An Old Town Called Chimayo

 Chimayo was very quiet, not so many people in the area. But, of the people that we did meet they were very friendly. One man in particular was very....flirty. lol He was a very good salesman. I have to say his chili was pretty good!

 If you have time try to make a trip to Chimayo. Buy some chili and visit the chapels!

A Healthy Lunch

One of the nice things about lunch is that you can find good food for decent prices. This was at Harano Kitchen where you choose from lunch sets at 1,100 yen a set. It comes with a drink as well. It was really healthy since it's mainly tofu, avocado, tomatoes, okra and seaweed over rice mixed with soy beans and sesame seeds. Then you have a consomme soup and salad. What's not to love?

Of course, after lunch we went for coffee to continue chatting. This isn't at the same restaurant, unfortunately I have forgotten the name, but I will be back someday! Their coffee was actually good and they came in these fun cups!

Summer Heat Fighter #3

Indulging in lemon cheesecake from LeTao. Lemon is good for hot days, right? Oh well, it tasted sooooooooo good! It was gone just like that (snaps fingers)!

Summer Heat Fighter #2

Summer fruits always make me happy! They are so sweet!

Summer Heat Fighter

Supposedly, eating eel gives you energy to beat the heat. Even if it doesn't it tastes delicious!

Festival Food #1

Some sweet custard cakes anyone? Personally, I prefer snow cones and takoyaki.

カステラ!　お祭りでは私はかき氷とたこ焼きが一番食べたくなりますね

Yozakura: Cherry Blossoms at night

Hanami is a big part of spring tradition in Japan, but so is Yozakura. Yozakura is Hanami at night. People come after dark to sit under the lit up Cherry Blossoms and drink and eat with friends and family. Basically, celebrating the arrival of spring. Spring this year has arrived very early! I'm a little afraid of what this means for summer. If you don't know what I am talking about then try visiting Nagoya in the summer and you will understand the moment you step outside of the airport. Actually, the air around the open door of the airplane should tell you a lot.

Until then I have these wonderful memories of Cherry Blossoms. This photo and the next one were taken with my cellphone, so it's not very sharp. I still wanted to share it with you though.

These were all taken in Tsuruma Park in Nagoya if you would like to visit next spring for your own Hanami!

Girl's Day Celebration: All That Food

This was dessert, but I put it first. I love Annindofu! It's made from almond milk and it makes for a great dessert anytime.

 How do you say no to Shrimp and Squid when you love seafood?

 Here is the Chirashizushi that I mentioned last time. Sorry about the plastic wrap, but we needed to keep it from drying out before we ate it. It is sushi rice with salmon, egg strips, salmon eggs and snap peas.

 I had to show another picture of the bowl, because this bowl was made during the Meiji Period! There is an engraving on the bottom (in Kanji so my friend had to read for me) that says when it was made. I couldn't believe it. They definitely don't make them like they used to!

 

The plates we got to use to celebrate Girl's Day was so simple, but beautiful. Traditional musical instruments were painted on the plates. A different instrument for each plate.

I think the koto is my favorite traditional Japanese musical instrument. I'm not really sure why since I've never played one. There's just something about it.

Ise, Japan: On the Streets of Okageyokocho

 It was during the New Year Holiday when I visited, so the streets of Okageyokocho were very crowded with periodic breaks in the crowd.

  Grilled oyster is one of the famous foods you can eat here. This was a very small food stall, but the little old lady running it knew what she was doing.

You can also eat grilled clams, which were also delicious!

There were a few stands selling air dried Mackerel. The vendor would grill some for samples and, of course, the smell of grilled Mackerel would attract the hungry buyers.

One vendor wrapping up the Mackerel a customer just bought.

Seoul, Korea: Food

The restaurant Giljy had a nice atmosphere. If we had more time to spare we would have relaxed here a bit, but we had a play to get to. This is an Italian restaurant (on the second floor), but there is a cafe fore drinks on the first floor.

At this restaurant you get free bread with balsamic vinegar with olive oil (you can ask for a refill, we did).

  Plus free pickled vegetables! These were really good and I polished these off.

Italian style Topokki.
We hadn't eaten breakfast (we slept in) and we had walked around in the freezing cold to take in the Changdeokgung Palace. So, naturally we were starving! We were on our way to see the Korean play "Miso" at Jeong-dong Theatre and we had just enough time to inhale this delicious dish. Normally, this is bought at a street vendor, but we wanted something to eat and there was only this restaurant close to the theatre.

Seoul, Korea: Dinner and Dessert

My friend took me to this nice restaurant in Gangnam. It is known for their chicken dish that we ate that night.

Before I go any further I am going to say this, I am terrible at Korean. I had the hardest time pronouncing names, reading names, remembering names. This said I have to admit that I can not remember the name of this restaurant or the dish that we ate. You may blame this on pure laziness, but I blame it on my ability to remember names, places, dishes after hearing it a couple times. I have to see it and say it numerous times before I can commit it to memory. The ONLY reason I remember some of the neighborhoods that I visited is because I had been staring at the names for so long before my trip and then I kept hearing them during my trip. All the food and restaurants that my friend introduced me to were all new to me. So, I'm sorry that I can't give you exact details, but everything that I ate are common Korean dishes. I know this because I asked that we eat only Korean food, because hey I'm in Korea and I want to eat traditional dishes that haven't been altered to suit the taste buds of the country I am in i.e. Americanized Chinese food.

 My lovely friend Hye Sung who was such a sport with my inability to speak Korean. To give her credit she did try to teach me the correct way of saying the names, but I don't think I came even close to pronouncing them right.

 Here is the chicken dish that I was telling you about above. It reminded me of Teriyaki chicken that has been simmered for a long time. The chicken just fell off the bone and the vegetables and potatoes soaked up the sauce....Yum!

Cafe Jubilee in Itaewon. This place has the best Hot Chocolate! You can choose how dark you want your hot chocolate or you can get a mint or raspberry flavored one. I had the Hot mint chocolate one.

I really wanted to try one of their chocolates, but there were too many options and I was already drinking a chocolate drink. Chocolate overload!

These chocolates were cute! They had them packaged like lipsticks. 

Enjoying our hot chocolate by the window. The atmosphere of the cafe was very relaxed.  I wish I had time to go back one more time before I left, but maybe on my next visit.

Here is their web address in case you are interested in finding their location for your trip to Seoul!

Happy Hot Chocolate Drinking!

Nagoya, Japan: Takashimaya Exhibition- Hokkaido

About twice a year in Nagoya we are lucky enough to have a Hokkaido Exhibit. This one was in October at the Takashimaya Department store. The other one is at the Mitsukoshi Department store, unfortunately I can not remember when they have their exhibit. I want to say in February, but I guess I will have to wait and see!

It is always packed with people buying delicious food from Hokkaido. Very fresh fish, crab and many other varieities of delectables. If you happen to be in Nagoya when this food fair is going on make sure you go! of course, make sure you buy some food to eat!

A variety of Fish Roe, or Mentaiko, some are spicy! I like to eat it with rice or made into a Mentaiko pasta! Yum!

At this fair you can always find live crab! Usually they are huge, like this guy!

My happy treat from the Hokkaido food fair, Fresh scallops, and fresh sea urchin on rice! I'm getting hungry from just looking at this! I know this isn't everyones idea of great food, but even if this isn't there are plenty of other options to try. They offer plenty of sweets from Hokkaido, potato chips covered in Dark chocolate anyone?

Kyoto, Japan: Leaving Daigoji

There are so many huge trees that you know have been here for so long. They are beautifully trimmed with lots of gentle care.

At the end of your visit you will probably be hungry like we were. There are some snack shops close to the entrance. At the snack shop next to the parking lot, you can order a coffee and cake set. A perfect way to give yourself a little more energy for the ride back. This cake isn't made at the shop, most likely, but it was still delicous.

Nagoya, Japan: What to Eat

When visiting Nagoya eating Hitsumabushi is a must. This is a famous dish in Nagoya and if you like eel, or are open to trying eel (which I highly recommend you do), then you should eat Hitsumabushi. You have to eat  (well, you don't HAVE to, but this is the way the restaurants recommend you eat Hitsumabushi) in 3 steps.

First, you eat the first third simply, the way it arrived in front of you.

Second, you eat another third with the dried seaweed and wasabi that is provided.

Third, you eat the last portion by pouring soup over the eel and rice to make ochazuke.

Oh it's so delicious! Although, I have to admit my favorite is the second step....I tend to skip the third step, but don't tell anyone (Shhh!). For the restaurant link please see the last photo.

If you are in the mood for some cake then I recommend A La Campagne. It is located on the basement floor of the Mitsukoshi department store, next to the escalators that connect the Mitsukoshi department store and the LaChic department store.

If you aren't in Nagoya then don't worry they have many locations! Several in Tokyo, a few in Kobe and a couple in Osaka as well. I will warn you that the site is in Japanese, so I hope you can decipher the address or ask someone to help you (Hotel staff maybe?)

The atmosphere is very cozy and the display case will make your mouth water. I pass by this cafe almost daily after work (because it is a short cut to my train station and because I like to torture myself, apparently).

The top photo is of their chestnut cake which is only available during the chestnut season (Autumn) in Japan. The second photo is a mousse like cake, a very creamy, whipped cheese cake. It was so fluffy and just melts in your mouth. They tend to rotate the types of cake they make each day, but they usually have the popular ones available.

Another thing to remember is that many of the cakes are available by season only. Which means you can enjoy the fruits that are in season! If you liked "Qui fait bonne" which has disappeared from the Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya (because of H&M, yay!) this is a good replacement for that cake shop.

Here is a full view of what the Hitsumabushi set looks like. I ordered the regular size which is enough for me, but if you really enjoy food then you can order the larger size.

This restaurant is located in the Gas Building on the basement floor. You go down the fancy looking staircase and go straight down the hall and you will see this restaurant on your left. It is called Shirakawa and it is one of the famous places to eat Hitsumabushi.