Combine cafe...

Combine is a contemporary cafe located on the canal-like river at Naka-meguro, a residential district of Tokyo known for its great shopping, 'hip/cool' vibe and cherry blossoms. The area around Combine is peaceful and leafy - it's hard to believe you are a very short block from the noisy main road.

The menu borrows from many influences and has an international feel. On the day that I visited there wasn't a vegetarian option but the staff were happy to arrange a tofu salad, which was very nice. This was followed by coffee and cheesecake. It was a lovely relaxed place to pass the time on a rainy day.

Naka-meguro is well worth a visit. The banks of the river are lined with cherry blossoms and this pretty area is transformed into something totally spectacular in spring. Another feature along the river are the small independent retailers - great shopping and cafes.

How to get there?
Catch the Tokyu Toyoko Line from Shibuya Station. Go one stop to Naka- meguro station.

How to find Combine cafe:
Cross over the main road from the station. Turn right and walk along the main road for approximately 2 blocks until you reach Komazawa-dori. Turn left walk a short distance and take first right. Walk along the river for approximately 50 metres [see 2nd picture for exterior photo]

Nachtmarkt food....

Ahh, the food at the nachtmarkt. There's no mystery as to where those extra kilos came from but it was worth every bite. Sadly, nachmarkts around Europe are about to finish for the year and I'm sure there will be many lamenting the disappearance of the fried pastries, roasted raclette served over boiled potatoes, spaetzle, roasted chestnuts, spicy sweet traditional biscuits and gingerbread-like creations.

The top photo is a pizza-like pastry that's apparently German in origin. Once your order is placed, the stall owner flattens out the dough and places on the toppings you have chosen. It then goes into the wood fired oven. Just before it is served a 'sauce' is spooned over the top [seemingly a garlicky herb oil].

The next is langos [pronounced 'langosh'], a fried pastry made from a potato dough and hails from Hungary. It was served as a sweet or a savoury pastry. Delicious. My favourite option was the one featured in this photo: sour cream, garlic, cheese and salt. Keen to try making your own? Have a look at this recipe: http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/langospotatocakes.html

Last but not least is spaetzle which is, in my opinion, somewhat addictive. It's an egg noodle/dumpling which is considered to be a "Swabian specialty". Konstanz is a part of the medieval territory of Swabia, however spaetzle is found throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Alsace region of France. On this particular day, I ordered spinach spaetzle with mushrooms and Dr H couldn't resist the sauerkraut/speck version.

I'll post my spaetzle recipe, with photos, soon. So get your spaetzle maker, or even your colander, so that you're ready to go. How can you resist?

Hot chestnuts!

Such fun roasting chestnuts on a chilly night at the Konstanz nachtmarkt. As I remember, this was followed a steamy mug of gluhwein. Can you tell I'm daydreaming about spending 6 months in Konstanz next year?