Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan is absolute food porn. It’s full of vendors and food stalls that sell typical Japanese food, from the popular to the weird.
Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan is amazing. It’s full of vendors and food stalls that sell typical Japanese ingredients, especially those popular in Kyoto. Pickled vegetables, pickled fruits, fish, matcha, perfect fruit, weird octopus skewer thingies and delicious “street food” type food, is what you will find here. As with everything done in Japanese culture, these vendors do everything perfect. From the meticulous displays, to the quiet non arrogant manner in which they carefully stand over their creations, these people are proud.
With it being 95 degrees and 98 percent humidity outside, we were more than excited to walk through this covered market. We ate our way from stall to stall, fell in love with $40 olive oil soap, ordered sushi from a non-english menu and discovered that pickled plums are pretty good.
Pickled Vegetables
Kyoto Tsukemono, otherwise known as Pickled Vegetables, exemplify the idea of using simple ingredients to lock in the flavors of the season. The bright colors are also natural, as no artificial colorings are used. Some were good and some were sour!
Octopus
Weird octopus thingies are exactly how I described them. They are dark reddish/pinkish and from what I later found out, the heads are stuffed with a quail egg. You know to give them that really round look. We didn't try them, so if you do, let us know how they taste.
Matcha Everything!
We saw matcha everywhere and being used in so many different ways. Obviously my favorite was the Matcha Ice Cream. I quickly learned their is fake matcha ice cream(the nerve) and real delicious kinds. At Nishiki Market it was the real deal. It’s one of the first stalls, or the last, depending where you start and make sure you buy the “premium version.” If you don't know what matcha is, go into Starbucks and order a Matcha Green Tea Latte.
Shushi
With enough room for 6 people to eat at a time, this little sushi restaurant made us understand the difference between good sushi and orgasmic sushi. With expert hands and a sweet demeanor, the chef gave us a selection of his favorite pieces and they didn't disappoint. With a more vinegar taste then regular Nigiri, our Kyoto Nigiri selection was obviously fresh and made with such skill.
Only issue was, we had no idea what we were ordering as the menu was only in Japanese! Yes, ordering in Japan can have his challenges, but luckily using hand signals can get you pretty far.
Japanese Knives
This was one of those moments I really wish I could send something home. This beautiful shop was filled with the sharpest knives I have ever seen and watching the older man sharpen his knives made it seem more legit too