synergy

Sorry it's been quiet here.

I had a root canal procedure done on the last day of February...don't worry, it wasn't painful and I was able to eat afterwards...

Life just got a little busy after that...

Anyway, after my procedure, I went to Synergy getting there about 5 minutes before opening.

The owner makes a 3 types of curries...chicken, pork and a weekly.

This week was a sakura keema.

"Sakura" is what people call horse meat because of the pink color.

The meat was a little tough but I still enjoyed this.

Just the right amount of spices to give a little burn but not totally blast your tastebuds.

At the end of your meal, she also gives you a tiny jigger of yogurt with honey as a palate cleanser.

I noticed the chicken and pork curries didn't have the bright veggies that the weekly one did, so I'm glad I chose the weekly one.

I'll be back...oh and I need to go back to the dentist in a couple of weeks to get more treatments done to that root canal-ed tooth (thank goodness for health insurance!)

Synergy
1-5-35 Dojima
Kita, Osaka
Phone: n/a
Hours: 11:30-14:00 (or earlier if she runs out)
Open: Monday-Friday
Closed: Saturday, Sunday & Holidays

le sucre-coeur

Last March, Le Sucre-Coeur moved from Kishibe to Umeda. (I've seen different sites that say they still have their Kishibe store...)

I visited them in Kishibe back in 2008.

Of course when they moved to Umeda, "everyone" went to check them out...so the lines were krazy.

Some waiting for over 2 hours to get in.

Last week, after my dentist appointment, I finally went to check them out.

I got there 10 minutes before opening and there was a line.

Not a huge line, but still a line.

I picked up their quiche dauphinoise (potato quiche), pâté and tuna sandwiches and half of their fig bread.

The quiche was so creamy and cheesy! They also added some bleu cheese to it...so good! The crust nice and flaky.

The sandwiches were delicious too. Very flavorful and there were also caramelized onions in the pâté sandwich too!

We tried the fig bread before and it didn't disappoint. Lots of dried figs in it.

I'm glad they are closer and hope to be back soon!

Le Sucre-Coeur
1-2-1 Dojimahama, Shin-Dai Building 1F
Kita-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6147.7779
Closed Sunday & Monday
Hours: 11:00-21:00

foodie saturday

Saturday, after Satoshi's German class, we went to check out Harijyu Curry Shop.

Satoshi had the beef katsu curry...the katsu just as tender as when I had it the week before. Though he said the curry could've been spicier...950 yen

I had their hayashi rice (hashed beef) is a rich demi-glace based "beef stew". It was so good, though their peas were on the hard side...850 yen

Since they get their beef from their meat shop, we definitely recommend the beef dishes!

Since we had time before meeting up with Satoshi's friend for dinner, we went to check out Mondial Kaffee 328.

I was surprised it was right across the street from El.Zocalo Burrito.

In fact, the building that the cafe is in was new too.

Not a very large shop, they did have many chairs to lounge in.

Satoshi had their European blend while I had their matcha latte.

I liked that this latte wasn't overly sweet like some matcha lattes can be.

Dinner was with Satoshi's friend and his wife at a hotel buffet.

The buffet's theme was Australian. There was crocodile, kangaroo, lamb and lamingtons. I loved their chocolate fountain, you could coat just about anything with it at their dessert station.

A great foodie day, filled with lots of walking and lots of talking.

Harijyu Curry Shop
1-9-17 Dotombori
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6213.4736
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: 11:00-21:00

Mondial Kaffee 328
1-6-16 Kita-horie
Nishi-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6585.9955
Hours: 8:30-21:00, call to see if they are open--days off not determined

ANA Crown Plaza Hotel
1-3-1 Dojimahama
Kita-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6347.1112

grand marble

When I'm on the computer, I often also listen to the radio.

This particular station often advertises Grand Marble's danish breads, which sounded really delicious.

The main store is in Kyoto, but they also have a little shop in Osaka.

I picked up their fig and chocolate...1260 yen.

I sliced the bread into 8 slices and froze 4.

We had a toasted slice for breakfast with tea yesterday.

Lots of chocolate and figs in there.

This is definitely not for everyday though it would really make a great gift.

Grand Marble Dojima store
1-1-13 Dojima
Kita, Osaka
Phone: 06.6345.5166
Open weekdays 11:00-24:00

p.s. It's Friday! Hope you have a great weekend.

cafe tous les jours

Last month after we tried Tea Salon Musica, I read up on Cafe Tous les Jours which I mentioned is located at the back of the Tea Salon.

This cafe serves pasta, curry and quiche as well as desserts.

I chose the curry set. You can choose between chicken or spinach curry (I chose spinach curry), rice or baguette (I chose baguette). This also came with a small salad and drink (I chose iced chai)...950 yen (about US$9.50).

I was surprised with this curry as there was hardly any "stuff" in there, just two pieces of potato. The spiciness and flavor was delicious and I loved that they gave me a lot of thick sliced bread to dip into the curry.

(I hate those places where they only give you two slices of bread (sometimes really thin slices), how can you enjoy mopping up sauces with only two slices?)
Satoshi chose the Saturday special 1780 yen (about US$17)

This came with a huge salad, antipasto plate, choice of pasta (uni (sea urchin) cream or kanimiso (crab innards)), dessert and choice of drink.

The uni cream pasta seemed to be the signature item here, so that is what he chose. There was lots of cream, tomato sauce and uni (sea urchin). If you like uni, you'll like this dish.

Satoshi's dessert was rum raisin ice cream and an azuki bean cheesecake. For his drink he chose hot chai.

(If he didn't have to run off to German language class, he said he surely would have had a glass of wine with this lunch (as it is a choice for the prix fixe menu!))

My only peeve is that they allow smoking, unlike the tea salon which doesn't.

This place is popular, within the time we were there, the seats filled up and there was quite a bit of chatter in the air.

We'll be back.

Cafe Tous les Jours (located at the back of Tea House Musica) :this shop closed in 2013
1-4-4 Dojimahama (Aqua Dojima Bldg, Fontana Wing 3F)
Kita, Osaka
Phone: 06.6342.7886
Open: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-22:30, Closed Sundays & Holidays

tea salon musica

Another place that has been on my "to try" list is Tea Salon Musica. We finally got around to trying it.

I had read several reviews of this place and was worried that smoking would be allowed in the salon, but to my surprise, they have banned it on Saturdays until 18:00 (whoo hoo!)

We ordered a sandwich set to share 1200 yen (about US$12), this came with the sandwich of your choice (Satoshi chose the BLT) and a pot of tea, which unfortunately was pre-set, "Pride of Sri Lanka", served hot.

The tea cozy was cute and was in the shape of an elephant.

Unlike the sandwiches at Kitahama Retro, this sandwich was "normal" sized. Satoshi liked the tea and sandwich. The tea was supposedly delicious with milk, but he had this straight.

The bacon wasn't crispy but was still delicious.
I ordered the scones to share 450 yen (about US$4.50) and an Earl Grey Iced Tea 480 yen (about US$4.80). I actually could have ordered the scones as a set (with tea for 800 yen about US$8), but would have had to drink the pre-set tea, "Pride of Sri Lanka". (The day was rather warm and on top of that, they don't allow you to order the tea with their sets to be iced.)

Kind of strict when it comes to the set menu (prix fixe) items.

I thought the Earl Grey was so-so, it was more smokey and not too citrusy. The scones were kind of on the dry side also. I think we should have gone with a cake (or two) instead.

If you want to eat pasta or other food items beside scones, sandwiches and cake, you should head to the back of the shop where they have a cafe called Cafe tous les Jours.

I'm not sure if smoking is banned during Saturdays here also, but I have heard that this cafe has jazz and piano performances in the evening.

Overall, we enjoyed the quiet atmosphere in the tea salon.

At the very front of the shop is where they sell their teas. Did you know that Tea Salon Musica was the very first in Japan to serve tea brewed in a tea pot? This was in 1952.

Now almost everywhere you go in Japan, tea is served in a tea pot.

One of their most famous items is their Dojima Breakfast tea. I didn't buy it on this day but will go back soon to get some.

I'm glad we got to try this place, and knowing that smoking is not allowed on Saturdays, I'm sure we'll be back.

Tea House Musica : this shop closed in 2013
1-4-4 Dojimahama (Aqua Dojima Bldg, Fontana Wing 3F)
Kita, Osaka
Phone: 06.6345.5414
Open: 11:00-22:00, Closed Sundays & Holidays

Cafe Tous les Jours (located at the back of Tea House Musica) : this shop closed in 2013
Phone: 06.6342.7886
Open: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-22:30

hara donuts

Recently, Tamakikat posted about Hara Donuts.

These donuts started from a shop in Kobe that makes tofu (soy bean curd). After looking at the address for the tofu shop, I figured out that it is located near my host family's home.

On the website, I saw that they have a shop in Osaka, so I went to check them out after French class yesterday. (I didn't know it at the time, but it was "Fat Tuesday".)

I really wanted to try their ko-cha (earl grey) donut, but they didn't have this flavor on this day, so I chose 4 different ones for Satoshi and I to try.

Hara Donut--the original, made from tonyu(soy milk) and okara(soy lees).

Tamba Kuromame Kinako--Tamba is an area in Kyoto that is famous for their black beans. This donut is sprinkled with roasted kuromame (black bean) and kinako (soy bean powder), this one had a nice nuttiness flavor to it.

Satsumaimo--sweet potato, there were crunchy bits of sweet potato in the donut.

Ponkan--this donut was frosted with a citrus icing. (by the way, ponkan is a type of citrus.)

Hara Donuts : this shop is no longer at this address
2-1-38 Dojima
Kita-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6341.0826
Open from 11:00-21:00 or until their donuts sell out

I liked them all since they were not heavy like cake donuts. They reminded me of those soy milk donuts in Kyoto's Nishiki market. I want to try their rolled cake at their sister store, Hara Roll, but that will have to wait for another time.

jal & mon chou chou

It had been ages since flying with JAL. The amount of direct flights from Kansai International to Hawaii have been getting lesser and lesser as the years pass.

I usually fly United in order to accumulate mileage, but since they only fly out from Narita now, and there were talks of maybe them merging companies and maybe discontinuing the mileage program, we decided to use up our United mileage and join JAL's mileage program instead.

I try not to eat on board, the food isn't always good, and then if we hit turbulence...well, you get the picture.

So, I was all ready to skip my meal on board when I saw this orange box...Mon chou chou's Dojima roll cake. This cake is so popular in Osaka that there are lines to buy them.

Of course, not having tried it in Osaka I had to eat it...after eating some veggies and fruit, the entree was nothing spectacular.

The soft sponge cake is jammed with whipped cream....there is more cream than cake...delicious. I can see why there are lines for this.

Before our meal, everyone also received slippers and wipes for perspiration.

The thing that surprised me was that as soon as they cleared our dinner trays, they passed out these bags filled with a bottle of water, an anpan (sweet bean filled bun) & a milk bread...our breakfast.

The flight was long (close to 8 hours), but at least I was able to sleep.

I am glad that the tradewinds are back, I've heard it has been quite miserable for the pass couple of days.

Hope you have a great weekend.

p.s. my dates and times will be posted in Japan time.