Takuma to Satsumi -- Nikujiru Monogatari（肉汁物語）

 

Earlier this morning, the local news channel CP24 opted to torture the carnivores and omnivores by having a segment of the annual Vaughan Ribfest show up on the station's doorsteps for an advance taste of their barbequed ribs and other examples of meat freshly grilled. It means that a Southern Ontario summer tradition has begun once more with Ribfest season that will most likely go on to Labour Day in September. Perhaps without too much exaggeration, I'm thinking that at least once a week for the next several weeks, there will be a Ribfest somewhere in the province.

Well, as such, for Hump Day today, I figured that it might be nice to start another broadcasting day on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with a song about the joy of meat. I'd thought that it was going to take some doing to find such a novelty song but actually it was pretty easy. I couldn't find a lot of information about these folks but years ago, there was apparently a podcast titled "Takumi to Satsumi no Castella Fever"（琢磨とサツミの｢キャステラフィーバー｣...Takuma and Satsumi's Castella Fever） (didn't realize that podcasts went all that way back into the 2000s), but hey, naïve ol' me.

Anyways from that podcast came a song titled "Nikujiru Monogatari" (The Story of Meat Juices) that was released in January 2007. Written and composed by co-host Takuma Wada（和田琢磨）and joined by co-host Satsumi（サツミ）, this Mood Kayo-style song is a tribute to the culinary and gastronomical wonders of dinner at a yakiniku restaurant in Japan. Indeed, the song set me slavering over the memories of hitting those good ol' Korean BBQ restaurants in Gunma and Tokyo over the years that I was there. By the way, the version below is known as The Akasaka Supper Club version of "Nikujiru Monogatari" with an elegant piano leading the way.

This last photo is from a group outing to a yakiniku restaurant called Shinta out in the suburbs of Toronto. Wasn't cheap but it was good.