Month: January 2009

  • chinese new years 2009

    as this is the 3rd year in a row that i haven’t been able to spend chinese new years with my family, i finally decided to do something about it here in japan.  on chinese new year’s eve, i went to yokohama’s chinatown and got me some chinese grub.  walking along the streets and seeing all that chinese food was soooo crazily nostalgic.  it was really nice.

    finally decided on a nice little restaurant for lunch.  turns out the lady/owner is taiwanese and after she found out my mom was taiwanese (and accordingly, that i’m part), she became super friendly.  i love that.    i asked her what she recommended for the new year and after she named a few things, my friend and i ordered none of those options, ha.  we ended up getting 3 dishes, and although i didn’t think it was that much food, my friend and i walked outta there so freaking full.

    we got:

    squid with that soy-sauce based soupy
    sauce that they put over steamed fish
    at the cantonese seafood restaurants.
    sooooooo freaking good.
    P1240393

    I read somewhere that we’re supposed to
    eat dumplings to represent “wrapping up”
    our good luck… we didn’t get dumplings,
    but i figured “lettuce wraps” would work
    the same way… ^^
    P1240396

    Shau do-miao just like mommy used to make!
    P1240398

    as i was finishing lunch, my mommy called me to wish me a happy chinese new year.  i got to talk to my momma, my dad, my cousin athena, and attempted to speak to my puo puo (grandma).  hahhaha, she couldn’t hear me, so we never ended up having a conversation, but it was good just to hear her voice again.

    after lunch, we walked around chinatown a bit more in search for nien gao (Chinese sweet rice cake) and vegetable bao-tze (chinese steamed buns, or in japanese “niku-man”).  i had just spoken to my japanese mom and her daughter naomi the previous friday (so 2 days earlier) about how in china, we have vegetable “niku man”s.  they were surprised and told me that they had never seen or even heard of that before.  after talking about it to them, i started craving a good bao-tze (WITH VEGGIES!).  i talked to 2 different chinese workers and one lady was useless as she told me that no one in chinatown sold nien gao.  hmph.  i didn’t really believe her, so i went to another bakery and asked.  the lady was super nice and started speaking to me in chinese (only half of which i ended up understanding) and directed me towards some market that should sell it.  once we found the market, i found it right away.  yay!    the bao-tze search  was another ordeal as my friend and i couldn’t remember which alley/street it was on.  we ended up finding both eventually, so i happily toted them home with me to Gunma.  on the way back home, i stopped by my now favorite pastry shop, Potager, a french pastry shop specializing in sweets made with vegetables.  2 of my favorite things ever put into one product.  <3 (this shop will need to be a post all on its own some time later).  i went to grab a few cookies and cakes (the most intriguing being the “onion cookie”) for my momma as a belated bday gift (since fucking stupid aeroflot russian airlines lost my luggage and all my gifts for my family were in my suitcase), and also ended up grabbing a dessert for myself as well. 

    when i got back to maebashi, i was pretty ravenous, so i popped that gorgeous bao-tze into the steamer my mom bought me 2 years ago when my family came for christmas, and a few minutes later, bam!  it was ready for the eating.

    my 菜っぱまん, nappa-man, vegetable bao-tze.
    more specifically, it was a 小松菜 (which translates quite terribly:
    type of rape, potherb mustard, kyouna, mizuna) and pork bun.
    P1250402
    After i sucessfully steamed the bao-tze (the first time i ever tried
    to steam a bao-tze, my friend and i totally forgot about it & ended
    up burning that sucker… L), i had my bao-tze and a slice of carrot
    chocolate flan tart for dinner.  (and, yes, that is jasmine tea behind
    the bao-tze.  thought i’d stick with the chinese theme.)
    P1250405
    The bao-tze was so good.  it’s probably one of the 2 best bao-tzes
    i’ve ever had in my life, and i’ve had many a bao-tze in my life.

    the bao-tze and the flan tart were so good I almost cried.
    shit.  i almost wet my pants.  it was so damn good.

    I had asked my mom about some chinese new year traditions and she mentioned chicken soup, chinese ham, chinese sausage, fish (prepared but not eaten), and nien gao (sweet rice cake).

    my mom explained that we’re not supposed to eat the fish cuz it’s
    supposed to represent “surplus” for the new year.
    but… given the fact that i grew up with the whole “don’t waste food.
    do you know that children in somalia…” guilt-trip, i couldn’t get
    myself to order a whole fish or even cook a whole fish and not
    eat it.  so the best idea i could think of was to buy some of those
    nasty dried fish (i think they’re usually like anchovies?) at the
    convenience store.  i despise those nasty little fish, so it wasn’t all
    that difficult for me to toss them in the trash in the name of superstition.
    the fact that i hate them and they’re so small, i didn’t feel like i was
    really wasting that much.
    P1250408
    aren’t they nasty little fuckers?  ugly as hell and taste like shit.

    anyways, hahhahahaa, dropping the negativity…

     

    the next morning, i got up bright and early and was feeling a bit ambitious with the nien gao cooking.  even though it was my first time & i am painfully bad at cooking, haha.  i decided to do the ever more slightly difficult version, where you dip the nien gao in egg before pan frying it.  so here we go.  making nien gao part 1.

    step 1: mix the egg
    P1250414

    step 2: dip the cut pieces of nien gao in the egg
    P1250416

    step 3: stick them puppies in a fry pan with
    a bit of oil and cook til soft and warm.
    nien gao fry pan  

    step 4: admire your masterpiece and eat!
    100_2996

     

     

     

    okay… so i totally cheated.  only the first 2 pictures are actually my pictures.  the last two i found online cuz i thought they looked good, hahahahha.  my… nien gao… sigh, went a bit awry…

    i kinda put the heat a little too high and ended up burning the outsides ever so slightly.  when the edges started to brown a bit too much (like to black), i immediately turned the fire off and took the nien gao off the pan, but unfortunately, the middle was still a bit hard and not fully cooked.  i put my macgyver skills to use and threw them into the microwave.  about a minute or so later, they came out fully cooked and delicious~  burnt edges and all. 

    P1250422

    i rock! 

  • don’t give up on me, may!

    i rove you :)

    i was just about to write about chinese new years, but i felt compelled to write yet another shout out to my ever loyal reader, my cousin may .  since i don’t have as much time as before… i won’t be able to write as often, but i am now inspired by all the beautiful food and interesting snacks here in japan.  if nothing else, i will post about all the fun snacks and food i encounter here in japan from now on.  japan definitely has the best variety of snacks/junk food, so it should be somewhat interesting.  that and their “real food” is always presented so beautifully.  so if you enjoy food as much as i do, stay tuned. 

    may, although the blueberry pocky has moved to L.A. and is no longer available here in japan, the new flavor that just came out on tuesday (yes, i know these things cuz i’m a freak) is KIWI POCKY.  i haven’t tasted it yet, but i will start posting pictures as soon as i do. 

  • chinese new year’s

    (so sorry may) 

    so i ‘ve been m.i.a. as usual about writing in my xanga, which i promised i’d be better about.  i am still waiting on pix from europe so i haven’t gotten around to posting anything about that.   as for 2009, i have nothing to show for what i’ve been up to besides a few dozen pictures of food.  i guess that sums up what i’ve been doing since coming back to japan.  chillin’ and eating.  haha.  i’ll post that stuff a little later as i actually need to get some work done at work.  for now, i give you my 2009 dog horoscope.

    the reason why i’m posting this at all is that i actually feel that there’s some truth (or at least potential truth) to what’s being said.  interesting.

     

    Chinese Dog: Yearly

    Dog Outlook for 2009

      Dog Overview

      2009 will present the Dog with a number of challenges. Your patience will certainly be tested in more than one instance. You may not necessarily gain the notoriety you desire in your career, but certain advancement opportunities will surface throughout the year. You will find comfort with your family and solidify bonds that are necessary for your well being. You may have issues juggling your family life with your work schedule, but you will make great strides in both areas by the end of the year.

      Dog Rating

      52% (5 favorable, 4 neutral and 3 unfavorable months)

      Dog Career

      Your work will play a large role in the year of the Ox. You may find yourself working long hours to achieve a promotion or to further your pursuits. Though you may only see minor results this year from your hard work, your ethics do not go unnoticed. Later in the year, you may be offered a step in the right direction, which will flourish sometime next year. Stay focused and be willing to listen to the advice of others and you should have a promising year with your work.

      Dog Relationships

      Domestically, the Dog can achieve new levels in a relationship this year. People who know you think highly of you, as you are a well respected individual for your work ethics and your devotion to the ones you love. Be open to communication, as you may, at times, be unwilling to change your views even when your partner has a valid point. If you can work on this issue, then you will find your relations with family members and friends very gratifying this year.

      Dog Health

      Your strong work ethics leave you working long hours, sometimes denying the warning signs of the effects on your health. Take the proper breaks and give yourself the time to recuperate from your busy work schedule or you may be out longer than you desire. You are instinctively a very active person and exercise is not something that you need to remind yourself to do.

      Dog Wealth

      Financially, you may not achieve the results you seek, but you are well on your way. Keep your spending within your budget, even though there may be items that you desire to purchase to enrich your home. The time will come to make the changes, just focus on the basics for now. There may be a change for the better towards the end of the year, so be patient and exercise care when it comes to spending.

    • “Libra: It’s just one thing after another, isn’t it? Luckily, things are about to swing the other way. . “

      mm.. okay, then.  i’m ready for the good luck to start rollin’ in.  along with my luggage, my health back, money, a big happy shiny “pass” on the JLPT i took last december, etc. etc. etc.  (and some other more important things as well).

    • let the good times roll…

       

      Olivia Wong’s
      Horoscope says:

      Libra: A fresh start begins today.
      You’ve been through a lot, but you
      can always start over. .