A Visit to Osaka
Last week, I went to Osaka to meet my boyfriend. I hadn’t seen him for three weeks. Using Kintetsu and JR (Japan Railway) lines, it takes about three hours to go to the city.
I had to change trains three times, which was complicated. The first change was easy: I got off the train at Ise Nakagawa, and took the one bound for Uehonmachi. The second change was very complicated, though: I had to walk across the Tsuruhashi station, and then I took the JR line. Here, my boyfriend came to meet me because he thought I would get lost without his guidance. I was very happy to see him after a rather long time. At Kyobashi, I changed trains for the third time. I was very tired because I had to walk around the station and stand up on the train. When we finally reached his house at 9 p.m., my legs were aching a little.
The next day, Saturday, we traveled to Umeda to go shopping together. There are many, many shops underground: clothes, shoes, foods, games, socks, caps and so on. We lost our way and could not reach the mall where we wanted to buy clothes. So we dropped in at some other shops around there. I bought summer sandals, a blue-white-and-red-striped camisole and a beige linen cardigan. My boyfriend bought a pink T-shirt, brown sandals and two short-sleeved shirts. We enjoyed shopping very much and we were happy to get some things we wanted.
In Osaka, we bought anpurin, a green powdered-tea pudding which contains bean jam. It tasted good, of course, because it is an Osaka staple. Shiokonnbu, dried kelp coated with salt, is attached, and it enhances the flavor of the pudding. Do try it if you go to Osaka!
My small trip to Osaka was very successful and wonderful. I want to go to Osaka again soon.
Comments
Well, Google has 416 matches for あんプリン.
“プリン” stands for “pudding”, right? So anpurin is a Japanese adaptation of a Western recipe?
Ummm … Japanese adaptation … maybe. But I can get only ordinary pudding, not containing bean jam, in supermarkets in Japan, as you know. But I don’k know if the ordinary pudding in Japan is the same as in Western countries. Ruedi, is the pudding sold in Japan the same or similar to the one in your home country?
Oh dear — I like mochi, even when it’s filled with red bean paste, but I’m not a great fan of sweet things generally, so I don’t know if Japanese supermarket pudding is different from Continental European supermarket pudding. But it’s probably different from English pudding, which is rather unique.
You probably can’t buy anpurin at your local supermarket because it’s one of Japan’s many regional specialties.
I’ve heard that some kind of European puddings are not sweet and that they are garnished to dishes. I’ve never seen or tried such a pudding. Do you know any restaurant where I can try one?
At the peril of over-generalising, Japanese restaurants tend to offer “renditions” or “interpretations” of foreign cuisines. I’ll stick to my theory according to which countries with large immigrant populations tend to have restaurants that offer more authentic foreign cooking, simply because they also cater to a foreign clientele that wishes to preserve its tastes. To put it another way: if you ever find yourself in Bern, Switzerland, go and have a pizza at the Casa d’Italia. =)
For imported foodstuffs in Tsu-shi, I’d recommend the basement store at Matsubishi’s or the supermarket right next to the Italiano restaurant.
Puddings that are savoury rather than sweet are probably English puddings. You’ll need to talk to Graham about those.
Commenting on this entry is closed.
Ayumi, this is the first time for me to hear “Anpurin”. How was the taste? Not so sweet? And, how can I get it in Osaka? I’d like to have it.