Restaurant Memories ( permanently closed)

Restaurant Memories is located in LEGEND, a residential quarter in Bulduri, in a beautiful white villa. When I entered the restaurant, it felt like I was in a classy summer residence. There is a display of Bakeberry desserts showcased in the lobby (Bakeberry is a popular dessert restaurant in Riga). I love the coastal color palette used for interior decorations. The interior is bright and cozy. There is also an outside terrace.

The waiters were polite and professional. The menu had a good variety. Their breakfast menu is surprisingly available till 16:30! I ordered the baked chicken with mashed potatoes which were €13.50. The chicken was tender and juicy, lightly flavored. Unfortunately for me, the dish was not exciting.

Nonetheless, I really love the atmosphere of the restaurant. I would go back again to give the other dishes a try.

Restaurant Memories

Website: http://memories-restorans.lv/en/memories-restaurant-in-bulduri-jurmala/

Telephone: +371 67 869 711

Opening hours: 10:00–23:00

Address: Bulduru prospekts 17, Jūrmala, LV-2010, Latvia

Simple meal in Nagoya

I had one day in Nagoya. It was a stopover before I headed on to Hakone. I usually plan ahead and look for good places to eat, but I decided to wing it in Nagoya.

After checking into the Mitsui Garden Hotel Nagoya Premier, I ventured around the area to look for a place to have lunch. It was windy and cold, and a bowl of hot ramen quickly became my top choice.

ラの壱名駅店 ranoichi ramen

The ramen chain store restaurant is just two streets from the Mitsui Garden Hotel. The staff was friendly. Unfortunately, there is no English menu. Not all the staff can speak English. I had to order blindly. As I read some Chinese characters, I noticed on the top left of the menu that the restaurant was serving two types of ramen for a limited time. I wasn’t sure what type of ramen it was, but the picture looked good, so I ordered one. If I heard correctly, the waitress mentioned miso when she served me the noodles. The ramen was surprisingly good. It had a thick creamy miso broth, slightly sweet with a hint of spiciness, but nothing like the miso soup where the miso flavor is the dominating taste. Other than the miso flavor, I could also taste the meat broth. The toppings differed from the ramen I had in Kyoto and Osaka. It was perfect for the cold day. A satisfying meal, indeed!

Ranoichi ramen

Website: http://www.ranoichi.com/store/meieki/

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 11: 00 AM~ 23: 30 PM, Sundays and public holidays 11: 00AM ~ 22: 00PM

Telephone: +81 52-446-5581

Address: Nagoya-shi Nakamura-ku Nominami 4-27-7 Noda-ya Building 1F

Craft Works Cafe by Hand Bakes

I had been walking for hours, tired and cold, to the point where I wanted to fill my stomach and head back to the hotel to rest. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to eat. I couldn’t be bothered to walk around in the cold to look for a restaurant; I thought most malls have a floor where it’s all for dining, so I headed over to Parco mall, the nearest mall.

I got to the 7th floor of the Parco mall, looked at the list of restaurants, and randomly picked this restaurant. The color scheme and pictures on the wall gave me a warm and homey feel. I ordered the grilled chicken and veggie plate with gorgonzola sauce which was ¥950. The food was decent. The rice was a little dry. A simple average meal.

Craft Works Cafe by Hand Bakes

7th Floor of Parco West building

Website: http://nagoya.parco.jp/web/restaurant/craftworks/01/

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 11:00 AM to 22:30 PM

Telephone: +81 52-264-8058

Funatsuru, Kyoto style French restaurant

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Funatsuru is a Kyoto-style French restaurant set along the Kamo River with views of the Higashiyama mountains and nearly 150 years of history. The building itself was built almost 100 years ago. You can read about the history of this restaurant here.

I made a reservation for a window seat. When making the reservation, the staff could not guarantee a window seat for me but will try their best. We were fortunate on the day of our arrival that we were given a window seat. The view was beautiful – The river, mountain, and sky. The staff who greeted us was graceful and pleasant. She could speak decent English.

There are two different lunch courses. One is for ¥ 3,000, including an hors d’oeuvre, soup, main dish, dessert, bread, coffee, or black tea. The other is for ¥ 4,500, including an hors d’oeuvre, soup, a fish dish, a meat dish, dessert, bread, coffee, or black tea. We decided on the ¥ 4,500 lunch course.

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The course started with a turkey mushroom pâté followed by a soup. The soup was interesting. It tasted like a saltish and mild cafe latte with cocoa nibs. The waitress did describe that it was some kind of coffee soup.

Next, we had the flounder wrapped in pie pastry. I love this dish! The flavors in this dish were mind-blowing. The fish was cooked to perfection. The buttery, flaky crust accentuated the natural flavor of the fish. The tomato-based sauce further boosts the already delicious flavor of the pie. Even now, I can remember the flavor. A very memorable dish!

We had the duck with apple and root vegetable sauce next and a white chocolate cream cheesecake.

I really enjoyed the food. Each one was delectable and beautifully presented. I would recommend this restaurant for the food. However, it was noisy in the restaurant, probably the noisiest restaurant I have been to in Japan. Most of the customers were rich middle-aged women, and they were loud. I did not enjoy that. Lucky for us, we got there around 1 PM, and the noise began to subside half an hour later as some were finished with lunch and left. The last order for lunch at the restaurant is 2PM.

Funatsuru

Website: https://www.funatsuru.com/en/restaurant/

Opening hours: 12 PM to 22:00 PM (closed on Tuesdays)

Telephone: +81 75-351-8541

Address: 180 Minoyacho, Kiyamachidouri Matsubara-Agaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto

Yasube, Okonomiyaki, Pontocho

Yasube is a family-run restaurant in Pontocho that serves Okonomiyaki. The menu offers many variations, and you can add different ingredients to your Okonomiyaki. The prices are very reasonable, and it is one of the cheaper places to eat in Pontocho. The son speaks good English, and there are English menus available.

We had the yaki-udon with pork and kimchi (¥ 950) and pork and seafood combo with egg okonomiyaki (¥ 950). It was served on the hot plate on the table. I liked that we could put the sauce and toppings on the okonomiyaki. I have had okonomiyaki, and sometimes the sauce was too much for me. This would be the best one of the okonomiyaki I have had both in Kyoto and Osaka. I think the minced pork made a big difference. I had added pork slices instead of minced pork in the previous okonomiyaki. The minced pork made the okonomiyaki less dry and gave it a savory sweetness.

Yasube

Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday, 12:00 PM to 19:30 PM; Thursday to Saturday, 16:30 PM to 23:30 PM, Sunday, 15:00 PM to 22:30 PM

Telephone number: +81 75-221-2613

Address: 142 Umenokichō (Pontochōdōri), Nakagyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 604-8012, Japan

Gontaro, Kyoto

Gontaro is a famous udon noodle restaurant in Kyoto. It has three branches. I went to the main branch, located downtown on Fuyacho Dori, between Nishiki Market and Shijo Dori.

The restaurant had a Kyoto machiya-style exterior with a stone path leading to an automatic sliding shoji door. The interior is decorated in Sukiya-zukuri architectural style, which is common in many Japanese tea houses and creates a tranquil ambiance. There was only one waitress dressed in Kimono. She did not speak much English, but she could understand some of the things I said. She was nice and had a smile on her face the whole time.

The restaurant offers a variety of Soba and Udon noodles with some side dishes. The prices are reasonable. There is also an English menu available.

As I was craving fish, I ordered the Nishin udon (¥ 1200), a Kyoto specialty. It is a piece of dried herring placed on top of the udon. At the time, I did not know it was a dried herring. On the menu, it stated sweet stewed herring. The soup was delicious, but I did not like the herring. It was dry and chewy. I guess I was not used to eating dried fish.

This is a good place for Soba and Udon noodles if you are in the area.

Gontaro

Website: http://gontaro.co.jp/english/kyoto/index.html

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday except for Wednesday 11:00 AM to 21:00 PM

Telephone: +81 75-221-5810

Address: 604-8053 Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, 麸屋町通四条上ル

Kichi Kichi, Kyoto’s famous Omu Rice

Located in one of the alleyways in Pontocho, a small and cozy restaurant was established in 1978, serving one of Kyoto’s best Omu rice. It took us a while to find the restaurant, even with the help of google maps. We went back and forth along Pontocho main street, trying to find the right alleyway. Finally, we got to the restaurant around 6:15 PM, and customers were already waiting outside the restaurant. The restaurant has 8 counter seats and a table accommodating about 5 people.

I read about this place’s popularity, so I made a reservation in advance. You can make reservations 6 weeks in advance on their website. I emailed them to make a reservation because the date I wanted to make was unavailable on their website. I recommend making a reservation, especially for the counter seat, where you can watch the magic happen.

Besides their famous Omu rice, Kichi Kichi also serves salad, soup, beef stew, casseroled chicken leg, and croquette. Since we were there for the Omu rice, we ordered a potage soup of the day (¥ 650) and salad (¥1500). The Omu rice comes in standard (¥ 2700) and half-size (¥ 1450). I ordered the standard, which was a little bit much for me. However, I think half-size would be sufficient for the ladies.

The potage soup of the day was creamy corn soup. It was creamy and light with a lovely smokey bacon flavor. The salad was lovely, not the usual western salad. It had assorted vegetables drizzled with a light citrusy dressing. I love the array of colors of the ingredients.

Chef Yukimura Motokichi puts on quite a spectacular show for his customers. He knows people will be filming him making his famous Omu rice. So he will position himself where you can take pictures or film him. He definitely has skills! The way he tossed the rice up in the air and how he made his omelet in the perfect shape every time. Motokichi makes it look so easy.
To make the Omu rice, Motokichi first prepares the fried rice. Then, he adds chicken, onions, mushrooms, green soybeans, and beef bouillion sauce to the rice. Once the rice is cooked, it is placed in an ellipse mold on a plate. He subsequently prepares the omelet, which is then placed on the rice. Motokichi makes a slit down the middle of the omelet, and the egg wraps around the rice so elegantly. To complete the Omu rice, Motokichi adds beef bouillion sauce. He does different tricks with the omelet. For the second Omu rice dish, he threw the omelet up in the air, and it landed on the rice, covering it perfectly; pretty impressive!

The omelet was smooth and fluffy. It was delicious and eaten with chicken fried rice. Compared to other Omu rice prices, the prices here are higher, but I feel it’s worth it. It is one of the best ones I’ve had.

I highly recommend this restaurant. You will definitely have a great time and an enjoyable meal.

Kichi Kichi Omurice

Website: http://kichi2.net/

Opening hours: Lunch ( Weekends and national holidays 12:00 PM to 14:00 PM), Dinner ( Monday to Sunday 17:00 PM to 21:00 PM)

Telephone: +81 75-211-1484

Address: 604-8017 Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, 材木町185-4

Sushitetsu, Pontocho

Sushitetsu is located on the first floor of the building next to the Pontocho kaburenjo theater. It was recommended by the receptionist in the hotel my brother and I was staying at. She said that both locals and foreigners dine there, and the price is reasonable. After splashing quite a bit on more expensive meals the past two days, I look forward to somewhere more low-key and inexpensive.

There is counter and horigotatsu seating. In addition, there are English menus with pictures. The menu has a variety of a la carte sushi, sushi rolls, assorted sashimi, tempura, cooked dishes, salads, and soup. The sushi chef takes your orders and makes the sushi in front of you. It is an enjoyable experience watching your food being prepared and served in front of you. The chef hands off each sushi right after it is prepared on bamboo leaves.

Each sushi dish (2 pieces) is ¥ 216, and the rolls are ¥ 540. We got the California roll, tamage (egg), ebi (shrimp), aburi nigiri (broiled salmon), uni (sea urchin), kanimi (crab meat), shimaji-nigiri (yellow jack), Iwashi (sardine), maguro (tuna), and salmon. The sushi was delicious, and the ingredients were fresh.

When we got our first batch of sushi, we looked for the wasabi and could not find any. Then, when my brother ate his first piece of sushi, he noticed the wasabi between the topping and the rice. So all we had to do was dip the sushi in the soy sauce. Surprisingly, each sushi dish had sufficient wasabi, at least for us.

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Do take note that this restaurant allows smoking inside. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke, especially if the smoke is wafting toward me. This happened as I was enjoying the sushi. A customer next to me was smoking. As much as I would like to stay longer and order more sushi, I left right after finishing the remaining food.

All in all, this is a great sushi place with excellent value for money.

Sushitetsu

Website: https://sushitetsu.owst.jp/

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 12:00PM to 11:30PM

Address: 〒604-8002 Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku, Ishiyachō (Kiyamachidori), 先斗町通三条下る石屋町123

Musoshin ramen, Kyoto

Musoshin is just a stone’s throw from Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, Kenninji. Like most ramen restaurants, it’s not very big, but it has seating for 12.

This is my first encounter with average service in Kyoto. The atmosphere was cold and dull, and the staff was expressionless half the time. The guy who greeted me, though, was helpful; he helped me order the ramen from the ticket machine.

I had the musoshin ramen with egg (¥ 830). The soup is thicker and creamier than any ramen soup I have had. It is almost like the consistency of a stew. Their website states that the musoshin soup is creamy and thick because of the different vegetables used and dissolving in the process creating this thick broth. I am not sure if I liked the thick consistency. The noodles didn’t seem like it was cooked thoroughly, and the egg was cold.

I honestly did not enjoy the ramen. However, it’s subjective. Many of the reviews online for this place were positive. So give it a try if you are in the neighborhood.

Musoshin

Website: http://www.washoku.com/zsr/musoshin/index_jp.html

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday ( 11:15 AM – 11:00 PM)

Telephone:+81 75-551-0345

Address: Japan, 〒605-0933 京都府京都市Higashiyama-ku, Komatsuchō, 東山区大和大路四条下ル小松町558-2

Café Blue Fir Tree, Kyoto

I stumbled upon this café as I searched for a place to have breakfast near my hotel. The café is located in one of the alleyways in the Gion district. It is famous for its thick, fluffy hotcakes.

The interior has a rustic feel with a laid-back and cozy atmosphere. There were two lady staff. I was the first customer that morning. The younger one greeted me and showed me to a counter seat at the end of the counter. After I sat down, I realized I had forgotten my purse. I excused myself and ran back to the hotel to get it. When I got back, there were 3 customers seated at the very end of the counter. I asked if I could sit in the middle of the counter, but for some reason, the younger staff insisted that I sit at the end of the counter. I was not too happy about that. There wasn’t anyone else in the café.

Initially, I wanted to order the hot cake, but as I was going to meet someone later, I did not have much time. The hot cake takes 20 minutes to cook. Instead, I ordered French toast (¥500) with Earl Grey tea (¥300). Savory French toast is also available.
The French toast came in a hot cast iron pan, lightly coated with powdered sugar and a dollop of cream. It was fluffy, moist, and slightly crusty on the outside. It was lovely! I would definitely come back for more.

*The picture on the right is the hot cake. The customer next to me ordered it.

Café Blue Fir Tree

Website: http://www.cafebluefirtree.com/

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 AM to 7PM

Telephone: +81 75-541-1183

Address: Japan, 〒605-0802 Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Yamatochō, 大和大路通四条下ル大和町6-1, モア祇園 1F

Menya Takakura Nijo, Kyoto

Menya Takakura Nijo is a ramen restaurant off the beaten path in Kyoto. It is less than a 10-minute walk from the Karasuma Oike subway station. It is a cozy little eatery with 9 counter seats. Orders and payments are made through a ticket machine and are only available in Japanese. The staff is friendly; they will help translate. The inside is warm and clean, with atmospheric jazz lounge music playing in the background—a very common music genre played in many of the restaurants in Kyoto.

I ordered the ramen with egg for ¥ 800. Before preparing the noodles, you are given a choice of either regular or whole wheat noodles. Both pork pieces and leek were grilled over a small charcoal grill. The pork was flavorful with a distinctive smokey flavor. The soup was a combination of tonkatsu and fish broth. It was thin and intense with a tinge of sourness.

The ramen was good, but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea because of its unique flavor. My brother, who was with me, absolutely loved the ramen! He said it was one of his best meals in Kyoto.

If you are looking for a less touristy and more local place, this would be a good place.

Menya Takakura Nijo

Website: http://www.takakura-nijo.jp/

Opening hours: Weekdays 11:00AM – 10:00 PM, Weekends 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Telephone: +81 75-255-9575

Address: 64-1 Kannoncho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan