satoshi's tokyo adventure

Saturday, the weather was perfect...sunny! The day before seemed like an awful nightmare.

We got ready to go to visit the ballpark that Satoshi had played on and practiced at during his college days.

When we got there, we were surprised to find out that they were having a closing ceremony for the field! Satoshi was surprised, but very happy that we were able to see the field before the bulldozers tore it up.

After the ceremony, we walked around the neighborhood to visit a dry cleaner that Satoshi often visited during college. We were surprised to find out that they were no longer in business because the man passed away. Luckily we were able to visit with his wife for a bit.

We then took a taxi to an area near Satoshi's old apartment. It had been almost 20 years since the last time he had been in the area and a lot had changed. Luckily, we were able to find the barber shop that he frequented. The woman running the place knew Satoshi as soon as he walked in. They hugged and chatted about this and that. He had a nice visit with her.

Our last stop was to a coffee shop in Asagaya. Again, it had been almost 20 years since he visited and the area had a changed a lot. We finally found the place and the owners were just about to lock up for their dinner break. Luckily we were able to visit with them and Satoshi had a nice time reminiscing.

I'm glad we were able to visit the field before it was dug up and that we were able to meet all the people that he wanted to re-connect with. We send them New Years cards (like Christmas cards) every year, but it was nice to be able to see them face to face.

Have nice week.

chocolates, sweets and other goodies...

Hope you enjoyed the first half...here are the other goodies...

Le Chocolatier Takagi: marron truffle royal--chocolate covered marron (chestnuts) & orangette--dark chocolate covered candied orange peel

Message de Rose: semi-bitter & bitter chocolate roses, they come in various sizes, these are the medium size...Cute!

Sol Levante: Salame di Cioccolato--a log of 35% giandjua, hazelnuts and covered with powdered sugar made to look like salami.

Origines Cacao: The dark chocolate assortment--Quiza (acidic & bitter chocolate ganache), Origines Cacao (very bitter chocolate ganache), Maracaibo (natural ganache), Basil (basil infused ganache). The basil one had a nice flavor to it and all were very good and may have been even better with a nice dry glass of red wine.

La Maison du Chocolat: Tasse de Chocolat-chocolate "pearls" made with 4 different chocolate coatings of various origins and strengths. Add them to a nice hot cup of milk to make a delicious, rich cup of hot chocolate.

Dean & Deluca: A gourmet supermarket in N.Y.C.

I got these Firefly Tonics--made by a company in England--Self-Defense (wild orange and echinacea) and Detox (lemon, lime & ginger) tonics. Can't wait to try them.

Also got a Dean & Deluca dark chocolate with almond bar and these mints made especially for Dean & Deluca by Cocoa Bon. 100% peppermint centers covered with dark chocolate.

Del Rey: escargot-a dark chocolate outside with marron (chestnut) cream inside, dresse noisette-a dark chocolate ganache with a hazelnut atop.

Doughnut Plant: A New York doughnut shop--this is their famous "Black Out" doughnut, named after a real black out in N.Y.--A Valrhona chocolate cake doughnut with Valrhona chocolate cream filling and Valrhona chocolate glaze on top. Rich and sinful!

Well, that's all the foodie info, did you enjoy this foodie adventure as much as I did? I think I've gained about 5 pounds from this adventure...if not more!...my next post will be about Satoshi's Tokyo adventure :)

p.s. if you are planning to run around as much as I did, please get this subway ticket. It costs 1000 yen (about $10) and it lets you ride all day on all the TOEI & TRTA subway lines. I unfortunately didn't make back the amount I spent on this ticket, but had it been a sunny day, I think I may have.

macaron, macaron...macarons!

The weather was awful on Friday. A typhoon was passing over the Pacific Ocean side of Japan. Heavy winds and rains started from Thursday night. Luckily, I was able to get to Tokyo safely. Unfortunately though, I had to cut my plans drastically, because of the weather. I ended up shopping at stores within minutes from subway stations or in the underground shopping arcades. Not to mention, I totally bruised my bum and ego by hydroplaning and falling on the steps as I left La Maison du Chocolat! At least I didn't hit my head or smash anything that I had bought...

I was able to get quite a bit of goodies despite the change in plans and the weather...I'm breaking this post into 2 parts because there is a LOT to tell.

Sadaharu Aoki: orange=caramel sel (salted caramel ganache), brown = peche (cinnamon shell with peach cream), pink = ume (pickled plum ganache with roasted sesame seeds on the outside), yellow= citron (lemon ganache), lt. purple = sumire (violet flavored ganache). These were very different and interesting flavors, but very good. I also got a florentine naturale (a brittle like cookie) and orange chocolat noir (a candied orange dipped in dark chocolate) which are waiting to be tried.

Dalloyau: Coconut on the outside (Ananas= coconut macaron with pineapple ganache), Beige with black spots (The peche= peach flavored ganache with earl grey macaron), Orange= Orange macaron with orange flavored ganache, Green/orange (Orange Potiron= orange with pumpkin ganache mixed with 4 different spices like pepper and cinnamon). I really enjoyed the Earl Grey flavored one.

Decadence du Chocolat: brown= lavender/chocolate ganache, white = grenoble (vanilla with walnuts ganache), green = pistachio ganache, lt brown = praline ganache, yellow= passion fruit ganache, brown= caramel ganache. The lavender one was very nice and not too overpowering.

02 Patisserie:light purple= cassis ganache, pink= fig ganache, white=jasmine tea ganache, dk brown= dark chocolate ganache, beige= coffee ganache. The beige was was really pretty too--it had gold fairy dust on the outside. The fig ganache kind of reminded me of fig newtons.

Jean-Paul Hevin: I was kind of disappointed with these...sorry, I couldn't tell what flavor was what on these: bitter chocolate ganache, vanilla ganache, coffee ganache, orange/passion fruit ganache, honey ganache, rose ganache, framboise (raspberry) ganache, pistachio ganache, caramel/bitter chocolate ganache.



Pierre Herme: white= vanilla ganache, pink=rose ganache, yellow = lemon ganache, green=huile d'olive et vanille (olive oil, vanilla beans & white chocolate ganache), orange= arabesque(peach cream with pistachios on the outside), lt brown= caramel with fleur de sel cream, brown = marron (chestnut) ganache, dk brown with cocoa powder = bitter chocolate ganache, yellow with cocoa powder = mogador (passion fruit flavored milk chocolate ganache), lt brown with cocoa powder = plentitude (half caramel with fleur de sel shell, half chocolate with a chocolate ganache. The olive oil one had a salty olive taste to it, but the others were excellent.

I'm definitely in love with these cute goodies...Stay tuned to what other goodies were found.

the ultimate foodie adventure

This coming weekend is "another" 3-day weekend (yes, another one!)--Taiku no Hi (Sports Day). Satoshi has a seminar in Tokyo--Thursday & Friday. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to Tokyo and will spend the day checking out the sweet shops that I've read about in magazines and seen on television here, then meet Satoshi in the afternoon.

Tokyo is the largest city in Japan--if you want something trendy, Tokyo is the place to get it--up there with L.A., N.Y.C. and Paris...the last time I went to Tokyo was with Satoshi about 3 years ago, he didn't have much time to show me around and I wasn't much of a "foodie" then.

Here's just a part of my list of the places that I want to check out:
1. Yoroizuka Toshi
2. L'atelier Joel Robuchon
3. Pierre Herme Paris-Aoyama
4. Jean Paul Hevin
5. Del Rey
6. Pierre Marcolini
7. Dalloyau
8. Hidemi Sugino
9. La Maison du Chocolat
10. Sadaharu Aoki Paris
11. Gerard Mulot
12. Dean & Deluca

Wish me luck, I only have about 6 hours until I need to meet Satoshi, after that, the rest of the weekend will be "his time"--spent checking out his old "stomping grounds" during his university years. Namely, the field that he practiced and played baseball on during college--it will be sold and the land will be used for something else, so he wanted to see it for one last time to say "goodbye".

Have a nice weekend!

stella chocolate

Stella chocolate is a Swiss brand.

The ginger bar is a creamy bittersweet chocolate with bits of candied ginger in it.

I thought the chocolate would be gingery in flavor but I was wrong. The candied ginger kind of hits you all at once after the chocolate melts on your tongue.

Still it is very good and I like the sleek asian packaging.

ritter sport

Today was another rainy day. Just a slight drizzle--but still a dreary day.

I first came across this brand while honeymooning in Europe.

Ritter Sport is a German candy maker. I saw this same version on the Candy Blog and found it at an import gourmet supermarket.

The dark chocolate with hazelnuts is great! If you love dark chocolate and love hazelnuts, this one is for you. Packed with lots of whole hazelnuts and rich dark chocolate!

A very nice way to brighten a dreary day.

pizza!

Yesterday's dinner was pizza! Inspired by Kitchen Wench's post, (here).

I decided to mesh her recipe for her dough to the one that comes with the yeast packets.

Here's what I came up with: Pizza Dough: makes one 12" pie.
300g (3 cups) flour
1 sachet instant dry yeast (6g)
pinch of salt
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp olive oil

Mix flour, yeast together.
Add salt, water and oil. Combine well.
Turn onto floured board and knead.
Let rest for 50 minutes.
Knead again.
Let rest for another 10 minutes.
Roll out and add sauce and toppings.
Bake at 200C(400F) on pizza stone for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Toppings: store bought pasta sauce, eggplant, red bell pepper, mushrooms, thinly sliced red onion, salami, several grinds of fresh pepper. Cheeses: mozzarella, emmental (a type of swiss) and parmigiano-reggiano. I pre-cooked the eggplant and red bell pepper to take out most of the moisture and pre-cooked the salami to take out the oil.

The pizza really poofed up! I think I should have pricked the dough like Ellie did. Still, it tasted great!

Notes: Next time, I will make my own sauce, the store bought one was a bit too watery. And I will add some Italian seasoning to the dough to give it more flavor. Will also try to roll out the dough thinner and prick it. And at the end, put it under the broiler to give it a little more crispiness.

It is a rainy and cold first day of October...I had to make a quick trip to the D.I.Y. store to pick up new tulip bulbs. The ones we had from last year were all clear and a bit soft...ick! I planted the new bulbs--so we'll have to wait until April to see what happens!

Have a good week!