寛永堂の黒豆茶 – Kan-eido’s Black Bean Tea

黒い食材は健康的と謳われていますからね、黒いお茶などいかがでしょう？寛永堂は京都三条の和菓子屋さんですが、東京の出店でもこれは買えます。黒豆の味わいが上品なお茶で、その上湯通しされた後の黒豆は食べてもおいしいです。140gの袋入りで400円、丹波の黒豆と明記されています。
僕はお茶飲みなので、台所には日本茶は煎茶・玄米茶・ほうじ茶・ハトムギ茶、紅茶はダージリン始め3-4種、他に中国茶やハーブ茶などが並んでいますが、最近のヒットは何と言ってもこれです。


How about really black tea? Some authorities say the food in black color is healthy. Kan’eido is a Japanese traditional confectionery based in Sanjo, Kyoto, but this can be bought is their branch shops in Tokyo, too.
The trace of black beans in the taste is a kind of sophistication, with the selected beans from Tamba, and you can eat them as they are steamed up in the pot after the tea. A pack of 140 grams costs 400 Yen.

ジゲ東中野店 - Jige Higashi-Nakano

僕の初舞台となった演奏会に来てくれた大学時代の友人たちと飲むことになって、東中野のJigeに行った。駅前北口のビル地下にある変哲のない小さな店だ。築地の本店にはランチにマグロのカマ焼きを食べによく行っていた。頼んでおいたマグロの中落ちが出てきて、皆大いに喜んだ。魚類は美味しいし、勘定も安いのでお薦めできる。


With my old friends of the university days who came to my first concert, we went to Higashi-Nakano to wine and dine. Jige is a humbly small pub in Japanese style in the underground of a building in front of the station’s north exit. Their main restaurant is in Tsukiji where I used to have lunch of grilled tuna cheeks. A “naka-ochi” (tuna-bones, available occasionally) was brought to the table, and everybody was very happy shoveling the meat between the bones by using a clamshell. Fish dishes are generally quite good and the bill is attractively cheap, so I can recommend this spot.