My Neighbor

Let me introduce my neighbor Totoro.

As many of you know, he's famous for the movie "My Neighbor Totoro". But, seriously he is really my neighbor, and was an unexpected guest last weekend. The difference from the movie is that he's edible creme puff!!

Thanks to my brother for bringing him in.

Tokyo is not the best livable city, but this is a joy to live in this Metropolitan. Here is Shiro-hige's Creme Puff Factory where he is born.

Needless to say, it is very delicious with coffee of Starbucks or Dean & Deluca ;-)

"the Coldest Winter" (by Kanye West)

Although having spent years in Seoul and America's Midwest where the weather goes as low as -20 degrees Celsius (or zero in Fahrenheit), I'm not a big fan of winter sports.

Still, as eating pancakes with a Canadian maple syrup and listening to the latest album of Manafest, a Canadian rapper, I feel ready to enjoy the Winter Olympics, which is starting tonight in Vancouver, No.1 livable city.

"Partytime" (by Missy Elliott)

We moved into this new apartment last March, but are now finally ready to welcome our friends. It's a beautiful, fine, perfect day for a party.


My wife cooks. I help. Uh, you know, not much. Stuff like peeling potatoes and dish-washing. Also, entertaining (or bothering?) her while cooking.

We primarily serve genuine Korean dishes. This is today's main menu: 버섯전골 (Mushroom Hot Pot).

A table for 5 and us.

Sofa So good

And a comfortable couch. Sometimes you can see some Sleeping Beauties or Sleeping Buddha on it. Today we're very lucky to find a Mermaid.

Dear friends, thanks for coming today. And we're await for more to come. You are welcome. Make a reservation!

Korea Sparkling 2

Can't miss it!! Korean cuisine whenever I go to Seoul. I need a couple more stomachs, though.

Start with processed meat

부대찌개

Chicken
삼계탕 (参鶏湯)

Pork
삼겹살!!

and Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefff!!!
Here come the king of meat, 생갈비♪

then dessert comes.

팥빙수 with water melon, kiwi and mango.

wanna some more at Dunkin Donut?

Or stop by spacious coffee shops here

콩다방

and there.

My most favorite time comes at Starbucks.

별다방

I prefer living in Seoul more than in Tokyo. First of all, Seoul has Dunkin and Coffee Bean but Tokyo has neither. Secondly, Coffee Bean and Starbucks in Seoul are so spacious that a single Starbucks in Seoul is as large as half a dozen stores in Tokyo combined at least. Last but least obviously, Korean foods are the BEST in the whole world!!!!!!!!!

"Welcome to the Bay" (by Kero One)

For Kero One, the Bay means San Francisco, but this Bay is the other side of Pacific Ocean, Yokohama.

I'm back, and so is African Festa, with 34 African embassies, 60 NGOs, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yokohama City.


One can get a free poster, buy African accessories or enjoy a live music concert

and street music performances here

and there,

Or get an African drum lesson.

But, wherever I am, can't start a day without a Starbucks coffee!! Here's one at Chinatown. (Oh, and Ethiopian embassy was selling its coffee, too.)

and Chinese supper. (I did have African cuisine too!!)

T.I.A. (cont'd)

AFRICAN FESTA 2009

When : Sat, May 16 (12:00 - 17:00) & Sun, May 17 (11:00 - 17:00)
Where : Red Brick Warehouse, Yokohama

Here's the link to the official homepage, but what a shame. No English (or French) hompage again!!
http://www.africanfesta2009.com/

FYI, here're links to the pieces I posted last year.
African Festa 2008
African Festa: to be continued (to next year)

Gimme a Break!!

Oh my goodness, I've been to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Seattle, India, Belgium, Italy, France and more.

Can you imangine all happened just in the past couple months since I started a nouvelle job?

It did!!
Today I just came back from Seoul. And I've gotta go to China pretty soon.

The job is pretty cool, but all I need is a (coffee) break!!

Welcome Back

Although "Akafuku (赤福)" is back on store shelves early this year, I finally got this box today.

sweet treat, no more trick

Global Festa 2008

Hope you didn't miss this year's Global Festa Japan at Hibiya Park.

Embassies, NGOs, international organizations and some CSR-conscious corporations - over 200 in total - were present, introducing their countries and activities, selling foods, drinks and souvenirs, or recruiting volunteers and job applicants. It's always fun to sneak around at such an event, but this year I feel very lucky to be there when a panel discussion was held.

It was a discussion of four panelists. They were:
Misako Konno, an actress and a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador
Masato Kitera, Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Yukie Osa, a representative of Association for Aid and Relief Japan, a NGO, and
Nobuhiko Hanasato, a professor of Nagoya University

Introducing how JICA volunteers were helping the people in Africa, what the Japanese government is doing by holding TICAD and what NGO frontline is like, they discussed what and how Japanese can contribute for global good. The discussion was resourceful and insightful, but Ms. Osa's story was especially inspiring. She quit her job at an foreign financial institution to join AAR. Her salary was down by two thirds!! I can't make such a move, but the stories and discussion of "Fantastic Four" gave me an opportunity to think about how I can take part in an NGO activity and how to build my career.

I would like to thank all the four panelists, but above all, my big applause to an NHK anchor, Aiko Doden. As a moderator, she tossed insightful questions and guided sometimes-Möbius-loop-like discussion. Her job was splendid!!

a US$10 T-shirt for feeding North Korean refugees in China

For more details, check Life Funds for North Korean Refugees.


By the way, it was too bad that I wasn't qualified for this year's ODA monitor to Africa, which Ms. Konno also joined.

"Eat to Live" 2 (by Talib Kweli)

Wow, so it turned out General Electric is a next dish for Warren Buffett.
$3billion.

But, it's not his "Last Supper", is it?
It seems too early to have a cup of coffee and dessert of the meal.

"Eat to Live" (by Talib Kweli)

According to my Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary,
"buffet" means:

a. a counter for refreshments
b. a restaurant operated as a public convenience
c. a meal set out on a buffet or table for ready access and informal service

Now it's Buffet time! (no "T" but maybe with some coffee?) Here comes a Takeru Kobayashi, the champion of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest until he lost in 2007. Reportedly, Warren Buffett swallowed low-fat Goldman Sachs for $5 billion. So, what will be on his next dish?

"Eats, Shoots & Leaves"

A couple of years ago, a business professor told not me but American students to read "Eats, Shoots & Leaves". It's a book about punctuation. It's one of the most common grammatical mistakes Americans make. Although I have to admit my English is lousy, however, I don't make such a mistake.

So, I haven't read the book, have no plan to read it and am not gonna write about it. Sorry, but if you're interested in the book, just check Amazon.com. I just like the title because it symbolizes how one can enjoy at the Showa Kinen Park, a national park in western Tokyo.


Eats

waiting patiently for the market to float

This little turtle (pictured above) reminded me of old Korean literature. The poem, 거북가, goes like this:

거북아, 거북아 머리를 내놔라
(A little turtle, a little one, get your head out of the shell)
내놓지 않으면 구워서 먹으리
(If you don't, I grill and eat ya!)

I was 17 years old or so when I learned this poem. Ever since, I've been wondering if turtle is edible...

Need FRB chairman's due care

Of course, we didn't eat turtle but beef, pork and vegetables!!


Shoots

Is market a mirror of economy?

With gardens, forests, fields, playgrounds and swimming pools, the 163-hectare park has plenty of photo shooting spots. The Japanese Garden is my favorite place in the park. Ooops, the picture above is upside down!

No more trick (until Halloween maybe). By playing sumo wrestling with the earth, I fixed the problem. Here you go. It's always good to have a different ponit of view, though.

museum?!

You can view this painting-like landscape at the Japanese Garden as well. Give yourself a time for meditation.

& Leaves

Exhausted...

The park closes at 5pm. Plan early to exit 'cause it sometimes take half an hour to get out of the park.

And REMEMBER, LADIES. Don't go shopping at Takashimaya or Isetan department store after enjoying conversation with nature (and your significant other) at the park. Never ever. Instead, by stopping by Krispy Kreme or Starbucks at Tachikawa, give your partner sweet treat. It has to come back to "eats". Life is karma.

By the way, the park is located at just 30 minutes from Shinjuku by train, and only JPY400 admission fee.

PS. Tomi, thanks for joining us yesterday. Hope you guys enjoyed.

"Spending Money" (by will.i.am)

How much can you pay for a cup of coffee?

I guess I can pay up to JPY400.




Starbucks Japan is once again increasing its coffee prices. A short cup of coffee will be up by JPY10 to JPY290, but not more details about other sizes and beverages. I should have wished upon a star yesterday, July 7.

"Impatient" (by will.i.am)

Got Candy?

Got Madonna's new album "Hard Candy" (and chupa chups!). She wasn't my favorite artist, but in the album more than half of the songs are made by Pharrell, and the song "Beat Goes On" featuring Kanye West, two of my favorite trackmakers. So, it meets my purchasing criteria for CD: min 3 likable songs per album. I also started to like her lifestyle as a professional entertainer.

By the way, I ain't patient enough to eat a candy without biting. I oftentimes unconsciously break it into pieces as soon as I put one in my mouth. Hopefully, however, I enjoy the Hard Candy for a long time. And perhaps so do you.

Peace for Beef

Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Seoul, rioting against US beef import, clearly show the different reactions and attitudes in Japan and Korea. To many Japanese, it must be mysterious why those folks are so mad about mad cow disease. On the other hand, many Korean must be, if ever, wondering why Japanese don't care about the issue.

Well, the government took a different policy. the Japanese government didn't lift the ban on US beef import while 2MB (which stands for president Lee Myong Bak) administration tried to lift the ban at first. After taking the office for months, his popularity dramatically dropped just like the stock market after the credit crunch.

However, even if Fukuda lifted the ban, many Japanese wouldn't really care. Simply, we, Japanese, show our protest against the government and US silently by boycotting 'em. Or maybe Korean people are real beefeaters while Japanese fish eaters. :p

16oz New York Strip at Harry Caray I miss
(Arguablly Chicago's #1 Steakhouse)

Still, both Korean and Japanese would better be careful with food import restrictions. We can say no for now, but the increasing demands for food (incl. beef) in emerging market soon substitute our import demands. It is not unrealistic that we won't get imported foods even if we beg for them some day. What is worse, food mileage will be a much more concerned issue sooner or later.

CPA

not pie, tarte nor quiche

it's a slice of pizza!!

Oh, by the way, CPA stands not for Certified Public Accountant but for Chicago Pizza Adorer :)

PS. Thank you for your sweet treat, A-san. Good luck on your exams!!

"Sweet Child O' Mine" (by Guns N' Roses)

Welcome back, Darling.


白い恋人: Hokkaido's most wanted.
But, like 赤福(Akafuku) its life story is as if "Bittersweet Poetry" (by Kanye West).

Wrap n' Roll

Gyoza Dumplings
Inspired by recent news about the poisoning in frozen dumplings, my wife and I cooked some 50 hand-made dumplings last weekend. Still, they were different from the ones we usually make since the round dough for gyoza dumplings was sold out!! Instead, we bought rectangular dough (for wonton) for wrapping ground pork and chopped vegetables.

Korean Rice Roll (김밥)

Also inspired by Eho-maki (恵方巻), we made a dozen of Korean rice rolls on Feb 3 (節分の日) 'cause I prefer Korean rice rolls to Eho-maki. Plus, don't know how to make the latter. By the way, Eho-maki literally means "lucky direction roll". One has to swallow a roll facing this "lucky direction", and cannot slice the roll and say a word while eating it. Of course, the roll is NOT designed for food fight.

Beefeater

Had a business trip to the US last month. During the trip, I had:

• Kansas City Strip 12 oz. in Kansas (by the way, Kansas City is in Missouri, not in Kansas)
• Chinese food (such as beef stir-fry) in Kansas
• Mexican Beef Burritos in Chicago
• New York City Strip 12 oz. in NYC
• Galbi, Korean style grilled beef ribs, in NYC (K-town)

Oh, did I tell you this was a BUSINESS trip? And I have nothing to do with beef industry, by the way. Plus, I don't drink "Beefeater".

"Forgive Them Father" (by Lauryn Hill)

Ever since I (or my wife, to be precise) made a trip plan to visit Ise, Mie prefecture of Central Japan, I've been looking forward to visiting Ise-jingu (伊勢神宮), famous Shinto shrines, and buying "Akafuku (赤福)", rice cake with red bean jam. However, a week before our visit, Akafuku was reported to have violated food safety regulations and suspended its business.

Everybody's taking a photo at "Akafuku"

They say, sorry

Forgive them father for they know not what they do. (Lauryn Hill)