Kitkat – Flan

The chocolate-to-wafer ratio is way off in the big size of kitkat. Regardless, I was still excited to find that flan was back on the market.

Last year I found big bags of the miniature sized flan that I brought home and shared in the office. We also found kitkat icecream bars in this flavour last year! I think I bought about 12 of them – they were so good. Because of that particular find, I’m obsessed with looking in the ice cream case every time we go into a convenience store. I think it’s a habit that will slowly drive Jon crazy.

Dinner in Shibuya

The plan for the evening: Head over to Shibuya to meet up with some of Emi’s friends for dinner.

The restaurant that Emi picked was on the 15th floor of a building in central Shibuya. The exterior walls of the elevator were clear, so we had a fantastic view on the way! On the walk over, as we passed through the busiest intersection in the world, I thought aloud: We live here. Life is fantastic.

While it looked normal enough from the outside, once you poked in through the curtains you enter into a *giant* restaurant. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a restaurant so big in Japan. The window seats were reserved for large groups, with tables set into various sized cubby holes. The interior of the restaurant had about 20 tables – and they were jam-packed when we arrived. The vibe seemed to be both young and international.

Emi’s friends thought we should alternate and mix up a bit, so we weren’t just talking to the people that we came with. I think our side of the table was a little hesitant at first, but I’m glad we ended up doing it. Emi’s friends are so nice! I remember saying the same thing about Sayo’s friends last year – I wonder if we just run into the best that a country has to offer, or if all Japanese people really are this fantastic.

We left ordering dinner up to the people who knew the food best, so we were plesantly surprised every time the waitress brought a few thigns out. Overall, the food was really light – lots of things set on different types of lettuces. Some one ordered orange chicken (the kind you get at chinese restaurants), and I was utterly dismayed to find out the Japanese word for it is “orangey chickenu”. Seriously?

But mostly, we drank. A lot. For two hours, the waiters plied us with monster-sized pitchers of Kirin:

We stopped for a picture on the way out. Too bad you can’t see the backdrop of the city that we were standing in front of.

At the end of the night, we say goodbye to our friends and hurry to grab one of the last trains home. The train is standing room only, and I’m happy to have a finagled a corner spot where I can lean against the walls.

A Lazy Saturday / Yakiniku Friday

I’ve only been awake for two hours, yet it’s already shaping out to be quite the odd duck of a day.

But first, this is jon and I, taken last night:

This is the first Saturday that Jon’s been called into work. Poor guy – we got in way too late last night and he still had to wake up at 5:30 and get on the train. Somewhere between here and then, I’ve lost my house key. Among other terrible side effects (who knows how much they charge for replacements!), I’m house-bound on a beautiful day. This morning, our company did some heavy handed layoffs, letting go a lot of really fantastic people. For the most part, my team was spared, though I’m sure I’ll find out more on Monday. If any of those people are reading; you will be missed!

I can only hope the rest of the day gets better.

Last night, Jon and I met up with Phil, Will, & Reece for something called tabehodai and nomihodai (All you can eat / all you can drink). For $35, we had a steady stream of Asahi and meat to grill up in front of us.

Pretty standard stuff: marinated chicken, 2 kinds of beef, and fatty pork belly. The fat drippings from the pork made the grilling a bit unmanageable at times. Jon quickly became the grill-master of the evening, and got us into a good rhythm of damage-control.

I love the concept of yakiniku – one that we just don’t do in America. If you’ve ever had Korean bbq, it’s a lot like that (but with less side dishes). There’s a grill in the middle of the table so that you can Yaki (grill) your Niku (meat). I love interactive food! After our initial inability to control the flames on our grill, we decided that the concept would never really make it stateside, because drunken 20-somethings would most likely burn the restaurants down.

Restaurant service in japan is way different than in the states. I wish I had this perspective before I waited tables for 8 years! Here, the waitress doesn’t come by and ask how things are. They don’t stand by and check in to see if you’re ready to order. Instead, in your most nasally voice, you yell “SUMI-MASEN!!!!!!!“. And then from the back, you’ll hear an even more nasal response, “haaiiiiiiii!!!!“. I wish you could hear it.

Then your server comes out from this door, and stands by very patiently while you butcher her language.

This is our friend, Phil. He’s a cowboy. (okay, he’s really an engineer. and a cowboy.) Phil is also a very good sport, but really likes beef more than the other crazy things we make him eat. I think yakiniku might be phil’s second favourite japanese food.

After dinner, we said goodbye to Phil and the four of us headed home. We stopped to watch some teenagers do tricks on their bikes (they were definitely showing off for us), and to terrorize some playground equipment.  Reece taught me a naughty word and I, like the obnoxious foreigner that I am, said it about three hundred times at innocent passersby.  I’m embarrassed for myself this morning.

An Evening in Shimokitazawa

Hello again! When we left off yesterday, I was about to tell you about our organic, hippy-lunch in Shimokitazawa.

Under ordinary circumstances (read: when in Seattle), I like to know where my food comes from. I like to be able to make educated choices about how I vote with my dollars. Living in a different culture, you kind of forgo those sorts of ideals and values, in favour of experiencing whatever that area has to offer. 99% of the time this is nothing short of spectacular, but there is that part of me that still wants to choose things that are environmentally and socially sustainable. Enter lunch.

Our lunch spot today has us seated on the ground, dining from mismatched plates, in what really appears to be the back porch of someone’s house. Neat, huh?

This “sitting on the floor” thing is a reoccuring theme this year. I’m used to curling up in balls while I sit, but Jon looks significantly more uncomfortable with the whole thing. Luckily, he’s a good sport about me flashing a camera in his face every three minutes.

Lunch today consisted of a menagerie of tasty, mostly-vegetarian things:

And if lunch wasn’t creepy enough for you, sportsfans, you can always see what the local chefs are up to a this place. Oh, how I love the Japanese interpretation of our language.

Wandering through the streets. Fabulous.

We eventually stumbled into a “science store”. What do you suppose happens with “Science Snow”?

One of my favourite things when I was little was space food. For some reason, it makes me think of my dad. I’d always beg for the ice cream sandwich flavours. What do Japanese tikes beg for? Perennial favourites like Tako Yaki (those weird octopus-street-food-things-that-make-me-want-to-hurl), Daigaku Imo (sugar-glazed sweet potatoes tossed with sesame seeds), and Annin Dofu (almond tofu).

***

Eventually we met up with our friends [Brian] Reece and (his girlfriend) Emi. As the boys were texting and exchanging voice mails trying to locate each other (keep in mind, this is one of the busiest cities in the world), Emi and I literally ran into each other in a hat shop. It was so “small world”. Thinking about it still blows my mind.

This is Emi & Reece:

The 5 of us headed over to one of Emi’s favourite bars, The Free Factory, where we snagged a little cubby-hole of a table.

We ordered this thing called “Mexican Chips”. It was absolutely the oddest part of the night. Queso Dorritos covered in ketchup, mayo, beans, and raw onions. We ate them with chopsticks, of course.

I’m going to go ahead and maintain that these mexican chips were the weirdest part of the day, even considering that I purchased a pair of earmuffs with pandas on them. Check these out. Absolutely Kowaii.

Here’s a random thought to leave on. What, exactly, is happening on this sign?

Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Oh!  I haven’t given you a kitkat in a while.

Along with last year’s Yuzu & the Sakura Coffee from last month, this one is quickly becoming my favourite.  Semi-sweet chocolate – it’s… perfect and lovely.

…okay. I *think* it’s semi-sweet chocolate. I could be wrong because I can’t read the label. but it tastes a lot like chocolate, just a little bitter, and it has a stream of brown stuff on the cover of the box. …. which could only be …. chocolate. Does anyone watch “How I Met Your Mother”?