居酒屋, here I come!!!

Relax! I 'm not about to start giving you a Japanese language blog today. And for those of you that mistaken those for chinese, you are not wrong. It is the kanji form of written Japanese which is sourced from the chinese language but pronounced differently.

Well, the words read "Izakaya" in Japanese which can be loosely translated to mean Japanese bar or pub. And yes, you guessed it! I'm gonna go Japan tonight and eat, drink and be merry at one of these numerous Japanese pubs where they serve some of my favourite Japanese food all in a single establishment. That's the fastest (although not the most economical) way of savouring or sampling them. Oh and there's a myriad of drinks to choose from: sake (at least 10 different types), Japanese whisky (another 10), Shōchū, Biru (beer, about 5 different types), plenty of cocktails and mocktails, assorted tea/coffee variations, wines and the more common ones like coke or 7-up.

I'll stick to my love for hot sake to accompany the grilled meats, tofu, sushi and sashimi, of course. Hopefully, I'll be sober enough to make my way back to my hotel and then try to find my way back to my room.

But all that merry-making will be AFTER many hours of shopping at the local mall where there's 100Yen shops, a l-a-r-g-e supermarket, decent Japanese bookshop, plenty of Japanese clothing stores and not to mention, numerous yummy food joints. Bliss!

Busy Bee Day of Activities

As I am composing this blog, I am keeping an eye out for the impending rain, my right foot is massaging my smelly dog and I am thinking about which chore to do first: bathe the smelly dog(& rid the house of the pong! my dad so-ever-casually mentioned) or to fold the tons of clothes sitting on my bed or to pack my bags for my overseas trip to London tomorrow morning... or to check my email... Hmm!

Well I usually leave my packing till the last possible moment but of late, my memory has been rather poor. I recently left for a short trip to China and I absolutely forgot to pack any undies. I know this is a rather delicate subject to mention but I have to prove my point. In the end, I had to dash into a nearby department store but at least it gave me a justifiable reason to shop, shop, shop in these times of economic crisis.

Ok, back to my Busy Bee Day of activities. I have a few (ok, I'm lying!!) stuff to do before I get to R&R in London but as it is, my mind is already on its way to London now, dreaming of the pint of dark ale I will enjoy in a local pub with a nice dish of Bangers & Mash (sausages & potatoes, yum!). Then, maybe another pint to reward myself for getting through Busy Bee Day, nice!!! But first, of course, I must say "adieu", ya, and return to do the important ya, that is to ponder on which of the absolutely-must-do-today task to do next. 

Gourmet Coffee

Today I attended a gourmet coffee workshop organised by Sarika, the people behind the Suzuki brand of gourmet coffee. We learned about the history, family of coffee beans,roasting methods, how to prepare the perfect cup of coffee and did some sensory evaluation exercises which was immensely fun, considering my l=o=v=e for the dark brew.

There is this little contraption called the Syphon which in my opinion makes the perfect brew but it requires abit of patience as it took a l-o-n-g time to get a decent cuppa. However, it was really aromatic and rich minus the foamy part which is actually oil from the coffee bean. This is in comparison to the 'Pourover' (the Macdonald's type of coffee machine, not so yummy!) and the 'automated machine' (espresso machine, fast but...) which is widely popular in regular coffee joints like Starbucks or Spinelli's. I have included a link to Coffee For Connoisseurs' website featuring the syphon and a brief but informative description on using the syphon to make your perfect cuppa.

http://www.coffeeco.com.au/syphonbrew.html

To end the day, we were invited to make our own blend of coffee, choosing 3-4 different types of coffee bean varietal depending on our individual taste/preference and we get to bring home a pack of freshly grinded coffee blend. Mine is a 40% mix of Sumatra Mandheling, 30% mix of Brazil Santos & 30% mix of Mocca. Smells good but does it taste good? Well, I'll have to share it with my coffee aficionado friends who are better at giving me an honest opinion of my 'rojak blend'.

So if I do start a little café of my own, I'll be sure to serve my coffee using the Syphon. Although it is a little costly but the pleasure of savoring a perfect cup of coffee is worth the wait and price.

ps: for those who are unfamiliar with the different types of coffee usually served in coffee joints, here's the link for you to check out the diff between cappucino & Café au lait... (courtesy of suzuki coffee).

http://www.suzukicoffee.com.sg/moby/cms/mykindoffun/cafestylecoffee/

Face to Face:

Met writer Lee Han Shih in the course of my work recently. I told him I admired what he is doing with the magazine, Asia Inc (of which he is the editor) and encouraged him to keep up the good work. For those who are not acquainted with Asia Inc, an informative free magazine about what's happening in Asia, I have posted the link to its website for your perusal. 

http://www.asia-inc.com/index.php/investing/82

I like Asia Inc because it is an insightful magazine offering a different take on issues and is a very entertaining read. An example would be their article on the Taiwanese turned Japanese man who invented Cup Noodles, the staple snack of most Asians. Who knew that this humble (not to mention yummy!) snack could turn into a multi-million dollar business? And to think it started out as an ingenious way for a poor man to carry around his lunch of deep-fried plain noodles to be eaten during meal breaks. 

Well, after so many years we are deeply rooted in the cup-noodle eating culture and I for one, considers it my all-time favourite comfort food. (read previous blog titled "eating this-order")With a myriad of flavours, both traditional and new-fangled ones, and the numerous international brands (hai! definitely Japanese numba wan, ya!) the market is absolutely spoiled for choice. I dare say you can find cup noodles in any supermarket in any country wherever you travel these days. Just look out for the country it is made in: those from Japan are definitely numba wan, or have I mention it already?