il paradosso

We stumbled upon Il Parradosso when we were looking for lunch one weekend...

They have an all-you-can-eat salad & bread area...all you need to do is order a pasta, pizza or meat dish.

I was impressed that they had veggies like watermelon radish.

The breads that I tried were so-so.

I ordered their beef tongue ragout which was good, but I think they put more proscuitto than beef tongue in their sauce though.

It was the first time someone put plastic gloves on to shave cheese over my pasta...

There was more sauce than pasta, so I gave it to Satoshi so he could mop it up with bread.

In fact, when he went to get some more bread, I was instructed to keep an eye on the plate so that the waitstaff wouldn't clear it...

The restaurant changes to a la carte for dinner, still, we want to check them out.

We'll be back!

Il Paradosso
Aste Kawanishi 3F
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.744.2631
Closed when the mall is
Hours: 11:00-22:00

kurokawa dahlia park

Since we loved our visit last year, we went to check them out again this year.

I didn't have much food in my refrig to make a decent bento, so we just made do with what we had.

Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), some cabbage and onion sauteed with olive oil & pepper, half a fig and 3 kinds of musubi.

We received another packet of seeds, I hope this year we'll be able to grow some dahlias that will flower.

It was super humid and the temps went back to August temps...so miserably hot.

Still, with all the rain, typhoons and such, it was nice to bond with nature for a little while.

meh and yum

Today's lunch at Ichirin Coffee was meh...1350 yen (tax included) for this sad looking, overly salty pasta.

They don't even give you some bread with your dish...Am not going back...ever.

Ending this post with a yum...

Yesterday's savory french toast stuffed with smoked chicken and 3 kinds of cheese (cheddar, emmental & parmesan) at Afternoon Tea.

Besides the french toast, it came with a small salad and a cup of minestrone...1300 yen (tax included)

There was also some blueberry sauce (not sweet) to drizzle.

This was so good! especially the burnt cheese bits.

The weather is still flip flopping, though they are forecasting the cherry blossoms to start blooming in Osaka around March 25.

How's your week going?

crazy pantry

Love Crazy Pantry!

They often have "not so common" veggies like colorful carrots, swiss chard...and recently..beets! or I should say beet!

This huge orb (about the size of a softball) was only 145 yen (plus tax).

It was labeled as a golden beet.

When I cut into it there was a slight layering of white and red, and after roasting a little golden tinge and a little fluorescent pink.

We enjoyed this with an herb vinaigrette.

What are you enjoying these days?

kurokawa dahlia park

A good 30 minute walk from the Myokenguchi station is the Kurokawa Dahlia Park.

Since we visited the area earlier in May, we knew about the park and looked forward to seeing the dahlias during Autumn.

Also, since we knew the area didn't have places to eat, we packed a little bento (tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), pickled cabbage, peanut nishime, assorted musubi & asian pear)

The park itself isn't too large, but there were many rows of different varieties of dahlia.

The bees were happy...

some were bigger than Satoshi's face!

We made a lot of "friends"...

With admission, they also give you some seeds to try growing your own dahlias, I'm definitely going to try next Spring.

It was a beautiful Autumn day, this park is a bit out of the way for us, but it was nice bonding with nature, we'll be back next year!

Kurokawa Dahlia Park
389 Kurokawa aza-Ochiai
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.702.7830
Open early to mid-September until early November
Hours: 9:00-16:00
Admission: 300 yen for high school students and adults

kiku

This past weekend was actually a 3-day weekend. It rained for the most part of it. Sunday, it was really gloomy and drizzly. We went to Kawanishi for lunch and checked out their kiku (chrysanthemum) display.

I was impressed with their bonsai. If you click on the photo you'll see that the roots of the kiku go all the way down the carved rock!

Another thing I was impressed with were these very tall kiku.

If you look at the potting, each pot has 3 stems, but they all come from one plant! Amazing!

There were also very different varieties of chrysanthemum.

Autumn is here.

jean-paul bigot

I recently tried some items at Jean-Paul Bigot...their sakura bread.

Preserved sakura leaves are chopped and worked into the french bread dough. The results are nice.

A little salty from the leaves, the fragrance of sakura and chewiness of baguette.

We had these for breakfast, but I think it would be nice with wine!

The petit pâté..a buttery flaky pastry filled with a moist pâté (reminded me of meatloaf)

I toasted this before eating and it was so good, I wish I had had another!

I really enjoy their stuff, I'll be back!

nagatomo

Friday was a holiday, so Satoshi had the day off.

The weather dude said it was gonna rain off and on, so we planned on staying indoors all day.

But when we woke up, it was sunny.

So we went walking...bad part was that it was so windy. Icy windy...brr.

Before starting the errands that we needed to run, we stopped in for lunch at Nagatomo. Apparently the cook formerly worked at a hotel restaurant, as a chef.

Satoshi went with ebi fry (fried shrimp)...I thought the mashed potato "swoosh" was fancy but overall plating was lacking some green like the shredded cabbage that usually comes with a dish like this.

Satoshi's lunch also came with a salad, miso soup and rice.

I went with the beef omu-rice (omelette with rice tucked underneath).

The rice was seasoned with beef, mushrooms and their demi-glace sauce.

The omelette was on the softer side making it easier to cover the rice.

It was topped with lots of ketchup and gravy and a nicely charred piece of beef.

My lunch also came with a salad and miso soup.

I think this restaurant mixes French and Japanese cuisines.

They have many choices for lunch, I think we'll be back.

Nagatomo (UPDATE:3/2015 this place is no longer in business)
Bell Flora Kawanishi East E-119
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.759.3715
Days off not set, so call before going
Lunch: 11:30-15:00 Dinner 17:00-23:00

crazy pantry

Great finds at Crazy Pantry recently...

Colorful carrots, cherry tomatoes, brussels sprouts and spinach...everything is priced a little higher than in most supermarkets, but I like the variety and freshness of everything there.

I'll be back.

crazy pantry

There is a relatively new shop in Kawanishi (two train stops from our station) called Crazy Pantry, run by Wakuwaku Hiroba.

You'll find fresh veggies as well as cooking condiments from all parts of Japan.

I've been picking up cherry tomatoes from this place...vine ripened goodness!

This was also the place I purchased the veggies for Masakichi's pickles at.

Yesterday, I spotted something new called "dragon red", a variety of potato.

These potatoes are quite tiny, like fingerlings.

But when you cut them open they are a light pink to medium fuchsia.

I roasted these and they were delicious.

Can't wait to see what other veggies Crazy Pantry will have next.

Crazy Pantry
Mosaic Box 1F
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.724.7078
Hours: 10:00-20:00, closed when Mosaic Box is.

cafe n.a.t.

On Tuesday, I met up with my friend, Hiromi, for some walking and lunch.

We walked from Ishibashi to Kawanishi-Noseguchi, about 3 miles. It was really sunny but also really windy! Our sun umbrellas couldn't compete with the wind.

So, by the time we reached Kawanishi-Noseguchi (about an hour), we were wind-blown and maybe a little sunburnt.

Hiromi introduced me to a rather new cafe, tucked in between a condo or two...Cafe N.A.T.

This cafe is unique because they only serve quiche and cake salé (a soft savory bread). AND they only make the quiche after you order it. (Actually, they do have other items on their menu, but their "star" is the quiche.)

There were several quiche to choose from and we both chose the seasonal version: fava beans & tuna.

Love love love the crust! It was flaky and the inside of the quiche was just perfect, not too eggy with lots of "stuff" (fava beans & tuna).

The cake salé was nice too, I think the green one was spinach and the orangey one was carrot.

It was a great day despite the wind, on the way back we checked out the koinobori and chatted our way back home.

I'm glad we did all that walking because on Wednesday, it rained all day!

We have a couple more days until Golden Week ends, I hope the weather gets better.

Cafe N.A.T.
21-14 Sakaemachi
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.741.4203
Closed Wednesdays, Hours: 11:00-22:30

on several walks

It is amazing what you see when you walk your usual walking route in the opposite direction.

I noticed this teeny hair salon. I don't think they are still in operation though.

Noticed this thin building.

Usually from the train you can see the side of the building, but when I walked towards it, I noticed it is like a slice of pie.

I also noticed these stairs.

Thought is was fun how they painted the underneath of the stairs a different color from the building.

At a shopping mall they had a contest, you had to guess how many chocolates were used to cover the bell.

Dunno what the answer is...

Every time I pass this apartment building, there is a MINI that is covered.

No matter what time of day I pass by, it is covered or gone.

At one point, I was so curious to see what was under the cover, I almost lifted up the cover...good thing I waited.

We passed by this bicycle shop in Osaka. I loved their sign, "what kind of bicycle do you like?" it says.

I guess this is why they call them sky scrapers...

> Satoshi and I were in awe of the items at Gucci...for kids!

What have you been seeing on your walks?

on a walk

Yesterday was a sunny day. The temps were forecasted to reach double digits, which meant 10C (50F) for us, perfect for a walk.

Satoshi and I went to check out a relatively new cafe in the neighborhood called Cafe de Mercerie.

I looked up mercerie and it means haberdasher in French. Not knowing what haberdasher was I looked that up too. It means someone who sells knick-knacks for sewing like buttons, ribbons.

The interior was nice and I liked their pendant lighting. I also liked how they had vintage sewing machine pedals as part of their decor (the seating facing the street).

Satoshi ordered their morning set: a hard boiled egg, toast and salad with coffee...450 yen.

I ordered their cappuccino...500 yen.

A great place (except that they allow smoking), I want to go back and try their lunch menu.

After our little break, we continued our walk and came upon a tiny wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop called Fukusuke-do.

We purchased their wafers, each one is stamped with a picture of Ikeda-jo (Ikeda castle)...so crisp and delicious! 7 wafers for 500 yen.

Upon looking them up on the internet, I found out that this tiny shop has been in business since 1841! wow!

And just before reaching the end of our walk to Kawanishi, we came upon this vending machine...selling macaron.

The cake shop, which the vending machine is in front of, sells their macaron from it along with bottled drinks.

For 400 yen, you get two macaron, the flavors are chosen at random...after putting your money in, out pops a glass jar.

Dunno if the plopping of the jar in the machine or trying to pry them out crushed them, but they got a little beaten up.

The two flavors that came out were strawberry and sesame. The strawberry one had a whipped strawberry cream and the sesame had a black sesame buttercream. I liked the sesame one while Satoshi preferred the strawberry one.

Total sweet foodie day and all while on a walk.

Cafe de Mercerie
1-11-1 Asahigaoka
Ikeda, Osaka
Phone: 072.761.1023
Closed Saturdays, hours: 9:00-20:00

Fukusuke-do
3-2 Tateishi-cho
Ikeda, Osaka
Phone: 072.751.4251
Open everyday 11:00-15:00

Sweets Club BeBee
2-6-2 Oobe
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.744.2554
Closed Mondays, hours: 10:00-19:00

l-o-n-g

Lately I've been buying baguette from Bigot (bee-go). Most places charge between 240 and 260 yen, the size of the baguette range too.

Some charge the higher of the price range and give you a teeny baguette...boo!

I like the fact that Bigot's baguette is about 60 centimeters (that is nearly 2 feet) and only 241 yen (tax included)...yeah, I measured it.

When you toast it, the outside gets crispy and the inside kinda chewy.

I know in France most people keep their baguette in a cloth bag, but in Japan, they give you a plastic one.

I usually re-use the plastic bag I receive and put other breads into it afterwards.

This was the view of our mountains yesterday with a sprinkling of snow.

p.s. I've added a QR code for this blog (in the Buttons Galore section), just scan the code with your reader and bookmark us.

It's Friday here, hope you have a great weekend!

on a walk

Friday, I took a walk...it was a route I hadn't been on before.

Part of it went up a steep stairway....when you get to the top, you see the huge freeway hovering over you.

Then you need to walk under the freeway...it seemed even bigger.

Somehow, I think the McDonald's in Japan are really stylish, here's one with a drive-thru.

And this supermarket..."now fresh" kinda scary, what kind of foods were they selling before?!

"no pee-ing"...recently a lot of places use the symbol for a temple (the red torii (gate)), they figure if people see it, they won't pee there, or dump rubbish...hopefully it works.

Near the end of my walk, there was an underpass, the walls were covered with all sorts of mosaic pictures.

Like this one, of kasanemochi, a symbol for the New Year.

tako (which means kite) another symbol for the New Year.

And an oni (devil), a symbol for Setsubun (First day of Spring).

What have you been seeing on your walks?