shinagawa yakiimo terrace

The last time I went to this event was just as the pandemic was starting up in 2020

This year you had to buy an entrance ticket for 500 yen which they were pre-selling online.

Choose a time and date that you wanted to attend...11:00-13:00, 13:30-15:30, 16:00-18:00, Wednesday (2/1) to Sunday (2/5).

I chose Wednesday at 11:00-13:00.

I was happy that I could pay for this with my mobile payment account.

The check-in desk opened at 10:30, they checked our QR codes then had us stand in another line until 11:00 when the event opened.

We had to put this sticker on so they knew we had checked in (photo above).

You should know that there are two types of roasting textures…hokuhoku which is flaky and can be a little dry. The other type is nettori which is wet and sticky.

In the past all roasted potatoes were the hokuhoku type, but recently new varieties have popped up and when roasted they are nettori.

For this event, there are 15 vendors.

First stop, Souunmitsuimo, a shop from Okayama.

This yakiimo had so much "sugar" coming out of it!

This variety was nettori and super sweet...800 yen tax included

Next, Higeshoten, a shop from Fukui. 

They had a variety called Tomitsu. 

I purchased their Tomitsu beniimo…500 yen, not as sweet as Souunmitsuimo, but still sweet and hokuhoku.

My last stop was Kobe Imoya Shinomoto, a shop from Kobe. 

They had an original variety called Satoura Gold…600 yen tax included 

This variety was slightly sweet and hokuhoku

Mitsuharuka…700 yen tax included 

This variety was sweet and nettori.

I’m glad I was able to purchase the varieties I wanted.

It was the first time for us to try these varieties.

I put most of these into the freezer for us to enjoy in the coming weeks.

I hadn't noticed before but noticed today that you can see Tokyo Tower from this park.

Since most of the other vendors are from areas near Tokyo, I'll check them out in the future.

shinagawa yakiimo terrace

The other night on the news they advertised a food event being held January 27 to February 2 called Shinagawa Yakiimo Terrace.

15 vendors bringing different varieties of yakiimo (roasted sweet potato).

During the week, the event started at noon but this past Saturday & Sunday they were starting at 10...so I went to check them out on Saturday, since Satoshi had a German class.

I got to Shinagawa a little after 10 but went out the wrong exit, so by the time I reached the event it was already past 10:30.

This was a look at another booth from the line I was in...

The booth I stood in line for was called Moi Moi.

They are a roving sweet potato truck from Chiba...I've shown you a yakiimo truck before here.

Anyway, since the event was held in a park in the shadows of a high rise, it was fahreezing with the blustery winds.

As I stood in line, I noticed a sign for the booth that said that all their sweet potato come out at different times, so I decided on two types that I wanted to buy but knew that if they weren't roasted yet, I'd have to choose two others.

Luckily, the two that I wanted were ready...Ayamurasaki.

Deep purple goodness! slightly sweet and delicious.

Ayakomachi

Bright orange...tasted sweet like carrots!

I'm glad I got to try these varieties of sweet potato and look forward to this event next year!

setagaya boroichi

I've been wanting to check out the Setagaya Boroichi for awhile now and finally got to do so yesterday.

From where we live it took me about an hour (and three transfers) to get to Setagaya.

Since it was a weekday, it wasn't krazy crowded (though I did get banged around by older ladies not paying attention where they were walking!)

This boroichi (literally rag market...flea market) has been around since 1578!

It is held every December 15th & 16th and January 15th and 16th from 9:00-20:00.

It used to be a place where fabrics were traded but these days it is more like a flea market where there are vendors selling old and new things.

The specialty of the market is the Daikanmochi.

The line can be short or very long.

I overheard a man telling another man that at last month's boroichi, the line for mochi was a 5 hour wait!

Thank goodness I only had to wait an hour...still, it was fahreezing, but I guess it is better than it being gross humid (or raining)....

You could choose between 3 types...karami mochi, anko (sweet bean paste) and kinako (soy bean powder).

I purchased the karami mochi (karami means spicy), because it was something I don't see too often.

The mochi is covered with a "spicy" grated daikon, a little shoyu, nori, some chili and katsuobushi (shaved bonito).

We had this for dinner with some veggies.

Before heading home, I picked up some nikuman from Lu Gang, which makes Taiwan style steamed meat buns.

They do have different flavors, but during the boroichi they were only selling their original meat bun.

I loved how the outside was a little sweet and the pork inside was just that, no fillers.

I am glad I checked out this flea market and look forward to going back to Lu Gang.

Have a nice weekend.

Lu Gang
3-1-12 Setagaya
Setagaya, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5799.3031
Hours: 9:00 until sold out
Closed Wednesdays & Thursdays

the fourth

So how was your 4th of July?

If you celebrated, I hope you all had a blast.

We got together for dinner at my Aunty M's so that we could watch the fireworks from her place afterwards.

Dinner was picnic foods...musubi, tamagoyaki (rolled omlette), teriyaki beef, chicken apple sausage, watercress salad, potato salad and fresh pineapple.

As appetizers, we also had store-bought spanakopita which is spinach and cheese (?) wrapped in phyllo...yum!

I also had a glass of 2009 Cupcake Red Velvet wine...a spicy red with some vanilla in it...loved the name and taste of it!

Here's my plate, 1st round...ahem! (the pineapple was so sweet and juicy! mmm!)

Dessert was apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

And then the fireworks show...thought this one looked like a hibiscus...so pretty.

Another great 4th of July, hope yours was filled with family, fun and food!

hawaii celebrates

Hawaii's graduation season is in full force. One of my cousins just graduated so I was lucky to be able to celebrate with her, some of her family and friends.

Sitting on the edge of Kaneohe Bay is the yacht club, it was my first time here and it is a beautiful place.

For pupus (appetizers) we had poke (po-kay) tuna seasoned with ogo (a type of seaweed), onions, shoyu, sesame oil and chili...delish.

And then there was the buffet line...so many things to eat, not enough space on the plate!

You should have seen the roast beef that they were carving from...HUGE!

And rounding out the event, a beautiful sunset...Congratulations A!

himeji

Today we went to the Himeji Kashihaku. It is an expo for sweets! Apparently this event has been around for 100 years and the last one was held in Kumamoto. I had seen an ad for it last year, and told Satoshi that I wanted to go.It is about an hour and a half from Osaka to Himeji by train.

After a couple days of rain, we were worried about the weather, but it turned out to be a nice, HOT, day.

For 2000 yen (about US$20), you get admission to the event. The thing that I hate about events/fairs in Japan are the tons of people that show up. Almost all the areas had a waiting time of about 2 hours! (no fast passes, here!)

Who knew there were this many different kinds of castella?






Or this many different types of momiji manju (maple leaf manju)?


The nice thing about waiting in line was that you had great photo opportunities to take pictures of Himeji castle.



A lot of the attractions had "no photos" allowed, but heck, if I have to wait 2 hours to see it, I think I deserve to take a photo.

So take photos I did (as well as everyone else...)












By the time we got through seeing 2 attractions, it was 14:00, so we decided to find lunch. The problem was how long we wanted to wait to get some...we found a really short line for these. Tempura--a fishcake that is fried. We had some with tako (octopus), renkon (lotus root) & cheese.

After having "lunch" we debated standing in other 2-hour lines to see other things, but it was HOT and sunny, so we gave up and headed back towards the station.

We stopped into a department store for some coffee. Can you believe this family left their baby stroller which was borrowed from the department store right in the middle of the walk area, went into the cafe and had their coffee while everyone outside had to be careful not to flip over it? (sigh)

I had the coffee roll (400 yen about US$4). A light, fluffy coffee flavored cake covered with chocolate.

Though it was a hot day, filled with lots of people, and long lines, we were able to see all kinds of sweets from all over Japan.

Hope you have a great week!

dishes of comfort :updated

My friend, Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice invited all bloggers to post about their "dishes of comfort". Check out her blog on November 15th to see everyone else's dishes.

I decided to post about a dish that my mom often made for a special occasion when I was growing up, and now sometimes makes when I go home to Hawaii....Shrimp Pineapple.

I'm not too sure what it is about this dish that is so comforting to me. Maybe the fried shrimp? Maybe the thick, sweet and sour sauce? The combination of these two? Or maybe just the fact that my mom made it?

I didn't have my mom's recipe, but found something in her church's cookbook, "Wisteria Delights", and think that maybe it is her recipe.

Here's the recipe:
1 pound shrimp
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple in heavy syrup
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
oil

Sauce: 3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ketchup
2-3 drops Tabasco sauce

Shell and clean shrimp.
Stir beaten eggs lightly into flour and salt and mix well. Add shrimp to thick batter.
Fry shrimp until light brown.
Place shrimp on paper towel.
Combine ingredients for sauce and cook until done.
You may either cook the pineapple chunks in the sauce or garnish shrimp with pineapple and pour over sauce.
Variation: Cook the pineapple in the sauce and add the fried shrimp to the cooked sauce and heat until warm.

Notes: the pineapple they have in Japan is way too sweet! I would definitely not have put the sugar into the sauce had I known. Also, I used olive oil to fry and it didn't come out too crisp. Next time, will definitely buy bigger shrimp! I served this with brown rice and stir-fried veggies. All in all, it was still good and reminded me of home.

Enjoy!

p.s. I forgot to mention that this event is also being hosted by Orchidea of Viaggi e Sapori

Thank you both!

blog day 2006

August 31st is Blog Day 2006.*

I came across this event on Chef Paz's blog. The rules are that you need to post about 5 blogs that are new to yourself and introduce them to the rest of the blogging world.

Sorry, I could only find 4:

Elke's blog: Quilterin2006, here she showcases her quilting (or so I think, I can't read German). Elke lives in Austria and we met through Postcrossing.

Mia's blog: Miaspostcrossing. Living in Finland, she also participates in Postcrossing and shows off all the cards she has received through trades.

Laura's blog: My Journey. A friend from Hawaii, who recently started blogging about her faith and different encounters.

Ellie's blog: Kitchen Wench, a Melbournian, whom I met through B.P.W., she has some delicious adventures and a cute Golden named Mr. Woofy.

*I'm posting this a couple of days early because I'll be on vacation (yes, we housewives need them too!) Satoshi and I will be heading up to Hokkaido, which is the North of Honshu--mainland Japan--it is also 10 degrees plus cooler! (woo hoo! and yes, it is STILL hot and humid here....) We'll be back in a week or so, then be heading out again over the next weekend to go to Kyushu, which is an island to the Southwest of Honshu and hopefully not too hot!

Be back soon with lots of food photos and adventures to tell!

la festa al fresco-updated

I was so excited when my friend, Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice invited me to her wonderful pot-luck party called La Festa al Fresco.

Since the party is celebrating the summer's bounty, everyone needs to bring a dish featuring a fresh summer ingredient. Although, Toronto is already starting to have cooler weather (lucky guys!), it is still very hot & humid here in Japan.

I thought about what to make and I decided to make somen salad. Somen is an ingredient which I posted about recently here. This salad is really easy to make and can often be found at pot-luck parties in Hawaii.

Here's the recipe: Somen Salad, serves 6-8 adapted from "80 years of 4-H cooking in Hawaii" pages 30 & 31.
Ingredients:
1 pkg. somen
1 head lettuce, chopped fine
1 cucumber, slivered
2 eggs, scrambled
1/4 lb. char siu, slivered
1/2 pkg. kamaboko (7 oz.), slivered
1/4 lb. ham, slivered
3 stalks green onion, chopped

Sauce:
1 T. sesame seeds
1/2 c. shoyu
1/4c. sugar
1/4c. vinegar
1/4c. sesame oil

Cook noodles according to package directions, rinse and drain. Mix sauce ingredients together. Chill. To serve, place somen on a large platter. Garnish with remaining ingredients. Pour sauce over salad just before serving.

Notes: Char siu, is a chinese roasted pork. If you can't get this ingredient, just use ham or shredded chicken. I didn't have either, so didn't put any into the salad.

Sometimes somen comes bound in little bundles, like this. When you buy your somen, you can either make the whole package or a couple of bundles depending on how many people you are feeding. For 2 people, I only used 1 bundle.


Kamaboko, is a fish cake paste that is steamed onto a board or bamboo rod. If you have ever had a hard time taking the kamaboko off of the board, run the back-side of your knife (the dull side) down in between of the kamaboko and the board and it will come off the board really clean!

You can use whatever veggies are available in your area--or like! I added more types of veggies than what the recipe called for.

Enjoy!

p.s. check out Cream Puffs' site on September 5, when she posts all the foods brought to the party! I can't wait!

Update: I forgot to mention that the party is being hosted by Ivonne and Lis of La Mia Cucina (sorry Lis!)

b.p.w. (part 2)-updated

My postcard went into the mail on August 1st. I checked on Meeta's blog to see all the other cards being sent out. It was kind of like waiting for Christmas Day but being able to look into all the packages.

And then, my postcard came in the mail today! I was really happy. Too bad, something is wrong with Blogger, I can't upload my picture of the card. :(

Here's what the card looks like on my new blog friend, Ricky's Seventeen Tomatoes blog. His postcard is a picture of Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. I've never been to this part of Canada and love to see flowers and botanical gardens, so, I'll definitely have to put this place on our list of places to travel to.

Thanks Meeta for coordinating this event! It was definitely fun.

UPDATE: I was finally able to upload the card that I received....
thanks Ricky for the pretty card and cheery message!

b.p.w.

I'm always excited to make a new friend, so when I saw this great event posted on Ivonne's Cream Puffs in Venice blog, I knew I just had to participate. The event is being hosted by Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey?, and is called Blogger Postcards of the World or B.P.W. It is a nice way to send a little smile to a fellow blogger overseas--plus, everyone loves to receive a letter or postcard in their mailbox, right?

The rules are that we have to take a photo of the postcard that we are sending out. We also have to post about the card that we receive.

Here's my postcard: a cool dish of somen with condiments. Somen is like angel hair pasta (cappellini) and is usually eaten cold during the hot and humid summers in Japan. The basket to the far upper-left has some fresh wasabi (mountain horseradish) and sudachi (limes). There is also tsuyu (a dipping sauce made of fish stock and shoyu(soy sauce)) in the little container between the basket and the somen. The little container to the left of the somen has yakumi (condiments) in it. Usually for somen the yakumi is negi (green onion) and shoga (ginger). This basket has negi and hanaho (shiso (beefsteak, perilla) flowers).

Also in summer, there is a "dish" called nagashi somen, in which a L-O-N-G piece of bamboo is hulled to form a "waterway" for the somen to travel, the somen flows down the bamboo chute in ice cold water, the "eaters" stand-by with chopsticks in one hand and the dipping sauce in another hand and catch the running somen in their chopsticks, dip it in the sauce and enjoy! WARNING: Be sure not to position yourself towards the end of the chute or you'll probably not be eating anything...either that, or position all the "eaters" that can't use chopsticks at the head of the chute--then you can eat everything that swishes past them :)

I chose this card because it has been so hot and humid here in Osaka. And I think that my blogger postcard buddy is probably experiencing the same type of summer (or maybe hotter?). Oh, and I wrote my message with blue ink. In Japan, especially during the summer, it is customary when writing letters or cards to use blue ink to give a "cool" feeling.

Hope I made your day and my blogger postcard buddy's day a little brighter (and cooler)!

Can't wait to see the postcard that I will receive!

What a nice way to start August! Thanks Meeta!

p.s. Today is my 2nd cousin, Kellen's 3rd birthday, Happy Birthday!