torakris

Tesco is huge in the UK. Cool! Maybe they will bring over some of those yummy British foods!

Tuesday dinner: fettucine with shrimp, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, lots of garlic and basil cucumber and red onion salad with white wine vinegar and EVOO dessert: another delicious melon

Japan has a new kitkat flavor called double berry a combination of strawberry and blueberry. I haven't seen the banana flavored one for while maybe they got rid of it. http://www.breaktown.com/breaktown/products.php third from the top

add 2 more for me! Elizabeth David's Classics and a Japanese book on bread making in 35 minutes in the microwave , this is more for the kids then me, honest! while we are at it add the 2 more I just ordered that should be here next week, both for the kids one in English and one in Japanese

I just realized we missed a very important word, so for 6/11: 料理 ryouri (ryow-ree) This means cooking or preparing food as well referring to dishes and cuisines. 私は料理が好きです watshi wa ryouri ga suki desu. I like cooking. 美味しい料理 oishii ryouri delicious foods 料理番組 ryouri bangumi cooking show フランス料理 furansu ryouri French cuisine

I am not familiar with Tesco, it is a supermarket chain? I have heard rumors about a Walmart store opening, but nothing concrete. As to Costco and Carrefour, I shop at both. I am lucky to be able to easy access to both them as to their popularity in Japan....? hard to say. Carrefour is a decent store, mostly Japanese products, I was really hoping for more of a European selection but it seems they are bringing it in rather slowly. I notice new things on the shelves almost every time I go. They have one of the best fish departments in the area, I love their deli and bakery. I would say it ranks average to above average in popularity. The prices are average. Costco Has only 4 stores in Japan and they are mostly in way out of the way places (cheaper land) but theya re not really accessible with out a car and Costco isn't exactly the kind of store you want to go to with out a car. The membership thing is relatively new to Japanese but by the numbers I see in the stores they are getting over it. They have about a 50-50 with American and Japanese products, but sometimes I wonder about who decides the stuff to bring in, I have seen some things and really wondered who is going to buy that in this country. Each time I go it seems to be more and more crowded, I refuse to go on the weekends now.

some recipes can be found here: http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints...suke/tsuke.html

Japanese girls, especially on tv, giggle A LOT!

who me?

Nescafe Japan has had this for years! The US is soooo behind In Japan they are in individual containers, sort of like the containers cream for your coffee comes (about an inch or so in diameter), you add them to water, it is sort of like a thick syrup. Add milk as you please. Nescafe also makes them for iced tea and iced green tea.

I have seen pink garlic before too, I am not sure what the reason behind it is or if it was chemicals or natural. I will pay more attention the next time I am out. Shirokiya in Hawaii, oh the fond memories I have of there.................

The typhoon actually swerved off and we got a lot of rain but the winds weren't so bad, I am sure there will be plenty more through out the summer. We are officially in rainy season now and from today we have rain forecast fro the next 7 days!

I have my peanut sauce recipe somewher in the middle of the dinner thread, I will try to pull it out and get it in the archives. I have tried many many kinds and have come up with my favorite (it uses peanut butter though! ) What everyone has already said about the rice, condiments and lots of them, I usually stick with lime juice and sriracha because it is always at hand.

Monday dinner: BIBIMBAP! with binchou maguro ("white tuna") carrot namul spinach namul bean sprout namul egg threads topped with a dollop of kochujang shiso tofu (this was tofu infused with shiso essence--wasn't as good asi thought it would be) topped with scallions and tamari dessert: a gorgeous musk melon

Our family of 5 sits down at the table togthter every night, the tv is not visble from the dining room table. On the about one night a month my husband isn't there for dinner, I let the kids set up the small table in the living room and eat there, in front of the tv.

word for 6/10: 冷 rei (reh-ee) cold (the oppososite of the above atatakai) this character can get very confusing because it can be pronounced in a multitude of ways. 冷しゃぶしゃぶサラダ reishabu-shabu sarada this is a very popular summer dish in Japan, a cold shabu shabu style salad 冷水 reisui this means very cold or ice water 冷奴 hiyayakko , this can be written 2 ways with the character reading just hi or hiya, this is the cold tofu dish 冷やすhiyasu , to cool or refrigerate 冷ますsamasu, to let cool 冷たい tsumetai, this means cold to the touch and it often used to describe foods that may normally be erved warm, such as a tsumetai soup.

in Japan tea (hot or cold) just lots of tea and beer too I drink water (no alcohol) with everything.

ran across another one in Tokyo Basics of Airway Cafe do they serve airplane food?

Texan welcome to egullet sounds good!

here is the menu from Aiya a popular middle range Japanese restaurant chain(and the one I frequent the most because it is just done the street! ) http://www.skylark.co.jp/cgi-bin/menu.cgi?gyoutai=AY to see the dinner menus click on the 4th through 8th lines on the left side of the page, to see the food better click on te picture to enlarge it.

iced coffee about to go chop up some fruit for breakfast...........

word for 6/9: 温かい atatakai (ah-tah-tah-kah-ee) though it is often prononounced atakai (losing one ta) warm (occasioanlly meaning hot) usually referring to foods that are served at a temperature they are not normally served at, such as atatakai salad. The word warm as meaning the temperature outside is also pronounced atatakai but the kanji is different 暖かい

I am not sure when or why the coloring for takuan started, it was probably for a color thing becasue the Jaapnese are so into that! In Japan now the bright yellow takuan are slowly disappearing, the "natural versions are much more popular now. It also surprises me when I go into an Asian grocery in the US and the refrigerator cases are filled with those bright yellow daikon.

I will see what I can find out about that, but I can share what I do know (since I don't eat at the high end places all that often ) Most food that is eaten in restaurants by the average Japanese is in middle range places. A lot of it will be sushi, noodles, foreign cuisines (which have their own course-ing patterns), family restaurants (think Denny's but also on a higher level) and izakaya type places, sticking with the sushi, noodles, family restaurants,and izakaya the food in these places are ordered by the customers as these please, often continuously through the meal. Japanese rarely order appetizer through coffee at the beginning of the meal. The food also comes in the order that it is available, generally appetizers follewed by main followed by dessert. The main dishes though rarely come for everyone at the same time, it is not uncommon to be finishing up your meal while your dinner partner is still waiting for theirs. Also in Japan all non alcoholic drinks are normally served after the meal, unless the customer asks for it before the meal. I think though, that when you get into higher end Japanese restaurants you are pretty much talking kaiseki. A lot of Japanese restaurant also mostly serve "sets" and normally these will come out on one big tray, with the rice, pickles, soup with the main and sashimi and usually one more small dish. Let me think about it some more. If egullet want to pay me to go to Nobu Tokyo and check out their course-ing here, I will happily do it!

PCircles, sounds great! welcome to egullet!