sunset

This was the sunset on Monday.

The weather dude said that it turns this red, orange, pink color when a typhoon is approaching.

Luckily we only had some rain on Tuesday and more rain overnight, nothing more.

sunset

The sunset on Friday night was pretty amazing!

It was the first time I saw a gradation of "rings" around the sun (hope you can see it in this picture too)...

Mount Fuji in the distance was a nice touch too.

yesterday

Yesterday, it was cloudy, overcast.

There was "stuff" in the air making the sky hazy.

After lunch, the sun came out but there was still "stuff" in the air.

I didn't think there would be a sunset because when I had looked out, it was clouded over.

And then this (can you spot Mount Fuji?!)...nature...so spontaneous...so beautiful.

sunday

Sunday the weather was sunny, no clouds in the sky...perfect Autumn day.

We went to check out one of the 9 metropolitan gardens...Kiyosumi Garden.

This garden is huge!

I found this matsu (pine) tied up like this...thought it was so pretty!

This garden is rather quiet (even though it is smack dab in the middle of the city)...perfect for yoga lessons, which they were having in this building.

It was definitely worth the 150 yen admission for this garden.

Then we went back to Kyu-Furukawa Garden to see their roses which were "supposed" to be in full bloom.

We were totally disappointed.

There were only a few in bloom.

I guess we were totally spoiled with our visits to Aramaki Rose Park.

I did find a dragonfly willing to pose for me.

Lunch was at Ohashiya.

Apparently they have been in business since Taisho 11 (1922).

Satoshi had their cold Okame Soba which had all sorts of veggies in it.

I had their Jizo Soba...this wasn't anything special except there were different toppings on the cold soba (nori, sesame seeds and shiso (perilla)).

At least the tsuyu (sauce) was what we were used to and not thick like that other place...

We then walked Sugamo Shopping Arcade and came across this butterfly.

First time trying a Russian Tale, gelatin like outside filled with mousse and a little cake...sweet-sour with raspberry and dark cherry...delicious.

Apparently I had tried Patissier Yoshinori Asami's confections when he was with Patisserie Kubler back in 2009.

I want to go back to try his parfaits and baked items.

We ended the weekend with another look at Mount Fuji as the sun set...with humidity at bay, it makes seeing Mount Fuji easier.

We also noticed that Mount Fuji had snow on top...oh and that apartment complex is coming up, and we are still crossing our fingers that it won't block our view...

Kiyosumi Garden
3-3-9 Kiyosumi
Koto, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3641.5892
Hours: 9:00-17:00

Ohashiya
3-34-3 Sugamo
Toshima, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3918.3434
Hours: 10:30-18:00

Patisserie Yoshinori Asami
3-23-3 Sugamo
Toshima, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5980.7674
Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays
Hours: 10:30-19:30

thanks for today

With the cooler weather over the weekend, we've been having beautiful sunsets.

This one is from Saturday.

Click on the photo above to see the short video.

This photo was take a few minutes afterwards...

This week...the heat and humidity are back.

Japan has two typhoons approaching in the coming days...I also hear that Hawaii has a hurricane approaching...stay safe everyone!

foodie june

Earlier in mid-June, BFF W and I were able to get in our last Tacos Zarate fix, they closed up for good June 14, 2018.

On this particular day, I had their fish tacos, super crunchy outside and tender fish inside....will miss their food.

Fish jun bento from Palama Supermarket...enough for two meals!

I also tried the meat jun bento (no photo) and love both!

Kalapawai Cafe & Deli has a shop in Kapolei, I tried their tuna sandwich.

Lots of veggies and lots of tuna salad...and their fries are crispy...so good!

Lychee from the Big Island (Island of Hawaii) were being sold at Costco...some weren't too sweet but for the most part they were delicious.

With all the krazy vog (volcanic smog) from the Big Island, it makes for beautiful sunsets.

Tried Ruscello restaurant in Nordstrom with my aunties.

It was a day when they were going to turn off all the power in the area that my parents home is located, to do some maintenance work, so I made sure to get out of the house.

The crispy panko chicken salad was similar to mochiko chicken but crispier...delicious. (Thanks Aunty M for lunch!)

Pineapple Mint Iced Tea from Island Vintage Shave Ice...super refreshing on that blazing day. (Thanks Aunty M1!)

Mango from Aunty V's stash...Thank you!

Tillamookies...Tillamook ice cream sandwiches filled with mint chocolate chip was meh...the mint seemed to be more peppermint like those hard red and white candies than spearmint.

1st time trying the baked manapua and custard bolo bao from Honolulu Kitchen.

The baked manapua is huge and the outside is really sweet & sticky.

Custard bolo bao is similar to Japan's melon pan but softer and filled with custard.

I'm glad I tried both.

Have you tried the fried chicken from Paalaa Kai Mini Mart (next door to Paalaa Kai Bakery)?

It was my first time.

The skin is so crispy and the chicken so juicy...I dare you not to eat all the crispy skin...I couldn't stop eating it.

1 piece chicken and a musubi under $3! I now understand why all the surfers were hanging out and eating this in the parking lot.

Da Snack Shack is a tiny food court at Pearlridge with 3 shops sharing the kitchen.

Annie's Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant is one of them.

I tried their bbq beef banh mi...too bad all their veg was cilantro and not much daikon-carrot pickles.

Also, bummer their beef wasn't tender.

(My brother tried their BBQ Pork Sandwich a couple weeks later and said it was good)

1st time trying HAL special from W & M Bar-B-Q...teri cheese burger topped with lettuce, tomato & onion AND slices of teri beef!

So good, dunno why I have never ordered this before...

1st time trying Donut King.

I tried their chocolate coconut cake doughnut...so moist!

And so cheap too, under $2.

Teri beef sandwich from Shiro's...the beef was super tender...delicious.

Been wanting to try Aloha Cones for some time, but their shop in town has parking issues, so am glad they also have this shop in that Da Snack Shack at Pearlridge.

I tried their mini chirashi and added avocado and edamame for $1 each.

The fish is so so fresh! and the edamame and avocado so generous.

Whew...a list of stuff I tried during June..some new places, some new (to me) items at familiar eateries.

Kalapawai Cafe & Deli
711 Kamokila Blvd.
Kapolei, Hawaii
Phone: 808.674.1700
Hours: Mondays-Thursdays 5:00-21:30, Fridays 5:00-22:00, Saturdays 7:00-22:00, Sundays 7:00-21:30

Ruscello
inside of Nordstrom Ala Moana
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.953.6110
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 9:30-21:00, Sundays 11:00-19:00

Island Vintage Shave Ice
Ala Moana Shopping Center 2nd Floor
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.942.7770
Hour: Mondays-Saturdays 9:00-21:00, Sundays 10:00-19:00

Paalaa Kai Mini Mart
66-1425 Kaukonahua Rd
Waialua, Hawaii
Phone: 808.637.9182
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: Wednesday-Saturdays & Mondays 5:00-18:00, Sundays 5:00-16:00

Da Snack Shack (UPDATE: 2019 all shops in this food court no longer at this location)
Pearlridge Uptown
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.888.8668
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 10:00-21:00, Sundays 10:00-18:00
Closed when the mall is

Donut King
Market City Shopping Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.258.4119
Hours: Mondays-Fridays 6:00-19:00, Saturdays & Sundays 6:00-17:30

nanding's, aloha salads & boba cha

Yesterday started out with a lup cheong roll and pan de coco from Nanding's. The quality is still good and prices relatively the same. Super reasonable.

I then met my friend Davis for coffee. It had been at least 10 years since we'd last seen each other. Good seeing him.

Lunch was with my friend, Len at Aloha Salads. I had the beet salad, sorry no photo.

He's changed jobs since last year and it was also good seeing him too.

The weather here has been super humid and hot, so after lunch, I bought a li hing jasmine boba from Boba Cha.

Although I liked this, I think I'll nix the li hing the next time, just too much!

Another great day with lots of food and lots of catching up.

yesterday

Yesterday was a holiday, the Emperor's birthday. We did our O-soji (cleaning for the new year)

Then we headed to Umeda for lunch and went to see "The Vancouver Asahi", a film about immigrant Japanese in Canada who found baseball as an outlet to overcoming many struggles.

The beginning was a bit slow but the rest of the film was good. Reminded me of when we researched my ancestors' roots.

After the movie we caught part of the sunset mixed in with some Christmas illumination.

And since Satoshi and I would be able to have dinner together, (usually during the week we don't), we bought some Christmas cakes to have with dinner.

Apparently, everyone and their uncle had the same idea as the food floor of the department store was krazy!

These were from Arrow Tree, they use lots of fruits, the one in the front is a strawberry mont blanc (yellow sponge cake, whipped cream and a huge strawberry in the middle), the one in the back is a strawberry pannecotta (custard, strawberry mousse and lots of berries)...both 1581 yen for the two (tax included). We enjoyed both, not too sweet and lots of fruit.

It's the day before Christmas, I hope Santa brings everything you wish for...Happy Holidays!

this & that

This past weekend was a 3-day weekend and we went to Awajishima, an island near the Kobe area, for two days. I have to get my thoughts together and photos in order, so I'm posting a photo of the beautiful sunset we saw yesterday. I took this photo from the train.

On the downside...Japan is going through another butter shortage. I recently bought a 450 gram block of unsalted for 900-something yen and divvied it up into 9-50 gram pieces. I didn't need that much unsalted butter, but since the market I went to was the only place selling butter, I bought the only size they had. They also limited us to 1 block.

Satoshi was amazed I took out my scale to weigh each piece...um, yeah, when you bake it kinda needs to be precise...

I also needed salted butter and ended up buying a teeny 100 gram tub for 300-something yen.

With this shortage I am afraid that most bakeries will switch over to margarine...though I am hoping my favorite bakeries won't.

To end this on a good note...Thanksgiving is coming up this week. We won't be celebrating but will be thinking of all of our friends and family around the world.

Thank you for all your kind messages and comments. We appreciate YOU!

Have a good week!

thanks for today

The big condo next to our apartment is fixing itself up, so they have all sorts of netting and scaffolding around the complex.

That combined with another condo coming up using a huge crane makes for ugly sunset shots...

So, I sometimes get out of the house during the sunset hour to get shots like this one...

Or like this one...

I still think it is a nice way to thank "someone" for the day.

Have a nice week.

another nice one

We've had some rainy days, which means some muggy days.

But we've had lots of beautiful sunset days too.

Hope things have been nice where you are.

saying goodbye

My father's sister passed away recently.

He has a lot of siblings and we rarely get to see most of them.

I am glad I had the chance to see her, even if it was two years ago.

Sending her immediate family this amazing sunset.

sunset

These pinks and blues are usually seen at sunrise in Hawaii.

I was surprised and amazed to see them during sunset the other night.

This was actually facing in the opposite direction of the setting sun.

Thanks for today.

hawaii sights

What a krazy storm we had Saturday night. Lots of rain, thunder and lightning!

This particular sunset happened after practically a whole day of rain during the week...beautiful!

thank you!

On the 29th, Satoshi had to work.

Since his choices for lunch on Sundays are usually slim, I figured that this particular Sunday would be even harder to find something for lunch since most businesses were going on New Years holidays.

So, I asked him if he wanted a bento (boxed meal), he thought about it and said yes.

Salmon, tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), kabocha chakinshibori (mashed pumpkin with parmesan cheese), shiitake sauteed with butter and tonkatsu sauce, spinach goma-ae, ninjinshirishiri, musubi filled with different items (goma takana, ume, konbu).

It's the last day of 2013...it was a short, yet long year.

Lots of sad days, for sure.

But, I am thankful for the time spent with my Mom.

And even if most days were stressful, I'm still thankful for the time spent with my Dad.

I am very grateful for the support of family...

and for friends (real & virtual).

This year, I reconnected with many eating places and old friends.

I was lucky to meet up with some blog friends and Flickr friends, IRL (in real life), too.

So even if most days were sad ones, there were still good ones and many delicious ones too.

Thank you for reading our blog, I hope 2014 will be a happier and even more delicious year for you.

Be well everyone!

thanks for today

The humidity has been hideous! We've also been having showers during the early evenings, but this doesn't really alleviate the heat.

Posted this recently on FB, it was the sunset that greeted me when I landed in Osaka on Saturday.

Hope the weather is a little nicer where you are.

Thanks for today!

hawaii sights

Awesome sunset the other night...the colors reminded me of shave ice.

happy birthday!

I know I just posted a "hawaii sights", but it's Satoshi's birthday today. I'm bummed I'm not there to help him celebrate it.

So, I'm sending him this awesome sunset we had recently.

Hope all your birthday wishes come true, Satoshi! Love you.

thank you!

What a year!

There were lots of sad days but more happy ones and delicious ones too.

I hope this past year was a good one for you and I hope that 2013 will bring you much happiness and good health.

Thank you for reading this blog and talk to you in 2013!