kiwi house

Today for lunch, Satoshi and I went to New Zealand...well, sort of, there is a restaurant called Kiwi House in Takarazuka. The last time we ate here was 3 years ago (before this blog) and at that time, we missed their lunch service. The restaurant is located about 5 minutes from the Hankyu/JR Takarazuka station.

Amidst all the high rise condos, there is a large farm house styled house. (The owner/chef apparently fell in love with New Zealand on a visit and decided to start a restaurant using imported foods from New Zealand. )

The course we chose was called: yuttari lunch (leisurely lunch) (1890yen about US$16) which started out with 3 appetizers--canteloupe and proscuitto, marinated feta cheese with tomatoes and red onion and a seasoned greenshell mussel.

Satoshi had a glass of Kiwi fruit wine by Preston. I thought this wine was a bit too fruity and could have been drier. And I had a glass of merlot-cabernet by Matua. It was a nice wine but I would have enjoyed this wine more if it were served at room temperature instead of chilled.

Next came a chilled edamame (soy bean) soup. You could really taste the soy beans and I enjoyed the little cream swirl, it reminded me of a flower. Satoshi didn't enjoy this soup too much, he said that soup should be served hot.

A good-sized salad with a light vinaigrette.

The main dish was a daily special--rolled pork. Veggies rolled inside a piece of pork then braised and served with peas, broccoli, and carrots. The sauce was a little sweet but really delicious with the french bread that was served.

Dessert was a cheese cake made from NZ cream cheese and ice cream also made from NZ products.

It was nice to "get away" for a bit, re-visit this restaurant and enjoy a relaxing lunch.

Kiwi House
7-3 Yumotocho
Takarazuka, Hyogo
Phone: 0797-86-7657
Closed on Wednesdays

home again

Satoshi came home safely and brought home several omiyage (souvenirs) for me--one was Furaibo, a fried chicken that is dipped in a sauce which is quite famous in Nagoya, chocolate chip cookies from Saipan and the biggest omiyage--his dirty laundry. You should have seen him, wheel in his suitcase and say, "I brought a big omiyage home for you"...I quickly said, "I don't want it"...

Later, we had a bit of a scare...as I was cooking dinner, I had put some veggies to roast in the oven, at the same time, the rice was cooking...all of a sudden the oven clicked off. Oh no! don't tell me we need to buy a new oven (although inside I was kind of hoping we needed to).

We pulled the plug, put it back in, checked the manual...it was looking like we needed a new one (yeah!). Then, I opened the refrig, hmmm, the light was off, but the sink and stove areas were still lit. I went to look at the breaker box and sure enough, the refrig breaker was off. I asked Satoshi to click it back on and the oven worked, the refrig light went on. But the rice was cooked half way...I had to take out the rice cooker manual to see what we could do, it turned out we had to re-cook the rice.

Even though the rice turned out a bit dry, it was still edible and at least we won't have to buy a new oven (although I still want a new one...)

Have a great weekend!

cappuccino

Since Satoshi is on a business trip (he'll be back later this afternoon...yeah!), I've had lots of "me" time--which means I can go to sleep at a decent hour (not having to wait up for Satoshi to come home), get up a little later than normal and leisurely get breakfast together without running around trying to get Satoshi fed and out of the house on time.

So, with all that "me" time, I've been having these with my breakfast....cappuccinos. I don't have an espresso maker, so it is just coffee with milk that is heated then frothed. I read somewhere that the milk needs to be heated in order for it to froth. Also, I think if it were made with espresso it would then be called a latte. (I always get the two mixed up.) If anyone can tell me the difference between the two, I'd really appreciate it.

p.s. this is a Bodum tea cup, but I like to use it for cappucinos because you can see the definition of coffee and froth.

just use a different bag...

As I watched the news, I was rolling my eyes at all the people lined up in front of the department stores in Japan to get this bag. And in Taiwan (I think it was), they had a stampede for this bag...pu-lee-ze.

Sure, it may be the in-thing to have right now, but if you truly want to help cut back the amount of shopping bags and plastic bags being used and waste going to the landfills....just use your own cloth bags, I'm sure you have a couple lying around waiting for you to use.

Photo from Anya Hindmarch site

leftovers

You ever have a craving for something and then when you go to eat it, the place is either closed or not in business? That is what happened to me for lunch today. I was so bummed that I wandered around for an hour or so aimlessly, trying to figure out what I should eat. (sad, yeah?)

Changing the subject, after I posted yesterday, Nate emailed me to say that my mom's recipe was similar to Big Way Burger's spareribs--a local eatery in Hawaii. I then googled them and found this article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, a local newspaper.

The article mentioned serving the ribs with kim chee and rice...luckily, I had some kim chee in my refrig...dinner is served!

spareribs

Well, after the huge typhoon, there was a huge earthquake. Luckily, Osaka was not affected. I hope the people who were, will be able to get the help they need to get back on their feet as soon as possible.

Changing the subject...As you can tell (because I'm posting), I couldn't stay away from the kitchen.

Today, I was walking the aisles of the supermarket when I spotted spareribs. Usually, they are priced really high (from 680 yen about US$7 or higher) for 6 pieces and not very meaty looking--more bone than meat.

But today, they were reasonably priced and really meaty looking---only 365 yen (about US$3) for 6 pieces. I guess I could have bought something pre-made for dinner since it is only me, but for only 365 yen, it seemed cheaper than to buy something pre-made and plus, this should last for two dinners.

The recipe I used was my mom's...I think. (Awhile back, I had scribbled it on a piece of paper with no notation of where I got the recipe from.)

3 lbs. spareribs
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
pinch of salt
ginger

Bring to boil. Simmer. Cook for 45 minutes.

NOTES: At first, I had cut the sauce amount in half because I only had six pieces, but mid-way through cooking, I noticed that most of the liquid had evaporated, so I added some water and the other half of the sugar, vinegar & shoyu. I only used 1 clove of garlic and an inch sized nub of ginger. Also, I ended up cooking this for 1 hour.

Be sure to pour some of the gravy on your rice (it's one of my favorite ways to eat this dish!)

sleepless in minoo (or urusai!)

My neighbors are awful. They like to fight at 2 in the morning. With my ear on my pillow I can hear EVERY word that my neighbors on the 2nd floor are screaming, and every door they are slamming. I'm amazed at how much sound carries in a cement building. The way sound bounces off the other building around us, it sounds like they are fighting right out on our lanai. Why don't the police come? The police here don't seem too powerful like the ones in the U.S. (or maybe the ones in the U.S. are too powerful?) Guess I'll try to take a nap now, everything seems to have calmed down...Hope no one got hurt.