tsukada farm

Yesterday, it was blazing! Satoshi went to watch the Hanshin Tigers minor league at Koshien Stadium.

I decided to hang out at the mall across the street.

Since the game finished at about 16:30, we headed back to Umeda for an early dinner at Tsukada Farm.

Dinner started out with tsukedashi (stuff you don't order but have to pay for)...a chicken meatball soup. The meatball was super moist and the soup really flavorful.

We ordered their Ramen salad...the last time we had ramen salad was in Otaru.

This one had spicy meat topping. I liked this version better than the one in Otaru.

Pork ginger. They actually called it a ginger Genghis Khan. But it was more like a skillet type of pork ginger.

Deep fried squid legs with a dollop of mayo and sprinkle of shichimi (7-spice chili powder).

And a really mini Tokachi slider. Super juicy and moist burger.

Dinner was tasty and costed WAY less than the night before. Not sure that we would go back here though, as it was quite noisy...every time someone ordered something or came in and out of the restaurant the waiters/waitresses would shout out something...

Hope you have a nice weekend!

Tsukada Farm
Hankyu Grand Building 30F
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6316.5010
Hours: 17:00-24:00

foodie saturday

Yesterday, we went to see a movie, "Sugihara Chiune" (a really good biography/historical type movie) and then went to Awajishima Burger for lunch.

It's been 5 years since we've been here and it is even more popular now.

In fact, walking to the shop, the burgers were literally calling us with their aroma.

I had their regular bacon cheese...800 yen while Satoshi had their large bacon cheese...900 yen

We also ordered some fries...150 yen

Their prices have gone up a bit, but the burgers are still delicious. Still super hard to eat without getting sauce on your face.

We'll be back.

After lunch, we wanted a little something sweet, so we walked back to Nishinomiya Gardens and had some gelato from Milkissimo.

Fondant chocolate for me (hard to see) and Mango for Satoshi and coffees.

The weather is still funky but I am still hoping to see flurries...have a good week!

re-connect

Met up with Y the other day. It had been several years since I last saw her.

Her husband is Satoshi's university classmate.

The first time I met his classmate, H, was in Hawaii (pre-blog), at that time, the two of them would kick each other saying "shi-ne" (she-nay which means "to die").

I was quite shocked by this form of "bonding" and once questioned Satoshi about it. I told him, "I know you guys are just joking, but what if he really did die?!"

Satoshi's since stopped this form of joking & bonding...

Anyway, Y and I met up at Nishinomiya Gardens, a large shopping mall on the grounds of what was once Nishinomiya Baseball Stadium.

We had lunch at Chinois Chuka (which translates to Chinese Chinese).

The appetizer, soup and rice is pre-set, you just choose your main dish...1500 yen.

And for an extra 480 yen, all-you-can-eat desserts and drinks (coffee/tea)

The appetizer was a marinated squid with some veggies.

Soup was an egg drop soup.

Rice was something steamed with some veggies in it (we weren't quite sure what was in there...)

And we both chose a fried sawara (spanish mackerel) topped with some veggies and a kurozu (black vinegar sauce).

Everything was delicious.

We both hit the dessert line twice.

There was lots to choose from. You could even make your own waffles if you wished (in Japan they eat pancakes and waffles as dessert).

It was a leisurely lunch. Lots to catch-up on. In the end, we were asked (kindly) to leave so that they could prep for dinner...

I'm glad we were able to get together. Thanks Y!

Chinois Chuka (UPDATE:2017 no longer in business)
Nishinomiya Gardens 4F
Phone: 0798.61.0041
Hours: Lunch 11:00-16:00, Dinner: 17:00-23:00
Closed when the mall is.

re-connect

Re-connected with my friend, Midori. It had been about 6 years since the last time we got together.

Our schedules just never clicked.

We met up in Shukugawa. Again, the cherry blossoms were in bloom but it was another gloomy drizzly day.

Lunch was at a cafe called Bin.

In Japanese, bin means glass jar and this cafe happens to make their own jams and jellies.

Their lunch is made with organic veggies...850 yen.

Everything was delicious.

After lunch we had some coffee 270 yen...a Sulawesi Mamasa, rich, smooth and dark roasted.

Another great day of catching up, lots of chatting and laughter.

Bin (UPDATE: 2016 no longer in business)
5-26 Horaku-cho
Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Phone: 0798.20.3087
Hours: 12:00-23:00
Closed Tuesdays

kotoen

Saturday, the temperature "soared" up to 17C (62F), it was the only day that was predicted to be nice over the past 3-day weekend, so we went to check out some ume (apricot).

I found a little park online that we'd never been to and told Satoshi we should check it out.

He had an appointment to get to in the afternoon, so we went before lunch.

The park is about 10 minutes from the Hankyu Kotoen station and has about 200 ume (apricot) trees.

It is a tiny park but there were many out to see the blooms, including a senior group.

Spring is coming but very, very slowly.

On a side note, I want to share with you a "fun" conversation between Satoshi and I...

Him: Kat, how do I pronounce this word?
Me: siege (see-juh)
Him: shee-juh
Me: no, see-juh
Him: what about this word?
Me: seize (see-zuh)
Him: shee-zuh
Me: no, see-zuh...you can't say "sh" it should to be "sss"
Him: but I'm saying "sss"
Me: no, you're saying "sh"
Him: I'm serious, Kat
Me: I am too and you're saying it wrong.
Him: shee-juh, shee-zuh
Me: no, no, no...sigh...

foodie friday in nishinomiya

Yesterday Satoshi had the day off so for lunch we went to check out Awajishima Burger, which my blog friend, Rona highly recommended.

Apparently, this place is very popular, in fact, when we arrived at 11 (their opening time), they were already busy putting together several telephone orders.

The shop is very small, with seats for 6--max.

The counter was a bit too high for me to eat from but I made do.

I ordered the regular with bacon and cheese 500 yen + 100 yen + 100 yen (about US$7) and a side order of onion rings 150 yen (about US$1.50). This burger also came with grilled onions, lettuce and tomato and a teriyaki-type sauce.

The burger was huge, juicy. The bacon, thick and more like ham but with a little glaze on it.

At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of it and didn't know how to go about eating it.

Definitely not someplace to eat at on your "first date" (be prepared to get sauce on your face).
Satoshi also ordered a regular (he was tempted to order the large but I talked him out of it) with an over easy egg and onion ring 500 yen + 100 yen + 100 yen (about US$7) and a side order of fries 150 yen (about US$1.50). This burger was massive! Satoshi also had a hard time eating it. The fries were a bit soft, would've enjoyed them more if they were crisp.

We both had bottled cokes 150 yen each (about US$1.50), it had been some time since we'd had soda, but it was fun drinking from the bottle.

The owner prides his burgers on Awajishima's (Awaji Island) beef as well as their onions and tomatoes. The buns are made daily and reminded me of sweet bread or brioche. I think the onion rings were also made from the Awaji Island onions (yum!).

The onions from Awaji Island are the best, sweet like Vidalia!

FYI: Awajishima (Awaji Island) is an island off of mainland Japan (Honshu) and is part of Hyogo prefecture.

These burgers were good, really messy but good! (Thanks for another great tip, Rona!)

When we left, the other 4 seats were filled and there were several people waiting outside.

We then checked out 808 Kitchen (around the corner), a grocer specializing in fruits and veggies.

I purchased a bag of red bell peppers grown in Kochi (a prefecture in Shikoku) for 150 yen (about US$1.50) (In my opinion, Kochi has the best red bell peppers, though they are usually small).
We were quite full but wanted to have a cup of coffee, so we walked back towards the Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi station.

On the way we saw this SUV with Hamann written on it and a Mini with grey British flags on the side mirrors.

We stopped at Nishinomiya Gardens located next to the station and had lukewarm lattes with cute art at Cafe Bon...650 yen (about US$6.50) each.

Despite the lattes, it was a great day, lots of walking and lots of good food. Have a nice weekend.

Awajishima Burger (near the Nishinomiya Higashi-chiho Oroshishijo)
4-1 Ikeda-cho
Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Phone: 080.3036.4373
Closed Wednesdays, Open from 11:00-20:00

808 Kitchen
4-24 Ikeda-cho
Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Phone: 0798.37.1220

Cafe Bon
Nishinomiya Gardens 4F
14-2 Takamatsu-cho
Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Phone: 0798.61.0089
Open 11:00-23:00

banbatei

About 3 minutes from the Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi station, there is a tiny shop that serves curry soba.

The restaurant, Banbatei, was featured in a foodie magazine last year and I just came upon the article recently.

Since Satoshi had the day off, we decided to check out this place for lunch. When we got there, there was a line of people out in front.

There are only 24 seats--5 at the counter and 19 on tables. After about 10 or 15 minutes, we were seated.

If you are eating alone or as a pair be prepared to share your table with someone. This is called aiseki and it is quite normal in Japan. We too had to share our table with someone.

Since it was lunchtime, the table next to us were filled with salarymen (businessmen). They were busily eating their curry soba and perspiring buckets all the while. Several times they grabbed tissues to wipe their faces from the tissue box provided on the table.

I ordered the sudachi (lime) soba--750 yen (about US$7.50). I have a hard time eating hot foods, I usually end up burning my tongue (they call this nekojita (cat's tongue)) and then not being able to enjoy my food, so I usually prefer going for the cold stuff. This bowl of soba was served with grated ginger, tempura kasu (the bits from frying tempura) and sudachi. It was very refreshing and just enough for me to finish.

I'm glad that I didn't order the curry soba, the bowls were huge (about 10 or 12 inches in diameter)! Satoshi ordered the seafood curry soba--1180 yen (about US$11.80). When he ordered they asked him what level of spiciness he wanted and he chose normal. He was said it was good and he was perspiring from the heat of the dish more than the spices.

Banbatei
1-6-7 Koufuen
Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Phone: 0798.66.0995
Open 11:00-20:30 Closed on Sundays & Holidays

odds & ends

Last Tuesday, I met my friend, Maui Luna for some cake. She didn't have much time, so we popped into Malebranche for tea and talk.

The main shop is in Kyoto, but they also have a cafe in the Hanshin department store in Umeda, which is where we went.

I ordered the Strawberry cake, this had condensed milk in it and boy, was it sweet.

Maui had the green tea cake, in comparison to my cake, this was not sweet and was perfect with tea.

I hadn't been to this cafe in awhile and was disappointed that they had gotten rid of their "cake set"--your choice of cake and tea.

Everything was ala carte and expensive.

Still, it was a nice time spent chatting. Afterwards, we wandered around in the food basement. Hope you had a nice time in Japan, Maui, it was surely fun meeting you!

Last Wednesday was a busy day, Satoshi and I went to get my mammogram done. Then we went down to get my visa, on the way, we stopped into this bread shop for a snack. Backerei Gen (Bakery Gen) is located near the Makiochi station.

I bought the yakisoba pan (a soft bun filled with yakisoba (fried noodles)) 126 yen (about US $1.26). It was my first time to have this and it was really good! Something that you wouldn't find in the U.S.

After getting the visa (which took like 5 minutes after our number was called), we stopped for a late lunch at Hanshin department store's H Mille-Un. This was their quick lunch--we chose the pasta which was a meat sauce. This was more upscale meat sauce with bits of chopped up steak, not the small bits of hamburger (1500 yen (about US$15).

Dessert was a custard cake, though this tasted more like buttercream frosting layered between very dry pieces of cake and a little scoop of yuzu (citron) sherbert (plus 300yen (US$3))UPDATE:2009, this restaurant is now closed after the renovation of the Hanshin Department Store.

After getting my visa, I needed to register the visa with my city office, so it was back to Makiochi last Thursday. Having loved the yakisoba pan, I bought another one for lunch.

This past Sunday, after going to Aramaki, Satoshi and I found ourselves wandering around Ashiya. This is an upscale neighborhood, not a place for jeans and tennis shoes (which is how we were dressed)! Satoshi's friend, Yanagita, called and invited us to go riding. They took us up the mountain to a terraced cafe--Cafe the Terrace. This is actually someone's house that they renovated to serve as a cafe.

When you sit out on the terrace, they bring out a paper which warns you that there may be bugs or "things" that may fly into your food/drink and that since they appreciate nature, they will not kill them nor will they replace your food/drink.

Since we were sitting under a tree and it is kemushi (fuzzy caterpiller) season, we ate very quickly....