lunar new year

Went to Chinatown in Yokohama yesterday 

It was quite empty because I've heard that the Chinese were told not to visit Japan...
 

I wanted to check out Ryuuka a tiny market...

I've been looking for Hoisin sauce...620 yen (tax included) and they have it! hope to get the other ingredients together so that I can make Hoisin sauce chicken

This restaurant was in the J-drama, "119 Emergency Call"

I was also looking for lup cheong...there was one shop that was selling imported lup cheong from the US, but they were selling it for $29!

Instead I bought this Taiwan brand from Sakamoto (forgot to take a photo of the store front)...650 yen (tax included)

I hope this will be similar to the lup cheong flavor that I grew up with...

Hoping the Year of the Horse will be a good one for everyone

Ryuuka

136-13 Yamashitacho

Naka ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa

Hours: 9:30-21:00

*cash only

Sakamoto

190 Yamashitacho

Naka ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa

Closed Wednesdays & Thursdays

Hours: 11:00-18:00

*cash only

tiramisu chocolate

Learned about these from friend Val

She was searching for them to bring back as omiyage

Apparently there are 3 different companies that make them (that I know of)

Puare which you can find at Donki 

Yuuka which you can find at Takeya

Kokyu no Choco which you can find at Marushige (in Kansai)

Almonds are coated with a marscapone coating then a chocolate coating then dusted with cocoa powder

Most also have a matcha version

I bought a bag for Satoshi for Valentine’s 

Have you tried these?

this and that

this guy, Kato Ryo, is what the Japanese call "talent", he appears on different television shows, what the Japanese call “variety”...the other day I walked past him in Yurakucho...wearing the exact same outfit...he stood out because it was fahreezing and he was wearing these shorts!

the other day, the shopping mall had a giveaway.

for every 1000 yen you spend you got 1 try to spin the wheel...when I spun the wheel, I got the booby prize...and was given this candy...the lady behind me snickered! how rude yeah?! 

my new favorite egg sandwich that the neko bread people make...bu bu! (oink oink)

tokyo furry people keeping warm

so yellow green

so teeny MG1100

blood orange season...ordered us 2 kilos from Kajibou...3580 (tax and shipping included) only 18 orbs but I look forward to having these every year

Hoping we can nip our runny noses and Satoshi's cough soon.

sentaro

Had to run an errand in Ginza and picked up some wagashi from Sentaro to try

Sentaro is from Kyoto and has been in business since 1886

The yomogi torayaki (because it looks like the stripes of a tiger (tora)), warabi mochi filled with smooth bean paste was so soft!, mamemochi filled with smooth bean paste & ohagi filled with smooth bean paste

Loved them all!

Especially the ohagi, shiso was mixed into the rice, so different but so ono!

Glad we got to try these and I hope try more items the next time I am in the area

Sentaro

Ginza Mitsukoshi B2

Chuo, Tokyo

Closed when Mitsukoshi is

Hours: 10:00-20:00

kotowaza

V's comment about the yuzu reminded me of a kotowaza (proverb) in Japanese 

The proverb is “kuri momo san nen, kaki hachi nen”

Which means chestnut & peach take 3 years to bear fruit, persimmon take 8 years

And there is another part of that kotowaza “yuzu baka juhachi nen” that yuzu takes a krazy 18 years to bear fruit 

This proverb was often heard among farmers and their families and not only tells how long trees will take to bear fruit but it also teaches us that in order to obtain something, it requires time and patience.

ogurasanso

My host mom sent me these sweets from Ogurasanso for my birthday

My mom loved Ogurasanso's arare, which she was first introduced to by MIL

Back in 2008, Ogurasanso started making their arare and covering them with chocolate. It is called Omoisomeshi

My host mom sent us some omoisomeshi as well as some new items... 

Omoisomeshi...two types dark chocolate, matcha & white...the other one was white, strawberry and milk

New item: arare & chocolate together in one package, sweet & salty!

New item: cracker (I think it might be made from ground up arare) and a large piece of chocolate in the middle...two flavors: milk & white

I appreciate my host mom remembering my birthday 

Thank you!

prism lab

Recently, my host sister sent me some sweets from Prism Lab, a shop located in Tokushima, Shikoku, for my birthday
 

The chocolate brownie was a little hard, but filled with walnuts, chunks of chocolate and covered with chocolate

Yuzuyuki was a cookie that had mac nuts, kitou yuzu and a sugar glaze

Chocolat financier had a huge chunk of dark chocolate on top

Almond financier was super buttery

Kitou yuzu madeleine had lots of yuzu flavor

Bon-bons...top left: kitou yuzu + hazelnut praline + dry yuzu peel

top right: Sunburst: won an international award and is a two layer bon bon with a yuzu caramel and ganache

bottom left: wasanbon + black sugar syrup + vanilla : tokushima made wasanbon (type of sugar) + black sugar syrup and tahitian vanilla

bottom right: infusion : uses a generous amount of kitou yuzu peel and its juice

Kitou yuzu is a variety unique to Tokushima.

I'm glad I got to try these and appreciate my host sister remembering my birthday.

Everything was so delicious!

Thank you T!

Prism Lab

5-71-6 Bandaicho

Tokushima City, Tokushima

Hours: 11:00-18:00