Movies

I watched 4 movies on the plane to NY. Also 2 movies on the way back.

The best movie was The Adjustment Bureau. A romantic thriller. I wouldn't write more than this. You must watch it! It conveys a great message to you. I love it :)



The other movies I watched were:

No Strings Attached (2011)
Just Go with It (2011): Jennifer Aniston is beautiful!
What Happens in Vegas (2008)
Valentine's Day (2010): Not that interesting movie than I thought...
Hall Pass (2011)

I think The Adjustment Bureau is the only one that is worth to pay to watch at the theater...

What do you think?!

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Summer 2011 in New York

Hi! I'm back now :D

6 days in NY were amazingly fast. When I leave Japan, I had too many things to do, so I thought leaving them behind for 6 days is not good, but now I think I should have planned to stay more days!!! LoL

Day 1 (7/1):

This was our fast time to take Japanese airline ANA (All Nippon Airways) because there wasn't any empty seat for the cheaper ones (usually we take Delta or Continental). What surprised us was their meals!!! They were amazingly delicious!!! Free alcohol, of course :) I watched 4 movies since the seat was very comfortable. Time we arrived in NY was noon, so we took a walk outside (took a pic in front of 23 foot tall giant yellow teddy bear) and met our friends at night. Every year we stay at Grand Hyatt. The room was nicely renovated this year :)

Day2 (7/2):

We had a breakfast at Grand Central Terminal and went for a walk at The High Line! The weather was really hot but nice. I took my 10th hula video at Hudson River Park (Pier 62). I will write about it later. For lunch, we went to The Fat Radish where I found on a Japanese magazine. Their foods were very healthy and delicious with lots of vegetables: omelette with a bunch of greens :D Then for dinner we went to a Malaysian restaurant called Nyonya. What we ordered were their popular dishes: Home Made Roti Canai (Indian Pancake), Sizzling Nyonya Tofu, and Singapore Rice Noodles. They were all great!

Day 3 (7/3):

We went Rabbithole Restaurant in Brooklyn for Breakfast. I had their recommended Stuffed French Toast! Yummy :) My darling had eggs benedict! Then we shopped around and went to the Brooklyn Brewery. My darling was really excited having a beer there ;) It was raining all day long so we enjoyed shopping. My darling enjoyed shopping at Superdry and bought their tees and bag for himself! For dinner, we went to La Lanterna di Vittorio where is famous for Pizza and Pumpkin Cognac Cheesecake! They were of course delicious!!!

Day 4 (7/4):

OMG! I finally found a place to try the 3-tiered afternoon tea!!! Alice's Afternoon Tea serves the afternoon tea menu before and after noon, which is cool :) So, we had The Mad Hatter menu (2 for $37). Their scones (especially the mixed berry) and sandwiches were amazingly delicious! Yay!!! Then we shopped upper west and walked down to the hotel through the central park. We had a dinner at Rock Center Cafe (as usual - we eat here every year). It's the place where my darling and I dated for the 2nd time. On the Broadway, we found cool Forever 21 electric bulletin board! Can you see us waving hands?! LoL We didn't join the crowds, so we kind of saw the July 4th fireworks from 42nd street. hehe

Day 5 (7/5):

Can you believe it's already the 5th day?! Yeah, I was kind of feeling in that way at this time :'( We took a breakfast at hotel's Market. They are open 24 hours, which is very convenient! For a snack, we went to my long-planned Luke's Lobster! A Taste of Maine, you can try half of lobster, crab, and shrimp! I shared it with my darling but I thought I could eat them all by myself later. hehehe Then we walked up to Union Square to shop (we tried YOGO frozen yogurt - sold on trucks) and went to Limelight Marketplace (originally a church). I never get tired of shopping! For dinner, we went to Hummus Place and tried their recommended dishes: Hummus Masabacha and Shakshuka. No meats?! Yeah, they serve vegetarian dishes. The foods were delicious but we kind of needed meats. haha

Day 6 (7/6):

7/6 is the special day! My darling proposed to me at The Pond of Central Park 2 years ago :) So, we kind of coming back here every year at the same time eating breakfast. (We bought our breakfast at Pret A Manger. I really loved the foods there!) I thought my darling might not answer to my question, but I asked him "why time flies?" then he said, "kiss me and time will stop". Wow! Is that true?! I kissed him, of course. Nothing happened!!! haha We love walking together in the city. Of course, time flies… At night, we planned to go to a cozy restaurant in Battery Park, but it was under renovation (or it was gone…) so we moved to the South Street Seaport. There we found Lobster Paella ($75) at Il Porto. It was pretty expensive, but my darling said okay because it's our last dinner. Thanks XOXO I really enjoyed the dish. Also, I talked him about my recipe stuff (kind of reality) that is not going well, and he said "I don't expect anything, so do as you want." How come he is so nice to me :)

Day 7 (7/7):

Time to go home. Our flight was early in the morning, so we left the city at 8AM X( The way back was Continental, so it was not that comfy like ANA, but was friendly on the wallet!!!

Sorry for my lousy typing… I really want to write more in detail and post more pictures, but need to move on and create my new recipes for contests and YouTube videos! But actually, I spent 2 hours writing this post! LoL

I shoot one video today, so I am going to edit it this week! And tomorrow I have new hula class to attend…

I wish I could have more time!!!

See you again :)

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Crunchy Wakame Salad - Video Recipe

New video is up now :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAGA-OIHWYc

Thin slices of cucumber adds nice texture to the soft wakame salad. You can season it with the dressing of your choice! Japanese style is good but Italian is nice, too ;)



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Crunchy Wakame Salad

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
5g (0.2oz) dried wakame seaweed
120g (4.2oz) cucumber
2 tbsp. Riken oil-free aojiso dressing (or dressing of your choice)
white sesame seeds if available

Directions:
1. Cover and soak the wakame in cold water for about 5 minutes until it softens. Wash and drain the wakame, cut into bite-size pieces, and set it aside.
2. Slice the cucumber into thin rounds using a vegetable slicer. Put salt over the cucumber rounds, mix well, and leave for about 10 minutes until they soften. Wash and squeeze out the excess water. Dry with paper towels if you have.
3. Toss wakame and cucumber rounds with Riken oil-free aojiso dressing (or dressing of your choice).
4. Place in a dish and sprinkle sesame seeds.
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I will be leaving for NY from Friday (tomorrow), so I will be away for a week!

See you when I come back :D

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Takoyaki - Video Recipe

Takoyaki is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced octopus, tenkasu (tempura scraps), beni shoga (red pickled ginger), and aonegi (green onion), topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori (green laver), and katsuobushi (bonito flakes).


https://www.youtube.com/my_videos?o=U

When I was small, I cooked Takoyaki once a month at home. My mom gave me the pan we used then. However, as you can see, the cast iron pan is not easy to use. I recommend you getting a non-stick Takoyaki pan online! It is affordable and saves your time! haha



FYI:
Nissin Takoyaki Flour 日清 だし醤油仕立ての たこ焼き粉
http://astore.amazon.co.jp/shopping072-22/detail/B00Z62JRUQ
Takoyaki pan I recommend オススメのたこ焼き器
http://astore.amazon.co.jp/shopping072-22/detail/B00WJLLSW2

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Takoyaki

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 40 pieces

Necessary Equipment:
Takoyaki pan
spouted measuring cup
oil brush (you can make it with paper towel, chopsticks, and rubber band)
steel pick (long bamboo pick is ok)

Ingredients:
200g (1.6 cups) Takoyaki flour
2 egg
600ml water
cooking oil
Fillings
* diced boiled octopus
* Chikuwa (fish cake) if you like
* Beni Shoga (red pickled ginger)
* Tenkasu (Tempura scraps)
* Aonegi (green onion)
Sauce
* Okonomiyaki or Takoyaki sauce
* mayonnaise
* Katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
* Aonori (green laver)

Directions:
1. In a bowl, put Takoyaki flour and eggs. Then add water little by little and mix well.
2. Heat Takoyaki pan and grease the molds with cooking oil.
3. Pour batter into the molds to the full.
4. Put Beni Shoga, Tenkasu, Aonegi, and octopus or Chikuwa in each mold.
5. Wait a little until batter on the edge of the molds become cooked.
6. Flip Takoyaki with a pick, fix the shapes by flipping, and cook until golden brown.

How to serve:
1. Place on a plate and top with Okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, Katsuobushi, and Aonori.
2. With Dashi broth: (boil 200ml water and 2 tbsp. Kamada Dashi soy sauce**)
3. With grated Daikon radish and Ponzu sauce.
4. With sausage: (cut sausage into half. thinly slice the outer curve of the sausage and cook. place Takoyaki and draw face with Nori seaweed sheet and ketchup.)

**Kamada dashi soy sauce
http://www.kamadafoods.com/english/index.php
http://astore.amazon.co.jp/shopping072-22/detail/B01AR4NQQI

レシピ (日本語)
http://cooklabo.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_29.html
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Witch hazel Toner

This cell booster toner is pretty popular in Japan.



I'm thinking of getting it in NY... what do you think?!

I was so busy that I forgot to make a post yesterday. haha

Please click below and vote for me.

Cold or Hot Food?!

On Saturday, the weather was cool, so my darling and I had sushi for dinner. The broiled saury was in season, so it was the best of all, but I forgot to take a pic :P



When the weather is cold, I prefer to eat sushi, ice-cream (I like to eat it in winter! LoL), yakiniku, hot udon (not hot soba), etc...
When the weather is hot, I prefer to eat cold soba, pasta, pizza, Hawaiian, etc...

I drink hot coffee all season. haha



Do you have any food preference depending on the temperature?!

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Sobameshi Keema Curry - Video Recipe

This video will show you how to make Sobameshi Keema Curry with yakisoba noodles and the seasoning packet (powder sauce).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drDZBzPKRcw

Keema Curry is a curry made with minced meat and usually cooked with many different kinds of minced vegetables. But in my recipe, instead of using tens of vegetables, I use yakisoba seasoning packet which is a vegetable sauce. Amazingly, you will get tasty curry in a second!

Sobameshi is a mixture of fried noodles and rice. The fried noodles will add tasty texture to the rice, and makes the curry even delicious!

This recipe won a grand prize at the contest in the past!!! Yay! Please try it out!!!



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Sobameshi Keema Curry

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
150g (5.2oz.) ground beef and pork mixture
100g (3.5oz.) onion
50g (1.7oz.) mixed vegetables
A
* 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
* 1 package yakisoba seasoning
100g (3.5oz.) diced tomato can
1 package yakisoba noodles (steamed chuka noodles)
200g (7oz.) cooked rice
salt
cracked black pepper
cooking oil
dried parsley flakes

Directions:
1. Cut yakisoba noodles into 1/2 inch squares.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan and stir-fry cut noodles and cooked rice, and put aside.
3. Chop onion and saute with cooking oil until soft (lightly colored golden brown if you have time).
4. Add and saute in order: ground beef and pork mixture, A, and diced tomato can. Then cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add mixed veggieables and season with salt and cracked black pepper.
6. Serve curry (5.) on sobameshi (2.) and sprinkle parsley flakes.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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See you next week!

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Triple Frying Pan

A months ago, I won a triple frying pan. I entered the campaign held by marumiya that you send the marumiya logo marks on their furikake packages. I have entered their similar campaigns for many times but never won anything, so this was my first time!!! If you see the pan, you'll find the noritama birds printed. Really cute! hehe



This kind of triple frying pan is pretty popular in Japan in the way you can cook 3 different dishes at the same time! Great pan to prepare bento :D

I will use this pan someday soon for my video tutorial!!!

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ochikeron Facebook Fan Page

I just created the official Fan Page of ochikeron :D

Please "Like" me♥

I will do my best!



http://www.facebook.com/ochikeron
(somehow the first letter of the name must be in caps... Ochikeron)

I once created this page in 2009 (if you see my wall you'll see my status update) but I finally got a chance to publish it! LoL

I'm not sure what I can do here but simply "like" me at this moment ;)

Yes. I have one discussion topic... haha

New topics are welcome!!!

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How to Make Yakisoba - Video Recipe

New video is up now :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzVHnWghK5U

Yakisoba is Japanese fried noodle. It is very easy and great recipe using leftover vegetables in your fridge!

Yakisoba usually comes with yakisoba noodles and yakisoba seasoning packet! I hope you can get it at an Asian grocery store!

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Yakisoba

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 10min
Number of servings: 1

Ingredients:
1 package yakisoba noodles (steamed chuka noodles)
1 package yakisoba seasonings
1/2 tbsp. cooking oil
100g (3.5oz.) thinly sliced pork
150g (5.2oz.) cut vegetables of your choice (cabbage, carrot, green pepper, onion, shitake or shimeji mushrooms, etc…)
mayonnaise
katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
aonori (green laver)
beni-shoga (pickled red ginger) *if availabe

Directions:
1. Evenly cut vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, green pepper, onion, shitake or shimeji mushrooms, etc… Cut thinly sliced pork into bite-size pieces.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan and stir-fry the pork until almost cooked.
3. Add cut vegetables (all at once! that is why you cut them evenly) and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Add yakisoba noodles, pour 60cc water, and gently separate the noodles.
6. When noodles are cooked, lower the heat, add yakisoba seasoning packet, and mix well.
7. Top with mayonnaise, katsuobushi, aonori, and beni-shoga, if you like!
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I think this recipe is fairly easy for some of you, but please try it out sometimes for a change ;D

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La casa di Nao

Good morning :D

On the weekend I went to shop at Shibuya 109 again :D Yay!!! I really love clothes from One Spo, so after going up and down the shops (you know what I mean if you've been to 109 before. LoL) I decided to shop only at this store. hehe

After shopping is the dinner time! XD But at the time we were hungry, all restaurants in Shibuya were really crowded... so we decided to try the Italian called La casa di Nao where we didn't have to wait.

Unexpectedly, all foods here (we ordered) were amazingly delicious!!! I think I'm gonna come back here again.

Homemade sangria. Nice refreshing citrus flavor.



Arugula salad with slices of parmesan cheese.



Anchovy tomato pizza baked in stove oven.



Green carbonara. The pasta was hand-kneaded!!!



They each were pricey but surprisingly, the total amount was not that much and was as usual! XD

We still have rainy days... and because I carry an umbrella and feel like having too much luggage, I keep on forgetting to take pics of myself. X'(

Anyways, yesterday I cooked for the contests after a great while!!! I can't tell you what I cooked at this moment but they were delish.

Yeah, also my new video is almost done. It's one of very popular Japanese foods which you might know! hehe

See you later on YouTube :D

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HEAD SPA HAND PRO

This is something I use EVERY DAY!!!



Few weeks ago, while shopping, my darling said he wants to buy this hand-like item. I first thought it is weird (not for me) but I said okay because I was in a good mood. LoL

However, guess what!? This was a super addictive awesome item!!!!!!!

Do you know how relaxing, nice and refreshing when you push up the skin of your scalp :D :D :D I also use this for my face. I use one finger tip to massage around my eyes to evacuate waste matter and that refreshes my tired eyes a lot!!!



I sometimes think my darling shops pretty useful items that I never think of buying. For instance, all music that I use for my YouTube videos are from his CDs... XD hehehe

Have a good weekend!!!

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Soy Banana Collagen Smoothie - Video Recipe

I posted about this before but this is my every-day smoothie!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnMWD8DGOhQ

I always buy bananas when they are on sale and freeze them. In this way they won't get ripe anymore and you can use them anytime you want. Put each bananas in a plastic bag which you can get free at store. LoL Frozen banana will add smoothie a slush texture so you don't need any ice cube, which is another good thing to freeze!!!

Meiji Amino Collagen is No. 1 collagen supplement in Japan! It contains 5000mg of 100% low-molecular fish collagen (collagen peptide) per spoon, which is 1.5 times more absorbable than pig-derived collagen, and contains only 27 kcal. Supplementing the collagen helps you maintain healthy skin, hair and nails.

I don't actually like the taste of collagen, but I found it doesn't taste much of it if you add into this smoothie!!! For many years, my darling and I drink this smoothie in the morning. Believe it or not, we found our hair and nails got stronger!

Every weekend, I freeze bananas for weekdays. Did you know that banana is an anti-cancer fruit?!

Only good ingredients are mixed in this smoothie!!!

Why don't you try out!



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Soy Banana Collagen Smoothie

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 3min
Number of servings: 2

Necessary Equipment:
blender / mixer

Ingredients:
1 spoon Meiji Amino Collagen
100g (4oz.) flavored yogurt of your choice (mixed berries or kiwi is my favorite)
1 (150g) frozen banana
250cc unsweetened soy milk

Directions:
1. Place everything in a blender / mixer and process until smooth.
2. Pour into a glass, serve as soon as possible.
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Enjoy :D

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