I Think I'm Turning Japanese
 
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!
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Omnomnom!
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Dan slurping and probably making a mess...
Next up: Rafute!
 

I'm learning how to decorate cakes! Andy's ladyfriend Sophia is in town, and she is a trained pastry chef. This has been something I've been fascinated with for a few years, ever since I discovered Ace of Cakes and the wonders of the Food Network Challenge. So when Andy said that Sophia would be willing to teach some JETs how to decorate cakes, I got pretty excited!

First, I learned how to ice a cake properly. This is a huge deal, considering the extent of me icing a cake is taking a still-warm cake that is in its original pan, slathering pre-made frosting on it, and covering the whole cake pan in Saran wrap. But here I learned how to take the blade of the pastry knife to smooth out the frosting evenly, first on the top and then on the sides of the cake. Then I learned how to take a warm knife and smooth out any air bubbles and imperfections.

Next, I learned a couple simple piping techniques. I made flowers, leaves, and little decorative star-shaped dots. I may not be the best pastry chef, but I ended up decorating a cute little cake that I was really proud of!
Sure, this may not be a new career path. At the least, I've learned a new hobby whose outcome everyone can enjoy. At the most? I can become a famed self-trained cake decorator and win $10,000 on a Food Network cake challenge! :-)
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I love milk tea. When I first had it on a hot, humid, sticky summer day in Tokyo, it refreshed my pallette. Now that the weather is getting colder, you can get it hot out of the vening machines. I think I like it even better this way! 

I have just finished a bottle of milk tea at my desk. I think the Kirin brand is much better than Lipton, as Lipton tends to start tasting like soap after a while.


As Forrest Gump would say, "And that's all I have to say about that."
 
What in the Heidi Klum in lederhosen hell did I just eat?


So I woke up this morning a bit woozy from last night's enkai and nijikai celebrating Culture Fest. The Giants are playing game 6 at Philly, so I wanted to be sure I can watch that, so my plans for the day included not moving from my mattress and laying with my laptop rooting for the boys in orange in black. But I was STARVING. I had drunkenly eaten all my potstickers last night while Skyping after catching the last train home. All I had were ingredients to cook something really yummy, but in my impatience I didn't want to have to wait that long. So at the bottom of the 6th I jogged down the McDonalds down the street in hopes of picking up a McGriddle, which I used to think was gross but suddenly had an intense craving for.


I got there at 11:10, and they'd already switched to the lunch menu. Blech. The rest of the McDonalds menu aside from a McGriddle sounded so gross to me. But then I saw that this month they are offering a special sandwich, called the "German sausage." Interest piqued, I bought a seto and made my way back to the apartment (missing Uribe scoring at the top of the 8th, dang it!).


Immediately upon looking at the box, I regretted my decision. Ew. Sausage in a sandwich? I opened it up to find a Japanese-size sandwich that appeared to have a breaded/fried chicken patty, a slice of round sausage that covered the bottom bun, some cheese, fancy German mustard, and saurkraut. Mein Leben ist beschissen


This salty, krauty, fried mess is exactly as it sounds... a salty, krauty, fried mess. The saurkraut  wasn't even tangy, just cabbagey. And the chicken patty wasn't delightful breast meat, it was clearly a mish mash of thigh parts tossed in a ton of salt and then held together by a breaded monster. But I paid for it, and my stomach was angry, and my laziness superseded any pride or dignity I had in me so early in the day, so I ate the thing. Boo.


Ugh. Just don't try this at home, kids.


I expect a comment on my health and dietary decisions from my mom coming in approximately 3 minutes.
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Yes, I am eating on my bed.

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Stop judging me.

 
As promised, I am going to sing the praises of don katsu, whilst also lambasting it for being what I believe to be the devil's best idea in food form. Before I go on, I need to specify that it's not just all don katsu. Just the particular frozen brand that they sell at my local grocer.

What is don katsu? In short, it is breaded pork. The frozen kind that I am talking about comes in the form of don katsu nuggets, so if this fact disqualifies it from being true don katsu, then sue me. It's just easier than saying "breaded pork nuggets."

I discovered it about a month ago while trolling through Daiei on an empty stomach. I know, you're not supposed to go grocery shopping while your stomach is rumbling, lest you buy out the entire store, but that's the way I operate, people. Anyway, I didn't have anything in particular I needed to buy (another mistake... Suze Orman might have my head), and as I strolled by the frozen veggies section, I caught a whiff of something wonderful cooking. Now, I don't know the schedule of Daiei's sample days, but they always seem to be sampling at the most random times and usually just one random item. I don't know if it's cuz they have a surplus of something and need to desperately get rid of it, or maybe they have too many employees clocked in that day and someone needed something to do. At any rate, the wonderful cooking smell was that of the don katsu wafting from the little microwave oven. It didn't particularly look appetizing, but the lady was so adorably happy to be offering her tray of samples, so I took one, bowed in thanks, and popped it into my mouth.

Taste explosion!

I had already been thinking that maybe I'll pick up a package (¥348, what a steal!), since the delightul sample lady looked so hopeful and I felt I might be rude to just eat a sample and walk away. Which is weird, because in America I have no qualms about going to Costco and binge eating at all the different sample stations.

Well, after the taste explosion, I picked up a pack not out of obligation but out of sheer NEED. In the back of my head was a little voice that said, "Dude, you're just hungry, it really wasn't THAT tasty," but in the front of my head (nobody ever talks about that part), a much louder, nasal, inescapable voice scramed, "BUY TWENTY PACKAGES AND EAT AT LEAST 10 IN ONE SITTING! DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR MOM BERATING YOU ON WEEBLY AND/OR FACEBOOK FOR NOT EATING HEALTHIER AND NEEDING TO EAT MORE VEGGIES! YOU'RE A GROWN WOMAN!" I listened to that voice because I was afraid of what it might do if I didn't. Although, I didn't buy the 20 packages because I only had ¥10,000 in my pocket, and the same front-of-head voice would be angry if I didn't set aside some money for broccoli and cheese.

So that is the basic story of how I first got started on frozen don katsu. Since then, I have blown through about 2 packages a week, but it's not as crazy as it sounds, since there are only about 8 or 9 nuggets in each deceptively small package.

So now, a food review:

The Good

It is ridiculously delicious. It's easy to make. It's cheap. It brings out my eyes.

The Bad

I feel like it has me possessed. There have been nights when I've been lying in bed thinking, "I should pack some for lunch tommorrow. But maybe I can't wait till tomorrow. Maybe I should have some now. I didn't really eat dinner anyway." Then I check the freezer, and I am all out, and the devil laughs.

Also, it's pork. I have been endlessly lectured about how pork is bad for you, it exacerbates gout (which I don't have, but it runs in the family, you know), and in some cultures eating pig means going against god = siding with the devil.

It's fried before it's frozen, at least I think it is.

As mentioned above, the package contains very few of what I want (nuggets) and excess of what I don't want (empty space). The devil's work, for sure.



Sometimes I bite into a nugget and half of it is fat. Tasty, tasty fat.

The Ugly

Coupled with Spicy Black Bean Dip from Trader Joe's it is absolutely impossible to turn down. Why's that so ugly? Cuz I have an extremely limited supply of black bean dip, and once this runs out, I might die.

In conclusion, don katsu is probably my favorite go-to quick fix... er... snack when I'm dining at home. Try it. You'll like it. I give it a B for flavor, a B+ for affordability, an F for healthiness, and an A+ for addictiveness.