torakris

Was the foie gras sushi on the conveyor belt? It sounds like you ordered it. it was made to order, but it was listed on the kaiten sushi menu rather than the regular menu, and it is something you wouldn't want to eat after having made a few rounds on the belt.

Jim made a lot of good points, it is usually to taste and a lot depends on what you have put in. I generally leave mine out for about 4 to 5 days at just about the same temp.

This has been a particularly bad month for me, yesterday (while I was wearing my still slightly pizza sauce stained pants and sporting a Blues Clues band-aid on my shaved off pinky) I wanted some butter for our morning bagels. All of the butter was frozen so I cut off a piece of the FOIL WRAPPED butter and popped it into the microwave on low, at first I ignored the strange noises emitting from the machine because my microwave has been acting strange lately, it wasn't until there appeared to be lightening that I turned around. The foil had been completely singed off...... I have known for at least 20 years now that you don't put foil into a microwave.....

word for 12/14: ホームラン hoomuran (hoe-moo-rhan) This would be called the homerun melon in English, these are tiny, even the large ones would fit in the palm of your hand. They look like minature honeydew with light, smooth skin and a pale green flesh. homerun melon: http://www.aso.ne.jp/~melon/syouhin/syouhin.htm

I have heard the same thing. I am not quite at the age yet were I would be discussing hot flashes with my friends but I did look in a couple dictionaries and either found nothingor more of an explanaition of the word, though in one place I found the words nobose (which means flush) and hoteri (which means to glow). In general I would have to say you hear a lot less about menopause and it symptoms here.

It was good, it was definitely a high end kaiten sushi place, we could have spent less though.... We ordered two of all the most expensive things , the seared foie gras sushi with caviar was really great and they had the best kanimiso I have ever eaten, my husband had at least 3 kan (6 pieces) and I had 2 kan. I have to admit though one of my favorite dishes was the duck salad..... and my husband's miso soup with crab was incredible. It was our anniversary so we decided to spebd more than we normally would (ok that is way more for us ) besides you can't get your parking ticket validated unless you spend over $100! and then you only get two hours......

Kristin: I haven't tried any of the places in the article, as I'm not normally looking for a burger when I am in Tokyo. Of course, it would be different if I lived there. Everyone needs a good burger from time to time. Then again, Seoul is pretty far down on the burger chain as well. I have had a burger a few times at the Tokyo American Club. If you have any friends who belong, get them to take you along and go to Traders' Bar for a burger. The price is right too. It should be when one has paid a joining fee and pays monthly dues. I imagine your schedule is damn near impossible with three kids, but I'd be happy to take you to lunch there on one of my trips if you could break away. It'd be interesting to meet someone from eGullet. That's it...Burger Club Tokyo. Jim My husband and I actually had our wedding at the American Club, I don't really remember eating burgers there but we might have. I don't think we have been there since as our "sponsor" moved to Hawaii. Burger Club Tokyo, I like that! Give me a ring next time you are here, I would be very happy to get away. especially to eat a burger. I met my first (not living in Japan) egulleteer a couple weeks ago when Texan and her husband were visiting Tokyo, I took them on a whole day tour of Yokohama and really had a great time, it would really be great to meet some others. I have been wanting to get to Kua'aina for some time now, but I never in that area, or when I am we already have plans......

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I have to admit one of the things I miss the most about not being is the US is the hamburgers. Every now and then I get a craving for one and am always disappointed by the offerings here. I just ran across this list of supposedly good hamburger joints in Tokyo: http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/468/dining.asp I think I need to check some out Anyone have any favorite places?

I have only been to the Aoyama and Aobadai ones (the Aobadai branch is less than 5 minutes from my house). here is a list of all of their branches (in English) http://www.e-kinokuniya.com/cont/tenpo_e.html I have to admit I don't really care for Kinokuniya, even though it is just 5 minutes away I probably haven't been there in over a year.

here is a previous (and great) thread on stocking an Indian pantry: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...l=indian+pantry

Some info on this place in English, with a link to their Japanese homepage http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/hot/sizzling/sizzling_ind.html edit: you need to scroll to the bottom and click on index and then on Pastry theme park

The food store at Roppongi Hills is called FOO:D Magazine (the capitals is how it is written), I was slightly disappointed in it, they did have quite a few things I had never seen before, but their prices were the highest I had ever seen. I could have bought some of the same products for about 1/3 of the price in other places. I was also hoping it would have been bigger..... The book shop a couple stores away did have an INCREDIBLE selection of foreign books, great for browsing but I would never pay the prices they were asking!

nori actually works quite well on pasta Especially a lot of the Japanese style pastas. You might want to take a look at our Pasta in Japan thread! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=20220&hl=pasta

Saturday dinner I will be going to a potluck Christmas Party tonight and I am making a chocolate and vanilla marbled cheesecake and a potato and onion fritatta. I will be going shopping tomorrow!

Friday dinner This week has been one of those 'let's see how long I can go with out going to the grocery' weeks, so I pulled out of my refrigerator: sashimi style tuna (was frozen) and one very ripe avocado with some soy sauce and a generous dash of tabasco hokiko (the egg sacs from the hoki fish) simmered with shirataki in a soy-mirin-sugar sauce dashimaki-tamago Japanese sweetened thick egg omelette cucumber pickles miso soup with daikon and aburage Japanese rice

must have include rice onions/garlic (like someone else said I must have at leaast one of these) eggs canned tomatoes canned/ dried beans some kind of oil (preferably EVOO) If I have least those items I could get by for a couple days with out anything else

I have to admit until I discovered two way pizza (post about it above somewhere), i thought pizza-la had the most disgusting offerings, so I was quite surprised that their pizza sounds half way decent (of course I haven't tried it! ) Since they are not on their homepage, I will share them with you: linguine with shrimp and clams butter and soy sauce all the rest use spaghetti tarako, nori and scallions neopolitan (with sausage, onion, green peppers and mushrooms) clam and takana (a Japanese green) with smoked bacon, scallions, shiitake and nori shrimp, squid and clams in a tomato-basil sauce deep fried eggplant and smoked bacon in a tomato-basil sauce smoked bacon and asparagus in a chile and garlic sauce squid, shrimp, and clams in a chile and garlic sauce squid, shrimp and clams in a pesto sauce squid, shrimp and clams with a cream sauce deep fried eggplant and a meat sauce meat sauce with mushrooms

word for 12/13: ハネデューメロン hanedyuumeron (hah-nay-dew-may-rhone) This is the honeydew melon that seems to be growing in popularity every year. The Japanese markets rely almost entirely on imports, the US supplies the melons from summer to late fall and Mexico supplies the rest of the year. It is close to double the size of most Japanese melons and half the price of a cheaper one, in my area they are usually under $5 a piece. honeydew: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/images/ve...ure/honeyd3.jpg

The newest pizza-la (Japanese chain pizza delivery) flyer is now advertising the start of delivery pasta with or instead of your pizza. They are offering 12 different kids of pastas at around $10 for a single order (one person) and up to $22 for a double order (2 to 3 people). There is no information on their website, maybe this is a trial in my area? I wonder if this will be the start of something new, cold, gummy pasta with your corn and mayo pizza....

Pocky G are by far my favorite of the pocky/pretz type snacks we even had a thread just on them! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19212&hl=pocky

Cranberry Orange Biscotti Makes about 4 dozen. I got the idea for this when I had a small amount of leftover cranberries and then saw a recipe for an orange flavored biscotti. I modified the recipe and all of my testers raved about the results! 2-2/3 c all-purpose flour 1-1/2 c granulated sugar 2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 c orange zest 3 large eggs 1 c fresh cranberries, chopped in large pieces 5 T olive oil (mild flavored, extra virgin works fine) 3 T fresh orange juice 1. Line to baking pans with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F. 2. Whisk the four, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, add the orange zest and cranberries and mix well with a wooden spoon. 3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, olive oil and orange juice. 4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the center of the flour mixture and stir until blended with a wooden spoon. 5. Dump the sticky dough onto a foured surface and divide into 4 pieces, gently shape each piece into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. 6. Place on the baking sheets at least 3 inches apart and bake until they are fairly firm in the center about 23 minutes. 7. Place the baking sheets on racks until they have cooled down, about 30 minutes. 8. Slice the logs with a serrated knife on the diagonal so they are about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Place the cut pieces back on the baking sheets. 9. Bake (still at at 350 F) for about 8 minutes, then turn them all over and bake for another 8 minutes. 10. Let cool for a couple minutes on the sheets before transfering to racks to cool completely. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Fruit, Cookie ( RG779 )

Cranberry Orange Biscotti Makes about 4 dozen. I got the idea for this when I had a small amount of leftover cranberries and then saw a recipe for an orange flavored biscotti. I modified the recipe and all of my testers raved about the results! 2-2/3 c all-purpose flour 1-1/2 c granulated sugar 2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 c orange zest 3 large eggs 1 c fresh cranberries, chopped in large pieces 5 T olive oil (mild flavored, extra virgin works fine) 3 T fresh orange juice 1. Line to baking pans with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F. 2. Whisk the four, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, add the orange zest and cranberries and mix well with a wooden spoon. 3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, olive oil and orange juice. 4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the center of the flour mixture and stir until blended with a wooden spoon. 5. Dump the sticky dough onto a foured surface and divide into 4 pieces, gently shape each piece into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. 6. Place on the baking sheets at least 3 inches apart and bake until they are fairly firm in the center about 23 minutes. 7. Place the baking sheets on racks until they have cooled down, about 30 minutes. 8. Slice the logs with a serrated knife on the diagonal so they are about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Place the cut pieces back on the baking sheets. 9. Bake (still at at 350 F) for about 8 minutes, then turn them all over and bake for another 8 minutes. 10. Let cool for a couple minutes on the sheets before transfering to racks to cool completely. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Fruit, Cookie ( RG779 )

I just had this exact same conversation about a week ago with some of my Japanese neighbors. A lot of people in Japan do refrigerate their soy sauce and the ones that do told me it keep the taste fresh. I have always refrigerated my good soys, the ones I don't use very much, but my everyday soy is in the cupboard because it is in a 1.8 L bottle and I just don't have that kind of space and it is used up in about a month anyway. It seemed a lot of my neighbors feel the same as I, refrigerating only the good stuff. I tend to refrigerate anything, just to be on the safe side.....

It is really a great book, you won't be disappointed!