shell baker

When we were in Japan I saw some pastry shell makers and remembered that I had seen them in second hand stores. I had been trying to find one ever since.

Last week I found one! It was a Black and Decker one, in almost new condition, and it was only $4. Yay!


The Shell Baker exterior.


The Shell Baker interior.

I made some simple strawberry n' whipped cream pastry dessert:

Before baking, remember to plug in the baker to preheat the unit.


I bought some phyllo dough pastry sheets.


Fold each sheet into little squares.


Place the folded sheets into the baking pan (detachable from the baker).


Place the pan into the unit, close the lid and bake for 8 minutes, and I got my pasty shells! OK they didn't look pretty but they were yummy.

I read about the phyllo dough sheets in these bakers... it takes a little bit longer than other kinds of doughs because it's harder to form little shell/cup shape out of these sheets. The instruction (that I found online) indicated that most of the doughs will only take about 2-3 minutes to bake.


I filled the pastry "shells" with whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Simple yumminess!

I think I'll be making a lot of edible shells/cups from now on.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Shimokitazawa - part1

I had read about Shimokitazawa prior to going to Tokyo, and knew that there were cool little zakka stores, coffehouses, and indie shops in the area.

The first morning we were in Tokyo, we bought the tickets to Miyazaki's Ghibli Museum, and off we went to Shimokitazawa first for the day.

We to JR to Shibuya from Ikebukuro, and then found the Keio Inokashira Line:


I love the retro color of the trains.


This is the street we saw when we stepped out of the station.


We had our first (and only) Mister Donuts this trip. The skinny ones were limited edition donuts.


Then we saw a cool little coffee roaster. They had very good selections of beans. We were hoping that the shop could make us some single origin coffees, but it was only offering blends at the time. I think most of the sales here were through bags of beans.


Cute little things around the area. I believe this was someone's house.


A coffee and pastry cafe.

There were cool stores that looked really indie and unique:





A restaurant of some sort.


A zakka store.


A shoe store.


A rice cracker shop.

I really enjoyed the vibe of Shimokitazawa. There were many people and stores in the area, but it never seem too busy or crowded. Cute little place! If you're a zakka fan, you'll totally fall in love with Shimokitazawa.

yama with "little dear"

I found this cute little "little dear" backpack (from Disney) for $2 at the second hand store, and thought it'd look cute on Yama.




He didn't seem very excited about it...


...at all.


The backpack is really cute. I believe it's a baby Bambi with a big head.


"Yama is ready to go to school."

I didn't think Yama like it after all. He didn't refuse it when I tried to put the backpack on him, but he didn't seem too happy either. Nuki was watching on the side and making happy faces. I bet he was happy that he was too big for the backpack.

Interesting enough, Yama did act very obedient when the backpack was on him. Maybe I should get him a real doggie backpack when we go on walks.

cute deer schedule book

One of the things I really wanted to buy prior to going to Tokyo was a cute schedule book (planner). I knew I never "planned" much, but I wanted to have a cute little book in which I write down happy thoughts and happenings, as well as possible "plans".

After searching and comparing hundreds (literally!) of the schedule books at the stores, I bought a green "eau de mer" one!


I love the green, the polka dots, and the deer!

ALL the pages have cute little pictures on them! Here are a few cute pages:


Nothing beats a cute black cat and a Christmas tree for December.

The schedule book actually starts from September 08 to December 09. The Sep.-Nov. 08 sections only have the monthly pages, but from Dec. 08 on there are weekly pages as well.


The illustrations coordinates the season, and the time of the year. There are deers and flowers for the Spring months.


Porcupine and friends, and empty trees and acorns for one of the fall months.

There are also Japanese Subway maps for some of the largest metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka... there's even a map for Hokkaido.


Tokyo Subway map.

Don't know if it's of any use for me right now, but all the Japanese holidays and festivals are marked on the calendars. Simple conversions are also included. There are also charts and calorie counters (mostly for Japanese food) and note pages, with tons of cute illustrations of the deer, the porcupine, the black cat, the sheep, and some other friends. CUTE.

There were a few different versions of covers for this series of schedule books, but I belive the inside pages are pretty much the same.

I also bought a few sheets of "schedule seals" for the book. These little stickers are adorable, too.

I started using it yesterday. CUTE!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Shibuya: Hachiko

John and I were heading off to Shimokitazawa and had to transfer in Shibuya. We almost got lost because the we had to take the Keio Line, which station was actually across from the JR station... anyhow, while we were looking for the Keio Line, we saw Hachiko!

I had heard of Hachiko's story in the past, and was going to take a little trip out to Shibuya just to see him during our Tokyo trip. I was glad I saw him then, because we didn't actually had time to stop at Shibuya during this trip.



Hachiko was an Akita who was loyal to his master (Professor Ueno). He used to see Ueno off to work, and then wait for him to come home (that was approximately where the Tokyu Department Store is now) at the Shibuya Station. After Ueno passed away he still went to the station for his master's return day after day until he passed away in 1935. You can read about Hachiko and how a statue of him was built on Wikipedia (English) or here (Japanese).


Hachiko when he was older. (photo from Wikipedia Japan)

The area near the Hachiko statue has been one of the busiest spots near Shibuya station, where people wait here to meet up with friends, or protestors or fundraisers gather and plead their cases.



The day we saw Hachiko there was a guy giving a speech of some sort with a speaker. I didn't understand what he was saying, but looked like he was really seious about the matter. No one was really paying attention to him, but playing with their cell phones and iPod. Interesting.

There was also a bottle of black tea (I think) next to Hachiko. I think it belonged to the guy on the speaker. That, to me, did not seem respectful, and was not very "Japanese-y", but that's what I think.

Anyhow, I was glad we got to see Hachiko when we were lost.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Ghibli Museum Tickets

We had planned to go and see Miyazaki's Ghibli Museum before we arrived in Tokyo. The thing with the ticket situation was that there are only three admission periods per day, and with limited avilabilities; you also have to reserve and purchase tickets prior to going to the museum through a Japanese convenience store Lawson.


(image from Lawson official web site)

Prior to our arrival, I had checked out through Lawson's online system and found there were still tickets available on the day we had planned on going, but then the first night we were in Ikebukuro we were not able to find the Lawson that was supposed to be close to the hotel... I checked on line later and the tickets were gone.

Anyhow, the first morning after we arrived in Tokyo we managed to find another Lawson, and also found there were still tickets for the 4 o'clock admission. We decided to go that day and changed our schedule a bit.

So this is how you purchase the tickets:

First go to the "Loppi" system inside almost every Lawson (the ones in the major cities anyhow).


The top of the Loppi system looks like this. The machine looks like a stand-alone ATM. (image from Lawson official web site.)

After locating Loppi, touch the screen and find the Ghibli Museum button and click it. This was as far as I could go... I couldn't read any more Japanese after this... We asked a lady that worked at the store to help after this.

*It may be a good idea to ask the shop clerk to help as soon as you find Loppi if you can't read Japanese.*

Anyhow, I did know that we needed to have our names in Japanese (Katakana), as well as the Hotel information in Japanese. The lady was kind enough to enter everything in for us when she understood what we needed to do.

These were the key words I used: Miyazaki-san, Ghibli Museum (ghee-bu-li muu-zee-aa-mu), futari (2 people), kipu (tickets). (I also showed her my note that had the date and time we wanted to go.)

The nice lady typed in everything, and then printed a receipt out, told us to take it to the counter and pay for it.

We made our payment and another store clerk printed two tickets out for us.

And yay we got our tickets!



So that day we decided to go to Shimokitazawa, then to Kichijouji, and after that we'd walk to Miyazaki's Ghibli Museum through Inokashira Park.

chicken with shitake mushroom soup

Both John and I are a bit under the weather... I think we mught have caught something on the plane coming back.

And then I remember reading about how chicken soup is scientifically proven to make people not just feel better, but BE better, so I made a simple chicken with shitake mushroom soup that my mom always made back in Taiwan.


I made in the slow-cooker (crock pot).

It's a simplified version... but I only put in chicken drumsticks and soaked shitake mushrooms. I know many people who'd also put in fresh sliced ginger... which I didn't have in hand. The ginger would make the soup even better, I believe. I did save the water where I soak the mushrooms in and use it for the "base" of the stock.

I let the soup cook on high for about 4 hours, and then added salt and a dashi seasoning to taste.


I also cook some noodles to go with the soup.


With some fresh ground black pepper this noodle soup was a nice meal for those who has a cold.

I think I'm feeling better already!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] N'EX + Suica

After arriving at Narita, we passed the customes and exchanged for Japanese currency, then we went downstairs on the escalator to the JR Ticket Office, and purchased the Narita Express (N'EX) + Suica (very convenient IC card) combo for foreign travelers (3500 yen each).

Since the N'EX+Suica special is only offered to foreign travelers, the officer at the ticket office asked to see our passport, and then asked where we wanted to go. It was Ikebukuro. He then typed something on his computer and printed out 2 N'EX tickets. He passed these tickets to us, along with the limited edition Suica cards.


My ticket and our train.


The limited edition Suica card. Notice John's some guy (who was also waiting for the train)'s reflection also in the photo. No it's not a ghost photo.


We then used the N'EX tickts to get into the JR station. All the signs are very clear and easy to understand.


Since not all N'EX trains go to Ikebukuro, we must pay attention to the time on the tickets and destination signs on the trains.

There was a nice old gentleman that helped us make sure we were at the right platform and location. He talked very good English.


And after we knew where we were, we could spend some time and take funny pictures.


Our train came very soon after. Its destination was Ikebukuro.

It was probably the time of the day when we took the train, there were only the two of us who got onto that car at the First Terminal. The express train only stopped briefly at the Second Terminal, Tokyo Station, Shibuya, and Shinjuku, and then we arrived at Ikebukuro! The whole ride took about 90 minutes.

There are other ways to get to Tokyo from Narita Airport. Some people choose to ride the Limousine Bus, and others like the Skyliner. We chose N'EX because with the N'EX+Suica deal, the price on the N'EX was pretty much cut in half. Normal N'EX fair from Narita Airport to Ikebukuro was around 3,000 yen, and with the deal package it was only 1,500 yen! Steal.


(image from JR East web site)

The N'EX+Suica package is only available to those who holds a foreign passport. Very nice! N'EX allows visitors to get to their destinations in Tokyo fairly quickly and without any transfer stops, and Suica is another very useful card as well.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Ikebukuro: Mutekiya Ramen

After we arrived in Tokyo, we took Narita Express (JR) and got to Ikebukuro. We checked into our hotel and decided to go to Mutekiya to have ramen.

I did some research and found that Mutekiya probably had the best ramen in Ikebukuro, and off we went. According to their web site, Mutekiya is about a 3-minute walk away from the east exit of the Ikebukuro station. I don't quite remember how long we walked when we got to the shop, but it was definitely more than 3 minutes.

We walked along Meji Dori and arrived at Mutekiya.


"Mutekiya" in kanji.

While we were in line I had to take pictures!


Mutekiya's famous "ramen bowl/wok" sign, where the ingredients of the ramen were illustrated.


After a few minutes wait, a girl from the shop brought us the menu, and took our order. Both John and I ordered their signature ramen (the one on the top right of the page), and I got a side bamboo shoots and "soft center" egg (each for 100yen).

We were able to get seated pretty soon after the girl took our order. We were guided to the seats at the bar that's facing the kitchen.


There are a few pitchers of jasmin tea concentrate (on the right side of the photo) and iced water, where customers can mix the two and make yummy iced teas to their desired strength. I drank a few glasses.


My ramen and sides. Yay!

Mutekiya's ramen was delicious. John and I thought their pork slices were probably the thickest and had the best textures and flavors among all the ramen we had on this trip. Yumminess.


There were also spicy pickles and "no-stink" garlic on the counter.


It was fun to watch and listen to people enjoy their ramen! Notice you can see John's open mouth in the photo. hahaha.

Mutekiya's ramen definitely gave our trip a great start!

P.S. These photos were taken with our Sony camcorder.

back

OK I know I was a slacker and didn't update my blog at all while I was in Tokyo. But I'm back and I shall try to post some fun stories and photos of our trip soon.

It was a fun trip, and John and I visited quite a few places and tried different food. There were a LOT of people, and a LOT of things to see and try. Funness! I took the pictures with my little Kodak and the Sony video camera... not of the best quality of images, but I like them. (And I'm seriously considering a really good camera where I cannot just point and shoot with for our future trips.

It's great to be home!