At work on Friday someone mentioned the humus they had eaten the night before. Humus is one of the few things I miss about the UAE (I've always liked humus!) and I don't have room to store a blender or food processor to make my own. I asked if there was a good place where I could find humus, and 3 people immediately suggested Falafel Garden in Kyoto. Of course I immediately Googled it, and according to their website, it would be pretty easy to find.
I woke up to a beautiful warm and sunny day on Saturday, and decided it was the day to venture into Kyoto to have some photography practice and grab lunch as Falafel Garden. It's so easy to get to Kyoto now that I live in the city...I only have to change trains once, it takes less than an hour and costs 390 yen! I stood on the train ride and didn't hold on to anything - I was SO proud of myself!!
Once I arrived in Kyoto, I decided to walk down the Kamo Gawa from Shijo street, to Sanjo street (home to perhaps my favorite Starbucks ever). Kyoto was surprisingly not crowded, or maybe it was just too early for everyone to be out and about. The open streets and paths made it easy for me to take my time playing with the settings on the camera.
Every now and then I get a decent shot, but I'm finding it difficult without a proper view finder. This is especially true on really bright days when it's almost impossible to see what's on the little screen.
After a proper iced coffee at Starbucks, I decided that instead of taking the subway 2 stops to Falafel Garden, I would walk. It was a straight shot up river, and took about 30 minutes, and I was walking really slow.
I found the restaurant with no problems (thanks to my handy dandy iPhone and Google Maps) and chose a seat in the semi-outdoor area. There was one other couple there (probably university students) who seemed very uncomfortable to have a white girl come in by herself, haha...get over it! The place filled up pretty quickly while I was there - I have gotten the impression that it's pretty popular.
I ordered a small falafel pita with a side of humus and a fresh mint iced tea. It didn't take long at all for my food to come, and I was shocked at how tiny it was! Three falafel balls, a bit smaller than golf balls with some lettuce, tomato and a tahini dressing in a cute little pita half, a tiny condiments cup of humus, and a juice sized cup of tea. It was all really good (the mint tea was excellent - made the whole meal worthwhile!), but I paid 1000 yen for it, a little pricy for the amount of food in front of me!
It was nice to find a new place though, and the atmosphere was really cool and relaxing. It would definitely be more fun with more people though, but eating alone in restaurants has never really bothered me. I think I could be convinced to go back!
All in all it was a great way to spend a Saturday.
Even saw a geisha and a maiko out and about!
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