craft beer base

I saw an ad on IG and purchased some craft beer from Craft Beer Base.

Pyotr 1, an Imperial Stout and Hanshin Tigers Yell, a Golden Ale.

3 bottles of each.

The Osaka Craft Beer Map was interesting to look at, it was nice to see the craft beer scene growing in Osaka.

It was nice to support small business.

We look forward to trying these in the coming weeks. 

devil craft & some good news

Saturday, I met up with a friend from Hawaii, Kurt.

He actually lives in Tokyo, and we've met up before.

I thought I wrote about it, but guess I didn't.

Anyway, this time around, we met up at Devil Craft, a craft beer and pizza shop in Jiyugaoka.

We ordered the chili fries (with jalapenos)...I had envisioned "stick" type of fries, these were waffle cut.

The chili had a nice kick...Kurt ate the jalapenos...

I ordered Devil Craft's Berry Bang Bang which was super fruity, a little sour...I enjoyed this.

I also thought it was cool that they filled the glass "above" the 200 mililiter line!

Devil Craft is also known for their Chicago-style pizzas...this one was the Devil Works...a deep dish with all sorts of toppings.

This had lots of tomatoes, olives, spinach and Italian sausage...delicious.

I also tried the Graham Cracker Porter by Denver Beer.

This was super chocolatey...love!

They have several locations with different items on tap, I wouldn't mind trying other beers...Thanks for meeting up Kurt!

As for some good news...the scaffolding has come off "that condo"...

And from the very far end of our lanai...we could see Mount Fuji!

Not a full view like we had before, but better than nothing!

It was kind of eerie seeing someone on the lanai on "that condo"...probably looking at Mount Fuji too.

Mount Fuji doesn't have any snow on the peak...yet...

Hopefully the weather will cool down soon!

Have a good week!

Devil Craft
2-12-18 Jiyugaoka
Meguro, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5726.9072
Closed Mondays-Tuesdays
Hours: Wednesdays-Fridays 17:00-19:00 (Happy Hour), 20:00-22:30
Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays 14:00-17:00 (Happy Hour), 18:00-22:30

owa beer

We recently stumbled across Owa Beer.

The maker is Japanese and is making his Belgian style beer in Belgium.

We tried the Amber and Stout. The amber had a bitter aftertaste while the stout had light coffee notes.

We had this with some yakitori as well as other munchies.

Love their label and hope to find their yuzu lambic.

Maybe you can find their beer where you are, check their website.

What have you been enjoying?

rocky's, golden pork & foodland

Since we've been hitting most of Satoshi's favorite spots, we went to Rocky's in Waipahu for breakfast one morning.

The weather has been miserably humid and this particular morning it was raining (which actually made it a little cooler). But, the rain caused traffic to be hideous paired with some schools & UH (University of Hawaii) starting.

It was nice sitting in Rocky's with pretty much the place to ourselves.

Satoshi had a loco moco, it looked quite teeny, but there were 2 hamburger patties in there!

I ordered the 2 over easy eggs, corned beef hash with hash browns...I was super disappointed when tater tots came out posing as hash browns...

Other than that, I'm glad we got to revisit this place.

Lunch was with one of Satoshi's friends. We met near his workplace then walked to Golden Pork which is in the spot of Mediterraneo, which is a couple doors down from Tacos Zarate.

This restaurant is apparently from Japan and they do tonkotsu (pork bone broth) soup, which I am not really a fan of. The soup can be quite "heavy" in terms of oil and "porky smells".

Because rain stopped, the weather went from cool to miserably humid, so I ordered their tsukemen.

I didn't quite like that the noodles (which were too thick) were served still "wet" from being cooked then rinsed and that the soup seemed "gritty".

Satoshi and his friend had their black garlic ramen (no photo), this had a thinner noodle.

The gyoza was okay with the crispy outsides, though the filling seemed to be bland.

I think having lived in Japan for so long, I have secretly and scarily turned into a "ramen snob"...gasp!

This place is pricey with bowls starting from $10.50...

It was nice to see Satoshi's friend and great to try a new place (this shop opened in March 2015), dunno that I would come all the way to Hawaii to have a bowl of ramen though.

On the up side, how nice was this mural that I saw on the way to the restaurant?!

I've seen a similar one on Kapahulu, I hope to get a picture of it soon!

The weather doesn't sound like it will be letting up, as there is another tropical depression on the radar.

It seems like I ran away from Japan's miserable weather, only to be hit with Hawaii's miserable weather.

Oh well, c'est la vie.

Dinner that night was an assortment of poke (po-kay) from Foodland and some craft beers made by Rheinlander called Shore Break.

We tried their IPA and Hefeweizen. We couldn't believe Foodland was selling them $1.49 a can! Both seemed fruity with a little bitterness.

Poke in Hawaii is always fresh and delicious, and there are so many variations, I can't wait to re-create some of these at home!

I still have a few more days before my vacation comes to an end, hope you aren't getting bored with these posts...

Golden Pork
1279 S King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone:808.888.5358

foodie friday

Friday started off with breakfast at Koa Pancake in Aiea.

Loco moco for Satoshi and a short stack of banana pancakes for me. Their coffee is awful...I know, I'm a coffee snob...

After breakfast, we did a few chores at home then visited with Dad and Grandma.

Lunch was from Poke Stop inside of Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens...the guy making the bowls was such a grouch...at least the lady at the register was nice...

Satoshi had their two choice with Garlic Edamame Ahi Poke and their Furikake Salmon Poke. I chose the mini with their Furikake Ahi Poke.

We both chose sushi rice but learned our lesson (too sweet) and will order just white rice next time.

We took our lunch to Kaimana Beach and were treated to free parking by the parking meter angels...there was a little over an hour on the meter! (Thank you!)

Then after lunch, we fought the gross back-up on Kapahulu due to road construction and picked up some items for dinner from Ono Seafoods.

On the way home, we checked out Satoshi's favorite lookout, Puu Ualakaa and then hit Champion Malasadas for a little snack.

Dinner was the lomi ahi and sashimi that we picked up from Ono Seafoods. It was our first time here but we liked their selection.

We also tried Lanikai Brewing's Pillbox Porter. I liked this one because there were nice notes of coffee and chocolate.

Another day of lots of running around, lots of food and lots of sun.

Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone:808.732.4806

foodie thursday

Satoshi's here for the next 5 days...so we gotta cram in all his favorites while also doing some family stuffs...

Soon after arriving we had lunch with my cousin P and her family and Aunty M at Nico's Pier 38.

Satoshi threw everyone off by ordering the garlic pesto shrimp instead of the loco moco...he gave this a thumbs up!

I ordered the Pier 38 burger...meh...way too much dill and garlic made everything a little overseasoned with no real "fish" taste...

After lunch we headed to Sand Island Access Park for a little game of catch with K, F and Satoshi.

Dinner was from Tamura's...an assortment of poke and Ommegang's Abbey Ale.

This beer was bit too bitter for my liking.

It was our first time trying Tamura's pokes. I think they have quite a nice assortment and the pricing quite reasonable.

All in all, a jam packed day, filled with lots of food, lots of talking, lots of laughter and lots of sun.

Tamura's
98-302 Kamehameha Hwy
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone:808.488.7444

mucho aloha

Tried this Mucho Aloha HPA Pale Ale recently.

Kinda fruity, easy to drink.

Bummed that it isn't really made in Hawaii though.

I had this with some goya champuru, fried gyoza and calamari.

Dunno that I would buy this one again but I'm glad I tried it.

craft beer house molto

Yesterday was a holiday, but Satoshi had to work so I met him for dinner in Umeda.

We checked out Craft Beer House Molto.

They have many craft beers from around Japan on tap.

You choose how much you want to drink...small (about 240ml), medium (about 450ml) and large (about 660ml)

And which beer you want to drink.

I started with Iwatekura's Oyster Stout (small) I liked the full body of this beer.

Satoshi also ordered a dark beer called Schwartz (medium), his seemed a bit watery.

The amuse bouche (tsukidashi--stuff you didn't order but are expected to pay for) was a jar of mixed nuts (pistachio, cashew & corn nuts)

Haven't eaten corn nuts in awhile, so good!

Buri (amberjack) carpaccio was the carpaccio of the day.

I liked the oiliness of this fish. They serve it with a gelee type dressing.

Assorted smoked items.

These come to the table on a smoking platter. Most of the items have been smoked previously keeping the meats/seafoods half raw.

This platter had tako (octopus), hotate (scallop), sasami (chicken breast), pork and salmon.

Under the salmon is a dollop of their potato salad.

Margherita pizza...tiny 4 or 5 inch.

The bottom was super crispy and the crust chewy.

Delicious.

By this time, Satoshi had had another beer (medium) (I cannot remember what) and ordered another one (medium) with my Isekadoya's Yuzu beer (small).

The yuzu beer started off with a nice yuzu aroma, but then the yuzu got to be too perfumy for my liking.

The view from the 31st floor was wonderful.

The weather was overcast, so the sunset was meh!

Total damage was a little over 8000 yen (the beers are what makes this place pricey). If you aren't a beer drinker they also have wines and cocktails too.

Make reservations if possible, they don't have that many seats and especially if you want to be seated by the windows!

We'll be back for special occasions...

Craft Beer House Molto
Hankyu Grand Building 31F
Kita-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6809.2641 (info), 050.5868.3983(reservations)
Lunch: 11:30-15:00, Dinner: 17:00-23:30
Open when Hankyu Grand Building is

merry christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope Santa brought all that you hoped for.

I bought us this assortment from Kiuchi Brewery, makers of Hitachino beers...Real ginger ale, Daidai IPA, Shuwashuwa umeshu (fizzy apricot wine), classic Japanese ale & Red Rice ale...we'll probably start tasting a couple of these tonight.

Christmas eve was an assortment of nibbles...veggies with bagna cauda sauce, kamaboko dip with ritz crackers and karaage (fried chicken).

I also had a glass of prosecco.

This morning, we traded gifts and Satoshi went off to work. Low-key Christmas as usual. I can't believe that 2014 is almost over.

We appreciate all the cards and messages from family and friends! (Thank you!)

Happy Holidays everyone!

amarcord ama mora

We had this Amarcord Ama Mora beer last night. Chocolatey!

Apparently it is made by a tiny brewery in Apeccio, Italy. The beer uses a selection of Pascucci coffee and Malawi sugar.

Too bad I didn't read about it before trying it, I could've paired it with some ice cream since it was like a porter.

Instead, we had this with kim chee gyoza and a salad.

I enjoyed this and would definitely buy it again.

What have you been enjoying these days?

halloween eats

What did you do on Halloween? Satoshi had plans, so I partied alone...

I "made" myself some scary sushi...I got the idea from a commercial for sushi vinegar. Their version was jack o'lanterns.

I bought the sushi from the market and just added the "scary" eyes and mouths. I made jack o'lanterns with salmon and ghosts with ika (squid).

I made some guacamole. I didn't have jalapenos so I just sprinkled some of that habanero salt that Kirk gave us...so good!

I munched on some Pop popcorn in their Rogue Blue (cheese) flavor...really cheesy and quite piquant.

For dessert I had a mont blanc which had purple sweet potato and pumpkin puree in place of the chestnut topping.

And for something to drink, this white beer by Baladin, an Italian maker. Super citrusy.

Hope you had a nice, safe Halloween.

meh

Over the weekend Satoshi and I shared the following two beers by Belhaven...oh em gee...just colored fizzy water with foam.

How can they even call this beer?!

Even more disappointing was their stout...just darker colored fizzy water with foam.

You know, I really don't like to post negative things, but this was bad.

Meh.

sunday dinner

With the salts that we received from Kirk, we tried them with dinner yesterday.

Kirk mentioned that the habanero salt was good with steak, so that is what I served. A-5 Kagoshima kuroge wagyu ichibo (top side).

I wasn't too sure what to serve the uni (sea urchin) salt with, but after tasting it, I thought it might be nice to dip seafood into it.

So I pan seared some scallops.　Since I didn't season the scallops before searing them, the uni salt gave the scallops a nice ocean-y flavor.

And we dipped our steak into the habanero salt...boy, did it have a nice after burn (cough!).

The fried ika (squid) and fried shrimp I picked up at the market so these were already pre-seasoned. We ate them as is.

For veggies we had some kiriboshi daikon mustard salad.

and washed everything down with this Italian Collesi Amberata. This amber ale was a little fruity and with 7.5% alcohol content had a nice kick.

This beer is unpasteurized and naturally fermented in the bottle. They suggest you serve this with grilled meat so this was perfect with my menu.

I'll keep experimenting with these infused salts. Do you use infused salts? Write how you use them in the comments. We both enjoyed our first try of these salts...Thanks again Kirk!

inedit

I saw this beer on Tabera (Japan's foodie Instagram) and when I saw it at a upscale market, I decided to check an import market near our area.

They had the beer and it was a little cheaper than the upscale market's price...whoo!

At 750 mililiters this amount was similar to a bottle of wine...The name of the beer, Inedit, means "never been done" in Spanish. Created by Ferran Adrià of El Bulli in 2008, he wanted a beer to "accompany and compliment modern gastromy".

This beer has some spices like coriander, liquorice and orange peel.

The little booklet that comes with the bottle suggest foods like starters, salads, fatty fish...citrus, cheese...so that is what I served.

kale chips and roasted cauliflowers, both tossed in a lemon balsamic dressing before roasting.

It was the first time making kale chips for me, I liked the crunchiness of the kale!

Caciocavallo, a cheese that reminded us of mozzarella, that is made in Hokkaido.

I've been wanting to try this cheese for some time, I'm glad we got to. So good melted!

I also made some fragrant chickpea salad.

And I marinated some sliced onions with some sliced lemon, vinegar, sugar and olive oil. I steamed some asparagus and topped it with some smoked salmon, the sliced onions and drizzled a little of the vinaigrette.

They suggest you serve this in a white wine glass.

Different to drink beer this way, but with all the different foods, the fruity notes really matched the foods, so good!

We also had some bread laden with two types of olives.

I'm glad we got a chance to try this!

p.s. I've started using Instagram again, please follow us if your are interested!

craft beer picnic

Saturday after Satoshi's German class, we grabbed something light for lunch, then headed to Nakanoshima Park to check out the Craft Beer Picnic.

There were about 13 booths and about 50 different beers from around Japan.

Even though there was a typhoon approaching, it was good to see everyone out and about.

For 1000 yen, you can buy "Drink & Food". You receive 10 tickets valued at 100 yen a piece. If you want to buy a 270 mililiter cup of beer you can use 4 tickets, or you can just use the tickets for foods.

For another 1000 yen, you can buy "Picnic Beer" tickets. You receive 4 tickets for 4-150 mililiter cups of beer, a paper tray, and a ticket to borrow a mat.

We bought one of each ticket.

I started off with Ise Kadoya's Stout (Mie prefecture) while Satoshi tried Shiga Kogen's African IPA.

Both were delicious!

For something to snack on, we bought this currywurst...600 yen.

Even though I like the snap of sausages in Japan, I like that the guy cut these up for us, it was easier to eat! That bread that came with it was good for mopping up that homemade sauce.

We also bought a large cup of chips...200 yen.

And a small bag of popcorn...200 yen.

Next I tried Dotombori's Osaka Dark Ale and Satoshi tried Tazawako's Pilsner (Akita prefecture)

Both of Satoshi's beers were really fruity!

A little bigger than the World Craft Beer Tasting event, we thought this event was nice too.

I hope we can check out more of these types of events in the future.