25 Feb 2016

Thai restaurant Khao San in Shinjuku brings back memories of Thailand

by KumaDog | posted in: International, Shinjuku, Thai, Tokyo | 0

My partner and I were planning a trip into Shinjuku the other day to buy some camera and computer gear. We discussed having lunch or dinner there and she asked me about a Thai restaurant I glowed about after visiting a couple of times with a former colleague. I told her where “I thought it was” lol, I am usually lost in Shinjuku…and she did the rest.

She found a place she was pretty sure is “the place.” She rattled off the address and I said, “yeah, I think so. Sounds right.”
We wondered around the maze that is the eki Shinjuku and after 10 minutes or so Miura announced we were there. It wasn’t the place but it looked like a lot more fun.

We found Khao San (Named after the fun and lively Khao San (Chao San) Road area in Bangkok, Thailand, using the links below. They have English, Japanese and Chinese search pages and make finding a nice “table” “eazy peezy.”

en
http://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1304/A130401/13091892/

jp
http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1304/A130401/13091892/

Or, you can use their card. I always pick up a card for a place I want to return to.

It was around dinner time so we decided on going with a set meal. Set A and Set C which are shown below.
Basically I got a green curry with soup, rice and dessert and added in an order of fresh spring rolls. Everything was pretty tasty.

Partner got the Phad Thai and Gao Po chicken. We were both stuffed at the end of it. We enjoyed the atmosphere though it is not a place to hang out in for hours. They are busy and a constant flow of customers, (mostly women, very cute women), keep the place hopping.

Dinner for both of came out to about 2600 yen. Not bad. Khao San also offers take away and bento boxes for those on the run or folks who want to take it home.

Khao San is in the basement of Lumine 1 and is surrounded by other restaurants, bakeries and markets. You can easily spend some time in the area and found some of the bakeries to be quite affordable. Up market taste and look with a mid market price. Not bad at all.
Enjoy the pics and head on over to Khao San.

5 Nov 2014

Okinawa “Donuts” are Amazing

by KumaDog | posted in: Bakeries, Desserts/Snacks | 0

Discovered these recently at the Hanno-shi Matsuri. So yummy and delicious. With black tea or coffee are my favorite ways to eat. Don’t eat too many though or you may start to waddle down to the bakery a little too often.

11 Oct 2014

Get on the Sushi Train at Sushiro

by KumaDog | posted in: Food, Sushi | 0

There’s a great chain restaurant in Japan serving delicious sushi, tempura, noodles, beer, sake and even western style dessert for a very modest price. Add in the fact the sushi arrives to your table via conveyor belt and offers electronic ordering you can quickly eat your weight in sushi for a very modest price. Starting at 100 yen and going up to 480 yen for the more exotic a la carte selections Sushiro is fun for families, singles and couples on a first date. For tourists on the go and for travelers wanting to taste a real part of Japan outside the tourist areas, Sushiro is a great place for lunch or dinner.

imitation crab grilled with mayo (kanikama)

Order touch panel in English and Japanese

shrimp with avocado, Japanese mayo and onions

http://www.akindo-sushiro.co.jp/

10 Oct 2014

Taste of Heaven from Milestone Bakery and the Yasuda-ya Butcher Shop in Chichibu

by KumaDog | posted in: Bakeries, Butchers, Food | 0

Chichibu has always been a tourist destination at least as far back as the 70’s. The beautiful thing now is that younger people are visiting the town and nature enthusiasts have discovered the charm, the beauty of the place and the people and the delicious foods the town has to offer. When you leave the Seibu-Chichibu main station you wind your way quite easily to the old town center. On one of the main streets is where you find Milestone Bakery and Yasuda-ya butcher shop. They are right across from each other as you pass one my favorite markets, Belc. Straight ahead of you is the Chichibu shrine which is open year around.

Milestone is a combination Japanese and French bakery offering delicious BAGELS. These are soft and a little smaller than New York style but they are soooooooooooo delicious. Well, someone got the idea to offer the freshly fried hams and porks and potatos from yasuda-ya across the street. Milestone will split and warm your bagel and charge you a ridiculously low 120-160 yen for a taste of heaven. Then you simply hop across the street and line up at Yasuda-ya for some really delicious pork or potato that have been fried lightly in oil and smell heavenly. Yasuda-ya offers the typical Japanese style Worcestershire sauce. Grab a couple of these and some tea or other refreshments from Belc and you are ready for a super cool picnic on the cheap. 2 people can easily eat and drink for less than 1000 yen or about 10 bucks USD.

Milestone

Banba-machi 18-5, Chichibu-shi, Saitama

TEL : 0494-24-4776

Chichibu, Saitama, Japan

Saitama, Japan

Yasuda-ya

Yasuda-ya is across the street from Milestone. They are famous for Miso Marinated Pork which you can buy from their site

Banba-machi 19-9, Chichibu-shi, Saitama

TEL : 0494-22-4322

13 Apr 2014

Chichibu’s taiyaki Negishi is a tradition to savor

by KumaDog | posted in: Chichibu, Food | 0

Negishi (family and place name) has been around for more than 40 years and could go back a lot longer. However, our family experience with them only goes back to the 1970’s. Photos of the current owner’s family are displayed in the shop. It reminds me of old bakeries back in the United States run by families for generation after generation. Negishi is not a chain, it is a family shop and you can tell, or rather smell the difference, the moment you walk through the doors.

Taiyaki Negishi and the art of Chichibu red bean paste treats

Still run by the same family, Negishi offers fresh taiyaki made daily the old fashioned way, on fish shaped griddles over raw-fire heat (gas stoves). Regular customers come into the shop throughout the day to pick up pre-packaged orders. Walk-ins, like us, are also treated to freshly made, made-to-order taiyaki. It only takes a few minutes until the shop is filled with the sweet smell of taiyaki being made on the griddle. It is a moment to savor if you love Japanese food. It is a moment to savor if you love good food in general.

There is a very special little shop in the city of Chichibu (Saitama prefecture) that makes a delicious Japanese treat called taiyaki. Taiyaki are usually fish shaped pancake dough treats with a filling inside usually made of red beans ground into a paste.

Taiyaki can also be made with custards. My favorite is red bean paste but I also love chocolate custards that have been gently toasted. Oishii! (Delicious!)The taste of red beans in this paste form is gently sweet, not over-powering. It is a mix of vegetable and fruit marmalade kind of taste without the sticky sugar of jellies and jams. It is a paste. It is readily enjoyed with hot or cold teas or juices and is a great addition to a picnic if you are hiking or taking a walking tour of this beautiful mountain town.

Here, Madame Negishi prepares fresh taiyaki for some very happy customers.

Negishi Taiyaki makes fresh taiyaki every day.

When you visit Chichibu be sure to put Negishi taiyaki on your list of places to visit. It is only a few minutes walk from the train station and various temples and shrines can be found on the way.

Negishi Taiyaki-ya

Chichibu, Saitama, Japan

Negishi Taiyaki-ya

ねぎし鯛焼屋

〒368-0035

埼玉県秩父市上町１丁目６−４

1 Chome-6-4 Kamimachi

Negishi Taiyaki-ya

Chichibu, Saitama, Japan
TEL 0494-24-2138

2 Apr 2014

Delicious and Juicy and Sweet, these are Amaou strawberries from Hakata City

by KumaDog | posted in: Food, Fukuoka | 0

Japan is a bountiful land of fresh fruit and vegetables

Ever want to taste a bit of heaven on earth? If you come to Japan in springtime it pays to find and taste Amaou strawberries. I remember strawberries tasting like this when I was a child in the states. And not since then. In the summers we would go to farms in the rural areas around my hometown where farmers allow you to pick fruit and vegetables from their fields. This is something you can also do in Japan today.

Another beautiful place, not too far from Tokyo is in Saitama prefecture. Chichibu is known for it’s easy access to nature, for wonderful monthly festivals and for the amazing fruits and vegetables grown in the area. My wife’s parents farm a small mountain top and prepare some of the most delicious meals you can imagine from their hard labor. Here is an excellent source for finding a farm that suits your needs. You can expect much joy and happiness and a full tummy after your very own harvest is complete.

Amaou strawberries, fresh from Fukuoka prefecture

However, these special strawberries came to our local market and when my wife saw them her eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. We bought a package of fresh Amaou from Hakata City and on the way home tried to decide how we would have them. Greed won in the end and we simply devoured them fresh at the following morning’s breakfast.

Don’t forget to bookmark us, share with your friends and make a comment or two to share your own strawberry picking experiences in Japan. Please share your love for the Amaou.

4 Mar 2014

Misao Okawa has the yamato spirit at the ripe old age of 116

by KumaDog | posted in: Aging / Longevity, Health, Okinawa, Sushi | 0

Misao Okawa IS Yamato Spirit. For years I have been fascinated by Japan. For many reasons such as Samurai, cuisine, beautiful women, clothing, fashion and tech. But as I grow older I am more and more interested in health and diet as it relates to aging. Misao is a prime example of why I am here. Because she is here.

Over the next years, one of our key topics at Yamato Spirit will be the discussion of health food leading to a healthy and long life. Simple ways, simple and delicious foods we an all enjoy that are good for our bodies and good for a long life. –KAM

From Yahoo–

“Seeking advice on how to live a long time? You could do a lot worse than Misao Okawa. The Japanese woman will celebrate her 116th birthday on Wednesday.”

“Okawa (pictured above, celebrating her 115th birthday in 2013) spoke to the U.K. Telegraph about her secrets for longevity. Those hoping for an obscure secret trick (“Always jump on one foot at exactly 3:43 a.m. while playing the banjo”) are in for a disappointment. Okawa attributes her incredible life span to getting plenty of sleep, eating well, and taking a nap as needed.

She told the paper, “Eat and sleep and you will live a long time. You have to learn to relax.”

Easier said than done, of course, but when advice on living a long life comes from the world’s oldest person, it’s worth heeding. Okawa, born in 1898 and great-great-grandmother to six, eats sushi “at least once every month,” Tomohito Okada, head of the retirement home where Okawa has lived for the past 18 years, told the Telegraph.

When asked by the Telegraph about her happiest and saddest moments, she spoke about her 1919 marriage to her husband and the birth of her three children. Her husband passed away in 1931. Her surviving children are 94 and 92, according to the Telegraph.

Okawa became the world’s oldest living person last year when the previous title holder, Jiroemon Kimura, passed away at the age of 116.”