Interest in meals based on Chinese herbal medicine started taking off this summer as "yakuzen" became the latest fad in vegetable-based cuisines.
"Yakuzen meals use seasonal vegetables in principle," said Hisako Kikuchi, who manages a cafe in Tokyo. "Summer vegetables are effective in protecting people from summer weariness by bringing down their body temperature."
The cafe, originally the employee cafeteria of Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. in Osaka, serves two daily special combos for lunch, such as a set of fried sand borers (a type of shellfish), which are believed to ease "frustrating sentiments," and boiled pork meat balls combined with bitter gourd, a dish that's considered good for maintaining one's health.