Food in Nishiki Market

This was actually an unplanned part of our trip.  On our last full day, we just decided to make it less stressful.  Somewhere near our AirBNB so that we can always return whenever we get tired.

Japan leaves a mark in your memories because of the unique experiences it offers.  I think this is one of the strengths of travelling to Japan.

This is an overview of the path of the Nishiki Market.  I think it's one of the great places in Kyoto.

The first thing we tried upon entering the market are the seafood skewers. The names that I will state here were all invented by me, meaning I don't know the real name of the food. There were lots from Octopus egg (Quail Egg as head of octopus and the tentacles of octopus), Grilled/scallops on a stick, Octopus tentacles alone, Fish etc.  I collectively call them seafood barbecue 😜.  There's a "fishy" smell to the food, but I prefer the scallops personally since they were tasty and fresh.

The next thing we tried were the grilled Mochi. I saw this in one of Strictly Dumpling video.  Here they cut 4 slices of mochi and then put each in 2 sticks and lets you grill them outside of the store.  This is a very "fun" and "touristy" experience but we love it!

As for the taste, there were 4 types of condiments/sauce you can put.  The mochi actually expands, giving you that texture of a little crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Probably like a roasted marshmallow, except that marshmallows were sweet.  The taste depends largely on the sauce. As for the mochi, it doesn't have a taste, but there's a hint of smokiness due to the grilling.  

The next we tried were the soy dougnuts.  For me, these are the best in all the food we tried in Nishiki Market.  There's a long line for it, and you can choose adding either caramel, or brown sugar or enjoy them plain.  They're also good when paired with soy milk, which you can buy on the same store.

Then we tried the macha popsicle and siopao of Japan.  The popsicle contains red beans in it also.  I'm actually not a big fan of matcha and the more I hate red beans, so for this popsicle, I personally didn't like it since it contained the main ingredients which I don't like.  But if you're a fan of the two, I think you would love this popsicle.

Our mistake was buying the siopao.  I mean it tasted good, but it was filling that we could no longer  try the other food since we're full already.  So I suggest, if you want to try this, try it when you're almost done with tasting the other food.

Also we tried the grilled salted shrimp.  I wasn't able to take the picture of it, but I loved it.  Since it was grilled, there was a smoky taste to it on the outside, a little crunchy with a hint of saltiness to it.  But the sweetness of the shrimp because it was fresh was so good when combined to the outside flavor. 

The last that I tried, (yeah only me, since my dad was full already from the siopao) was the custard bunny.  This was sooo cute!! The dough/bread was crunchy and when you bite into it, the sweetness of the custard fills your mouth.  It was not too sweet nor bland.  Just the right amount of sweetness.

Nishiki Market is one of the must see places in Kyoto.  Don't forget to put this into your itinerary.

PS: Oh yeah, I saw some of the tourist wearing kimono here, I'm recommending though not to wear the rented kimonos here.  Well because the sauces of the street food could stain the kimonos.