tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38649301803082604102024-02-06T18:05:31.651-08:00Me, gG, and our fern housegGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-48722524884297569092009-10-15T15:16:00.000-07:002009-11-21T15:21:47.797-08:00Guess who welcomed me at our front porch<p>Came back from Czech Republic, and one night I was snuggling with gG on our couch when I heard a big noise outside on my front porch. Guess who I found watching the street for us from our front porch.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/4040014603_404b82f955.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_4168_small" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-39766449604594286012009-10-11T16:00:00.000-07:002009-10-11T16:20:06.557-07:00City of Brno in Czech Republic<p>September went by so quickly as we were going through lots of changes in our lives. Yep, my hubby got a job offer in Czech Republic. He spent most of his time this summer working as a consultant for a company in a town called Brno, and they decided to offer him a job. </p>
<p>Brno is the second biggest city in Czech Republic, and it is rather closer to Vienna than to Prague. I have never been to the part of Europe in my life, so I decided to hop on a plane and check it out before he signs the offer letter. Hey... I have to like that place before committing myself to move there :)</p>
<p>Brno was indeed a beautiful city. The center of city is very small. You can basically walk from end to end in 30 mins or less. That's one thing that I loved about the town. It reminded me of my hometown Shizuoka in a way. </p>
<p>Another thing was the cleaness of the town. Streets were clean, buildings were old but very clean, and people were so behaved. It might be the influence from the communist time, but there seems to be enough of everything but not too much of everything. </p>
<p>Here are some pictures from Brno city. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3521/3984228590_92653ba8f2.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3749" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2575/3983451199_80fd1c34ba.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3727" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2524/3984212408_4b105ced73.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3733" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/3984220456_1b7c66b30e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3740" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2640/3983502677_fc5b6fd7f4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3791" /></p>
<p>Loved it!</p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-52889938920482445002009-09-16T15:13:00.000-07:002009-09-17T12:57:47.513-07:00Utsuwa no Yakata<p>I have been living in LA for almost 10 years, but I never went into the building called Little Tokyo Galleria Market. The building is semi empty but has several stores including <a href="http://www.tokiusa.com/">Utsuwa no Yakata</a>, discount shop, and several Japanese restaurants. The grocery store there turned into a Korean store, but you can still get lots of Japanese items in there, too. </p>
<p>Anyway, the purpose of this trip was to look for some souvenirs we will take to Czech Republic. We used to go to a store called "Wabi Sabi" which used to be in West Hollywood whenever we wanted to get something nice from Japan. They eventually moved to Santa Monica, but I heard they closed off. Too bad. We really liked the lacquer dishes and trays they had. </p>
<p>So, I did some search and found this place called "Utsuwa no Yakata." The store got variety of tableware and other cool stuff like "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noren">noren</a>" and handmade artwork. They also had a set that you can use to do tea ceremony. Believe it or not, I used to do tea, meaning I learned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony">Sado - how to serve tea in a traditional ceremonial way</a> when I was in Junior High School (okay, long time ago). The tea served in Sado is differnt from the tea you are used to drink at the American sushi places. It is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha">Matcha</a>, and it is finely powdered. The store sold everything you need for Sado including Matcha!</p>
<p>If you are looking for Japanese style tableware, I would definitely recommend this place. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2545/3927067749_0d181130c7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_3674" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-45995430341287228742009-09-05T17:51:00.000-07:002009-09-06T17:02:17.478-07:00Backyard Picnic<p>Okay, this is the special long weekend for most people. For me, it is just another day. I was not feeling that well, but I wanted to do something fun with my hubby and gG. So, we decided to do a picnic in our backyard. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2517/3893348400_d2cdd1b06d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3611" /></p>
<p>Luckily the temperature was not too high and it was almost perfect for eating out and sleeping out. Yes, we ended up spending the whole afternoon on the grass eating, chatting, drinking (water! but could had been wine), reading, and napping. gG basically loved just hanging out with us.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3892563163_dda1f316f5.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3625" /></p>
<p>gG also enjoyed a couple of spoonful of ice cream. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/3892567087_d3a0067848.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3635" /></p>
<p>The sun was shining through our trees around 4pm. I felt the departure of summer and arrival of autumn.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/3893347320_42ea8bf185.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3637" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-45763011393333779582009-09-04T10:51:00.000-07:002009-09-06T16:50:48.186-07:00Great ZinfandelThis red Zinfandel called <a href="http://www.sextantwines.com/home.fsp?id=107261">Sextant </a>recommended by Steve at The Whole Foods in Glendale was just so perfect for its price. It has a jammy blackberry flavor without faky sweetness. My kind of wine for sure. Worked well with the grilled meat.
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3893332516_435ab2b7d3.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3608" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-26930504662352519742009-08-23T10:53:00.000-07:002009-08-24T08:54:16.216-07:00Japanese mini "Kaiseki"<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiseki">Kaiseki</a> Ryori (meal) is an multi-course Japanese cusine consisting of a number of small dishes. Since Aug 16 was my father's birthday, we went to eat mini-Kaiseki for dinner in Shizuoka. Why mini? Nope we didn't lose our appetites. We decided to go with the mini course, as my father eats like a bird. And we didn't want to eat different dishes on his birthday :-) Overall, we were satisfied with the quantity as well as the quality. </p>
<p>Kaiseki uses fresh seasonal ingredients, and the dishes are presented so that you can feel the season by looking at them, too. Each dish is simply seasoned, so that you can enjoy the pure palate of each ingredient, and presented beautifully in nice dinnerware. Kaiseki is vegetarian in origin, but modern Kaiseki meals may include meat and seafood. </p>
<p>The mini course started out with appetizers in five different small dishes. The menu said 8 ingredients, and as you can see in each individual dish, some of them contained several ingredients.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2647/3849524004_3e45df77ce.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3426" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3454/3849525038_f0bc6fa730.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3428" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3428/3849525860_e526162765.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3427" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3494/3848730835_21ae078c63.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3429" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2426/3849527962_7257e8e85c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3430" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/3848733351_f43a25f53a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3431" /></p>
<p>And then, you were served a soup with simple broth probably made with bonito and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konbu">Konbu</a>. It looked very pretty and tasted very easy on your palate. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3428/3848734811_eed480586e.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3432" /></p>
<p>Then we were given a choice between steak and sashimi. All but my father chose steak. The servings were so tiny that I would imagine most American would be surprised. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3604/3848740157_94804b4c84.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3438" /></p>
<p>Then for the fried course, you are given a choice between Sakura-ebi (cherry shrimp) Kakiage (mixed tempura), and Shrimp Shinjo-age. All of us chose Kakiage, as Sakura-ebi is a noted Shizuoka delicacy.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3518/3849537142_2b965fe7ef.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3439" /></p>
<p>After all that, you get to choose between steam rice topped with Maguro (tuna) sashimi, or with Ikura (salmon roe). My father and I chose Maguro, and my sister, my neices, and Bob chose Ikura. I forgot to take pictures :-( </p>
<p>And finally your choice of desert was served. I got a mousse with Matcha, and some got sherbet or fruit. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2423/3848742329_2cc42a6ab1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3440" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/3849539748_828f6dfdda.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3441" /></p>
<p>All in all, this meal was very good on both eyes and tummy! And, I was happy to see my father being happy to see all of us together dining with him. </p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-19989212891661804502009-08-22T08:05:00.000-07:002009-08-22T09:43:50.220-07:00Onsen (hot spring)<p>I must say that Japanese people cannot live without <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen">Onsen (hot spring)</a>. During the vacation time, Japanese travelers typically stay at Ryokan (inn) with Onsen. It is a way to relax and be rejuvenated. </p>
<p>Since another purpose of our trip to Japan was to celebrate my father's birthday, we took him to an Onsen while we were in Kumamoto. We picked an area called Kurokawa, a very famous Onsen place in Kumamoto. </p>
<p>The Ryokan (Inn) where we stayed was called "<a href="http://www.sinmeikan.jp/index.html">Shinmeikan</a>." Originally we wanted to stay at another Ryokan, but it was all booked even 2 months in advance. However, we were very pleased with "Shinmeikan." Most Ryokan have several soaking pools as did Shinmeikan. It had two outside baths called Roten (one coed, and one private), two cave baths (one for men, one for women), and two inside baths (one for men, one for women). I didn't have the guts to go into the Roten with men in the same bath, so my hubby and I rented the Roten for our private use. Roten is great, as you can feel the nature around you on your flesh. I'd rather bathe by myself, but hey being with hubby was also okay :-)</p>
<p>Another thing to enjoy at Ryokan is the cuisine. People typically check in around 3pm and take a dip in Onsen before dinner (maybe having one or two beers or sake before dinner, too), and then enjoy a huge dinner. The dinner at Shimeikan was also huge but great. It started out with small dishes with veggies, tofu, and Sashimi (raw fish), and Basashi (raw horse meat - Kumamoto's famous delicacy).</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3484/3843835370_80d304a812.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_0969" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2426/3843836762_deb381f8cc.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_0973" /></p>
<p>Then more dishes such as grilled fish, grilled meat, soup, and Tempura were served. I forgot what else, but we had A LOT of food. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/3843837074_71a0c61b8d.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_0976" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2670/3843049281_811303ecd4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_0978" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3843049979_27e9c2630d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_0981" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2575/3843838626_4ca4af5e5d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_0982" /></p>
<p>I hope my dad enjoyed our birthay present. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/3845024021_ff82bd6414.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3224" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-56845871356504514022009-08-20T16:13:00.000-07:002009-08-20T22:39:37.356-07:00Going around my aunts in Kumamoto<p>The reason why we went to Kumamoto this time was to see my father's sisters who are 101, 95, and 86 years old. My father had 9 siblings (10 including my father), but most of them have passed away. The 101 year old aunt is Aunt Teiko, the oldest girl of the ten children. There were two more brothers above her. One of them died when he was very young, and the other one lived a good life in Tokyo but didn't live as long as Aunt Teiko. Aunt Teiko is into making Japanese dolls. She made about 100 of them, but she has given a number away to many people, and in fact we were given a cute doll during this trip. She has a hearing problem, but other than that she seems to be perfectly healthy and her brain is working like a 60 year old.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3500/3833726667_52a4f37d14.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3260" /></p>
<p>The 95 year old aunt is Aunt Mikiko. She has been studying and teaching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebana">Ikebana</a> for many years, and about three years ago she became a Iemoto (head master) of Kodo-ryu. Kodo-ryu is a school that is established during the year of 1716 to 1804. Unlike other Ikebana, it does not use the "kenzan" which is typically used to hold the bottom of flowers and twigs to arrange them. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/3834520348_57b2ddc064.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3263" /></p>
<p>The 86 year old aunt is Aunt Tayoko. She was a teacher of Japanese dance, but about two years ago, she and her husband got into an accident (and soon after that her husband unfortunately passed away because of it), and she doesn't seem to be teaching any more. She comes across to me as a most caring person. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2673/3833725649_640a7e9b75.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3252" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-41595962328138429352009-08-20T06:47:00.001-07:002009-08-20T22:42:11.278-07:00Kofun (Ancient Tombs) in Tamana, Kumamoto<p>While I was in Kumamoto, we had a chance to visit kofun (ancient tombs). There are many in Kumamoto, but we chose to go to the ones in Tamana city, as it was only a 45 min. drive from Kumamoto city. </p>
<p>Before going we did some research on the net, so we knew which kofun we wanted to visit, but we didn't realize that they were completely closed off from the public for preservation purposes. We called Tamana City Hall and asked how we could see inside the kofun. They told us to call the Tamana History Museum. So we did. The person who answered the phone was very nice, but he needed to stick with the rule which is to go through the school board. He asked us to get permission from the school board, but then when I mentioned that we were visiting Kumamoto for a short period of time and had to go back to the States, he invited us over to the museum and told us that we could join a private tour which happened to be scheduled for that afternoon. We were very lucky! We drove down to the museum right away. </p>
<p>Mr. Araki, the man on the phone, was waiting for us outside of the museum (in the very hot and humid weather!!). I had forgotten such a spirit of hospitality. We felt very welcomed. We went in and said hi to some of the museum staf and those who would join the tour. We had about an hour till the tour, so we decided to explore the museum. The museum was incredibly great. It contained all kinds of information about the kofun that we would go to see. It gave us good information prior to visiting the kofun. </p>
<p>The first kofun we visited was called Taibo Kofun. We enjoyed strolling along the scenic country road to get there. It was extremely hot that day, but I certainly enjoyed the scenery. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3481/3833738545_3aa31c378e.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3292" /></p>
<p>Taibo Kofun is said to have been built in the 6th century. The outside is about 43 meters long, the inside about 6 meters long. The inside is divided into three rooms, but you can only see a little bit of them as the entrance is securely sealed with a heavy-duty glass window. There are triangular patterns of blue and red on the wall. The museum had some items found in the tomb such as a gold earring, pearls, and weapons.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3540/3833741643_8ab80b3f79.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3297" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/3834533582_29f3d4ced8.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3295" /></p>
<p>The next kofuns we visited were called Eianji Higashi (East) and Nishi (West) Kofun. Unfortunately they were doing some testing on Nishi Kofun, so we only got to see the inside of Higashi Kofun. They are both built side by side. It looks like the east one was built first in the 6th century and the west one right after that. They were both discovered long before the researchers got to them, so all of the items perhaps buried with the body were all gone. What's amazing about the Higashi Kofun is the patterns on the wall painted with red. You can see triangles, circles, ship-like figures, and a horse-like figure. One of the cicles even has the dripping of red ink, which I heard is very rare. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2568/3833733553_ea774d876c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3279" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2431/3833745527_162b511bfa.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3304" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/3833746239_6da2de76d7.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3305" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/3833747927_7c86ab6442.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3309" /></p>
<p>The tour was supposed to end there, but we were pretty excited and decided to go further into the mountain side to see more kofun. Yay! The area we headed for is called Ishinuki. The first one we went to see had an array of 48 tombs on the side of a rock cliff. The cliff is about 300 meters long and 7 meters high. The entrance to each tomb is trapezoid-shaped that are doubled or tripled. Inside, you see carved knives and other weapons on the side wall.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/3834546230_b1cd30b3a6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_3329" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3834544408_56e66153ec.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3321" /></p>
<p>We also visited another kofun in Ishinuki which has a figure of Kannon carved into the wall. This area had three tombs in a row, and the middle one had the Kannon figure in the center of the wall as you go in.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2660/3833760903_2b7d04aafe.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3343" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2581/3833761969_660c9566ca.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3346" /></p>
<p>So, that was the end of the tour. It was very educational and fun. Thanks to the director of Tamana History Museum for allowing us to be on the tour, and thanks to Mr. Araki, and Ms. Matsunaga, who guided us through the tombs! Both Mr. Araki and Ms. Matsunaga were experts on kofun, and we were very lucky to have them as tour guides. Although the outside temperature was probably way above 100F and very humid, we enjoyed every single moment of the tour.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3834557024_c0a8cbd998.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3352" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-75443979802950198512009-08-18T17:39:00.000-07:002009-08-20T22:46:05.570-07:00Trip to Mount Aso<p>We made a quick trip to my father's birthplace called Kumamoto during our trip to Japan recently. Kumamoto is located on the southern island of Japan. It is famous for many things, and Mount Aso is definitely one of them. </p>
<p>Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, which rises to 1592 m above sea level. There are several craters, holes formed by various eruptions. You can go up to see one of the craters by car. </p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2655/3833708331_4644eec7c3.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3183" /></p>
<p>It was very windy that day, but we managed to peek into the crator. It had a pool of water of a beautiful emerald green color, which was pretty much covered by steam coming from the water most of the time. I heard the the temparature of the water is around 50-60 centigrade, which is quite a bit hotter than the normal Japanese bath. The water is heated by the volcano gas. The fact that it has a pool of water seemed to mean that the volcano is very active, and when the water changes its color to black, the eruption occurs in the crator.
</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3834498200_919def0a93.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3165" /></p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2646/3834498528_1fee753538.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3166" /></p>
<p>Aso weather is pretty unique, as it got nice when you go down the mountain but it was very windy, cloudy, and foggy as we went up. Here is the photo of a very cozy family of "red cows."</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3434/3834501266_47176bf7ba.jpg" width="375" height="281" alt="IMG_3184" /></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-19119998533215034432009-07-14T16:26:00.001-07:002009-07-14T16:34:08.375-07:00Friend's WeddingIt was truely great to see one of our favorite friends getting married happily ever after. He was comfortably happy, witty as usual, and proudly acknowleging the fact that he is now starting a new family. Congratulations friend!
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzt7yiYM-oEL64Oai1K5KO3Z_O1_KLZPaJvQf5q3wOMUyvZIxDHhNzI1fSjiLQhCJpLexaBnHNM42EOf4WwGFeMJvv0wbGKOnQyyOnlJUyH2YzxqkVqfaIHE2u63K8ft1h8fq3akv-58/s1600-h/Marc'sWedding1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzt7yiYM-oEL64Oai1K5KO3Z_O1_KLZPaJvQf5q3wOMUyvZIxDHhNzI1fSjiLQhCJpLexaBnHNM42EOf4WwGFeMJvv0wbGKOnQyyOnlJUyH2YzxqkVqfaIHE2u63K8ft1h8fq3akv-58/s400/Marc'sWedding1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358462583577277490" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-63424528887567338752009-07-05T09:27:00.000-07:002009-07-05T10:25:26.549-07:00Temakizushi<p>"Temakizushi" means hand-wrapped (="temaki") sushi. It is easy to prepare and great for any size of party. All you have to do is to get sashimi plate with assorted raw fish, make sushi rice, and it's ready :) I typically make "Atsuyaki Tamago" (egg omelet type if dish but without butter and instead with sake, mirin, sugar, fish broth, and a bit of salt) as my hubby loves it. I also recommend getting some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla">"shiso" leaves</a> if you mind the smell of fish. Its minty flavor will ease out the fish smell. You can also add avocado, immitation crab meat, or tuna mixed with mayonnaise. You serve all that with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nori">"Nori"</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasabi">"Wasabi"</a>, and it is ready to eat! </p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3690167351/" title="temakizushi1 by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/3690167351_7e706cc89d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="temakizushi1" /></a>
<p>What you do is to get a sheet of nori, put enough amount of sushi rice on either side of nori to cover up approx. 1/3 of nori sheet. Then put wasabi on rice, put shiso (if you like), and put ingredients like fish, eggs, avocado, etc, diagonally, and finally wrap everything with the remaining portion of nori.</p>
<p>After eating sushi, hubby served us his souvenir from Czech Republic. It was a plum-based liquor called Slivovice. I thought it was a liqueur which would be somewhat sweet, but I was very wrong. It was a heavy duty liquor with 45%(!!) alcohol. I thought my tongue would get numbed. I put a piece of ice cube in a shot glass and slowly enjoyed it, but by the time I finished a shot, I was very ready to fall asleep. Strong stuff!</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3690214093/" title="slivovice-horz by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/3690214093_eceb3af036.jpg" width="384" height="256" alt="slivovice-horz" /></a>
<p>Outside, lots of legal & illegal fireworks were going. Since gG was so scared with all the noise, he hid himself in my closet. It took me about 5 mins to find him :). Poor gG. He was shivering in a dark closet. But he calmed down once my hubby held him in his arm. </p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3690192415/" title="gGbeingscared by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/3690192415_0a39bb65a4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="gGbeingscared" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-41641198243103417072009-06-14T11:02:00.000-07:002009-06-14T11:14:03.950-07:00gG's Paws<p>I don't know what it is, but gG's paws always give me very special feelings. It is almost nostalgic, as if I am reminded of some sweet memory with feather-like touch to my heart. Is it because he got these extra soft and pure snow white paws? I just love them!</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3626035812/" title="gG'sPaws by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2431/3626035812_ffeb74c64e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="gG'sPaws" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-31100685352207929632009-06-10T14:03:00.000-07:002009-06-10T14:15:30.619-07:00Another Yakitori Night<p>We had another yakitori night. This time, I made some turkey tsukune (meatballs) as well. Ingredients for turkey tsukune are: ground turkey, green onion, mushrooms, egg, breadcrumbs, miso, ginger, soy sauce, sake, and salt. What you have to do is: 1) mince 1-2 green onion and 1-2 mushrooms, 2) put ground turkey (1/4 pound) and an egg in a bowl, 3) put 1) in the bowl and mix everything (lightly please and don't mush them), 4) in a separate bowl, mix miso (1/2 table spoon), soy sauce (1/2 table spoon), sake (1/2 table spoon), ginger (1 tea spoon), and a little bit of salt, and 5) dump the mixture 4) into 3) bowl. Mix well but don't mush. 6) add breadcrumbs little by little until it forms enough consistency to make balls. </p>
<p>Once the mixture is ready, you make it into balls and sautee them for about 2 mins in a pan and add water, put a lid, and boil them for about 5 mins. And, it is ready to be skewered! All you have to do is grilling them with the rest of skewers </p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3614006383/" title="IMG_2729 by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3614006383_c56b35c52b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_2729" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-12425668936872091222009-06-10T08:57:00.000-07:002009-06-10T14:03:06.373-07:00Major Haircut<p>The previous owner of our house did a wonderful job planting trees all over on our premises, but they never stop growing! The olive tree in the back grew so tall that the branches were spread widey because of the weight of overgrown twigs and leaves. And in front, we have so many plants, you could never see our house from the street, or likewise, I could never see the street from my house, either. </p>
<p>It was definitely the time for a major haircut! Our gardeners worked for 3 hours on Sunday cutting leaves and branches off the trees. Now trees look very clean and rejuvenated. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3613798683/" title="TreeTrimming-B-horz by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3613798683_b2a02bb24f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="TreeTrimming-B-horz" /></a></p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3614628836/" title="TreeTrimmingA-horz by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3614628836_3233c11d9d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="TreeTrimmingA-horz" /></a>
</p>
<p>We also replanted some of the plants in the front to several pots and placed them on the front porch and backyard.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52413134@N00/3613820365/" title="TreeTrimming-C-horz by SakikoKimura, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2481/3613820365_46018825cf.jpg" width="375" height="250" alt="TreeTrimming-C-horz" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-61965467271151790822009-06-05T14:35:00.000-07:002009-06-05T15:27:23.012-07:00Found a great Peruvian restaurant!<p>Ever since my hubby visited Peru, we had several chances to visit different Peruvian restaurants in LA. Recently my hubby found an article about a new Peruvian restaurant close to our house (and yes, it means close to USC), so we decided to check it out. <p>
<p>The restaurant is called MO-CHICA. Is it only me? It sounds very joyful to me. It is in a food court, so the ambience-wise it is not so spiffy, but wait until you taste the food! Anyway, unlike some restaurants which have hundreds of menu items, the number of dishes on the menu was just right, which I really loved. The menu basically has "Starters" and "Main Course." The "Starters" contains 4 dishes. Each costs only about $3-$5. And the "Main Course" contains 8 dishes ranging from $6 to $13. Great deal!! What intrigued me was the presentation of each dish. They were presented as if you were in a high-end restaurant where you are typically charged $30/dish. </p>
<p>I followed my hubby's suggestions, and we got 2 starters and 2 main courses. Yes, it was more than plenty, but we wanted to try as much as we can :). 2 starters we got were Papa ala Huancaina (roasted potatoes, boiled eggs, huancaina sauce) and Ceviche del Dia. I am not a huge fan of creamy stuff, but even I could enjoy this Papa ala Huancaina. The sauce had a mild spice to it, and it wasn't as creamy as it looked (loved that!). We also got a glass of Chicha Morada (purple corn tea), which was very good, too.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMIde9nSPvKpPARs7ZMHywXKL2Xz7C7-pTaSMxZEoddBuEjZ6uu6ORowrKC9X64NxoiBzl6aZ1JHoqS4y3eieW1kF7MQsnhEDUksomWecso6Scp4z8UzViXA7okG0nKh-42mTnoiTX-c/s1600-h/Mochika-line.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 178px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343972718548663122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMIde9nSPvKpPARs7ZMHywXKL2Xz7C7-pTaSMxZEoddBuEjZ6uu6ORowrKC9X64NxoiBzl6aZ1JHoqS4y3eieW1kF7MQsnhEDUksomWecso6Scp4z8UzViXA7okG0nKh-42mTnoiTX-c/s400/Mochika-line.jpg" /></a>
<p>Just by the time we are done with our starters, our main dishes were served. Great timing! We ordered Quinotto (wild mushroom, quinua grain rissotto, crema fraiche) and Seco de Cordero (Lamb shank, canario beans, salsa criolla, cilantoro beer sauce). Quinotto was served with green salad and Lamb was served with rice (with corn in it!). Both looked and tasted amazing. I was indeed astonished with their price performance!! </p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1TVcXs3gWj2D9atABRcNALw8mSD_6-4MQNOAUvG8nz7uju6xN3DA7ZGe9zO42CvI90YYbgRr0cOEgPGuPdWPcHX_Y7yQRSgr7U6xzxoYQHdsk1QxefoewV8DJVHR8o7DJRn5ViXOu6g/s1600-h/IMG_0769_640-tile2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 355px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343972125504493602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1TVcXs3gWj2D9atABRcNALw8mSD_6-4MQNOAUvG8nz7uju6xN3DA7ZGe9zO42CvI90YYbgRr0cOEgPGuPdWPcHX_Y7yQRSgr7U6xzxoYQHdsk1QxefoewV8DJVHR8o7DJRn5ViXOu6g/s400/IMG_0769_640-tile2.jpg" /></a>
<p>I would definitely go back again and would also recommend this place to anyone. If you are interested in, check out their web site: <a href="http://www.mo-chica.com/" target="_blank">www.mo-chica.com</a></p>
<p></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-16633979322516424502009-06-05T14:19:00.001-07:002009-06-05T14:34:57.214-07:00Finally done with the Community Site<p>I couldn't update the blog as I had been bogged down with Drupal in order to build a community site for my neighborhood association. I started to work on it (or I should say I took over the work after my hubby sat on it for a year) in April. I had no knowledge about Drupal then, and I certainly did underestimate the magnitude of the project. </p>
<p>As a product person, I had to create a requirement document. So, that was the first thing that I did. Conceptualizing what people are hoping to accomplish with the site, and writing down the requirements. But that is just a beginning. Adding frame to it and sculpting it takes long time. And, yes, it did take two full months. I took 1.5 weeks off due to my family visit, but I was pretty much working fulltime on it. And now, I am happy to announce the version 1.0 is done!!</p>
<p>One thing I realized about Drupal is that it is a wide-open-source. It seemed to me like everyone is working on random things and all the information is all over the place. People keep saying how robus and wonderful it is, but I really have to scratch my head when I hear that. I mean, yes, it has lots of themes and modules available, but different versions of Drupal and modules and updates are all nested and you need to spend quite a lot of time sorting things out (if you encounter issues). </p>
<p>After all, though, two months of struggling with Drupal surely gave me lots of insights and knowledge about Drupal. Another site with Drupal? Ah... don't want to think about it for a while. I am moving on with my life!</p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-43940979795593209772009-05-17T18:39:00.000-07:002009-05-27T09:38:45.333-07:00Nectarine update<p>I couldn't update my blog while my sister and her daughter were here. They had great time hanging out in our old fern house with gG. Took them all over the places including the Fashion District, Venice beach, Universal Studio, and Watts Tower. Ate out at The Lobster in Santa Monica, made wonderful petit steaks you can get at the Bristol Farms, let them bake their own pizzas, etc. I hope they had fun. </p>
<p>While I was busy entertaining my family, nectarines became RED! They are about 20% bigger than last year and they are VERY RED also. We tried one of them to see if it is ripe enough to eat, but it wasn't. I would say we need to wait for about a week or so. Can't wait to taste them!!</p>
<p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7nXI81hcZ2R3G8krvdScdTqDHnCr90Rhj-S5xaJBpWdPz4UpHnqqyTfPYm56buX825UmhO8EpsGihZoTHDmKdXcKxta8ewhBEOgodKfbj9KkNcMhevruVRMiXeigsxbLR9sdqWA4Bsw/s1600-h/nectarine1-vert.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7nXI81hcZ2R3G8krvdScdTqDHnCr90Rhj-S5xaJBpWdPz4UpHnqqyTfPYm56buX825UmhO8EpsGihZoTHDmKdXcKxta8ewhBEOgodKfbj9KkNcMhevruVRMiXeigsxbLR9sdqWA4Bsw/s400/nectarine1-vert.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336976026283670786" /></a></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-33609974636555958312009-05-04T17:40:00.000-07:002009-05-04T23:19:25.376-07:00Thinning Nectarine Tree<p>It has been almost a month since I wrote about <a href="http://sakikokimura.blogspot.com/2009/01/nectarine-tree.html
">our nectarine tree</a>. Our neighbor Ed came by and checked on the tree and suggested to thin the tree. Yes, the branches were draping like willows. It was gettig heavy with lots of nectarines. </p>
<p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbYK5e0mV0WQn-2IZ2k9yHCFaDbz3OPyR6XSC3cLpOUptfHyxQqP1YiRxdNNRuRck-yAZrSjLRzQMGaIZpsKZXQNdz2KXSvvsg5XDJgnLc-qz3SkFptrf4xEP9CTMhvlcIAHkHLzocYY/s1600-h/nectarines-before1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbYK5e0mV0WQn-2IZ2k9yHCFaDbz3OPyR6XSC3cLpOUptfHyxQqP1YiRxdNNRuRck-yAZrSjLRzQMGaIZpsKZXQNdz2KXSvvsg5XDJgnLc-qz3SkFptrf4xEP9CTMhvlcIAHkHLzocYY/s400/nectarines-before1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332137910497698658" /></a>
</p>
<p>
So, over the weekend, I searched over the web and found this <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_2107057_thin-fruit-fruit-trees.html">eHow article</a>) and tried it myself. It looked to me that there were fewer nectarines than last year, but that may be due to the fact that we picked many what appeared-to-be--olives-but-then-turned-out-to-be-nectarines early on to cure them (yes^^;) last year. Maybe that did well on the tree accidentaly. Anyway I managed to take out about 50 of them. May not be enough but we'll see. </p>
<p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpn4buZ16cj1iGWCyplLqbK0pnHYJ5yK548rFUqAgjgDI0ArFiD3d27gkHeDGNo73WcEM28EgUaNospy72sopjVcxPihUXreTEBT3VDkLtDuNahDRulGwEQi3Q2tlTX4MCJifkEJY80Qo/s1600-h/nectarines-befor&after-tile.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpn4buZ16cj1iGWCyplLqbK0pnHYJ5yK548rFUqAgjgDI0ArFiD3d27gkHeDGNo73WcEM28EgUaNospy72sopjVcxPihUXreTEBT3VDkLtDuNahDRulGwEQi3Q2tlTX4MCJifkEJY80Qo/s400/nectarines-befor&after-tile.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332138772747905250" /></a></p>
<p>Of course gG came by and enjoyed watching me puzzlingly taking out some of the nectarines. Such a cutie.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpUZ5E434-0B681A-6RbWNhNYUTaNpFPYYuq0CbgDkcqc5g9ulxwoi8h8LLxPvWnasUWC5ZNg-o7iqwSfplX-B8AIMHycg4xO9uhXpis01BmsabuhTcbLB50Rfz1lppws1s5S0xusA1U/s1600-h/gG_watching_me_thinning.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpUZ5E434-0B681A-6RbWNhNYUTaNpFPYYuq0CbgDkcqc5g9ulxwoi8h8LLxPvWnasUWC5ZNg-o7iqwSfplX-B8AIMHycg4xO9uhXpis01BmsabuhTcbLB50Rfz1lppws1s5S0xusA1U/s400/gG_watching_me_thinning.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332138767457172258" /></a>
</p>
<p></p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-76657773125775375492009-05-04T17:32:00.000-07:002009-05-04T17:40:27.773-07:00Ants society<p>My hubby sent me <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/28prof.html?_r=1&ref=science">this article</a> and....reminded me of the company that I used to work for. Here is the excerpt:</p>
<br>
<hr>
<p>
Dr. Dornhaus is breaking new ground in her studies of whether the efficiency of ant society, based on a division of labor among ant specialists, is important to their success. To do that, she said, “I briefly anesthetized 1,200 ants, one by one, and painted them using a single wire-size brush, with model airplane paint — Rally Green, Racing Red, Daytona Yellow.” </p>
<p>After recording their behavior with two video cameras aiming down on an insect-size stage, she analyzed 300 hours of videotape of the ants in action. She discovered behavior more worthy of Aesop’s grasshopper than the proverbial industrious ants. </p>
<p>“The specialists aren’t necessarily good at their jobs,” she said. “And the other ants don’t seem to recognize their lack of ability.” </p>
<p>Dr. Dornhaus found that fast ants took one to five minutes to perform a task — collecting a piece of food, fetching a sand-grain stone to build a wall, transporting a brood item — while slow ants took more than an hour, and sometimes two. And she discovered that about 50 percent of the other ants do not do any work at all. In fact, small colonies may sometimes rely on a single hyperactive overachiever.</p>
<p>Why do some worker ants lean on their shovels and let the rest of the workers do all the work? “It’s like students living together — you’ll always find one will have a lower threshold for doing the washing up and will end up always doing it all,” she said.</p>
<p>Perhaps the division of labor — which the economist Adam Smith linked to human achievement — may not be the key to ant success. Possibly, Dr. Dornhaus said, “the lazing ants are resting, or are waiting in reserve in case something goes wrong.” Or the laggards may be cooking up some biochemical nest protection. (All ant species manufacture a fungicide to stave off mold in their nests.) Or, she said, “It’s possible they aren’t doing anything at all.”</p>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-46140364151231888742009-04-27T11:23:00.000-07:002009-04-27T11:58:27.408-07:00Sunday gardening with gG<p>We had an old wooden planter which was looking very sad with a couple of overgrown chrysanthemums. It was time for me to do something about it, so I went out to get four pots of flowers to decorate the planter.</p>
<p>gG loved the smell of flowers (or soil) as I placed them on the patio table while I was cleaning up the old soil in the planter. He came right next to them and enjoyed them as he sipped a glass of water (he loves drinking out of the "blue cup" that we get from our dentist office).</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZipNfG-gcPaxPrU2_hZyNjTChdqF77PIR9YCTX3o8UnBcrYoeOb0XHBEQTwNpYbFlE2nB-ekKQ1hd8fM5TVrBdvZ3PbjIxHOVmCxTAC4NasF3Jq4T5935URBMmn-qYr6cA7Yye5QsniM/s1600-h/gGwithFlowers.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329444875269098242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZipNfG-gcPaxPrU2_hZyNjTChdqF77PIR9YCTX3o8UnBcrYoeOb0XHBEQTwNpYbFlE2nB-ekKQ1hd8fM5TVrBdvZ3PbjIxHOVmCxTAC4NasF3Jq4T5935URBMmn-qYr6cA7Yye5QsniM/s400/gGwithFlowers.JPG" /></a>
<p>We had great time to spend the sunny and not-to-hot Sunday afternoon! End result? I think we did okay:)
</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzE-Qqh-XSbb9gegjvzBWETtCOY3ObrS67HYQ0XLYatrxpfANmbVmv_iz7MxM2pblbnVMLbBBp54XqtmZR2E2663xko_4oWDgPmv1EpUodLcKO_8pX_gwTL42ZFQBbH3lUyWiRDQ1IgQ/s1600-h/HalfWayThru.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 25px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329445461828630162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzE-Qqh-XSbb9gegjvzBWETtCOY3ObrS67HYQ0XLYatrxpfANmbVmv_iz7MxM2pblbnVMLbBBp54XqtmZR2E2663xko_4oWDgPmv1EpUodLcKO_8pX_gwTL42ZFQBbH3lUyWiRDQ1IgQ/s200/HalfWayThru.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHQjrx4vtm-k8LTpOp2DixIQRvMDmqj0iYAvZgGClHWhbLIrgtC89P4TfX4BxhM9lWMhgPMPiDLlJ4y7Q9nzXVB9F6DNRyFbIRwXHzXRB4qbTdlo2wyoN5d2R0Y1OunFujzr_LjGhRGw/s1600-h/planterwithgG.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 25px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329445462728517650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHQjrx4vtm-k8LTpOp2DixIQRvMDmqj0iYAvZgGClHWhbLIrgtC89P4TfX4BxhM9lWMhgPMPiDLlJ4y7Q9nzXVB9F6DNRyFbIRwXHzXRB4qbTdlo2wyoN5d2R0Y1OunFujzr_LjGhRGw/s200/planterwithgG.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7yTD6m_5Zn46BKPSJOcfzmRW7dnY_-XiiPdRXQBFV6Wlk_wWOHQegQ_hjTl7x90Xy_3V2wLm_BQ3hy9EA3ucQcFQx8Iw7rsaxA2z4e2I1xS1u4yjNseimCZslqISFQSViqxSxL4iXgo/s1600-h/EndResult.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329446010649021378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7yTD6m_5Zn46BKPSJOcfzmRW7dnY_-XiiPdRXQBFV6Wlk_wWOHQegQ_hjTl7x90Xy_3V2wLm_BQ3hy9EA3ucQcFQx8Iw7rsaxA2z4e2I1xS1u4yjNseimCZslqISFQSViqxSxL4iXgo/s400/EndResult.JPG" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-21703989690914029282009-04-19T23:20:00.000-07:002009-04-20T19:58:26.966-07:00Hiking at Wilacre ParkAmazingly there are lots of hiking trails around Hollywood. Wilacre Park is one of them. It is located on the north side of Hollywood Hills and the trail is faily short although some parts are steep and perfect for a strenuous workout if you can jog up. In fact, we saw a few people jogging up and down the trail despite the heat wave of 95F!
<p><i>Park Entrance</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilC7zJgs6MCKxHIvDVAVuMjdzSbzz0sx9ZGVBooXnNWlO3EbG8sjCTSFBQncp44sVrIJ72qFoK599aviVXIlrx4WFS9vaYdhRDqoGNfQ4XGounT8v090GC-1SMUX4Z-bkfqB_r0Wdgxf8/s1600-h/Entrance.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilC7zJgs6MCKxHIvDVAVuMjdzSbzz0sx9ZGVBooXnNWlO3EbG8sjCTSFBQncp44sVrIJ72qFoK599aviVXIlrx4WFS9vaYdhRDqoGNfQ4XGounT8v090GC-1SMUX4Z-bkfqB_r0Wdgxf8/s400/Entrance.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326843183182987378" /></a></p>
Yep, we picked the best day and best time of the day to hike up to 1,060 elevation^^; It was around 95F outside, and we started the hike right around 1:30pm when the sun was attacking us like laser beam. But the view along the way to the top was great and the plants were beautiful.
<p><i>View of Valley</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMy_fOXfM1gjyXhbhPtsRKQmd4N9IXqS6wpO2ohGeTDCHnoBA4F6xh1P9l2HDODDXN2uOAj79NAEnk1_ImnU_0VZuO-vccdt6RTbTItIBejqaGfs6dA2rgcKBEMiSZrkMTNfNoXvTA-Uw/s1600-h/View1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMy_fOXfM1gjyXhbhPtsRKQmd4N9IXqS6wpO2ohGeTDCHnoBA4F6xh1P9l2HDODDXN2uOAj79NAEnk1_ImnU_0VZuO-vccdt6RTbTItIBejqaGfs6dA2rgcKBEMiSZrkMTNfNoXvTA-Uw/s400/View1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326845251569296066" /></a></p>
<p><i>Me at the top - water time!</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHH-FqQ_fybY_Oo7JrGf0JSGosdsq2Usuv1gl0w97DpSOIklNTY00chW94eaYXlQVl1J_NvNJhMjsJRC2gMbCrGe4ky9lD32QzskBa-XgyF126ytBhofp5c6Nu1urM_mBh6qgZEAfuM0/s1600-h/Walacre-Sakiko1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHH-FqQ_fybY_Oo7JrGf0JSGosdsq2Usuv1gl0w97DpSOIklNTY00chW94eaYXlQVl1J_NvNJhMjsJRC2gMbCrGe4ky9lD32QzskBa-XgyF126ytBhofp5c6Nu1urM_mBh6qgZEAfuM0/s400/Walacre-Sakiko1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326845257013868434" /></a></p>
<p><i>Little Friend</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xlzcpW57N4eIa4T9D53vjwg9KVcT52nGRC-QlqJpj_7QtcvgoWr7gCSRPnOfmLxAWTwDzIn2u_Q1K0xDW1Krkpr9BTjsa272dZATUwJNDCiLYqGmZwdWDkkbKu3IVmmHhODgW25R4gE/s1600-h/LittleFriend.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xlzcpW57N4eIa4T9D53vjwg9KVcT52nGRC-QlqJpj_7QtcvgoWr7gCSRPnOfmLxAWTwDzIn2u_Q1K0xDW1Krkpr9BTjsa272dZATUwJNDCiLYqGmZwdWDkkbKu3IVmmHhODgW25R4gE/s400/LittleFriend.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326845249425294050" /></a></p>
<p><i>Beautiful Flower</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtz_nmrnWVbNlVaRwswcBfzIYyu6olCiKKPZajhcdZG4vwZRVac9krN6zt2R7iw4zgxepK64DEMcSmq3FIw39Wgnqcl8qET9tGrlsJe_wPoXXMttqilzQDqahx0OEN2KN2TizTj1Lco7g/s1600-h/WildFlower.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtz_nmrnWVbNlVaRwswcBfzIYyu6olCiKKPZajhcdZG4vwZRVac9krN6zt2R7iw4zgxepK64DEMcSmq3FIw39Wgnqcl8qET9tGrlsJe_wPoXXMttqilzQDqahx0OEN2KN2TizTj1Lco7g/s400/WildFlower.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326843184945958626" /></a></p>
Close to the top, the trail merges with two other trails. One goes down to the paved road and the other goes down to another park and another trail. Most people just turned back around and take the same trail back to the parking lot, which we also did except at the half way, we explored wilder and narrower trail for a while. Yet, downhill was indeed a joy :) It was almost 4pm when we got to the bottom and the tilted sun was beaming through the trees calmly.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8m8_xIX_7Na9tFMLAEzSVOqdbvfuQpcPIXbr_5uuC5LAX5JIcR18pPiIPEHROjkWmqhoTYnlR1vaqQloOH31kpljAPpko9QyANtggnwwAyol8n3GzpyOb3aaMYbOMiN1poLagFZJCXA/s1600-h/SunAndTree.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:25px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8m8_xIX_7Na9tFMLAEzSVOqdbvfuQpcPIXbr_5uuC5LAX5JIcR18pPiIPEHROjkWmqhoTYnlR1vaqQloOH31kpljAPpko9QyANtggnwwAyol8n3GzpyOb3aaMYbOMiN1poLagFZJCXA/s200/SunAndTree.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326843899782968354" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUSANpbD0ZLJtk32Zptnmb-ZYKq1Y3Lw2sYtC5-GtruzzwRiLUcOY91P9VnN3v9rZsexJhFRl7paomXx1KiNUAt1MhcMl_ep3_W3KBZOuHs0hDB0fuEv6kS7MwmURw4CBmw4JBEOE-qY/s1600-h/Walacre-Bob1.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:25px ;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUSANpbD0ZLJtk32Zptnmb-ZYKq1Y3Lw2sYtC5-GtruzzwRiLUcOY91P9VnN3v9rZsexJhFRl7paomXx1KiNUAt1MhcMl_ep3_W3KBZOuHs0hDB0fuEv6kS7MwmURw4CBmw4JBEOE-qY/s200/Walacre-Bob1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326843895802361778" /></a>
Trail Map of Wilacre Pak can be found <a href="http://www.lamountains.com/maps/wilacre.pdf">here</a>.gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-78537606157930919132009-04-18T10:03:00.000-07:002009-07-03T17:46:15.880-07:00How Bob spent his birthdayApril 18th was Bob's birthday. It was a gorgeous day. The morning sun was beaming into our living room beautifully.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiug9Nw6xuNBKBzdF98ONWqasBaNLHV9BHAla9NL2Z-G0-3qWUUEiXaEivEoBG2utpSZG_nqHK-jsC8cTKTOeqUKEsDXiwsizXN3UESJSC2kP-K-WJy-cg3ozXemPuIhUO5LEEQMQsugy4/s1600-h/LivingRoom.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiug9Nw6xuNBKBzdF98ONWqasBaNLHV9BHAla9NL2Z-G0-3qWUUEiXaEivEoBG2utpSZG_nqHK-jsC8cTKTOeqUKEsDXiwsizXN3UESJSC2kP-K-WJy-cg3ozXemPuIhUO5LEEQMQsugy4/s400/LivingRoom.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326836803563920050" /></a>
As I went out to the backyard wondering what my hubby and cat were doing, I found them on the grass :) I had to take a few pics. Bob was as if back in the life of hippie era.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRd5Cf6YDYfZ9ZxDpTEbHkmi3eHQR1CyebRJdykStIjjnD05uC53MZmy-f7o-GoKfh6nkVynZBc-r_B-YqpDLdcXx0cny4F4QAXhJwD3fbpaHxlJik1RXMcGi1JojLxk7QHIJaIhlXkvM/s1600-h/LayingOnTheGrass-2.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:25px ;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRd5Cf6YDYfZ9ZxDpTEbHkmi3eHQR1CyebRJdykStIjjnD05uC53MZmy-f7o-GoKfh6nkVynZBc-r_B-YqpDLdcXx0cny4F4QAXhJwD3fbpaHxlJik1RXMcGi1JojLxk7QHIJaIhlXkvM/s200/LayingOnTheGrass-2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326836289291201906" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PtrnbYOMjREthFluJi74XGZJV7XHqdp0l2zC6CqhZv2yMAuBIesWCTb-FuCeoqjfykgk966ORhnKYYWjAB-UHMIK-7nlECpw0S388BJckgMSLjSQwoSCFTjLg_-JKP5DTF6baLtsVAs/s1600-h/LayingOnTheGrass-1.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:25px ;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PtrnbYOMjREthFluJi74XGZJV7XHqdp0l2zC6CqhZv2yMAuBIesWCTb-FuCeoqjfykgk966ORhnKYYWjAB-UHMIK-7nlECpw0S388BJckgMSLjSQwoSCFTjLg_-JKP5DTF6baLtsVAs/s200/LayingOnTheGrass-1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326836284825365346" /></a>
Then he made himself a toast with lots of butter and cinnamon sugar. To my comment of "hmmm, is that enough butter?," he replied back "it is my birthday."... Okay.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigunXBBxp7aZNsQZNU5YQJMqpyliWE3Y_TedLa4qtVXprpM0zYfFF22l8rDLPSwtwjTEEXlSAhXfZ9QRq5tMNKnODjA7HIGQXbsDRH2pXUOcwTJXoOgcTFk0Nhb_V-Hz5quBwyGSJjSMk/s1600-h/toast.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigunXBBxp7aZNsQZNU5YQJMqpyliWE3Y_TedLa4qtVXprpM0zYfFF22l8rDLPSwtwjTEEXlSAhXfZ9QRq5tMNKnODjA7HIGQXbsDRH2pXUOcwTJXoOgcTFk0Nhb_V-Hz5quBwyGSJjSMk/s400/toast.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326837098564223026" /></a>
Then to burn the calories he has taken, we went to gym and worked out. But then, Bob wanted to have a carrot cake at Tender Greens since "it was his birthday"...ugh ^^;
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj-v-qBoyKImEGvWFVhm5bEnZmDUXueTsrG82LA1CSpTx6bYpwlxZTw-iTUBxDdri0abJCjlTmWVqdz1Z5-PQGxRL5QwkIGgNKetJD0VT-7c9Iv2Hm37En6HGt2-eXdvQvpOV5AaEFCs/s1600-h/carrotcake.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj-v-qBoyKImEGvWFVhm5bEnZmDUXueTsrG82LA1CSpTx6bYpwlxZTw-iTUBxDdri0abJCjlTmWVqdz1Z5-PQGxRL5QwkIGgNKetJD0VT-7c9Iv2Hm37En6HGt2-eXdvQvpOV5AaEFCs/s400/carrotcake.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326836804668240466" /></a>
In order to maximize the calories anyone can take in one day, I took him out to dinner to Palm. Palm is a famous steak house which we used to go quite often when we lived in West Hollowood. We found another branch in downtown LA about 5 mins drive from our house. The place was rather full but we managed to get a booth seat. Stuffed ourselves up with 3lb lobster, 14oz filet minion, wild mashrooms, and keylime pie! Oh boy. Birthday is all about all you can eat!
<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ab1IgYT0tJc/Sey52jTAEvI/AAAAAAAAAV0/lqHyDgPSTxg/s400/Palm.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326836806111466226" />gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-15309734322212969592009-04-17T22:11:00.000-07:002009-04-18T10:48:41.495-07:00Japanese dinner weekSomehow after coming back from Japan, I had more craving for Japanese food. So, on Monday night, I made four dishes. One was a little dish with very thinly sliced pork, which I can only get at the Japanese grocery stores. I wrapped cheese and green beans in them, lightly breaded them, and fried them. Then I made "Asari Sakamushi" by steaming Asari with Sake..literally, Tofu Salad with sesame and vinaigrette dressing, and simly boiled Satoimo (type of taro). My hubby who typically doesn't like taro even liked these boiled ones. You peal the skin off and eat it as is (with maybe a bit of salt).
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-larI8JRH7MlTxM-rHQZABPaX0hyUpIO_wa8Dkhr6dfr2OD6TRpH8gYWy_zHqQIYftc-_HArPzqoy5Jv0FW5dpNlYC77GDCXlOFleTLrZBNQjpCeDvLESuBkgN2FIkCkhTOoVkymN0M/s1600-h/monday-dinner.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-larI8JRH7MlTxM-rHQZABPaX0hyUpIO_wa8Dkhr6dfr2OD6TRpH8gYWy_zHqQIYftc-_HArPzqoy5Jv0FW5dpNlYC77GDCXlOFleTLrZBNQjpCeDvLESuBkgN2FIkCkhTOoVkymN0M/s400/monday-dinner.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326088510546854770" /></a>
And on Thursday, I made a very simple dinner with five dishes. Well, two out of five were already made, so I only made three by myself. The main dish that day was "Unagi", my hubby's favorite. You can buy a packed Unagi, and you just have to warm it up using microwave :) For the side dishes, I made Miso soup with Tofu and Aburaage (take a look at the definition here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aburaage"> Wikipedia - Aburaage</a>), Naganegi Sumiso Ae (boiled leek with Miso and vinaigrette), Itame Yamaimo with cheese and Shiso (lightly sauté Yamaimo=yam with Ponzu topped with cheese and Shiso leaves) assorted with boiled celery, and Gobo Salad (gobo=burdock) which we just bought as is.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfUibrlh47Ep3T0Qp6pLRS5jgJbimGq5argaoZA0yf8yYsLImxVuMAy84oE19t2vmxDztjVeYh8i38rqG9Ltyb4bqly-bDZ4uylVU8g6SAPXVtRl8YGWOa-nsIF6mkuqO7AD631xFQ3w/s1600-h/thursday-dinner.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfUibrlh47Ep3T0Qp6pLRS5jgJbimGq5argaoZA0yf8yYsLImxVuMAy84oE19t2vmxDztjVeYh8i38rqG9Ltyb4bqly-bDZ4uylVU8g6SAPXVtRl8YGWOa-nsIF6mkuqO7AD631xFQ3w/s400/thursday-dinner.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326088695295588706" /></a>
And on Friday, we just grilled a whole bunch of Kushis like chicken, shrimps, quail eggs, sausages, pearl onions, and small rice balls. Althuogh they look burned in the pic below, they were actually perfectly done! And they are so easy to make. Try!
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10M-6qq2P4KJGjp1ykbhHQCa101YqNKOQ3B_zqQEvl19uCgaGrNTx6ygO5wAarw9t6zDQgWmdzeGiECkL6zcHbiUbdIOtgXN6dg3iE9KjcUA0K5X1fbhOmbByct2t2k5vVdzcQ-uBxd4/s1600-h/friday-dinner.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10M-6qq2P4KJGjp1ykbhHQCa101YqNKOQ3B_zqQEvl19uCgaGrNTx6ygO5wAarw9t6zDQgWmdzeGiECkL6zcHbiUbdIOtgXN6dg3iE9KjcUA0K5X1fbhOmbByct2t2k5vVdzcQ-uBxd4/s400/friday-dinner.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326088830594940306" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3864930180308260410.post-21995793859333678812009-04-10T10:55:00.000-07:002009-04-10T11:50:46.634-07:00Japanese Food<p>Everytime I go back to Japan, I get intrigued with the culnary culture there. Japanese food, unlike French or Chinese, it typically try to emphasize the natural taste of the seasonal ingredients rather than putting taste to them with heavy sauce. Maybe I am biased as I grew up with the food, but I just love the "simplicity," although I admit I am also a huge fan of French and Chinese :) </p>
<p>These are the spring veggies. You do Tempura with them, or you could simply grill them or saute them with soy sauce, mirin, sake, or dashi or any combination of them. </p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3kcqb05np25KPqW8kYyUQhHylZJV8kXH9LrFubzs9Xdblkie14S993u6WqME9HFvS5TetdaJzvf1gJBLCQuj9pjYgmC-pe8effLWNJrq_SLMHzVRr9vs7Rf3LmsWuCylqght5c78zPE/s1600-h/IMG_0507.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3kcqb05np25KPqW8kYyUQhHylZJV8kXH9LrFubzs9Xdblkie14S993u6WqME9HFvS5TetdaJzvf1gJBLCQuj9pjYgmC-pe8effLWNJrq_SLMHzVRr9vs7Rf3LmsWuCylqght5c78zPE/s400/IMG_0507.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323127428033700066" /></a>
<p>"Izakaya" we went during my recent visit had many great fish dishes. And they were unbelivably fresh and great. I can no longer tolerate any kind of sashimi we get here in LA :-(</p>
<p><i>Three small dishes. The top right dish is boiled Hotaruika (small squid). The top left dish is coocked scallop. The bottom dish is coocked scallop egg and organ (probably liver part based on the black color, which you typically don't eat unless it is VERY fresh)</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVME6u_V5izEUqokQ7XCB98tnO_G4-hi707yCgCD67OZZY6szgxqV5NsEaeOuHy364lGIUz-KWnetppJkHBDzBNhwBCm7wXUWWX9vagFDnhq5bn0i5Gvk4Db1V3kgm7jupun2erC9ZbQI/s1600-h/IMG_0486.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVME6u_V5izEUqokQ7XCB98tnO_G4-hi707yCgCD67OZZY6szgxqV5NsEaeOuHy364lGIUz-KWnetppJkHBDzBNhwBCm7wXUWWX9vagFDnhq5bn0i5Gvk4Db1V3kgm7jupun2erC9ZbQI/s400/IMG_0486.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323129778732197218" /></a>
</p>
<p><i>Sashimi and Sushi. All fresh!</i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahi1XeqLnIzs-Q-Nw2q30-vZbCQA2m0lZ-8VLrord-1SErgDEVRjIAfnDdTh9eXmeimZeA7n8cWC6QZpFJFgNunMfX61RgjOSzvQhtSRMOp_TUWccPV7joIqDWtPxRN_Vg0f1QSPVI5g/s1600-h/IMG_0487.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahi1XeqLnIzs-Q-Nw2q30-vZbCQA2m0lZ-8VLrord-1SErgDEVRjIAfnDdTh9eXmeimZeA7n8cWC6QZpFJFgNunMfX61RgjOSzvQhtSRMOp_TUWccPV7joIqDWtPxRN_Vg0f1QSPVI5g/s200/IMG_0487.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323130309417524546" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0i57LeOjFdfPdCHrwDfkhPGCxLWtrMfFL-8Tp7kr-m9tzeFykRt_c4lSyGfHtmX7tQ0Q6L2qZbUKIwf6jJTnkP9_CWnunkXA_w8jfcqyqxEYdnzitZiq06sWGqAWnq1RIoAOVT77DN2Q/s1600-h/IMG_0497.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0i57LeOjFdfPdCHrwDfkhPGCxLWtrMfFL-8Tp7kr-m9tzeFykRt_c4lSyGfHtmX7tQ0Q6L2qZbUKIwf6jJTnkP9_CWnunkXA_w8jfcqyqxEYdnzitZiq06sWGqAWnq1RIoAOVT77DN2Q/s200/IMG_0497.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323132236016670738" /></a></p>
<p>And, of course, you cannot forget Yakitori and Kushiage! Kushiage is typically prepared individually in front of you, so that you get to eat freshly fried Kushi=skewer.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rSBf-CTKUe4pDAZxat-bkQalkLwPJLIOl6MPZkZNoHSih9ZJxw7PQ6lkNe7DgRTooI06rIutEEDeGGyn1xcbAEG3yiy9JkRk72OmC51Hts9nJbcXXEU-3K4xVv7r06v0j5Qopn_Y3lo/s1600-h/IMG_1563.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rSBf-CTKUe4pDAZxat-bkQalkLwPJLIOl6MPZkZNoHSih9ZJxw7PQ6lkNe7DgRTooI06rIutEEDeGGyn1xcbAEG3yiy9JkRk72OmC51Hts9nJbcXXEU-3K4xVv7r06v0j5Qopn_Y3lo/s200/IMG_1563.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323133146331532034" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4M5cexOKEIPHJBsayS750tpv9NueAgnT6PbCcJPN1IQe62bgOX2ZtMkCtWTm_-7DGniYDAakRDD6ZlB9hmKaWSNUanlA-PaJXJnOR8MJxMS-QOqL44dP0CiXmsuW7ubElhC-f83_wEUU/s1600-h/IMG_2163.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4M5cexOKEIPHJBsayS750tpv9NueAgnT6PbCcJPN1IQe62bgOX2ZtMkCtWTm_-7DGniYDAakRDD6ZlB9hmKaWSNUanlA-PaJXJnOR8MJxMS-QOqL44dP0CiXmsuW7ubElhC-f83_wEUU/s200/IMG_2163.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323133297801803138" /></a>gGbamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03220815352203544132noreply@blogger.com0