dojima toro-ya

Yesterday, we tried a new shop for dinner called Dojima Toro-ya.

They specialize in maguro (tuna) and toro (fatty tuna).

There was a lot of metal roofing used as partitions, which kind of reminded me of language lab at the university.

The lighting was the type you find on fishing boats.

Most seating is counter-style. The part I liked best was that it was non-smoking on weekends (I think sushi places should be non-smoking all the time).

Satoshi and I tried their kaisen-don (seafood bowl) sushi rice was topped with uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), hamachi (yellowtail), ika (squid), salmon & akazaebi (dublin bay prawn).

It also came with some tsukemono, hijiki (brown seaweed) & akadashi (red soy bean paste soup)....1000 yen.

From the time we ordered to the time we got our food it did take some time, but considering they just opened at the beginning of the week, I think it is understandable.

Afterwards, Satoshi and I realized we didn't order anything with maguro or toro in it...boo!

We'll be back.

Dojima Toro-ya
Hankyu Sanbangai B2
Phone: 06.4256.8033
Hours: 11:00-22:00, Closed when Sanbangai is.

things I'm liking (disliking)

Almost the end of the month, thought I'd do a "things I'm liking" post...

Kinda disliking the tea by Kusmi...Algothe...it is a mixture of green tea, mint and seaweed...yup, seaweed...funky tasting.

My host-sister had given us this...walnut tea from Korea...this was funky also...kind sludgy, not sweet at all...meh.

I tried these nail seals (the black one) recently which are made by a Korean company. It boasts that it lasts 10 days.

Well, if you wash dishes, it only lasts 2 days. Good part of these seals are that they peel off and you don't have to use any kind of nail polish remover.

Liking the mirror and cotton handkerchief that I got with a fashion magazine. It had the COACH logo, which I've already told you that I love.

Walnut an pan...a walnut bread filled with sweet bean paste....yum!

Just when you thought you'd seen it all with condiments for rice...along came miso-pi (me-sew-pee) pi is short for peanut.

Raw peanuts are sauteed in a miso (soy bean paste) and sugary paste. It kind of reminded me of a caramel leaning more towards savory.

On hot rice, it is really good!

The karaage chicken from the Chinese department at Daiei.

This area has cooks from China, and their food is tasty.

I love this karaage chicken, the skin is fried light and crispy and the meat is so moist and tender.

The chocolate caramel spread we brought back from France, it was nice on hot scones but even nicer on a nicely toasted baguette.

What have you been enjoying?

mac n cheese

Satoshi went off on business and it was just me for a couple of days, I usually don't cook when he's away, but for some reason I had mac n cheese on my mind and it had to be a creamy cheesy sauce...sigh! so I decided to make mac n cheese for dinner.

noodles:
1 package of macaroni (150 grams)
water

goodies:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 of an onion, minced
1/2 a carrot diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1 large eringi, diced
3 small slices of bacon, diced
1/2 small can of whole corn, rinsed

cheese sauce:
bechamel sauce (minus the salt, scallions & amount of parmesan, and add the amount of cheese that follows) :
3 slices of red cheddar, 2 small triangles of edam and 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

Italian parsley

NOTES: I cooked my pasta 1 minute less than what the package said and drained it after it was cooked.

Then I sauteed the "goodies" in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and set it aside. And added the whole corn without heating it.

I then made the cheese sauce using the recipe for bechamel sauce (leaving out the salt, scallions & parmesan because I was adding cheese) and added the above amounts of cheese.

When the cheese was melted, I added the "goodies" and pasta and made sure everything was coated nicely with the cheese sauce.

I threw in a good sized handful of chopped Italian parsley and mixed that in as well.

I loved it! it was cheesy and hit the spot.

It's Friday here, I hope you have a great weekend!

on a walk or two

Most mornings if the sun is out, I get out for a walk.

My route changes with my feeling, but I try to walk at least 2 miles.

Sure the weather these days is freezing, but it gets me out of the house, I get a little exercise.

Here are some things that caught my eye...

This dahlia was huge! love the color too.

I thought this banner was cute.

It advertises ika-yaki and tako yaki (grilled squid pancake & octopus balls), they don't sound appetizing in English, but are pretty tasty, though I do prefer okonomiyaki.

This shop says they are "uchu-ichi" (ooh-choo-itchy) which means they are number in outer space...okay.

This tree stump was huge!

I noticed there were about 4 or 5 like this along the same road.

Too bad they had to cut these many trees down, but I have a feeling they were encroaching on the electrical wires above.

In Japan, land is premium so they often divide what in the U.S. would hold 1 home into a piece of land to hold 4 or 5 homes (or more).

If you click on the photo, it will enlarge, the orange arrow is the walkway for the house that is built, the green arrow is the walkway for the house next door, there is about a foot or so in between the houses.

Both of these houses don't have a garage. Most times you need to buy more land to have a garage. (or sometimes people park they cars on that walkway, where the arrows are)

I once heard that you needed to show proof that you had a garage before being able to purchase a car. But nowadays there are parking lots in residential areas, so I think that rule is no longer valid.

The yellow arrow shows where they plan to build another house.

I call this puzzle housing, because it is like a jigsaw puzzle.

My gripe with this type of building is that you lose the meaning of your windows if you are the houses in back (orange or green arrow).

If I pay for a window to be put in, I would hope I would be able to use it without having to look at my neighbor (or being able to touch their house from mine).

Been noticing these heavy, heavy kaki (persimmon)...almost like water balloons....splat!

I like the look of these garage doors, most are metal, but these are wooden, kinda reminded me of Paris.





Liked the re-use of these huge tea pots as watering cans.

There was a bald tree filled with these red berries which I found out is called "sanshuyu" or cornus officinalis.

6 heron in the trees. I usually see them in the river below, but I guess maybe they were trying to warm themselves up in the sun.

The wind has been icy, we had a teensy spurt of flurries, but overall, the sun has been out.

What have you been seeing on your walks?

earl grey chocolat chaud

Do you like Earl Grey tea? What about dark chocolate?

What about chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)?

If you answered yes to all of these, then you'll love this.

I recently saw this on Pinterest, it is a great way to get inspired not only about food, but fashion and other topics too. (WARNING: you will have lots of fun looking at all sorts of photos, and the time will fly!)

The original recipe is here, and this is what I did.

Earl Grey Chocolat Chaud : 1 serving
1/2 cup of milk
3 squares of 71% Valrhona chocolate
1 scoop of Mariage Freres Earl Grey Imperial tea leaves

Put the tea into a pot and add the milk, heat on low
While the milk heats, add the chocolate and whisk
When the chocolate is melted and well incorporated, strain the liquid into a mug
Add some cute marshmallows...voila!

NOTES: I liked this, the tea flavor is there but very subtle. I have other brands of Earl Grey, so I can't wait to try them like this.

culture shock

About this time of year and again during the Fall, Satoshi's company has transfers.

If you are being transferred, they usually give you 2 weeks notice. Within that two weeks, you need to move and be able to report to work on February 1st or if it is in the Fall, October 1st.

Can you imagine packing up all your belongings and moving within 2 weeks? (If you are being transferred overseas the notice is about two months prior)

Oh, and you'll have to find your own housing. Sure the company will compensate you a little, but still.

Recently, Satoshi's co-worker, got transferred from Osaka to Tokyo. He has a family (wife and child) and a mortgage, so his wife and child will stay in Osaka.

This type of transfer is called "tan-shin-fu-nin" (tahn-shin-foo-nin = to work away from your family). Can you imagine paying your mortgage and paying rent?! Ridiculous.

You might ask why his wife and child don't move with him to Tokyo.

Well, depending on the age of the child, transferring schools will disrupt their "daily routines" and may even affect the child's study behaviors, maybe even risking bad grades (which will screw up everything for getting into college).

Anyway, that is the main reason why a lot of businessmen who get transferred often end up going to their new assignments alone.

And if you think 2 weeks is short notice, I've heard that banks in Japan give their workers notice on a Thursday and they must report to their new assignment by the following Monday. The reason for this is so that they can't "mess-up" accounts or do anything "bad" to affect the bank system (a.k.a. retaliation).

I guess the whole system is similar to the military, but I'm still thankful Satoshi has a job.

How do transfers work in your country or for your job?

kung hee fat choy

It's the start of Chinese New Years...the year of the Dragon.

I've posted a picture of this before.

This dragon was painted on the ceiling of Myoshinji in Kyoto. The unryuzu (picture of the dragon) is 25 meters (82 feet) long and 20 meters (65 feet) wide and was drawn on the ceiling by Kano Tanyu, no matter where you stand in the room, the dragon is always looking at you.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!