onigiri marutoyo

wanted to try Onigiri Marutoyo but every time we've gone to Tsukiji they were closed...so I finally got to when I ran an errand at Tsukiji on Monday

Luckily there wasn't a line when I got there
 

the kari kari (crunchy) ume shirasu (whitebait) musubi/onigiri had bits of nori and Japanese mustard cabbage too...383 yen (tax included)

Their musubi/onigiri are kinda large

their karaage (fried chicken) was a bit too greasy...270 yen (tax included)

They also have sashimi bowls and rolls but I want to try other onigiri/musubi and their noriben...I'll be back

Onigiri Marutoyo

4-9-9 Tsukiji, Tsukiji Outer Market

Chuo, Tokyo

Closed: Wednesdays & Sundays

Hours: 7:00-13:00

*cash only

saturday

V said she was gonna check out the kawazu zakura at Chidorigafuchi and said if I had time I could tag along 

I wasn’t familiar with this type of sakura near Chidorigafuchi, so I looked online and found some located at the Imperial North Garden

So that’s where we went

There were several trees and very little people

It was nice bonding with nature

We stumbled upon a statue of Yoshida Shigeru, who (I looked up afterwards) was the Prime Minister of Japan after the war (I think I told V it was during the war, but it was after)

I bought some musubi for our lunch from Momochi, in the JR Shinagawa station

Ebiten

Iburigakko (smoked takuan)

Ume

And then we walked through the Imperial East Garden

There were some early blooming sakura

Then we went one station over to Yurakucho

Shopped at some antenna shops

After seeing V off to do some shopping, I went to other antenna shops

Hoping this tomato ume sauce from Wakayama will be tasty

And hoping this Trappist butter from Hokkaido will also be tasty

This chocolate ring cake from Godiva's Bakery was delicious. 

Dark chocolate cake and chocolate "frosting" and a chocolate square

V also let us try these coffee cookies from Hiyoko from Kyushu, if you’ve tried their chick shaped manju, this cookie is way better

Thanks for today V, I hope you enjoyed your trip and have a safe trip home

It was nice hanging out with you.

onigiriya

There are two kinda new onigiriya (rice ball shops) in our neighborhood

One uses Ootori's space during lunch time, they are called Washoku Onigiriya
 

The other uses the Kodomo Shokudo's space, they are called Inaho

I bought one musubi both ume from each to try.

Inaho (left) was 210 yen (tax included), Onigiriya's was 350 yen (tax included) (right)

Even if Inaho's was cheaper, I liked the flavor of Onigiriya's (maybe because they also had shiso (perilla) in their musubi)

I'm glad I tried them both and want to try other "flavors", I’ll be back

hiroshi

Hiroshi is made by Mishima, the same company that makes Yukari (the red shiso mix) and is short for Hiroshima-na, a green veggie similar to chinese cabbage grown in Hiroshima.

I recently stumbled upon this mix at the 100 yen store.

Just mix a teaspoon with 1 chawan bowl of rice and let the steam of your rice reconstitute the greens.

I made musubi for our breakfast with bubu arare, sesame seeds and this hiroshi.

Delicious.

I would buy this again.
 

tik tok hack spam musubi thingy

Are you on Tik Tok? We aren't but I had been seeing this hack (using a tortilla) being reposted on Instagram.

Anyway, I was inspired by blog friend, Jenny of "Maybe It's Jenny" who recently posted about her spam musubi tik tok hack.

And decided to try...

Probably just me, but I felt that you cannot put too many things in here.

I'm glad I tried this but will stick to making onigirazu if I want to use a whole piece of nori.

Thanks Jenny.

hana musubi

Every since I started making bento for Satoshi back in January, condiments to add to rice catch my eye whenever I am shopping.

I've seen this at Kaldi and finally bought some to try.

It's called go-shoku hana musubi (literally 5 color flower rice ball).

There are 5 different "colors"...carrot, green shiso (perilla), akakabu (red turnip), shibazuke (a purple pickle), aona (a type of green veg),

For one cup of cooked rice you mix in one of the 8 packets.

(When I tried this, I actually mixed in 1 packet for 1.5 cups of cooked rice)

After mixing in the packet, let it steam in the rice cooker for at least 10 minutes.

So pretty, easy and delicious! You can't really taste all the different items separately, but it is a nice way to "jazz" up your rice.

salmon takuan rice

The weather has gone from cool to broiling hot!

Over the weekend, the temps were said to be July/August levels...gah!

Anyway, I wanted to share this easy recipe.

We stumbled upon this combination when we bought a couple of musubi from a sozai (pre-made food) shop.

For 1 cup of cooked rice mix in 30 grams of flaked salmon (I used a bottled type) and 30 grams of thinly sliced takuan.

Add a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Serve in chawan (rice bowl) or make into musubi.

NOTES: For this version, I don't wrap the musubi in nori.

We just eat as is.

So delicious, we love the sweet crunch from the takuan and salty from the salmon.

I've already made this twice and it is quickly becoming a favorite of ours.

Hydrate everyone, summer is here!

gattsu umai kome hashimoto

I tried a new place today, Gattsu Umai Kome Hashimoto.

They sell rice by weight and they also sell musubi. If you want, you can also eat at their counter.

I picked up a niku miso (left) and yaki miso (right)...410 yen (tax included).

When I first bit into the niku miso musubi, there was no filling.

A second bite and still nothing.

The filling was only in the very center. And it wasn't niku miso, just plain miso.

Pretty disappointing.

I'm glad I tried this place, but probably won't be going back.

Gattsu Umai Kome Hashimoto
1-1 Sakae-machi, Blanc Marche 1-bankan
Ikeda, Osaka
Phone: 072.734.8522
Hours: 10:00-19:00

ko'olina lagoons

Spent a good part of the day at Ko'olina Lagoons with my cousin, P and her family. They usually come to Hawaii about this time of year, so we try to coordinate our schedules so that we'll all be here at about the same time.

Lunch was from Tanioka's...a "real" spam musubi, butter mochi and boiled peanuts.

I still haven't learned that "I don't tan"...geez!

Still, it was fun hanging out with them.

foodland

Really bad spam musubi from Foodland.

There was way too much rice. The spam had some "glaze" but it was put on at the end.

The rice had furikake but not enough to flavor the rice.

All in all, a very sad spam musubi.

What's even more sad is that I bought two...

And what is even more sad than that is that after I uploaded it to Instagram, Foodland liked my pic....sigh.

p.s. the hurricane passed, we got some rain, still humid though...gah! AND there is another one forming....weird weather...

yano market, kumangai bakery & hanpa mart

Sharing more food finds....there was a major sale on beer...US$.85 a can for Asahi (regular price US$1.15 a can).

We found a tiny shop called Yano Market that had musubi...Satoshi bought these with ume (pickled apricot) US$1.25 for two and I got a l-o-n-g one with hot dog in the center US$1.50.

Red Rooster Beer...this is the local beer made by the Palau Brewing Company...it comes in light, amber and dark.

Made with 100% Palau rain water and other natural ingredients, they use no artifical preservatives or flavorings.

While we were there, Satoshi bought a six pack for US$9 (which he drank in 2 days, before lunchtime!!) and I bought 2 bottles (one of Amber and one of Dark) each for US$1.95 (I brought bubble wrap and brought these 2 bottles home and will post about it when we try them).

A tray of sashimi at Hanpa Mart, a Korean market, for US$6.95. Most sashimi in Palau is maguro (tuna/ahi), you will rarely see oilier/fattier grades of fish.

A local bakery, Kumangai Bakery had a display at a market. I picked up this banana bread for US$1.95 and it came in handy for breakfast with some fruits from a fruit platter we received from a hotel. (Thank you!)

During one of our tours, we had bento (boxed meal) by Island Yakiniku...the bento had karaage chicken, kinpira, lumpia, spam, salad and rice....yum!

At DFS (Duty Free Shoppers), there weren't many items "made in Palau", in fact most things were made in China or Hawaii. Luckily we found some locally made tapioca chips and coconut candies as omiyage for Satoshi's staff.

Also during one of our tours, our guide stopped at several roadside stands...there were many with fresh fruits, and also many with foods---like turron (a fried Filipino treat), this one had peanut butter and banana in it...US$.25.

We also found a stand selling homemade banana chips...US$1.50 a package.

One thing I noticed was that whenever they used cabbage or won bok, they served every part of it, including the hard ribbed areas. There weren't many opportunities for fresh leafy salads, only a lot of cooked veggies and not necessarily dark green veggies.

Everything we tried was delicious and portions were very generous. You definitely won't go hungry here.

Yano Market
next door to WCTC Shopping Center
Phone: 680.488.2331

Kumangai Bakery
located in back of WCTC Shopping Center, but sold in most markets
Phone: 680.488.2256

Hanpa Mart
located across from the Palau Hotel
didn't take down the phone number

Island Yakiniku
located across the street from Etpison Museum
Phone: 680.488.4690

musubi keeper

Unless Satoshi has a planned drinking thingy to go to after work, I make a musubi for him to take to work. He usually eats this at about 19:30 or 20:00 to tide him over until dinner (which depends on when he comes home from work, usually at about 22:00 or 23:00 or sometimes even later...)

Once he came home without having time to eat the musubi and the musubi wrapped in saran wrap being in his bag all day, it was flat, pancake flat.

So, I had been interested in finding a container that could be reused, maybe saving me from using a piece of saran wrap every day and would help the musubi keep its shape.

Then, I saw Pikko's blog and she had the perfect gadget. The holder I found was 750 yen (about US$7.50).

The musubi keeper holds a musubi and space for a little okazu (side dish). There is a plastic dividing cover to keep the okazu and musubi separate (see the first photo).

The musubi I made for Satoshi was bigger than what the makers of this keeper envisioned, so I didn't use the plastic dividing cover and just encased the musubi.

I hope the musubi doesn't dry out and it will be able to come out without sticking to the container...

UPDATE: Satoshi says that the container keeps the musubi intact and it doesn't stick to the container either, nor does it dry out...yeah!

Wow, another week has flown by...hope you have a great weekend!

comfort foods

The weather for the past week has been...well, crappy, I think it rained almost every day.

I was craving some comfort food and decided I wanted kimbap, or as my friends in Hawaii call it, korean sushi.

In order to make the kimbap I had in mind, I needed to first make a batch of bulgogi...so I did.

The only nori (seaweed sheet) that I have is pre-cut and only about 2 or 3 inches wide and maybe 8 inches or so long, perfect for making musubi, but not necessarily for sushi.

Since I hadn't made sushi for several years, I had forgotten how much rice to put in it. (sorry Grandma, she would totally be disappointed to hear this...)

The results, my filling was off center and I had a LOT of nori to spare.

What did I put into the kimbap? Bulgogi, some kim chee, several slices of cucumber and some takuan (pickled white radish). Even though it didn't look good, the kimbap hit the spot.

With some of the bulgogi I made bi bim bap for dinner another night....fried egg, kim chee, bulgogi and rice...mmm.

And yet another dinner was bi bim kook soo. I usually use somen for this dish, but didn't have any, so I used some udon. It was delicious.

On yet a different night, we had the salmon with the sweet and spicy rub as a salad. Actually as I was grilling it on my grill pan, one side REALLY got burnt, I mean black! there was no burning smell to let me know it and when I went to turn it over...blackness! I made the lemon and dill dressing from her chopped salad in "The Food You Crave" and it went nicely with the salad.

I was reading a copy of Saveur that my mom had packed into our Christmas box and they were talking about the Egg McMuffin, so of course, I had to make my own for breakfast one morning. The egg had to be a little firmer...but it was still delicious.

And then Kathy gave me an idea for another dinner, in her comment she said, "Mmm I bet the asparagus dish would be awesome with a sunny side up egg over the top"...I did a fried one, but it was.

With the gloom that comes with winter, what comfort foods have you been eating?