Mysterious concoctions

Tonight we decided to explore a local bar with a happy hour. It's not just any bar. It's the sort of standing-up bar that the locals visit for a beer and snack at the end of the day.

It is easiest enough to order a beer (interestingly even though the entire menu is in Japanese, the word "beer" is written in Roman characters so we can always understand it). But we decided let's not play it safe tonight and we had spied this poster on the wall.

We have no idea what we were drinking, but it was delicious. Rich thinks it is the Japanese equivalent of sangria! Even better though, it was happy hour and so all of our drinks were half price even the random ones on the poster.  Score. 

We left our little bar and headed to a "Shaba-Suki" restaurant that Clare had read about. This is a bit like a "Chinese fondue", with "Shaba-Shaba" being where you cook in hot water and "Suki" being a delicious and sweet soy based liquid. We were each given 3 dipping sauces in front of us. The crushed sesame sauce was delicious but we weren't totally convinced by the raw egg that we cracked ourselves. 

Our obliging little waiter patiently explained to us exactly what to do to enjoy the dish and loaded up the water full of some of the delicious vegetables he had brought us.

Although we tried to follow his instructions we weren't entirely sure what to do when he left us to our own devices, but we soon got into the swing of things!

We decided to treat ourselves to the all you can eat wagu beef! It was very thinly sliced and so tender.

We had a little bell to ring when we wanted more meat. Clare wanted to make sure we got good value for our "all you can eat" price, so we kept ringing for more meat until the waiting staffs' expressions became sufficiently surprised that we were still going. From then on Clare was content that we had got our value and let Rich rest!

Of course, by rest I really only mean change on to the desert course. What? We're on holiday!

Clare attempted to order herself a desert.

"What is this?" She asked.

"Ice cream." Said our waiter.

"Chocolate?" She enquired, pointing at the brown picture.

"Bean curd." Said our waiter, sensing her disappointment. 

"What about the sundae?" She asked.

"Ice cream sundae." He confirmed, with a big smile. 

Clare's eyes light up. "Chocolate ice cream?"

Oh no, he smiled, shaking his head again. "Bean curd sundae", he enthused.

Crest fallen, Clare surrenders to the sake.

Not to be deterred we circle back round and make another attempt at the desert menu. The Beancurd and tofu surprise arrives. Once again the real surprise is how tasty it is!

It also came with a very small jug of sweet sauce, which Clare liked as (1) it was very sweet and (2) it was very small so made her feel like a giant!

After that it was about time to roll into bed, barely able to move under the weight of beef, Beancurd and tofu. The food here isn't bad at all! A fitting way to end a delicious stay in Kyoto as sadly it was our last night here before we head back north again.