Also, I did some research about the cheese mentioned. Turns out, it’s Livarot cheese - Wikipedia from Normandy (north France). I’m not familiar with this cheese but now my curiosity is piqued. If only imported cheeses are not so expensive here in Singapore…
1 Like
Good job!
I had meant to look up what it was, but simply forgot. Looks yummy! 
It’s true though that smell makes many people stay away from certain foods. I’m not particularly good with it either, then again, I have some tolerance after being forced to endure surströmming growing up. 
It’s just not a preference. Too smelly cheese can also get off-putting, tbh. 
1 Like
Episode 80 thoughts
Nothing is as scary as an angry old woman with a grudge! She’s dead-set on hating her son’s guts it seems, which is a very sad position to take tbh. I don’t get the idea of blaming someone’s death on someone else, as she does either, that’s akin to superstition. I’ve seen this type of reasoning in other anime and manga, so I guess, it’s a logic that appeals to a Japanese audience? 
I had to look up what this Mountain potato is about. Yamaimo or nagaimo seems to be used interchangeably.
I wonder what it tastes like? 
Episode 78: 究極のメニューVS至高のメニュー and Episode 79: 究極VS至高 黄身の実力
This is a two-parter, so it doesn’t make sense to discuss the episode separately.
A rival newspaper introduces “Supreme Menu” to rival Tozai News’ “Ultimate Menu”. The “Supreme Menu” will be headed by Kaibara Yuuzan. Yamaoka serves a lightly heated egg that is eaten with truffle sauce. However Kaibara Yuuzan’s Egg Misozuke is declared to be better. Toyama says that the competition is unfair because Kaibara Yuuzan uses superior ingredients. They meet again several days later, with Yamaoka serving his dish, only this time using Kaibara Yuuzan’s excellent eggs. This time, the result is a tie.
Now if you think that this is bullcrap, don’t worry. Oishinbo writers also know that their story is a dud. Therefore, they offer an epilogue where Kurita teases Yamaoka, saying he really lost because he was granted a mulligan.
Everything good, right? Right? We wrote a story that could have been told in one episode, stretched every explanation into a 10-minute monologue, allowed the hero to cheat, and then acknowledged that he cheated. Oishinbo writers, do a better job, will ya?
1 Like
Harsh but fair.
I was focusing more on the part of Kaibara using the first ever layed egg by hens in my comment about the episodes. I had to do a bit of research, but yeah, I did think the reasoning Kaibara used for using those eggs interesting.
1 Like
Yeah, I don’t know if this is related but there is indeed a 2-star Michelin restaurant in Basel called Stucki
About the egg, thanks for the link to “fairy eggs”. How did you know, do you keep chicken?
I’m also not a big fan of runny egg whites. Reminds me of that sequence in Rocky where Stallone drinks raw eggs before jogging.
1 Like
Thanks for finding info about that Michelin starred restaurant. I keep thinking they’re referensing real restaurants in this show, though I don’t recognize them myself.
I have relatives that used to keep chicken. Growing up, I’d help them pick the eggs during summer visits. 
They were really small scale, nothing like the egg farms of today. But, you learn a thing about about chicken for sure.
1 Like
Episode 81 潮風の贈り thoughts
The little brother of Okaboshi is having love-troubles.
Well, there’s quite a lot going on with that love drama, but long story short, the girl ends up in a hospital bed refusing food and Ryouzou trying very hard to get her to eat anything.
In the end, Kurita and Yamaoka get involved and travel to her hometown. There they try to gather local ingredients for something that might spark some interest. After shopping, they happen upon two young kids gathering nori from the rocks. And so they help out and make their own nori sheets.
This turns out being a great thing as it’s something that finally breaks through the apathy affecting Ryouzou’s love interest - the smell of nori sheets being heated over a hibachi style grill.
I was not aware of this being a cooking method for nori. I guess I should try it sometime?
Episode 82 究極VS至高 生きている米 thoughts
It’s another duel,now with Yamaoka setting the battle ingredient: vegetables.
I think this is rather telling, it’s not vegetarian food, it’s vegetables.
Reminds me of the episode with the curry restaurant, trying to find a unique, original Japanese style curry to serve, with a judgemental father-in-law hanging over him. There was some vegetable-centric dishes + tofu, if I remember right, but bone marrow curry was the winning concept in the end I think.
Well, the upcoming competition is only one part of the story, we also get an update on the relationship between Tabata and Mr. photographer, now as they’re having his mother over for dinner for the first time. Tabata being very nervous about serving her own food, asks for Yamaoka, Kurita and Noriko to come too. Sadly, the rice ends up a disaster…
because of mold? 
Store your rice properly!
The old woman speaks this very hard to understand dialect. I wonder where it’s from?
I also wonder about the 山葡萄 やまぶどう crimson glory vine beverage. Is it alcoholic or just like “lemonade” or “saft” (was my personal thought, I think it’s squash in English?). Apparently you can make wine of it. (thought the sites I checked out was in Chinese, so maybe it’s not popular in Japan?).
New vocab: 蕪 ~ かぶ ~ turnip.
Turns out this vegetable has loads of alternative readings and kanji combos going on. Another case were I get why they prefer kana.
蕪 【かぶら】、蕪 【かぶな】、蕪菁 【かぶ】、蕪菁 【かぶら】、蕪菁 【かぶな】、蕪菜 【かぶらな】、カブ、カブラ
Episode 83 thoughts
In last episode, Kaibara won fare and square. And I’m sure Yamaoka would have been beaten on Masterchef as well; when you’re supposed to honor a specific ingredient, you can’t really rely on a different major ingredient as the foil, as it will become the main aspect of the dish - which is what happened here. Fugu shirako might be delicious, but isn’t really the best way to make cabbage sing. whereas Kaibaras cabbage hearts with tomato sauce, truly was a celebration of cabbage.
But, Yamaoka is in for the revenge in round two, focusing on turnips.
I must say I don’t really have much experience of eating turnip. I know they’re sold in the store, but I have absolutely no idea, what I’d make with one.
Mini poll: Have you’ve eaten turnip?
- Yes, in my own cooking
- Yes, at a restaurant
- Nope, never had it
- Turnips are not sold in stores/served in restaurants here
0 voters
Also, obligatory Black Adder gif!
I think the culture around gourmets and taste is rather bizarre: in a room full of people that like a dish, only one person’s opinion is deemed “correct”. 
This worship of a single person, because they’re assumed a genius, is something I’ll never get.
Kaibara’s food ideals is a kind of perfectionistic thinking: it’s not searching for great food, but for an ideal, an abstract concept or theory about the ultimate dish.
There is no such thing, nor is that something that’s meaningful to strive toward imo.
And it has little to do with the realities of actual cooking.
Even in Micheline star restaurants which take great care in replicating the same standards in all dishes served, there are bound to be subtle difference from dish to dish. That’s real cooking and it doesn’t take away from something being delicious or not.
Well, I guess, the search for the ultimate or supreme menu makes for a good battling concept though. ^>^
Oops, I forgot to post this week. We’ve been having Chinese New Year and my schedule is a bit off. Will rectify!
1 Like
Episode 84 thoughts
Finally, these Japanese foodies have encountered a fish they don’t immediately wanna eat.
Well, gobys aren’t necessarily good-looking fishies, so that’s understandable.
Found a Wiki page devoted to gori-cuisine.
I notice there are many ways to write the fish’s name, but on Jisho these other fish names doesn’t seem to be read as ゴリ on their own. Though they’re included in “gori ryouri” (鰍料理、杜父魚料理、鮖料理、ゴリりょうり)
鮴 - ごり - Japanese fluvial sculpin; freshwater goby
鰍 - かじか - sculpin; Japanese fluvial sculpin
杜父魚 - かじか/ かくぶつ/とふぎょ - fourspine sculpin
鮖 isn’t even a word on its own, but has a kun’yomi of かじか.
Anyway, in this episode police inspector Nakamatsu makes a comeback. We also get to know a unibrown chef fixated on getting people to eat freshwater gobys. 
I do wonder about the logic of indebtedness we see here. Someone has learnt his trade at a restaurant and has now opened up his own business…turns out they’re in trouble, so he’s supposed to accept closing up his own restaurant, to go save someone else’s (face)? How about just putting out an ad for an open position like sensible people. 
New vocab: ブ男 - ぶおとこ - ugly man
1 Like
Episode 85 下町の温もり thoughts
Nakamatsu is still around, introducing Yamaoka and Kurita to another favorite restaurant of his.
In this episode, we get acquainted with a new chef who does simple cooking well.
Question: what is the first dish in the pot, nikogarashi? Karashi as in mustard? But I can’t get any search hits on niko/niku/nikko etc.-garashi. I don’t get search hits on zakkake either, though Yamaoka explains the concept in a way that I think of “soulfood”, though Japanese: simple, rich, heartwarming dishes.
Well, this chef is also a fan of pop music, or rather a specific singer, which this episode is about. I just can’t get over the animation quality when we get to hear the song on tv. Also, this girl really should try to date someone her own age at least once in her life
I’m also having trouble figuring out the name of the chef’s famous dish, fukananabe?? Basically, konbu-broth with miso, shijimi clams and spring onion. Simple heartwarming food that looks yum! But, I get no search hits, so I’ve clearly got the name wrong. 
On my hunt for this nabe dish I found this article listing types of Japanese 鍋物.
Episode 86 - 家族の食卓 - thoughts
Nostalgic old-school computer laptop! ^^ Me likey!
Also, is the young girl they try to save saying she wanted to become a delinquent?? Guretou, as in the way of the delinquent??
愚連隊 & gureru - Jisho.org
I’m confused as to Ohara’s involvement, at the event. What were the parents awarded for?
I really spaced out too much watching this episode. ^^;
Sundays mornings watching Oishinbo is my weekly treat. 
Episode 87 starts off showing Yamaoka in an even worse light than usual: he’s deeply in depth. 
Well, Kurita has a stipulation for giving him a hand with this money troubles. (helping out at an orphanage)
This episode is another time document in many ways, such as when the teacher says there are only women working with the kids, so they get really excited when a guy shows up. I don’t remember anything but women in preschool as well, but I know this has changed over the past 40 years, though it’s clearly still a female dominated occupation. I wonder how things have changed in Japan?
(I know this is about an orphanage, but still)
btw, looking up orphanage on Jisho got me several search hits, i wonder about their differences/nuances in meaning?
孤児院 こじいん orphanage
育児院 いくじいん orphanage; nursery school
児童養護施設 じどうようごしせつ orphanage; children’s home; foster home
養護施設 ようごしせつ children’s home; child care institution; orphanage
Also, I doubt the suitability of these two women running the orphanage. Not only have they not secured a new location to move to, they also have this serious talk about the children being split up in front of them making them all inconsolable! Well, I guess manga-storytelling is all about suspense-of-belief.
In any case, Yamaoka decides to do something about things and so Itayama, the Ginza grocery supermarket owner, makes a re-appearance. It’s pretty amazing that no matter what scenes Yamaoka creates, he’s still able to pull favors out of rich people whenever.
Yamaoka pickled
Anyway, as usual, Yamaoka gets into an argument about food with the new owner of the house where the orphanage is located, at his hotel. it’s clear they’re serving frog legs, but the word used is a bit off. Looking up frog legs on wikipedia though, shows the Chinese word for it: tiánjī tuǐ so maybe that’s what Yamaoka says? (sounds like dechi) Edit: or is it actually “field frog” he’s saying: so the on’yomi of 田 デン + (frog/leg??). - apparently frog legs is also known as field chicken in Chinese.
In any case, they’re not serving smol froggies but bullfrog, and that’s apparently wrong by Yamaoka. Though, Wikipedia says they farm bullfrogs in China, so they’re certainly edible…
It also turns out Yamaoka knows better deep-fried meet than frog. And so another food battle is on! 
[/spoiler] One of these days, his gambling habits will be the end of him. ^^; (and yeah, [spoiler]tiger fugu head is the more delicious karaage)
So I was getting ready to watch Oishinbo but the official YouTube channel seems to have removed most episodes. Any other way to watch it?
1 Like
Darn! Just why? :C
I’ve been googling around for streaming options and I did find some search hits in Japanese, but whether they’re accessible outside of Japan or not, I don’t know.
Amazon.co.jp streams Oishinbo here:
Then there’s this site that carries the series:
In neither case do they carry the full 136 episodes, but they stop at episode 121 for some reason.
At this stage, with it being just you and me watching, if you can’t find a way to watch the show, that’s pretty much it for this anime club. 
1 Like
I have Amazon Primr jp
But some of the episodes are missing
2 Likes
How about we pause the watch schedule again for a while, to see if you can find a way to watch the series, @plantron? And for @Nemuitanuki to catch up a bit?
Let me know what you think or if you have other ideas. ^^
2 Likes