It's forecasted to rain all weekend! Not only do I dislike the rain, but it is also taking its toll on the beautifully delicate sakura. The petals are showering down fast and furiously, being swept into gutters and scattered across the wet pavement. Admittedly, the soft pink polka dots are still beautiful to look at, but it makes the trees look less fluffly and springlike and more naked and... tree-ish.

Luckily, my parents flew in on Wednesday and were able to see some of the cherry blossom glory. I will no doubt be posting some pictures of our adventures together. This weekend we head to Hiroshima, which means warmer weather! Yay! I hope some sakura can still be found there so we can enjoy some late-season hanami.

I am glad it's no longer crazy cold in Kobe, and I don't have to bundle up with tights under trousers and down jackets and scarves and earmuffs, but this rain is bringing me down a little. :-( Can't wait for more sunshine! Yes, even if it means I will be sweaty and miserable come summertime.

Stay tuned to see what my parents and I were up to on their visit!

Hanami, or the act of viewing the beautiful blooming cherry trees (sakura), is upon us! When Dan and I were in Kyoto a few days ago, we saw a small group of blossoming trees at one of the smaller shrines, which made me very excited that the rest would soon be exploding!

Yesterday, when I arrived at work, I noticed that the trees outside the window had indeed exploded. I took the time to snap some iPhone pictures, which actually turned out pretty beautiful against the bright blue sky. 

I am so excited that my mom will be able to see all the sakura! It's pretty perfect timing!

There really isn't much else to say about them... they're just really pretty!

Kobe beef time!

If we thought rafute was melt-in-your-mouth amazing, we were able to find the one thing that just might outdo it: Kobe steak! Yes, folks, the rumors are true. Kobe beef is amazing. If you love meat as much as I do, you can understand why the hefty price tag is worth paying in order to enjoy something as glorious as a bite of kobe beef in your mouth. It was in sharp contrast to the sinewy (but still delicious) gyoudon I had in Kyoto earlier that day. But any foodie would be able to fulheartedly appreciate the amazing goodness of Kobe beef. It is tender, it is juicy, it is flavorful, it is beautifully marbled, and it makes love to your much-neglected tastebuds (which are angry about all the crap you had made it taste before the introduction of succulent beef).

Dan and I knew we wanted his last dinner in Japan to be kobe beef, and even though we had a small taste of it before, being able to enjoy a whole steak would be something different. We decided to go to A-1 Charcoal Steak, which was both the least expensive and (so I've heard) one of the most delicious in the area. I'm not sure what I was expecting from the steak house. I guess for the pricetag, I was picturing linen table clothes, candles on the table, a fancy maitre'd, and waiters in tuxedos who serenade you with Puccini arias as you done. But it was just your unassuming restaurant inside, complete with flourescent lighting spilling out from the kitchen. But at least the chefs were wearing cool hats. :-)

We decided to order the course that included a glass of wine, soup, salad, and rice. The waiter laid out these silly paper aprons for us to wear, which I thought was just for show, but was later very happy to have in order to save my clothes from the splattering fat of the beef. (Never before had splattering fat sounded so appetizing!)

The steaks arrived sizzling on iron platters, topped with onions and generous slices of garlic and paired with spinach and some fried potatoes. Dan ordered 240 grams and I got 170, and since I have no idea how big grams were, I was anticipating it to be really small. But it was pretty big! I even ended up giving an extra slice to Dan (blasphemy!), who had gobbled it down like there was no tomorrow. I was a little skeptical when they had only given us chopsticks for the beef, but it is so tender and amazing that you can pick up the slices and bite off the size you want. Or, you can do as Dan did and put an entire slice in your mouth. :-)

I savored every single bite. I am the type of person that likes to make little meals of each bite: a little bit of spinach on top of the beef, topped with a small slice of garlic and a little morsel of potato. I like the way that I can make every bite different depending on what I decide to mix around. I was careful to leave some garlic and potato for my very last bite, and then set it aside as I finished my salad and rice. It was like my reward for eating all the extra stuff first. 

After the last amazing bite was gone, a small part of me was sad. But, I realized that in a little more than a week, my parents will be visiting and I can take them to this place again! More steak, please!

If I were an inmate on death row, I would definitely ask for some Kobe beef, with a side of rafute, of course.

When Dan and I got to Okinawa, it was probably about 5:00. It wasn't quite dinnertime, but it had been a while since we had eaten, and, just like a small child or a Mogwai, if I don't adhere to a regular feeding schedule, I get quite grumpy. We were taking the 120 bus (which, unfortunately, became our only mode of transport for much of our stay in Okinawa) up to Chatan from Naha, about an hour on the 58 "freeway" (more like a 2-lane road packed with people driving at freeway speeds). We passed through a busy area of Naha, illuminated with the tacky glow of flashing neon and running marquee lights. It was definitely the tourist shopping section, where you can pick up a cheap souviner or cheesey T-shirt to remind you of your time in this fabulous place. We weren't entirely confident in where we were going, and I was starting to get really grouchy (Dan just getting over his own grouchiness after being told to shut his Kindle off on the plane). We found a Korean BBQ place and, despite the pricetag, agreed to eat there. It was pretty yummy, but the highlight of the meal wasn't what we paid for; it was the succulent amuse bouche that they offered us while we waited. 

Placed in a tiny dish that could easily fit in a child's palm, two tiny slices of pork sat in some broth. Hungry and not caring if it tasted like wet toilet paper, I plunged my chopsticks in for a bite.

The best way to describe the texture of the meat is this: pillowy. Yes, this meat was pillowy, as well as moist, and extremely fatty. But, as I've stated in previous blog posts, I am not opposed to a little fatty porky goodness! This was my first taste of Okinawan Rafute, and it certainly would not be the last.

The following days, we had some rafute on a couple occasions. It was always soft and fatty and delicious, and always swimming in a bit of tangy-sweet-tamarind-y sauce, and always regretfully too small a portion. Probably my favorite taste of rafute was at a small restaurant by our hotel called Celluloid, a place whose decore I obsessed over and somewhat envied, from the velvet covered menues to the amber colored illumnated orbs on the wall. But the rafute was even better than all the restaurant's design elements combined! Dan and I literally made accidental "omnomnom" noises as we ate up every last fatty morsel of rafute presented to us.

It should be noted that Okinawan food is much different than other Japanese food. It is usually spicier or more full of flavor, with a heavier emphasis on fatty meats. Much like a certain other island communities I know (looking at you, fat-loving Philippines!).

I vowed that when I get back to the States, I will check out the butcher on College Ave. by our place, buy a pound of pork belly, and attempt to make some rafute.

But until that day comes, I invite you to follow this recipe I found, make some yourself, and report back to me!

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds pork belly
- 1g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thick slices
- 2 cups dashi
- 2/4 cups sake
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cut the pork belly into thick chunks. Blanch the pork with boiling water in a large pot to remove any excess oil. Drain and set aside.
   
2. Mix ginger, dashi, sake, mirin, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a heavy based sauceban, stir over high heat until sugar is dissolved
   
3. Add the pork and return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, turning occasionally for one our or until pork cubes are tender. When the sauce reduced to slightly syrupy glaze, remove from heat
   
4. Serve hot and prepare to drool
   

Next up: Kobe beef!

Yesterday I saw Dan off at the airport. We were in a bit of a hurry to catch the 2:40 limousine bus to the airport. We still wanted to grab some noodles and hit an ATM before we got on the bus, which gave us exactly 22 minutes. I hate cutting it too close at the airport, so if we waited till the 3:00 bus, it would have been way too close for comfort. But Dan wanted noodles, and my stomach was starting to rumble too. What could we do? Grab a dehydrated Cup Noodle at the combini while Dan grabbed some money? Sit through an hour ride on the bus while I only got hungrier (and therefore crankier) and wait to eat at the airport?

Then suddenly it was as though the clouds parted and the gods smiled down on us. As we emerged from the short tunnel connecting us from the bus stop to the road where 7-11 (and the ATM) was, I saw the katakana for "Ramen." Being an odd hour of the day, I wondered if the ramen shop was open, but then I saw steam emerging from the part between the red curtains, and I saw the legs of a couple customers peeking out from beneath the banner. It was a standing ramen shop! One of the few eating experiences I had yet to enjoy. Here is where a hungry person on the go could grab a delicious bowl of noodley goodness without even bothering to remove their coat or sit down. You didn't have to waste precious moments flagging down a waiter, or ponder an indescipherable menu. Instead, you can slurp your noodles and literally walk away within minutes.

We walked up to the counter and were immediately handed two glasses of cold tea, and I hesitantly said "Buta no ramen?" Which roughly translates to "pig's ramen?" The lovely woman said "Chashumen?" And, because I didn't know what the proper word was, I just said "Hai! Futatsu de!" And less than 2 minutes later we were presented with two steaming bowls of lovely ramen with a generous portion of sliced pork on top with onions for garnish. I took a little sip of the broth threatening to spill over the lip of the bowl. Mmmm! Oishii deshita yo! Dan and I basically slurped and chewed in silence. Before half the bowl was gone, I was already getting full. I had to give some extra pork to Dan because I could hardly finish my serving. This was not your freshman year ramen staple! This was the real thing!

We managed to order and eat within 10 minutes, affording us enough time to stop by 7-11 for money and water, buy bus tickets, and board the bus with a couple minutes to spare. Now I know where I need to go when I need a quick bite. For cheaper than a crappy McDonald's set-o (and much faster to boot), I suggest hunting down a standing ramen shop for a delicious bowl of noodle heaven!

Next up: Rafute!

I just got back from seeing Dan off at the airport. :-( 

He had a lovely second visit to Japan. Some of our highlights:

• petting/feeding the deer in Nara
• eating
• scuba diving with whale sharks
• sailing
• eating
• being the only 2 people laying on the beach in Zamami
• kayaking to a private island
• eating
• visiting Kyoto
• getting lost on the bus
• riding in a rickshaw
• eating

We also ate. A lot.

Anyway, I will likely blog about some of the adventures, namely the whale shark diving (I think that was my most favorite part of the entire time with Dan), but also about the eating. Because we did that. Lots. And it was delicious!

Now I am sitting in my lonely tiny apartment with nothing but the sound of the washing machine whirring to keep me company. Next week my parents will be visiting, though, so it will be a lovely distraction from all this quiet!