大哉心乎
[July 7, 2013 - Revisit] On my way to Shiga Prefecture, I stopped by this rice ball shop for breakfast. I remember being disappointed last time because the rice balls weren't very hot, so this time I decided to get freshly made ones. When I entered the shop and asked the staff member who came out, "I would like to have freshly made rice balls," they replied, "All of our rice balls are freshly made." Clearly, there was a misunderstanding there (laughs). To avoid further confusion, I just asked for the rice balls they were currently making in front of me, and I bought one salmon and one pork ginger rice ball. The salmon was 150 yen and the pork ginger was 160 yen. As expected, they were hot. This price is a good deal for freshly made rice balls. I enjoyed them, although I noticed that the salt was unevenly distributed. The texture of the rice balls was good, and it made for a satisfying breakfast. The pork ginger rice ball was also good. Personally, I think it would be easier to eat if the meat was minced rather than in chunks. I rated them a bit higher this time since I was a bit harsh in my previous review. Thank you for the meal.
[February 24, 2012] This is a rice ball shop in Kagayama. It is located at the intersection of Marutamachi Street and Shirakawa Street, heading north from there on the right side. The shop is small, but there are various rice balls lined up. One of the features is that you can choose between white rice and half-polished brown rice. There is also seating for about two people, so I decided to dine in this time. I ordered two rice balls, one white rice tempura and one half-polished brown rice grilled salmon, each for 160 yen. They are about 1.5 times the size of convenience store rice balls, so the pricing seems reasonable. First, I tried the tempura rice ball, which had a small shrimp tempura embedded in a slightly sweet and salty sauce, but the enjoyment ended after the first bite. All that was left was the white rice ball. Hmm, it's a bit lonely. The shrimp tempura itself had lost its crispiness due to the sauce. It was quite different from the tempura rice ball I had at a famous shop in Nagoya. I ordered the grilled salmon rice ball, which was not in the showcase, so it was made after I ordered. I was expecting a hot rice ball, but it came out at room temperature, a bit disappointing. However, the presence of the salmon and the saltiness were decent. In my opinion, rice balls made with half-polished brown rice lack the stickiness of white rice, making them crumbly and a bit difficult to eat. I felt that brown rice types are not suitable for rice balls, which are often eaten casually outdoors. The image I have of a delicious rice ball is one made with hot rice, seasoned with plenty of mineral-rich natural salt, with a fluffy texture and a balanced mix of carefully selected large ingredients. Unfortunately, this shop did not meet that standard. Nowadays, even convenience store rice balls can be heated in the microwave, so there could be more room for improvement. However, maintaining the temperature of freshly cooked and freshly made rice balls may be a challenging task. In that case, it is important to have innovations that make them delicious even when they cool down, such as using rice that retains a certain stickiness when cold, or making the ingredients larger and more abundant, enhancing the flavor, or making the ingredients stand out more. Just adding one or two slices of pickled radish could make a big difference. The concept of a rice ball specialty shop is great, but I'm not saying that the rice balls here are not delicious.