One thing as a tourist that allows you to see a experience a bit more about the culture of the place you’re visiting is by going to the markets. Each city tends to have their own distinct “feel” as it becomes more exposed to the world – Osaka’s Kuromon Ichiba Market have adapted to the influx of tourists whilst Naha’s Makishi Public Market still retains some of its tradition. Nishiki Market is about 4 centuries old and although tourists are abound in Kyoto – it still manages to resist and retains the strong historic “feel” of what the city stands for.
When you first arrive at the market, the first thing you’d notice is how crowded it is! Vendors are busy trying to appeal potential customers but surprisingly without being too aggressive.
Hungry from cherry blossom viewing, I wanted some food and came across the lovely vendor of fish cakes – spotting “Cheese” – It’s impossible to deny my appetite!
Next store that I found amusing was a mochi store which was selling Snoopy themed sweets – it was a little too crowded though so we decided to give it a miss.
Hungry for more, it was time for a little meat – and spotting a mountain of buns made my mouth water – so we bought one – the buns themselves were excellent – extremely soft and springy bun filled with just the right amount of meat – perfect!
If there is one type of food that Ms. Buddha cannot say no to, it is croquettes, and matched with Soy – it was a must buy – needless to say, Ms. Buddha was very pleased, especially the fact that they weren’t overly sweet either.
Next on the list was omelettes – and nothing satisfy me more than an excellently done Japanese omelette – and it was done in a way that it was firm on the edges yet still slightly runny on the inside 🙂
With our bellies slightly more filled, we roamed a bit more of the market and found a less crowded area to just explore – which typified what Kyoto stands for – not soon after – Ms. Buddha also managed to find the cheese tart that she loves so much in Hong Kong – the verdict – their quality control is top notch!
Oh and we also found this…
the omelettes at Nishiki are so tasty!
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