4 days ago
The Asian destination that can't get enough of a favourite British dish - and it's HALF the price
It's a country that runs on ramen and sushi, but apparently the Japanese have developed a passion for some stodgier English fare - including fish and chips, Devon fudge and cream teas.
Department store Takashimaya, which has branches across the country, regularly hosts 'English markets' selling everything from pots of traditional English marmalade to Scottish kilts and Paddington bear memorabilia - and even pints of Brewdog IPA.
The markets have proved such a hit with Japanese shoppers that British suppliers have been jetted over to the likes of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto to ensure consumers can enjoy an authentic experience.
Amongst those peddling their wares to Japanese customers is a fish and chip outlet called Malin's, which serves up hearty portions of the battered British staple for around £8.20 a portion, significantly cheaper than what many of us are paying on English soil at the moment - with cod and chips coming in at as much as £15.
While there's no sign of mushy peas or pickled eggs on sale, the English market's chippy does serve up golden-hued pasties, although some of the fillings might shock purists.
At the market on the top floor of Kyoto's Takashimaya store last week, flavours being sold to hungry customers included a classic Cornish style beef pasty - and a host of fruitier fillings, including banana and apple.
Elsewhere, there was a Devon fudge counter, with cubes of the sweet treat being served in paper bags.
Perhaps the biggest queue was to be found at a pop-up up cafe, where cream tea enthusiasts were partaking in cups of English Breakfast tea and fluffy scones served with clotted cream and raspberry jam.
Apparently the markets have become so popular they've become regular fixtures, with stalls expanded to include other items.
There's bottles of Scottish whisky from The Un-Chillfiltered Collection, which retail at around 9,900 Yen, around £50.
A flea market section saw examples of crockery featuring famous British faces including members of the royal family, Toby jugs bearing the images of Margaret Thatcher and Henry VIII and a whole section dedicated to Paddington bear.
Memorabilia, including plates that celebrate the late Queen and Union Jack tea cosies are also in the mix.
British universities are celebrated on preppy baseball caps, there's merch galore featuring British bands, including Oasis and the Beatles, as well as Scottish kilts and fashion items featuring British place names.
While British food is often much maligned, there's a surprising number of foreign destinations that are smitten with some of our dishes.
Every August, the hilltop town of Barga, Italy, hosts its annual Fish and Chip festival, which admittedly sounds a little more cosmopolitan in Italian - 'Sagra del Pesce e Patate'.
Legions of locals turn up to dine on battered fish and chips, doused in salt and vinegar - although it's unclear whether other chip shop favourites such as mushy peas, battered onion rings and pickled eggs make the cut.
How did the Tuscan town, which typically enjoys a diet of olive oil, pizza and pasta, fall in love with our own deep-fried staple?
Italian immigration to Scotland in the early 20th century holds the key; many Barga residents upped sticks and sought a new life north of the English border.
While many of those who relocated to Scotland brought an Italian foodie favourite with them - gelato - and opened ice-cream stores, others found work in the most popular takeaway of the time, the humble chippie.
Scottish singer Paolo Nutini's family hails from the walled town, which lies around 45 minutes drive from Florence, and is popular with tourists exploring Tuscany.
When immigrants later returned home - either to visit family during the summer holidays - or relocated permanently, they taught those back in Barga how to recreate the fish and chips they'd been serving up... and the rest is history.
The Fish and Chip Festival has now been running since the 1980s and one Scottish-Italian who attended last year praised the event as a 'bucket list moment', writing on its Facebook page: 'Attended this year from Bonny Scotland.
'Had a great evening and delicious fish and chips thank you for your hospitality it was second to none. Another bucket list adventure ticked if our list.'
Another, this time an Englishman, added: 'From Yorkshire to Barga, again, we've returned for our second year. Thank you very much, Forza Barga!!'
On the menu, alongside a host of other Italian meals for those who remain unconvinced by the popular British takeaway, are portions of battered fish and chips, served on paper plates.
There's one other dish that possibly wouldn't make the menu in a down-to-earth Scottish chippie - fagiolie cipolla, a side made up of cannellini or borlotti beans and sliced red onions.
The festival this summer will be held from August 1st to August 17th in the town's AS Barga football stadium, which is named after the only Scottish-born male footballer to play for Italy, Johnny Moscardini.
Moscardini was born in Falkirk in 1897 and learned to play football in the streets near his family's café in Manor Street.
His family came from Barga and Moscardini enlisted in the Italian Army as a machine gunner, receiving a shrapnel wound to his left arm that restricted its movement until his death in 1985.
While recovering from his injury he played football with Lucchese, Pisa and Genoa, during which time he won nine international caps, scoring seven goals.
He played his last game for Italy against France on March 22, 1925, scoring twice in a 7-0 win.
That year, however, he returned to Scotland to help run his uncle's Royal Cafe in Campbeltown. Long after his death in 1985, he remains Barga's favourite Scottish son.
