Thai Smiles Japanese Styles
This season in Japan is a wonderful time to rest in the atmosphere of autumn colors and the subtle scent of culture carried through time. It's a time to see the beautiful, small transformations of life everywhere you look, whether it's watching leaves fall onto the surface of the water or observing birds resting their wings before migrating. Listen to the gentle rustling of leaves, like the quiet laughter of the wind as it runs playfully through the forests. And touch the acorns, chestnuts, and mushrooms of all sizes hidden beneath the leaves.
The autumn wind in Japan brings more than just a change of season. It brings a gentle slowness that embraces all life with a warm caress. This wind touches the delicate cosmos flowers, causing their fragile stems to sway softly and smile at travelers who stop to rest their eyes. Most importantly, this cool wind brings the season's deliciousness—the flavor of fish storing fat for the winter, the sweet ripeness of fruit gathering sugar to face the cold, and the aroma of mushrooms emerging from the soil, ready to be simply grilled with butter without much preparation. We invite you to experience the simplicity in these meals, in a way that doesn't require you to be the best chef to enjoy these special moments.
Roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes fill the air with their warm, comforting scent, and the sight of a cozy fire at a street corner warms the heart. This is a scene filled with people waiting patiently for a hot sweet potato, or perhaps it's a quiet moment in a warm room, where you can lose yourself in music and the gentle work of peeling a dark brown chestnut to savor the sweet flavor of the small golden kernel. The image of those relaxing moments, with music, chestnut shells, and half a sweet potato, is one of a small autumn peace—a quiet joy that makes you want to rest a little longer and smile in that comfortable happiness.
This season is the time for aji, bonito, hamachi, salmon, and salmon roe (ikura). Aji caught in October are plentiful and of a perfect size. Catching aji during this time is easy and perfect for a family holiday activity. These fish are ideal for being coated in batter and fried into "ajifurai," to be eaten with various sauces. They are a dish that creates a smile and recalls good memories even during the most tiring moments.
The flavor of bonito, which has accumulated good fat, is particularly delicious and perfect for Katsuo no Tataki, allowing you to enjoy the soft, fatty fish with various fresh vegetables. The sashimi of salmon and hamachi during this season also has a perfect, soft richness, a result of the fat stored to prepare for winter. The salmon's fat is stored for its journey back to spawn, making the story on this dinner table not just about deliciousness, but about the journey of fish lives that pass stories on to the next generation, and the ecosystems of both people and animals that surround those journeys.
Whether this meal is warm rice filled with sweet chestnuts and seasonal mushrooms, topped with perfectly tender grilled unagi, or you choose to enjoy the sweet, rich, and delicious sanma that is at its best this season, we don't want you to forget the joy of salmon and ikura rice. This is the most delicious dish of the year, with its vibrant orange color brightening the dinner table. It waits for you to savor the salty burst of salmon roe, paired with the tender, fatty salmon, the sharp wasabi, and the fragrant shiso leaf.
Perhaps you would prefer a cozy evening enjoying a hot pot with sweet Chinese cabbage, rich salmon, and a soup that becomes even more deeply delicious with every one of your favorite ingredients you add.
After a satisfying meal, the happiness of the season doesn't fade easily. We invite you to try sweet, perfectly ripe persimmons, grapes, and apples that have held onto their sweetness throughout the season, tasting like honey. Chilled and eaten to end a meal, they will surely bring a simple and perfect autumn happiness in every smile.
Finally, if you wish to taste this delicious autumn without a long journey, or to bring the memory of that warm breeze back to your dining table without any obstacles of time or distance, we hope to be a part of that special moment by your side. We will be here to pass on the warmth of the autumn, the smiles in the meals, the stories of life's journeys across the sea, and the memories of a season we wish to share with another life.
We will always be here, waiting to create that smile for you.
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