Discovering
Furusato was one of those wonderful accidents of life. I had just wandered into
Carlsplatz, the gourmet food market in the Dusseldorf Altstadt (old town). With
no particular goal in mind, I was wandering between the stalls of exotic foods,
taking in the sights like new vegetables hereto unknown to myself and enticing
cuts of meat and enjoying the scent of fresh baked bread, steaming pasta and flowers.
Suddenly, the
name Furusato written in large friendly Japanese script catches my eye.
Furusato means ‘home town’ or ‘homeland’ in the deepest sense. It means the
place of origin from where one comes from and one longs to return to. It is a word that
touches an emotional spot in all Japanese living abroad.
I notice
the kitchen window through which I spot a mountain of Japanese fried chicken ‘kara-age’
and I look up to see the friendly face of Chen Sun smiling at me. He greets me
in Japanese and I tell him that if I had known about his shop, I wouldn’t have
lunched elsewhere. I also tell him I love kara-age but that I’m regrettable full.
Then he tells me to wait for a moment and fries up two large pieces to taste. Touched
and moved by the gesture, I savor the succulent warm chicken in the crispy
batter.
Good food
invites heartfelt contact and more conversation. I found out to my surprise that the Chen
Sun is actually Chinese. I couldn't initially tell from the way he speaks Japanese like a native. And I guess 30 years in Osaka would make one a native. As we reminisced over our
respective roots, Chen Sun tells me of the good times growing up in his grandfather's mansion in Tianjin southeast of Beijing where he and the
other children would hang out by the great kitchen where a staff of 12 cooked
for the family and fed tasty treats to the children. That was where he first acquired
his love for food and his fantastic store of knowledge.
The two
pieces of chicken quickly led to an invitation to come inside for a cup of tea
and an introduction to his wife Yuki Nagatsu who was busy making gyoza
dumplings. Yes, that means Furusato’s gyoza is truly homemade. And this alone
with the fried chicken is worth putting Furusato in my blog. However, there was
more.
Chen Sun tells me of the meat and pototo korokke (croquettes)
which he recently added to his menu. Then as if heaven had been listening, another
regular Japanese customer entered the shop to order the korokke. And as she
joined our conversation, I was touched by yet another kind gesture. She broke
off a large piece of the korokke and insisted that I have some. The first bite was like a revelation, an
explosion of taste so good that I could only say ‘Wow’. No wonder his
regular customers include the Japanese consulate staff and many others who come
in each week. I would find it very difficult to find a korokke in Tokyo that
would match his. In any case, this is the first time a korokke made me say ‘Wow’.
Chen Sun
then lets me in on the secret behind his korokke. Next to his shop is the stall
of a world famous potato specialist Das Kartoffelhaus Carlsplatz. They supply him
with a specific potato named Heide Laura. And he mentions that he also gets
much of his other ingredients fresh from various vendors in the market. Hence as the lady
who ordered the korokke points out, even the humble cabbage side-salad is a
treat in itself. And in the summer, Chen Sun serves cucumbers from his own
garden, grown from seeds taken from his hometown Tianjin. Apparently these
cucumbers surpass all local European varieties. Now, this information has me making
a mental note to travel to Dusseldorf again during cucumber season.
In fact, I know
now that I must make many more trips back to Furusato as there are so many things
to draw me back. Of course, korokke and kara-age and gyoza are high on my list
but so are the stewed porkbelly (kakuni) and the beef ramen noodles. But it is
not just the good food. It is the contact and the joy of sharing and conversing
that makes Furusato ‘home’ for many.
I regret
now that I do not live close to Dusseldorf. On the other hand, to travel back
to Furusato is a befitting concept. After all, one longs to journey back to the homeland far away.
