Hisashi Kashiwai

So you see, every book, every author, has the gift of conjuring up something, and for one person these can be sweet memories, for another bitter memories, and for another nothing at all, and it is just a nice book.
For me it was a book that brought back memories of my visit to Kyoto, and I recognized many of the buildings mentioned. From the Imperial Palace to the modern Kyoto tower and the station, a real trip down memory lane.
The many ingredients mentioned in the chapters that are used for the dishes may seem a bit much, but it gives a nice insight into traditional Japanese cuisine.
It reminded me that I am definitely not a "seafood" guy, and in both Taiwan and Japan I pushed aside the squid and oysters....
Fortunately, this book is not about cooking, but mainly about cherishing memories of certain people who cooked for us or ate with us.
Just as the smell of fresh hay reminds you of a sleepover with grandpa on the farm, the smells and flavors of certain dishes bring us back to the people we already miss.
The father and daughter in this story do everything they can - in apparently a very short time - to find out what the customer is looking for. The stew that was served to him as a small child, the Japanese spaghetti eaten with grandpa, and the two always manage to do exactly that. And recreate the meals, resulting in many tears.
Because each chapter has 1 guest and 1 dish as its subject, it is easy to put the book down without losing the thread of the story.
So simply enjoy this book, not high literature, but I am already looking forward to the next part, which is announced at the back of the book.… (meer)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ebook!

I fell in love with the first book in the series, so I was so excited to get my hands on this one! I was not disappointed. It's such a quick read and left me feeling so cozy. The descriptions of the food are so great and always leave me wanting to learn to cook more! This one is pretty similar to the first book in the series, but we got a tiny bit more development in the characters. I would definitely recommend this entire series to anyone looking for something lighthearted and cozy to read.… (meer)

2024 read. I was very excited to read this after coming across some extremely favorable reviews for it. I'm a big fan of this style of Japanese novel. However, I found myself disappointed with the start of the book, feeling that maybe it suffered in translation a bit, or something. I did put the book aside for a few days, but picked it up again and finished it that day. It grew on me-- not enough to become a favorite, but enough to keep me reading. Besides, it has a terrific cover! Rounded up in star ratings.… (meer)