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!

birthday weekend

Chicken, bleu cheese, roasted pepper, and olive pizza.


Dinner at Imanas Tei with my mom and brother



Gobo Fry

Shabu shabu salad

Assorted sushi set B

Saba, salmon, and uni.

Hamachi

aquarium + random!!

Went to the Waikiki Aquarium with Dan. Super bummed they got rid of the sea horse/leafy sea dragon exhibit. But for $6 as kama'aina it's still a pretty amazing bargain. Took some photos with my phone!









And to sum this post up and be a complete ass about it, salmon onion and spicy ahi from Genki Sushi (which I ate on a completely separate and unrelated day).

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.

food pix spam

so after having a smartphone for over a month i finally set up my email services. initially it's been annoying as 90% of the emails i get to my gmail account are web exclusive sales newsletters, so having to delete them manually off my phone has been a pain. the bright side and real reason i set it up was because now i have the ability to email all the photos i take and post them here! yay!

over the last few weeks i've been eating at home a lot. mostly because i've been home a lot working on papers and i've been trying to save money.



bento. grilled salmon, rice + chirimen sansho/wakame, bell pepper and corn, fish cake, grape tomatoes and lettuce, and kiriboshi daikon!



sukiyaki in the comfort of my own home!

thanksgiving isn't a really big deal in my family. culturally speaking, i suppose that makes sense. my dad would always prepare the traditional thanksgiving meal (although on occations he'd make a ham instead of turkey, but that's a story for another time) but my mom would always be utterly disgusted. i realize now that it's not so much the food itself that she hated, but the idea of eating so excessively. she doesn't appreciate or understand gluttony and thus hates this holiday.

we made it a point to spend some kind of quality time together. we ate at zippys before i had to go to work.



my oxtail soup.




mom and her turkey. not so appetizing. tastes just like how it looks.



i went to tsunamis on friday for my coworker's birthday party. i forgot what it was like to be in a really azn room. the last time i've been to a place like this was back in 2007 when i went to xylohs with a friend of mine on a near weekly basis. anyway, tsunamis brought back a lot of those memories of feeling out of place but i totally embraced it. the food was miraculous. in this photo i'm eating their pork cutlet. it had a horseradish mayo dipping sauce which was nice but unusual. i also had some of the poke which was delicious, and my friends were saying the hamburger was really good. they need a better beer selection.

i've been on a real downtempo fix which is weird because a) i kind of really hate DJs b) i hate the repetitiveness. but i discovered jon kennedy and my opinion has been transformed.



there's a few other artists i've been listening to a lot of as of late. thanks, last.fm.

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!

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.

supermarket finds!

a few weeks ago my mom and i made an unusual trip to salt lake to visit the carpet store. afterwards, we stopped by target which was right next door. salt lake/that whole area of aiea, pearl city, mililani, ewa, etc is such a strange place. i'm so unfamiliar with it... but to be honest everything looks exactly the same. maybe i am really a townie since i can only establish where i am based on landmarks around me. this cannot be so when you're out there. there's just houses. a TON of houses. i can officially say that suburbia scares me.

because there was only a pizza hut and a starbucks to eat at... we became desperate for decent food. luckily target has food in the form of a freezer aisle and this was on sale for $4. frozen pizza this cheap? unheard of! plus it said that the ingredients were "imported from italy." really?! i was excited.

(note to self: you can't fucking take pictures at 3ft distance. FIGURE IT OUT, GIRL!)

mom made caprese salad with cherry tomatoes and bits of anchovy on top! this ended up being much more delicious than the pizza which was a hot circle of garbage (thanks, kevin, from the office for this quote). why was it bad? there was no flavor! the goat cheese had the strangest texture... and since it wasn't evenly spread you'd just get huge bursts of goat cheese and then... dull... crappy... frozen spinach flavor. yuck. never again.

i've been trying to be more frugal lately but it's hard. i'm an impulsive buyer-- i'll admit it! so when i saw all these items on sale i could not resist. do i really need the equivalent of 20 servings of miso soup in the middle of the summer? ...no. but i might. plus this stuff doesn't go bad, right? right!

i'm really excited for the item on the far right, which is something i haven't seen before. it's just the miso paste except it comes with small baby clams inside! we will see how that actually tastes. i don't want to hype it up too much for myself (like i did for the pizza) only to be sorely disappointed. the miso ramen in the dead center is always good. the soup packets are delicious and the ramen is exceptional for the processed type. $1.50. i just wish it was a just-add-water kind of deal so i could bring it to work.

anyway~~ that's all for now. heehee.

life lately

how i've been feeling/looking/acting. blarrrghhh.

lately i've been enjoying overly simplistic meals. rice, karashi mentaiko (spicy pollock roe), sometimes miso soup. i crave just the flavor of good quality rice and have been eating bowls upon bowls of it lately. maybe it's just an asian fix i'm in... or maybe it's because it's too hot and i don't want to do anything in the kitchen. this is not good, guys. my laziness is even leading me to consider eating the somen that sits in our fridge. i absolutely hate somen more than any other noodle in the world.

i want to start baking again. my desire to make pies is so great. perfect timing since it's cherry season and it'll be over very soon! i was at my dad's house a few weeks ago and discovered this show called "cupcake wars." have you seen it? it's like this super extreme iron chef style cooking competition. it's so intense! i made my dad hold off taking me home until we saw who won. it was this sort of amy pohler-esque girl and her really hippy eco-designed cupcake tower. then it turns out it's an actual SERIES?! there has been more than one episode aired? my mind = blown. i really really wish i had cable tv but am half glad i don't because then i'd never be anywhere anymore.

in not-food-blog related news, i just watched 120 days of sodom today. i downloaded it yesterday after reading the top 10 most horrifying movies of all time (it was like number 4 or something on the list). i figured it couldn't be that bad because it was ranked below the exorcist and that movie was more funny than scary. I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. i mean, it wasn't really that bad but it was a lot worse than i had anticipated. reminded me of hostel.. except a lot more graphic in a eww that's gross as opposed to a ho shit that's fucked up kind of way. you know?

this video is not safe for work/home/life. just a warning.

inspiring me to read the book, though.

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.

semi-food related

man, writing about food all the time isn't so bad. i guess it's hard because i feel strange just describing what i've eaten. i wish i could show you guys, but my camera is still broken/i haven't bought a new camera. kind of getting back into the film thing again. i bought a snappy lxii at my friends garage sale this past weekend for a $1. very typical point and shoot, except that it automatically winds. yes! replaces my now defunct colorsplash.

speaking of cameras, i really really still want the canon ae-1. i wish i had it already. blah blah.

the other day i made the most amazing ramen. there's this open market on fort street three days a week and i picked up some choy sum there. generally speaking after that chinatown rat scare i've been really hesitant about open vegetable marts as i don't really know where they've been sitting. but the old lady at one of the stands is really sweet and always offers to help me out (as i'm clueless when it comes to picking out good veggies) so i guess i trust her.

i was a little unhappy that i had to use thinly sliced beef instead of shabu shabu pork, but it was delicious either way. poached egg on the top with togarashi seasoning!

did you guys know you can freeze certain vegetables? it really cuts on prep time. i've been doing this with green onion! a few weeks ago i bought some green onion and only used a third of it before it went bad. frustrated, i googled ways i could save green onion. shazam! my mom has been using most of it, though, which i guess i don't mind.

anyway more pictures later i gotta play sims 3!