About Jen Tsai

Jeanette Tsai was raised in Canada and has been living in Japan for over two and half years. She hopes to introduce and bring out your curiosity in the foods found in Japan.
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Free Beer!! How can you resist?

by Jen Tsai on 2011/05/17 in Food and Travel, North America

Shortly after the earthquake off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, the nuclear reactor crisis at the Fukashima Dai-ichi Power Plant, and the relentless cries from worried friends and family members, my boyfriend and I decided it was time to get away from Tokyo to wait, watch, and see what course the events would take. After waiting for 5 hours at the airport for the check-in counters to open, then another hour to just get though security and immigration (and top this off with a connecting flight in Newark, New Jersey — monstrous!) we finally made it to Boston.

After a week of worrying about aftershocks and radiation level spikes,  we were finally able to breathe more easily while keeping up to date with the news and the containment of the reactors. Never did the phrase “I need a drink” apply more than during that time (I swear, I’m not an alcoholic!) so when we found out about the Free Beer tours in Boston (score!) we decided to take advantage of the fun.

If you plan on visiting Boston in the near future and are on a budget, may I suggest some brewery tours with free beer tasting? That’s right my libation loving friends: FREE beer.

The first brewery tour we went on was at the Samuel Adams Brewery which is easily accessible via the Orange Line. The tour starts approximately every 45 minutes and lasts about an hour (for actual starting times, please visit their website) on the weekdays and weekends.

As you enter the brewery, each person will have to show an ID in order to receive a Samuel Adams label. You can save this label as it will come in handy after the tour. As you wait for the tour to start, feel free to wander around the gift store and between the glass cases for all the trophies the brewery has won in beer contests.

Once the tour starts, you will learn the ingredients used in producing the mouth-watering, thirst-quenching drink as well as the equipments used and process that the brewer uses. After the somewhat brief lesson comes the fun part: Each member of the tour (provided you are the legal drinking age of 21) receives a Samuel Adams tasting cup which is yours to keep and used for tasting three types of beers the brewer produces and are on tap at the moment. And fret not parents! Your kids can also take part in the family fun with a free bottle of root beer!

You will receive a small tasting glass to taste three types of beer. They teach you the ways to drink a beer correctly, from head ratio to glassware to how to sniff hops (oh college, how you taught me nothing of beer etiquette). Further, it is during the taste testing when your tour guide will reveal the significance of the bottle label you received earlier.

After the tour, there is a free shuttle bus outside that takes you down to Doyle’s, a couple of blocks away, where they serve Samuel Adams’ beer. A tip: the Boston Lager glass the tour guide drinks out of can be found in the gift store for about $8 each or $30 for a set of four. However, if you go to Doyle’s, order a Samuel Adams beer on tap and show them the label, you will be able to keep your lager glass for a mere additional $5 to what you pay for the beer. What a deal. Doyle’s does get and stay fairly busy during the day because of the tours, but it is well worth the wait to enjoy the great beer and atmosphere.

Another fantastic free brewery tour to enjoy is at the Harpoon Brewery which is accessible by the Silver Line. Whereas at Samuel Adams you are able to get a look inside where the magic happens, Harpoon does not do a tour of the facility on the weekdays because those are the days when beer is being brewed. But that’s ok because it just means you get more time to taste-test the beer!

What I loved about the Harpoon Brewery is that you are able to taste all the varieties of beer they brew (unlike at Samuel Adams where you are limited to trying three of them). There is a lot of jibberjabber (or interesting useful information depending on your stance regarding taste, hops, and make) about each beer as they are introduced to you, but they do take breaks in between introducing each one so you are able to sample and gain firsthand knowledge about your beer. Unfortunately, you are not able to keep the glass they serve the beer to you in, but after the tour you are able to purchase a Growler (a 64 ounce collectors bottle) of any of the beers they have for a very affordable price.

Harpoons IPA is the most popular of all their beers, but they have many more to pick from like the “UFO flavors.” One interesting flavor they have, which I did not sample, was the Oyster Stout. Once I heard the name of that beer and saw its color, I immediately thought of Oyster Sauce; if you’re Asian you know what I’m talking about! My personal favorite Harpoon beer was the Harpoon Cider which is rather difficult to find as they only use apples grown from the New England area.

While walking around Harpoon trying to get as many glasses of beer as you can, you will find a very interesting wall to the left of the bar. This corner of the bar is filled with countless beer cans from all over the world. As a proud Canadian, I was pleased to find two Bubba’s of Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue! (Represent!)

Basically where at Samuel Adams you get a free glass, three types of beer to try, and only the beer they serve in the pitchers, at Harpoon you get all the free beer you want in a span of 30-40 minutes, on and off, depending how much and how fast your tour guide talks! But it’s worth it to visit both brewies.

You can go on two different days or go to both on the same day. Hey, why not? I think we could all use a drink!

Please let me know any beer tours you’ve gone on, free or not free… and what sort of experience you had!

[Pictures courtesy of onbeer.org]

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Boston – From A Local’s Eye

by Jen Tsai on 2011/02/01 in Featured Article, Food and Travel

boston-food

This month I’m going for something different. I know I’m always writing about Japanese cuisines. Well, that’s because I’m living in Japan!! However, when you let a girl go back stateside after 2 years of not being able to fulfill those cravings, she might tend to go a little crazy. Well that’s what happened when I visited Boston for a month during the Christmas holidays. No, I am not from Boston, however, I did spend all my time with Bostonians. Being driven around by Bostonians on sunny and snowy days, I visited their favourite places to eat, which in turn became my favourite places to dine at. So here is my top 10 list from a local’s eye.

1) Minado –- This is one of the very few buffets you can find in the Boston area — and a Japanese buffet at that! Located in Natick, Minado is a good place to go if you want to have some sushi, tempura, and miso soup. Open for lunch and dinner, Minado has a wide variety of dishes served. If you are not a big fan of raw food, there is an excellent hot selection as well.

2) Jimmy’s Steer House — Being away from America for so long, its hard to come by a larger selection of steaks without having to pay an arm and a leg for it. With only two locations in Boston, Arlington and Saugus, Jimmy’s Steak House is a nice, cozy, family restaurant. I highly recommend trying their baked crab meat pies. Although I devoured my steak and baked potato first, everyone else at my table automatically went for the crab meat pie! When I finally got to it, I have to say, I was sad I didn’t follow suit!

3) New Saigon Sandwich –- Being able to satisfy my Vietnamese cravings only once a year by going to Hong Kong (must visit Vietnam), eating my fill of Vietnamese cuisine was something I absolutely had to do. Although it’s not as good as in other cities, New Saigon Sandwich in Chinatown was my top pick after trying several different Vietnamese cold cut shops. One slight disappointment for me was, when I asked for my sandwich to be spicy, I expected to have a good portion of the spicy pepper stuck in between the bread and the fillings. However, all I got for spicy was just the typical Vietnamese hot sauce, something I could have done when I got home. Other than that, the two that I ate curved my craving, for the time being.

4) Cabots –- One thing I keep hearing about is how awesome and delicious Cabots ice cream is. After two years of hearing about it, I finally got to see what all the commotion was all about at their restaurant in Newton. All I have to say is, “WOW!!!” Cabots is not only an ice creamery, but a restaurant as well. Because we went there twenty minutes before they closed, we were unable to order from their extensive food menu; we were limited to ice cream. For me that was just fine even though it was in the single digits outside (Celsius). Only thing wrong with this place? The limitless selection! I can honestly say, I took forever to decide because there were so many types of ice cream I wanted!

5) Bedford Farms -– Another ice creamery outside of Boston in Bedford, I came here two years ago on my first trip to Boston by bike. Yep, Bedford Farms was my reward for biking… a girl has to keep her up her energy! Like Cabots, Bedford Farms has a vast selection of different flavors of ice cream; unfortunately no burgers, but that’s ok!

6) Red Sky -– a modern, trendy bar and lounge by Faneuil Hall. I had to visit this place after hearing about their Scorpion Bowl where dry ice is used to create a cool steaming effect. However, because we went during a weekday our drink lacked the special effects as there was no dry ice in stock. Still, it’s worthwhile to visit on a weekday during happy hour, when all appetizers are half price.

7) Mike’s Pastry -– One of oldest and most popular Italian pastry shops found in the North End, their pastry goods are well known throughout the area. Be prepared to wait in line! For a Thursday afternoon, when its usually pretty slow, Mike’s Pastry had people waiting in line which stretched out the door and onto the sidewalk. Even with a full staff at the counters, we still had to wait in line for twenty minutes. The wait was worth it! Just having one bite of their plain cannolli’s made me forget about the long wait and had me craving more.

8) Anna’s Taqueria — Anna’s has been a long time favorite place of my boyfriend, and still is. If you ever want to eat some Mexican burritos or quesadillas, Anna’s Taqueria is the place to go. Their super beef burritos are truly super and quesadillas are delicious. I will keep coming back to this establishment for some bean less burritos!

9) Wing It –- I wasn’t actually able to make it to Wing It this trip, but I hear the wings are to die for. Serving up 21 different flavors of chicken wings, you’re guaranteed to find the right flavor for yourself. If by some reason you or your friend(s) aren’t big on wings, they serve up ribs too!

10) Nantucket Nectars -– this isn’t really a “eat” as it is a “drink”! Nantucket Island situated off the coast of Massachusetts, is the home of Nantucket Nectars. I literally tried this juice about 30 minutes before boarding the plane bound for Newark and on to Tokyo. A lot of flavor is packed in to that one bottle. I only wished the airport restaurant in front of my gate had the mango-orange flavor. So here you have it.

Of the two times I’ve visited Boston, these were the most memorable places for me and where I will surely return to on my next visit – perhaps this coming summer? If so, I’m sure to add more restaurants and establishments from the Cape all the way to Gloucester!

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Eating Osechi-Ryori during the New Years in Japan

by Jen Tsai on 2010/12/28 in Asia, Featured Article

japanese-osechi-ryori

With the holidays in full swing, there’s no better time to talk about foods you only see at this time of the year than now. Christmas is more of a western holiday and the Japanese tend to let it pass without much thought aside from their ‘traditional’ KFC and Christmas cake dinner; yes, this is what the Japanese think Christmas dinner consists of. However, one thing the Japanese population don’t skimp on is New Years!

For the average salaryman, they tend to start their winter holidays on December 30th and go back to work on January 5th. This gives the average household enough time to return to their hometown to visit family and their local temple or shrine at the start of the New Year. You’ll find all stores open on Christmas day, but the city is dead come New Years Day as nothing is open. By western standards this is a short winter vacation, isn’t it? But that’s how things roll here in Japan.

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Just like in all other countries, shops tend to close for the New Year holiday — in most cases just on January 1st. But in smaller towns, stores can be closed for a longer period of time than in the big cities. This causes a problem when it comes to groceries. Japanese homes are fairly small by western standards, and the furniture tends to compliment the size of the home. This means that the household fridge is particularly miniature, about the size for a college dorm room! This also means that Japanese people go grocery shopping everyday!

With that in mind, many Japanese families tend to buy something they call osechi-ryori. This is the traditional New Year food here in Japan. First introduced during the Heinan Period, osechi-ryori is basically a bento (boxed lunch) prepared in advanced, stored in a cool place and reheated when it is to be eaten during the first three days if the new year. Nowadays, the typical Japanese housewife will purchase these osechi-ryori from a depachkia (the department store basements – I will explain this further down) up to one or two months in advance depending on how elaborate the food is in the bento. An osechi can set you back anywhere from ¥4,000 ($40) to ¥100,000 ($1,000). The reason why families go out and purchase these osechi is because it is considered a taboo to cook in the New Year.

Osechi-ryori is comprised of many different types of Japanese food with specific meanings to each dish – prosperity, health and good fortune. Along with the symbolic meaning to each component is the presentation. For the Japanese, presentation is very important. This is especially so with the new years osechi, where color and shape require special attention in regards to presentation. Some common components you will find in osechi are:

  • daidai – a Japanese bitter orange which symbolizes wishes for kids;
  • datemaki – sweet rolled omlette mixed with fish paste which symbolizes wishes for many auspicious days;
  • kamaboko – brolied fish paste, colored red and white, sliced and placed in a pattern which symbolizes the Japanese rising sun;
  • kazunoko – herring roe which is symbolic in that you will be gifted with many children in the New Year;
  • konbu – a type of seaweed that represents joy;
  • tai – red sea-bream which is symbolic for auspicious events;
  • tazukuri - dried sardines cooked in soy sauce which represents an abundant harvest.

There are many other different types of food offered in an osechi that I have not listed here.

japanese-depachika-department-store

As I mentioned above, many households would purchase their osechi-ryori from a depachika. Depachika literally translates to “department store basement food stalls.” This means that in most department stores in Japan, in the basement, you will find either one or two floors of just food shopping. Usually one floor is an actual grocery store (prices for items are higher here and you can sometimes find some international foods and ingredients), while the other floor is comprised of many small food stalls. These stalls can sell anything from cakes, baked goods to okashi (snacks) and omiyage (souvenirs) to give to others. It is on this floor where you can pre-order and buy your osechi.

As families purchase osechi, they also purchase osechi and omiyage for their families and friends they will see. Giving omiyage is a common practice here in Japan. The idea is if you were to travel somewhere for the day you would bring back an omiyage which is usually an okashi – cookies – to give to your co-workers. With this in mind, I have to buy at least 80 okashi-omiage for all the teachers in my school… yikes!!

For more great info regarding Japanese osechi0-ryori during the new year, visit KyotoFoodie

[Pictures courtesy of Tokyokawaii, Hostel64, Kyotofoodie, and photographersdirect]

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Japanese Shabu-Shabu, Sukiyaki, and Nabe: Some Hot Winter Dishes in Japan

by Jen Tsai on 2010/11/30 in Asia, Featured Article, World Recipes and Ingredients

With winter just around the corner, it’s sometimes difficult to get warm, especially if you live in a Japanese home where the word ‘insulation’ is non-existent! Trying to find a dish which will get you nice and toasty is equally difficult, and as I just said, even more so when living in Japan. Well foodies, I have just the meal to beat the winter blues! Recently, I’m finding myself eating more and more nabe, sukiyaki, and shabu-shabu meals. These three related meals are healthy and utterly delicious. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of eating them.

Allow me describe them for you. Let’s start off with the two you probably already know of: sukiyaki and shabu-shabu.

Sukiyaki and shabu-shabu are similar in terms of the ingredients used but different in all other aspects. Sukiyaki is described as a dish which is more sweet than it is savory. Shabu-shabu, on the other hand, is more savory rather than a sweet dish. I suggest trying both before you decide if you like the sweet or the savory more. I can’t decide for the life of me which I prefer.

Both sukiyaki and shabu-shabu are traditionally served with very thin slices of beef. However, many restaurants now serve pork slices just as thin as the beef. Other ingredients added to the soy-based broth are napa cabbage, mushrooms (shiitake and/or enokitake), negi (a thin scallion), leeks, carrots, and vermicelli-like noodles. Rice is generally served along side both dishes as well.

Sukiyaki is served in a very shallow pot where you have to constantly keep adding the soy-water base. Shabu-shabu is served in a deeper pot, almost like the ones in Chinese hot pot.

When it comes to dipping sauces, sukiyaki doesn’t have any. All you get is a raw egg to dip your cooked meat into. This is because the soup base in the pot is already so flavourful, you don’t need to add any other flavors to it! However, with shabu-shabu you have a choice of two sauces; the first is the very traditional and Japanese-like sesame based sauce, the other is ponzu based sauce. Ponzu is a tart, citrus sauce. In most cases, soy sauce is added to the ponzu. I have to admit that I love ponzu and would order shabu-shabu over sukiyaki just for it.

Have you ever wondered why they call shabu-shabu ‘shabu-shabu’? Well, shabu-shabu literally translates to “swish-swish”. As in the swish-swish movement you make with your wrists when cooking your meat. Unlike Chinese hot pot where you place your meat into the ladle, with shabu-shabu you only have the chopsticks in your hand. And if you love eating meat like I do, you don’t want to let it go lest a certain someone or someones steal your food!

All the restaurants I have been to serve both shabu-shabu and sukiyaki and are all-you-can-eat for 90 minutes. At night you have the additional choice of all-you-can-drink for an extra 1,000-1,500yen, also for 90 minutes.

My personal recommendations would be going to Mo-Mo Paradise (Minami-Ikebukuro 1-21-2, Humax Pavilion 8F) in Ikebukuro and Nabezo (6F Shibuya BEAM 31-2, Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) in Shibuya. Both restaurants have several locations around the Tokyo area, but Ikebukuro for Mo-Mo Paradise and Shibuya for Nabezo are my preferences. At Mo-Mo Paradise it will cost roughly 1,500yen during lunch and 3,500yen for dinner. Nabezo will set you back 1,300yen at lunch and 2,000yen for dinner.

Another place I’ve yet to try, but have walked past many times, is Niimura in the Shinjuku Kabukicho area. Here they serve wagyu beef with their shabu-shabu and sukiyaki courses starting from 2,800yen. If you’re daring enough, you can also order the raw horse meat for an extra 1,200yen! I think I have my next restaurant lined up! Just a tip for the economical food trotter: prices are usually lower during the weekdays compared to the weekends.

Now Nabe.

Nabe is the Japanese style one-pot dish served with rice. The base of nabe can be either a stew or soup base, but is most commonly a soup base. Ingredients found in nabe are the same as the ones found in sukiyaki and shabu-shabu with the exception of the protein. Protein wise, you can have nabe with beef, pork, chicken, seafood and even offal.

What the heck is offal you may ask? Good question! Offal is a polite term for the entrails and internal organs of that particular animal, minus the muscle and bones. You may say “yuck” now but you should resist judgement until you’ve tried the pork offal! Many wonder how Japanese women can have such beautiful skin. Well here’s your answer; it is said that pork offal helps you achieve beautiful skin. What’s more, it’s not fattening… how are you not tempted into at least trying this dish?

Pork or beef offal is generally served in motsunabe style. Motsunabe is traditionally from the Fukuoka area (southern Japan) but can be found throughout Japan.

Another style of nabe is the more common and more popular yosenabe. Yosenabe is typically served with a miso or soy based broth and anything and everything can be added to the pot.

The third popular style of nabe dish is chankonabe. Have you ever wondered how all those sumo wrestlers get so big? Chankonabe is the traditional dish that all sumo wrestlers eat to achieve the tithe size that they are. After they eat this, they take a nice nap. What we get in restaurants is the same dish, but a smaller portion (thankfully!). Meatballs, chicken, vegetables, udon, and other ingredients are what you get in chankonabe.

Eating Nabe in a restaurant can set you back anywhere from 3,500yen and up. Some popular places where you can get Nabe is at Waka (Roppongi 4-1-9, Bellza Roppongi B1F) in Roppongi which specializes in the chankonabe, Botan (Kanda Sudacho 1-15) in Awajicho, and Momonja (Ryogoku 1-10-2) in Ryogoku, which specializes in wild boar nabe.

Of course there are many restaurants all around Tokyo, especially in the Shibuya/Shinjuku areas, that serve nabe, sukiyaki, and shabu-shabu. These are just a few of the places I’ve tried so far and can recommend going to. And don’t forget! At many of these restaurants you can order the all-you-can drink plan for an extra 1,000-1,500yen during dinner time. It’s well worth if if you ask me!

[Photos courtesy of pipichan, japan-i, inmagine]

Shabu-Shabu, Sukiyaki, and Nabe in Japan: The What/Where/How of Japanese Hot Winter Dishes
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A New Way To Eat Rice and Sushi – Chirashizushi (aka lazy sushi)

by Jen Tsai on 2010/10/28 in Asia, Featured Article, Food and Travel

I love rice! Some people may get tired of eating it all the time, but, true to my Asian roots, I love it. Although the grain is a staple in my diet, which by the way does NOT help my current weight loss program, I’m constantly searching for new and interesting ways to eat it. Rice compliments Chinese food perfectly, but honestly, I can’t cook a Chinese meal like my mom! Rice I got it. The rest? not so much.

Just prior to moving to Tokyo, for what was supposed to be a one year stay, I encountered a new dish at my favorite Japanese restaurant in Downtown Vancouver. I’m a long time customer of Kamei Royal (the love affair started when I was in grade five, and my mother ate there so often that many of the servers were on a first-name basis with her.) Although the number of Japanese restaurants in Vancouver has grown exponentially, Kamei royal remains one of my favorites. Enough digressing! Kamei Royal was the first place I had “chirashizushi” (pronounced ‘chi-raa-shi-zuu-shi’).

I definitely get in the rut of ordering variations of my favourites, so when my mother pressed me to try chirashizushi, I agreed solely because I was bored of my typical bentos. As my lunch arrived, I had three thoughts floating in my mind: 1) Yum, sashimi! But why would they place it in a bowl? 2) Wow, that’s a lot of rice on the bottom, and 3) Were they just too lazy to make the sushi? To my surprise I really enjoyed chirashizushi and even ate the dish once more before leaving Vancouver.

Basically, chirashizushi is sashimi sitting on top of a bed of rice in a bowl. The dish is simple to make and time efficient, but that only serves to make me love this style of rice all the more. To flavour the sashimi and rice, I highly recommend trying to get a small dipping plate to mix the soy sauce and wasabi before pouring it into your bowl. The first time, I tried to flavour my meal by spreading wasabi directly to the sashimi, and as a result, I could really smell the fresh air post-meal!!

Chirashizushi has so many different variations, depending on so many factors. For example, what are the freshest ingredients of the day? Which fish is least costly without having the sacrifice the integrity of the dish? What does the chef want to add to it that day? I’ve eaten the most simple and the most elaborate of them, and the most common types of chirashizushi you will find is what I have described up above.

Over the years I’ve been to a few places to specifically get Chirashizushi and walked by many more restaurants serving them around town. The first time I tasted this dish in the “land of the rising sun” was in Ueno. Ueno is famous for several things: their zoo, park, and shopping area where the streets by the train tracks are crowded with many clothing stalls reminding you of shopping in Hong Kong. It is in this crowded area that you are able to get a decent bowl sized portion of chirashizushi for anywhere between 600-900yen. I forget the specific name of the restaurant, but there is an eatery with its tables and chairs out on the street and sharing long wooden tables with others. No Japanese is needed since pictures of each dish are displayed, but get there early as they sometimes tend to sell out of certain fishes.

If you are willing to shell out the cash for some very delicious and expensive sashimi, there are several locations you can choose from. The first is just outside of Tsukiji, right where all the fish selling happens. The restaurant is called Uogashi Senryo (Tsukiji 4-10-14, open from 9am to 10:30om). A bowl of chirashizushi sells for 2,500yen and up. A more expensive option is Matsuei in Ebisu (1-2-4 Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Tel: 03-3711-4364). At lunch, you’ll be looking at spending around 1,500yen, while during dinner it can be anywhere from 10,000yen and up at this restaurant.

There are many other places which sell chirashizushi for a reasonable price (1,000-2,000yen) around town. Some places with chirashizushi advertise more than others. Personally, I would recommend the location in Ueno. If you’re in the area, are up to trying something different and don’t mind sitting outside with a stranger right next to you or in front of you, give it a go!

[Photos courtesy of baidu and wikimediacommons:]

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Tsukiji Japanese Fish Market – The World’s Most Expensive and Freshes Seafood

by Jen Tsai on 2010/09/28 in Asia, Featured Article, Food and Travel

If you ever plan on coming to Tokyo and are wondering about what you should do that second day when you’re suffering from major jet lag, I would highly recommend heading over to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Famous not only for the large amounts of Yen changing hands from sellers to buyers, you don’t want to miss seeing some of the world’s freshest and most expensive fish! My first reaction upon seeing the large tunas was “Oh wow that’s a huge torpedo!”
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Hakone’s Owakudani Black Egg

by Jen Tsai on 2010/08/24 in Asia, Food and Travel

One thing that most Japanese people would tell you is that when visiting Tokyo, Japan you must go to the onsen (hot spring) in Hakone. Located approximately 1.5 hours east of Tokyo by the Odakyu Romance Car, Hakone is one of the most famous onsen towns in Japan. With over 50 hotels, ryokans (Japanese inns), and hostels in the area, you have many options to choose from. Beyond the relaxing sulphuric hot springs, the picturesque view of Mt. Fuji on a clear day (note: winter is the best time to view Mt. Fuji), and numerous small museums and attractions in the Hakone area, many people come to Hakone for the special Owakudani black egg.

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Okra – The Star of the Vegetables

by Jen Tsai on 2010/08/17 in Asia, International

Ok, so it might not be new but you have to admit, it does have an interesting shape. I never knew how okra looked or even tasted for a matter of fact until I ordered lunch from the junior high school I was teaching at! My first thoughts were, in succession, “Ooo star-shaped”, “interesting, it’s kinda slimy”, “here we go…mmm this is good. This is really good! Man I wish they gave me more…!” Forget paying attention to the students I was having lunch with… I was so absorbed by this wonderful new experience I just wanted more of it! Continue Reading →

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Tako-To-The-Yaki! A Party In Your Mouth.

by Jen Tsai on 2010/08/10 in Asia, Food and Travel

The first time I tried takoyaki was in an izakaya soon after arriving in Tokyo. My first impression was “it’s alive!”, referring to the katsuobushi (fish flakes) on the takoyaki – which were moving due to the heat radiating off the balls. I was a little (read: lot!) freaked out by it! When I took my first bite, I actually spat it back out because it was still way too hot even though we’d let it cool for a bit before digging in. Remember to let it cool a little before you bite into it! After my piece cooled some more, I put it all in my mouth and wow, did I ever have a party in my mouth! Every ingredient came together beautifully; that, and the sauce used just topped it all off.

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Boom, Boom, Boom Factor! Do You Know Your Boom Factor?

by Jen Tsai on 2010/08/02 in Asia, Food and Travel

With the end of school and the start of summer vacation, there are many things to do in and around town, especially in Tokyo. With Memorial Day weekend as the official start of summer with the fireworks and BBQ grills going, in Japan the official start to summer holiday is Marine Day (海の日 – Umi no hi), which is usually on the 3rd Monday of July. After the long weekend you will start seeing many matsuri (portable shrine) and hanabi (firework) festivals going on around town. I’m from Vancouver, and in Vancouver we have the “Celebration of Lights” every summer. This is when three countries compete, on three different days, to see who can put on the best fireworks display and on the fourth day, the winner voted by the general public will put on a final show. Generally, a fireworks display would last anywhere between 15-30 minutes around the world. Yeah, not in Japan! During the Hanabi Festival, the shortest display of fireworks can be anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour long, with two hours being the usual max.

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