isshinshuka

Saturday night, we checked out Isshinshuka.

From the outside it looks like a run down shop, but inside it is quite nice.

They do not have a lot of tables, so you should make reservations, or go early.

We tried their large gyoza...these are HUGE!

As the gyoza snob, Satoshi says, "they taste good and were cooked perfectly"

We tried the yurinchi chicken.

Fried chicken served with a sweet sour shoyu based sauce.

This was good especially with chinese pepper sprinkled here and there.

The chili shrimp and squid.

Both had a thin batter, were fried then served with a sweet spicy chili sauce.

Shrimp and lettuce fried rice.

Everything was delicious and came out relatively quickly.

I'm glad we tried this place and will be back.

On our walk home, we spotted Tokyo Tower and were shocked that we could see it from the area where we live.

The photo is super blurry, but I blame the smartphone's camera taking night photos.

Isshinshuka
1-15-1 Chidori
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5700.1401
Closed Wednesdays
Hours: Lunch: 11:30-14:30, Dinner: 17:00-22:30

kachu-yu

Recently learned about a new soup...Kachu-yu.

Kachu is Okinawan for katsuo bushi (bonito flakes). Yu is Japanese for hot water.

The soup is so easy to put together and perfect for times when you haven't cold brewed your dashi or have time to make some dashi.

Kachu-yu adapted from "Sanmi no Gohan" : 1 serving
1 gram bonito flakes
1 teaspoon miso
1 cup hot water

Put the bonito flakes and miso into a bowl and add the hot water.
Mix well to "meld" the miso with the hot water.
Top with your favorite toppings (green onions, nori, okra etc.)

NOTES: if you want to add "hard" veggies (like carrots, daikon), I would recommend pre-cooking to soften them.

Apparently, this type of soup has been around for ages in Okinawa.

I like this soup not only because it is easy but also a nice way to "eat" the dashi ingredients.

I'm making this again.

things I'm liking

Happy Lunar New Year!

Here's a list of some things I'm liking...the fruit sandwich from Bakery Alice.

It not only has whipped cream but also a dollop of custard.

the saku saku anpan from Sunmerry.

It reminds me of the pie crust manju that we have in Hawaii.

The sesame anpan from Yashi Pan.

They mix sesame paste with the sweet bean paste...delicious.

The veggie sandwich at City Bakery was super colorful. There was also some avocado as well as a lot of crunchy veggies.

With the air crisp, most days we get a glimpse of Mount Fuji...during sunrise, during the day, during sunset.

1st time trying Yamada Udon's tanmen, which I believe is Saitama's soul food.

It kind of reminded me of Hawaii's saimin (with the thin noodles and light broth) and kind of like Nagasaki's champon (with all the veggies)...comfort food.

Ottogi's curry. Reader N gave sent this to me and it was slightly spicy and very tasty. Thanks N!

What are you enjoying these days?

bento

When we were preparing to move to Tokyo, Satoshi mentioned that he may need me to make lunch for him because the area that he works at doesn't have too many choices (and the choices that are there are quite pricey)

Well, for the past week or so he has been busy at work.

Then last Tuesday, he asked if I could start making him lunch.

Of course I panicked asking him if we have financial problems (some things are a little more expensive than when we lived in Osaka)...he said that wasn't a problem, but that by the time he has a chance to get out of the office, most lunch places are closed...so he sometimes goes without eating or eats just a convenience store musubi.

So, I started making him lunch last Thursday.

Shungiku gomaae and kinpira.

Two musubi with salmon and takuan (pickled daikon).

Some oolong tea in a thermos.

It will take some planning ahead and I do need to get up earlier (that's what naps are for), but at least he'll be able to eat lunch.

supermarket finds

Some finds at the supermarket...Otohime tomatoes from Wakayama...so sweet!

Shungiku (edible chrysanthemum greens).

I've put them into our nabe (hot pot) but I also tried it as gomaae (dressed with sesame seed).

After rinsing them, I cut them into bite sized pieces then wilt them in a non-stick pan.

When it is wilted, I stick them into cold water to stop the cooking.

Squeeze out the water then used my favorite sesame dressing to make shungiku gomaae...fast and easy.

Aretta, is apparently a cross between kale and broccoli.

I sauteed the leaves with some spicy pork then put them onto ganmo.

Ganmo (also called ganmodoki) is a fried tofu filled with carrots and some gobo (burdock root).

I bought the ganmo from Kondo Tofu...60 yen for 1 piece (I bought 4)...so cheap and good!

Purple carrots so dark that they almost look black!

Are there any interesting veggies you've found at your market recently?

p.s. today is Setsubun, if you are eating ehomaki (uncut futomaki sushi) the direction to face is to-hoku-to (east-north-east)

hamarikyu gardens

First off, I want to thank Kirk of Mmm-yoso, for gifting us a Pro Flickr account for a year.

I appreciate your kindness and generosity!

On to today's post....the news they had mentioned that the ume (apricot) at Hamarikyu Gardens were blooming.

So, this past Sunday, we went to check it out.

Luckily it was only a few trees.

The bulk of the ume trees that are in the baien (apricot orchard) haven't even started...whew!

Though it was nice to see the pink with the yellow (nanohana (rapeseed)), though the nanohana is also SUPER early too..

Look how dry everything is...(we finally got some rain/snow on Thursday!)

We stopped into Nakanojima Chaya (which is located at about the middle of the gardens).

You need to pay for tea and treats when you enter the tea house, so this definitely deters the tourists & locals that only want to sit and chat here...

Satoshi and I both had the nerikiri with matcha...720 yen (tax included) each.

If I understand things correctly, nerikiri is white bean paste that is mixed with rice flour to form a "dough".

It is then filled with sweet bean paste then formed into various shapes.

Mine was called kobai (small apricot).

Satoshi's nerikiri was an homage to the 300 year pine on the garden grounds.

Spring is technically still a long way away, but it was nice to sit and admire the pond surrounding the tea house.

yokohama iekei nozomiya

We recently tried Yokohama Iekei Nozomiya.

A rather tiny ramen shop in our shopping arcade.

NOTE to self: even if they seat you at the counter...do not look at how they are making your ramen..eep!

I tried their ebi (shrimp) won ton men...790 yen (tax included).

While this was good, like I said, do not watch how they make your ramen...especially when they take the bowl they will put your ramen in from a bucket thingy filled with hot water...

Dunno if we'll be back, but I'm glad we tried them.

Yokohama Iekei Nozomiya
6-3-7 Ikegami
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6410.6280
Hours: 11:00-24:00