Weekend cooking: Three Japanese books set in cafes/restaurants

I now have a number of Japanese foodie related series on the go, and today I am sharing about three of them. For the most part, I find them to be very easy, smooth reads which is perfect when you are looking for a book to get lost in.

The Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai (translated by Jesse Kirkwood)

Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai is the third book in the Kamogawa Detective Agency series which is a series that I really enjoy. So far there are 11 books published in Japan, and I am really hopeful that we will continue to see these books translated into English.

There is no doubt that this book fits a very common structure for lots of these cozyish books. In fact, all three of the books I am talking about today have the same characteristics with short stories where the  connection is that they feature the same main characters. Often, the story is about looking back to people who they miss.

 In Menu, as in the previous books in the series, we have a several individual characters who come looking for the small restaurant in Kyoto which is home to the Kamogawa restaurant and is also home to the detective agency. And lets not forget also home to the cat named Drowsy

In each story, the character is looking for a very particular taste that brings back memories of a particular time in their life. Food, like music, is definitely a key that can unlock memories of particular people or situations. They come to the cafe and share what details, if any, they remember of the dish and then former policeman turned chef Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter Koishi then try to track down the exact dish. Then the customer returns two weeks later to see if they have been able to recreate it correctly.

In this book the dishes that he needs to recreate include 

Kake soba

Curry and rice

Yakisoba

Gyoza 

Omurice

Croquettes

I like that the food is very accessible. It's not fancy, and some times it is the merest change of an ingredient that changes the dish from just the every day to something that the customer remembers so well!

There are a lot of lovely little details in each story. For example, one of the customers is the person who makes the special lacquerware that they use in the restaurant. Having been to Japan I now have a much better idea of what they are talking about, as we had some meals that were served in some beautiful little bowls

Even though this third book is more of the same as the previous two books, the stories still delight me! Bring on the fourth book.

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (translated by Jordan Taylor)

When we travel we like to collect Christmas decorations. When we were in Japan last year, we looked in quite a lot of the tourist shops and didn't find any Christmas decorations anywhere. I was aware from previous reading that a Japanese Christmas cake is basically a fluffy strawberry and cream cake and that lots of Japanese people like to have Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day but that was about it in terms of Christmas traditions, which isn't all that surprising given that the majority religion is Shinto. It was therefore a bit of a surprise to realise that this book is a Christmas book. 

This is the second book in the Full Moon Coffee Shop series which features giant talking cats, a magical cafe that generally only comes out on full moons and amazing sounding food and drinks. However, the magical cafe can also pop up anywhere in the week leading up to Christmas and this is when this book is set. 

This time the stories are also a more connected than they sometimes tend to be in these styles of books. Satomi works hard and long hours in an advertising agency in Tokyo. She is afraid that her boyfriend is going to propose and that he is going to expect her to move away from the sitter. Koyuki is a temp at the same agency. She does good work but never seems to be able to convert her temp work into a permanent role. The final main character is Junko, who is Satomi's sister in law. She has long been estranged from her parents, but when she gets a message to say her dad is dying, she takes her young daughter to meet him for the first time. 

For each woman, the encounters at the Full Moon Coffee Shop helps them to look at both their past and their present to understand what happiness might look like in the future.

I mentioned the fantastical sounding food. In this case there is a Cheese Fondue and Candy Apples, a New Moon Mont Blanc and Sparkler Iced Tea. Here is just part of the description of the tea:

"I have prepared this drink for you," he said placing a rather large glass in front of me. It was transparent and shaped like an ancient vase with no handles. Inside was tea, ice and a sparkler firing off bits of light. "It is Sparkler Ice Tea."

I brought my face close to the glass in astonishment, staring dubiously at the sparkler twinkling inside the liquid. How in the world does it work?

The master said, "Tea and memories are extracted like leaping sparks. It will be ready to drink when the sparks have scattered and the last fragment falls."

I read this one on a plane trip to Brisbane and it was the perfect way to pass the time.

This series currently has 6 books in the series. Once again, I will be looking for the next book in the series.

The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Cafe by Yuta Takahashi (translated by Cat Anderson)

The Chibineko Kitchen is in a small seaside village not too far from Tokyo. They specialise in kagezen, which are traditional meals offered in remembrance of loved ones. The twist here is that it is possible that, for the duration of the meal, you can have one last conversation with them, one last chance to tell them that you love them, and to say goodbye.

This book is the second book in the series, and once again we meet both Kai, the young man who runs the restaurant after taking over from his mother, and Kotoko, who was one of the people whose stories we read about in the first book. And then there is Chibi the calico cat.

There are four stories in the book

The first is about Nagi, a young woman who has been ill for most of her life. She has broken up with her boyfriend when he proposed to her because she thinks it would be unfair to marry her. Now, she has come to the restaurant to talk to her mother, who also died young.

Next, we meet a man named Keita who had basically shut himself in the apartment that he shared with him mother. When she dies, he takes on her job cleaning at the community aged care centre and begins to find a purpose.

The third story is about an older lady named Mitsuyo who feels isolated despite living at the aged care centre. She comes to the restaurant hoping to talk to her favourite singer. 

And finally, Kumagai, who is in the same theatre group as Kotoko, visits the restaurant to see his son

What makes this book a little different is that you not only get the stories, but you also get the recipes for the food. They include

Tofu no Misozuke (Miso-marinated tofu)

Buta Bara no Kara-age (Fried pork belly)

Iwashi no Kabayaki-don (Soy glazed sardines on rice)

Shime no Kare (Curry using leftover hotpot)

There are currently 10 books in this series in Japanese but this is only the second one to be translated into English. 

It is interesting that not only food and structure connects these stories. Cats also play a part in all three of these stories. The other connection is also that, even though some of these stories feature characters who have suffered great loss, particularly in Menu and Calico Cat, ultimately they are stories about finding hope and joy. 

I am sharing this post with the Japanese Literature Challenge, hosted by Dolce Bellezza, with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story, and the Books in Translation Challenge hosted at Introverted Reader. Best Wishes at the Full Moon Cafe also counts for the Speccy Fiction challenge hosted at Book'd Out.

Weekly meals

Saturday -  Baked chicken fried rice
Sunday - Curries, rice and roti
Monday - Chicken Stir Fry
Tuesday -Sausages in tomato sauce with mash potato
Wednesday - Homemade pizza
Thursday - Out for dinner
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page