Although the weather is horrible in Japan in the summer, a few of the summer foods make the trip almost worthwhile. Luckily Fukuda Ricca was serving one of the treats -Kaki-Gori or, shaved ice - at an opening at the new Tortoise shop in Venice last Friday.
A culinary expert, she just finished a book on Kaki-Gori. Available toppings were Azuki (red bean), Macha (green tea), Lentil, Strawberry, Fig, Plum, Yellow Peach, Blueberry Wasambom Sugar and Shirata (a kind of mochi).
They were served in ceramics bowls by a pottery being featured that night (will post more about that later). But almost more interesting is Ricca-san's collection of anonymous design plastic spoons that she collects from all over the world. She was telling me of her interest in how the humble disposable spoon varies throughout the world (at Tortoise you could choose a spoon from Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, France, U.S., Korea and elsewhere). She beleives that the flavor of what you are eating is affected by the shape of the spoon.