Fruit is packaged like this in Japan. Almost all fruit ~ Apples, white peaches and mangos - just to name a few. A mango is pictured to the left. One of our dear friends in the building gave us this mango. It is a rather large fruit for Japanese fruit size. To us, it's probably about normal.
But, fruit here is expensive. White peaches are often 2 for 700 Yen ($9.00). My fruit stand couple beats that by a mile which is only one reason we go there :) But being expensive and delicate...they package it so that it is well cared for.
Now, I'm not sure I've mentioned this before but there is this drink that was in the vending machines here for about a month that we call "Mango Juice.: It's a mildly carbonated beverage that is flavored like a mango. Sarah loves it. The first time she tried it, I promise you it was like a drug to her. She could not get enough and she would not let the bottle go. Then, it left the vending machine and everyone was sad for her. Luckily though, our favorite grocery store (Life) carries it so she is not without until next week when we go home.
So, this may be part of the reason our friend gave us the mango...because she knows about the mango juice obsession that someone in our family has!
Oh and by the way...real mango fruit...Sarah says is quite good too!
Miyuki told us about this cute little restaurant she thought the girls may enjoy. They did and we are so glad to have spent an afternoon at Pennennenumu Harry.
One of the even-more-special parts of this trip was that the restaurant had two little dogs and one was "Harry" from a book that Grace's Specials teachers read to her last year in Kindergarten. So, except for the Japanese title and text..she recognized it the second we walked in the door - where it was on display with the dogs.
Grace had liked the book Mrs. Freking read to the class so much, she checked it out from the library for me to read to she and Sarah at home. So, we all remembered the cute story about a dog named Harry...
Here is a photo of the girls with the book (in Japanese). The girls are standing right in front of the dogs (below). The black dog has a Japanese name and also had a book that he was named after too. Unfortunately I can't spell or pronounce his name...but here they are. "Harry" and his friend:
The golden brown dog is "Harry"
Next, we went upstairs to find a table. You find many Japanese restaurants are multi-level for seating. Here are the girls enjoying looking through the books, many of which we did recognize (just couldn't read)...
Grace was excited to see one of Jim's favorites
as a child..."Where the Wild Things Are"
As you can see, even at the table, there were plenty of books to select and choose from. (behind Grace above)
"A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein
And then, the food arrived! Grace wouldn't eat her "Harry" cookie because it was too cute (at least for a while) and the girls oohed and ahhed over the cute little cocoa powder paw prints that were on the plates!
Lemon cheesecake for the girls (above).
Tiramisu for me (below). Sarah and I ended up trading...she wasn't too excited about the lemon part.
And if you order a meal...this is the presentation that is delivered to your table. You may be able to see a little, but the bread is shaped and decorated to look like a little turtle!
And, you know octopus is common here. We ARE on an island in the middle of the ocean...it's in the grocery stores, it's in many, many dishes at restaurants, it's placed on pizza and mixed in fried noodles. But, please don't think that means that we are eating much of it!
However, we did think it fitting that they had an octopus slide in a park a block away that we stopped at for a few minutes on the way home. I made this picture larger so you could try to see Sarah in it's mouth (or that's how the girls explained it)!
We are so glad Miyuki suggested that we visit this place. What a special afternoon!
Okonomiyaki is very famous in Osaka. (o-konomi-yaki) It is said to have originated here and people describe it as a pancake with vegetables and meat in it. We had this for dinner at Spa World. They mixed it up and grilled it right in front of us. We had a pork and shrimp version and a beef and pork version. The latter had noodles also added to it which is mentioned in the definition below.
From Wikipedia:
Kansai- or Osaka-style okonomiyaki is the predominant version of the dish, found throughout most of Japan. The batter is made of flour, grated nagaimo (a type of yam), water or dashi, eggs and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion, meat (generally pork or bacon), octopus, squid, shrimp, vegetables, kimchi, mochi or cheese. Okonomiyaki is sometimes compared to an omelette or a pancake and may be referred to as a "Japanese pizza" or "Osaka soul food".
In Osaka (the largest city in the Kansai region), where this dish is said to have originated, okonomiyaki is prepared much like a pancake. The batter and other ingredients are fried on both sides on either a teppan or a pan using metal spatulas that are later used to slice the dish when it has finished cooking. Cooked okonomiyaki is topped with ingredients that include otafuku/okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), aonori (seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), Japanese mayonnaise, and pickled ginger (beni shoga).
When served with a layer of fried noodles, the resulting dish is called modan-yaki, the name of which may be derived from the English word "modern" or as a contraction of mori dakusan, meaning "a lot" or "piled high" signifying the volume of food from having both yakisoba and udon.
We had both okonomiyaki and madan-yaki. Jim likes it with noodles better. I prefer without. The girls won't tell me what their preference was, but they both ate it. So - that right there says alot...it was good!
If you would like to watch a few videos of how this is prepared, I took them for everyone. And if we don't already look like tourists, me video taping them making okonomiyaki sure confirmed it! I think it made almost all of the workers in the restaurant laugh a little...but not in a bad way. Most Japanese people we find are proud to share their culture with westerners...even if it means their hands are on video!
This is the beginning. They bring the mix in the bowl to the table, mix it up right in front of you.
Then they place the mixture on the grill....
And then they flip it...just like a pancake!
Add two special sauces...and it's ready to eat! (This is just a photo, not a video)
The other night Jim got home "early" (7 p.m.) so we decided to go out to dinner (he had emailed before he left work). One night this week he got home after the girls were asleep and we were needing some "get out of the house and be a family" time. So, we decided set out to eat somewhere we had not eaten before, somewhere that was close by (because how cool is it that we can just WALK to restaurants???) and somewhere that had availability - you will find here that a lot of the local restaurants are full by 7 p.m. because they don't have the seating capacity that we may be used to. You will also find that these little places have wonderful charm, a quaintness that is inviting and unique AND more compelling than a chain restaurant...
Anyway, our waitress did speak some English (which helped because this restaurant did not have many pictures in their menu - which is uncommon here). Jim loves to just point to something on the menu and order it. I, however prefer to know what I'm eating before it arrives on the table. (wink) So, we settled upon asking our waitress, "What's Good?" And these are the items we ordered. Unfortunately, I do not know what any of the are called. Maybe I'll ask Miyuki to help me with that...but, until then pictures and my descriptions will serve us nicely.
This was kinda like a pizza - in the sense that it was round and flat and had cheese baked on top of it. Inside was a creamy white sauce that I'd say was the consistency of cream cheese or something. It also had "leaves" in it which Sarah would not eat until it was picked out. I think it was spinach, but she is funny about "leaves" these days - which she defines as anything green and flat. Jim and I liked this appetizer dish.
This is what we ordered for the girls. Jim said that he has this quite frequently in the lunches the company he is working at orders for them. He thinks it's maybe a sweet potato dipped in batter and fried. I'm not sure, but it was something fried that was mushy inside. The girls didn't eat it. But, kudos to Grace because she tried it. That's big for her. It was okay, but I probably wouldn't order it as a main dish.
This was our main course. I was excited when I saw it because it reminded me a little of the dish we ordered on our Anniversary. We cooked it at the table (which is always fun). But, it ended up being more like a soup. Grace ate the carrots off the top before it was done....more kudos for her!
It also had beef in it, which you can't see because it was under the cabbage. There was also a mild soy sauce in the pan in which everything cooked. In all, this was okay too. I think we would have liked it better had it been served with rice - and it probably could have been if we had ordered some (or known what we were doing). But, it was good.
For this meal, we also got some fried noodles but the girls ate them all before I could take a picture!
And finally, for our entertainment - Sarah took the hand towels they give you before the meal to preform a magic trick - where she asked where her glass was and then pulled them off and said "Here it is!"
So for dessert after the Ferris Wheel, we decided upon trying crepes. As you can see in the widow they have a large selection of choices (this is just two rows). This is very common here, for restaurants to have plastic samples of their dishes outside for you to see. It's also a large help to us! You can also see, that in Japan, they place a heavy emphasis on beauty of the food on their plates. Below is an example of crepes not for dessert, which include a hot dog (on the right) and some other non-dessert foods made with crepes.
So, our crepes ended up being rolled into a ice cream cone shape, making it much easier to eat. And I think everyone has caught on to how happy this makes our "sugar monster."
Grace chose to get a grape flavored ice cream instead of a crepe. Below is a video of them making the crepe dough...|
For one of Erin's last meals here, Jim wanted to make sure she got to try a Korean BBQ restaurant. At this restaurant, we decided to pay the "all you can eat price" so we could try different meats. Jim ordered various cuts of beef (including tongue - this made me unhappy because he wouldn't tell us which one it was). We also ordered veggies and chicken to roast on the little grill in the middle of the table.
We also ordered bibimbap rice. According to Wikipedia, this is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal" or "mixed rice." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. The photo to the right is a Bibimbap photo that I took from Wikipedia. We've ordered this twice now and I've not seen it with an egg or meat served on it, but the other stuff looks similar.
Erin arrived safely and was feeling alert and awake so we decided to go out to dinner. We jumped right in to giving her a more Japanese dinner experience and went to a little restaurant in town. We ordered Takoyaki.
Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼, literally fried or grilled octopus) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. Takoyaki are brushed with takoyaki sauce, a sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise. The takoyaki is then sprinkled with green laver and shavings of dried bonito. Takoyaki is associated with yatai street food stalls, but there are many well-established takoyaki specialty restaurants, particularly in Osaka and the Kansai region.
Takoyaki was first popularized in Osaka, where a street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with its invention in 1935. (Wikipedia).
We also ordered some raw fish and some different meats on a stick. Which is also something you see here...chicken, pork, etc all served on a stick. For some reason I didn't take pictures of any of that. But, it was good and Erin's introduction to Japan began in full swing. Oh, and our girls ate the takoyaki, right after I took the octopus out...
Randomly, the next day we saw someone (in a restaurant window) making takoyaki. It was made much different than I thought, (since I thought a dough ball with octopus in it was dipped in a fryer), so I took a short video to show everyone.
Thursday, we had a playdate with a mom and her daughter who live in our apartment building. (Remember, the letter under our door?) We had a nice time, the girls got to play with someone besides each other and the mama made us lunch. Hayashi Rice. It was yummy. (I would have taken a picture, but I already took a picture of the chopsticks and I didn't want the woman to think I was strange).
Pictured here are some little chopstick holders. When setting the table, you place your chopsticks on the holder at each place setting. Many of the holders are chosen purposely depending on the season. Some (like the doughnut above) are for fun!
It was a very nice way to spend a day...talking to other people besides each other :)
This is the fruit stand we visit at least twice a week. A cute older couple run it and they declined my request to please take their photo. So, this is a photo of their fruit stand. We love them. They are so cute.
The grocery store we like best, Life, is right around the corner and we stop at the fruit stand almost every time we go, on our way home. This couple speaks no English, but they can say hello and enough to have asked us if we are from America. They think the girls are cute (which of course, they are).
About the third time we went there the gentleman began under-charging me. I didn't quite catch it that time, but the next time we were there I was paying attention...and I asked. Of course there is a severe language barrier. And after searching his head for the right word, he came up with "service" which I took to mean, with his non-verbal expressions, "repeat customer."
Although he doesn't speak English a couple weeks ago I attempted to ask where the apples were that day. We love the apples here, I don't know the variety but we had went to the fruit stand for apples. And of course, we had a communication issue. He had know idea what "apple" meant and at the time, I did not know how to ask for a "ringo." However, the next week there were ringos there. And Sarah grabbed an orange (which we do typically buy) but we did not want this trip. So, I took it from Sarah's hand and put it back. The gentleman took it out of the basket and gave the orange back to Sarah. Then, I stood there not wanting to be rude and trying to decide what to do...and then the gentleman gave Grace an orange too. So, then I knew that he was giving us the oranges and I paid for my two rather large apples. Service. :)
This fruit stand is part of our life here. It's "ours" and even with the language barriers it is nice to find ways to communicate in spite of them.
Jim worked on Saturday (boo!). We are entering his busy time, so this is going to be our new normal for a couple weekends upcoming. However, he did get home in order to venture out for dinner. We tried to go to the Malaysian place again, but it was already full and the owner seemed so sorry to have to turn us away again. But, we'll get there.
So, we decided to walk about a street over to the Westin Hotel and choose a Japanese Restaurant inside of the hotel. Really the lower levels of this building are all restaurants and little cafe shops, you'd never know it was a hotel until you went upstairs.
I'm not sure what the name of this restaurant was (it was in Japanese, of course), but in almost all of the restaurants it's easy choose meals because the menus have photos and some English. Many restaurants also have the meals outside in the windows (plastic versions) so you can see what they offer and can easily decide if you may like something inside that they serve.
This was the view from our seat (somehow it was the only table available in the restaurant upon our arrival). There was a waterfall coming over the window with a stream and large rock in the background. Manmade of course.
This is what Jim ordered. On the left is a rice omelet which we see alot at the restaurants and he was wanting to try it - the omelet had rice mixed with sauce rolled up inside. He didn't love it, but was glad to have tried it. On the top middle was another common addition to the plate here - some kind of sprout-y lettuce thing with some cole slaw sauce on top of it and garnished with carrots. It's good, we think. And then on the right was some breaded fish and tarter sauce. I think the girls ended up eating most of that because he made the mistake of letting them try it!
The girls got pizza. It was called something like Original Pizza in the menu (the waiter gave us an English menu) and looked like a simple cheese pizza (in the menu's picture). We couldn't understand why, if that is what it was, it was priced so high. When it arrived we realized that it had shrimp on it. Which, you will find a great deal here - sea life on pizza. Many times it is lobster, octopus, shrimp, etc. Which of course makes sense since we are kinda close to a large body of water...
This was my meal. I tried to take a picture of the box it was delivered in, just to show you. Inside was some seasoned grilled steak on top of rice. It was very good. I kind of missed vegetables or something on the side, but those are just cultural differences. And, Jim shared some of his spout-y stuff with me, so I did have some type of veggie! :)
So, Friday night Jim got home in time to go to eat. We tried to go to this cute Malaysian place around the block from our apartment (can't wait to go there so I can show you pictures), but with only about 6-8 tables it was at capacity when we arrived. So, since it was sprinkling we decided to stay close and go to this Italian place around the other corner. (we seem to migrate to Italian - we know.) It was a larger restaurant on the second floor of the building. I couldn't take photos because it just would have been odd in the environment. Everyone was in there with their groups drinking their wine, enjoying the evening and flashing a camera would have been out of place. What I can tell you though, is I'm not sure that I'll ever eat at Olive Garden again. Finding a reasonable and authentic Italian Restaurant when we get home is going to be on the list. :)
After dinner, we stopped by Seven Eleven (for real) and got the girls a treat. See these whippy dip ice cream cones you can just pick up out of the freezer section. The girls think it's cool. We think they've had more ice cream this summer than they typically have in a year...we are probably going to have problems with that when we get home.
On Saturday we went out for breakfast. We walked around the mall in the Osaka City train station (the big one that intersects the subway, train and bus lines). We decided upon these waffles for breakfast. Apparently though, something like this is what would be ordered for a dessert in the evening here. A traditional Japanese breakfast would more likely consist of some rice and something salty, maybe a bit of fish. Or a piece of bread and juice.
We enjoyed our dessert for breakfast though, which explains why it was served with ice cream on top! Presentation is very important, as you can see.
My choice included waffles, raspberries, blueberries and chocolate and raspberry sauce.
Jim's choice included bananas, carmel sauce and nuts.
This is an Italian Restaurant we went to on Friday night to begin our second weekend in Japan. I am in love!!! I think it was the ambiance or maybe because the food tasted exactly like something we eat at home. You know how after you've been sick for a couple days, you think bologna tastes good? It could be that was part of it. Although, I'm not comparing this food to bologna, I'm just saying we haven't had a meal for a week and a half that is exactly like we are used to, so finding that could multiply it's wonder.
But, also the restaurant was so charming, the manager was so cute (in his manner) and he gave the girls ice cream after they finished their dinner...which he described to us as a 'present' because he spoke little English. I suspect he felt it was special to be hosting guests from America.
The restaurant had seriously three tables. And, it still makes me laugh when Jim was trying to order the girls a bowl of plain noodles. It tickled us to watch the manager first understand the order and then to watch his face as he tried to make sure he understood that we wanted a bowl of plain noodles and to digest that thought while trying to appear to not think we were crazy. The look on his face still makes me giggle. But, it was for the girls...so that explains it to you and I.
So, Jim and I both had a meal and a glass of beer/wine, we ordered an appetizer, the girls shared a bowl of noodles and Grace had orange juice and Sarah water. We were not undercharged (except for the 'present' of ice cream) and our bill was $35. That's it. Jim and I feel like we can't go to the Olive Garden and get similar meals, just for the two of us, for that.
And, here is the thing. You don't tip in Japan. And of course we've had this great experience and just totally love this guy and we don't know how to express our deep appreciation for the great food, nice environment, happy time, etc. We decided to ask if it would be acceptable to tip even though we thought it was not the custom, the manager (of course) replied no. But, he said the largest compliment would be that he knew what was felt in 'the heart.' I felt that was just the best description of gratitude that I've ever heard. A perfectly, perfect evening.
Fruit is packaged like this in Japan. Almost all fruit ~ Apples, white peaches and mangos - just to name a few. A mango is pictured to the left. One of our dear friends in the building gave us this mango. It is a rather large fruit for Japanese fruit size. To us, it's probably about normal.
So, this may be part of the reason our friend gave us the mango...because she knows about the mango juice obsession that someone in our family has!
