Nikuman

Have you ever tried nikuman?
I believe jose and anGeLine know this well!

Nikuman is a steamed bun made from flour dough, usually filled with cooked ground pork. In winter in Japan, you can find nikuman at convenience stores. They are steamed at stores near the cash register. There are many different fillings: pizza, curry, gyoza, seafood, char siu (Chinese-style barbecued pork), yakisoba, kimchi (Korean pickle), etc... Sometimes you can find strange ones like chocolate or pudding! I have never tried them, though...

The image above is packed nikuman (pork and seafood) which my mom bought me as souvenirs when she went to Chinatown in Yokohama. You can microwave it as-is (packaged)! How convenient!!! Both pork and seafood were juicy and delicious ;)

As predicted, it started to rain from today...
Hope it stops by the weekend...

Yay! I have hula class tonight!

Take care!!!

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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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Wow!!! Lucky Me!!!

Sometimes I am in luck!
This month, I won 2 big grand prizes at the contests held at Cookpad (recipe site).

I can't get carried away because the next contests are going to held from this point, but let me feel delight for a while :)

On 5/11, my "Bacon Rolled Shrimp Saute" won the grand prize. It was a shrimp recipe contest that asked to create side dishes that goes good with Kirin beer. The recipe will be used for their promotions, such as recipe card, poster, and store front promotional video.

As seen on the right image, the prize for this contest was 16 slabs of low-malt beer and 2 slabs of sparkling liquor. Wow! But unfortunately, my boyfriend and I don't drink that much, so I decided to give them to my mom and her friends. They were happy with them ;)


Then today, my "Healthy Colorful Rolled Chicken" won the grand prize! The contest was to create easy and healthy side dishes using Reed Healthy-Cooking Paper: A thick cooking paper with water and oil retention to promote “healthy cooking” while protecting vitamins and reducing calories.
I wrapped vegetable rolled chicken with this cooking paper, steamed in the microwave, and browned in a pan. I flavored it with shiso leaves and umeboshi (pickle ume), so it has a mild taste.

The prize was an assortment of laundry detergents, dish soaps etc... Plus, popular culinarian Koh Kentetsu's autographed recipe book!!! I am excited to receive them all. Sometimes things are much more valuable than cash ;)

I get too many bad results than good ones, but I think there is hope.
Let's keep trying!!!

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Vina Macatela Sangria

We got thunderstorms last night, so the air was clean and fresh this morning :)

Yesterday, I found a bottle of sangria wine at a supermarket. Usually, I make sangria from scratch, but I bought it from curiosity.

It was great!!!
I am glad that I bought it.
It doesn't contain any sugar so the flavors of fruit juice and red wine are refreshing and delicate. I think I can have a couple of glasses at a time :)

Moreover, what I like about it is this sangria is made from "organic" ingredients: orange juice, lemon juice, red grape juice, white grape juice, and red wine. The label looks different, but I think this is the official website of the wine.

It should be particularly refreshing with ice on a hot summer day. Mmmmmm!!!

Bye for now ;)

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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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Oops, Snake !!!

Sorry you all. I am posting something other than food.

Almost a week ago, my boyfriend found a snake on a path by a river, just a few seconds away from our home. Jo's Gardner snakes reminded me of this.

How scary!

But I'm glad to know that there is wilderness left in Tokyo.
Or did he escape from somewhere else?! Hope not...

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Cherry Wine

Hi there!

What's your favorite type of wine?

I love red wine since the polyphenol contained is beneficial to our health!

However, I sometimes try other type of wine when I find it interesting!

Before the flight back to Tokyo (from Yamagata), my boyfriend and I arrived at the airport with time to spare, so we had a small bottle of wine at cafe. We chose to have dry white wine rather than red for a change. Refreshing sourness and the aroma of muscatel were well balanced! It was a right choice ;)



Also, we bought a cherry wine for our souvenir to try out! Don't you think the bottle is cute?! It is 100% sour cherry wine which is local specialty of Yamagata prefecture. I didn't have expectations for taste, but it had a light, fruity taste and was easy to drink!

We have early summer weather today. The high is 78F (26C). How nice ;)

Let's enjoy our day!

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Zao Hot Springs and Sukiyaki

From 5/15 to 5/16, my boyfriend and I've been to Zao in Yamagata prefecture to eat sukiyaki and take an onsen (hot spring bath). Zao is a popular ski area in winter and good hiking base in summer. Since it was off season, the tour was about $80 per person, including round trip flight to Yamagata, one night stay at a hotel, and 2 meals (all-you-can-eat sukiyaki dinner and breakfast). Beyond expectation, we had a really good time ;)

Zao Hot Springs are founded approximately 1900 years ago. The resort area is lined with many hot spring bathhouses. The hot springs are known for their high acidity, so you can't make any soap bubbles! In addition, you don't wanna soak any towel in water because it will be worn to rags! However, the hot springs are very famous for healing both skin conditions and gastrointestinal disorders. Surprisingly, it was true and my scrapes and pimples healed! Also soaking in the hot springs refreshes you physically and mentally ;)

Just a short distance away from the resort area, up on a steep hill, there is a dairottenburo (large outdoor bath)! There, you can enjoy the open air bathing surrounded by nature. Luckily, the hotel sent us there, so we didn't have to walk up the hill!

Early in the evening, we had sukiyaki for dinner. The water in Yamagata is very clean so the food there was delicious. I loved the sansai (wild vegetable) tempura! After dinner, we took a hot spring bath at the hotel. Since the hotel was chartered (there was no other lodger on this day), I sneaked into men's section and enjoyed a relaxing soak in the rottenburo (outdoor bath) with my boyfriend ;)

The next morning, we again took a hot spring before breakfast. I really loved the hot spring there, so I bought some flower of sulfur for my souvenir ;) Before we leave, we enjoyed walking the resort area. We went up a mountain by aerial tramwayhave, tried local food: "Igamochi" (kind of mochi) and "Tamakonjac" (simmered konjac). For the last time, we took a footbath ;)

It was a quick trip, but we really had a relaxing time!

I wish I could go there again.

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Hawaiian Tableware

Don't you think this tableware cute?

Sorry maybe just me, at this moment. My picture is not good, but I found this Hawaiian tableware at the shopping mall in Odaiba. It is funny that because I started hula, things from Hawaii look so cute. I am always like this, so my boyfriend is beyond criticism. Ha-ha. Don't worry, I'm not gonna get any. I think I need to get a pa'u skirt first ;)

Tomorrow, I have a hula class again, so I need to practice before I go to bed.

Good night!!!

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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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My Kit Kat Recipes on the Package!!!

Today, two of my recipes using Kit Kat were posted at Cookpad's website and Kit Kat's website.

Like I wrote before, Nestle Japan produces the Kit Kat in many unique flavors for a limited time only. On 5/11, "Apple Vinegar" and "Mini Lemon Vinegar" were newly released! Before the release date, I was asked to create some cold sweet treats recipes using their new products. To tell the truth, while I was working on this project, I realized that I was using my camera wrongly... I wrote about this before. I will never forget about this shocking stuff... Anyway, I am glad that I successfully completed the project. Whew...

Besides the websites, my recipes are printed on the package, point-of-purchase ad, and panel for the distribution! I need to look for them at the stores ;)

The image on the left is Apple Vinegar KitKat Mousse and the image on the right is Healthy Lemon Vinegar KitKat Chunk Banana Ice Cream that I created for this project.

Anyway, summer is just around the corner! Yesterday, the high was 82F (28C) and today was 78F (26C).

Since I went to work during the Golden Week holidays, today I took a day off and attended the hula class again! It is sometimes nice to take a day off when everyone is working ;)

Bye for now!

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