clouds

Last weekend, the clouds looked like this.

Autumn is definitely here.

We have a 3-day weekend here. No plans, hopefully we'll be able to get out and about.

I hope you all have a nice weekend.

share with a friend

Recently I noticed a new coffee at the convenience store...to celebrate 15 years of Starbucks in Japan...a double latte.

This one was sweetened, a little too sweet for my liking.

But the thing that was good was that there was a sticker on the cap. And with a purchase of a drink (any size), you could redeem this for a free small drink (of the same type of drink) for a friend.

So, one day, Satoshi and I went to Starbucks and I bought a small iced caramel macchiato for myself and got him a small hot caramel macchiato...

It was a nice way to share a coffee with a friend, Happy Anniversary Starbucks!

noodle-y day

The weather turned colder, very quickly! (there is even snow in the Northern areas of Japan already...brr!)

So what is a better way to warm up than with noodles? I love noodles in all forms and in all styles.

We recently went to check out Marugame Seimen. They actually opened a shop up called "Marukame Udon" in Waikiki earlier this year.

I was watching a show recently and they featured Marugame Seimen, how they have 500 shops across Japan and not one has closed in this down economy!

So I searched online to see where the nearest location was for us and we went after one of Satoshi's dentist appointments.

We arrived at noon and there was a slight line, but nothing too bad.

It is cafeteria style, so you order your udon according to the styles that they serve it, then pick up what tempura you want, then pay.

Satoshi ordered the kakeudon (which is udon in hot broth)...280 yen (about US$2.80).

I ordered the hiyashi gyugobo bukkake udon (udon served in a concentrated cold broth then topped with a sweet-salty beef & burdock)...480 yen (about US$4.80).

(Even though the weather is cooler, I usually try to choose a cold broth whenever I can because I almost always end up burning my tongue when I order a hot broth.)

Satoshi chose three different types of tempura (kakiage (a tempura fried with all sorts of veggies), nasu (eggplant) & kisu (sillago))...310 yen (about US$3.10)

And I chose a kakiage..130 yen (about US$1.30).

After paying, there is a little counter area where you can put your own green onions and or tempura kasu (the bits that come up when you fry tempura).

The food was good, I especially liked the gyugobo and kakiage. The gyugobo was tender and very flavorful, loved the sweet-salty combo. And the kakiage had lots of onions and carrot, think onion rings!

When we left, seating was scarce and the line was out the door.

We'll be back especially if we're in this area.

Then for dinner, we went to our favorite neighborhood Chinese place...Chaina.

I ordered their tan tan men set, this came with a bowl of tan tan men, some kara-age (fried chicken), cole slaw, takuan (pickles) and some rice...800 yen (about US$8)

Satoshi ordered what he always does, the stamina set...900 yen (about US$9) This comes with a stir-fry of beef and garlic shoots, gyoza, kara-age (fried chicken), cole slaw, takuan (pickles), egg drop soup and some rice.

It was my first time having the tan tan men here and I loved it, it was addictingly spicy! Can you believe after eating all that food and half of my rice, Satoshi was still hungry?!

All in all, it was a great noodle-y day.

Marugame Seimen--Kita-Shinsaibashi shop
3-8-14 Minami Senba
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6282.1150
Open everyday 11:00-22:00

lanai

I know the weather is getting cooler, but I recently planted some swiss chard and beets...looks like something is coming up in these two planters.

I really like these two veggies and our markets almost never have them, so I decided to grow my own.

I think this photo is of the beets.

And I think this one is the swiss chard.

The green sprouts you see surrounding what I think is the swiss chard are just a weed that pops up in the soil around this time.

I'll pull them out as soon as my other plants start to get bigger.

Hope these grow nicely...I can't wait to cook with them.

dinners

Before it gets too cold to talk about beer, thought I'd share this one with you, as well as some dinners...Castello's Lager, an Italian beer.

Easy to drink and similar to American beers. Would I get it again? probably not it was a little to thin for my liking, but it was nice to try.

One thing we had for dinner was goya champuru made with corned beef hash and an egg.

First time making it this way but it was delicious.

Just saute the goya with the corned beef hash and then add in a scrambled egg, add some pepper and serve over rice.

Unfortunately this goya was from the market, the one on our lanai is only 2 inches long...boo!

Another thing we had was this carpaccio made with tai (sea bream).

I saw this recipe in the latest issue of "Elle a Table", I didn't follow the measurements just the method.

Take a white flesh fish like tai (sea bream) and slice thinly, place on plate.
*if you can find white fleshed fish that is already sliced for sashimi, then use that, it will save you some time.

Topping:
Take a pinch (or more) of shiofuki kombu (dried seasoned seaweed) and chop finely with a pinch (or more) of shibazuke (pickles colored with red shiso leaves)
Add some olive oil, mix well (this will make a "sauce")

Decorate:
Sprinkle some chopped green onion and some toasted white sesame seeds.

Eat right away.

NOTES: this was easy, delicious and would be nice to serve at a party. Definitely making this again.

What have you been eating?

deli port

Have you ever heard of Toruko rice?! Toruko in Japanese means Turkey like in the country.

Turkish rice is a Japanese dish that puts together many Yoshoku (Western-style) favorites.

I think this dish first originated in Nagasaki prefecture, there they top saffron rice with spaghetti that is coated with ketchup (what they call Napolitan) and on the same plate a little salad.

The dish has spread to other areas like Osaka and Kobe, each with a little variation of their own.

Osaka's version apparently has chicken rice (rice sauteed with ketchup and chicken) then topped with an omlette and then doused with demi-glace.

Kobe's version supposedly tops their creation with curry.

I recently tried Toruko rice at Deli Port, a restaurant in the JR Osaka Isetan.

This version had saffron rice, topped with a fluffy omlette, a few pieces of katsu sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Around it some demi-glace sauce and some ketchup.

This was rich, but delicious. I'm glad I tried it.

Deli Port
JR Osaka Isetan 10F
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6341.2799

new

The weather is weird, one day cool, the next day hot.

Still, it's a new month so how about some new plants?!

I recently went to the DIY store and picked up these...spearmint, red bergamot & lavender mint.

I actually wanted to buy more herbs but refrained.

Hopefully I won't kill these with the cold weather coming up and can enjoy them as tisanes (herbal tea).