The Osushi Salad:

Tiger Eyes Roll and Tuna Sushi:

Seared Salmon Roll:

Osushi Harvard Square: http://www.osushiboston.com/

VIKINGS (SM Marikina): A Feast From The Sea

SM Marikina, Marcos Highway,
Calumpang, Marikina City
www.vikings.ph
Tel No.: 570-3888; 570-4888; 570-5888
Mobile No.: 0917-8766888
joyvz.wordpress.com

I was considering three buffet restaurants (budget wise) before I finalized to celebrate my mama’s birthday at VIKINGS (SM Marikina).

This was my THIRD time at VIKINGS. First time was in MOA Branch on 2011, my grandmother’s birthday here at SM Marikina on October 2012. And my latest at my mama’s 53rd birthday on May 8th of this year.

What I like about Vikings, aside from their delicious food and great service, was their BIRTHDAY PROMO. In which birthday celebrants eat for FREE! (Promo is until the end of 2013, and to avail of the promo, celebrant/s should eat on the day of their birthday).

Me and the birthday celebrant, my mama.

at exactly 11am, they were started calling the names on the list. I thought there were only few groups who will dine in on a Wednesday Lunch, but after an hour, almost all the tables were taken.

Mama’s happy to get her fruits first.

Dessert section at the entrance.

Who wants fondue?

Candies and Sweets toppings

Halo-Halo section

Cakes and Filipino desserts

OYSTER ROCKEFELLER this is on top of my list

SALAD BAR

BREAD SECTION

My cravings for months .. PRAWN TEMPURA

My second favorite, the JAPANESE CUISINE. Alot of TUNA SASHIMIs for me!!

SASHIMI SECTION

SUSHI ROLLS

CHINESE CUISINE

DIMSUMS hakaw for me!

Roastbeef, Lamb section

BBQ Section

RAW SEAFOOD

HOT POT

Seafood Sinigang

ICE CREAM available flavors

Shout out to the mango dessert just needs to be chilled and it’s gonna be perfect! My mom loves the Avocado Ice Cream (green).

I forgot to took photos of the interiors. But you may click this LINK.

The Birthday celebrant. As part of their service, the staffs will sing the Vikings’ birthday jingle at around past 1pm when everyone’s not too busy eating. You have a choice if you would like to give them a tip for the jingle.

At the side entrance

There’s a KOREAN SECTION but didn’t get the chance to take the photos. I was already hungry

PRICES plus 5% service charge (UNLIMITED drinks and beer are included in the bill)
75 years old and above are 50% off
Birthday Celebrants are FREE on the day of their birthday until the end of 2013.

CONTACT

Telephone Numbers:
MOA: 846-3888, 846-4888, 846-5888
Marikina: 570-3888, 570-4888, 570-5888
North Edsa: 376-3888, 376-4888, 376-5888

Email:
reservations.vikingsmoa@yahoo.com
vikings_smmarikina@yahoo.com
vikings_smnorththeblock@yahoo.com

VIKING’s SM Marikina [Ambiance & Interiors]

You can customize your udon with different types of broths (curry, miso, pork, etc) & different toppings (spam, croquette, beef, etc). And if you don’t want to make your own, there are the specialty udons you can try, such as the Japanese BBQ Pork udon below.

Japanese BBQ Pork
Udon

Curry Udon with a side of
Suki Beef

I chose to make my own with the curry broth and a side of suki beef. This udon was similar to eating Japanese curry, but in a noodle soup version. It also had chunks of potato and carrots.  The suki beef was a nice side to mix in or eat alone–thin slices with a bit of sweetness. This flavor broth is a good choice if you like Japanese Curry.

The food is extremely reasonably priced and they are open late –> until 2AM everyday!

Aside from the udon, they also have all the usual Japanese restaurant fare — rolls, nigiri, sashimi.

hamachi kama — REALLY
tender and generous portion! It was probably one of the best ones
we’ve had

Volcano Roll: Fresh salmon
over California roll with crab meat, baked to perfection

Spicy Tuna Roll, Hamachi
Roll, Spicy Hamachi Handroll

The udons that we had are a bit similar to what you’d find in ramen, the toppings & broths…perhaps next time I’ll go for a more standard udon broth to compare

********************************************

here is my quick, at home version, when I want something easy, using items that I have stocked most of the time: frozen udon (still nice and chewy), concentrated udon broth, soft boiled egg, corn, kimchi, sliced fish cake, and dried wakame (seaweed) underneath, usually garnished with green onions, but none that day:

Yes, I made a (probably unnoticeable) reference to Enter the Dragon, and no, I won’t pretend to be Bruce Lee in my video. However, I will be attempting to make this interesting, Japanese dish in my very own kitchen. So get ready audience, Ryan, and Eric (the one who chose this for me), because I’m going to make the absolute BEST folded egg you have ever seen.

Bandai Brewery is a bit away from anywhere in Shizuoka Prefecture as it is located in Shuzenji the last stop along the private railway line starting from Mishima City into Izu peninsula.
Its brews are not always easy to find but they have increasingly become worth the search!

All pink presentation for the ladies!

The rice is 100% Homare Fuji grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Junmai ginjo is increasingly becoming the norm, proving that the new rice has come of age!

Rice: !00% Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Faint golden hue
Aroma: Light and fleeting. Fruity. Rice
Body: Fluid, slightly sirupy
Taste: Fruity, dry and deep attack.
Well-rounded with only a little junmai petillant warming the back of the palate.
Soft and complex.
Nuts, almonds, coffee, dark chocolate.
Very easy to drink and soft on the palate.
Disappears fairly quickly ending on a sweeter note of dark chocolate.
Changes very little with food apart of an accentuated junmai petillant.

Overall: In the best sense of all a straightforward and eminently pleasant sake, very feminine in approach.
Can be enjoyed at any temperature at any time of a meal and away from a meal!
Bring it to a party and please everyone!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Bandai Brewery is a bit away from anywhere in Shizuoka Prefecture as it is located in Shuzenji the last stop along the private railway line starting from Mishima City into Izu peninsula.
Its brews are not always easy to find but they have increasingly become worth the search!

All pink presentation for the ladies!

The rice is 100% Homare Fuji grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Junmai ginjo is increasingly becoming the norm, proving that the new rice has come of age!

Rice: !00% Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in 2013

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Faint golden hue
Aroma: Light and fleeting. Fruity. Rice
Body: Fluid, slightly sirupy
Taste: Fruity, dry and deep attack.
Well-rounded with only a little junmai petillant warming the back of the palate.
Soft and complex.
Nuts, almonds, coffee, dark chocolate.
Very easy to drink and soft on the palate.
Disappears fairly quickly ending on a sweeter note of dark chocolate.
Changes very little with food apart of an accentuated junmai petillant.

Overall: In the best sense of all a straightforward and eminently pleasant sake, very feminine in approach.
Can be enjoyed at any temperature at any time of a meal and away from a meal!
Bring it to a party and please everyone!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Tonight’s meal features a really simple Japanese dish – Chirashi.  No cooking necessary.  I even got the cooked rice bowls.  Just needed to pop that sucker in the microwave.  Everything else was already prepared.  No effort required at all.  And oh so healthy.  I wish we could eat this every night.  But then we’d be broke.

Ingredients: White rice, seaweed salad, pickled daikon radish, salmon sashimi.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Japanese food fascinates me. It’s so interesting and delicious. I don’t think I could ever get tired of it. Nothing can put me off Japanese, not even that time I got food poisoning in the city and ended up projectile vomiting into a garbage bin at the bus station.

Apart from the taste of Japanese, I love the concept of bento meals. I love that you can get your food in a box with each item perfectly organised, carefully divided into portions and placed in its own compartment. It truly speaks to the obsessive neat-freak inside all of us.

These meals have everything you could need. Along with your choice of main (personally I like chicken katsu) you get a crisp salad, delicious miso soup, tasty sushi pieces, all balanced by a serving of steaming white rice. You’ve got soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger to spice things up if you wish, and to cap it off there’s some refreshing fruit pieces to cleanse your palate at the end. It’s got all the textures and flavours you could want, each element achieving a zen balance with its counterparts. A bento box is an entrée, main and dessert all in one; it’s like an airline meal gone right.

I also enjoy the delightful gimmick that only Japanese can pull off: the sushi train. You know: those restaurants where you take dishes from a conveyor belt that moves around the restaurant. Can you imagine trying to pull that off with Western cuisine? It would just be a gigantic assembly line of cheeseburgers disappearing into the maw of a sweaty, 300 pound guy stationed at one end. It would be the epitome of excess. But with Japanese it seems somehow economical.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sushi is my favourite aspect of Japanese food, and it’s a wonder that I even discovered it. I had no opportunity in my younger years, perhaps due to my sheltered upbringing. In my house, the mere suggestion of eating sushi would garner perplexed looks from my parents, as though I’d asked if we could rip open the dog and feast on its sweet innards.

“Stay away from sushi!” They’d say. “You’ll get sick from eating raw fish. It’s dangerous!”

I was traumatised. Horrible thoughts swam through my head; I imagined smelly fish heads with the spine hanging out served to people in a restaurant. It would take some time to learn that what I had feared turned out to actually be a roll of rice, which need not include fish at all.

I’m glad to have found sushi in the end. It’s the perfect light snack for morning tea on your break at work. It’s tasty and healthy. Most pieces are between 1 and 2 weight watchers points – if you’re into that sort of thing. And sure, on some level I realise that sushi as I know it is probably a Westernized version of the real thing, virtually unrecognisable to what’s actually served in Japan. But hey, I still think it’s genius.

Our flight was at 0055 hours – from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal to Taipei – Taoyuan International Airport. The estimated arrival time was 0540 hours. Right after the touchdown, after collecting our luggages, we went to purchase coach tickets – our mode of transport to the hotel. Unfortunately, I got hungry while waiting for the coach, so I had to go explore and look for a convenience store at the airport, as it was my first time in Taipei. And I bought some food and drinks for all of us. We then took the coach to our hotel, the ECFA Wan Nian located at Xi Men Ding. The journey roughly took an hour…?

When we arrived it was way too early for check in, so we decided to leave our luggage in the hotel and go out to explore. So we headed to the subway station and see where we could go from Xi Men Ding. Since my mom has planned for us to be taking the subway everyday, we decided to purchase our own transport cards, called the ‘EASYCARD’, and topped up a certain amount of money for us to use for traveling.

First, we headed to the ‘Long Shan Temple’ station, and visited the temple itself. And we headed to QSquare(haha I forgot what station and all, sorry), and then it was lunch time. WE HAD THE BEST JAPANESE FOOD IN OUR LIVES. IT WAS CRAZY AFFORDABLE, WORTH IT AND TASTED HEAVENLY!!!!!! I SWEAR. IT IS A MUST TRY!!! And we headed to ‘Wu Fen Pu’, supposedly a shopping district for the teens/young adults. But because we went during January, which is usually/was the one of the colder months, the clothes they sold there were mostly for that weather. Which means, WHAT THEY SOLD WAS NOT ‘WEARABLE’ IN SUNNY ISLAND SINGAPORE!!

After walking around, we went back to Xi Men Ding to familiarise ourselves with the place. It was then dinner time. WE HAD BBQ AND HOTPOT!! PRETTY DARN AFFORDABLE AND WORTH IT! THE MEAT WAS SO GOOD!! ANOTHER MUST TRY!!!

I actually want to insert visuals for you(guys) [ACTUALLY IDK IF ANYONE READS LOL], but my photos are pretty darn mixed up and I have at least 2k+ photos so its gonna take forever. Thank god I have already done up a ‘Travelog’/photo collage! So, enjoy! (Anyway, sorry that the quality of the photos are not very clear – I haven’t gotten my Nikon P7700 yet, at that time, that’s why)

P.S. I be flying off to BKK tomorrow!!

I’ve always had a liking for Japanese food. But while it’s on my list of food I like (which includes most, if not all food), my experience of things Japanese has mostly been limited to a few restaurants here and there and a short trip to Tokyo when I was younger. It was a surprise to me, then, when my family decided to splurge a little on some fine Japanese dining.

C.H.I.J.M.E.S. has plenty of excellent restaurants, but Sun Japanese Dining was the restaurant that caught our eye. Helmed by Executive Chef Toshio Sakai who has experience in numerous established Japanese restaurants in Singapore, the restaurant founded in 2005 is certainly no newbie to the Singapore food scene. The popular Sun with Moon cafe at Wheelock is also owned by the same people, so if you enjoyed that and want to try similar food but at a step up in quality, read on and find out more!

Located on the second floor, Sun is just off the more bustling ground floor, and it’s hard to spot if you’re simply walking around looking for food. No matter though, because Sun is often fully booked and you’ll need a reservation anyway. It’s a strange feeling when you step into the restaurant, because Sun is strangely dim. It’s not so dark that you can’t see anything, but sufficient enough to make you just a little disorientated. For this reason, my photo quality wasn’t really particularly good. It’s a quaint place, with a small section where some of the chefs and assistants prepare food in open view of the diners, and a long bar area. It’s definitely slightly cramped if you’re moving around the place.

On the menu, conventional Japanese food with high-quality ingredients. Wagyu is the pick of the beef, while the restaurant prides itself on the freshest seafood you can find. The natural consequence is that prices here are steep. If you aren’t used to expensive Japanese food (and I’m surely not), the prices here might shock you. Considering the increasing number of Japanese buffets around with free-flow sashimi and sushi and the like, it’s hard to get your head around the idea of quality rather than quantity, especially for ingredients where quality is the main factor – quality is not nearly as tangible as it seems, especially for raw food.

California roll ($16) – The sushi-meshi here is really good, and it shows here. Tasty and fresh.

We started out with a small selection of sushi. Their California roll (8 for $16) is not too traditional to the very familiar Singapore-styled California maki – significantly less salmon roe is used, though the fillings include fresh crab meat in a light mayonaise and the staple avocado and cucumber. The Avocado Soft Shell Roll (4 for $10) is a basic soft shell crab roll with an avocado top. For both rolls, the sushi rice was really well-done with just the right consistency. This is a characteristic consistent throughout the sushi in the dinner. Both rolls were tasty and fairly good, but apart from the use of authentic crabmeat, it was only marginally better than other sushi I had eaten. That said, the rice is a big factor and here it was done excellently.

The spider roll ($10) was as good, and the avocado added a nice creamy texture to it.

Three main courses hit the table that night. Each set came with a bowl of miso soup and matcha ice cream as dessert. The first, ebi tempura set with 5 kinds of sashimi ($49). I found the tempura (made from king prawns) decent, but nothing really remarkable. While the prawns used were large, they were a tad over-cooked and ended up slightly mushy. The sashimi here was superb though, incredibly fresh and sweet. Definitely a cut above most sashimi I’ve eaten.

Ebi tempura and sashimi 5-kind ($49) – The tempura was lacking, but the sashimi here makes up for it in incredible freshness and natural sweetness.

The next set was the wagyu beef sukiyaki with 3 kinds of salmon sashimi ($55). The sashimi here too was consistent with the previous set, really fresh and of a high grade. The sukiyaki set though didn’t prove to be worth the money, though. Apart from (only) three albeit large slices of Wagyu beef, the rest of the pot was mostly common Japanese fare, with beancurd, onions, cabbage and shiitake mushrooms amongst the mix. While the beef was excellent in quality, I wouldn’t put it that far ahead to warrant such a steep price.

Wagyu beef sukiyaki with salmon sashimi ($55) – Again, the sashimi stars, though the beef is excellent but sparingly little. Pricey at $55.

Last to arrive was my own – Sushi moriawase with Australian beef steak ($48). A small portion of Australian ribeye came accompanied with moriawase, which means the catch of the day, or whatever the chef puts out for you.

Sushi moriawase and australian tenderloin ($48) – The sushi was mostly good, and the beef succulent and fairly tasty, but the ingredients and experience don’t add up to the hefty pricetag.

On the menu today? Maguro (tuna), mackerel, scallop, prawn, fish roe gunkan, both of the above mentioned sushi rolls, and sweetened egg. The sushi was excellent, though a little warm for my liking. My personal preference is a few pieces of cooked sushi, though I can understand that most chefs would show off the freshest ingredients in a more raw and natural way. I can’t say I was blown away by the selection of sushi, in particular the egg which was average at best and the ebi, which never seemed like going down my throat smoothly. The sushi was better than what I had before at Itacho, but at this price, not worth it. The steak too was more of a filler item in the set – it was prime Australian beef and it was pretty good, but that was all it was. At $48, I definitely undervalue this set.

From extreme left to right and back: Maguro, mackerel, scallop, prawn, sweet egg, california roll, soft shell crab roll, fish roe gunkan.

I have to say that my overall experience here probably stuttered a little – perhaps my expectations of expensive Japanese had overwhelmed me, but I found that on a whole, I simply wasn’t getting enough bang for my buck. The restaurant’s high prices may be warranted by its choice of premium ingredients, but as I mentioned before, it’s hard to distinguish without a particularly discerning palate. One thing I will say is that the raw fish here is excellent, be it on sushi or on its own.

The star of the night.

It’s in the sashimi that the quality of the ingredients really shows, but despite everything, take nothing away from Chef Sakai and his team. The food here is definitely good… but worth a splurge? I’ll leave it up to you.

Sun Japanese Dining was my first foray into pricier, higher grade Japanese cuisine, and I might say it was an eye-opener. I might not agree with the pricing of the meal, but it was fairly enjoyable nonetheless. Sun is still a quaint location suitable for a good meal, and if you’re the type who relishes the freshest harvest and the best ingredients money can buy, this is a place you might enjoy.

Sun Japanese Dining
30 Victoria Street
#02-01 Chijmes

Reservations required: Yes
Ambience: 7
Service: 6
Food: 7.5
Price: $40 and up

If you enjoyed this review, please check back for more! Updates weekly.
You can also follow me on Twitter at the below link.
Follow @hungrymantweet

Tokyo
Spent three days in Tokyo with Carol and her colleagues who were there on a company trip. We were fortunate to be put up at the luxurious Hilton Shinjuku for most of our stay. I enjoyed just soaking it all in, walking around the streets at night with the temperature below 10 degrees:

It’s colder than it looks.

We also had time to squeeze in short trips to the Harajuku fashion district and the famed pedestrian crossing at Shibuya. Carol took this shot of Shibuya from the Starbucks outlet there:

View from the Starbucks – Shi-booya!

One of the highlights of Tokyo was an amazing dinner the bunch of us had at an upscale Japanese restaurant. We sampled everything from sea urchin to tuna belly sushi. It was the first time I actually enjoyed sake (Japanese rice wine), it was warm and fuzzy and the cold made it taste heavenly.

Sushi with a dual topping of Sea urchin – the yellowish stuff on the right – and salmon roe (the orange balls).

Kobe
We travelled to Kobe via the Shinkansen (bullet train), a journey of about three hours. Shinkansen tickets are pricey (about 14,000 yen, or S$180, one way), but thanks to the Japan Rail Pass (available only for tourists), we had an unlimited number of rides on the high-speed train – and other trains run by the Japan Rail company – for 7 days, all for about S$360 per person! It was a sweet deal.

From the Shinkansen, we changed to a local line bound for Sannomiya, the biggest downtown area in Kobe, where two of our live gigs would be. This is me on the regular train, acting emo:

On the road again…

In Kobe, our hotel of choice was the B Kobe. I was glad that we picked it, despite having to lug our suitcases and my guitar up god knows how many steps at the station. It turned out to be an extremely central location in the heart of Sannomiya. The room was bigger than the ones you usually get in Tokyo.

Like the true food connoisseurs we are, and having heard so much about Kobe beef, we decided we just had to try it the moment we arrived Just across from our hotel was a decent looking restaurant, and it was open even after 10pm. So we popped in and got a set for about S$80 each. Here’s Carol’s medium steak:

Kobe beef: Succulent and tender, and the meat seemed to melt in your mouth. Worth the price.

We spent the rest of our first evening in Kobe just walking around Sannomiya, which had a multitude of bars, shops, eateries, and interesting architecture such as this:

The next day would be TGS’ first gig at a live music house called Varit. It’s a good-sized venue, with a large, spacious stage and two dressing rooms backstage.

How live music houses usually work in Japan is that bands pay to perform. Yes, they pay the venue in order to have a slot. It’s a strange practice that I don’t entirely agree with, but that’s how it is there. What I gathered about Varit was that bands from Kobe have to pay a certain amount, but bands from out-of-town don’t. Generally, foreign acts are exempt from this.

We arrived at the place at around 4pm for the sound check, then returned in the evening for our 30-minute set. It was nice to see this at the entrance:

And this backstage:

The somewhat-dynamic duo. Lights always add a touch of grandeur.

Varit is well-run, and boasts professional gear and lighting. It was certainly a pleasure performing there. There were three acts that night, a solo singer-songwriter and a young funk band played first, and when it was our turn a modest crowd had gathered.

You might wonder how it feels to sing to a non English-speaking audience, and I must say, apart from Jaye having to (with great effort) translate everything I said in between songs into Japanese, I noticed that people were grooving and getting into our music, proof that music does indeed transcend boundaries and languages.

We hit Andy’s Imagine the following night. It’s a cosy bar owned by a nice British man named (you guessed it) Andy. He’s been running the place for nearly 13 years, imagine that! The bar is located in the Rokkomichi area of Kobe, a place with high-rise apartments that look just like the HDB flats of Singapore!

Anyway, at Andy’s, everyone knows everyone, and it’s a great place for intimate performances. It’s got a corner that’s been carved out as a stage and we played two sets there. Andy himself got into the action by urging his customers to buy our album (he got one himself ). After the gig we spent the rest of the evening mingling with the people.

TGS and Andy!

Sometime before leaving Kobe, Carol and I managed to see the last of the famed sakura (cherry blossom) at a shrine near our hotel. It was lovely. We were lucky because we arrived just after the end of the season but there were a few trees still in bloom. And we did the touristy thing by snapping pictures and buying some good luck charms from a souvenir store there.

Osaka
Osaka is a 40-minute train ride from Kobe. Our plan for the last day of our tour was to busk at the Osaka train station, which is about as crowded as Tokyo’s Shinjuku, and a very popular spot for “street music”, as it is known there.

But before leaving for Osaka, I had to get a portable battery-powered amp for the performance. The good thing about Japan is that music stores are large and well-stocked. I found a decent Roland at the Ishibashi store in Kobe. That’s me trying out the guitar and mic functions. Cost: about S$200.

Armed with gear, Carol and I boarded the train and arrived in Osaka in the afternoon. We spent some time walking around Shinsaibashi, a popular shopping street, and she went crazy at the Sanrio store.

Busking night, and there were performers literally at every corner outside Osaka station. So we decided our first spot would be on a link bridge above the bustling traffic. It was freezing out there in the open, but we gave it our all. At the end of our set, Jaye’s friend Marina – who’s a trained opera singer – jammed with us. The moment when acoustic folk music met classical opera, was awesome.

TGS & Marina

The second spot we picked was at a large pedestrian crossing at one of the station entrances. It was a strategic location because we could get the attention of the crowds waiting to cross the street.

The night ended with both Jaye and I playing our solo creations. I did a few songs with Carol harmonising with me.

To all the good folks who bought our CD as we busked on the streets of Osaka, a big thank you! To the fellow-musician who came up to us as we played and got our CD, keep the tunes alive mate. It was a fantastic feeling connecting with an audience from a different country, and seeing them enjoying our music.

I respect musicians in Japan. They take their art very seriously – even on the streets. They give their all, as if they were holding a performance for a 50,000 strong crowd. We saw so many bands, all dressed up and with their gear, taking a long train ride somewhere just to perform. Watching them inspired me to work even harder.

Thank you, Japan. I have a feeling I’ll see you soon.

What’s next for TGS? We’ll reunite in June for some shows in Singapore, so stay tuned!

More Spring Seasonal Releases

Dear Baird Beer Enthusiast & Taproom Friend:

Welcome to May and to Japan’s Golden Week holiday season. We are excited to kick both off with today’s release of two terrific spring seasonal brews: Pawa-Hara Golden Ale and Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Pawa-Hara Golden Ale (6.5%):

Last year I learned of a new and interesting Japanese cultural construct which is essentially the polar opposite of bureiko jikan. Japanese call it pawa-hara which is short for “power harassment”. This is a situation in which someone on the top rungs of the hierarchical relationship ladder invites underlings out for a drink and a bite with the express intent of bullying and berating them. Alcohol, it seems, fuels this newly coined social custom too.

Well, if this is going to take place, we feel there needs to be a good beer suitable to the occasion. Our answer: Pawa-Hara Golden Ale. The recipe is pretty much the same as Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale, only a lighter (14.4 Plato) less potent (6.5%) version. The result is a beer of seductive but not overwhelming strength; ideal for buttering someone up for the lambasting to come!

Pawa-Hara is available in both kegs and bottles (360 ml).

*Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale (6%):

As you know, hops are dear to the hearts of the brewers of Baird Beer. We simply love hop character in beer. Last year we designated May as ‘Hop Madness Month’ and released sixteen different varieties of hop-forward beer to celebrate this beloved perennial plant. This year too we will be releasing several hop-centric seasonal brews during the month of May as a gesture of our love. We start off with a hop bomb — Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale!

We limit the release of Hap Havoc to once a year as it will take a complete year for the imbibers’ taste-buds to fully recover from the hop assault. The malt bill here is one that would constitute a strong pale ale (starting gravity of 13.7 Plato), but the hop charge is one you would find in a double IPA (85 BUs in the kettle and whirlpool and then double-dosings of dry-hops using a combination of Citra, Simcoe, Sorachi Ace, Centennial and Chinook). Put simply, this is Hop Madness!

Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale is available for immediate release in both kegs and bottles (360 ml).

Upcoming Taproom Events:
May is also the month in which we celebrate two important Baird Brewing birthdays — the Nakameguro Taproom will turn 5 on May 10 and Sayuri will be 26, I believe. We will be killing two parties with one weekend blowout at our Nakameguro Taproom (Friday, May 10 – Sunday, May 12). The birthday girl will be at Nakameguro on the 10th, drinking copious amounts of her birthday beer — Saison Sayuri. This year’s Nakameguro Taproom birthday beer is a unique wheat-based hop-forward ale that we call NT-5 Wheat-Hop Ale. It will debut on May 10 and be served exclusively on draught at the Nakameguro Taproom.

Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for a festive birthday weekend of great pizza and beer. You can learn more details about the weekend celebration as the date approaches by visiting the Nakameguro Taproom blog on our website.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Say ‘sushi’ and you automatically think ‘Japan’. But a recent taste test by the experts suggests that the perfect sushi may not be 100 percent Japanese.

On May 1st, Korea’s Agricultural Development Agency revealed that the Japanese-Korean Sushi Critics Association, formed by a head chef and specialist in Japanese cooking, believes that the most fitting rice for sushi is, in fact, Korean. According to the group, Korea’s Hobumu and Shindonjin varieties of rice are best suited to sushi making. The previously accepted optimum rice variety was Japan’s Koshihikari, which has been popular across Japan and the rest of the world since its creation in 1956.

The report has spread like wildfire throughout Korean media, with reports boasting titles such as “Korean rice better for sushi than Japanese rice, says Agricultural Development Agency” and “Korean-grown rice best for sushi!”.

Despite sushi being a distinctly Japanese cuisine, particular rice varieties grown within Korea have been evaluated as the best with which to make it. The critical group, which includes four Japanese experts currently working in Korea, cooked eight different kinds of unlabeled rice, used them to make sushi, and then evaluated the results. They were going by their senses alone, with no indication of where any of the rices had been grown. When looking for the best kind of rice for making sushi, it should have larger grains than regular rice, and have an elasticity without being too sticky. After adding vinegar and molding the rice, the grains should not come apart easily.

The result of the evaluations in the category of taste were, out of a possible 9,  5.9 and 5.6 to Hobumu and Shindojin respectively, higher than Koshihikari’s 5.5 points. There were also two kinds of rice that scored higher than Koshihikari in terms of elasticity and firmness.

The group’s overall recommendations for sushi rice were Hobumu and Shindojin, which is quite a blow for Koshihikari, previously the most popular rice for sushi.

I know from experience that attempting to make sushi from standard white rice in the UK is really not a good idea (it definitely does not fill the criteria of ‘should not come apart easily’).  But when it comes to authentic sushi made with the proper stuff, I admit that I can’t really differentiate one variety of rice from another. Experts aside, does the rice really make such a huge different to the layman’s sushi experience? Would you be able to tell the Shindojin from the Koshihikari?

Source: Livedoor News

Image: Wikipedia

So at around 12 we left for a Japanese restaurant and at first we just ate some simple stuff like sushi or “oo-long” noodles and then we took out the cakes and ate them and everything but at the end me and Sandy wanted to leave three pieces of cake for some other people who weren’t invited to lunch but my grandpa just kept on giving pieces to people who were already really full and so I was so mad and Sandy was about to cry out because he was also eating some pieces of what we saved for my great grandma and so we were really not trusting him anymore so when we got back home we quickly gave a piece of cake to eat person that didn’t get to go eat lunch with us and then saved a piece for a lady who worked here because she was in Tainan for some business to do.

In the afternoon I just waited for mom and Sandy to wake up and during that time I was just watching a movie and doing my journal.

After that mom first woke up and she went to switch some sizes of a pair of clothes that somebody gave to Sandy and pretty soon Sandy woke up and we all took a shower then at seven somebody wanted to take us to dinner so we walked to the restaurant (it was like a two-minute walk) and stayed there until like ten-thirty walked back home and went to sleep.

Randomjournalgirl

Ever the crowded sort, lunchtime in a business district on days like Friday would mean a long, if not, futile wait in ridiculously long queues should anyone decide to dine in some of the most well-received restaurants.

Well, the Keisuke Ramen restaurant is a fair example and to side track abit, here are some shots I’d like to share:

This sesame seeds-grinding ritual seems abit ridiculous to my colleagues and I (boss’ treat that day though, hehe). We even joked about this being a time-waster to distract us from our growling bellies.  Not long after….

*Dada!!!!* Pardon me, I was simply too engrossed about taking the photographs and too hungry to even bother about the dish name. Egg yolk was seasoned with salt and felt soft and raw.  The entire dish left me drowning myself in glasses of water due to its seasoning and saltiness. Price – S$15.90 . Abit expensive for a mid-range ramen but given the gigantic chicken thigh, I think the price is justified.

So erm, back to the topic on Yayoiken, I decided upon my dish quite quickly as I had to rush back to office to get work done.  Prior to that, we still had to wait for about 10 minutes before a group of chatty customers decided to leave.  All thanks to one of the mums who strolled to and fro with her baby son fussing in her arms quite loudly, in front of the bunch of very considerate customers who had already finished eating but refused to move their butts from the much-needed seats.

Finally, the dreaded wait has come to an end and the staff efficiency is quite impressive with our orders served within the next 10 – 15 minutes. Kudos to the floor manager and the kitchen staff for the rather pleasant experience besides forgetting one of us needed warm water.

Anyway, enough of the typing.  Here are the photographs of our dishes:

Tekka don + Zaru Udon (Tuna Fish Rice Bowl + Cold Udon) – S$17.90

Wafu Hamburg Set (Japanese Style Double Hamburg Steaks & Deep Fried Prawn Set) – S$15.90

Mixed toji set (Sliced beef, fried prawn & pork cutlet topped with egg set, * sliced beef can be changed to pork instead) – S$13.90

Chicken namban set (Fried chicken topped with tartar sauce set) – S$13.90

I had the Chicken namban set and am absolutely in love with the salad dressing! Tasted very much like vanilla ice cream! Rated: 9/10 – Tofu totally bland.

The price of the dishes are quite worth the quality of the food and the customer service level is satisfactory.  Hopefully I won’t have to ask for a knife for the hamburg set the next time I’m here!

Postscript: There are not nursery rooms in the the much ‘idoled’ 100am mall, try not to bring babies unless you are going to head to the ladies.

We visited Daruma in Durban a few weeks ago and had such fun!

I only had my Blackberry available so the photos are of an inferior quality. I managed to rework them a little.

The visit prompted us to buy soya sauce, remove the dust off our wok and whip up two stir fry dishes in quick succession. I think this habit will stay around for a long time.

Sitting around the teppanyaki sipping on sake and white wine until the food was ready, and then using chopsticks to eat is something we want to do again in a hurry.

Wikipedia reveals: ”Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き teppan-yaki) is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using an iron plate, including steak, shrimp, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and monjayaki.

Modern teppanyaki grills are typically propane-heated flat surface grills, and are widely used to cook food in front of guests at restaurants. Teppanyaki grills are commonly confused with the hibachi barbecue grill, which has a charcoal or gas flame and is made with an open grate design.[1] With a solid griddle type cook surface, the teppanyaki is more suitable for smaller ingredients, such as rice, egg, and finely chopped vegetables.

Sake (/ˈsɑːkeɪ/ or /ˈsɑːki/)[1][2] is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin that is made from fermented rice. It may also be spelled saké. In the Japanese language, the word sake refers to Japanese liquor, while the beverage called sake in English is termed nihonshu (日本酒, “Japanese liquor”).

Sake is sometimes referred to in English-speaking countries as rice wine. However, unlike wine, in which alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in grapes and other fruits, sake is produced by means of a brewing process more like that of beer. To make beer or sake, the sugar needed to produce alcohol must first be converted from starch.

The brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, in that for beer, the conversion from starch to sugar and from sugar to alcohol occurs in two discrete steps. But when sake is brewed, these conversions occur simultaneously.

Furthermore, the alcohol content differs between sake, wine, and beer. Wine generally contains 9%–16% ABV,[3] while most beer contains 3%–9%, and undiluted sake contains 18%–20% (although this is often lowered to about 15% by diluting with water prior to bottling).”

Today we first went to grandma’s house then mom had to buy the bus ticket for going to Chai-yi. Then for lunch we went to the restaurant to eat. After that my aunt took us to a restaurant called Ootaya or something then we put our suitcases in the trunk and it was raining so we rushed to the bus station and the 2:30 bus had seats but they weren’t really together so we just waited for the three o’clock ride.

During the ride I slept for about 2 hours then we arrived at 6:30 and then pretty soon we headed with one of mom’s friend (Caroline) and went to a restaurant then we visited her house then came back home.

Randomjournalgirl

I definitely plan to continue writing even after I leave Okinawa and get to Albuquerque, so you guys had better plan on joining me for that adventure. There will be so many new things to write about and experience once I get back to the states. For example, I can actually go to a Trader Joes or take a barre method class or do really anything I can think of! Until then, I will continue posting about the island life.

So to celebrate my blog-iversary, here are just a few of my favorite meals that I’ve devoured in Okinawa!

These few photos do not even showcase how amazing the food that I have eaten here. The Japanese truly take pride in creating their cuisine and you can tell through presentation and taste! I think the food will be the thing that I miss the most about Okinawa…although I have heard some good things about some chile in New Mexico

On a side note: I just noticed how many of my favorite food pics have been instagrammed (@activedutyfoodie)…that app is amazing. Just saying lol.

Well, I’m off to enjoy a lovely Saturday before I return to shift work tomorrow. I’ll be back later with some more delicious eats!

Kaily