Peko Peko’s 2010 Osechi Bento was truly out of this world. It wasn’t my first Japanese New Year celebration, but was definitely the best.

The kale salad we didn’t end up eating. The bento was amazingly plentiful.

Wasabi peas for pre-bento cocktails. I couldn’t resist some good luck pomegranates (in the background).

A basket of chopsticks (we actually owned enough for everyone! Thank you Koreana Plaza). The red cloth is actually Danish—not Japanese! A recent gift from a loved one lucky enough to experience the climate conference in Copenhagen.

Peko Peko is delicious yes, and painfully stylish in the beautiful presentation. The simple block print bearing “2010” was the perfect invitation to the gastronomic delicacies that awaited us.

My favorites from this level were the kuromame (sweet black beans from Shiga-ken with black sugar). I could eat them every day. The nishime (simmered chicken and vegetables with shitake from Mie-ken, local taro root, daikon and carrots, and Marin Sun chicken meatballs) were completely out of this world (they are hiding under the prawns). Sylvan Mishima Brackett, proprietor of Peko Peko, is an absolute genius with chicken—a skill not to be underestimated.

Three things in this box were where I spent most of my time. Similar to kuromame, I could eat tatsukuri (sweet dried fish from Nagoya-ken with ichimi togarashi) every day, all day long.

Then there are the kurikinton (chestnut & sweet potato with California chestnuts satsumaimo) (the yellow-ish balls pictured on the far left). If you’ve never tried these, you MUST. Only eleven months and twenty-five days till your next chance. It’ll be worth the wait!

But the most unbelievable exciting item for me had to be the komochi kombu (sliced herring roe on kelp from British Columbia). These are the rectangular pale yellow roe with a thin slice of kelp in the middle in the center of the frame. Amazing firm, slightly crunchy texture with very moderate salt to the flavor. These were very, very special. These roe deposits are a natural phenomena, but high demand for the delicacy has resulted in farming. It’s an interesting story you can read a bit more about here.

どうもありがとう。
Domo arigato Peko Peko!

Photos by Ian Kibbey on the Canon 7D