Kyushu Bike Adventure 15 – Miyazaki

Kyushu Bike Adventure 15 – Miyazaki

Last night, a total stranger paid for my Miyazaki beef yakiniku. The priciest, most melt in your mouth, most completely delicious meal of the entire Kiushu trip. I like to think of myself as a generous stranger, but this this was next level. Amazing. And don’t worry, there’s plenty more awesome food to come. But that Miyazaki beef, it’s going to be hard to top. [Music] Today, I’ve got the entire day in Miyazaki City. And it’s a planned rest day, which is kind of lucky cuz it’s another total wash out like that soggy wet to my bones beep to ride. Just this time, no riding. Instead, I’ll spend the morning exploring Miyazaki’s covered shopping streets, including this immag stuffed with red bean paste. And the kitchen, it’s on full view. Let’s call that breakfast. [Music] Also, I’m poking around department stores just to stay out of the rain. Basement level, of course, cuz that’s where the food’s at. A5 Miyazaki beef, sushi, and sushimi, and fruit so pricey that you’d be crazy to eat it. As the rain eases, I trek up to Miyazaki Jingu with its stunning lantern lined boulevard. So sublime. The mountain gate stands tall and imposing, its banners dancing in the wind. Inside is a temple proper, a tall wooden structure and no one to be seen. I spend some hours exploring this calm, serene forest sanctuary in the heart of the city. A temple inside a forest inside a city. Japan travel on a foldy is a real game changer if you do it right. For example, you got to pack light as in 5 kg light plus the drone. And this is it. Two shirts, two shorts, rain jacket, ultra light down jacket. That’s all in the blue packing cube. Everything else you can see. When I started out, I didn’t take my drone, but I regretted it pretty quickly. Missed some awesome footage, especially in Nagasaki. Sorry about that. My backpack’s completely stuffed. Packed and unpacked daily. Lightest I’ve ever traveled and highly recommended. The night sets in and the rain abates. So I take to the streets looking for a good time. The money I saved last night, I’m going to blow tonight on a 9 course kiiseki mill. It’s got to be done. Saka. So my last night here in Miyazaki and I’ve come to a Kaisei restaurant and it specializes in Miyazaki food. So, happy days. Right now, this is also pushing the boat out a bit. Not so cheap, but the yakiniku meal from last night, which was supposed to be the most expensive meal of the whole trip, I got paid by a stranger, would you believe? Yep. A guy at the restaurant, um, he just spoke to me as I was going to pay my bill. Just made a bit of small talk with me. We had a bit of a chat and then he just said, “Put your money away.” And he just covered my bill. Unbelievable. So, Kiaseki restaurant, you’re supposed to be dressed up for them, but I have my bike shorts on and one of my only two shirts that I have with me, so apologies for that. So, here we have this. This is some kind of fish entree. There’s going to be a lot of courses coming, so I should talk less and eat more, I think. Really yum. Vinegared. Has that kind of vinegared namban flavor. Actually, the waitress did mention namban, and I’m like, chicken? And she’s like, “No, no fish.” Doesn’t have the tarte sauce of the chicken namb, but it has the vinegared toing. It looks like it’s been battered and deep fried. Really delicious flavor with that vinegar. What do you think? Doesn’t look delicious, but it really tastes very nice. And of course, vinegar with fish. Well, that’s always going to be a winner. Super good. Little naman fishies. Didn’t know they existed. All right, next course. Check out this. It’s bamboo shoot. Now, kaiseki, of course, is seasonal regional cuisine. So, if you go to a kieki restaurant in Japan, that’s what you can expect. And this looks a lot like steamed bamboo shoot. So, I’ve got some salt and I’ve got this sauce to dip it in. So, let’s try. Very nice. Very fibrous. Yeah, I feel like a real panda bear at the moment. Does have salt as well. So, we’ll try with some of that. I love it. Just tastes so fresh, regional, seasonal, delicious. You know, in Australia, it would be so strange to get a bamboo shoot just served up on your plate. But in Japan, just feels feels like it’s supposed to be. So, let’s try this sauce. The sauce is a tarte. You got to ch you got to work for it. It’s al dente. Reminds me a bit of eating like a fresh artich choke. You know where you got the edible bits and then the tough bits that you can’t chew through. Same thing’s happening here. Really lovely dish. Now to the sashimi. On the menu it says the first bonito ketchup of the day which looks a lot like this. Now I’ve had this in the Miyazaki restaurant in Tokyo. So, we’ll dip it in this soy. Really fresh, really lightly pickled on the outside as well. Nice flavor. Clean flavor. I always describe the sushimi as clean, don’t I? So, here’s piece number two. Now, the menu is quite vague. It said two other bits of white fish, which I can confirm, but as to what this white fish is, I would only be guessing and probably guessing wrong. So, I’ll just eat it instead of guessing. Another white fish. These courses are going to start coming thick and fast, so better get cracking with this. Super clean. This one’s a little bit more buttery. It’s got a richer kind of flavor. It’s actually really delicious. And loving the bonito as well with the pickling and a clear soup on the side. So, it just seems like a very clear broth. Looks like some noodles in there and something else. I can’t quite tell. Looks like some freshlymade noodles there. And what is that? Actually tastes like the noodle, I believe. Let’s try. Really not a lot to this. Really like dashy broth with a hint of citrus. Some fresh noodles. Simple as that. All right. So, the courses keep coming thick and fast. And have a look at this. I think you know what it is. It’s Miyazaki beef. So, it’s loin grilled in soy sauce and it says A4 or higher. How is it cooked? Probably medium, I would say. Has salt on the side. It’s got wasabi. We’ve got this paste that I’m trying to wrap my head around. So, it’s already got soy sauce, so maybe it doesn’t need much salt, but let’s just try. My god, that is that is so good that I know I’ve said this before, but the reason behind coming to Miyazaki was eating the Miyazaki beef. So, last night I was thinking, is that the best beef I’ve ever eaten? And I think it might have been, but I think it’s it held its title for maybe a day cuz I feel like this might even be better. Cut up with some wasabi and some mystery paste on top. Notice there’s some barley or something like that. There’s a grain in the paste. [Music] So the question is, is it crazy to come all the way to Miyazaki just to eat the beef? And the answer is obviously no. It’s not crazy. It’s crazy not to. So I’ve made the sensible decision here cuz that is worth every pedal and every penny that I put into this trip. So the consensus is it’s bloody good. Now I’m eating this just with the salt. I think that’s how I like it the most. M. If you’re a real foodie, but you don’t have the money to come to places like this, you can still come here, go to the supermarkets, get A5, premium A5 Miyazaki beef for a fraction of the cost, and you can cook it at home. You know, you can just enjoy this wonderful, wonderful beef. Okay, next up is satsumag, which is effectively it’s fish cake. So, pounded fish then made into little cakes and then deep fried soy and ginger on the side. Premium fish cake. It’s actually a very simple kind of dish, but there’s no fishiness about it, you know? It’s just clean and easy to eat. The satsumag. So, dripping in oil from the deep frying do. So, yeah, really springy fishcake. Got this very interesting dish. It’s in a really thick dashy broth, dashy soy broth, and it has a little bit of tempura on top, some daon, and then this bowl of mochi. It’s like stuffed mochi made with mugw wart. Oh, it’s just breaking apart. So, inside it’s got shiitake and prawns and radish and oh yum. Absolutely dectable. That mochi is just breaking apart. That dashy broth is so thick and the texture of the mochi, it’s just that kind of glutenous gelatinous rice. I can see a bit of prawn in there. You know, funnily enough, even though it looks nothing like it, kind of gives me zong vibes in terms of flavor. Normally the zongzi the stock will just go through that rice from the inside. Whereas this the stock is of course on the outside and the rice has been pounded into the mochi and it’s been stuffed with all of those flavors. So it does have some zongzi and it’s a bit of a stretch but it’s where I’m going and that’s where the flavors are taking me. Really seriously awesome dish here. And so now to the rice dish. And this is hiairu, which is like a cold miso soup. You pour it over the warm rice. There’s some pickles on the side. So I’ve not had anything like this before. The waitress tells me that as summer comes rolling around, they eat this a lot in this region. So let’s try. First flavor I get is like a nutty sesame seed. It’s also got some grain. It’s not just rice, but it’s got some other grains in here. maybe barley. And the rice has a certain quality as well. I wonder if it’s a different type of rice that they’ve used here. So, it’s got cucumber, it’s got tofu, it’s got various pickles and some seaweed, some bonito flakes in there. Nice cooling rice dish. And it really hits the spot. It reminds me a little bit of the Korean cold noodles they love over there in the summer. I guess it’s not quite that cold cuz it doesn’t have ice, but a similar vibe. And because it’s the rice dish, they always serve that last, which means dessert must be next. So, finishing off with this kind of mango pudding. Nice and light. Let’s try it. M. Super sweet, full of flavor. So, it’s like a soft jelly mango. Yum. Very impressed with this place. Lots of new flavors. Got some green tea as well to finish it off. And yeah, happy days. So, next I’ll be in Kagashima, sufficiently rested and fed and ready for the final push. Next episode, I’ll be hitting the stunning Kagashima with another sublime coastal route into town. Then, straight on a ferry to circumn the volcanic island of Sakurajima. Later, I’ll be indulging in some delicious tonkatsu, kagashima, black pork. Good times are ahead, people, so give it a smash and be sure to follow along. [Music]

Flying from Jakarta Indonesia to Fukuoka Japan for a bicycle tour on a Brompton folding bike. Expect to see Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto and plenty of towns in between. I ride, I eat, I ride, I eat, I rinse, I repeat. 18 episodes. Ramen, gyoza, onigiri, miso black cod, Imari beef, Takuro rice, kushiyaki, sashimi, combini, okonomiyaki, sushi, yakitori, yakiniku, tonkatsu, tonkotsu, tempura, soba, udon, matsunabe, sake, keiseki, not gonna lie, I do a lotta eating.

Summer:

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