Friday, April 24, 2009

yamaya

First off, I have to get this out of my system. I ordered a book from Amazon Japan, paid for it and it was to be delivered yesterday (Thursday). Satoshi had the day off, so we did some errands. We came back and I saw the package sticking out of our mail box at the entrance to our building.

Now, our mail box has a trap door that the mail deliverer can slip things in, but most times you would not be able to fish things out unless you open the door with the combination.

So, the delivery guy shoved the package into the mail box and because the door has that trap door area, the package went in, but refused to come out....

I pulled at it, tried to wiggle it out. I even opened the door with the combination but was afraid I was going to break the trap door. In the meantime, Satoshi had gone upstairs, not knowing what was happening.

After 5 minutes, I finally got the package out by wiggling it out of the trap door. The package was badly scraped and it seemed that it was scraped from it trying to fit into the mail box, then from wiggling it out of the trap door. Luckily though, my book wasn't damaged. Still, I called to complain. I was so mad, I almost spoke in English. The woman at the call center apologized, took my delivery number down and told me they would warn the delivery guy. While I think it was good that it saved him/her another trip to deliver the package, saving time and gasoline, I think they should have used more common sense...sigh..Thanks for listening, I feel better...let's move onto something nice...

After posting about making my own cappuccino, my friend Mari, wrote in the comments about a shop that she likes going to called Yamaya.

I checked out their website and realized that I had passed by this place before, thinking they were "just a liquor shop". And I also realized that Tamakikat had taken me to her Yamaya in Kyoto awhile back. (Actually, I kind of thought she did and emailed her to double check...)

The best part is that the store in my neighborhood is just a 30 minute walk away! (I am glad this store isn't closer otherwise I may be there everyday!!)

So, Wednesday, I picked up my lunch at Abientot then walked down to Yamaya.

Of course, I had to walk every aisle.

I bought some Terra chips 298 yen (about US$2.98), Solleone garbanzo 168 yen (about US$1.68), Black Wych beer 498 yen (about US$4.98), Olitalia EVOO 480 yen (about US$4.80), San Paolina diced tomatoes 78 yen (about US$.78) and Valle del Sole whole tomatoes 78 yen (about US$.78).

I couldn't believe how cheap the canned tomatoes were, I never find them under 100 yen in the local supermarkets.

I had seen this beer on Rowena's Flickr page. Yesterday, Satoshi and I tried the beer and the chips. I liked the beer, it had a hint of chocolate and was a little bitter. The chips were good too, kettle-style, thick and salty...mmm!

This place had a lot of great items and was cheaper than the gourmet supermarket that I have been shopping at. And the beans were in a box rather than a can. A recent can of beans that I bought had half the amount of beans that this box version had and was more expensive!

I want to bring Satoshi with me the next time so he can help me carry some wines and beer.

Thanks again for the tip, Mari!

Yamaya
4-1-27 Makiochi
Phone: 072.720.5058
Open 10:00-22:00

Hope you have a good weekend!

10 comments:

Deb in Hawaii said...

Fun to find great bargins in an unexpected place. I love Terra chips too.

K and S said...

Deb, I think I may be going back soon for more chips :0

Take care.
Kat

Unknown said...

Hi Kat, :)
I'm so glad you liked Yamaya!

By the way, those San Paolina tomatoes are excellent! Same with the Olitalia olive oil! It's actually the only olive oil I'm using right now for all my cooking!

Ciao Kat!

Mari

Lori said...

Sorry to hear about that mail box problem. I'm glad your book wasn't damaged. You should see me at Borders. I look through all the copies to find the nicest one before I buy it. Small kine OCD. :)

K and S said...

thank you thank you Mari :) I am looking forward to using the ingredients I bought and then going back for more!!

I am OCD too Lori :)

Take care you two.
Kat

Anonymous said...

I went to Yamaya in Shinjuku and was so surprised that most of the stuff I find in National Azabu were a lot more expensive compared to Yamaya.. Tho I wonder why baked beans in Japan are so ridiculously expensive and hard to find..

Rowena said...

A good rant is healthy for the body and soul every now and then :-) How I wish I could trust amazon deliveries to my place.

As for the goodies...terra chips!! It's been a while since I've enjoyed them. Everything else in your stash looks great, but I have never seen the Solleone brand here. I checked around online and see that they have olive oil and canned tomatoes too, so I'm wondering if it's just one of those private brands. I guess those are dried beans given that they're in a box? Good call on the beer ;-)

K and S said...

We don't have a National Azabu nearby, but I have seen baked beans at Yamaya, Julia, didn't look at the price though. You should try making it from scratch, may be cheaper than buying a can.

Thanks Rowena, the beans are "canned" but packaged in a box. I am definitely picking up more beer the next round :)

Take care you two.
Kat

Lynne said...

Hi Kat! Sounds like another interesting shop visit! I'm glad you were able to finally get to your book and I would have complained too! Not cool! Hope you both have a wonderful weekend!

K and S said...

I can't wait to go back Lynne! I hope you have a great weekend too :)

Take care.
Kat