Yellow Things ② Yam with Egg Yolk
Yam with egg yolk
When I stayed in Jujo, Kyoto with my polar-opposite MBTI friend, we went to an izakaya a 6-minute walk from our hotel.
Just because it looked delicious on Google Maps. That was the only reason.
When we checked into the hotel, I thought about asking the front desk guys for recommendations—by the way, 'guys' in American English refers to people of any gender—but they looked so young and fresh that I figured they weren't locals, so I didn't ask.
When we entered the izakaya, it was full of locals.
We were shown to the counter. The menu had many names of delicious-looking fish written on it.
The man next to us told us the grilled blowfish was delicious. The landlady said, 'The grilled blowfish is all gone.' In the back tatami room, an order for grilled blowfish was being placed. I thought, maybe that's just the Kyoto vibe.
All the food was very delicious.
This was my third time meeting my polar-opposite friend this week, and even though we had been talking non-stop on the Shinkansen, while wandering around Kyoto Station, and while at the Nintendo Museum, we were still chattering away at the izakaya counter.
It's surprisingly rare to hear stories about a friend's childhood, but when you talk this much, those stories eventually slip out.
My polar-opposite friend said they had never eaten yam until they were an adult. Because their mother was allergic to yam, it was never on the dinner table or even a topic of conversation.
They said that when they became an adult and reported to their mother that they had discovered and eaten yam, she replied, 'Oh, so you were okay with it, then.'
We were about to finish eating the delicious sashimi at the delicious izakaya, so we placed an additional order. Grilled shiitake mushrooms were written on the menu with a star mark indicating it was a recommendation. We ordered it. Sold out. Delicious things disappear quickly.
So we ordered the yam strips. Fresh-looking, thickly cut yam, lots of finely shredded nori on top, and a yellow liquid—egg yolk—poured at the bottom of the bowl.
We ate it with the sashimi soy sauce from earlier. It was delicious. When something is truly delicious, my vocabulary for anything other than 'delicious' dies.
I thought it was a good thing that even after being friends for over 25 years, there are still new discoveries to be made. Or rather, I felt relieved? It felt like we still have plenty of ways to have fun together.
Next month, we're going to Akabane Nature Park. Even after more than 25 years, we are still people who love parks.
The end
P.S.:
I never knew you could pair yam with egg yolk.
Title: Yam with Egg Yolk
Written by Munmaya 2025/05/14
Poet/Writer
🐣Yellow Things—Meaningful Waste Essay Collection ②🍋
👉Lemon Story 2
👉Yam with Egg Yolk
👉Synesthesia
👉Lemon Story
👉Extra Edition: Special Contribution from Munmaya-sensei in 2011