Dinner @ Shibuya

We arrived in Shibuya on Sunday night wondering where to go for dinner.

Takashi called his brother and he recommended this restaurant called `Uoshin`, about 8 mins walk from Shibuya station.


This Japanese restaurant is all about fish and seafood.

We shared a table with 5 Japanese as the restaurant was totally packed with guests.


Nevertheless, the service was very good and the food was just amazing.

Everything we ordered was fresh and tasted perfectly delicious.



Like my sister said, no words are enough to describe the taste, you have to sample for yourself to understand.

Christmas Toys @ Yokohama

We stumbled upon a Christmas Toys specialty shop in Yokohama.


Though Christmas is still 2 months away, we were in Merry Land once we entered the shop.

This shop has been in business since 1986 and sells Christmas goods solely for the whole year.


We were amazed by their wide range of decorations and toys.

For Christmas fans, please visit their website at Toys club

Yokohama 8/10/06

My sister is in Tokyo for 3 weeks of business training. Last weekend , my husband and I travelled to Tokyo to meet her.

As my husband`s brother is staying in Yokohama, we stayed one night at his place and visited Yokohama city on the next day.


The weather was perfect on Sunday with clear blue skies.

We took a short walk around Yokohama before proceeding to Chinatown for dim sum lunch.


We had a full lunch but the boys were not satisfied till they eat their favourite meat bun. The nikuman (meat bun) was almost the size of my head. My husband, sister and I shared one while the kids enjoyed one each. It was a bit salty for me though.


After the lunch, we walked around Yamashita Park, a beautiful park which ports the famous Hikawa Maru ship.


Further down the harbour side, it was a much more relaxing atmosphere with young couples strolling along while enjoying the waterfront view.

Yokohama city was packed with people but we all had a great day on Sunday. Credits to my husband`s brother route planning.

Chocolate Chips Oatmeal Cookies

This afternoon, I was craving for some `sinful food`.

I can`t find any chocolate chips in my fridge so I chopped my Meiji chocolate bar into small pieces.

These cookies are easy and fun to bake, requiring not more than half an hour in the kitchen.

Recipe (makes 20 cookies)
1. Cream 80g unsalted butter together with 50g soft white sugar (the recipe
stated 70g but I thought it would be too sweet for me)
2. Add 1 beaten egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into creamed butter mixture


3. Add 170g of plain flour and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder(sifted)into mixture
and fold lightly
4. Mix in 40g rolled oats (healthy), 60g chocolate chips (sinful)
5. Pick up 1 tablespoon of mixture, roll into a ball, flatten and place on baking
tray leaving 2 inches between cookies
6. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for abut 16-18 mins until pale golden brown
7. Cool cookies on wire racks
8. Store in air tight container and enjoy slowly.

** Next time, I would like to add in more chocolate chips.

Roast Beef

Today is my first attempt in making roast beef for dinner.

Here`s my simple recipe
1. Rub the rump beef with salt,black pepper and McCormick`s grill seasoning.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Add 10g butter into the hot frying pan and brown all sides of the beef.
3. Slice two potatoes and half a garlic.
4. Lay the potatoes and garlic on the oven tray.
5. Place the rump beef on the potatoes and garlic, fatty side up.
6. My beef was very lean so I spreaded 15g butter over it, coating all sides
thoroughly.
7. Roast for 30mins-35mins @ 200 degrees in oven.
8. Let the roast sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting into thin slices.

I was lazy to make my own sauce. Today, I poured ready made steak sauce over my roast.

The leftovers are for my sandwiches tomorrow.

The Bridge

I work as a Mandarin-Japanese translator occasionally when my services are needed.

To reach the office, I have to cross this bridge which is around 700m long.

There are times when I am the only one walking on it.

The scenery is awesome.

I am surrounded by mountains.

The air is unpolluted, crisp and fresh.

I can only hear sounds of insects and an occasional car passing by.

While I appreciate the peacefulness of the countryside, I MISS CITY LIFE!

Chinese noodles - Zha Jiang Mian

I had to eat dinner alone for 13 days as Takashi is working in Germany.

Its time for me to experiment new recipes when he`s not around.

Tonight, I decided to cook Zha jiang mian.

Its a simple one dish meal with meat and vegetables.

Always try to make my food look interesting and forget about the loneliness of eating alone.

Korean Pancake - Chijimi

Today`s lunch was Chijimi, a type of Korean pancake.

Anyone can make this simple dish in just 10 mins.

First, mix 100cc water with 100g of flour and 1 egg.

Then add in a bunch of leek, pork, seafood, or anything that you like in the batter.

Mix the batter well and spread it evenly in the frying pan.

Fry 3 mins for each side and serve with vinegar mixed with soya sauce.

Its easy to make and nutritious. Do try it!

Harvest

It was still 7am on weekend Saturday morning when a loud noise woke us up.


We looked out of the window and saw our eldery neighbours busily working in the fields.

They were harvesting the rice!

Immediately I jumped out of the bed and grabbed my camera.


My neighbour had a rice harvester machine.

His wife drove the machine as he guided her around the rice field while changing the bags full with rice.

The other obasan cut the rice plant manually using a long knife.


In some fields, the harvested rice is straw bundled together and hung out on wooden poles.

We were puzzled about it and asked a farmer nearby.

According to her, rice that is sun dried for a few weeks tastes better.


These sun dried rice are mainly for the farmers private consumption.

Those that are sold in supermarkets do not go through this process.

Well, supermarket rice is good enough for me as I probably can`t taste the difference.

Evening Sky

The autumn evening sky is beautiful.

Its like a big canvas drawing with the colours of blue, orange and pink blended together.

What are they doing?

One fine day, I accidentally spotted these two cheeky dragonflies resting on our apartment wall.

They seemed to be in a mating position.

Ermm excuse me, maybe you guys should consider doing it in the greens..not on the wall...

Cosmos

The cosmos flower symbolizes the arrival of autumn.

In Matsumoto, the days are getting shorter and temperature has dipped to 15 degrees at night.

Humid summer days are gone and soon we have to prepare ourselves for the harsh winter.

Grape & Pear Picking

Its the grape and pear harvesting season in Matsumoto.

Takashi and I went to grape & pear picking at Shiojiri city during the weekend. (just 30mins away from home)

We paid 500yen/person and received a pair of scissors.

The staff then gave us a brief introduction of the vine and introduced the few grape varieties ready for picking.

We had to stoop a bit while walking around as the vineyard canopy was low in height.

The sweet smell of the grapes were almost overpowering us as we walked along.

It was a fun experience though some of the grapes were a bit sour..

After indulging in four bunches of grapes, we proceeded to the pear area.



Japanese pears are yellowish in colour.

The inner flesh is white, crisp like an apple, and very juicy.


After picking the pear, we could sit in the sun and enjoy the fruit slowly as there was no time limit.

I am not very good with using a knife for peeling so Takashi did the job while I busily munched on the pears.

Altogether, we had 4 bunches of grapes and 3 pears that Saturday.

Lots of Vitamin C for just 1000yen..

Rice Padis before Harvesting

Nagano prefecture is very agriculturally based.

Among its famous produces such as buckwheat,lettuces, apples and grapes, rice production is also a major agriculture activity.

The scenery is breathtaking now, especially with the rice fields reaching their full green before changing into golden yellow around harvest-time.

When the wind blows, the paddies roll with it like a huge golden yellow blanket.

Marble Cake

Takashi and I made this marble cake together.

It was hard work as we do not have an electric mixer to beat the batter.

Takashi helped in all the manual whisking which requires much energy.


The marble cake is made with alternating layers of vanilla essence batter and batter mixed with cocoa powder.

50 mins of baking in the oven.. and voila!

Summer Finale @ Suwa Lake

There are 2 renowned fireworks events at Suwa Lake every summer.

We missed the one on Aug 15 and decided to attend the one on Sept 2.

These were the last fireworks display cum competition this season.

More than 10,000 fireworks light up the summer sky and an estimated of 30,000 people flock to this small village of Suwa every year to view the displays.

The show on Sept 2 previews new designs and techniques that has been developed for next year`s festival.

Pyrotechnic artists make use of this opportunity to exhibit their skills during this annual competition.

The show was impressive with huge fireworks varied in different colours and shapes, coordinated spectacularly.

There were heart shaped fireworks, smiley faces and some new patterns which we have not seen before.

The show lasted for 2 hours with a five minute grand finale.

Its time to bid farewell to summer.