Shiki is working with Pray for Japan: Norwich to host a special Hanami fund-raiser for the Japan Tsunami appeal. There will be a Japanese buffet, music, tea ceremony and kimono. Tickets cost just £1 and will be available both in advance and on the day. Proceeds will go to the Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. Please visit the Pray for Japan: Norwich website for details of this and other events.

Last Friday Shiki traveled down to London to supply the catering for a special Shochu-tasting event at the Japanese Embassy in association with The Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Shiki prepared a selection of Nagasaki-inspired food for the occasion.

Japanese Shochu (焼酎)is a traditional alcoholic beverage distilled from many sources such as rice, barley, sweet potato, brown sugar and soba, ensuring rich variety in terms of body and flavour. The Shochu on offer at this event hailed from the warmer and actively volcanic southern island of Kyushu and JETRO staff were on hand to talk guests through the many individual varieties.

The liquor has a character somewhere between wine/sake and stronger spirits such as vodka and whisky (Shochu typically has around 25% abv). It can be drunk on the rocks, neat, as part of a cocktail, or mixed with hot water.

Shochu is considered to be a fairly healthy alternative to other alcoholic drinks, given the purity of the distillation process and lack of calories - when enjoyed responsibly, of course! A good Shochu is also said to give less of a hangover (one particular variety, Oni Taoshi or 'Demon Queller' claims to be particularly effective at this).

One of Shiki's favourites, Ikikko (壱岐っ娘), pictured above, was on display at the Shiki table. A range of Shochu is available from the Japan Centre (some by mail order).

If you're interested in trying Shochu with your meal at Shiki, please ask our staff. We'll be more than happy to advise you!

On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th December from 11am-5pm there will be an International Christmas Market, held outside Shiki on Tombland (click here for our website's google map). Joining Shiki will be the wonderful cafe and delicatessen, Amaretto, The Window Coffee, selling fine coffee beans, Wholesome, selling English Christmas goodies, and the famous Maids Head Hotel, selling pancakes and mulled wine!

We hope to continue our relationship with these places, supporting fine local food in Norwich!

10% of the proceeds from the International Christmas Market will go towards the SOS Children's Villages charity, which helps disadvantaged children in the Philippines. Four of our staff members are from the Philippines so it's nice to make a positive connection with the country.

We hope you can join us over this special weekend for some international festive fun! For more details and the latest updates, please check our Shiki Facebook page or subscribe to our Shiki Twitter Feed.

Apologies for the absence of blogs recently. Your resident Shiki blogger was away in October, so we had to rely on our trusty Shiki Facebook fan page -where you can, of course, make use of Shun-san's ever prompt responses!

On October 28th, Shiki hosted the Sushi Washoku Challenge in partnership with JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation). Washoku (和食) means traditional Japanese cuisine and there was certainly plenty of that on offer during our two sushi workshops.

The event featured an all-day stall outside the restaurant selling specially imported Japanese sweets and snacks rarely available in the UK, but instantly recognisable if you've ever visited Japan. There were also free Japanese tea, sake and sweet tastings!

The Washoku Challenge was a great success and we hope to have more events such as this in the near future. Please check this blog or our facebook page for further details.

Thanks to everyone who came to The Book Hive this past Wednesday. It was great to see so many people turn out for the Sushi and Sake evening. The Book Hive seems like a great venue for hosting friendly and informal cultural events such as this, so be sure to check out their programme for the rest of the year.

Guests look on as the next round of sushi is prepared. Of course, if you missed the Shiki evening, we're sure to be planning more events like this in the near future, so watch this space!

Shun pours some unusual and lively Hou Hou Shu sparkling sake, adding a celebratory mood to the proceedings.

There were a number of Japan-themed books on display, topics ranging from how to prepare Japanese cuisine to the literature of Shusaku Endo. More books are on the way soon!

On Wednesday 1st September at 6:30pm, Shiki will be hosting an exclusive sushi and sake evening at The Book Hive on London Street. Admission is £3 on the door and is redeemable against book purchases. There will be an array of books on Japanese cooking and culture to browse and Shun will be demonstrating how to make sushi. Please come along and learn more about the art of sushi-making!

The next Sushi Class is on 22nd July! The class starts from 19:00 (until around 21:00) in the restaurant. There are still a few places available!

Shun will be teaching you how to make sushi rice and prepare all the ingredients for hosomaki (thin rolls), uramaki (inside out rolls), and nigiri (oval shaped rice with fish on the top).

As usual, the cost is £45.00 per head and includes equipment rental, ingredients, sushi tasting and wine or sake tasting!

For more information, or to reserve a place, please email Shun at shunsuke_tomii@me.com, or call us on 01603-619-262.

Shiki took things outside for the Lord Mayor's Celebration this past Saturday. Thousands of people lined the streets around the city centre to catch the parade - an established Norwich tradition packed with music and dancing and all manner of characters from dragons to daleks!

The imposing figure of the town crier led the procession, followed by the new Lord Mayor of Norwich, Tom Dylan.

The event raises money for numerous charities as well as promoting local societies and businesses. The busy sound of whistles almost evoked the Matsuri (festivals) of Japan!

Shiki's Teppanyaki Chef, Cisco, got in on the act with some improvised egg-juggling (much to these two stewards' delight - can you spot the egg?!). Look out for video of Cisco and his Teppanyaki tricks soon...

The next Sushi Class is 13th May  from 19:00 to 21:00 (although it may extend a little longer).

Shun will be teaching you how to make sushi rice and prepare all the ingredients for hosomaki (thin rolls), uramaki (inside out rolls), and nigiri (oval shaped rice with fish on the top). As usual, here's a photo from our last class:

 
The cost is £45.00 per head  and includes equipment rental, ingredients, a free Shiki T-shirt (pink/black), sushi tasting and wine or sake tasting!

For more information, please email shunsuke_tomii@me.com, or call 01603-619-262.

This past week saw the emergence of cherry blossom (sakura) in Norwich. You can see cherry blossom in the church yard just next to Shiki on Princes Street.

In Japan 'flower viewing' (hanami) is a national past time with mass picnics held under the cherry trees of major parks and a TV forecast of the 'cherry blossom front' (sakurazensen), which sweeps from southern Kyushu to northern Hokkaido each spring.

Be sure to catch sight of the Norfolk sakura before it disappears for another year! Read more about hanami at japan-guide.com. While the guide may suggest castles, temples and shrines, we certainly have enough churches in Norwich and there's even a cherry tree in the Cathedral grounds.

If you want to add Japanese flavour to you special event, Shiki is available for outside catering!

Last Saturday we collaborated with Mercedes-Benz of Norwich on Heigham Street, serving sushi to prospective customers in the car showroom.

If you would like to hire Shiki catering for anything from a corporate promotion to a birthday party, please contact us by email or phone. Pricing can be arranged on an individual basis (there is a minimum order of £500).

Our Sushi Classes are a great way to explore Japanese food culture and have fun at the same time. If you're a fan of sushi but aren't quite sure how to prepare it yourself, here's your chance to learn from our expert chefs ... and eat the delicious results!

The next class will be held on Wednesday 17th February from 19:00-21:00. Cost is £45 per person - Maximum of 10 people per class. You will be tasting your sushi at the end of the class with a complimentary glass of wine or sake!

For more information, please email shunsuke_tomii@me.com, or call us on 01603-619-262

Here's a photo from the last class: