Home with Chef, Nara, Japan- VII

Day 8- was the day of preparation and goodbyes.

See that girl in a red jacket sitting at the piano? That's me. I think this picture looks kind of eerie. Is that how people see me when I'm playing the piano??

Chef brought us to Horyuji, the oldest temple in Japan.

Temple grounds.

きれい　ですね。。もう　いかい　見たいんです。

Lunch- Kakiage Soba　かき揚げ　そば, not the best soba.

Saying goodbye to the Yamashita family.

Arrival at ANA gate tower hotel, which is very near the airport. We have an early flight the next morning. View from our hotel window.

Ami-chan. 四连拍.

Dinner with designer-san.

Sake, standing in a box of icy cold water.

Sashimi and steak set- looks kind of dangy doesn't it?

But the company was good. =)

Our last visit to our favourite store: Lawson, where we had our last fruit milk, onigiri and canned coffees. I think, in a way, Lawson defines Japan- it is every where, or in weiloon's words: 跟蟑螂一样多.

End.

Home with Chef, Nara, Japan- VI

Day 7- was all about food. The first thing Chef said to me as he picked us up from the hotel was: ランチにいこうか！ (let's go for lunch!) thank god for the fact that my brother and I woke up too late to be in time for breakfast...

I'm sure most people knows Osaka's local dish called the Okonomiyaki お好み焼き, but how many, I wonder, knows its sister dish: Monjayaki もんじゃ焼き? That was what we had for lunch.

Well, we had all the four yaki dishes actually. It came as a set for 4 people. Monjayaki もんじゃ焼き, okonomiyaki お好み焼き, yakisoba 焼きそば (fried soba), yakigohan 焼きご飯 (fried rice). yummy yummy, all the yakimono 焼き物.

That will be HD, JD, AJ and W. I think my brother looked like he had one too many cups of coffee, and AJ looked like he had none.

How to make monjayaki もんじゃ焼き:

tadah! It is kind of gooey and crunchy (depending on what kind of filling you choose to put into your monjayaki) at the same time. Taste like any of the yakimono since they kind of use the same condiments, which was rather tasty. oh yes, we each had a tiny scraper to deliver/scrape the sticky mess from the teppan into our mouths.

Miso-stewed beef. Taste great. The meat is so soft that you can easily pull it apart.

Okonomiyaki お好み焼き. Bonito flakes and mayonnaise is free-flow.

Fried rice and noodles with bits of konnyaku.

Ami chan's auntie, whom we address as machine-gun auntie because she talks like one, and her husband paid for our lunch. Thank you very much!

Chef's friend's patisserie. I like the interior decor. It feels very warm and inviting, like a country house.

Wide selection of cookies.

Market research.

End.

Home with Chef, Nara, Japan- V

Day 6- After breakfast, chef brought us to his father's fields, where Otosan and his brother-in-law were planting suika すいか, watermelon.

Edamame えだまめ.

Yield is about 300 watermelon in Autumn.

Todaiji temple.

Nara deer park. Kids will be kids.

I like how in this picture the tree looks like it is following chef.

Lunch- kamameshi 釜飯, iron-pot steamed rice. We waited an hour for our orders to cook. The best part of the kamameshi is the burnt rice stuck to the sides and the bottom of the pot. And it takes some skills to get the burnt rice out. The trick is to remember to cover your pot every time you scoop rice. This way, the pot will steam, and the steam allows you to easily scrape burnt rice of the pot.

I had the unagi set. Really really good!

Daibutsu.

Shika and I!

Nigatsu-do.

I prefer Nigatsu-do to Daibutsu, even though they are only a few hundred metres apart. It is quieter at Nigatsu-do, which allows you to fully bask in the lush greenery and take in the old wooden structures of the temple.

Dinner at Jun chan's place- gyoza nabe! Thank you for the meal!

End.