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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Saturday 31 May 2008

Dumplings @ Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, Tokyo

(Apologies for the lack of posting on my journal - this week has been very busy for me.) On Saturday, rain was forecasted so we planned a lunch + movie date in Roppongi Hills. Our previous dining experiences at the Hills have proven to us that we can get consistently reliable and good foreign cuisine right here. True, they tend to be on the pricey side, but you kinda get desperate when you cannot find good Chinese food anywhere else in Japan. We watched The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which was brilliantly done and stayed true to the book (by the way, the first movie of the Narnia Chronicles was the first time I was truly delighted with a movie adaptation of a book - the others, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, have always been somewhat disappointing). But before the movie, we went in search for lunch around the vast area of Roppongi Hills, and landed ourselves inside the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant.

Apparently (as a brief googling revealed), Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant is a well-known Chinese restaurant chain founded in 1900 in Shanghai - although I'm sure the prices are much cheaper in China than in this Roppongi branch. According to the Roppongi Hills' Gourmet Guide, we can at least expect to "enjoy the best dumpling in town, which are based on a secret technique from old Shanghai" at this restaurant. Honestly, I did not have high expectations of a restaurant that specialises in steamed dumplings - I mean, how many different fillings can you put in steamed dumplings? However, we were both pleasantly surprised with the variety offered on the menu. I'd first tried Shanghai-style dumplings a few years ago in Melbourne's Chinatown when my Melbournite friend took me to a very popular Shanghai restaurant, which I would not have even known existed if not for her (thank God for local knowledge!). However, those dumplings I had back then were simple, rustic and cheap (but delicious and very filling!) in comparison to the exquisite ones offered at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant. That's the least I would expect for the price we paid! The restaurant decor was decidedly Chinese, but the service (as typical of Japanese) was far better than at most Chinese restaurants we've dined at in Australia and New York.

We went with a-la-carte, but a set course menu is available for those who do not want to bother with choosing individual dishes. We started out with the 3-Spoon Appetisers (1050yen). For the spoon appetisers, you can choose from perhaps 8 or 9 types with the choice of having 3 spoons or 5 spoons. Our selection of three was Marinated Jellyfish with Julienne Vegetables, Chicken with Sesame Dressing and Scallop with Yuzu Dressing. The jellyfish was pretty good with a well-flavoured vinegar dressing. The chicken was probably the best out of the three - it was simply done but the sesame flavour made it stand out. The scallop was disappointingly blah - it was quite flavourless and the texture wasn't moist and tender like well-prepared scallops ought to be. We also ordered Yuba with Minced Pork (630yen). Yuba (or what I know as fuzhu in Chinese) is tofu skin, and although it is rather plain on its own without fillings, it's one of my favourite pieces in yong tau foo. These yuba were stuffed with minced pork filling and steamed in a bamboo basket - they were only so-so, and the main negative point was that the top layer and parts that weren't in the broth were a bit dried out. It's my opinion that yuba is best served in soup - the silky texture is a delight on the tongue.

3-spoon appetisers - (clockwise from top) Chicken with Sesame Dressing, Scallop with Yuzu Dressing, and Marinated Jellyfish with Julienne Vegetables; and Yuba with minced pork:


Then we had Curried Pork Pie (630yen) which we thought was similar to the familiar Malaysian curry puffs but made with pork filling and flaky pastry instead. It was good. The Chinese-style Pie with Cashew (735yen) was next, which had a savoury cashew filling. It was delicious, but I ate so many different food in that meal that I can't tell you how or why it was delicious.



Of course we had dumplings - we were in a dumpling (aka steamed bun) restaurant afterall! We went for variety and chose one of the set-of-three Soup Buns (1260yen). There were three types to choose from, and we ordered the "Specialty" type which gave us shrimp, pork and crab roe (the term 'ovary' was used on the menu but I think roe sounds better). I was actually quite puzzled as to why these were called soup buns because they clearly weren't in soup, but it was only after I bit into one that I understood why. Inside each of the dumplings are the respective fillings with some liquid broth. The soup inside each dumpling made the dumplings really moist which made it such a pleasure to eat - you just have to be careful not to burn your tongue with the hot liquid. The fillings all had similar taste and texture, so it was no wonder that Rob had a bit of trouble differentiating between the different fillings (I have a more sensitive nose and taste, but I still made guesses as to which ones contained which fillings). Shortly after, our order of Sticky Rice Buns (siumai-style) was served. This tasted similar to lor mai kai (glutinous rice wrapped in a lotus leaf - one of my favourite dishes to order at dimsum/yumcha), and I think I could taste some minced pork in it. Rob particularly enjoyed the contrast of texture between the drier chewier dumpling skin at the top and the softer moister skin at the bottom.

3 Soup Buns and Sticky Rice Dumpling:


For sweets, we settled on Sweet Red Bean Pie (735yen) and Black Sesame Balls in Sweet Soup (630yen). Even though we were in a Chinese restaurant, I'd half-expected the red bean filling in the pie to taste like the often-too-sweet Japanese an (an almost ubiquitous filling in many Japanese sweets), but to our pleasant surprise, the bean paste was just like the darker Chinese-style tausa. These pies were yummy! The star of the meal, however, was the bowl of sweet black sesame balls. Rob's crazy for these black sesame dumplings and when we were still living in Perth, we'd often buy frozen packets of these sesame balls (and the peanut ones) at Asian grocery stores. We particularly loved the mildly sweetened soup scented with the flowers of kinmokusei (i.e. fragrant olive, or sweet olive). The fruity floral flavour of the kinmokusei blossoms accompanied the sesame dumplings very well, and I appreciated that the soup was not too sweet.

Sweet Red Been Pies and Black Sesame Balls:


All up, it was a very satisfying and pleasant meal. The bill came to around 6800yen (~AU$68) for two, which I thought was reasonable for a restaurant in Roppongi Hills. Yet another good quality foreign cuisine meal at Roppongi Hills.

Saturday 24 May 2008

Utandon Korean Cuisine, Tokyo

It's no secret that I adore Korean food. In Perth, I have a favourite or two places I'd go to for Korean eats. In Japan, Korean food is quite popular and it's one of the very few cuisines readily available in Japan where I can go to satisfy my cravings for spicy food. However, my best experience with Korean food would have to be in New York - the myriad of banchan (complimentary side dishes) was amazing and none like I'd had in Korean restaurants in Perth or Japan.

On our walks to our fortnightly sushi brunch in Tsukiji, we'd walk past Utandon Korean restaurant on Shin-Ohashi-dori. When Kim visited us in March during the spring school holidays, Kim and I went to Utandon for lunch one of the weekdays and we quite liked our orders of Kalbi Bibimbap, although it wasn't spicy enough and we had to add extra gochujang (Korean chilli sauce). A couple of Saturdays ago, the drizzle forced us to cancel our day's plans, so Rob and I headed to Utandon for some Korean lunch. What I liked most about this place is the kitchen, which is in the middle of the dining room, and you can either choose counter seats with a direct kitchen view, or table seats if you are in a bigger group or you just want some privacy. Service is efficient and polite, and I seriously doubt that any of the cooks or waitstaff are Korean - one of the waiter was clearly of Indian or Middle Eastern descent (he spoke excellent Japanese and English). Most of the clientele are Japanese people, which would explain why Kim and I needed to add more chilli sauce to our bibimbap. It's a very casual setting, probably more popular during weekday lunchtime with the working people from nearby offices and businesses.

The kitchen - the chef on the right was quite self-conscious when he spotted me poised with my camera (doesn't help that it's a bulky dSLR), and I had to indicate that he didn't need to pose or smile for the camera:


When seated, we were each given a small plate of pickled vegetables, which I suppose is the banchan. To start with, we ordered a plate of Chijimi (~1400yen), which is basically what I know as Haemulpajeon: Korean seafood omelette/pancake. I got a bit confused over the terminology for Korean omelette/pancake, and some research on the internet indicate that the Korean calls this dish jeon, buchimgae or jijim depending on the region. I can not decide whether it is an omelette or a pancake because sometimes it is very eggy and not very floury, other times it is prepared more like a flour pancake than an omelette. Hence it's why I use "omelette/pancake" to describe the dish. Anyway, at Utandon, it's definitely an omelette with no hint of flour batter in it. It was really good, but then I like anything eggy.

Chijimi aka haemulpajeon aka Korean omelette/pancake:


Rob ordered the Kalbi Bibimbap (~1000yen), which was served piping hot in a clay bowl and had delicious crunchy rice bits stuck to the bottom. We compared this with the bibimbap in Kanazawa (the only other place in Japan where we had the dish), and we both agreed that we preferred the one in Kanazawa. That's not to say that this one was bad - it was pretty yummy. I love that in Japan, a raw egg is served with bibimbap instead of a fried egg like I'm used to having in Perth (the egg gets cooked with the rice in the piping hot bowl). I ordered the Chigae (~900yen), a spicy soup/stew served with steamed rice on the side. It contained pork, tofu, vegetables and sweet potato noodles, and was tasty.

Kalbi Bibimbap and Chigae:

Wednesday 21 May 2008

Thursday Rendezvous

For a couple of months now, I've been teaching a Thursday morning lesson in Kaihin Makuhari (Chiba), which is also in the vicinity of Rob's office. Due to the nature of their jobs, Rob and his collegues work crazily hard, and they don't even take proper lunch breaks - instead they eat at their lunches at their desks. However, when I began going to Kaihin Makuhari on Thursdays, Rob found the time (albeit very brief, 30-40minutes) to have a mini-lunch date with me. His office usually get their lunches delivered to the office from the surrounding cafes, diners and restaurants and Rob has a few favourites which he takes me to for our mini-lunch dates (the others, he says, are not worth trying). These lunches aren't very fancy, due to the limited time frame, but they are quick, satisfying and delicious. More importantly, it's the company that I treasure the most, as these mid-week rendezvous are one of the rare times I get to spend time with Rob during the week due to his long hours at the office.

One of Rob's favourite lunches is the Chicken Sandwich (~1000yen) from the rib steakhouse Tony Roma's. Made with grilled whole chicken breast and nothing more than lettuce, sliced onion, tomato, pickle, honey mustard and tomato sauce, it is not only delicious, but pretty healthy. Apparently, Tony Roma's is famous for ribs and are located in 27 countries! We tried the ribs (I think the Baby Back Ribs?), but we still preferred the chicken sandwich (perhaps because ribs were a bit too heavy for a quick lunch). The Kickin' Shrimps were also pretty tasty. The Roma Burger (~1300yen) was also quite good, but once again we both preferred the chicken sandwich. No wonder then that it's one of Rob's favourite lunches at work.

Cafe Croissant has a decent variety of sandwiches made using baked goods like ciabatta, croissant and cobb, each reasonably priced under 400yen (~AU$4). However, one is not usually enough for Rob nor any adult males with a good appetite, so he usually gets two which is great for variety's sake. Favourites include Pastrami Ciabatta and Cobb Sandwich (made with avocado and prawns).

I hardly ever buy sandwiches or order them when dining out because I can easily make them at home, but it is nice to enjoy a variety of sandwiches available without having to collect so many condiments and ingredients at home just to make a sandwich lunch for one. Plus they are fast food but a lot more healthy than most fast food available. Here are two previous lunches we recently had at Cafe Croissant and Tony Roma's. Forgive the bad quality of the photos, taken with a keitai (mobile phone) camera.

Cobb Sandwich and Pastrami Ciabatta from Cafe Croissant:


We also snuck in a takeaway order of Chicken Sandwich from Tony Roma's into Cafe Croissant:


Tony Roma's Chicken Sandwich and Roma Burger:

Saturday 17 May 2008

In the Perinatal ICU..

On Tuesday, I underwent a minor surgery at my maternity hospital. It certainly was an interesting experience as it was the first time I'd ever been admitted to any hospital as an 'in-patient' (perhaps due to God blessing me with good health, but also perhaps due to my aversion doctors and hospitals).

In preparation, I had to go without food or drink from 9pm the previous day. Needless to say, I was absolutely starving and thirsty when I was waiting for my surgery. The IV drip did little - if anything at all - to help. At 5:30pm (I'd been waiting since 10am), I was brought to the surgery room where there were two OB/GYN, one anastheticist and at least 3 nurses, which was a little surprising because I was under the impression that it was a minor procedure. I guess the risk stakes are always higher whenever pregnancy is involved.

My OB/GYN informed me last Friday that anaesthetic would be applied via the IV drip, but as I was laying on the surgery bed, this same OB/GYN told me that they'd decided that local anaesthesia would be used instead. I was fine with that until I was turned on my side and the anaestheticist began disinfecting an area on my spine. Bewildered at what was happening yet helpless to do anything, I was told not to move (assisted by a fairly large nurse holding me in place) and I felt anxiety growing when I felt the needle pierce my spine (not as painful as it sounds but it was every bit as unpleasant as it sounds). I hated being conscious yet not being able to move nor feel anything from my lower abdomen downwards.

Anyway, the actual procedure lasted only about 8 minutes, but the anaesthesia took about 2 hours to wear off. And I've been suffering a massive 'post-dural puncture headache' which takes at least a few days to heal (without getting too technical, the only things I can do to help the headache is plenty of bedrest and hydration). Kinda makes me wonder if the spinal anaesthetic was worth having (not like I was given a choice!!). This headache is just as bad as the horrible migraines I used to get, but longer lasting. The doctor was happy with my recovery and I was discharged the morning after the surgery. Other than this rather debilitating headache, I'm in good health, the baby's doing well and is very energetic in my tummy - I can feel its movements through my belly now.

I do have a couple of foodie stuff to blog about, but unfortunately they'll have to wait until I can sit upright for more than 30 minutes before this headache forces me back in the supine position. Speaking of which, I need to go lie down..

Friday 9 May 2008

Sweets @ Daimaru in Tokyo Station

Always wanting to end a meal with something sweet, we headed into the confectionery floor of the Daimaru department store at the Tokyo Station after our pizza lunch on Saturday. In addition to devoting the 1st floor to chocolater, cakes and all sorts of sweets, the basement floor of Daimaru is the food section where you can buy freshly baked bread from several bakeries, sushi and sashimi from the fresh produce area and order many kinds of take away food from the various stalls ranging from Chinese-style dumplings (i.e. gyoza) to freshly squeezed fruit juice. My favourite area of any Japanese department stores has to be the food area.

The confectionery floor is almost always crowded during weekends and holidays. Only after a short while after stepping in, the selection of chocolate delectables offered by Wittamer caught Rob's eye and he made a beeline towards the counter. Behind the display glass laid various kinds of Belgian truffles, and although the price per piece was pretty high, we decided that we ought to try at least one (our will is weak when it comes to good chocolates).

The display showcasing delicious exquisite Belgian bite-sized chocolates at the Wittamer counter:


We bought one piece each of the Orange Truffle and the Fondant Truffle for ~300yen (~AU$3) each, which the salesgirl then proceeded to carefully place in a tiny box. She was about to place the box a lovely bag when we told her it wasn't necessary - hey, we gotta do our bit for the environment, right? The Orange Truffle had an orange-flavoured coconut filling with a thin crisp chocolate coating. The Fondant Truffle appeared simpler but tasted richer and more luscious than the Orange one due to its chocolate cream filling.

What's inside the box is what matters:


We also liked the look of what was being offered at Keith's Manhattan, which included tarts, pastries, cakes and jellies. The Fruits Choux Roll (420yen) jumped out at us and we could not resist how delicious it looked. It was deliciously rich due to the creamy filling yet refreshing at the same time due to the fruits. It was good.

One of the display cases at Keith's Manhattan:


The meticulous packaging, and its contents:


Since Tokyo Station is a mere 20minute walk from our apartment, no doubt we'll be back here again to make our way around to try all the other counters in the sweets department of Daimaru.

Thursday 8 May 2008

Tremors and tremblings

Feeling tremors of the seismic kind is very unnerving, especially after experiencing one of the two major earthquakes to hit Japan last year in the Noto Earthquake. Very early this morning, several tremors shook our whole apartment between 1:06am and and 1:49am. I could not sleep for 2 hours after the first one, which wasn't that big at Magnitude 3, but it was enough for dread to wash over me as I wonder if the tremblings and shakings would get more violent as it did last year in the Noto. The final one at 1:49am was at Magnitude 4, and I panicked (albeit quietly) and my heart was thumping crazily. Rob jumped awake from the shaking of this last tremor, and comforted a frightened me by holding my hand.

My student in this morning's lesson told me that this morning's Magnitude 4 tremor is probably the worst that this area has experienced in recent years. It has been more than 100 years since a major earthquake had affected the Tokai segment (just southwest of Tokyo) and Japan has been preparing for over 25 years for the one touted as the great Tokai Earthquake of the 21st century. I love living in Japan, and earthquakes and tremors are a part of life in Japan, but after witnessing first hand the destruction of a major earthquake in a countryside region, I hope that we won't be in Tokyo when the predicted big one hits.

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Pizza @ Da Cibo Pizzeria, Tokyo

I don't have any particular pregnancy cravings (yet), but any carb-laden food sounds good at the moment. When one of Rob's colleagues gave a recommendation of a pizzeria he liked to go to at Tokyo Eki (station), I was more than happy to eat pizza and satisfy my carb cravings. Da Cibo is located in the "Kitchen Street" section of the vast station area where all of the dining establishments always have customers during the opening hours simply due to the sheer number of commuters passing through the station.

It's a small-ish pizzeria and the service was good, as is typical in Japan. Obviously there are plenty of pizzas offered on the menu, and there is a decent selection of alcoholic beverages too. Serving sizes are quite small (compared to the huge serving sizes in New York where I last had pizza last October), but it was a good thing because it meant we could try two pizzas without putting too much strain on our digestive system.

The view of the kitchen and oven from the entrance of Da Cibo - I love how all the kitchens in Japan are always so clean:


I ordered Frutti di Mare (1600yen or ~AU$16), which I think translates to "fruits of the ocean". This is basically a seafood pizza with a tomato base and topped with mussels, clams and prawns. It was pretty good, although Rob thought it was a bit of a hassle to shell the shellfish before eating the pizza; I didn't mind it so much because it meant that the shellfish were cooked in their shells, which is always better than cooked without the shells. Seafood pizza from take-away places like Domino's or Pizza Hut tend not to be very popular, and I've figured out exactly why: seafood and cheese don't combine very well together on the tongue. On the other hand, a pizza base with tomato sauce pair excellently with seafood, however the middle of the pizza do tend to get a bit soggy from the lack of cheese layer that acts as a moisture barrier.

Frutti di Mare, aka seafood pizza:


Rob selected Calabrese (1500yen or ~AU$15), a spicy pizza with toppings of mozzarella cheese, homemade sausage, another type of cured meat and green jalepenos (pretty mild ones if they were indeed jalapenos). Tomatoes may go well with seafood, but mozzarella cheese makes a pizza very satisfying (albeit a tad unhealthy)! It was good, but I would have trouble eating all 6 slices of this cheesy pizza.

Calabrese, aka spicy sausage pizza:


It was a very satisfying lunch that came to around 4000yen (~AU$40) including drinks. Just what I needed.

Friday 2 May 2008

Perfect Japanese packaging and dessert

Rob and I looked for some dessert to indulge in at Lenôtre after our Thai lunch at Ikebukuro on Saturday. According to this source, "the Lenôtre brand is the leading French pâtisserie and boulangerie in the domain of gastronomic arts." The pâtisserie section of this store was full of beautiful pastries and exquisite cakes and desserts, and the adjacent bakery section offered plenty of delicious and freshly baked goods. In the pâtisserie, Rob's eyes were immediately drawn to this dark and rich-looking tart. Reading the katakana characters of the description card, we could at least make out that this was a chocolate creation with lemon in it.

Unfortunately I don't remember the exact title of this dessert, but I do remember the love and care put into packaging this single dessert. It took more time for the salesgirl to pack it up than it did for us to decide and pay for it. The box came complete with a packet of dry ice on top to keep it cool, great because it was a good few hours before we actually ate it. This is the perfect example of the Japanese penchant for gorgeous presentation and perfect packaging. Admittedly, most of the time I think it is a bit wasteful, especially when we'd bought this for ourselves and not to give away as a gift, but I was thankful when the dessert emerged unscathed after a few hours of walking around. Here are photos for your viewing pleasure.

The box; and what it looks like inside when you open up the box - yay for stickytape!:


How was the dessert? It was delicious, and worth the 473yen (~AU$4.70) we paid for it. The top was embedded with a hollow dark chocolate egg, drizzled with dark chocolate and finished with a sprinkling of gold flecks. Encrusted around were crunchy dark chocolate "pebbles" which gave an interesting contrast of texture. The main body was like a super-rich cake with a very fudgey middle that was almost ganache-like, with a delightful layer of lemon curd and a slightly crunchy base. It wasn't too sweet but it had such a rich and smooth mouth-feel. My words don't do it justice - it's something you have to taste to know.

The dessert in all its glory:

Thursday 1 May 2008

Picnic @ Shinjuku Gyoen

Tuesday was the perfect Spring day for a picnic with the girls from my Lifegroup. Tuesday also marked the beginning of the Golden Week (i.e. ogata renkyu) in Japan. It is so-called because there are four national holidays that fall in one week, and many in Japan take a much-wanted/needed/earned holiday either on a domestic or international trip. Sometimes, these four days all fall nicely in one week with two weekends flanking either sides, but this year's Golden Week is a bit dysjunctive because the first one falls on a Tuesday, followed by three normal working days (which many workers take off anyway) before a 4-day weekend holiday. Unfortunately for Rob, most Japanese holidays are working days for his company since they do international trading. He can choose compensation in either the form of extra pay or take a substitute holiday later on. Since we're expecting a baby later this year, he has chosen to save up as much holidays as he can now.

Anyway, back to the subject. We usually meet after work hours over dinner at Ikebukuro on Tuesdays, but since it was a holiday this week, we decided that a picnic would be great. And thankfully we were blessed with fantastic sunny weather. After meeting up with the girls 30minutes late due to a harrying experience getting to the right part of Shinjuku Station (which, by the way, is the second largest station in the world with a daily average of more than 3 million commuters), we headed over to Shinjuku Gyoen which is a national garden with many sub-gardens within it. There is a usual entrance fee of 200yen (~AU$2), but since it was Midori no hi (Greenery Day) the fee was waived. Since Australia celebrated Anzac Day last Friday, I baked some Anzac biscuits to share, and the girls must have liked them because they polished off 10 biccies between the four of them. It was great introducing something Aussie to the Japanese girl and the American girl in our group.

Lots of lush greenery, open spaces, event stalls and people. It's a beautiful place and worth a visit to explore the different-themed gardens. Here are some shots taken at the garden:

There were shady paths and wide open spaces:


There was a cute gaijin toddler who was so fascinated with the water in the hole of a small concrete block set (somewhat randomly) in the ground. I think he got a bit weirded out when a couple of my friends stopped to take a photo of him..


Lots of water features which is considered by the Japanese as one of the important attributes to have in a good garden:


We should go on picnics more often..