akemashite omedetou!

FIRST. I want to say. I have maintained this blog (with some infrequency) for TWO YEARS as of TODAY-ish! Congrats to me! And to those of you that read this, well, I'm sorry that the content has varied and has sometimes been pretty awful or just confusing, but I guess that's what diaries are supposed to be, right? Thanks for reading, though. I hope it's mildly entertaining.


SECOND! I have never written a post about oshogatsu (お正月) or hatsumode (初詣). Which is really weird, because it's kind of a big deal around this time of year. I've participated in this tradition for as long as I can remember! (This is me in front of the shrine on Rivers St. in Honolulu, called Izumo Taisha Mission (出雲大社) making my first visit for the year!)

While almost anyone that is Japanese would have at least a faint inkling of what I'm talking about, New Years (we call it shogatsu) is a really big deal. Hatsumode is the first temple visit of the year, which you're supposed to do at midnight but any time during the first day of the year is acceptable.

But let's back it up! New Years traditions are pretty Shinto centered; that is, the things we do aren't really associated with Buddhism, like most people think. My family doesn't do any Buddhist rituals, like the New Years Eve visit to the temple, we just stick to the jinja (神社) or Shinto shrine.

There are a few in Hawaii but this one is my favorite. The wait is always really long on the first day of the year, but it's always worth it! First you go in, wash your hands and your mouth at the washing area. Then when you get to the top of the steps, you make your donation, ring the bell as loud as possible, bow twice, clap twice, make a wish/prayer/whateva! and then bow again! Then the priest says a little chant and you're off on your merry way!

Then you buy your good luck charms. While I'm sure that my year was filled with a mix of good and bad luck, I can honestly say that the years I wore around my omamori (御守) or charm have been far better than the years I didn't go out and get one! This year I got one for myself, the purple one, and one for Dan. I haven't decided where to attach mine, can't get it onto my cell phone so I might have to put it on my wallet.

In addition to the New Years shrine visit, there's just tons of eating. Osechi ryori (お節料理) is the traditional meal. My mom makes a super simple version of it, mostly because she doesn't know how to make a lot of the things and because we can't ever seem to finish it all in time. Traditionally, you eat osechi for about two to three days-- eating the same thing three times a day for two to three days can get a bit boring, so I don't really blame her.



So she makes chikuzen ni (or nishime, as many in Hawaii call it), which is like a root and vegetable stew. Then there's kuri kinton, which is sweet potatos and sweet chestnuts, and it's gold in color so it's supposed to bring you fortune! Then there's kazunoko, which is a salted herring roe, which is supposed to make you more fertile. Kuromame, which are black sweet soy beans, which are for good health. Then there's nishiki tamago, which is just a sweet egg dish. She usually makes tazukuri, which are sweet sardines and are supposed to symbolize great harvest, and konbu, which is just a hard seaweed that's supposed to symbolize joy. I think she just opted to not do those this year.

In addition! There is ozoni. Which everyone knows/loves. Most people in Hawaii call it mochi soup. Depending on what part of Japan your family originates alters the taste of the soup. Eastern Japanese use a clear broth, like my mom does, which is made with chicken and usually simple vegetables, like mizuna, komatsuna, or shiitake. Western Japanese use miso, which I think is where most people in Hawaii are from because they usually talk about it tasting like a fancy miso soup.



Also, and I know this order of food is a little backwards, but the day BEFORE the new year you eat toshikoshi soba! It literally means end the old and begin the new soba. But basically it's symbolism is that the next year will be filled with luck and strength and bring long life!



THIRD: Another New Years tradition is to watch Kohaku or the Red and White Song Festival. It's this long television special that happens on New Year Eve, and basically the top singers for that year are invited to compete in teams. It's usually men vs women, and I think the audience and some judges vote. But basically it's just a super long television program where people perform in crazy outfits. This year Lady Gaga got invited, which I think is weird, because not too often do people from other cultures get invited, but whatever.

Anyway, this post ended up being a lot longer than I had intended but I'm sure it's incredibly informative for those of you that are a little more curious about Japanese New Years culture!

todaaaaay!

Dan and I hiked Diamond Head. He's a hiking newbie so seemed fitting to do the easiest hike on Oahu.





It was pretty hazy but still really nice! Maybe a sunset hike in the near future. Note to self: buy some legit shoes. Keds just don't cut it.

Before that we ate at J&J Bistro which is a pretty awesome French-Laotian place that is relatively reasonable in price. I got the "De Afternoon Tea" set which was about $15. It came with a pot of tea (English Breakfast!) and a entree set that included a mini turkey croissant sandwich, ham and corn quiche, crab ragoon, scone with orange marmalade, and a smoked salmon with avocado spread on a slice of french baguette bread! Oh, and dessert, which was a chocolate coffee mouse cake, red velvet cake, and a small orange tart. Dan got a pizza!! It was super good.






I gotta work on updating with greater frequency. I promise, a backlog of photos will be coming up real quick!

holy pic spam update

So I've been really preoccupied with school and work and have been neglecting the food aspect of this blog. I think apart of it, too, is that I've been waging a pretty serious food photo war and there is just too much mediocrity to upload. So here are some of my favorites over the past few weeks.

I love steak salad. Even more when feta cheese is involved.



Juvana and I get lunch almost every Monday and Wednesday. Govinda's is one of our favorite spots. Cauliflower curry.



Joe and I went to Kaka'ako for lunch/coffee/study sesh. We ate at Kua'aina Burgers where I got my favorite avocado burger, then stopped by Mocha Java for lunch.




Then Joe got trapped in a space-age massage chair that had a "zero gravity" setting.



Some days I make myself a fancy breakfast. Homemade yogurt! Really upset that mom ran out of bacteria to culture anymore. Need to find a place here in Hawaii that sells it! Tea press = divine.



Another fancy brunch!



(and I saw Cat Power! with Fred. It was sweet.)



I think that's more than enough for now.

70th post

it's like i'm just sayin'.




winter needs to come asap. i'm not burning out, i promise you that. i know what it's like to burn out on work and school and i'm not there yet. no sharp chest pains. no random crying spells. i guess i am really just excited for the new year. i need to start fresh.

i guess things are just kind of dragging along at this point. a ton of papers, finals, more hours at work. i just feel like there aren't enough hours in the day and i've become increasingly sleep deprived. oh, and pooky (my cat) has been ill as of late. been in a constant state of worry and depression... i don't know what i'd do if he were to pass.

tomorrow i'm going to go see a friend's band playing. hopefully a few beers will help me relax just in time for the thanksgiving weekend.




i need more cold weather so i have more excuses to eat ramen. like this stuff right here... goma tei. i'm sure if you read my yelp review where i wrote something less than nice. but a few weeks ago i went there (by myself! *pats self on back*) and it wasn't so bad. meh. inconsistency isn't a good thing.

i'm broke!

because it was my mom's birthday yesterday. after work we went out to dinner at gazen! it was delicious. i should have ordered suntory yamazaki 12 year instead of the kirin... but it's okay. everything was great. i love the tofu from there way too much.

that's something i want to learn how to do, though. learn to make tofu at home. a simple google search produces thousands of recipes and guides on how to DIY. it seems simple enough if you do it the american way. that is, using soy milk and just curdling it. but for some reason i feel like the consistency wouldn't be the same as that of silken tofu (which is what i want!) made from soy beans. oh well.

there used to be this really great tofu place in manoa called Soy to the World. they used to sell their products and shirokiya and so i'd pick it up on my breaks from work and eat them in the office. so good. i like it when it's mildly sweet and more pudding like than firm. such a great pick me up, miss it so much.

so i guess if i'm going to do this, i'm going to use this video as a reference.



now i really want to eat unohana... haha. here's the blog that made me think of it! if you haven't had it before it's a really yummy side dish! they sell it at most japanese markets premade. my mom used to make it at home from time to time. love ya, tofu!

week two: exhaustion

it's funny how when i look back at the past few months, how easy and carefree my life was. just work and play. now throw school in the mix and everything is different. i'm always tired and this time it's legitimate. it's kind of nice, though. i sleep soundly. anyway! quickly! a recap!

thursday (august 26th!) was a night out for me. unusual, since i've been so bombarded with homework and regular work. i originally planned to go to mercury bar's industry night. i didn't hold any particular interest in the bands playing but decided to support and what not. as soon as i walked in a friend pulled me aside and asked me if i wanted to go to manifest. apparently it was their one year anniversary and she didn't want to go alone. sure, i said. we headed there immediately. turns out that in celebration there was free bottled drinks and wells! score! not to mention free food!



aaaaah it was amazing. the music was mediocre but alas, acoustic duos are not my thing. anyway!! it turns out that a friend (or friend of a friend? i don't even know how to describe our relationship!) was at a bar near by. i ended up hanging out with them the rest of the night! i don't even know why! it was amazing. happy belated, ben!! thanks again, guys!



we drank at JJ Dolan's and then headed to manifest for (not free) beers. amazing! so much fun! fuzzy, though.

the start of the semester means relatively cheap food again! i've been filling myself up at the golden river lunch truck which i was introduced to fall of last year. it's hard to make a trip there, though, because my classes are back to back and construction on the walkway between kuykendall and HIG means i have to walk all the way around... i can't always get there in time. i wish all lunch trucks were opened until 3pm at the very least.



today i ate at the india cafe with my friend after our classes. this, fortunately, is a truck that is open till 3pm! which means if i walk fast enough after my last class in the architecture building i can make it in time for a plate! indian food is pretty amazing. photo coming soon!

and here are some photos that just bring a smile to my face. because of my fall (i think i mentioned it a few posts ago) i've had to cover my knee with bandaids daily. the other day i clipped my knee on a fridge at work and it reopened the wound. turns out ABC store only had spongebob bandaids. it reminds me of my old coworker andy. she has a love for sponge bob like no other. miss yaaa.



today after the indian food i headed to the mall and stopped by shirokiya. while browsing the azn hello-kitty section, there was a glass case of cell phone charms. of course i had to stop and look! turns out they have kewpie inspired key chains. among the assortment was the cast of gegege no kitaro. it's this anime i grew up watching as a kid.



anyway, if you don't know what kewpie is, it's this doll thing. it's probably most famous here in hawaii because it's the image on the japanese QP mayonnaise. anyway!! i was amazed. it's just too much cuteness! some of my phone straps are going to have to be retired to make way for these ladies.



anyway things to look forward to: closing the store by myself all next week, finishing this stupid story wallah book, more delicious foods, financial aid finally settling itself, fuck first friday (and first friday, yes yes!), ripe and ready to pick mangos.

as my mom would say. this week looks so umai!

brownies and rusk

my mom used to bring these home all the time. i got them as a birthday gift from my step-mom/dad's friend sachiko. i love this rusk. it's really light and not too crunchy and perfectly sweet. i wish it came with larger portions, though.



last night i ate dinner at my dad's house. i've been promising him desserts for a while. he thinks of me as a really great baker (i think i kind of am, too). so i made a trip to the grocer and made these from scratch.



mac nut brownies
(recipe from hilaire walden's "the great big cookie book")

ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, unsalted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
6 oz white chocolate
6 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate
6 oz milk chocolate
1 and 1/2 cup unsalted macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9in. springform pan (a regular circular 9in cake or pie pan will do). Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, and white chocolate until it's smooth. Cool, then mix in eggs, vanilla extract, and the sifted mixture into the pot. Then stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into baking pan, making sure the mixture is level.

Bake this for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle the milk chocolate on top and bake for another minute. Take it out of the oven and with the back of a spoon, spread the milk chocolate evenly. Sprinkle macadamia nuts and then press it into the chocolate. Let it cool. With a knife, run around the edges of the pan to loosen.

anyway. the brownies are AMAZING. shocked at how good of a job i did. :)

this weekend was amazing

so i want to take this moment to apologize. yes, my posts lately have been so not food related and have been shifting to a more my-daily-life blog. but it's okay. i feel like i haven't really been eating anything worth blogging about and i feel the need to post about what i have been up to.

lately i've been a bit of a recluse. mostly because starcraft 2 has totally taken over my life. but it's okay. i made up for it all by going out this weekend and it was nothing short of awesome.

(thanks tracy chan) look! there's me in chaplain lain checking out angel's goods for the first friday shop bop and grind! it was crazy hot that day. i bought a cardigan off of angel and a really cool trucker hat from shaz. i have been looking forward to hole in the wall's brisket slider. it's a mini burger with this tender, slow cooked rib meat that is slathered in barbecue sauce and put on the softest bun ever. i was giddy with excitement. the woman serving me laughed. joe bought some pork lumpia and that was also super delicious! i fucking love hole in the wall. yeah, there are roaches and yeah it's sometimes a bit sketchy but i can live with that. absolutely.

this is me and the aforementioned hat with max in intense mode, like ash ketchum in pokemon.

the whole night was so scattered. after mercury i bought a bottle of jameson at longs and drank with joe and his (future) roommate, lane. until juvana and her coworker showed up. then we headed down to the madness that is first friday. i've never actually been inside smiths union bar until now. and to be honest, it's not as bad as it seems.

i kind of really love these people. no, really, i do.

then there's saturday. genki sushi with joe, juvana, avery, and brittnie. i love those people, too, but i didn't take a photo!? what was i thinking! oh well.

shopping list + persian excursion. i think the drummer from shopping list is easily my favorite drummer in honolulu right now. persian sounded was the usual, always bringing a smile to my face. to everyone: i had the absolute best best BEST night with you guys and i am so so SO happy to have you guys as friends.

this is kind of an update. i bought a bike, as you can see in the background. i rode it around today and it was so much fun! i feel like i'm going to have amazing legs so soon. also, i bought franken's "lies and the lying liars that tell them." it's probably my favorite book by him, also in my top ten favorite titles.

i'm really not looking forward to the doubles i'm working this week, or the fact that i'm closing both on saturday AND sunday, but it's okay. it's a job. and i'm really happy and grateful to have one.

with friends like these

so it was (as i've mentioned) my birthday this past weekend. dana and diane, two of the kitchen staff, made me a (belated) birthday cake!

it ended up being creme fraiche cheesecake! my favorite cake from the store! i can only hope that at my new job i'll meet people as great/fun/thoughtful as them.

me doing my mom's signature "thumbs up? or not?" pose with my new work apron on. i kind of missed wearing full length aprons so this is a nice change. my first day on monday was fantastic! i shadowed/did a booklet thing/watched a guy make 107 frappuccinos in roughly two hour period single-handedly. sure, i may have washed a few blenders to assist, but it was really all him.

i'm kind of looking forward to actually starting to work there, which won't be for a while. i'm still "training." heh.

i love omiyage

so the best part about being japanese is that my people have some sickening obsession with bringing back gifts from our adventures abroad. unfortunately, i don't have a ton of friends frequenting the motherland (japan) nor relatives that come visit me here in hawaii that often. but luckily, my mom has made friends with a new vendor for her company (she works in the tourism industry) and he is constantly flying back and forth. my mom asked me what i wanted from tokyo. my answer? this.

http://www.tokyobanana.jp/

my first encounter with a tokyo banana was in the fall of 2006. i was working at a restaurant in waikiki and one of my coworker's parents were in town. she brought some food gifts for everyone and was handing them out in the back office. i picked it up and said "what is this? a twinkie?" and everyone started laughing. "what, you've never seen a tokyo banana before?" i shrugged, ripped the plastic wrapper off and shoved the soft cake into my mouth.

oh. my. god. it's the softest sponge you'll ever EVER eat with this light, creamy (but not too much so) banana flavored filling. i know people are always skeptical when it comes to banana flavored things... apparently it's a hard flavor to replicate. but trust me, there is something just jaw-dropping amazing about this. i am in love.

a quick google search seems to show that most people have mixed reactions about my favorite little cake of all time. to them i say screw you. more fucking tokyo banana for me. i should also mention there is a choco-tokyo banana! except it looks like a poop because it's brown. still good! they also have a bunch of other amazing things. wafer-like cookies, strawberry banna, etc etc. the list goes on.

anyway back to my mom and this super awesome faceless nameless guy. hey, man, thanks so much. this is the third box he's brought back for me and well? to be honest? i think you might be a god or deity or something. thank you so much for your generosity. i owe you so much.

now excuse me while i gorge myself in what is so holy and right.

brother's birthday

back in may my brother turned 20. he really likes italian food, so we decided to go where we normally go: arancinos. a lot of people tell me this place is inconsistent. but when your mom is friends with most of the staff and the owner, they tend to kick the service up a notch. we eat here really often. family gatherings, birthdays, when my mom's friends are in town, when they introduce a new item to the menu. we're irregular regulars, so to speak.

bread. mom usually eats this with balsamic vinegar + olive oil. i just it eat it plain, because it's already baked with seasonings.

blurry photo of my penne arrabita. it's a sort of spicy tomato based sauce with penne pasta. super delicious.

my mom always gets the same thing. tobiko and calamari spaghetti and a glass of merlot.

my brother, craigin, and his lasagna. also what he always gets. the portion is enormous.

mom, again.

blurry photo of the bar.

i suppose i don't know what real italian food is supposed to taste like, as i've never been to italy or been served by real authentic italian chefs. but in terms of flavor/portion/price, arancino's is always satisfying to me. i really like the duck pizza they have. it's duck, looking a lot similar to bacon but thicker cut, atop a thin hand made crust. topped with mozzarella cheese. and normally as a starter we get the bagna cauda. it an assortment of vegetables (celery, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, beans, etc) with an anchovy olive oil garlic dipping sauce.

if you haven't been here i'd absolutely recommend it. it can get a bit pricey (peroni beer is like $6 a bottle here) but the portions are big enough to satisfy me. i usually leave with left overs. they have two locations: one in the marriot hotel and the other on beachwalk.