Monday, November 19, 2007

foodie kind of weekend

Saturday, I met Satoshi and his friend for dinner. Since the time we were meeting at was quite late, I stopped in to have a little snack to tide me over until dinner.

This dessert from Afternoon Tea, was perfect. Not too sweet. A two layer terrine made with half chestnut paste and half sesame paste, topped with a scoop of chestnut ice cream. 3 cinnamon rusks, a peeled chestnut and a dollop of cassis puree. With some warm Earl Grey tea, it hit the spot.

While waiting for Satoshi at the station, I noticed this huge line. It was for Beard Papa. (I think I mentioned whenever you see a line it is usually for a good thing?) The aroma of these cream puffs will definitely make you want one or a whole box. I've tried the ones in Hawaii but they don't seem to match up to the ones here. I think these people were standing in line for the new flavor, roasted sweet potato custard.

Yesterday, we visited some areas known for their fall foliage. We've visited these places last year and the year before. It is always a new experience. The first place was Katsuoji. This temple is located above the Minoo koen (Minoo park). They are doing major renovations and the foliage was so-so.

The second spot was Sanshikisaido. This is actually along a busy street, but the trees always look like they are on "fire". Last year, when we visited, it was raining. This year, we were lucky to have some sun.

Lunch was at a little shop called Shimizuan. I had their zaru soba (cold buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo tray). It came with these huge musubi and also a raw quail egg.

I gave the egg to Satoshi since he was having sukiyaki (thin slices of beef, veggies and tofu simmered in a shallow iron pot, the cooked food is dipped in raw egg before eating.)

We have a holiday coming up this Friday, hopefully the weather will be cooperative and we'll be able to check out Kyoto.

Have a great week.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello! It might be a bit strange but I was searching through a few Japanese sites and I stumbled on to your blog. I just wanted to stop by and say hi. :D Your photos are beautiful and it I find it really interesting to read about someone's life in Japan. I also live in Hawaii and i'm planning to learn the Japanese language (currently taking Japanese classes in high school). I also hope to visit Japan in the future. Sorry about my rambling, but I do have a question if you don't mind answering. ^^; How is life there in Japan compared to Hawaii? I'm interested in learning more about the daily life in Japan. Thank you so much if you can help me out. :) And I hope you will have a great week as well!

- Haruko

K and S said...

Hi Haruko,

Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you are enjoying this blog, I am enjoying blogging as well.

Living in Japan is quite different from visiting Japan. There are lots of people here. To give you an idea of the population, in Osaka alone there are 8 million people, I think in Hawaii there is a little over a million. The size of Japan is the size of California.

For me, I miss the "aloha spirit". People letting you pass or holding the door open for you if they see you coming behind them. Very rare here.

Still, other than the everyday stuff, I enjoy the travelling that my husband and I do and I love learning about different things about the culture as I am Japanese-American as well. If you are interested in studying abroad, I would recommend the program that the U.H. has in which you can stay with a family for 9 months. It was the best experience of my life.

I hope I've answered your questions, if you have more, feel free to email me at kat (dot) nsatoshi (at) gmail (dot) com

Take care and good luck with your studies.
Kat

Anonymous said...

I love the photos!

Paz

K and S said...

Thank you Paz!

Take care.
Kat

Rowena said...

I think I look forward to your "Foodie kind of Weekend" posts more than anything else when I check my feeds on Monday. Between you and Nate, it starts my appetite going and sometimes gives me some ideas for a quick lunch between catching up on household chores! But that Beard Papa roasted sweet potato item! God Kat you just gotta get one and post about it on your blog!

As for the previous post which I'm still checking out on my feed...is it that those mikan are expensive or something when it isn't offered as all-you-can-stuff-in-a-bag? Cool that you took only what you could eat, because I hate waste of any sort, no matter what the circumstances are.

K and S said...

Thanks Rowena! I'll try to get a cream puff to share with you.

This time of year mikan are very plentiful, but to be able to stuff as many in a bag for that low price, everyone (except me) went wild!

Take care!
Kat