WITTAMER: Chocolat avec Macadamia

Hi! It is sunny like summer today, but again, some rain is expected this weekend :( I hate the rainy season...

Like jose, I try not to buy any sweet treat for myself! But for good or bad, my mom gave me a box of macadamia chocolate cookies!!!

WITTAMER is a pretty famous pastry shop in Japan from Belgium. The company operates storefronts in department stores nationwide. Chocolat avec Macadamia is a chocolate coated cookie with crushed macadamia nuts. The cookie is crisp and the chocolate is rich, creamy and mild. Mmmmmm!!! It isn't that sweet, so I can eat several pieces at once X( Oh boy! I shouldn't keep them within my reach!!!

...

Whew. I'm full!
I've just been out to have a lunch at my favorite cafe with my co-workers of the same age! It was fun ;)

Have a good day!!!

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Kit Kat Rose

Hi! It is again nice and sunny like summer but some rain is expected this weekend. It might be a sign for the rainy season :(

Yesterday, I tried Kit Kat Rose! I sometimes try unique Kit Kat flavors when I get a chance, but most of them didn't taste good. However, beyond my expectations, this rose flavor was pretty good! A faint scent of a rose makes you feel like a princess. It has a relaxing effect, too. I think I'm gonna get this again ;)

Anyway, until how old do you think women can wear short skirts?
I'm just curious...

See ya!!!

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Makgeolli

Speaking of drinking, how well can you hold your liquor?

Me? I can't drink much, so I always drink the same thing, the same amount. If I want to try out new kind, I always try my boyfriend's since he orders differnt drinks once in a while. Last Saturday, he ordered Makgeolli. I didn't know such a drink until then. It was pretty good!!! It is a Korean alcoholic beverage fermented by lactic acid. Yes! It tasted like Calpis (lactic acid beverage)! The sweetness of Makgeolli is from glycated rice. Sounds good for your health ;) I think I can order one for myself the next time!

Oh gosh! It is again very hot today. I feel tired all day long...

Have a good night!

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Long Island Iced Tea

Do you know Long Island Iced Tea?

Long Island Iced Tea is a highball made with, among other ingredients, vodka, gin, tequila, and rum. A popular version mixes equal parts vodka, gin, tequila, rum and triple sec with 1 1/2 parts sour mix and a splash of cola. Without using tea, it tastes like tea!

When we've been to Odaiba, the weather outside was so nice that we drank cocktail and beer during the daytime, out on a deck. What I had was Long Island Iced Tea. Actually, it was for the first time in my life to try this out. I think it tastes like Snapple Iced Tea ;)

Changing my story, yesterday, I found that my hula teacher was a singer and she belonged to an idol group almost 10 years ago!!! (Her husband is a musician.) That is why she has her aura! She is really pretty and enthusiastic. I am lucky enough to take her class at the gym! She gives me a power, too!!! I hope I can learn her magnetic personality as well. Ha-ha :)

It is still cloudy and rainy outside. But tomorrow, after the long rain, sunny day is expected throughout the day!!!

Happy weekend :)

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Yokohama Cheesecake

How often does your honey get you sweets?!

My boyfriend doesn't like sweet stuff, so he seldom gets one. But last week, he had a cake box in his hand! Wow!!! There were two pieces of cheesecake in it. One was plain and one was citrus tamurana hort (kind of orange). They weren't sugary at all but rich and creamy. They were his taste ;) You can easily eat them after meal. Yummy!

The name of the store is Gateau Yokohama!
If you scroll down the page, you will see their publication history. They should be popular!

Anyway, sorry everyone. I am doing okay with my boyfriend. We (I!?) just have ups and downs. You know...

It is raining since Tuesday. The rain will continue until Friday. I hope the rain washes away the flu germs!

I have hula class again tonight! I can't wait to attend it!!! It is funny that 45 min class was long when I was a student, but now it is like a second. Ha-ha!

Aloha!

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Addictive Ganache

After the hard rain yesteday, again we have sunshine today!

Yesterday, my orthodontist gave me a box of Fugetsudo's ganache. It was a late return for the Valentine's day chocolate. Oh my god, this is so addictive that I can't stop... Why this simple mixture of chocolate and cream so addictive! I know it is bad for my health to eat too much... I wish I could eat them all at once!!! If I were young, maybe I could...

Anyway, I just finished cooking for today. Whew...
Now I am thinking weather to run outside or at the gym.

Will see...

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I didn't want to get a suntan, so I went to the gym ;)

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Soba Boro

Hi! After the hard rain yesterday, we have sunshine today. Wow! The high today is 77F (25C)!!! Though it will be cloudy and cold on the weekend...

Do you know "Soba Boro"?
It is a crispy cookie made of soba flour, sugar and egg, famous snack in Kyoto. It has unique shape (either a shape of cherry blossom or a bud). Soba Boro is Nanban-style sweets (Nanban-gashi) imported from Portugal in 1570. It's simple taste and the flavor of Kyoto appears very attractive! It's a great snack to go with Japanese tea :) Whenever I visited my deceased grandpa, he gave me this snack.

Kawamichiya is long-established wagashi (Japanese-style confection) store. Their Soba Boro is very famous and my grandpa loved it. Please try whenever you have a chance to visit Kyoto!!!

Changing my story, this morning, Marunouchi line stopped again after a long time... Last time it stopped during my commuting time was in 2007. At that time, I took a taxi and that was a bad decision! So this time I waited until it recovers, and that was right!
Whew... I had a tiring morning!

Good luck to me and you all!!!

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Ikanago no Kugini

Good morning!
Yesterday, I was going to post about the wedding cake event but somehow I couldn't find time to... I will tonight or tomorrow!

Anyway, on Sunday, my mom gave me Tsukudani (food boiled in soy sauce) made with Ikanago (sand eel/sand lance). We call it "Ikanago no Kugini" in Japanese. I'm writing the same thing as last year but my grand mother, who lives in Hyogo prefecture, cooks a few kilograms of "Ikanago no Kugini" every year. Ikanago no Kugini is a famous Tsukudani there. It is usually cooked and eaten around the end of February or early March, when the fish is about an inch long. After its season, Ikanago goes deep in the sea where is cooler. Then it goes under the sand and aestivate. I love to eat this tsukudani with white rice! I think I can eat rice endlessly with this!

I was waiting for her Ikanago no Kugini to arrive but I again missed the chance to learn the recipe from her this year. I think I should get into action the next year!!!

These two days, the high is 68F(20C)! We don't need a heavy winter coat but cedar pollen and yellow sand (carried to Japan by the wind from deserts on the Chinese continents) have been circulating in the air. We can't bear to be parted from masks.

Have a good day!!!

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Chocolat BEL AMER

Spring has come! It is very nice and warm today. The high is 60F(16C)! It will be up to 68F(20C) at midweek temporarily.

On White Day (3/14) my boyfriend gave me a set of BEL AMER's Palet Chocolat and Mendiant. On that day, we were going to attend Suite Sweets Japan, which is an exhibition where you can find the latest sweets from around the world, so I didn't expect him to get something in advance! But thank you my honey, he was right! I didn't find anything I like at the exhibition. Anyway, the wedding cake event at the exhibition was interesting. I will write about it tomorrow with some pictures I took ;)

Changing my story, I had a lunch with merce-san and her hubby (Japanese) from Philippines today. We had a good time!!! They are now in Tokyo for about a month. They gave me a nice set of coasters, spoons, etc... from Philippines. Also her hubby gave me CDs that he has released! Sorry that I met them with my hands empty, wearing my corporate uniform... I will think of something nice when I see them the next time!!!

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The Day Before White Day

On White Day (3/14), men give gifts (used to be candies) to women in return for the chocolate they were given on Valentine's Day. Since tomorrow is Saturday (no work), my co-workers gave me some sweet treats! I didn't expect something in return, so I was really good-humored today at work. Very simple girl! Ha-ha!!!

One guy gave me fondant au chocolat of 36sticks. The other guy gave me ganache balls. I tried the fondant au chocolat with other girl and guys since he gave me four of them. It was sophisticated and was not very sweet. I thought I could eat them all by myself, but of course I didn't. I was afraid of getting pimples, seriously!!! The ganache balls, I saved them for the next week ;)

I was partly having a bad day but those sweet stuff made me happy!

I don't expect that much but I hope my boyfriend has an idea for White Day, tomorrow! Will see...

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Gussumin

Hi! How many hours of sleep do you get every night?
Me? I get 5-6 hours of sleep a night... I wish I could sleep more, but I have too much to do in a day.

But recently, I had a chance to try a drink called "Gussumin" that improves the quality of sleep. Actually, I won 3 bottles as a free sample. It is not a medicine. It is a drink that combines tomato vinegar from fully ripened tomatoes and GABA. Lion and Ota Sleep Center have found that tomato vinegar and GABA helps improve sleep quality in 2006 (Reference). I didn't believe in their research findings for a long time, but it really did work, amazingly!

Last month, I had a day that I really thought I couldn't wake up in the morning, so I had the "Gussumin" before I go to bed. The next day, I didn't feel tired at all! To make sure, I tried it again on a different day and it did work the same! Is this because I didn't expect too much from it?

What is good about it is it contains only 8kcal per bottle, allows drink before sleep! I think I should get one for my boyfriend since he is busy without a good sleep for about a week! Let me make an experiment on him!

By the way, it is pretty expensive. It costs 250yen ($2.50) per bottle, so I don't think I'm gonna drink it that often.

Good night!

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Magic Fruit Sauce!

Hi! It is nice and sunny but large amounts of pollen are expected. I need to be careful not to develop hay fever!

Today, I went out to eat lunch with my co-worker after a long time, since it rained for more than a week until today!!! We went to our favorite cafe, but unfortunately they changed the menu. Also, they stopped offering a discount :( Might be the effects of the recession...

Anyway, I really love the fruit sauce from Karuizawa (a popular tourist spot). I think I wrote that my parents went there recently. At that time, they bought me 2 bottles of fruit sauce for souvenir. Actually, it is my second time to try this out, but I'm saying it out loud, it is really delicious!



The sauce makes especially the plain yogurt taste good! I think I can eat a pint in a minute!!! If you have a chance to visit Karuizawa (Prince Shopping Plaza and so forth), I recommend you to get it! To tell the truth, every day I wake up looking forward to eating yogurt with this sauce!

Have a good day!

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Koshihikari

How often do you eat white rice?

I eat it almost three times a day since my boyfriend doesn't prefer to eat bread in the morning. I used to have bread and coffee in the morning but I changed.

Luckily I doubly won 11lbs (5kg) of Koshihikari at the contest which I wrote the other day. Koshihikari is the most popular variety of rice cultivated in Japan (Niigata prefecture) and it's taste is said to differ per region. Koshihikari, harvested in Uonuma area of Niigata prefecture, is rated with the very best. I knew that the Uonuma rice tastes good, but never have tried it because it costs more than $50 (5,000 yen) per 11lbs (5kg). I usually pay $16 (1,600yen) per 11lbs (5kg) for other rice varieties such as Akitakomachi or Hitomebore.

So, what is said to be the good rice?
The amount of protein and amylose in the rice is used as a guide to measure the deliciousness of rice. In general, lower the content of those two are said to be glutinous and tasty!

There are 4 reasons why Koshihikari is supreme:
1. Water from melting snow.
2. Fertile ground.
3. Perfect climate condition.
4. Excellence in technique and wholeheartedness of the farmers.

This morning, I cooked Koshihikari and made onigiri (rice balls) for our breakfast. It was amazingly tasty! I wish I could eat this rice everyday... You don't want to use this rice for fried rice. You might want to eat it with pickled ume or okazu (a side dish) that goes good with white rice!

We have sun today, but it is going to rain from tomorrow till next Tuesday again :( All my umbrellas are at home, so I wish it rains in the morning the next time...

See ya!

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