Once Upon a Tokyo

Whale Meat

I present you a link to an article from The Atlantic regarding Japan, called "I Ate Whale Meat."

As the article points out, hardly anyone really eats whale meat at all, and it has become more of a political issue than a cultural one. What I think is really disingenuous is mentioned in the article here:

"Despite a moratorium on commercial whaling established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986, Japan continues to harvest whales in the name of scientific research, culling an estimated 900 last year alone. Anti-whaling groups have called the program a thinly-guised method of restocking grocery and restaurant supplies of edible whale sashimi and cured whale ham."

In other words, they hide their fishing in the name of Science-- due to a loophole that allows them to hunt and kill whale for research, and "since it's already dead, might as well sell it for food."

I haven't ever eaten it myself, although I've certainly had my fair share of odd things to eat here and in China. Who knows what will happen if I was put in a place where I would have to actually make that choice. I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it.

Prague Spokesmen

Looking through my cell phone for pictures to share, and I forgot to share this one, snapped up while walking a random street in Prague this summer.

It features two unlikely spokespeople-- One is the head of the world's largest organized religion, the other is the head of the leading national superpower. Together, they fight crime! I mean, together they endorse green tea!

The funny thing was, I REALLY wanted green tea while in Germany (especially when I was feeling ill) and I couldn't ever find it. So, in "old Europe" Czech, green tea's no problem. In modern-day big-city Munich? Not so much. Maybe the Pope and the President need to reach out more...

More at Maccas

Talking about McDonald's as being one of the very few *easily* accessible restaurants the other day reminded me of their newest campaign, featuring this monstrosity:

The MEGATAMAGO! (aka the Mega-Egg!)

And to think, it used to be a big deal that they had a (*gasp*) quarter-pounder! (They even had a special promo built around being able to eat the *whole thing!*) But now they have a triple decker Big Mac with a giant egg, bacon, and of course, lots and lots of mayo-sauce.

And in case you were wondering about ALL the different burgers that Japanese McDonald's have, this summer they have the Nippon All Stars, which feature special burgers for a few weeks at a time. 

And no, I haven't eaten any of them. If I *do* ever happen to eat at Mickey D's, I usually get a side salad and a "shaka shaka chicken" which is basically a chicken cutlet with spices that you shake in a bag. You can have a spicy chicken salad with no dressing!

Big Mac Tokyo

One of the things about my apartment is that there aren't a lot of nearby restaurants I can casually stumble into when wandering outside my door. Most other places (those of my friends) seem to be conveniently near a major street and all the convenience stores, ramen shops, and izakayas that entails.

Me? I have to make sure I get on my bike and ride at least a couple of minutes, or take that much longer to stroll. And even then--- the result? Starbucks or McDonald's.

I was just reminded of it again with this report from the Economist: Tokyo is one of the few places where you can earn your Big Mac within minutes-- our salaries are just That Good.

Or terrifying. 

Lemon Cakes

So, the big book club event went off fine. I prepared for many days so it wouldn't be a problem-- cooking up a big batch of spaghetti ahead of time, buying veggies, etc. All I had to do on the big day was to cut up some veggies for salad and crudités (love the way that word makes cut-up vegetables sound so elegant) and to make a lemon cake.

For some reason, I had it in my mind to make a lemon cake. It's one of the few things that I get a craving for and can't quite get the same thing over here. Now I guess I know why. It's a pain in the butt to make. Lemons aren't that expensive (compared to most produce around here), but it's still a hassle, and then I don't really have a zester or a juicer, so I have to make do. No buttermilk either, but I can use lemon juice and milk and fake it. Butter itself is super expensive, and cakes take a lot of it-- once you convert all your recipe stuff into metric and try to get the right measurements....

Anyway, I'm making a bigger deal of it. The real fun was putting it into the aluminium pans I bought from the 100-Yen shop. The package of tins came with 3, but the recipe said to divide it into two 8-inch loaf pans. (There's that darn U.S./non-metric stuff again.) So I filled the batter to the top of each. Can't fit both in my oven, so only one goes in for now. The recipe didn't say that the darn thing would rise, and rise and RISE, and keep on RISING! I thought I had created a slowly dripping volcano of lemon cake batter. The top was getting browned nicely, but batter still kept creeping forth from the side until a little mound of mutant side-cake grew next to it. Luckily, the oven uses a inner plate (like those mini-lazy-susans in a microwave), so the batter didn't go all over the oven itself. But it was funny, and made the first cake come out deformed.

Thank goodness there WAS three tins in the package, so I could divide the remaining batter between the two remaining tins in the mean time.

The cakes did taste amazing, I have to admit. Even the mutant one. 

Winter's not over yet-- let's order in.

Since it's been raining for about 30-some hours by now, I've resigned myself to the fact that winter is not over yet. Still, it could be worse. According to my lesson plans from last year, we had a "snow day" about this same time. Also-- thank goodness for my Playstation 3.

One of the first things I learned how to do in order to function in a new country is to learn how to order from Domino's pizza. I usually go for the traditional "Domino's Deluxe" which is the closest thing we can get to an American-style pizza, but it's also fun to look at the menu and see what new and exciting offerings there are.

The newest pizza in the line up is the Whole Cambert Cheese Fondue Pizza.Thanks to some rough translations, it's described as "Simmering-sticky whole Cambert cheese, that's this luxurious fondue sauce." In other words, as a topping, there is a WHOLE BLOCK OF CAMBERT CHEESE, plus potato, ham, shrimp, broccoli, and black pepper. A large, which serves about 4-5 Japanese people, will set you back about $35.

Giga Pudding

Had the Thanksgiving dinner-slash-lunch, which I heretofore shall refer to as "dinch." It was amazing. I actually roasted a turkey in a convection-slash-microwave oven (perhaps I should call this "conwavon?") I think we had nearly 20 people.   

But as much fun as it was. It cannot compare-- no, nothing in this world can compare-- to the hilarious laughter I get from watching this commercial.

For GIGA PUDDING.

It involves a bucket of flan. Literally.

a BUCKET.

of FLAN.

Serves twenty. I think this commercial speaks for itself.

The lyrics go something like this:
Pudding! Pudding!
Pudding! Pudding!
Today's party? Giga Pudding!

Pudding! Pudding!
Pudding! Pudding!
Everyone is happy! Giga Pudding!

Pudding! Pudding!
Giga Pudding!
Everyone eats Giga Pudding!

On my way to the foreign supermarket...

I'm already so busy! Still trying to catch up from all the work I pushed off when the Fall Play caught me up in all its craziness, and I decide to host a Thanksgiving lunch this Saturday. Talk about craziness...

So I have to ride my bike to the foreign supermarket to get a turkey. This is after going to the foreign supermarket several neighborhoods over by train (with two stops!) I've long gotten over the fact that for some foods, I have to go to the foreign market. This includes turkey, cheeses, stuffing, cranberries, mac and cheese, and soups.

On my way back, I pass some workers patching holes with the asphalt on some of the pavement/sidewalk areas. They are using this long tube like thing that shoots a jet of fire on the pile of raw asphalt. At first I thought "cool," 'cause, you know, JETS OF FIRE. Second, I thought about the unique solution to this problem, especially as it requires half-a-dozen workers, and I thought, "only in Japan!" And third, I thought, "Or is it?" Because while I think that we repair our patches of asphalt in a different manner in the States, I'm not entirely sure I'm familiar with the process at all. So there.

Today's Ramen

Well, every so often I avail myself of the infamous "pot noodle" a.k.a. instant ramen. It's quick, convenient, and (more importantly on these cold days) HOT!  It's great for a quick lunch or late night dinner, especially with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I'm sure that last bit isn't the traditional way of consuming it in Japan.

This one is labeled "チキん ラーメン" or "Chicken Ramen."  Instead of opening it to find, you know, chicken, instead, there's a block of reconstituted egg.

Add hot water, and wait three minutes.
1...

2...

3...

Oishii! Actually, it's delicious! It's one of my favorite types. It's pretty simple, but spicy and rich.

There's all KINDS of instant ramen available, taking up rows and rows of the grocery store. Most of them have more elaborate, uh, fillings? (I'm not sure what the term is.) For example, a packet of sauce PLUS a couple of packets of seasoning and/or dried  veggies or meats. It's like you're cooking, but instantly.

Okay, maybe I'll need to get a microwave soon. But I've survived so long without it since now, I might as well keep going!

Viva Comida Mexicana!

Well, it's official! I don't have the full iteniery yet, but I'll be returning to LA for Christmas. It's a 10-day ticket fare special, or something, so it's from Dec-17 to Dec-27. Merry Christmas, everyone.

In completely unrelated news, a bunch of teachers mobbed El Torito this weekend. It was actually pretty fun-- it's more what I had in mind for an international school, with its teachers banding together out of a common need for survival in a strange land. But beyond that, it reminded me of how much I missed Mexican food! I mean, they didn't have anything resembling frijoles and the meat wasn't spiced with marinade, but I did taste chiles for the first time in four months or so.

The funny thing was, completely unknown to us, that it was the last night for the restaurant! Yes, El Torito was closing its doors the very next day. (Don't worry, there are still like four locations in Tokyo or something.) But it was kind of ironic. I raised a Dos Equis in tribute.