reconnecting

Back in January, I got an email from cousin E.

The last time we saw this cousin was back in 2012.

Before that, was way way back when I was in high school (I think)...

Anyway, his email was to let us know that he and his family were coming to Japan in June.

After emailing a couple of times, we decided to meet yesterday.

Even if we met up in 2012, it was actually our first time to "hang out" with them.

Instead of eating at the shopping mall we met up at, we bought some bento and other items from a supermarket in the complex and had a makeshift picnic near the Osaka Castle.

I think they enjoyed checking out the pre-made food section at the supermarket too.

Then after walking through the castle, we walked around Dotombori and had an early dinner at Honke Ootako.

Takoyaki, yakisoba, okonomiyaki and other nibbles.

I think everyone had a nice time and I hope everyone had enough to eat.

side note: If you just want to eat takoyaki, Honke Ootako has a stand called Ootako around the corner from their shop. (as we left, we saw wait staff running orders of takoyaki from the stand to the shop)

I don't really care too much for takoyaki as the "innards" are always kinda undercooked for my liking, but this shop's takoyaki was delicious with huge pieces of tako (octopus) inside.

It was a blazing day, but I'm glad we got to spend some time reconnecting with them and I hope they enjoyed their visit to Osaka.

Thanks for a great day, E & Family!

Honke Ootako
1-1-6 Namba
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6213.1888
Hours: 11:30-23:00

happy birthday

Saturday was Satoshi's birthday.

I am not too sure when we had the conversation about mentaiko (spicy pollack roe), but he had mentioned that even if the nutritionist said it was "bad for him", he wanted to eat some with rice.

So, I figured, for his birthday...why not?!

Little did I realize that most vendors are putting sorbitol in their mentaiko...WT?!

Wasn't it a salty, savory food?

Why was it necessary for artificial sweeteners?!

I found a box...kinda pricey at 1166 yen (tax included).

It is made in Japan, the roe also comes from Hokkaido. (most are from America or Russia)

AND they don't use any red food coloring (or artificial sweetners).

Satoshi enjoyed this thoroughly...even licking the plate.

Happy Birthday...may 2017 be healthy & happy...love you.

mizunasu tsukemono

During this time of year, you may or not be able to find mizunasu tsukemono in Osaka.

The pickles are made asazuke (light pickling) style...not too puckery or too sweet because they are not soaked for very long.

The mizunasu (literally water eggplant) are grown in the southern part of Osaka and have lots of moisture.

Since this pickle is very popular at this time of year, it is rare to find them in big supermarkets.

Most are found at small pickle shops, at the department stores or if you have "connections".

I'm pretty sure this was the first time we tried this because it is just that rare & pricey...for a small sized eggplant I bought this for 350 yen (tax included) at the department store.

There is another way of pickling the mizunasu...nukazuke (pickling in rice bran)...which I also saw at the department store.

Hopefully the next time I'm wandering around in the department store they'll have some for us to try.

If not, we'll just try to get some next summer.

butter

The price of butter is supposed to go up today.

I really haven't been buying butter in bulk (or baking) because of this.

Since "my stash" in the freezer was starting to run low though, I decided to get a box before the price went up.

eep! They decreased the amount of grams...from 200 to 150!

The grams have probably been decreased for some time now, I just either forgot that this was what happened or hadn't bought a box in a really long time.

sigh...I can only shudder that more bakeries will switch over to margarine because of this.

saying goodbye

The past couple of days we were in Kyoto saying goodbye to SIL's mom, who had pancreatic cancer, just like my mom.

The last time we saw her was 2 years ago when SIL's dad passed away.

Apparently, she was diagnosed at the end of last year.

SIL was visiting her whenever she could though SIL mentioned that her mom also had dementia and at times did not recognize her.

In the past, SIL's mom was always dressed well and made up elegantly.

We will miss her.

tea festival

They recently had a tea event at Hankyu Department Store.

There were so many brands I wanted to purchase to try, but their teas were all in large quantities, nothing really small to "just try".

I did get these though...Steven Smith Tea Sampler (6 different teas--2 black, 2 green & 2 herbal) and 2 types (Isabel & Kokorobijin) from Creha (pronounced ku-ray-ha), a tea maker from Saga prefecture in Kyushu.

The Creha teas are floral & fruit flavored and are perfect for cold brew style.

How are you keeping cool these days?

koichian

How pretty is this sushi?

Apparently it is the oshizushi (pressed type) then the pieces are cut into half then arranged in these bento boxes.

They were cute, pretty to look at and tasty.

Koichian
Hankyu Department Store, B1
Umeda, Osaka
Open when Hankyu is.
Hours: 10:00-20:00