Wednesday, June 03, 2009

11/12/08: Day 13 in Japan Part III - Yokohama

I can't remember the last time I was in Yokohama, the city by the bay. Fortunately, my friend Yuka is from Yokohama, and she has agree to take me to the newly developed area as well as introducing me to a delicious dinner.
鎌倉育ちなのに、横浜で遊んだ記憶は無い。Yukaさんは横浜出身なので、案内してくれた。しかも、夜はあるレストランに紹介してくれると。

This is the area by the harbor, with decomissioned "Nihonmaru" Memorial Park backed by "Cosmo Clock 21" ferris wheel.
最近よくテレビでみる「横浜みなとみらい21」の夜景。日本丸メモリアル・パーク、コスモクロック21が綺麗。

What I thought was a random picture of a building turned out to be Yokohama Landmark Tower, which is the tallest building in Japan at 295.8 meters (approximately 970'). It is the 44th tallest building in the world.
適当に撮ったビルは、実は日本一高い超高層ビルの横浜ランドマークタワー。295.8メートルのビルは世界で第44位の高さ。

After walking around the bay area, we were ready for dinner. Yuka introduced me to Banri, the restaurant said to be the first to introduce Gyoza dumplings to Japan.
日中歩き回ったので、さすがにお腹が減ってきた。Yukaさんが紹介してくれたのが北京料理亭の萬里(ばんり)。萬里は日本で始めて餃子を売り出した店らしい。

Entry way.
入り口。

The famed fried dumplings.
噂の焼き餃子。

The skin was thin but chewy, with juicy fillings. Just what we needed!
皮は薄いけどもちもち感があり、具もジューシーで最高。

Of course, when you go to Chinese restaurant, you have to try Chinese saké. They are aged, with heavily oxidized flavor that I find less than pleasing.
中華料理亭では当然、紹興酒。基本的には、酸化した味が濃い紹興酒は好きではない。

But, Yuka introduced a great way to have Chinese saké, which is to warm it up first then serve it on the rocks. This method really rounds out the flavor to make it more drinkable.
でも、Yukaさんが飲むのにいい方法を教えてくれた。最初は燗にして雑味を飛ばし、ロックスで味をまろやかにする。意外と悪くは無かった。

As they serve over 100 different dishes, so we sampled a few dishes:
萬里では100種類上揃っているので、数品オーダーした: