Ben's Canteen, Battersea

A glorious Sunday morning dawned and following a promise I was looking forward to a saunter around London watching some maniac marathon runners do their stuff from the sidelines. Couple of drinks maybe and a pub lunch? No sireeee. This marathon runner stalking thingummyjig is almost as exhausting as the marathon itself*. Several hours later with an unhealthy dose of blisters- yes I managed to get blisters as a spectator, don't ask- and very soggy from a torrential downpour I found myself heading back through Battersea feeling both starving hungry and just a little bit grumpy. 
(*massive exaggeration alert)

I had been tempted by the sound of Ben's Canteen for a very long time having been mutual followers on Twitter and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to refuel. My end of marathon day sentiments seemed to be echoed by the sandwich board outside Ben's; not a Bloody Mary maybe and a bit late for brunch but a gin and burger would have exactly the same effect.

The decor of the restaurant is quite rustic with stripped wooden floors, chunky tables and mismatching chairs. The toilets are unusual but follow quite a cool idea of letting a local artist loose in each cubicle to put their own stamp on it.

The giant wordsearch on the wall had me fixated and resulting in my blurting out random words throughout dinner much to the annoyance of A & E whose conversation was punctuated by my shouts of "gazelle", "hippo" etc as words popped out at me.

Having been called by the sirens of the Ben's twitter account towards the mythical and much praised Scotch egg (an all day breakfast one don't you know!) I was devastated to discover I was too late, other devotees had guzzled them all, the selfish buggers. No matter, the absence of Scotch egg just means I will have to return (as does the absence of the rolo chocolate tart with peppermint icecream but more of that later). Straight onto the main event then....

Although it was a Sunday and the roasts sounded amazing, I wanted to check out the rumour that Ben's offer one of the Best 10 Burgers in London.

The burger sauce is really good. I'm not going to try and hazard a guess as to what goes in it other than to say that its both tangy and creamy at the same time and, whilst I'm overusing words ending in "y", its also bloody yummy.

A&E did both order the roast and the beef, in particular, was beautiful. Note that I don't say it looked beautiful. I know is was beautiful because E had so much beef on her plate that it was almost a whole cow so I obliged with some plate clearing assistance. Both rare and tender, call me selfish but I can't wait to go back and have a whole plateful to myself. 

Dessert was probably my only slight dip in the evening. I had been eyeing up a rolo tart with peppermint ice cream since the menu arrived however it was all gone and, despite appearing again on the newly printed evening menu (albeit this time with spearmint icecream) none was to be forthcoming. There had also been a white chocolate tart on the first menu we were given but this too had disappeared from the menu we were handed at dessert time. I wasn't feeling terribly inspired by the remaining non chocolate desserts (including rhubarb eton mess, lemon three ways, Dark Star Cheesecake and rum jelly with coke ice cream) but really wanted a taste of something sweet so went for lemon three ways.

The three ways in question were an ice lolly, lemon curd and a lemon sponge pudding. The ice lolly was more style than substance, it looked great in the tower on the plate but tastewise lacked in flavour a little. This essentially meant that the dessert was lemon sponge pudding with lemon sauce. It was an excellent sponge, all light and fluffy and suitably sweet and zesty and the curd sauce was equally delightful

The staff are absolutely lovely and very knowledgable about the food that they are serving and dealt brilliantly with my minor childish tantrum over the rolo tart (I thought the whole point of the Rolo is that you save the last one for someone hmm? hmmm?)

The wine list is comprehensive and priced by the glass or bottle, we settled on a couple of bottles of Spanish tempranillo that slid down quite nicely and warmed us up on a chilly, wet spring evening.  If you're in the Clapham Junction area there is really no reason not to give Ben's a try.

UPDATE:  I have been back to Ben's again since my original visit. Lured by the Twitter sirens once more, I saw the promise of a midweek barbecue on one of the few evenings that we have been able to call "summer" so far this year. The burger was good (although a little overdone perhaps due to an unruly barbecue) but the pulled pork roll was sublime and a total bargain at 6 pounds. I think Ben's is increasingly likely to become a reliable neighbourhood staple for me.

Tokyo: Ueno Park



I hold my hands up and admit that I am a nightmare to travel with.  Half the fun is in the advance planning for me and several months can be spent researching locations, restaurants, transport, weather. You name it and there is a fair chance I have researched it. So when it came to planning a trip to Japan one of the major criterion was weather and more specifically blossom or sakura. I consulted various websites detailing the bloom dates in various towns over the preceding five years to try and ensure guaranteed blossom.  So we arrived. No blossom. Not a problem, still two and a half weeks of the trip to go and quite a journey south. Two weeks on and down in Kyoto there is still no blossom. Back to Tokyo and our last full day in Japan having left Ueno Park to the last possible moment, perhaps most famous for its blossom and the hanami parties- essentially picnics- held under the trees.  There were odd patches of blossom so I didn't go completely without...

Spot the bird.

In summary a grey, windy and rather chilly day was not how I had hoped my Ueno Park experience would pan out....

We started in the north of the park from Ueno station on the JR train line. At least nine  museums are located within close proximity including the National Museum of Science and Nature , the Ueno Royal Museum, and the National Museum of Western Art. as well as Tokyo zoo. Wading through the hordes of overexcited groups of Japanese schoolchildren we headed towards our target for the morning, Tokyo National Museum.

 

Tokyo National Museum is worth a visit if you are interested in better understanding some of the historic Japanese periods throughout the ages and seeing artefacts from each era.The building it is housed in is also quite beautiful. Just like the British Museum or the Met in New York, you could spend an entire day there and only scratch the surface but for me it was more interesting to dip in and see a few of the highlights to get some context to what I was seeing elsewhere.  The park is far from being only about museums, it also holds several shrines including the Toshogu Shrine (close to the zoo) and Bentendo Temple in the middle of Shinobazu Lake.

Bentendo Templev

Some of the lonely businessmen and my favourite of the Ema Shinto shrine plaques.

I had heard stories of how lower ranking businessmen are sent by their bosses to sit all day and guard the best sakura spots but had never quite believed it to be true until I saw it with my own eyes. Junior accountants, lawyers, management consultants all suited and booted just sat, all day, on a blue tarpaulin awaiting the arrival of their colleagues after hours.

One thing that cannot be disputed is that the Japanese truly do LOVE blossom. Gaggles of people were crowded around the few trees already in bloom taking pictures on everything and anything from top of the range Canon SLRs to the most basic of mobile phones. Much posing and peace finger signs ensue.

Wandering down along the long, straight lane of over 1000 cherry blossom trees, around a quarter were about to bloom and many early sakura hunters were out in force.  Restaurants and shops all release special sakura themed dishes or products, even international companies get on the bandwagon, I came home with a limited edition Le Creuset blossom shaped tea set and Lanvin, Celine and Dior sakura handkerchiefs all at much lower prices than the non limited edition would be at home.

Reaching the Southern end of the park I took a detour towards the lake. During sakura season numerous street food sellers line the bridge that crosses to a small islet set out into Shinobazu Pond. 

All kinds of weird and wonderful sweet and savoury finger foods are on offer and stalls are busy with passing trade.   I ordered a barbecued chicken yakitori stick. In all honesty it was a bit disappointing, too much overly sweet sauce but it was a bit early in the day for salted sardine or chilled octopus kebabs.

Baby octopus anyone?

Locals and tourists weren't the only ones eyeing up the seafood....

You can't go to Tokyo and not visit Ueno Park no matter the time of year- it is such a melting pot of Japanese culture and a relaxing spot in an otherwise non-stop city.



Hiroshima (and Okonomiyaki)

We arrived in Hiroshima on a bitingly cold morning. I hadn't been sure what to expect of the town which is known, lets face it, for one thing and one thing only, a huge and awful atomic bomb. It would have felt wrong not to visit at all and to fly past on a Shinkansen train bound for somewhere more "fun". Equally though, there is something a little ghoulish about only visiting somewhere because of its disastrous history. It was therefore with a little personal trepidation that we pulled into Hiroshima station.

What struck me first was quite how well developed the main town is considering its comparative youth. Other than in the Peace Park by the river, there are no apparent signs remaining of the city's destruction and it is a quiet but thriving city.

As we wandered arond the children's peace monument looking at the strings of brightly coloured origami birds of peace sent to Hiroshima from children's schools all around Japan, a visiting group of children assembled into a group and began to sing first in unison before building into a crescendo of three part harmony. Their sweetness and innocence contrasted so poignantly with the horror of what had happened before. Even cynical old me may have shed a tear. Like the use of poppies in the UK to mark Remembrance Day, the little origami birds of peace are a pretty way to teach children about the ills of war and also to never forget but look forward.

Visiting schools leave chains of little coloured birds that they have made back in the classroom which are then subsequently displayed in glass cases surrounding the children's monument. 

After a morning spent reflecting in the Peace Park in biting winds we needed both heat and sustenance and in Hiroshima there is no better place to get local food than Okonomimura, a multistorey building in the Shintenchi district packed to the rafters with small oknomiyaki outlets offering different versions where you follow your nose until you find one that you particularly like.  Its origins lie in many family owned street food stalls who all grouped together into one building; like a sort of old Japanese version of Hawker House. Although they all serve okonomiyaki there are lots of variations on a theme, some offer buckwheat pancakes, some are vegetarian or specialise in seafood- you have to browse to find the right one for you. This is the true origin of the dish; "okonomi" meaning "whatever you like" and "yaki" meaning "cooked". The primary difference between the okonomiyaki of Hiroshima versus that of Osaka is that in Osaka the ingredients are mixed together before cooking, more in the style of a giant omelette whereas in Hiroshima they start with the egg before layering vegetables, noodles and other options such as squid, shrimp, chicken or cheese on top.

Upon taking a seat at the counter surrounding the hot plate you are issued with what looks like a plastering or polyfilla blade. The dish is layered up in front of you on the sizzling griddle; onions then egg, then cheese and noodles. Last of all is the rich, brown, tangy traditional okonmiyaki sauce and a creamy sauce. 

 Its not the most sophisticated dish in the world and its a messy, hot business eating it as you are hovering over a sizzling hot plate but its about as tasty and filling as you can get for the price and well worth the experience.

Miyajima Island, Japan

Itsukishima Island is just an hour away from Hiroshima and easily accessible by train and a short ferry ride. Better known by the descriptive name of 'Miyajima Island' or 'Shrine Island', it is unlike anywhere else that I saw on my trip to Japan and was one of my favourite stopovers. It is perhaps most famous for the giant Torii gate out at sea, accessible on foot when the tide is out and appearing to float when the sea is in. At just under 12 square miles it is navigable by foot and has very little traffic.

The island gets awashed with Japanese tourists arriving on the regular passenger ferries, especially at the weekend, so if you can stay at a ryokan overnight you really get to see a different and much more peaceful side to the community once the last ferry disappears onto the horizon and the chatter melts away. 

Like Nara, the island is home to lots of small, wild but very friendly Sika deer who trot up and down the streets occasionally begging for food but generally ignoring the alien invaders many of whom treat them with a great deal of respect as they are considered to be sacred under Shinto religion.

Most towns and areas of Japan have their own special, local sweet delicacy to be taken back to friends and colleagues as a token from your trip. On Miyajima this comes in the form of the Momiji manju, a maple leaf shaped cake that can either be served plain or with various fillings. We tried custard, jam, cinnamon, red bean paste, chocolate, apple and pistachio, some were better than others (hold the bean paste for me please.....)

Lunch consisted of a selection of random street foods. "Meat sticks" were a lot more tasty than they sound, we devoured various shapes, colours and sizes including crab, asparagus & bacon and octopus amongst others. Nothing gourmet but they were good and filled a gap keeping us warm from the biting wind on the seafront.

One of the other island specialities is charcoal grilled oysters with numerous vendors out on the street calling at you to attract you to their wares. I'm never going to be an oyster fan unfortunately so the sales patter fell on deaf ears.

Although the island is small and easily negotiable on foot, the other option for getting about is in a manpowered rickshaw which plenty of the Japanese tourists were taking advantage of. It seemed like the epitome of laziness whilst I was walking along the flat town roads, when I got a further up the hill in the ten minute walk to the cable car I was starting to be a little envious.  Crowning over the island is Mount Misen at around 500m which may not seem enormous but is very prominent on such a tiny island. Although you can climb all the way to the top of the mountain if you're so inclined, we caught the two staged, kilometre long cable cars up to the top and then had a bit of a wander, visiting the small temple but unfortunately didn't see any of the wild monkeys that the signs warn you about. On a clear day you do, however get a 360 degree view out over the ocean and back to Hiroshima.

Whilst the whole island is designated as a World Heritage Site it is at the top of Misen that one of the most important sites is located. Reikado Hall is home to a cauldron that has an eternally burning flame tended by resident monks who glide serenely around the plaza outside the Hall and ensuring that The sacred flame in the cauldron was the one used to light the flame at the peace monument in Hiroshima.

Our ryokan, Ryoso Kawaguchi,  was quite a small one set back on a street parallel to the main sea front tourist thrust. The day that we arrived we were the only non Japanese guests which meant quite an audience at dinner intrigued as to how we would react to ryokan food. Kawaguchi had two onsen bathing rooms, one with a very large onsen that would have fitted at least six to sit  (or just me wallowing about like a hippo in the steam) It really is a very relaxing way to spend the early evening floating around in gloriously warm water before retiring to your room to put on your yukata coat and slippers ready for dinner. Unlike many ryokan where dinner is served in your room at low table on the tatami mat, dinner at Kawaguchi was served in a main dining room downstairs. The meal was served kaiseki style as a series of small courses although scaled down slightly from the traditional full 14 dish offering.

The opening course of seared salmon sashimi was delicate but beautifully flavoured, quite literally melting in the mouth, orange juice giving it a contrasting citrus tang.

Unagi- the evil bony eel!

Unagi was cooked well with a sweet teriyake style coating and served with wasabi broccoli but the tiny bones in the eel and the accompanying skin put me off too much. It is however, considered to be a valuable delicacy so in it went with a smile on my face. 

The Mukōzuke was sashimi of sea bream and mackerel. Tasty and prettily served on a tiny dish.  
The Shiizakana course is usually the most substantial of the meal and in this case was a pork hot pot. 


The ingredients are served chilled and fresh on a tray and you then cook them in the broth as you like it. The broth was unusually creamy but quite delicious based on clams and the slices of raw pork loin cooked in only a couple of minutes. Additions of enoki mushrooms and a pak choi/ cabbage like vegetable added crunch. Small chinks of silken tofu added yet another textural dimension.

Another course of seared beef served with spring onion and yuzu was excellent and I could quite merrily have just eaten a large plate of the beef with some rice and been more than happy. I can't quite find a course within the traditional kaiseki meal that fits the beef so I think we were probably winging it a bit. The next course of tamago and snow peas was a delicate end to the savoury part of the meal.

\

Sake very much....

The Mizumono conclusion to the meal was  an orange sorbet acting as an effective palate cleanser.

The ryokan was also the location of our first taste of sake during the trip. I had tried sake in England but only ever had it served hot which I didn't like and rather short sightedly it had put me off. I don't know why it had never occurred to me just how varied sake can be, after all if wine can be broad in its styles and appeal then there is no reason why sake can't be either. This one had a very delicate, slightly sweet flavour and was served ice cold.

Although after a relaxing onsen and slow paced dinner it is very tempting to retire for the night in a happy glow, but if you visit Miyajima please, please do make the effort to drag yourself back outside and go for a walk at night. The knee high stone lanterns along the sea front are lit and provide the only light by which to navigate the island as by nightfall all the shops are shut and boarded up for the night. A quiet peace falls broken only by the wind whispering through the lanes. The entire island is a very different place to the brightly lit, gaudy rows thronging with crowds souvenir hunting during the day. 

Personally I couldn't go to Japan and do an entire trip purely of ryokan stays. Whatever any die hard purists will tell you to the contrary, tatami mats are not comfortable and despite layering up the mats a la princess and the pea, it is still not a good night's sleep.  Doing everything at floor level is also kind of touch on the knees. I hate old that makes me sound and feel but sadly its true! It's a great experience and lots of fun to dress up in a yukata etc but you do find yourself thinking about mattresses and duvets in a much more obsessed and yearning way than seems entirely right. 

Ryoso Kawaguchi

739-0500 469 Miyajima-cho Saeki-gun,

Osaka. Or a tale of Katsu, Crab, Sumo and Korean BBQ

Its no secret that Japan is now the most Michelin starred country in the world outstripping the French by some margin. Although Michelin have managed to gain entry through the secretive doors of many of these eateries the fact remains that for non Japanese speakers access to many remains nigh on impossible. Perhaps we hadn't really researched Osaka enough compared to other cities but this is how it felt to us, either you stick to the main neon thrust of Dotonbori or doors remain rather closed. 

In order not to completely break the bank we therefore opted to save our Michelin starred restaurant outings for Kyoto and Tokyo a decision which, whilst I am sure is doing other cities such as Osaka and Hiroshima a culinary disservice, seemed wise if we were to even remotely avoid the wrath of the bank manager. We therefore chose to use other cities to explore the panopoly of types of Japanese dish and styles of cuisine on offer.

Every guidebook will tell you to go to the Snow Crab restaurant on Dotonbori in Osaka. How do you know which restaurant it is? Easy! There's a massive great crab attached to the outside. I love crab, especially the inordinately sweet meat of giant snow crab legs and it was something we hadn't eaten so far so we thought we'd give it a go. Like many tourist friendly locations in Japan the window of the restaurant had plastic reincarnations of the foods contained in the dish which were pretty much essential if you wanted to know what you would be eating. We homed in on a fixed price deal with a range of crab dishes included and went on in. We sat down in an almost empty but pretty restaurant overlooking the river and were handed menus. Completely different menus to the ones displayed outside. Menus that were VERY different in both price and content so we walked straight out again.  This was the only time that we felt ripped off or treated like idiot tourists in Japan so I'm happy to say that this kind of incident was very much in the minority. The same company has a restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo also and is renowned so perhaps this was a one off. 

By this time tummies were rumbling and I might have been becoming a little hangry so the race was on to find food and fast.. We selected what turned out to be a Korean style barbecue also located on the main Dotonburi stretch. Dark as can be inside and boiling hot, it crossed my mind we had wandered inadvertently into the depths of hell but we left wondering how we had lived without Korean barbecue.

Our neighbours were Osaka locals and after thinly veiled amusement at our puzzled faces explained how the menu and cooking process worked and were particularly helpful when the flames got a bit too high endangering eyebrows (solution:sling ice cubes on quick).  We ordered various plates of different cuts of beef, pork loin, streaky bacon and even some vegetables. Its hot, its messy and you will leave reeking of charcoal smoke and cooking fat but its utterly delicious.

SUMOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Our entire three week itinerary had been carefully designed around a major sumo championship in Osaka. I'd always assumed that sumo would be a regular occurrence throughout Japan however this is not the case. There are only six major tournaments each year. Although the day starts at 8.30am we had been advised not to arrive before lunchtime which turned out to be a very good tip as the locals didn't show up until at least 3pm. As we entered the building we were given the foreigner's basic guide to sumo and its rules which was invaluable as frankly it would have just been a  bunch of fat blokes staggering around otherwise.

Throwing the salt

I shan't pretend to remember the intricacies of Sumo rules and tradition other than to say that if you're ever in Japan it's a sight worth seeing and a good day out. It is highly tactical and involves a lot of mind play trying to psych out your opposition. What also became clear was that it wasn't necessarily the biggest sumo that won, on occasion a much smaller man would come up to compete against some monolith of a man and win. The most expensive tickets are the ones down by the matting, with only cushions to sit or recline on.

I had been hoping to find some interesting street food offerings inside the Sumo stadium but had to make do with some prawn crisps and a can of chilled Asahi, such is life!

The last fight of the day was clearly eagerly anticipated by all as the noise as the sumos approached the mat was thunderous. After much posturing and thigh slapping battle commenced. A couple of short minutes later and the champion had been vanquished, ousted from the ring by his underdog opponent. Padded seating mats from around the stadium were thrown up in the air like hats on graduation day leading to chaos. In true Japanese style though, order was quickly resumed as the audience were marshalled outside into the pouring rain bang on 6pm (got to love Japanese punctuality).

We took shelter in what quickly became the best katsu curry restaurant of the entire trip located right opposite the stadium. This was also my first experience of meal ticket vending machines where you have to pay at a ticket machine reminiscent of a car park machine in the UK and a meal ticket is dispensed which you hand to the chef. No money changes hands making the whole process very streamlined. This truly is fast food Japanese style.  I love katsu. I am now well aware that admitting this is the Japanese equivalent of confirming out loud that you're a big fan of Kentucky Fried Chicken but that is the way it is. The gentle curry sauce is unlike anything you will find elsewhere. It has no recognisable spices in it and is, effectively, brown gloop. But combine it with succulent pork escalope, dipped in panko breadcrumbs and flash fried before being placed on a bed of fluffy rice and you have Japanese fast food heaven.

My Japanese is sadly lacking but I'm pretty confident
that this sign meant "watch out, its spicy!"

Travel: Kamakura, Japan

Kamakura is less than an hour's train journey outside Tokyo (50km SW) and well worth a day trip (easily doable in a day). Catch the train from Tokyo station near Ginza and you're good to go. It may seem like a sleepy little town but it is riddled with a high density of some of the most beautiful shrines and temples in Japan. This is all because for nearly 200 years in the 12th and 13th centuries Kamakura was the political capital and heartland of Japan. 

I recommend getting off the train one station early at Kitakamakura where you can find two of the "Five Zen Temples" of Kamakura including Engaku-ji and Kencho-ji. Also worth a visit is Shoreiin which is a bit less touristy but just as lovely as the main ones. Engaku-ji dates back to 1282 and these days has a very good tea shop at the top run by monks. You can then just hop back on the train for the last remaining stop when you are done.

Once you get to Kamakura town jump on the smaller scenic train (you can't use a Japan Rail pass for this but its only a couple of pounds) and this will take you to the Giant Buddha.  

The giant buddha used to be housed in a hangar like shelter however during a storm some years ago the shelter was destroyed and the Buddha has happily sat outside ever since being brought flowers and fruit like an ageing relative. 

After the bright lights and 24 hour hustle and bustle of Tokyo it is nice to take a day to wander around a peaceful town where - other than the tourists- little seems to have changed. Incense wafts through the air as monks chant and distant bells toll calling their acolytes to prayer. You could be in an all together different world. 

The traditional Japanese version of the beer mat flipping game - honest....

Its not just all about the temples, Kamakura is on the coast and has some great beaches and also good seafood restaurants although having spent the morning at Tsukiji fish market we were all fished out for the day. 

oh and there's ice cream too...

There are a couple of street stalls in Kamakura and around the station selling various local specialities that are worth checking out (including some odd looking pigeon shaped biscuits!).  Granted they don't look great in the picture and "golden fried meat cake" isn't the most appetising description I've ever heard but I promise they are delicious, something a little like a Dutch bitterballen in various flavours.