Culinary Escapades and Travels of a Poor Asian Studies College Student

Grocery Shopping and Sushi

2011-04-05T18:54:00.001-07:00

Grocery shopping was embarassing. I didn't realize they didn't have bags for you at the end of shopping.. so I didn't bring one. There was like a ton of groceries,but nowhere to put it! So, I ended up grabbing everything in my arms and runnign to my bike like a fool :(

Cheap and delicious sashimi.

First person to guess how much that pack of sashimi costs.. gets... a postcard? idk

So, I had been trying to eat sushi since the first day I came.

The sushi was tasty (better than the sushi in america), but I definitely had wayy better stuff in Tokyo and it was cheaper also. :(

Oh well, I will try to check nagoya later.

Started off with a salmon,

Toro and Chuutoro, fatty and mid fatty tuna.
These definitely stood out. They weren't that expensive, but the reason why was pretty evident. The quality was def not the same as what I had in Tokyo.

Random menu shot. I was having some trouble pronouncing some of the menu items. Also, a lot of things were katakana/hiragana/kanji mix. So, I didn't always know how to say it.

Fried squid.

I forgot what this was.

I forgot what this was also.

swordfish perhaps?

Fatty salmon.
I think I might've accidentally while eating this.

This is actually 6 cucumber rolls with the toppings on top! I was tricked. Tasty nonetheless.

LOOK AT THESE DESSERTS!

900 yen for a slice of the top right strawberry Q_Q

Those are 4 liter bottles of alcohol.

These are 4 liter bottles of whiskey.

I will pay for your funeral if you can finish one of these in one sitting.

Ghetto floor rice cooker.

Curry!

Random drink I bought. I didn't really like it. Too sweet/sour. Reminded me of Taiwanese aboriginal liquour.

And.. that's about all I did today.

Placement Test and Exploration

2011-04-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

I used a different camera today (my small point and shoot Sony), so I finally got around to uploading pictures that I took with it.

Some stuff from my brief layover in Korea and then some shots of the Okazaki castle.

Okazaki is also where Tokugawa Ieyasu is from if anyone wanted to know.

A small bulgogi meal I had at the Incheon airport.
I'm trying a new formatting today, so things might look funky. I was using a 720 px choice, that I guess they may or may not offer for uploads anymore. So, I downgraded to a 640 (the 800 px version is too large for my site)

First meal in Japan. Biked nearly a kilometer and a half to get there. When not sure what to eat, eat Yoshinoya.

Lunch today at a Ramen place.

I'm not a big fan of ramen, so I probably won't be going again.

Shoyu ramen and gyoza. The gyoza were delicious!

Sign for the restaurant.

Statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu

Went to the castle and park. They had a lot of cool little stands, but everything was soo expensive.

I bought a yakitori stick and it was 500 yen! However, I will say that it was AMAZING.

I was pretty shy at first, so I didn't want to order anything. I think ordering food is what gives me the most stress. Even in Taiwan!

The sun was in a bad spot, so I didn't take a lot of pictures of the castle.

Fucking delicious.

On a side note, I took the placement test today.

The multiple choice portion I did pretty, pretty bad. I missed most of the questions. Speaking wise I did pretty well and there weren't any problems. I forgot some of the vocabulary though. (They even complimented me on how my voice and rhythm are good!) They weren't really sure what class to put me in, because the disparity between the two was pretty large. I think in the end I tried to explain that I just didn't do well on the written portion, because I hadn't practiced in too long. I think what they said is they'll put me in a harder class and that I will just have to study harder. We will see what I get placed into.

Day 1(04/03/11) Morning in Okazaki, Japan

2011-04-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Woke up kind of early today (around 7 am, partly because of jet lag and partly because I didn't know how to use the air conditioner/heater in my room. It was 42 degrees Fahrenheit in my room in the morning!寒いですね！

I got in at around 10 pm last night and the first thing I thought to myself. Is FML I'm in the middle of nowhere. It will definitely not be the same experience as the last time I was in Tokyo, that's for sure.

The apartment I moved into isn't bad. The room is pretty large as you can see, but it's a 1:1, so hopefully I won't be too lonely. Nice and quiet.

Some random street shots as I left my apartment in the morning.

There's a graveyard pretty close by also.

This is supposedly a 100 yen store, but I have yet to confirm this. I left too early in the morning, so it wasn't open yet.

Random street shot.

This is the school bar, I imagine I will find my way over there.. once or twice.. or thrice..

This is the main school building, I think.

The new apartment! Didn't take me very long to get settled in..

I need to buy some hangers.

The kitchen, complete with a gas stove and grill. I'm starting to get the feeling I'll be using it a lot.. Since none of the restaurants seem to be close by.

The bathroom.

I've yet to be able to find any places to eat at.. so I just bought a sandwich and a coffee from the local convenience store and took a nap.

About to go out again to try to rent or buy a bicycle and explore and find lunch, we'll see how that goes!

Edit: Got the new bicycle.

I had sooo much trouble communicating with the guy. Kept asking all these questions in Japanese that I couldn't understand.

Turns out the bike is an electric bike that doesn't work anymore. I'm not sure what that means, but going up the almost non existent slopes was pretty hard... hopefully I didn't just screw myself 4300 yen.

I bought it from this place called Garage Sale. I'm pretty sure this guy was like "no returns".. there actually seems to be a few bikes in the bike garage that no one is using, but they're all locked .. otherwise I would just steal one.

From 04_03_2011 Okazaki, Japan

I tried going to this other bike store that was supposed to have used bikes, but the guy said they're out and to come back the next day. The place was a good 30 minute to 45 minute walk, so I was like fuck that.

From 04_03_2011 Okazaki, Japan

The new bike! Looks pretty normal, wheels are a little small.. might be the reason why I feel like I have to put in more effort. Oh well, gets the job done. I'll give it a month. If it really sucks I'll consider buying a better one. Sometimes I just get caught in the moment.. ya know..

From 04_03_2011 Okazaki, Japan

Camera 2... I can almost pretend that I didn't go traveling by myself..

2011-01-11T01:27:00.000-08:00

From Sony 2010

The hotels were nice at least? I wanted to go to their bars, but I was too tired from doing crazy shit the night before I went to korea.

From Sony 2010

Going through these pictures from my Sony I've realized I am incapable of taking pictures with a point and shoot.

We went to a ski resort, but the tickets didn't include the ski lifts... soo.. we had to run up the mountain to ski down.

From Sony 2010

Up to the fence.. skii down.. up to the fence.. skii down. fuck this i'm getting a beer.

From Sony 2010

Pretty good pizza.
Kimchi with everything. Look at those pickles.

From Sony 2010

Rocked this place with my socks out.

There was a chick who was Chinese-Korean and I was totally like. Hanguk saram imnika?

From Sony 2010

it loosk cooler than it really is. It got pretty run down by all the Chinese tourists.

From Sony 2010

made that myself. dunno what happened to it Q_Q

From Sony 2010

Yumm

From Sony 2010

This was a pretty good show. Wasted a lot of perfectly good food though.

From Sony 2010

Enough for four people?

Destroyed it with only 2.

From Sony 2010

The hiite at the bottom is huge.

From Sony 2010

was going to buy this to wear casually.

From Sony 2010

This may very well be the first time I've ever taken a picture of myself.

From Sony 2010

So empty.

From Sony 2010

This guy spoke NO chinese or english. lol. good times.

Apparently these exist at the airport.

From Sony 2010

Korea Day 1(Just kidding,) Korea 2011 (all days combined into one post)

2011-01-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

As I did not blog about Korea every day, some of my posts will be very disorganized. I might not even have captions. In fact the pictures might actually be unrelated to the post! I used two separate cameras. My Nikon d40 and Sony DSC 80. The first few posts will be of the Nikon D40 and the final post should be consolidated pictures from the Sony.

From Korea 2010

Me waiting for my flight to start boarding. I kept getting really confused, cuz my tour guide wasn't really giving us any concrete instructions.

From Korea 2010

Frozen over O_O

It was cold as HELL in Korea. Negative 13 degrees C on average every day.

First taste of "泡菜"

From Korea 2010

Ginseng Chicken Soup. :)

From Korea 2010

Korean "little brother" that served us all our food and helped out with tasks.

Better shot.

From Korea 2010

Ginseng Soju.

From Korea 2010

Ginseng

From Korea 2010

Frozen solid once again. Some inner sactum of this palace place.

From Korea 2010

I own thiis shit.

From Korea 2010

random pics of what stuff in korea looks like.

From Korea 2010

Korean war memorial.

From Korea 2010

Just boarding this plane, going to war. ya know.

From Korea 2010

We all know what Freud would say.

From Korea 2010

I was too hungry, not enough patience for a good pic. Also, it was SO FUCKING COLD.

From Korea 2010

Across from DongDaeMyun

From Korea 2010

Fucking delicious corn dog thing with tater tots.

From Korea 2010

We went to an outlet mall for a bit, but it honestly looks the same as the one in San Marcos. nothing to see here.

From Korea 2010

Barbequee

From Korea 2010

Everland.

From Korea 2010

Scary coaster.

From Korea 2010

There's a zoo in the amusement park, that's pretty bad ass.

From Korea 2010

Yeah, that's a tiger.

From Korea 2010

White tigers.

From Korea 2010

Yeah, that's a real liger.

From Korea 2010

glaring me down, like i'm a bitch.

From Korea 2010

We were on a bus, so the windows started fogging.

From Korea 2010

Karaoke solutions for all ages.

From Korea 2010

Since all the rides were closed and I hate rollrcoasters, I spent a good amount of time sipping on this and just watching people.

From Korea 2010

Nice and warm :).

Last day of food, was the best day of food.

From Korea 2010

Umi: Picture Post

2010-05-06T09:26:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from when I went to Umi and Sushi Nini a long time ago.
The guy who made these used to work at Umi, then switched to sushi nini and i think back to umi.

From Sushi

From Umi

Experiences as a Bartender

2009-12-31T23:33:00.001-08:00

So, today I quit my job at Taisho Grill and Bar. I thought I would blog a little bit about my inspiration for becoming a bartender and experiences working as one. My inspiration actually came from a manga titled Bartender. Now, if you know me, or if you don't. A LOT of my inspiration actually comes from anime or manga. Sad, but true. Like in high school I wanted to become Student Council President, because I watched an anime where the student council had super control over the school. So, I ran for StuCo President and won.. and had no power. Lol. So.. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to find that bartending is really nothing like the manga portrayed. Sure bartenders have that allure to them of being able to mix drinks and such, but really... it's not all it's cracked up to be. At least the bar I worked at wasn't that great. It seemed to be poorly organized, poorly managed and the other bartenders were real bitches.

After I read this manga I decided to go to bartending school and move my way up from working at Tapioca House. I figured that it's about the same thing, so it can't be that much harder. And.. it wasn't. Bartending school was easy. But it was also the biggest waste of 600 dollars ever. Sure it teaches you a bunch of neat tricks. But 3 months or 6 months down the line. You've forgotten everything and you're still jobless. No one will hire a person from a bartending school. You have to have experience. How do you get experience? By being a bar back. Or really bar bitch. You just wash cups all day every day and let yourself be degraded by the bartenders. Who will in the end teach you nothing, because they think you are a threat to the amount of tips they will collect.

However, up until then I was still caught under the allure of making big bucks, seducing women and being able to mix a good drink. How wrong was I. I don't think I made ANY money from working at Taisho. In fact, I'm not even sure I was getting paid. SO.. I basically was a bar bitch for free. What a wonderful life.

Also, after working here I have become severely disillusioned with the cleanliness of restaurants. They kept telling me to fill ice with containers that were dirty from having dirty dishes in them. I bet everyone is going to get food poisoning and complain the next day. Some of the stuff they did was just plain not right and dirty.

In the end, the management was poor. The pay was nonexistant. The hours questionable and the job not worth it. This whole experience has really left me wondering what I want to do in life now.. Hope I figure it out..

Riesling: 2008 RELAX Riesling

2009-11-17T18:39:00.000-08:00

Vintage: 2008(?)
Varietals: 100 % Riesling
Alcohol: 8,5 – 10,0 % by Vol.
Total acidity: 7,5 – 8,5 g/l
Residual sugar: 38 – 40 g/l
Sizes available: 750 ml and 3 l BIB
Price: $7.99
Website: http://www.relaxwine.com/

Riesling: Traditionally a White Wine from Germany, but now encompasses any wine produced from the Riesling grape variety.

More information can be found at Wikipedia

Taste: When I tasted this wine, the flavor was not to my standards. It was sweet and slightly sour as expected, but tasted watered down.(for a better description look at the attached information from both the website and directly from the bottle) I would definitely say the descriptions by the company fit right to a cue :P. When I looked at the review, I was able to place the sour/sweet taste as a "boquet of fruity flavors" hahaha.. I've yet to become avid in describing wines, but I would definitely say in comparison with the only other riesling I have previously tasted. It was not very good. It tasted cheap ( as it was only $7.99. I previously had a riesling at the Evergreen Wine Club in Taiwan. 50 ml of that bottle was 230 NTD. I estimate that the bottle was somewhere in the 30-60 dollar range. The flavor was overly light and was not well bodied. The color was very light for a white wine. However, because of these flaws I imagine it could be drank rather quickly. It is very apparent that this is a cheap wine. I hesitate to put it on the same level as say Franzia, but it is very close.

Packaging: The packaging seems like it is targeted at a younger audience (with the blue bottle and large white print). I imagine it could help you relax, but it is not a high class wine. I admit however, I did purchase the wine because of the packaging.

Further notes:
ALSO, I guess I didn't pay attention at first, but this is not a corked bottle. Which was rather disappointing.

Conclusion:
If you're looking for a cheap wine that looks cool, this is the one for you. However, if you're looking to impress someone, this is not the wine for you. I would suggest it for "red cup" parties or the like, but nothing overly formal.

Upon first inspection I thought that this was a non vintage wine, but it still was labeled 2008 on the back of the Wine. Riesling is HANDS DOWN my favorite wine, but I was thoroughly disappointed with my selection this time.

Schmitt Sohne description:
"This fine Riesling wine originates from the Mosel valley with its steep vineyards and offers an extraordinary premium wine quality.
Forward fruit and floral aromas of apples and peaches with just a hint of citrus. The natural acidity gives the wine a perfect balance that is refreshingly crisp and leaves your mouth watering. This wine pairs well with a wide range of food like light salads, poultry, seafood and blue cheese or just on its own. Serve chilled."

The description on the back of the wine is:
"Relax riesling is fermented slightly dry with a wonderful fruity bouquet and intense flavors of apples and peaches with just a hint of citrus. The natural acidity gives this wine a perfect balance that is refreshingly crisp and leaves your mouth watering. A perfect party wine, or can be enjoyed with a variety of foods from seafood and poultry to oriental food and fresh salads. Serve Chilled"

Sorry for the messiness of this post! I hope they get better as I go. Maybe I shouldn't post write after I try the wine? hahaha

Tequila: Cavalino Reposado

2009-10-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

After my post-japan hiatus, I have finally decided to start up my blog again. This time I will blog about the food I cook and the alcohol I drink :). Hopefully my pictures, cooking and cocktail making will only improve through these blogs. Today's blog post is centered on is Tequila :). Specifically Cavalino Reposado, but more about that later.

From Alcohol

So, basically a quick primer for those people who don't know much about tequila. Tequila is created from blue agave, the best tequilas are created from 100 percent blue agave.. they are generally classified into five categories.

Here's the excerpt from Wikipedia, cuz I am too lazy to type it out :P.

Blanco ("white") or plata ("silver") – white spirit, un-aged and bottled or stored immediately after distillation, or aged less than two months in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels;
Joven ("young") or oro ("gold") – is the result of blending Silver Tequila with Reposado and/or Añejo and/or extra Añejo Tequila;
Reposado ("rested") – aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels;
Añejo ("aged" or "vintage") – aged a minimum of one year, but less than 3 years in oak barrels;
Extra Añejo ("extra aged" or "ultra aged") – aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels. This category was established in March 2006.

This is basically all you need to know about tequila.

One of the most popular ways of preparing tequila is in a salt rimmed shot glass with chilled tequila and a lime chaser.

From Alcohol

I don't have a lime to add to it, so.. this is the only picture you're getting hahahaha :P

Ok! Now here's the main review!

Cavalino Reposado :)
100% Blue Agave
Website: www.cavalino.us
Average Rating: 93
Alcohol %/Proof: 80 proof/40% Alcohol Content

This Tequila is continuously rated very highly on all the websites I have visited for reviews. When I went to Spec's to purchase tequila, I was originally going to go with a Jose Cuervo silver. However, the nice salesperson "upsold" and told me that I should go with the 100 percent agave cavalino reposado. He said it would be a lot better ( which it probably was ). I don't actually know a lot about tequila, it's not high on my list of desirable liquors..so I can't say much about this particular brand. Since it is a reposado and all the tequilas I have tried were Blanco's or silvers. However, I'll take everyone's word for how amazing it is. It's definitely expensive though at 34.99, but probably worth the buy ( i think ). ^_^''

From Alcohol

Japan: Final Food Blog

2009-08-19T02:35:00.000-07:00

Final Food Review: Japan

Today is the last full day of my trip and I have been adamantly preparing to go home. I have run out of money ( in fact I am in debt ), so I guess I won't be able to have anymore food exploits. I will probably just eat curry katsudon's and the like up until I get on the plane.. or MaKu Poku's... hahaha.. McPorks...

Well, I've been pretty busy throughout this whole trip, so I haven't been able to blog much. In my travels, however I've made some really amazing friends and met some really nice people. Some people spend all of their vacations working or interning.. or even just sitting around at home, but I guess this is what my whole vacation came down to. The month that I was in Tokyo, (I guess Taiwan counts, but I was working.. )

This has really been an amazing week though. Today I will start with the foods that I have consumed.

When I came to Japan I had a long list of things I wanted to eat. However, I'm the type who is afraid to go into restaurants by himself... so... I just kind of didn't go.. a lot... yeah.. I did get to eat the one thing I had really been looking forward to the whole time. Unagi!! Let's start with that .. afterwards will be Ootoro!!

This adventure was dedicated to this other blog that I keep up with. http://paulstravelpics.blogspot.com I really admire his work and his pictures. I too also enjoy Unagi, so following one of his posts about going to Izuei Honten. Here's the link to his post. CLICK MEEEEe So one day I got really hungry and finally had some time for myself.. I trecked to Ueno to find the famous 260 year old unagi specialist. I wandered through 3 different districts in the pouring rain ( including the red light district ) until I finally found the restaurant. My clothes were completely soaked. My feet were wet and I wasn't a happy camper. At times like these i usually feel like basically anything you throw my way I will think tastes delicious. Here are the pics, so you have a visual before I start the critiqueing.

From Food

Basically it had a very rustic Japanese feel and it was enjoyable... until I ate the food. I paid a LOT like 3500 Yen for a double layored tonaju.. Well.. I like to eat a more robuts flavored Unagi. I enjoy the skill they put into the preparation.. but i really missed the flavor of the sauce. Paul from Paul's Travel Pics, told me I should try Kansai style unagi for a more robust flavor. I will probably go to the one he went to last time. He seemed like he really enjoyed it and the Chef seems friendly + he's from Taiwan. So, if my Nihongo isn't good enough I can just speak Chinese mwahahahhaahah...

NEXT :)> > > > >

From Food

What a yummy bone...

Sushi Ootoro

From Food

Nomnomnomnom.. top is salmon, bottom is Ootoro.. ootoro is like eating salmon, but it's TUNA O_O. MIND BLOWINGGGGG
They were having a deal of 200 yen per ootoro.. which is a good deal considering regular ootoro can get up to like 700 yen...
yeah....

From Food

assorted fishies

From Food

chirashi don.. more assorted fishies..

From Food

Another chirashi don.. yumyum

FRESH SASHIMI FROM TSUKIJI. Fresh cut, like two seconds ago.. dude it doesn't get more fresh than this.. for real... like.. dude ... yeah

From Food

I bought this box like right after the guy chopped it up.. it was delicious.. i would've ranked it a chuutoro/maguro.. so low/medium grade..

A really fresh Omakasa from Tsukiji.. it wasn't as good as what I heard from the other people.. but oh well

From Food

It was a little cheaper and not the best set.. I could've waited in one of the long lines.. but meh..

Izakaya - drinking/eating establishment for like working class businessman.

This was definitely on the top list of places that I wanted to go.. .

I've been to a couple, but this was the only one I have pictures from. I also went to one that was like 300 yen a dish :).. I think someone has pictures of it.. frmo when we went.. I'll try to get it from hher later..

From Food

It was all you can drink, so definitely getting really drunk :)...

Ramen:

I hate ramen, i don't enjoy eating it. This was the one out of 2 times I ate ramen during my WHOLE trip.

From Food

Dessert!

Yummy crepes in Harajuku. It's a piece of cheesecake in it :).

From Food

Special Uchiha Ice Cream

From Food

2009-07-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, i've been doing a lot of things lately. Usually I'm out all day everyday! I don't have the time to blog too much, but here's a slideshow of some pics from Tsukiji! Enjoy

Japan Day 5

2009-07-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

Japan Day 5: Maid Cafe's ..... just get your GF to dress up like a Maid

So... I met this guy in the morning who was heading oveer to Akihabara and he just so happened to want to go to a maid cafe and I just so happened to want to go to a maid cafe... so we ended up meeting up at 3 pm .. and going to a .. MAID CAFEEE!!! WOOOh..

I got to say, this is one of the crazier things that people always want to try.. i just had to do it. See where the appeal was and such. It's really not much different than asking a girl on a date.. except you're paying directly for their time.. instead of paying for the things you and the girl do.. so it's like adding a 700 Yen surcharge of sorts.. which from my experience is cheaper sometimes. One time I stupidly told 4 girls that you only have to give me 500 NTD and i'll pay for eveyrthing else we do. That was a bad idea. x_X

Anyways, back to the point.

I forgot to take photos. I'll take them next time. Akihabara actually has a HUGE map with every single Maid cafe listed on the side of a building and then flyers that you can take. There were sooo many we had a hard time choosing. We ended up just walking half a block away finding a signboard and following it up. We ended up going to @home cafe.

I had read a review of this place and it was supposed to be pretty good...

They don't allow pictures, so I don't have any pictures. I have some pictures of souveniers ( free ) that we got.

Here's the website.
http://www.cafe-athome.com/pics/donki.php?lang=en

Check:
Entrance Fee/Table Fee/Cover: 700 Yen
Special Maid Cocktail (star): 1000 Yen
Total: 1700 Yen

The cafe was located on the 5th floor. When we first arrived the people seemed pretty normal(they start by giving you a fan)

From Japan Day 5 Maid Cafe

the only thing you can keep from your trip

From Japan Day 5 Maid Cafe

, but slowly you realize how otaku everyone is. I'm usually not one to say what someone likes is weird.. but i got to say some of these people creep me out. There were also some cute girls who just seemed to be there for the experience or something. The guy I went with seemed like a never had a gf virgin..so he was pretty into it and he likes to collect model figuirines.. he loved every moment. I on the other hand, not to put myself on a higher level or something... just kind of thought it was normal. The service was pretty normal compared to any good restaurant in Taiwan, the only difference was the maid outfit and... the weird things they make you do.

My friend ordered a Sundae and a Ginger ale, but all they made him do was make a weird heart shape and move it around and say moe moe..

BUT ME on the other hand. WHY OH WHY DID I ORDER A SPECIAL MAID COCKTAIL (star)??!?!?!! The maid came over and asked me what color drink did i want (none of them really spoke english). I told her i wanted akai (she corrected me by saying aka). She then asked me if i wanted it tsuyoi or yowai, but she added a weird ending so I wasn't sure what she was saying. I looked it up only to be angry at myself for not remembering. It was weak or strong. I said weak. She then proceeded to come over with a shaker tin prefilled with some stuff + a glass of ice. She then proceeded to tell me i had to say furu furu and moe moe everytime she shook the glass. i was pretty petrified.. on top of that this was the only time when everyone in the cafe was looking at one person (me). She finally finished it poured it into the glass and told me to do the "moe moe heart dance that comes with every order" i definitely should've drank the drink before hand. Guess what the drink was? 3 shots of vodka topped with grenadine. Nothing else, nothing more. Damn, did I start feeling it quick. I had gone drinking the night before and wasn't even sober yet!

Besides from that nothing to crazy happened maid wise, one maid came and talked to us for a bit and i got to try out a lot of my japanese, we tlaked for 2 or 3 minutes and she understood everything >D. I used a lot of japanese at the maid cafe, since none of them spoke english.

When we were about to leave some crossdressing guy came in wearing a haruhi suzumiya outfit, boy was that creepy.

From Japan Day 5 Maid Cafe

Thoughts:
Okay, the guy i went with was into it, but not for me. I once dated a girl who would dress up as a maid.. and ... but anyways. Yeah, I think it's okay for the experience, but not worth the price. Just get a gf and ask her to dress up as a maid for your birthday or something. Probably more interesting that way. They asked me what the guy who went with me was doing in Japan and I was like "wakarimasen, kinou no yoru wa aimashita." lol.... but yeah.. maybe i'll go to another one to get a wider range of experience. It's not as intimidating as I thought it would be, I was only worried I would look like a stupid foreigner. Lol.

2009-07-24T03:38:00.000-07:00

Japan Day 5: "When he gets to Japan he'll realize Japan isn't anime land.." - Intro to Japan Professor.

First Ginza, then Akihabara.. my sister told me I need more captions. I guess i'll add some real blogging to my blog. lol.
Ginza is known for being next to Tsukiji.. and Tsukiji is known for having .. Tsukiji fish market.. lol.

Just Kidding. Ginza is known for have some of the most expensive real estate in the world. It is kind of like the Sugar Land of Tokyo. i would add more information.. but i don't have any at hand.

From japan Day 5

Today I went scouting for Tsukiji fish market. I'm going to go to sleep early, so that I can wake up at 4 am and go to Tsukiji to see the auctions!!

On my way I found a nice bento place. I thought the bento's were going to be warm.. but they were cold. BUT THEY WERE STILL DELICIOUS! I used my japanese at this point to order >D i also asked in japanese if i could take a picture. I got Japanese salted fish.. it was pretty good.

From japan Day 5

Sign post for a famous theater.

From japan Day 5

Famous Theater.

From japan Day 5

Another famous theater.

From japan Day 5

It looked cool, but i didn't want to go in.
4 corners of a intersection.

From japan Day 5

Police box O_o

From japan Day 5

Japan isn't anime land, but apparently akihabara is.

From japan Day 5

Life size asuka.
Life size Rei.

From japan Day 5

Wine labeled Evangelion

From japan Day 5

Today I also went to a Maid Cafe. Wow! If I remember I'll have a seperate post about it.

2009-07-23T01:55:00.000-07:00

Whenever I get to these posts I am always so tired of transfering pictures and uploading pictures that I usually don't want to really say anything and just post up some photos...

Today I went to Ueno. I went to some museums and I did some walking around. It's a pretty bad ass place, check out the pics.

From Japan Day 4

Japan Day 3

2009-07-22T00:38:00.000-07:00

Japan Day 3: Broken Camera, but not Broken Dreams.. okay that's way too cheesy..

Today I broke my camera's UV lense filter. At first I thought I broke the whole thing, but luckily it was only the lens filter ( i need to go buy a new one now ).

However, before I broke my lense filter I went to Shibuya.. for all of 1/2 an hour....

Here's a picture of what it would be like to sit on the train..

From Japan Day 3 blog

I spent basically all of yesterday trying to figure out how to get to shibuya.. it never occured to me that I could just ride the Ginza line which ends at Asakusa ( where my hostel is ) over to Shibuya ( which is where said Ginza line begins ). Stupid me... I ended up finding out in the morning..

From Japan Day 3 blog

Shibuya station is hella confusing.. lots of circles and stuff..

From Japan Day 3 blog

I showed up around 11 in the morning, so there were not a lot of people..

From Japan Day 3 blog

Just like any other run down city... there's the squatter houses in the park.. I think Shibuya is the most like cities in America... run down and covered in "modern/urban art".. if you look carefully you can see a huge thing of sake sitting in there..

From Japan Day 3 blog

Oh noes.. they're being taken away by the seemingly normal trash truck..

From Japan Day 3 blog

And this is where it happened.. damn tobacco and salt museum..
Assessing the damage.

From Japan Day 3 blog

I cleaned off the lens fragments and so on.. i think it's fine now.

From Japan Day 3 blog

Later I went to Akihabara to search for a camera specialist.. but none were to be found.. *sigh*.. i got to look around akihabara though.. i think sometime i'll head over there again and do some more shopping.. it's such a hassle carrying around a big camera and a side bag.. but i don't have a back up small camera.. i was considering getting one.. btu if eel like it will be a waste of money,.. well that's all for today.. maybe tonight i'll head back out to shibuya

Oh I almost forgot.. I don't have any pics.. but i went to conveyor belt sushi today. I made a complete fool of myself! I pushed the wrong thing for water and I put green tea powder in my soy sauce...
Damn.. it was terrible.. BUT the sushi was fucking tasty as hell.. talk about yummy sushi man..

2009-07-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Japan Day 2: Rainy Days make for bad pictures...

Today I crossed the bridge to the olther side of Asakusa ( apparently I live in the heavily residential area ). I just started snapping pictures as I went along. Today I had planned on going to Asakusajinja Shrine, Sensoji temple, Nakamise and Kappabashi Dogugai Street. These are the sites that are directly listed in this handy "Welcome to Tokyo, Tokyo Handy Guide". So far it has been pretty handy. I'm sure there are a lot more things to do in Asakusa but these are the main ones. It took a while for me to get around, but I got to all the places eventually ( except Kappabashi Dogugai, that's going to be what I end up going to tonight/at night)

The first point of interest was Komagata-Do Temple, it's just this small little temple sitting next to the bridge. It looked really nice, so i took a picture.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

I kept walking until I arrived at Nakamise, which is a 250 m street from the Kaminari-mon Gate of Asakusajinja Shrine to the Hozomon Gate. It is lined with 990 stores dating from the Edo period.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

I couldnt' find a translation for Mikuji in the dictionary I had on me, I'm guessing it had something to do with prayers or something.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

i don't know who these people are.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

For those who don't know what to do.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

Shrine dedicated to the Tanuki.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

This was the lunch set I got. It was 580 yen. It was a pretty good deal, yummy and filling.
Compare it with the picture outside :).

From Japan Day 2 Blog

This place looks expensive.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

台灣也有!!我知道, 我有去過:)

From Japan Day 2 Blog

Cool little mural thing that came out at 12. They danced to music.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

One of many beer vending machines.

From Japan Day 2 Blog

Tokyo Day 1

2009-07-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

I'm finally in Tokyo and it's time to start my blog up again!!

I landed in Tokyo today at Narita International Airport. I wandered to the train station and rode to Asakusa (Keisei Line - Limited Express towards Ueno, with a transfer at Aouto(??)). My hostel was at Asakusa, so that's where I needed to be.

From Japan Day 1

I'm so glad everyone spoke English. The ticket lady was pretty firendly. I would've taken a picture of the train, but the conductor was waving for me to get on. I didn't want to be that one guy that held everyone up.

I took some shots from the train, but nothin special.

From Japan Day 1

The walk to the hostel was a lot less confusing than I thought it would be. I got there relatively quickly.

From Japan Day 1

There are some good views from the hostel. There's also a nice rooftop level.

Shots around town

From Japan Day 1

It was really empty because of Umi no Hi (Marine Day). At first I was worried I wouldn't be able to find food, but apparently i went to the wrong stores (most things were closed though).

From Japan Day 1

I see a lot of this architecture and stuff in Taiwan, so I guess it wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be.

From Japan Day 1

You can't see, but on the top it says "Fugu" which is poisonous pufferfish. I kind of want to try.

From Japan Day 1

I think the car ruins this picture of a shrine (?)

For dinner I went to Yoshinoya, which I've seen in Taiwan. Which was the only reason I gave it a try. I figured, heck, it's in Taiwan, it shouldn't be that hrad to order food. Thank God, the waiter/server spoke fluent english.. cuz i would've been screwed. The food wasn't bad I got a big set lunch for $680. I kind of figured taking pictures of that food was like taking pictures of McDonald's, so I didn't take any. Sorry!!

Maybe next time.. when I'm less nervous/hungry/freaking out...

Assorted Taipei: Don't Know When I'll Post Again..

2009-06-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Fancy Restaurant at Dapinglin. There was like this married couple that kept looking at me.. it was really annoying >O. The food was good though, I ordered a dong puo rou and a xiao long bao.

From Taipei Day 2

Trip to Taichung - a few assorted pics

From Taipei Day 2

This is how they motorcycle in Taiwan.

From Taipei Day 2

Taiwanese Restaurant

From Taipei Day 2

The Wasabi BURNED. Taiwanese always mix their wasbai into the soy sauce　and they usually mix a lot. Different from Japan, ne?

From Taipei Day 2

Taichung Night Scene

From Taipei Day 2

Bus Station, on my way back

From Taipei Day 2

Long Overdue Post on Taiwan.

2009-05-27T06:16:00.001-07:00

From Taipei Day 1 Exploration

A Picture Tour of NYC:

2009-05-23T19:52:00.001-07:00

A Picture Tour of NYC::

From NYC

From NYC Download

The Curry House, The Clay Pit

2009-02-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

I had to write this for a class. There are no pics. Read it if you dare :o.

The Curry House, the Clay Pit
I arrived with my coworker at 6:15 on the dot for a reservation for four at the premier curry house in Austin. My other two cohorts in crime had decided on a more staggered approach to their arrival. Undeterred we still approached the hostess to claim our reservation. She had definitely been expecting us; there were no hesitations in her preparation and execution. She crossed us off quickly and escorted us briskly to our seats. The speed and execution were signs of a well run restaurant, but it didn’t really seem to fit the laid back atmosphere that we had walked into. Were these contrasts going to be good or bad? I wasn’t left to wonder for very long. The hostess had already reached our table, but my coworker and I were only halfway there! We hadn’t been late, so what was the rush? No worries, these were all little overlookable things. My primary emphasis in food reviewing is that the food tastes good. The environment is important, but the food is always number one.
The table she had taken us to was set for four, so I was not immediately suspicious. However, upon arrival she began removing the other two place settings. Had she forgotten that I had placed a reservation for four? Perhaps she had seen me with my cute coworker and thought that I had meant to make a romantic date reservation instead? One will only be left to wonder. The first time I had come to the highly acclaimed Clay Pit, was on an extremely busy Friday and we weren’t seated until 10 PM! I had no room to complain this time. I mentioned the issue to the hostess and she quickly reset the place settings. No harm done; hopefully the food would still be just as good.
Shortly after we were seated, the water was being poured. I noticed that there was no ice in the water pitcher, but the water was cold. A good sign for a heavy water drinker like me. Throughout the whole night the water was refilled at a good pace. I don’t recall ever going past the halfway point on the glass, definitely a good sign of attentiveness and quality. After the water was poured we had a little bit of downtime waiting for the rest of our party. I at least wanted to wait for one more person to arrive before perusing the menu for potential meal ideas. I finally was able to take in the atmosphere and aroma of this restaurant and really look and smell around. The interior seemed to be a custom made stone/brick wall throughout the whole restaurant. This helped to set a good environment to consume the food in. The walls were decorated with well placed photos of India. This was definitely a restaurant with a very comfortable slow paced atmosphere for enjoying a meal with friends, or going on a romantic date for Valentine’s Day. The lighting is dim and there seems to always be a nice murmur of background noise. The music doesn’t always seem to be playing and isn’t very consistent, but if that’s an important aspect of your meal, it is definitely there. The smells of aromatic curries were coming from every direction and making my stomach really ache for the satisfaction of enjoying a well cooked meal.
The other two arrived shortly after my stomach had really begun to growl and we began going about the arduous task of choosing what we would eat tonight. Immediately after they arrived we were brought a few Pappadam made with white flour, black pepper and sprinkled with fennel seeds. Along with the Pappadam came three sauces, each with it’s own unique flavor. The first sauce had a tamarind base and was very sweet with a small hint of acidic sour aftertaste. It was the favorite in the group, definitely the best balance for the slightly bitter Pappadam. The second was a classic tomato salsa type base with chunks of tomato included in the sauce, sour but not overpowering. Reminiscent of a typical salsa, it seemed to be designed for the less daring eater. Nonetheless it was definitely on par with the rest of the food. The third sauce consisted of mint and cilantro and was sweet, bitter, minty and definitely herby. It was the least favorite of the sauces for it’s overwhelming taste and unpredictable consistency. It seemed at the beginning the cilantro was strong, but then as you moved into it more the mint became more prominent. The sauce had probably not been mixed properly, but overall it is a very overpowering sauce. It doesn’t match well with the already bitter pappadam. Try it, if you like herby powerful sauces, otherwise steer clear!
While we were busy munching on the Pappadam, I had begun the daunting task of picking 3 diverse tasting curries and 4 naans for our table of 4. Why 3 and 4? That doesn’t equal a 1:1 ratio, is someone losing out? No! The portions at The Clay Pit are large and substantial. Four naans and 3 curries was definitely enough, especially since they give you fair portion of rice to go with it all. If you aren’t used to pairing things with your curry to eat in the traditional style, then by all means order a curry a person. It’s client preference when it comes to size, portion and spiciness. My cute coworker that I had arrived with decided she wanted a Tikka Masala with Vegetables with a Medium spiciness level. She had hopped on the bandwagon created by the menu, which described the dish as “Everyone’s favorite! A tomato-based butter cream sauce s easoned with herbs and spices”. Paired with an Onion and Cilantro Naan. My other late arriving cohort decided to order a Garlic and Red Wine curry with Seafood. Since he is a big fan of seafood and the curry seamed to be very diverse and fresh, simply described as “Fresh seasoned fish, shrimp, mussles and calamari cooked in an aromatic garlic and red wine curry sauce.” I settled on a Jeera Saag with chunks of Lamb at a mild spiciness level. I’m a pretty traditional guy and love spinach, so the description on the menu made it an easy choice for me. “Pureed spinach cooked with roasted cumin and spices. An Indian Classic.” I decided to get a three Cheese Naan, slightly more expensive but definitely more substantial. I had previously had a Jeera Saag with Lamb at medium spiciness and it blew my mind. I had to keep drinking water and eating naan to keep the fire out. Finally the fourth member of our party was left without a curry and we ordered him a plain naan.
Now at this point, you as the reader must be wondering, “What do all these names mean? What is this guy talking about? I’ll just skim over all these strange words and just pretend to understand.” Never fear, I shall explain everything now! First off, The Clay Pit is The Premier Curry House in Austin. Almost everything on it’s menu is a curry, minus the appetizers and soups. First some vocabulary:
• Naan – A round flatbread made of white flour. It is a staple accompaniment to hot meals in Central and South Asia (Wikipedia). It’s purpose is similar to that of rice of bread in East Asian and French cuisine. Similar to the tortilla and pita.
• Curry – any heavily spices sauce dish from South Asia.
With these basic definitions in mind, three curries and four naans should definitely be enough for the four of us. Historically only the wealthy are able to afford a lot of curry, and naan is usually used as the staple for eating. That did not mean that the fourth member in our party had the least amount of money. He was the one who ended up paying even though he really had no choice when ordering.
After we ordered they refilled our pappadam which we continued eating for about another 20 minutes until our food arrived. The food was spectactular! The waiter brought out the Naans first with two types of naans being in one basket. Which had confused me at first, because I thought the waiter had said that there would be another one coming. Make sure to pay attention to your waiter when he speaks! Otherwise you’ll end up being really confused. Since we ordered 3 curries and 4 naans everything we were eating we were sharing with the other members of our party. Which is definitely a good idea if you’re budget concious and are going with friends.
The Vegetable Tikka Masala had a nice sweet sour tomato flavor base. It was spiced with basil, cilantro, tamarind and wasn’t very spicy despite the Medium Spicy rating. The spiciness levels range from Mild to Desi Hot. So, if you like your food spicy don’t worry, I’m pretty sure they can accommodate your taste buds. The vegetables consisted of very well cooked squash, carrot, cucumber and green beans. They seemed to be flash steamed before hand to preserve shape and texture and then only covered in the curry at the last minute. This was obvious because although the flavor was evident, the tomato sauce had not been imbued into the vegetables like it would have been if you had slowly simmered it on the stove for a long period of time. A very traditional dish that was well spiced, I would definitely recommend this dish to anyone who would go to The Clay Pit. The Onion and Cilantro Naan that had been paired with this was really delicious, but surprisingly a little bit sweeter than expected. Onion and cilantro were definitely evident throughout the bread. Baked well, soft, slightly moist and a good pairing for really any curry.
Next, was the Garlic and Red Wine Curry with Seafood at a Mild spiciness level. This was probably the antithesis in taste for the Tikka Masala. A red wine base that was heavily spiced and contained seafood. The red wine taste was evident, but was overpowered by the fresh seafood taste from the combination of fish, shrimp, mussle sand calamari. These may have been previously steamed or boiled, but were definitely given time to combine in taste with the flavorful red wine base. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to achieve that blend of flavors. The taste was salty , garlicy and also contained a few vegetables for taste, such as the green onion and tomato. The Garlic and Basil naan was a good pairing for this dish, because of the Garlic taste that meshed well with the evident garlic taste in the naan.This set of naans was flawed however, the very first piece had a gigantic burned hole in the middle. A sad loss that was probably spurned by poor kneading techniques and air bubbles that grew too large and caused the skin to be to thin and burn easily.
The last dish was a Jeera Saag with Lamb that had a mild spiciness level. This was the dish that I had really been looking forward to all night. It was served in a metal pot like container with two ring grips on the side, which immediately set it apart from the rest of the dishes. The lamb was well cooked with no flaws, not overly stringy and well preserved. This curry was a little bit less soupy then the rest. The base was a thicker blend of ingredients and contained some onion, tomato, pepper, spinach and cheese. I paired it with a three cheese naan, which tastes a little bit more substantial than the rest. It contains three layers of cheese which gives it that chewy flavorful texture, which I thought went really well with the spinach Saag Paneer, a spinach and cheese are often paired together.
The final naan was very traditional and it’s flavor was very much what one would expect in any hand made bread, tortilla and pita in any country. Well cooked, moist and no physical flaws. Also served with these curries and naans was a small metal platter of rice that was topped with peas, green onions and tomatoes. In the end, the beginning slip ups of management had been forgotten and the food definitely made a name for itself as the premier curry establishment in Austin.
Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant. If you’re coming on the weekend, definitely make reservations before hand. If you’re coming during the weekday it isn’t necessary. The cost of food is quite substantial, with the 3 curries and 4 naans plus tip running at about $54. This was even after using a coupon for buy 1 entrée and get the other half off. Expect to spend about $15-20 when coming to the Clay Pit. It’s located on 1601 Guadalupe Street. Austin, TX 78701. The contact number for reservations is 512-322-5131. Lunch hours are Monday – Friday 11-2 and Saturday 12 – 3. Dinner hours are Sunday – Thursday 5 – 10 and Friday – Saturday 5 – 11. If you have any questions I would check out the website (www.claypit.com) or directly call them (512-322-5131).

The Clay Pit

2009-02-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

For those of you in the know, I am taking a class called Culture of Food in India. I'm taking this class to fulfill my South Asian 3 hour credit requirement for my East Asian Studies major. I'm not really interested in India, but I am extremely interested in food, so why not take this class? It's probably the best, even though it's extremely upper division and is basically owning me right now. I haven't done any of the homework assignments and I totally have this 3 hour time slot tomorrow to do it all. Wooooooooh. I hope I can get it done. Google.. you better put out this time.... anyways.

Edit*: Just kidding. I totally finished all the homework and did all the reading. 3 hours is a long time.

The Clay Pit ( click me I am a link.)

Click me for a map.
This place is pretty rocking, but if I were you I would not come on a Friday night for a few reasons.
1. We waited like 1 hour until we were seated
2. It took the food a long time to come out
3. You can't use the cool coupons that come in these rocking coupon books that they pass out around campus
I went with my roommate and two of my friends and we all loved it. Here are some rocking pictures.

From The Clay Pit

That's my roommate with the menu. Lol.
They first give you some chip like substances Papaddam with a few salsas and stuff.

From The Clay Pit

The salsas consisted of a sweet salsa, closest to us, a regular salsa and a herb sauce ( the green thing ). The sweet salsa was definitely a big hit. It was a good contrast with the somewhat bitter/salty taste of the Papaddam.
We were in a rush to eat and it was getting kind of late, so I just kind of rushed the pictures. They all kind of blow. In fact. I have to get my ass over to work... sooo... it's going to be liek 4 pictures and that's it for today folks. I might edit it some more later.
Edit: I am now back from work and thus enhancing this post.

From The Clay Pit

The first dish was what I ordered. I was pretty damn hungry by the time it came out, so my hands were shaking in anticipation and that's why the picture sucks. Just kidding. I totally didn't change it to macro on my point and shoot got owned, now flame me. This was definitely very, very delicious. It was the Jeera Saag with lamb. Originally I wanted to go with beef, but my roommate reminded me that Hindu's don't eat beef. I had a 3 cheese naan to go with it for dipping purposes, but I think I forgot to take a picture of it. HUGE BLUNDER. I know, but I was what some people would say "fucking hungry". I got it Medium spicy and it was already burning my mouth, if you can't take the heat definitely do not get anything remotely spicy. In fact, if I went again I would probably get mild. I only like my things with a little heat. The taste was absolutely amazing. It was flavor packed, savory, salty and well spiced. It was everything I could wish for and more. With my 3 cheese naan I only managed to finish half of my curry. I brought the other half back and they put it in a nice little box for me. In fact they even put some fresh rice! It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It's great to get things that you don't otherwise expect.

From The Clay Pit

This next dish was the Tikka Masala with Paneer that my roommate got. I tasted it, but I forgot how it tasted. I think it was slightly sweet? As expected of a tomato based dish I guess.

From The Clay Pit

My other friend ordered a Lamb Roganjosh. She got it "Hot". She tried to order in between Medium and Hot, but they wouldn't let her. She can usually handle spicy things, but was a tad bit overwhelmed by hot.

From The Clay Pit

This last one was the Korma Paneer that my buddy Pab got. I don't remember what it tastes like. Sorry. I think it ended up being sweet.. It looked kind of like an alfredo sauce, so i guess I was more expecting that kind of taste. It's a coconut milk base though, so being sweet shouldn't have been that big of a surprise.

From The Clay Pit

We topped it off with a Mango Lassin and a regular Lassi. It's just some mango syrup added to a cup of Indian yogurt. Pretty good, but for 3 dollars a pop a little over priced. I'm going to Umi tomorrow, so stay updated for pics of that!

Sinh Sinh Chinese Restaurant

2009-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

This is a review on a restaurant I want to a while ago. I've been sick and classes just started, so I haven't been able to update this blog. I hope this doesn't become a trend of non blogging.

From Sinh Sinh

They have a nice selection of roasted duck and a huge roasted pig hanging up there. Pretty tasty :D.

From Sinh Sinh

Interesting seafood in their tanks. Geoduck Clam.

From Sinh Sinh

Gigantic Lobster.

From Sinh Sinh

Gigantic Lobster compared to my phone.

From Sinh Sinh

This fish might end up on your plate :O.

From Sinh Sinh

Peking Duck.

From Sinh Sinh

Buns for wrapping the Peking Duck.

From Sinh Sinh

Duck Soup.

From Sinh Sinh

Soft Shelled Crap with Butter and Garlic.

From Sinh Sinh

Sweet and Sour Fish. Deep Fried and then coated in a sauce.

There's not much for me to say about this place. It's one of my all time favorite Chinese food places. I went to this restaurant with only two other people, so we couldn't order that much. BUT, the food was spectacular nonetheless.
It's located in Houston Chinatown on Bellaire.

9788 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX
77036

Yakiniku + Yakitori @ Dobie ( Stick or Treat )

2009-01-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

From StickorTreat

The other day I came down to Dobie in a quest to find something to eat ( dobie cafeteria was closed at the time ). When I stumbled upon Stick or Treat. it's located in the Dobie Food Court. At first I really wanted to give them a good review. The service was nice, the pictures were good and the price ( 1 stick 1.50 ) seemed reasonable. When I got the plate .. it was a different story. I ordered 4 Beef Sirloin Sticks... and they were dry. First thought that came to mind was dry. Potential reasons why? 1. Cooked too long 2. Not enough fat in the meat 3. Quality of the meat seems like it's leftover scraps from the butcher shop 4. It wasn't well marinated ( if marinated at all ). It came with a few sauces and some faux silver/metal silverware. I mean if you're desperate and want some meat, come here, but otherwise I'll make some for you that will taste better than this place. Sorry Stick or Treat :(.... it had to happen...

Do I recommend Stick or Treat? An overall sad no :(.

Bento Submission!

2009-01-17T23:03:00.000-08:00

Hey! Sorry for all the continuous posting, but I had to post this picture of my bento I made the other day. Actually I want to post about a lot of stuff and became a little impatient. Here's a picture of the Bento I made today at Pab's place. This is my first REAL bento.

From Bento

The Bento consists of two containers. The first container contains fried Salmon and Steak ( cut into cubes ) with a self made teriyaki sauce on top. I made the teriyaki sauce using corn starch, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon and honey. The sauce was poured on top of the fish ( one of the pictures it isn't ) and is also in a small fish shaped container. The Salmon and Steak are next to two pieces of brocolli which were fried with garlic. This is all on top of a bed of rice. The second container contains grapes, sweet red oranges, and blackberries. I seperated these with two pieces of green sushi grass.

From Bento

I no longer have the DSLR.. so my picture quality has gone down a little.. sorry =\

Day 6: Last Day.. Resort + Waterfalls + Specials!

2009-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

From Hawaii Day Six

The only picture of the resort I could find. It was a very beautiful resort, but it was kind of a Sugar Land being transplanted onto lava. Basically imagine everything else being like this:

From Hawaii Day Four

They claimed that the resort area had some ancient hieroglyphs and lava drawings, but after we started seeing words and Kanji. We realized it had already been tampered with :(. Well.. I mean unless the ancient Polynesians knew Japanese lol.

From Hawaii Day Six

A nice pic of the countryside.

From Hawaii Day Six

Waterfalls! This was by far the best nature related thing we did this whole time. I'm actually a huge fan of hiking and stuff. So, this was amazing for me. The waterfalls were amazing. See for yourself!

From Hawaii Day Six

This tree was gigantic.

From Hawaii Day Six

I hope you enjoyed these pictures of my trip! I just have ONE thing I forgot to post about. I just got the photo off my other camera. Salmon Onigiri!

From Hawaii Day Six

I've never had it before and it was pretty cool. You have to pull some complex things and stuff and it all falls into place and becomes a wonderful seaweed wrapped peace of rice with Salmon! Yum.

Until next time!

From Hawaii Day Six

Day 5: Roadside BBQ + Flowers + Coffee Plantation

2009-01-17T02:24:00.000-08:00

*Disclaimer! My mom is a sucker for flowers and we saw a LOT of flowers. If you hate flowers... stop reading after the first few pictures. You'll know when the flowers start coming.*

From Hawaii Day Five

So, we're on our way to Kona and we need to sotp for some gas at the local gas station. I get out of the car and what do I smell? Nice toasty dry wood being burned somewhere.. I look around and BEHOLD! some guy is smoking meat on a roadside stand and selling some lunchboxes :D. I'm a sucker for lunchboxes, fresh food and grilled meats... so I scurried over there and snapped some pictures! I even bought a lunchbox ( no pics :( ).

From Hawaii Day Five

What a nifty cart! Let's see what's inside!

From Hawaii Day Five

You can see it is getting a nice roast and is really imbued with that flavor. Yum!

From Hawaii Day Five

Random food being sold in a carribean(?) food place at an international food court. I think it's fried Pig skin. No, not a football.

From Hawaii Day Five

Giant Avocados!
Later that day we headed over to a Coffee Plantation. It was a pretty neat place. It's not the season right now, so there wasn't much activity. Lots of cool things anyways.

From Hawaii Day Five

Day 4: Lava, Lava Everywhere... and Japanese Food!

2009-01-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

From Hawaii Day Four

Today was a rather uneventful day. It consisted of a lot of driving around trying to see Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii's Volcanoes. We didn't really see much.. lots of old lava.. some new lava.. but mostly old lava.. Below is where the lava went over the road in some part of the big island.. a national park of sorts... I've been trying to keep the photos of people down to a minimum.. but every now and then I guess some will get stuck in..

From Hawaii Day Four

and then suddenly OMG THE VOLCANO IS BLOWING UPPP AHHHHHH

From Hawaii Day Four

just kidding... the big island's volcano has been constantly erupting for a while now.. so it wasn't really big news.. we were trying to treck to see the lava falling into the ocean.. but alas ... we didn't see much..

From Hawaii Day Four

This picture was taking while the car was moving so the bottom is slightly blurred... pretty vast black expanse...

From Hawaii Day Four

This is where the lava hits the water.. you can't actually see it or get very close.. so these are the best shots we had.. this is probably a good time to mention that these pictures were the compiled effort of my whole family.. all the food pictures were mine.. but most of the landscape pictures were taken by sister, mom or dad in that order. Even though the camera belongs to my dad .. he never takes pictures with his newly bought camera.. huh...

From Hawaii Day Four

After a full day of looking at lava I was craving some Japanese food. Well actually I was at the lava viewing area and there was a big japanese tour group that had "Lava Viewing Bento's" kind of like Sakura Viewing Bento's.. so I got a little bit of bento envy.. So we went to Miyo's it's kind of hidden behind an abandoned building in a bar, but it's actually bustling with activity.

From Hawaii Day Four

I really liked the atmosphere. I think I captured it well in this next photo.

From Hawaii Day Four

I should've taken a picture of their menu, but it was handwritten in Japanese. I could barely read it. Well.. I mean there was an English menu with Japanese scribbled all over it. lol.. We just got there specials. My sister got a regular combo that had some tempura some salad and some orange chicken ( totally not a Japanese dish lol ).

From Hawaii Day Four

I had beef teriyaki with tempura and two sides of sashimi. It was pretty enjoyable.. the teriyaki had an interesting smoky flavor that I have never experienced before. Sorry for the bad picture.

From Hawaii Day Four

Day 3: Snorkeling + Ninja Sushi + Byodo-in Temple

2009-01-15T15:13:00.000-08:00

From Hawaii Day Three

I know the title says Snorkeling, but I actually don't have any pictures from the snorkeling adventure =\. Sorry!

From Hawaii Day Three

For lunch we ate at Ninja Sushi. It's like the Mcdonalds of Sushi in taste, appearance and speed. As most of you might have guessed I was the one who ordered the Unagi bento. Since I am a huge fan of Unagi and a huge fan of bento's :P. I'm pretty sure it was just the regular microwaved variety and nothing really stuck out in my mind. The shop was really empty when we got there and even though it was heavily decorated I felt like it wasn't very welcoming. Kind of felt like you were in an operating room, not like you were at a cozy restaurant. My sister got a spicy tuna bento and then my parents both got Tempura Udon (below).

From Hawaii Day Three

Afterward we went to the Byodo-in Temple. It's a reconstruction of a 13th century temple located somewhere in Japan. I think I mentioned it in the previous post.

From Hawaii Day Three

I ended up ringing the bell in the wrong order :(. You're supposed to ring the bell before entering the temple, but my sister insisted on ringing the bell last. Well.. that's what you get when your sister is a French/Francophone major, not an asian studies major =\. Now I will have bad luck forever :O.

From Hawaii Day Three

My dad wanted to see people surfing, so we were in a big rush going through the temple and quickly headed to North Shore. The tour book said that North Shore shrimp is very famous, so I insisted at stopping at a Shrimp farm for some live shrimp.

From Hawaii Day Three

Oddly enough when we arrived we realized that the restaurant owners were Taiwanese... Hmm.. it seems that a lot of Taiwanese like to open little food stands :o. I was wearing my shirt that said Huai Ren (Bad Guy), so I think it cued them off that I spoke chinese :P. All the shrimp were prepared in a Chinese way lol.. what a funny place.. nonetheless delicious.. Unfortunately .. no pics.. I still haven't gotten to the point of taking pictures of everything I do.. it's very time consuming and sometimes I'm not thick skinned enough to get good pictures..
They also were selling baby shrimp I think and had a huge tank full of them. Some lady came in and bought some earlier, so that's why I think they were selling them :O.

From Hawaii Day Three

I ordered the garlic and salt shrimp and just a few shrimp with cocktail sauce. It was delicious! SO FRESH! :). We proceeded to North Shore. We were actually in a real rush to get to the airport because we would be going to the Big Island the next day. So ... North Shore is summed up by this picture.

From Hawaii Day Three

For those of you who do not know, North Shore and the Banzai Pipeline are only the premier surfing spot in the WORLD. So yeah.. my dad wanted to check it out.. not that many people surfing though.. I think the really good spots are hidden from tourist view.. We kind of only did a quick drive by...

From Hawaii Day Three

Nice random view on our way to the airport. We also passed by Dole Plantation and took a quick look around. My family and I are all suckers for fresh produce/food. After that we got on the airplane... I'll leave you with some pineapples..

From Hawaii Day Three

Day 2: Diamonhead Crater + Ono's Hawaiian Food + Kayaking + Luau

2009-01-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

From Hawaii Day Two

There's not much to say about this place.. It's pretty self explanatory. I think it used to be a military base ( didn't all of Hawaii used to be a military base?! ). Now it's a tourist destination. Here are some cool pics.

From Hawaii Day Two

After we hiked Diamond Head Crater in the morning we headed over to Ono's Hawaiian Food ( another Bourdain destination ). Here we tried one of their combo sets + some much famed lau lau. The combo set was somehwere in the range of 17-18 dollars and had Kilua Pig + Pork Lau Lau + Salmon with tomatoes + Pig Jerky? + a bowl of rice + Poi. Poi is pretty nasty.. it's the one thing everyone says you have to try in Hawaii, but it's not very good. I'd rather take the portion of rice anyday. Lau Lau is basically a wad of pork + fish ( depending on what type you order ) wrapped in baby taro leaves and then steamed. It was really delicious. It practically melted in my mouth and the taste was excellent.

From Hawaii Day Two

We actually ended up ordering 3 LauLau's ... soo... if they look different.. that's why...

From Hawaii Day Two

Afterwards we headed over to this snorkeling place.. some secret cove of some place, but they limit the amount of visitors and it was already after lunch so we couldn't go :(. Instead we went Kayaking somewhere. We actually ended up falling out of the Kayak the first time we tried to get in, becuase my sister started paddling and it rocked the Kayak like crazy.. oh wellz... Before we got there we actually passed by a nice scenic point.

From Hawaii Day Two

It seemed like it was eternally cloudy when I was in hawaii...

From Hawaii Day Two

Kayaking

From Hawaii Day Two

Afterwards we tried to go to the Byodo-in Temple an 18th century replication of a 13th century temple in Japan. More info on the next post. Here are some mountains near the temple. We were actually 3 minutes late.. cuz we ended up getting there 3 minutes after closing.. so we couldn't see it on Day 2 :(.. oh well

From Hawaii Day Two

At night we went to a luau! The only pic I have of this is of the pig and where it was roasted. The luau was kind of boring .. since I couldn't drink.. and even if I could drink prices were pretty inflated...

From Hawaii Day Two

Basically you roast the pig in the ground for many hours and cover it with Banana leaves.. yum ...

From Hawaii Day Two

Day 1: Waikiki Beach + Puka Dog + Alan Wong's Restaurant

2009-01-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

View from the Hotel Room

From Hawaii

The Hotel

From Hawaii

The Beach

Aloha! I am finally back from my vacation in Hawaii! Today's post is about the first day I arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Let me first start off by noting a few things. HAWAII IS COVERED WITH JAPANESE PEOPLE. If I were to name a place most like Japan ( disregarding the fact that i've never been to Japan ) it would be Hawaii. Half the signs are in Japanese and everyone practically speaks Japanese. What a crazy place. Taking pictures of things in Japanese for the purpose of this blog would simply be pointing out the obvious, so I didn't do it. We arrived around 2-ish which would be 6 o clock in Houston and proceeded to go to our hotel. We arrived at Mariott Waikiki ( a pretty good hotel ) and we checked in. There were some problems checking in because we booked a room for 2 people for 4 people, but in the end everything worked out. My mom also chose to have the ocen front view, but that also costs an extra 120 dollars ( we were using marriot rewards points for this trip ). So we ended up with a side view *points to first photo*. Not bad in my opinion. I was thoroughly dissapointed that they did not have a jacuzzi though. :(. We originally had scheduled to eat dinner at Alan Wong's restaurant at 7:30 assuming that we would arrive late, but we ended up getting their super early. So, we stopped at a place called Puka Dog's! Bourdain went there for No Reservations.

From Hawaii

This place is rather expensive, I think it was 6.54 for a dog or something.

From Hawaii

How to order

From Hawaii

The Puka Dog

So, for those of you in the know No Reservations is basically the shit. For those of you not in the know head on over to youtube and check it out.

From Hawaii

Foreboding Sigfn

AHHH CAUTION FRONT AND REAR DOORS OPEN!!!! What does this foreboding door lead to?!?! ALAN WONG'S RESTAURANT. Only supposedly the best restaurant in all of Hawaii. Alan Wong is apparently the big daddy of all restauranteurs in Hawaii. The restaurant is actually located in an office building O_o and is kind of tucked away. You have to want to be there to be there.
OK. So, from here on out I made the poor deecision of taking things without flash in low lighting, because I didn't want to disturb the atmosphere. BAD IDEA. I should've just taken the damn pictures. In fact, I should've taken notes on what I was ordering.

From Hawaii

What I Ordered

Everyone but my Mom ordered the 5 course menu sampling, I forgot what my mom ordered and the pictures sucked. So, I am not posting about it.
As you can see 75 dollars a person. I'll let the menu do the talking. (I am also getting kind of tired halfway through this post)

From Hawaii

Appetizer

Again.. sorry for the blurry pics. I forogot what this was. Something about foie gras and something something.. i dunno.. i should've taken notes.. It was kind of like a fried pineapple wonton on the left with avocado and sauce and then a fried sandwhich with a tomato soup. Delicious.. it set a very good tone for the meal. Everything was crispy and hot and fresh, perfect.

From Hawaii

butter Poached Kona Lobster : Nagaimo Potato Cake, Green Onion Oil

Poached lobster with some edamame on the side and on top of a Nagaimo Potato Cake. Salty on the left, mild on the right. WIth the green onion oil sprayed very beautifully. I have to say the presentation for the food was simply amazing. I should have used flash.. IT was really delicious. My dad thought it was a little undercooked, but I liked how they made it. Maybe a tad bit salty. :X

From Hawaii

Ginger Crusted Onaga: Organically Grown Harnakua Mushrooms and Corn, Miso Sesame Vinaigrette

Wow.. so this dish was filled with a bunch of ??? What is this ingredient ???. But it was delicious nonetheless. it was basically a fish with a sweet miso sauce sprinkled with some mushrooms and corn + crusted with ginger. I liked it, but my sister doesn't like ginger, so she wasn't a fan.

From Hawaii

Twice Cooked Shortrib, soy braised and grilled "Kalbi" Style: Gingered Shrimp, Ko Choo Jang Sauce

Okay, so this dish was kind of a fail. It was very dissapointing for such a high quality restaurant. It was very tender, but it was still very dry :( unfortunately... It was supposed to be the main course too.. *sigh* & it ended up being a shitty picture .. GAHHHHH!!!!

From Hawaii

Dessert Dyet: Chocolate Crunch Bar and Coconut Tapioca

Self Explanatory. It was very good. (I'm really tired :( and I want to finsih this post)

From Hawaii

Complimentary Chocolate Covered Honey Glazed Macademia Nuts with Powdered Sugar

Well, that's what I reckon it is anyways...

In conclusion, everything was good but the twice grilled shortrib's, I would definitely recommend it to experience the fine dining of Hawaii. The menu changes daily according to the season, so you will always be served with something good.

From Hawaii

Culinary Institute of America

2009-01-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

One of my biggest aspirations in life is to attend the Culinary Institute of America. I've wanted to go to culinary school for quite a while. In fact, I think since 9th grade. It all began when I first got to boarding school, every day I would have to cook for about 15 people. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I even once told myself if UT was the only school I got into I would go to Culinary School. Well, we all see how that went, I'm not a culinary school and instead attend UT Austin. *sigh*. However! One of my really good friends Ashri is actually attending the CIA right now :). She's pursuing a Bachelor's in Baking and Pastry Arts. (I actually want to do an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts. ) She just sent me some pictures today! Here is a picture of her culinary tool kit. I would post the pictures of the books, but when I downloaded them they dissapeared >__>. Oh well! No loss :O. Books aren't as interesting ^_^.

From Blog

Culinary Tool Kit.. SOOO MUCH STUFF.. i can't describe it all .. it would take too long

*sigh* maybe one day I will be there too :X...

Singapore Chilli Crab + Steak

2009-01-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

First post of the New Year! Yay!
I've been pretty busy cooking so I have a TON of pictures. Let's start with what I made last night. Singapore Chilli Crab! I was watching the Travel Channel and Bourdain was in Singapore and I saw them eat this tasty dish. Then later on I went to H-mart in Houston to buy some Korean BBQ supplies and saw some crab. That's when I actually put 2 and 2 together and got the idea. I then went to Viet Hoa the next day to buy Crab, typically the Singapore Chilli Crab is made from the Malaysian Mud Crab, but I decided to use the Dungeoness Crab ( since we can't get malaysian mud crab in the US ). When I was killing the crab it was still alive, so it was all clawing at the knife and stuff.. pretty gruesome experience. The recipe is rather complicated, but here's the picture. I found the recipe, so if you want to hop on over to the website you can check it out.

From Blog

Singapore Chilli Crab, topped with Cilantro and Green Onions

A few ngihts before I marinated some steak in my secret recipe marinade and grilled some asparagus, tomatoes and corn on the grill. I also made a creamy lemon avocado sauce for the asparagus. I came up with that recipe by myself, so I don't have a recipe I can give you :(. But basically I used the same base for the cream in the Pie from earlier. Cream cheese mixed with half and half. Yum :3.

From Blog

Steak(top right), corn (bottom), Asparagus (left), tomatoes (far left), super amazing sauce (top left)

I also made some Korean BBQ from the supplies I got from H-mart, but I didn' t take any pictures of us cooking it :(. We were outside in my backyard and it was dark. I'm not sure any of you want to see a larrge tray of marinaadeing meat... so i'll skip it for now :o.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and Holidays ( although it's a bit late in the season >__> )!!!!!!

From Blog

Random Quiche.. this was made by my sister! Completely unrelated to today's post.

I know I haven't posted for a while, but I have good reasons! Actually.... I don't have jack diddly. I've just been sitting around lounging, eating, lounging some more and then back to eating. I've done absolutely nothing and I haven't felt better! Okay, I have.. and it's been kind of boring, so here I am posting away!

Today's post will feature what I made a few nights ago.

The first thing I actually made was a tasty ceviche! I couldn't find fresh red snapper at HEB, so I had to improvise and chose to get 1 pound of fresh deveined shrimp ( i'm lazy ~_~) and 1 pount of bay scallops. I choped them up added a pepper, some tomaotes, some onions and then submerged it in lemon and lime juice! It turned out a little too spicy for my taste, but good nonetheless. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take a standalone picture of it :(. Sorry! Gomenasai! Dui Bu Qi! You'll just have to wait for the main course to be unveiled before you can see it!

For the Main Course I fried some steak tips up with a dash of soy sauce, made my secret teriyaki sauce, prepared a couscous from a chicken broth and fried some bak choy in garlic. Okay the last part was a lie, my mom fried the bak choy in garlic. So, it's a Moroccon + Japanese + Mexican + Chinese fusion dish. I thought of it myself, so the recipe will remain a trade secret. Jus tkidding, if you comment I will tell you. My dad said the steak woudl be too big, so I went for a smaller steak :(. Oh well. I would've liked fat juicy peices. Last time I made the teriyaki sauce I did not use low sodium soy sauce, so I had to add more ingredients to melow it down. Here's the picture.

From Blog

Ceviche(top left), couscous w/ a dash of teriyaki sauce(left of plate), teriyaki beef(middle), bak choy(right)

From Blog

Close up.

For desert I made a delicious White Chocolate Cheesecake with Strawberries, Pineapples and 3 Grapes!!!

From Blog

*nomnomnomnom* The Full Pie

From Blog

Close Up!

Sadly, on a personal note however, I may be canceling my much anticipated trip to Japan out of a lack of money. So, unless someone would like to donate maybe a thousand dollars or two.. it's on hold! I will just save up the money to splurge when I study abroad there.

Again, Have a Happy New Years! Hopefully the next update will be sooner than later :P!

Beginner Sushi Pics & Lunch Pics

2008-12-25T02:29:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few pics from when I tried to make sushi the other day ( with my family ). Also, some lunch pics.

From Blog

Lunch

From Blog

Christmas Presents & Lunch

2008-12-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

Bitter and Milk Bento Box w/Strap and Chopsticks

My Christmas gifts are here! So, first off, I bought a few things from Ichiban Kan USA. These things are for bento boxing. Here's a price list for everyone and anyone who cares:

Item	Quantity	Units	Amount	Tax	Options
Aluminum Food Cup 48P	1	ea	1.00	Yes
Bitter&Milk 2-Tier Lunch Box & Chopsticks/Case Black	1		13.00	Yes
Mini Sauce Bottle 12P	1	ea	1.00	Yes
Naruhodo "Onigiri" Rice Ball Mold "Tawara"	1	ea	1.25	Yes
Naruhodo "Onigiri" Rice Ball Mold	1	ea	1.25	Yes
Food Divider - Color 120P	1	ea	1.00	Yes

Everything I listed above.

Next is a Hangiri ( traditional Sushi Rice aerating thingamabob ). I bought this from the House of Rice. I am a little bit dissapointed in it, for a few reasons. 1. the binding is plastic.. 2. smaller than I expected.. and 3. it's made in China :(. Oh well. I'll probably keep it, I have been debating whether or not I want to return it or not. It cost 32.95 and it comes with two small sushi rolling bamboo mats, 2 wooden paddles and the hangiri itself.

Hangiri

Finally, the star of the post. My handforged Shinichi Watanabe knives.

Unopened Cases

The first knife on the left is a Mukimono Bouchou paring knife.

>Paring knife white steel Blade: 95mm

Total length: 185mm Width: 27mm Thickness: 3mm US$70.00

The middle knife is a Kuro-uchi Kaisaki Yanagi for Sashimi.

>Blade: 150mm
Total length: 280mm Width: 31mm Thickness: 3.2mmUS$60.00

The lsat knife is:

Kuro-uchi Santoku knife Blade: 165mml length: 300mm Width: 47mm Thickness: Tapered spine 5 - 1.5mm
Double bevel, Blade: Yasuki white steel, Ho wood hande with plastic hilt
$90.00

Knives. See Above.

Everything, but the bento box.. I get kind of lazy with these postings.. especially when there are lots of pictures.

For lunch I had some yummy food at Ruby's BBQ. Guadalupe and 29th. It was pretty good, I forgot the prices and I don't feel like reviewing. My only warning is that just one portion may not be enough, you might need two :X.

This is everything for now. I will probably re edit this pots later, but I wanted to post it as soon as possible. Since I know so many people read this blog on a daily basis ;P.

Bentoing in a Dorm! Maybe not...

2008-12-20T22:34:00.000-08:00

Soo.. today.. I woke up REALLY late and kind of showered and ran to work. I wasn't in the mood to really eat any of that stuff, so I decided to cook up everything I have gathered over the past few days! I think it was pretty good overall, but I prepared way too much stuff. I guess it would've been better if there were 2.. any takers (preferably... )?

First item of business. Cooking the rice for my meal. Well..... I added too much water.. the rice is kind of bloated :(. I won't be making that mistake again. I guess I just don't make rice often enough.. Here is a pic of my Fujitronics Rice Cooker. It can steam stuff, cook perfect rice.. so on so forth. I got it in chinatown a few years back.

Rice Cooker

Since the decision had been made that I would have a huge meal.. Here are more items on today's menu. They were really good. The red sauce meat (left) had a strong smell of ginger and was very flavor. It was made mostly with fatty pork. Something I haven't tried before, so it was a good experience. On the right are the steamed bbq pork buns. They are really good tasting. I was going to steam them with the rice cooker, but I became impatient when everything else was just sitting around waiting for it to be ready. The rice cooker wasn't counting down on the 10 minute time limit, so I was very confused.

Red Sauce Meat (Left). BBQ Pork Buns (Right).

Now for the center piece! The roast eel. This eel was pretty delicious. I had to cut the package in half with scissors and microwave it ( no plate ). I saw them do it at work, so I thought maybe I could do it too. The eel was really good and prepared Kanto (Tokyo, Kamakura, etc) Style ( cut through the back because of Samurai being uncomfortable with cutting it in the stomach, it was too reminiscent of seppuku (dishonorable suicide). You can tell because when it is cut through the back the sides are black and the middle is white. If it is the other way around it is Kansai(Kyoto, Osaka, etc) Style. I wish there was a little bit more sauce for the eel. I think I microwaved it too long. The instructions said 4 - 5 minutes, but it was sizzling after like 1:45. =\. Oh well. I also got some Radish from work, since I forgot to buy it. I didn't know how to ask if he could cut it in Spanish, so .. I tried to cut it with a plastic knife. Not a good idea. That's probably why I have purchased a professionally forged knife set ( almost here!!! - cross that out, I just checked and they are still in customs.. UGH.. it's been 4 freaking days.. bahbahbahbahbahbahbah). Enjoy!

Eel with radish.

Here's a picture of all the stuff before I unveil it! Looks pretty nice ne? Skyy Vodka on top, Black Tea with Lichi Jelly, Green Tea, Buns, Eel and the red sauce meat.

Finished Product.

Well, let's do a review. The rice was overcooked. The food was too much. Everything else was pretty good though. I guess I will learn from my mistakes. This is the best I can do with the stuff I had at hand. I can't wait for a kitchen next year!

*edit: Also, I know vodka with this bento dinner is kind of gross, but I wanted to pretend it was sake. Plus I've only ever drank to get drunk, so I wanted to try it out.. Like those sophisticated people do.. Also, a good bento site. www.adventuresinbentomaking.com

Sushi Ni Ichi (two one.. that doesn't even make sense)

2008-12-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

Sushi Ni Ichi Rolls. I think maybe a Blue Moonlight and something else :O. The first one looks like Eel with Avocado ( this was a long time ago i forgot.. sumimasen :(). The second looks like a roll lightly flaked with some sauce and maybe tuna on the outside and shrimp tempura inside.

These are the only two pictures I have from sushi ni ichi. i don't like them that much. First of all, there name doesnt' even make sense. 21 should be nijyuuichi (二十一、にじゅういち). Oh well. I don't have pictures of their nigiri, but I didn't think it was amazing. Their rolls are pretty good though. They are nicely done and well prepared, but less traditional. The flavors are more americanized for the UT audience. Their ingredients also stray from the traditional pretty often. Their tempura is crisp and well cooked and is definitely a plus for them. I thought their dressing for the salad was not very good ( does anyone know what it is called? please comment ). It has too much ginger and was a little bit spicy. I'm used to a little bit damper of a taste. I don't have much to compare it with, but maybe it isn't for me. The Chicken Katsu don( fried chicken ) on top of rice looked really good, but I'm not fond of fried foods. My friend from my Japanese class was the 0ne who had it. I ordered an Eel Bento which is pretty good. I thought their eel was good but nothing really stood out about it ( i can't recall many details which may not be a good sign, even though i've been like 3 more times ). I think their rice is not prepared very well and should be warm and translucent ( from my experience I could be wrong). Translucency is hard to achieve and warmth is dependent on the batch and customers I guess. Overall if you get the bentos I think their value is not really bad. It comes with some miso soup at the beginning also. Oh right the Bento also comes with some pickled radish. Depending on the bento different things come with it. I would definitely recommend their Eel Bento ( i am a huge fan of eel ). Check it out. Overall I would recommend it, but don't expect too much it won't compare to your favorite sushiya at home.

Chicken Katsu don bento with Vegetable Tempura, california roll, daikon, salaad with traditional ginger sauce.

Here's the website. Sushi Ni Ichi I think they will always be under construction lol. It gives them excuse not to have a good website. If you are coming from campus just go down 24th street away from campus and you will eventually hit it on your left. It is next to Momoko's and University Towers.

小火锅。士林，台北，台湾。Hot Pot, Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan.

2008-12-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

Here are just some pictures of a neat hot pot (火锅) place in Shilin. ( Don't ask me where it is I have no idea :P ).

Lamb meat and assorted vegetables. I always get Lamb meet because in Chinese it's 羊肉 and my last name is 杨。=D. Oh! Don't forget the egg up there *points*.

The menu and an overview picture. They give you an option of rice noodlles or rice. I took the rice noodles. Nothing better than soaking it in your sauce afterwards :). Something funny worth mentioning is when I came in I was sweating a lot ( it was the summer in Taiwan and I sweat a lot ). So the manager turned up the AC and like moved 2 fans over lol. Taiwan is really good at knowing what the customer needs and helping them with it. One of the gems of taiwanese culture is as one of my coworkers says ( customer service ).

Self service ice cream bar and sauces. There's some drinks to the right if you look closely. Just kidding don't listen to me it's not in the picture. It's definitely a good place to go for food, but I went to some other small hot pot places that were pretty good as well. This makes two posts for today.. and one more to come :D ... hopefully I don't loose steam!!

Trip to Hanyang Market (한양시장) *correct me if i'm wrong

2008-12-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

So, I went back to my room and took some pictures of the food I purchased without the memory stick. Here they are!

The first being a Vaccuum Packaged Roast Eel that cost me 6.99 ( a considerable steal compared to Coco's ( like $8 ish ) and Tapioca House ($6.95 w/ no drink upgrade). On a side note. The Roast Eel at Tapioca House is pretty amazing. It has a nice flavor considering it's prepackaged and no tactually roasted. However, the eel at Coco's is crap. I wouldn't ever pay for their eel. It's that bad. Seriously, it's so freaking expensive and it just isn't worth it. The sauce is too salty and definitely not tasty and the eel is rubbery and overmicrowaved. I will never purchase eel from coco's again. I also won't ever purchase eel from Tapioca House ( for a different reason lol ). Well here is the picture. I have yet to eat it yet. Hopefully it is delicious. I have not checked out if it is Kanto or Kansai style yet ( the difference will be explained later when I eat it). I forgot to buy pickled radish though :'(... what a beginner's mistake.. I even saw the like whole gigantic section on pickled radish and was like "I need to remember to come back and get one". I NEVER WENT BACKKKKKKK :'((. I can maybe beg for some from work and sneak them to my room ;D.

Next was the Barbeque Pork Buns that I got. It was 6.39 ( or maybe it was 6.99 and the eel was 6.39 :X.. i'm such a bad fact person.. people are going to go buy this stuff and be like "omgwtf this isn't how much it costs"). These are microwaveable ( a big plus seeing as I don't have a kitchen ). Here's the stuff in the package.

I was really tempted to buy some Korean BBQ Meat and try to fry it up, but.. no kitchen :(. Lastly, I purchased some えのきEnoki Mushrooms for my coworker. These are typically used in chinese Hot Pot ( 火锅 ). These were only 99 cents each :).

The market itself is located on 68th street and North Lamar. It's pretty easy to spot since it is next to Austin Karaoke ( I would have pictures..but.. look at previous post ). It's also in an area with tons of Korean stores. Originally I had planned on going to Seoul Market, but maybe that will be for another day. I also passed by Korean garden which has some really good Korean food and a Sushi bar if I remember correctly. Here's a map to Hanyang Market.

Han Yang Market 6808 N Lamar Blvd # A110, Austin, TX (512) 371-3199

Link

For anyone trying to get there from the UT Austin campus, I would suggest that you just ride the 101, 1m/1l down to North Lamar. I was a bit skeptical in taking the 101 down, so I patiently waited for the 1m/1l. Later on I found that to be unneccessary since I took the 101s back down to campus.

On a funny side note, most of my exchange student friends go to Hanyang University in Korea. lol.

红枣肉（red sauce pork meat )

2008-12-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

Bad news today! I was going to post a blog about my trip to Hanyang Asian Food Market in Austin today. BUT.. MY CAMERA IS BROKEN :'( ... WHYYYY!!! Okay.. only the memory stick is broken, but I want to buy a Digital Canon Rebel Xti. However, it is out of my budget since I bought myself like 10 gifts for Christmas ( soon to be posted when I get back home :) ). For today, I will just post a thing about Red Sauce Pork Meat :). It's pretty self explanatory.... You'll just have to see it to believe it! The said food itself was brought for one of my Coworkers at T------ -----. You'll have to guess which one :P. One of her sushi chef friends made it for her.

The picture is of it while it's cold ( I would imagine it's better looking when it's not ). If anyone can give me a better translation please tell me! I haven't had a chance to try it yet though... :(.... I will post the pictures of what I bought at the Korean market later on though!!! Hope you guys are all having a good Winter Break :).

Culinary Escapades and Travels of a Poor Asian Studies College Student

Grocery Shopping and Sushi

Placement Test and Exploration

Day 1(04/03/11) Morning in Okazaki, Japan

Camera 2... I can almost pretend that I didn't go traveling by myself..

Korea Day 1(Just kidding,) Korea 2011 (all days combined into one post)

Umi: Picture Post

Experiences as a Bartender

Riesling: 2008 RELAX Riesling

Tequila: Cavalino Reposado

Japan: Final Food Blog

Japan Day 5

Japan Day 3

Tokyo Day 1

Assorted Taipei: Don't Know When I'll Post Again..

Long Overdue Post on Taiwan.

A Picture Tour of NYC:

The Curry House, The Clay Pit

The Clay Pit

Sinh Sinh Chinese Restaurant

Yakiniku + Yakitori @ Dobie ( Stick or Treat )

Bento Submission!

Day 6: Last Day.. Resort + Waterfalls + Specials!

Day 5: Roadside BBQ + Flowers + Coffee Plantation

Day 4: Lava, Lava Everywhere... and Japanese Food!

Day 3: Snorkeling + Ninja Sushi + Byodo-in Temple

Day 2: Diamonhead Crater + Ono's Hawaiian Food + Kayaking + Luau

Day 1: Waikiki Beach + Puka Dog + Alan Wong's Restaurant

Culinary Institute of America

Singapore Chilli Crab + Steak

Happy Holidays!

Beginner Sushi Pics & Lunch Pics

Christmas Presents & Lunch

Bentoing in a Dorm! Maybe not...

Sushi Ni Ichi (two one.. that doesn't even make sense)

小火锅。 士林，台北，台湾。Hot Pot, Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan.

Trip to Hanyang Market (한양시장) *correct me if i'm wrong

红枣肉（red sauce pork meat )

小火锅。士林，台北，台湾。Hot Pot, Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan.