Sticky, pungent, bold
Marmite of Japanese food
love it or hate it
Haiku 45
Tag: food poetry
Haiku 38
Golden kintsuba
captures samurai soul
in wagashi form
Shokunin
Every morning Jiro wakes at 4AM
And heads to his restaurant in Ginza
His kitchen is a blank canvas
For which he paints his culinary art
Sliced sashimi bursting with sunrise colours
Dipped in the sea green of maki
Temaki rolled with precision
Splashes of nigiri inked into the easel
Completing the masterpiece
For the daily rush hour
Served with pride
Haiku 14
A labour of love
omurice with a smile
made by obachan
Izakaya
On a night where anything can happen
follow the trail of red lanterns
into backstreets heavy with anticipation
where the pulse of society crackles at your fingertips
Otoshida arimasuka?
Ikura desuka ka?
Nomihoudai!
Tabehoudai!
Come, come
Down into the rabbit hole
To worship at the altar of crooners
Humming to jazz on that old jukebox in the corner
Watch salarymen rub shoulders with wastrels
Bonding at the banquet fit for a shogun
Yakitori, yakisoba, yaki-get me another beer
No, make it sake
Gingo, schminjo
Drink until the break of dawn
And stagger back into the half-formed world
Called Monday
Soul Food
Did I ever tell you about the time
I discovered the meaning of life
in a bowl of ramen?
I mean it’s not like I planned it
I was hungry, that’s all
So, I ordered this big plate of tonkotsu
with noodles long enough to
stretch back to my childhood
The tomango bobbed up and down
winking at me like a crystal ball
I ate that first
Tasted of the future
with a side of nori
and before I knew what was happening
The broth was parting like the Red Sea
revealing secrets of the universe
more enlightening than a thousand conversations
To this day I only eat ramen
because everything else is a disappointment
Yamato Magazine 