Kyoto’s Delicious Gifts List: Guide to Kyoto

If you go to the Kyoto Imperial Palace for sightseeing, the nearby Tiger House Tea Room (とらや) is a very good place to take a break. Toraya has a history stretching back nearly 500 years. Even in Kyoto, where centuries-old shops are no rarity, it is considered a very old store. Huwu has been the imperial fruit suppliers to the Japanese royal family since the post-Yangcheng Emperor era. It has a long history and is well known, with branches right across Japan.

The Toraya & Kyoto store was designed by architect Naito to create a simple modern look; the garden view only boosts your mood as you enjoy your tea, read, or try some fruit as you sit at the bright, floor-to-ceiling windows. The best-known fruit in Toraya is the “とらやの羊羹” (Toraya yokan). A fruit that represents the season is also introduced every couple of weeks, in a move that is very popular with the public.

“Wagashi” from Kyoto is called as “Namagashi”, it was originally a oblation when ever sacrifice was conducting, in that time only high society could enjoy it. Its shape is based on natural features such as cherry blossoms, red leaves, and auspicious animals. It is exquisite and is linked to the changes of the seasons.

You can learn how to make “Namagashi” In the Gyeongcheon-dong store in Kyoto. The master will teach you four kinds of Jingyue in the traditional machiya of Kyoto. 3 top - class fruits, one dried fruit, and served with matcha. With service available in English and Chinese, you can make an appointment online, which is very useful.

There is an extremely popular food to relieve the heat of summer that is available in Arashiyama old street: a famous product from the old Matsushiko store, natsukanto. Oimatsu is an old Namagashi shop with a history stretching back over 100 years. It once specialized in making desserts for the imperial family to enjoy. Their famous natsukanto is to be found only from April to early September, however, and is not eaten all year round.

Natsukanto is a very labor-intensive dessert; special citrus fruits grown in Japan are carefully selected, the pulp is extracted by hand, the juice is pressed, refrigeration and sugar is used to solidify the juice, and finally a jelly is obtained which is replaced in the citrus peel. take a spoonful of glittering jelly, full of sweet and sour citrus with a hint of bitterness; it doesn’t taste like a jelly, but is softer, and a mouthful will quickly turn into fruit juice, ice-cold and smooth – absolutely perfect for summer!

Kyogashi store was founded in 1755, more than 200 years ago, in the Edo era. This shop’s approach is to express delicate seasonal feelings through tea, especially using the "Yunlong" dessert, one of the famous foods featured in this shop.

Instead of using glutinous rice as its raw material, the external cover of the “Yunlong” dessert is steamed with Shisheng red beans from Hokkaido and ground into noodles. The inner layer is made into Danbo red bean paste from Kyoto, which is a kind of deeply colored material and you can see the layers through it. A cross-section of the dessert thus resembles a flying dragon totem from, hence the name.

In addition to Yunlong, Baiyunlong (made of white adzuki beans), Longfeng (which smells of tea), and Longxiang (stuffed with chestnuts) come highly recommended. A reference library has been built on the north side of the store to help visitors and to promote and curate the understanding of Jingguozi culture and the historical development and production processes of Jingguozi.

The understated teahouses - Saryou Housen hidden away in the alley near the Xiaya Shrine are a well-known Namagashi shop in Kyoto. The Japanese courtyard setting, with all its atmosphere, combined with the charm of its famous fern cake and masterpiece Wagashi, have made it the top dessert in Kyoto for several years, with a high rating of 4.17 (2019/06) on tabelog.

Saryou Housen’s fern cake is made differently from the usual "dry" method; it looks like a work of art in glass. The first taste may feel cool and smoothy, as you begin to chew in addition to chewy, there is a specially soft taste; it really is an unforgettable, soul-stirring delicacy; in the absence of black molasses, there is an elegant sweetness, while adding black molasses makes it more intense. No one can resist taking bite after bite.

Any time the name of Kyoto Namagashi "pomelo cake" is mentioned, Kyoto people will immediately think of Tsuruyayoshinobu. Tsuruyayoshinobu was founded in 1803 and the signature Mingguo "pomelo cake" was first made in the Meiji Reform era. It was praised by Fukuoka Tieqi, a respected painter of the time, and its signboard was created by Fukuoka.

In addition to grapefruit cakes (a kind of crunchy dessert made from grapefruit and three pots of sugar), the store's signboard menu also offers special fruits in different seasons, and the red bean dessert (which looks like a Swiss roll) is also very popular.

On the second floor of Tsuruyayoshinobu, there is also a "fruit tour tea house" where visitors can not only enjoy the taste of ready-made Maccha and Namagashi fruit, but also watch master craftsmen make flower-shaped fruits with dexterous skill, listen to detailed explanation of dessert-making technologies, and experience the process of "tasting with the eyes".

Having been founded in 1917, Kyogashi is a spring chicken compared with old stores in Kyoto with histories going back two or three hundred years. Because of its famous soup, however, the store is also a popular Namagashi fruit food store.

Kyogashi soup is actually three different flavors of brewed Ge soup. The most interesting feature is that there will be two cute ducks and small round biscuits floating on the water after the boiling water is poured on. It's really attractive! Ge Tang has an aroma of roasted rice grains and tastes like the original flavor of plain/tea/red bean variant of sugar water.

In addition to traditional Namagashi fruit food, the “Two Ruoxia Houses” in Teramachi has often appeared in magazines over the past two years because of their innovative product, Caiyun Ice. Rainbow-like clouds, ice, and white dumplings with five kinds of home-made syrups, which vary according to the season. The sweetness of strawberry milk, the refreshing taste of mango juice, the sweetness and sourness of kiwi fruit puree, the savory and mellow flavor of brown sugar milk... Each is a good taste. And the bowl of ice is as soft and delicate as a cloud melts quickly with molasses. Don't worry about being unable to finish it.

"Raw八ツ桥" is the most typical of Kyoto's wagashi. It is said that, in the Edo era, people created a baked dessert made of rice flour, cinnamon and sugar and shaped like a zither, and named it "八ツ桥" in memory of the legendary figure of zither art, " 8つの橋", The "八ツ桥 oldest shop, Shenghuyuan", which was founded in 1689, is the birthplace of this delicious food and is regarded as the most authentic "Raw 八ツ桥" establishment.

A delicate triangular shape with a soft chewy texture, afterwards a slightly sticky and waxy filling that slowly melts in the mouth, with a strong cinnamon flavor makes you feel like you are in heaven. In the store, there are also “八ツ桥”of different flavors that vary according to the season. In addition to the very popular spring-summer limited edition, there are the “八ツ桥” "Sakura", "black sugar" and "peach" (limited to spring and summer) and the "golden" and "citron", which define autumn and winter. You really have to taste them all!.