shunbun no hi

Today was Shunbun no Hi (Vernal Equinox)...I think Japan might be one of the only countries in the world to have a national holiday for it.

Today was really "warm"...I think the weather dude said Osaka went up to 18C (64F).

We did quite a bit of walking today despite there being a lot of "junk" in the air.

While we were at the mall, we noticed these early blooming cherry blossoms.

We'll be back to single digits tomorrow but it was nice to be out and about today.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

made in japan

Since we had bought that organic green tea from the Shimabara/Nagasaki food fair, I thought it might be nicer to enjoy this ground up like matcha.

While eating the leaves after brewing was an interesting and delicious way, I feel like being able to drink it would be an easier alternative.

I bought the matcha mill by Porlex.

They are the same company that made the coffee mill that I wrote about here.

With just 1 gram of green tea.

You can make about a teaspoon or so of matcha.

The package says that 1 gram of tea will be enough for about 1 or 2 cups of matcha...

We tried some this morning with some frothed milk as a latte and think 1 gram (of tea) is enough for 1 cup rather than 2.

I still have to figure out how to get my frothed milk a little tighter...

Changing the subject...It's St. Patrick's Day and we'll probably be having canned corned beef and cabbage for dinner since I've not seen fresh corned beef here...

It's also a 3-day weekend here...though Satoshi needs to work tomorrow.

Hope you all have a nice weekend.

craft burger co.

The other day, I had intended to have lunch at El.Zocalo Burrito, since it had been some time since the last time I visited.

But when I stood in front of the shop, they had their "closed" sign out and it didn't look like anyone was around.

The wind was icy and I wasn't willing to wait a couple of minutes to see if they would eventually open...

Luckily I spotted Craft Burger Co. just around the corner from El.Zocalo Burrito.

The shop isn't too large, and since they had just opened for business it was still quiet and there weren't any customers.

For 880 yen (tax included), you can choose from their 5 different burgers...

I chose their pulled pork which wasn't an actual burger but a nice sized brioche bun filled with tender pulled pork, bbq sauce and cole slaw.

They gave me a triangle paper sleeve for my burger and told me to put the burger inside before eating...

um, please put the burger in the sleeve for me...since my sandwich wasn't an actual burger it wasn't actually sturdy enough for me to one handedly put it into the sleeve.

I ended up nixing the sleeve and just eating the sandwich with a fork.

The meal comes with your choice of a side and I am glad I chose these fried potatoes.

The outside was crisp and had a nice amount of rosemary and salt.

For 120 yen more you can order a drink...so I added a cola.

Of course, as I left, I noticed El.Zocalo Burrito had opened for business...

I still hope to go back to El.Zocalo Burrito one day, but if they aren't ready for business, I know where else I can lunch at.

Craft Burger Co.
1-6-12 Kitahorie
Nishi-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6556.6682
Closed Mondays
Hours: 11:30-22:30

catch-22

The other day, I went to Talo Coffee for lunch.

I had intended to try their thick omelette sandwich, but figured I would just miss the serving time (11:00).

When I got there, there were many seats taken and the lunch menu was displayed outside.

The waitress asked me if I was there for lunch, and I said "yes". She then asked, "You aren't here for the thick omelette sandwich?"

(I was actually there for that but figured that they weren't serving it already and said I was there for lunch...)

So I said, "no I'm here for lunch".

She again asked me about the sandwich and I again said I was there for lunch...geez!

I ordered the ladies set which was a daily special...chicken with vegetable italian yaki (which turned out to be chicken, veggies, some ketchup and cheese that was stuck under the broiler)...salad, rice and a mini dessert (which I think was a type of cheesecake) and coffee...990 yen (tax included).

As I waited for my lunch, I people watched...

There was tension in the air from the kitchen trying to fulfill orders and tension from the waitress trying to serve and wipe/wash dishes...

A table with about 3 ladies were having a nice time chatting...

As I was eating...a woman came in and asked if she could order "the sandwich"...they told her she could, but if an order for lunch came in, her order would be put aside until the lunch order was filled...eep!

Apparently in order to make "the sandwich" it takes awhile to make the omelette...still, she agreed to wait if she needed to.

Then, a group of ladies came for "the sandwich" and were told they would need to come back at 13:00 when the lunch crowd died down...

It was then that the owner told the group chatting that they needed to leave in order to turn over their table..

I was shocked to see this as it wasn't overly busy....

It's a kind of catch-22...you want to get your business out there, so you agree to be published in magazines and such...social media adds more "advertising"...the wave hits and you are krazy busy...some go out of business because they cannot keep up...most regulars are unable to visit and this usually leads to your business falling apart...

I can understand that when you are a "one man show" in the kitchen, things can get kind of krazy especially when all the tables are filled...

I notice that Japan has a hard time saying "no".

If you need to place limits it's what you need to do...

And we should respect these limits...

What I didn't really like about the whole scene was that they were shooing out customers that had just finished eating and were enjoying themselves.

If there was a line out the door waiting for tables, I would understand, but there wasn't.

For now, I'm won't be going back...

Sad because it was a really laid-back place before...

this and that

Love seeing all the different produce at the fruit stands...like this huge lemon!

Grown in Wakayama it was only 100 yen (plus tax)!

I recently have been seeing beets, so I tried pickling it raw...yummy!

This particular variety was called Detroit Dark Red.

This other variety I found was called Golgo in Japanese, (Gorgo, not sure of the spelling) also known as Barbabietola.

Love the pink rings!

We ate it raw, pickled...

and roasted.

Saw this Rittersport on Rowena's flickr page and kept my eye out for it.

The stores haven't really been bringing in new flavors, but I'm glad I found it and got to try it...salted honey almonds & milk chocolate...so good! I didn't share...

Tankan, a type of citrus.

They look really ugly, but when you cut them open they are bright orange.

They don't have any seeds and they are really sweet.

They reminded me of the oranges my mom used to grow.

What have you been seeing in your markets?

happy birthday MIL

Yesterday was MIL's birthday.

It was a special birthday as she turned 88.

In Japan, they call this birthday "beiju" (bay-joo).

In the early days, most people didn't live past 50 so any age past that was considered a joyous occasion.

Beiju is written with the character for rice.

Rice was respected by everyone not only as a staple but also a symbol of their livelihood and happiness.

A fundamental part of Japanese society, rice also symbolizes purity and goodness.

BIL, SIL and nephew turned out for the occasion.

With everyone's busy schedules, it was nice to get together with everyone.

Happy Birthday MIL!

float lemon tea (heart)

After that krazy lunch...I went to check out the mall up the street, before catching the bus back home.

As I was wandering in my favorite knick-knack shop...I found the tea with the dried lemon hearts!

The green box has tea from Miyazaki Gokase and the red one has tea from Shimane Izumo.

The heart shaped lemon is from Hiroshima.

Brew the tea then set the dried lemon on top.

So cute!

I'm glad I found this and didn't have to enter the lottery to get them.

We're back in a cold snap the past couple of days...have a nice weekend!