Entirely built of wood, the size and height Himeji castle proper is immense. On the upper levels it commends unobstructed 360 degree view of the city and beyond.
view from the upper floors
mortise and tenon construction
perspective map of the castle city in its days
himeji castle taken from the garden within the castle walls
princess relaxing in her own tower built specially for her
one of countless treasure inside - don't remember if this is the shogun Tokugawa himself
supersized wrought iron door hinges
how beautiful
musket port
stone work on corner of base
In the evening I was looking for a restaurant for dinner. I cruised up and down the few blocks of the red light district and there were many choices. There are few izakaya like joints filled with just Japanese. The truth was there was no foreigners on the street. Many could have been a good choice but I could see in many the cigarette smoke is thicker than the smoke in my weber grill when I make smoked chicken. I was more in the mood for a relaxing sit-down dinner.
After observing a few restaurants I sized up this one seeing what looks to be middle age local couples going in. I gather up my courage and walked in knowing the only menu they have is in Kana instead of Kanji. I can read the Kanji but not Kana. I was ready for an adventure.
The young waitress could only understand a few words of English, and speak a few words. On the menu I could recognize the sashimi 刺身category, but nothing else. I just point my finger to one item which looks to a assortment of fish. I also wanted another dish but problem is the waitress could not translate to me what they were. I figure I would just take a chance with my finger. I point to one dish base solely on the price which should not be just a snack.
The sashimi 刺身was very good, though I wish there was more. I also had an order of Japanese shochu 燒洒 with the meal.
Finally the other dish came and it turned out was stir fried pork belly with kimchi and napa cabbage. I had never have this dish before and was so surprised to see in in a Japanese restaurant. I could see that the chef is a young Japanese male. It is one of the most novel Asian dishes I'd ever seen.
eaten with a bowl of steamed rice - I made this today
The dish was very aromatic and was very well stir fried. It was cooked with good wok hei 鑊氣 (meaning the fiery breath of the wok). It tasted - OMG.
The pork was sliced very thin and it was just nicely caramelized and is full of porky umami. The kimchi gives the crunchy texture, with sweet, tangy, and hot tastes. The cabbage was also just cooked perfectly with the nice sweetness and soft to the bite. The sweet, hot, tang, saltiness, and umami combined with the multitutes of texture resulted in a gastronomic symphony with perfect harmony.
As with most Japanese meal, they never want to impress you with quantity. I wolfed it down with the small bowl of steamed rice.
When I returned home I replicated this dish. It has since become my favorite Asian fusion (see parentheses in ingredients below) dish.
Today I happen to have all the needed ingredients and I made it for lunch. How does it taste? Very similar to the one I had in Japan.
Ingredients:
thinly sliced pork belly
mak kimchi (korean)
napa cabbage
garlic
ginger
scallion
fish sauce (thai, chinese, and more)
oyster sauce (chinese)
sugar
pork bone soup snack
Unrelated to the dish above, this small snack is just a tease. It is a piece of pork bone with meat that has been slowly cooked for 4 hours when I made a pork bone broth for noodle soup. A bit of soy sauce, white pepper, and it is so delicious as a snack.
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