torakris

can feel my trip get longer and longer..... Are kids welcome at wineries? they may not be after they meet my 4 year old son.....

doesn't everyone do this??? I can't really think of the last time I ordered a meal "just for me".... My husband and I often switch halfway through the meal, we even share sushi. Sushi is usually served two pieces to a plate, so we each eat one that way we can taste as many as possible.

This summer I am bringing a Japanese friend (and her son) for a 2 week trip to the US, since there isn't a whole lot to see in Cleveland we have decided to drive to Niagara falls and spend 2 nights there. We will be traveling with 4 kids between the ages of 4 and 9 so we are are looking for some reasonably priced (yet decent ) restaurants that are fine for children and close to the falls.... It has been a very long time since I was last there, any recommendations for things to do with kids? We haven't decided yet exactly when to go but are thinking somtime between July 16 and July 22, are the weekends really crowded? Should we aim for a weekday?

I had forgotten about this, it is a popular dessert menu item in Chinese restaurants here. You can also find prepared versions in supermarkets and mixes for making it at home. I found this site that shows how to make it at home, I just happen to have some soy milk and nigari in the fridge....

Here are some pictures of hiyayakkos of the past this tofu is topped with dashi. Dashi (not the stock) is a speciality of Yamagata Prefecture and is a combination of chopped vegetables, etc. This was a purchased product and this particular package contained: cucumber, eggplant,konbu (kelp), scallions, myouga and shiso this is one of my favorites and it just screams summer The okra are blanched and then minced with some ginger, the tofu is then also topped with tomatoes. I like to eat this just sprinkles with salt, but a drizzle of soy sauce or even olive oil is quite nice.

really? Do you do this as a dessert? Do you add anythingelse?

Basically because it already has a sauce, the piece of deep fried tonkatsu is simmered in a thin slightly sweet soy sauce based sauce then an egg is added and cooked until set, finally the whole thing is slid onto a bowl of rice with the extra sauce dripping down into the rice. In other words it is already seasoned, there is no reason to season again, I also think the tonkatsu sauce isn't really a good addition to an already heavy katsudon.

I love avocados and eat them weekly, they go wonderfully with Japanese food A very simple way is to slice them and then drizzle some wasabi-joyu (a mixture of wasabi and soy sauce) over them. They are also great in donburi dishes, donburis are bowls of rice topped with basically anything your heart desires (or whatever is in your refrigerator ). Here is one example this was seared katsuo (bonito) with avocado and a mixture of daikon and kaiware (daikon sprouts) here is another one this is minced maguro (tuna-raw) with avocado, mizuna and topped with sriracha, underneath is black rice Yesterday I taught a cooking class and one of the menu items was a Thai style salad with avocado and grapefruit in a simple nampla-lime-sugar sauce, fresh sliced chiles and cilantro were on the table to add as well. The majority of tis class hates cilantro and a couple have problems with spicy foods.....

Hiyayakko is one of the most perfect foods for a hot day, it can be eaten as an appetizer, a salad, or for a light lunch it can be the whole meal. What varieties of hiyayakko are endless, but I have noticed that many restaurants outside of Jaapn serve the most simple one with just a bit of scallions, katsuobushi and ginger and topped with soy sauce. This is good but there are so many ways to enjoy this dish. What are some of the best hiyayakko you have eaten? What are some of your favorite toppings when you make it at home? Do you have a preference for a certain kind of tofu?

The kids and I picked up dinner tonight at a local supermarket on the way home from ballet class, this is what I chose hire-katsu a whole pork tenderloin tonkatsu'd in one piece it was my entire dinner....

Julia picked out omuraisu from the supermarket for tonight's dinner

picked up kamaboko that had shiso inside, these were really good. Sorry for the bad picture/styling

Sorry, I have no idea of which one is the original store, I tried searching for a bit but came up empty. Hopefully Hiroyuki's inquiry will receive an answer.

hhmmm..... I had never heard of this, and it sort of seems like a waste of good Kobe beef.... but it turns out this is a pretty popular dish in the Kansai region. I didn't get too many hits with Kobe beef, but there do seem to be a couple places where the speciality is gyuu-suji. Gyuu-suji are beef tendons ad there is a popular simmered dish in the Kansai area called suji-kon that consists of long simmeerd beef tendons and konnyaku. This dish is often used as a topping for okonomiyaki or added to the batter. here is one shop that uses nama suji (raw tendons) this one specifies they use wagyu (Japanese beef) It actually seems to be a pretty popular topping/addition in this area, so just look for gyuu-suji 牛スジ　on the menu.

I just picked up the recent copy (June 2005) of Syokusai Roman (食彩浪漫） a combination magazine/cooking show from NHK and it is mostly about pasta. They have some really good looking Japanese style pasta dishes.

guess I need to pay more attention.... The last time I was in a ramen shop my oldest wasn't even 1 yet, she is 9 now....

These are called Delaware grapes here and are my favorites. They have just started appearing in stores but the ones I have seen are all hothouse varieties. In another month or two they will be in season and the price will cut in half.

theres one there and then there is the marukai 98 cent store in gardena. a bit larger than the one in little tokyo. from irvine, hrm... it may be _just_ about the same distance to get to gardena. lots a nice cheap household/kitchen plastics and ceramics. plus excellent selections of pens, some odd grocery items (although large portions are like $1.25 or $1.50), small cookbooks and okashi.wish it was closer. i really prefer shopping at the japanese 99 cent stores over the american ones. ← Are these Japanese items only or is it a mix with American style things? I wonder if these are Jaapnese chains spreading overseas...?

I have never heard of Kitakata ramen before (though I also admit to not being much of a ramen eater) I wonder how popular it is outside of the area?

The address is Gifu-shi (Gifu City) Kandamachi 9-15 (torita biru B1-- the basement of the Torita building)

pirate, Thanks for the report, I like to hear the bad as well as the good. I am sorry you had a disappointing lunch, it was one of the places I had hoped to get to in the next couple of years...

I have never been ... It isn't exactly the best area for foreign women to be... This describes it better than I could: To the south of Kabuki-cho is Shinjuku ni-chome, Tokyo's largest gay district. Golden Gai (gai meaning street) is the name given to a few narrow alleys in a block on the east edge of Kabukicho. It's packed with tiny, grimy "hole-in-the-wall" bars. If you're desperate for a drink and very adventurous, try your luck at any of the unmarked doors. from here Honestly if you are looking for good food I don't think you are going to find it, if you want to get a drink but want to avoid the obnoxious bars of Roppongi than this amy be the place for you.

Yes I did drink them! as soon as the picture was taken. The apricot one was ok, I might get it again but I am in no hurry to do so... I don't think I have ever had anything apricot flavored either, but it definitely did have an apricot flavor. melon soda is always good... and you are right it really does hit the spot on a hot day.

I am not sure if you are aware but as of this month (May 2005) toursits have now been banned from entering the auction area during the morning auctions. more here do you read Jaapnese? I am finding lots of maps written in Japanese....

natto! the Japanese fermented soy beans, I love them now but it did take several years. At the beginning I couldn't even be in the same room with them.... Of course almost half of the Jaapnese population can't stand them either. the natto thread