Hong Kong: Avenue of Stars and Andy Warhol

The morning of our third day in Hong Kong found us walking along the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade.  We were waiting for the art museum to open and had about thirty minutes to kill.  Fortunately, the museum is right on the waterfront of Kowloon, looking across to Hong Kong Island.  This promenade features the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars.  Although we did not recognize all of the names on the stars, we did see a few major names. 

During our trip, there just happened to be a fantastic exhibit at the art museum-Andy Warhol 15 Minutes Eternal.  The artist in me was giddy with excitement.  We bought the special exhibit tickets (that also would allow us to see the other regular exhibits) for the extremely reasonable price of about three US dollars.  (Museums in Hong Kong are cheap and good.  Go to as many as you can!)

When we had finished, we made our way over to Hong Kong Island to meet a friend for some dim sum. 

If you find yourself in Hong Kong wondering what to have for lunch or dinner (or breakfast) go for dim sum.  The variety is wide and always delicious.   In fact, we had dim sum again that evening for dinner.  Yum! 

Hong Kong: Soho and an Escalator

Following the handy tourist signs that are all over Hong Kong, we found our way to the massive outdoor escalator.  Hong Kong boasts this set of outdoor escalators to be the longest in the world.  Following it down (it only goes up, we had to walk down) we ran into what our maps informed us was the area called Soho-which stands for south of Hollywood Blvd. 

This was very lucky for our hungry selves as Soho is absolutely packed to the brim with restaurants of every cuisine imaginable.  The hard part was figuring out what sounded the most delicious. 

 Karl and I like to eat.  We also like to take advantage of location.  Living in Japan, the cuisine diversity is surprisingly limited.  At least, in our small town it is.  When we found ourselves surrounded by a multitude of mostly southeastern Asian cuisine, we were thrilled.  

We settled on a delicious looking Thai restaurant.  

Marinated chicken roasted in banana leaves.  So. Good.

Green papaya peanut salad.  I need to find a recipe. 

Red snapper in chili sauce and fresh coriander.  Delicious.

We were not disappointed.   

Weekend Trips: Mikatagoko, Obama (the town)

One of the great things about studying at Yamasa for us was the proximity to new places.  We live very close to Tokyo-which is wonderful-but we love traveling and exploring other parts of Japan. 

Yamasa offers fantastic weekend trip opportunities.  We took advantage of one over night trip and two day trips during our time there.  Unfortunately for us, the first trip-the overnight one-included lots of traffic which resulted in cutting about half the original itinerary.  (One of the later days trips made up for what we missed.)

The first place we visited on our overnight trip was a National Park in Fukui Ken called Wakasa Bay Quasi.  According to the sign, these are “Wetlands of International Importance” and serve as breeding grounds for several types of invaluable fish. 

Map of the Mikatagoko area.

One of the attractions is at the top of one of the mountains.  We rode a lift to the top where we had an fantastic view and saw some interesting attractions:

The lift.

You could buy a lock, etch a message on it (usually a romantic one), and then lock it on the railing. 

There were virtually thousands of locks on the railings!

Little clay discs you could buy, write a messgae on and hurl over the railing into the forest.

Karl throwing his wish.

Kabuto Mushi-all of my elementary students are obsessed with these beetles.

Kabuto mushi eating a sugar jelly.

Map and view from the top.

Our second stop for the day was a brief drive through the little coastal town of Obama in Fukui Ken.  When President Obama was elected in the United States four years ago, this little town suddenly experienced world-wide fame. 

Our day ended back in Kyoto.  We had a full kaiseki meal at a restaurant in the Gion district.  During the summer the restaurants along the Shirakawa River set up special decks that float above the river.  This provides a cool relief from the oppressive humidity of the Kyoto summer. 

The dinner was delicious.

Miso

Hatcho Miso

Living in Japan has expanded my horizons in a vast number of ways.  Everyday I learn a little bit more…but this usually just makes me even more aware of just how much I don’t know. 

One of the most fun-and occasionally challenging-things about living in Japan has been food.  I wasn’t a terribly picky eater before coming to Japan, but now I am definitely not a picky eater at all.  (Though there are a few foods I keep my distance from: natto, snails, raw horse meat…you know-the weird stuff.  Click on the link, if you dare!) 

One of the foods I discovered as soon as I arrived in Japan was miso: fermented soybean paste.  It is way more delicious than it sounds-I promise.  (And healthy, too!)

I had wondered about the process of making miso, so when a friend of ours set up a tour of a miso factory this past August, I was ready to get my learning on.  

The factory we toured is called Hatcho Miso, in Okazaki, Aichi Ken.  (The same city in which we were studying Japanese.)  This particular factory has been around for centuries.  The most interesting thing I learned was that today, the miso at this particular factory is made in exactly the same way it has always been made.

The process begins with cooking and then mashing the soybeans.  They place the ingredients-the soybeans, koji fungus, and salt- in the large wooden tubs and place the lid on top.  Pressure is created by stacking an exact amount of rocks on the top of the lid.  The tub is numbered and dated and set upon a metal stand to keep it off of the ground.

And then it sits.  For a long time.

After the appropriate amount of time has passed, the miso is taken out, packaged, and shipped to stores and restaurants.  This post has more information on Hatcho Miso as well as others types of miso. 

Miso Chan!

At the end of the tour, we got to try the miso.  It was delicious!

There was also a surprise treat at the end of the tour: miso ice cream.  Which was surprisingly good. 

Who would have ever thought that vanilla ice cream with fermented soybean paste would be delicious? (Though I would hesitate to try any of these ice cream flavors!)

The more you know!

Cinnamon Sugar Bread

Sometimes, you just need some sweetness in your life.

Every once in a while, throw caution to the wind. 

I have been doing so well lately eating well and living an active lifestyle.  (I have lost twenty pounds over the past eight months!)  I feel amazing. 

But here’s the thing-I love baking sweets.  LOVE it.

But I refuse to gain weight and eat an unbalanced diet.  Again.  (I am soooo over that phase.)

So, I have come up with the perfect solution for still occasionally getting away with eating not so healthy (but incredibly delicious) food:  Host parties.

Karl and I live in “the inaka” (Japanese countryside)  and most of our friends have a ways to travel when they visit.  Because of this, we usually end up with overnight guests.  I have no problem with this.  When I have a bunch of friends over to share with, I can get away with baking a pie, or cookies, or…

…this delicious bread.  Ever since I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Joy the Baker, I have been mentally drooling. 

Finally, last month, I tried it.  Three weekends in a row.  It really makes for a perfect weekend breakfast.  Especially the morning after a party when you have friends with whom to share it.  

Delicious! 

Party for a Cause

What do you want for your birthday?

The question that, when asked of my husband, never yields a simple answer.   He is one of those people that is just difficult to buy for…he never wants anything. 

But why should I complain about that?  I will instead count my blessings and tell you about what I did for him as a birthday gift. 

Remember back a few months when I was talking a whole lot about our trip to India?  Well that trip left a huge impression on us.  We often think about the people we helped and want to continue helping them.

So, I threw a party.  For Karl.  It was an Indian themed extravaganza.  All of the donations we collected are being sent over to Chevuru to help buy materials so that they may continue building homes.

I threw a similar party last December before leaving as a fundraiser.  It was extremely successful.  So why not do it again, and make it a birthday party?  

Here is what I made:

1)    Saag Paneer-This was a first for me-making cheese!  I was puzzled though, because the finished paneer had virtually no flavor.  It also completely fell apart and basically became a very thick cream when I stirred it into the saag.  But every cloud has it’s silver lining-even though this dish (my ‘experiment’ dish) turned out nothing like I thought it would, it was the favorite!

Find the paneer recipe here, and the saag recipe here.

2)    Butter Chicken-Butter chicken is delicious because, well, it has an obscene amount of butter in it.  I made this for the last Indian themed party I threw and it was a major hit. 

Find the Butter Chicken recipe here.

3)    Dahl Mahkhani-The world of dahl in Indian cuisine is positively daunting.  When we were at a restuarant in Agra, India, I took a chance ordering something I had never heard of before on the menu.  It happened to be dahl makhani, now one of my all-time favorite Indian foods.

Find the Dahl Mahkani recipe here.

4)    Chicken Tikka- If only I had a big enough grill on which to cook these!  I opted for the baking method this time, which turned out well.

Find the Chicken Tikka recipe here.

5)    Saffron Biryani Rice- There is nothing particularly special about the preparation method for this rice.  I used some spices we bought in India, stirred them around in the rice and water before cooking them.  Unfortunately I do not have basmati or jasmine rice, but sushi rice works in a pinch.

6)    Naan-By far one of my most favorite things to make, regardless of the cuisine.  Who doesn’t like bread fried in butter?

I have used this recipe multiple times and it hasn’t failed me yet!  Find the recipe here. 

To bring the whole Indian theme together, Karl, a friend who also went to India on our trip, and I all dressed in our traditional Indian outfits.  Our friend was also kind enough to offer her services drawing henna onto peoples feet and hands.  

In India on New Year's Day.

Our friends who came to the party donated generously.  We will be donating $500 USD to Chevuru as a result of the party.  This was the only present Karl wanted…to help those less fortunate then us.  (This is partly why I love him so much!)

Happy Birthday, Karl!

Note: If you would also like to help the small village of Chevuru, India build sound homes.  Please visit this website.  Go Longitude is an organization that partners with Ravie Kumar and his team the Association ofRelief Volunteers (ARV).  They do amazing things.  Check them out!