The Effects of the Recession: Peacock Store and Cafe La Mille

Hello! The high is 60F (16C) and very sunny today ;)
My boyfriend came home last night but I still didn't feel good...

Yesterday, I went to see my orthodontist again because my braces broke... I think I should stay away from granola. Anyway, I always make small talk with the doctor. In the midst of conversation, he told me eye-opening news! The supermarket (Peacock Store) near my home is going to close down in the end of January!!! As far as I know, that store was there for more than 5 years (since I lived there)... I saw many stores winding-up on TV but never thought of my neighborhood being hit by the recession :( I need to take pictures before they close. I found some on the net but not in my album!!!

Next to the supermarket, there is my favorite cafe called Cafe La Mille. They are going to close down as well... Their spacious space makes me feel at home. I love their salad platter!!! This is the place where I brainstorm my recipe ideas. I have a houseful of memories there :( Again, I haven't taken many pictures. I need to take my camera with me this weekend!!!

But yes, to tell the truth, many people now go near station to spend their time because there are some shops and restaurants in a shopping mall called CORTY, opened in September 2006. Of course I go there, too.

I hope the economy won't get worse...

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Hotel de Suzuki Fruit - Seasonal Fruit Salad

It is raining hard today. Maybe after a long time!

Anyway, I used to love very sweet parfait with chocolate fudge, cheesecake, pudding, etc... but as I get older, I prefer the healthier one! My recent favorite is Seasonal Fruit Salad at Hotel de Suzuki Fruit! The price is about 10 bucks, but you can have well-selected seasonal fruits with rich (but nicely small) ice cream!

I couldn't find their website to show you, but they serve cut fruit, fresh fruit juice, and some other dessert menu at the counter. Also, they have fruit cup desserts, chocolates, baked confectionery, and assorted fruits to go.

They are sumptuous, but better than spending money for sticky fat, you know!

Today I will go to the gym after work! I feel guilty, since I haven't been there for 4 days this week!!!

See ya!
Have a good weekend ;)

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Reunion @ Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi

Yesterday, I saw my college friends for the first time in a decade. I heard Jonathan, who used to live in Japan for years gonna leave Japan, so few of us gathered to say goodbye... but I found that he is going back to NY only for 2 weeks for his thanksgiving vacation... Now I understand why he didn't prefer Japanese food but Hard Rock Cafe. Ha-ha! We could have met him after he came back! But anyway, that was what led us gather together, so it was a good chance :)

I can't believe I was 18 when I first met them. Time flies... Amazingly, they haven't changed at all. We had a good time! I hope we could hold a reunion again someday soon.

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Midori-zushi

Hi there! Three-day weekend has ended and now we don't have consecutive holidays until the new years...

On Monday, I went shopping at Shibuya 109(a famous fashion shopping centre) because I didn't feel like cooking - usually I keep myself busy on weekends. It was raining and cold, so my boyfriend didn't go anywhere but bored waiting at a coffee shop, reading newspaper... I am really sorry for that! I didn't get that many clothes, but it was a stress-relieving time. Thanks!!!

Anyway, we ate out so many times on the weekend! On Saturday, we had a dinner at Doma-Doma. On Sunday, we had a dinner at Resort Dining Bar TRIP. On Monday, we had a lunch at MOS BURGER.
Then last but not least, we had a dinner at Midori-zushi on Monday!!! This sushi restaurant is very famous for delicious low price sushi and there is always a huge line in front (top right image)! Since we lined up early at 4PM we just waited for 15 minutes, but we once waited for about an hour when we went there at 6PM!!! I had anago (conger eel, bottom-right image), my favorite, again! Also, we had Beaujolais Nouveau for the first time this season!

Oh no... I've allowed myself too many luxuries.
I didn't want to go to work this morning... you know :(

Changing my story, this weekend, I skipped the gym twice... On Saturday, I was too tired, and on Monday, my boyfriend had a slight cold. Then today, tomorrow and day after, I can't go there because I have plans in the evening + the gym is closed tomorrow :( Too bad... Am I concerned too much?! Yes. Take it easy to me!!!

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L'OCCITANE Cafe

Hello! Today was a busy day!!! Since I had a day off on Friday and Monday was a holiday, I had a lot of work to do. Also, unexpectedly all employees had to participate in a seminar after work... which took about an hour! I couldn't go to the gym today... too bad :(

Anyway, on Saturday, after the contest, my boyfriend and I went to the L'OCCITANE Cafe in Shibuya.
The first floor of the building is the shop. I got samples of Immortelle Very Precious Regenerating Concentrate and Immortelle Very Precious Cream, which jose recommended! I am using it now ;) The scent is really nice and they moisturize without leaving a greasy feeling!!! I hope they help treat acne as well.
The second and the third floor is the cafe. It was so nice and comfortable that we stayed there for about 2 hours! We had lunch there. What I had was a set lunch menu. It comes with soup, salad, ratatouille, and breads. My boyfriend didn't feel like eating salad, so he had croque-monsieur. The food was great! I wish I could have desserts because their tartes looked so delicious, but I saved it for the next time (saved the calories! ha-ha).

Oh no. I'm dozing off...
I gotta stop and go to bed now.
Good night!

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Kamameshi

Today, the high is 82F (28C) but we have nice fall weather. This morning, I enjoyed walking to the train station in a gentle breeze :)
I hope the weather stays the same for long.

Turn of the seasons can also be seen in the restaurant menus. Last weekend, my boyfriend and I had kamameshi at izakaya! Kamameshi is a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in an iron pot with various kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetables. We had a kamameshi with ikura (salmon roe) and salmon, which are in season now!
The image is from Kamadoka.

The other day we had "Kamameshi Paella". I think that was creative!

Actually kamameshi is eaten through the year, but the best is fall!

You know what!? Kamatora is one of my favorite delivery services. They specialize in kamameshi delivery and deliver the set meal like seen in the right image, which is cool! You first enjoy eating the flavored rice, then you pour dashi broth and eat it like ochazuke!

Hmm... I'm getting hungry.

We have a good appetite in autumn. We call it "shokuyoku no aki".
I need to be careful not to eat too much!!!

Okay, see you again :)

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Translated Recipes

Yesterday, I was extremely drowsy a whole day... I couldn't even start writing my diary! This hot humid weather makes me tired :(

Today, I went out to eat lunch with my co-worker! This week, I went out twice, which is pretty luxurious to me because I always go out every two weeks!!!
We had a lunch menu at a Japanese restaurant: soba, yakionigiri (grilled onigiri), tempura, tamagoyaki (egg roll), and potato gratin. Each was served in a small portion, so you can enjoy by bits. I love in this way! They were all good!

Anyway, I used to label my translated recipes in the left sidebar, but I made a change! I linked my recipes from lists so that you can search and view them much easier. I hope you realize the difference ;)

Again, I am drowsy... good night!

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Koumibou

Hello! It is a tropical day again!
I hate taking packed train on such day because sometimes you're forced to stand next to sweltering passengers!!! Yikes!

Anyway, yesterday I got really sleepy and couldn't post my diary again. Gee... this steamy weather is really tiring!!!

Before I forget, I will write about last Saturday!
My boyfriend and I went out to eat creative Chinese cuisine at Koumibou. We live very close to the restaurant, but we just didn't have a chance to go there till this day!!!

The restaurant is so popular that many TV programs have featured it before!!! Once I saw it on Tsuyoshi Domoto's "Domoto Tsuyoshi no Shoujiki Shindoi"! On this program, he makes a small journey with a guest to a selected place. One day he toured our neighbors and had lunch at Koumibou. I remember he and the guest were eating Peking Duck!!! Also, the ramen that uses the broth of the duck seemed very delicious!!!

However, we couldn't have the Peking Duck. The portions were too big for us :( But we had chopped Peking Duck and vegetables served with pancakes, which was similar to the Peking Duck and was delicious!!! Also, all other dishes we had were great.

Next time, I'm gonna go there with my parents and sisters to have the Peking Duck ;)

Today, I went to lunch with my co-worker. I had a lot of vegetables to beat the summer heat! What I had was vegetable rice bowl (salad, natto, and mentaiko on top) and a green vegetable smoothie! Now I feel better!!!

Take care you all!!!

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Hello! We have cloudy and rainy days since Friday!

On Friday, I couldn't write my diary because I went out to have a drink with my co-workers. Actually, it was my first time hanging out with them. Most of them get married, so we couldn't go out until now.
I had a plan on the next day, so I was going to leave after the main party, but since we had a stimulating conversation without our bosses, I stayed until the last party at Karaoke! You know what?! I love Karaoke! I love to sing :) When I realized, it was after 2AM and I missed the last train... But luckily, my co-worker's son gave me a ride home.

The next day, on Saturday, I did what I had planned! I went to my favorite cafe and made cooking plans for Sunday. My boyfriend came home in the morning, so he dozed off for quite a while.
Then we went shopping at a department store and had a dinner at Kaiten-zushi! Kaiten-zushi is a sushi restaurant where the plates with the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt that winds through the restaurant and moves past every table and counter seat.

After the dinner, we saw long-awaited movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which just came out on the 21st in Japan! I will just say, it is well worth seeing!!! He is so cool!

Okay, I gotta stop now. I am drowsy...




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Tonkatsu - Pork Cutlet

It was a rainy weekend.
It cleared up today, but it gonna rain again from Thursday :(

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to a famous Tonkatsu restaurant called "Katsukura" near the station. Tonkatsu is a popular (home-style) dish in Japan. It is a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet about two centimeters (0.7 inch) thick and sliced into bite-sized pieces, served with tonkatsu sauce (a type of thick Japanese Worcestershire sauce) and shredded cabbage on the side.
Katsukura's main branch is in Kyoto. They are picky about their foodstuff. They use hearth-baked crispy bread crumbs that seal in the flavor of pork. Their cabbage is fresh from the farm. For their dressing, they only use yuzu (citrus ichangensis) from Kitoumura in Tokushima prefecture. The oil they use to fry is trans fatty acid free, which is healthy. They certainly ensure the safe pork for the cutlet. Tonkatsu sauce they use is made with red wine, apple and natsumeyashi (Chinese date), that give a mild and rich taste.
For tonkatsu, either a pork fillet or pork loin cut may be used. My boyfriend loves pork loin, so he ate a 170g (6oz) portion of it. They also have takiawase (simmered seasonal vegetables)! This is my favorite, so I had it instead of eating cutlet :) To tell the truth, I am not that crazy about tonkatsu, but they have what we each like, so we go there once in a while!

On Sunday, I created 5 new recipes as usual.
I don't mention it in my diary every time, but I get this done every week.

Now it is almost 0AM!
Again, running out of time!
I gotta stop now.
Will write tomorrow :)
Good night!!!

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European-Style Curry and Rice

Today, it is nice and sunny again!
But I remain deep in the shock... I lost one of the big contests. The result is not yet released, but I realized it from the package I received yesterday, which was the lowest award! Always things don't go my way. I knew it and was true :(

Snap out of it!
I went out to eat lunch with my co-worker.
We had curry and rice at a famous curry restaurant called "Aubergine" near our workplace. They serve European-style curry and rice. They use special onion paste and simmer the curry for about 2 days. They have 4 levels of spice. Their butter rice cooked with spices goes great with the curry and brings out the rich flavor of curry!
I had a vegetable curry using seasonal vegetables. By eating it, I realized that the seasoning was similar to the Mediterranean Curry roux which I used for my curry and rice the other day! I think S&B did a great job!!!

Different story.
Last night, I went to the spa again. This time, I had a free facial treatment. It is for free for three times since I purchased the IPL treatment package in April.
The spa uses Environ products, which are forefront of scientific skin care. I had a vitamin therapy, which involves the use of electric current to facilitate greater penetration of vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene into the skin.
The therapy wasn't that bad, but I didn't like the way they removed my makeup. I thought it wasn't thorough... which was kind of uncomfortable. Anyway, I have 2 more times to try out, so will see!

Again, different story.
Yesterday, I found an interesting software while searching how to backup my Blogger posts.
Blogger Backup: a simple utility to backup to local disk your Blogger posts.
Using the GData C# Library, the utility will walk backward in time, from your latest post to your last, saving each post to a local Atom/XML file.
I used it and was great! It saves all the posts (only text, no images) in few seconds!

There is another tool that saves images as well. Firefox add-ons called DownThemAll. I haven't tried it yet since I use IE. Also, all Blogger images are saved in Picasa web album automatically, so I thought it is not that necessary to save images.

Also, there is an instruction at Blogger Help.
How do I create a backup of my entire blog?
But this requires the modification of your template, so it isn't that convenient if you want to back up your blog on a regular basis.

It is good to have a shelter against every storm :)

Oops, I was going to translate my recipe, but running out of time!
Hope I can tomorrow!!!

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