Kyoto's sweet treats

Kyoto eats (sweet treats)

For Japan and Kyoto in particular, it is really helpful to have the names of the shops you’re looking for written down in Japanese, as a lot of signboards do not have English words!  Better still is to have photographs of the storefronts, so that you can show them to friendly passers-by who will help you locate the stores.

1.     Kyo Kinana (京きなな)

This shop is located just off Hanami-koji, which is probably Gion’s most famous street. 

Kinana serves six traditional Japanese flavours: kinako (roast soybean flour), azuki (sweet red bean), kurogoma (black sesame), kuromitsu (black sugar syrup), maccha (powdered green tea) and yomogi (mugwort).  When I was there, they were serving up a white chocolate too.

Every order for dining in is accompanied by a pot of houjicha.

They are most famous for their dekitate ice cream (600¥), which is freshly made ice cream (not frozen).  To order this, you’ll have to get a seat on the second floor, as they don’t offer this for takeaways.  

  

Such deliciousness deserves an extreme close-up!

The dekitate ice cream is usually kinako, but they occasionally do other flavours too.  When I checked, I was told that the chefs usually just decide what flavor to make each morning haha.  I tried to persuade the chef to do a maccha and he agreed to do it in two days, but when I went back the queue was devastatingly long so I had to skip it sadly.  The first two times I went, I’d nipped in near closing time and there weren’t any queues, but on the third day I’d gone in the afternoon and the queue was snaking!

I also tried their three flavour ice cream combination (800¥).  In addition to these, they also had some delicious looking parfaits (1100¥).

I had read that the chestnut autumn parfait (1300¥) in particular was amazing, but there are only 20 of these available each day (and surprisingly, it only makes an appearance on the Japanese and not the English menu), and I was too late to get one! Ah well, there is always next time.  This is a seasonal delights, and arrives only in autumn.

Photo from the Kinana website.

Kinana also stocks some food souvenirs (including, kinako candy, milk jam and biscotti) that you can buy home.

Hours: 11am – 7pm (6:30 pm last order)

English menu: Yes (but less extensive than the Japanese menu)

Service: Excellent! Some staff speak good English too.

Address: Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Gion-machi Minami-gawa 570-119 (京都市東山区祇園町南側570-119)

Telephone: +81 75-525-8300

Website: http://www.kyo-kinana.com/index.htm (Japanese)

Directions: Turn into Hanami-koji (the traditional/ touristy side) from Shijo-dori.

• Turn right at the second alley (after the post box) into Hatsune-koji. You'll see this sign on the floor, 

• Next, turn left into a narrow lane (you will walk past Oku Café). 
• Walk for a little while and then you'll see Kinana! 

This is what the shopfront looks like! 

The first time I was there I did a desperate search for 'Kinana' in English script. There was none, obvs. I actually kind of like it that the area preserves its tradition by its adherence to language. 

2.     Kagizen Yoshifusa (鍵善

Also located in Gion, Kagizen Yoshifusa has continued making sweets since the mid-Edo period.

I had the Kagizen signature dish: Kuzukiri (900¥) 

 These beautiful photos are from Kagizen's website. 

My attempts at phototaking didn't quite make the cut, as the translucent noodles don't quite show up well on my puny camera. 

Kuzukiri consists of translucent noodles made from kudzu (Japanese arrowroot) and a dipping sauce of kuromitsu (black sugar syrup).  The dish is made fresh, after each order is placed.  You can think of this as a kind of sweet version of dipping soba.  My cousin and I agreed that the dish was “interesting”.  I guess we weren’t much used to it, but I am glad to have tried it.

Guests at Kagizen are also served houjicha. 

Hours: Tue to Sun: 9am – 6pm

English menu: Yes

Address: 264 Gion machi Kita gawa Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

Telephone: +81 75-561-1818

Website: http://www.kagizen.co.jp/en/about/concept/ (English)

Directions: Intersection of Hanami-koji] and Shijo-dori (across from the entrance into the traditional/touristy side)

3.     Soft serve ice cream

There are LOADS of stalls serving up soft serve ice cream, so you’ll never have to walk too far to find it.  I found that a good gauge for proximity to tourist attractions was to see how many soft serve shops there are along the street haha.  At the super touristy streets every third shop will entice you with the chubby ice cream cones.

4.     Sweet treats from little stalls along the road

yakimochi (grilled mochi)

http://faimouioui.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/yakimochi-gion-kyoto-japan/

Apart from these, some useful websites:

1.      http://kyotofoodie.com

http://kyotofoodie.com/wagashi-sentaro-rice-flour-kasutera-soba-and-wheat-manju/