ABOUT

I started Foodies simply to share my impressions of food that I encounterd in Japan and other countries.
I hope to inspire people to savour and enjoy the time they spend preparing and eating food. I also hope to reveal the rich diversity and importance of food within the cultures of different countries. I believe that understanding food and culinary culture of different countries is one of the easiest and fastest ways to know and understand the people. Food is one of the most essential things in the human life and the culinary culture of a country embodies the country’s own history, spirit and joy.
I hope you too can discover and enjoy the different tastes of food from other countries and gain an insight into the people and places it's from.

2013/05/29

'Akage Wagyu (red cattle)'  is getting popular in Japan



Wagyu (literally Japanese cow) refers to several breeds of cattle, the most famous of which is genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to produce a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat.  The meat from Wagyu cattle is well-known for its marbling characteristics and quality, and thus demands a high price.  In some areas of Japan, beef is shipped with area names such as Kobe, Matsuzaka, Ōmi, and Miyazaki beef.
 
(C) Akagewagyu kyokai
These days,  healthy red cattle beef is getting popular due to the fact that black cattle contain lots of fat while the red one does not contain as much as the black one.
However, the supply does not seem to meet its customers’ demands.  That is why they are at the moment trying to increase their production.



 Black cattle are highly evaluated because of its taste, luster, beef color, fat marbling conditions.  
However, red cattle beef is evaluated mainly on how they grow up.  When the cattle are born, they grow up with their mother.
Because of the mother’s milk and stress-free environment, the baby cattle grow healthily strong.
Feeding natural grass and grazing make stress free environment for cattle.

They can get many kind of natural vitamins from grass. We found the red cattle fed by natural grass contain vitamins and unsaturated fatty acid of n-3 origin which is good for your health.  Additionally, the red cattle contains greater amount of UMAMI compared to the black ones.

That is the reason why red cattle beef is more tasty, juicy, tender and of course  healthy.
Try "Akage Wagyu" at the restaurant below. Cattle growing up healthy are good for our health.



 
Victor's (The Westin Tokyo)
Phone: +81 3 5423 7000
Nogizaka Kamiya (Michelin star Japanese restaurant)
Phone: +81 3 3497 0489
CAFE DE ISIS (Jiyugaoka, Tokyo)
Phone: +81 3 3725 4213
 

2013/04/24

The feeling of eating delicious food - Can you explain “delicious”when eating?


What is the most delicious food you have ever eaten in your life?

The beautiful dish at El Bulli, Spain? (Despite its only 45 seats, with its wonderful cuisine, this restaurant receives 2 millions reservation phone calls from people around the world every year!)
Or other cuisine of the 3 star Michelin restaurants? 

Even though, there are many luxurious restaurants in the world, some of you probably say the junk food you had at high school’s cafeteria is the best.  I am sure you know that 3 star Michelin restaurants have better ingredients and techniques, yet, the taste of junk food you had at school tastes way better than that of Michelin Star restaurants.  Why?  Because the junk food reminds you of your good old days back then. 

Why the same food tastes even more delicious when we have it at the beach or beautiful park. Why we love picnic?

When we eat delicious food, we feel so happy.
Nobody is angry when they eat delicious food.
I am exploring the feelings of eating delicious food:  why we feel happy when eating and where the sense of delicious comes from.

Only your tongue involves? No.  The five senses do.  We establish the feeling of delicious in our brain together with our dining experience.  Who we ate with and what we felt in the past are very important.  Because our brain creates delicious feeling from dining experience, we stock in there.  That’s why different people find the taste of the same cuisine differently. 
Therefore, having rich dining experience is very important, and it does not necessarily have to be expensive dish.  Sometimes, our dining memory with our family during childhood makes us very happy. 
Let’s have rich dining experience!