was horrified when I first heard of poutine, so I understand people's reactions.
I agree that regular bibimbap is nothing special, but dolset bibimbap (when it comes in a heated stone bowl) is something else entirely.

Pia Z, a fellow Bramptonite! Where did you go to school? I left Brampton as soon as I could, never imagining how much I'd miss the place.

Thanks Maria. Do you still use coffee? I suppose that counts as poisonous berries.

[Pia Z]

yeah, i know what you mean! and they sure have planted a lot of flowers since i left!

i went to st. thomas aquinas on corporation drive. in contrast to how i feel about good ol' brampton, i'm VERY glad i'm out of that institution. :)

[Amy]

Oh, way up there? Perhaps City Centre and Gateway 6 were your hangouts? Ah, memories...

[pia Z]

jeez, the city centre or shopper's world when i felt like being ghetto... and gateway 6... going to carabram and getting drunk at the english pavillion at north park secondary... watching the airplanes take off from pearson... hanging out at professor's lake on a sunny day...

yeah, brampton is kind of cool. good times, good times. :)

[Shig]

I have been reading your blog from the start and recently reached this article.

The best place for gamjatang (pork bone soup) in Tokyo is Matsuya in Okubo. There are numerous Korean restaurants in Okubo and Matsuya has been earning rave reviews for its gamjatang. I've been there a few times. The price is very affordable and its gamjatang is just excellent. The atmosphere is authentic. I felt as if I had been in Seoul, Korea.

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1304/A130404/13000028/

Here's some review from Taberogu (Japanese).