Fussy little eaters: Wasabi Chicken and Greens

I miss the food in Japan. How I wish we have good authentic reasonably-priced Japanese food here in Canberra. It was great timing that I saw this recipe in a cookbook that was given to me for my birthday this year by Mr E’s uncle!

I didn’t follow the recipe completely as I didn’t have some things and I didn’t want to use too many pots 😉

Wasabi Chicken and Greens

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, chop into strips
1 bowl of chopped vegies (I had broccoli, potatoes, carrots, green beans and snowpeas)
Oil for cooking

For sauce:
1 tbs wasabi paste
2 tbs plain yogurt
1 tsp lime juice
Pepper

Method:

1. Steam vegies until cooked (you can boil too if you prefer)
2. In a frying pan, cook the chicken until just cooked
3. Add the rest of the ingredients then stir
4. When vegies are cooked, carefully mix well with the chicken until coated with sauce (vegies are a tad fragile when cooked so make sure you don’t mix them too roughly)
5. Serve with salad or over rice (though if you’re having it with rice, I would triple the sauce)

My loves liked this meal, with the little one having thirds! Mr E liked his wasabi so he said he would double the wasabi if it was just for him (it’ll be too strong for babies). You could also steam the chicken with the vegies if you want to be extra healthy 🙂

Please let me know if you tried this recipe and if you like it 🙂

Fruit peels, snail goo and charcoal mask

Here’s another reason why I love Japan.

If you remember my post on skincare (read here if you missed it), I get “holiday” skin. Pimples, oily and dry patches and extremely enlarged pores. But not in Japan, and I’ve been there in autumn, winter and summer.

I eat just as badly, though my idea of “going all out” in Japan meant eating an ocean of fresh sea urchin and roe. Fresh vegetables are hard to come by, unless you want them as tempura (deep fried). Fresh fruit is exorbitantly expensive. With the number of vending machines and convenient shops selling hundreds of different drinks, water is the last thing I buy (and why would you, if you can have this drink instead).

I put down my lack of “holiday” skin to two things:

1. Onsens: perhaps the minerals in the water and the heat bring out the badness and detoxify your body? Maybe?

2. The extremely accessible and large number of skincare available. I got three “wins” this trip:

The pink bottle is Detclear fruit peel, it comes out like gel and you massage it on your dirty skin. After a while, balls of supposedly dead skin and gunk will start to form and you just have to wash it off. The result is clean soft skin, it’s awesome! Quick, effective and fun way of washing my face.

The black tube is a charcoal mask that comes out like black super glue. You put it on clean skin and wait until it dries. When you can’t move your face, it’s time to peel peel peel. I love this part of the process, it’s so satisfying. If I read the pictures correctly, it is supposed to lift up the gunk in your pores. Or something. Whatever it is, I like this mask, clean and soft skin afterwards!

When I first put this mask on, my inlaws did double takes and said a couple WTF comments lol with no previous exposure to “girly things” like these, seeing it would be pretty weird 😉

A snail goo mask, I am excited to try this one. I’ve tried their “pearl” mask before and it was awesome. This brand is Korean but is everywhere in Japan. I wanted to buy the “snake venom” one too, but Mr E vetoed it lol

Have I told you that I love Japan? 😉

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of “beauty”?

Japan: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture

The famous Glico billboard in Dotonburi: the food and shopping mecca of Osaka

We spent the last few days of the trip in Osaka. Like Nagoya, we’ve all been to Osaka in previous trips, so we didn’t do anything other than doing last minute shopping, eating and taking day trips (to Uji and Kobe).

Osaka at dusk

My plan for Osaka was to do absolutely nothing. Sleep ins, eat, shop, alone times and pampering times; basically things that I don’t get to do when home with the little man. Thankfully, I got to do all that 🙂 One of the highlights of my Osaka time was a pampering session at the hairdressers! For hours, I did absolutely nothing but just be. Most of the time, my feet were attached to their massage machine, it was amazing! Mr E and his brother joined me in the experience and it was so much fun 🙂

What my hair looks like when bleached...

Another highlight was our Nagomi visit organised by my sister inlaw. It was such a fun occasion, getting an insight into Japanese people’s home and cooking. A snippet of their lives, really. If you’re ever going to Japan, please do make sure you get to do it too! For the whole 3 hours we were there, I smiled the whole entire time. The experience authenticated my trip, if that makes sense?

DIY sushi! Soooo good!

Before long, it was time to pack and go home. I truly enjoyed the trip, like I have said before, I learnt so much more about my inlaws! They’re fun quirky people 😉 My kind of people!

Missing Little E meant that some parts of the trip were almost unbearable, most especially when hiccups happened. Consolidating five differing opinions, desires and ways of doing things were tricky at times but like my brother inlaw said, we don’t normally live in each other’s pockets for 3 whole weeks straight, let alone sharing a room for more than a whole week! After two weeks, even Mr E got annoying 😉

As our Nagomi dinner host remarked, I feel privileged that I have inlaws that I get along with to go on holidays together, so I am thankful.

A humongous thank you to my parents inlaw who took care of Little E and for giving me the opportunity to be me. Mr E and I found each other again; we were never lost but we definitely broke apart a little 🙂 Marriage after children takes a lot of effort, such a difficult request when time is not something you have a lot of. I am very blessed.

Japan: Kobe, Osaka Prefecture

I am home now, reunited with my precious. I am so happy to be back, however, I am about a week behind my Japan posts so here’s one for our day trip to Kobe.

The day started late with a quick walk around the town, sussing out which restaurant to go to for lunch. We stumbled across this beautiful shrine during our walk.

We watched a group of young people dipping their fortune paper into this pond. From what we gathered, the fortune only shows up when the paper is wet. The kids seem to be happy with theirs 😉

We also did a quick walk through the Western Houses area of Kobe. It is interesting to see the architecture of the place, you’d think that you’re elsewhere. Also another thing to note, there are many wedding shops around the area, I assume it’s because of the possibility of holding your wedding in anyone of these Western houses. Definitely a case of “the grass on the other side is always greener”, as I would love to wear beautiful kimonos on my wedding! 🙂

The clock on the photo above is stuck on the time when the 1995 earthquake happened; apparently, one of the highest ever recorded in the world. Like true Japanese style though, just like what we saw in the museum in Hiroshima, recovery time was super quick! Amazing.

The main reason why we’re in Kobe: having a taste of Kobe beef. The picture above is probably about AUD15 of beef. I actually preferred this over the Hida beef we had in Takayama, however, I do still prefer Australian beef 🙂 🙂 🙂 We were told that all the Japanese calves came from the same farm, though they’re raised in the different areas of Japan. Curious, right?

While the boys went to a sake museum, us girls trekked through a giant hill in the highly humid weather to see this waterfall. My sister inlaw can’t remember what the significance of this waterfall is but it’s one of the top three something waterfalls in Japan hahaha it filled the time 😉

We ended the trip at the Kobe port, looking through the experimental samples of ferries/boats. It was a pleasant experience 🙂

I enjoyed Kobe, though I won’t rush going back there again 😉 it is an easy trip from Osaka, so if you’re after a daytrip option, Kobe could be one of them 🙂

Japan: Uji, Kyoto Prefecture

Reason #46633869 why Japanese public transport is frikkin awesome: go to your local train station at any time of the day and almost always, you could be in any other major city in no time. Without much hassle. One morning, within 30 minutes, we arrived in Kyoto (from Osaka). Another 20 minutes got us to Uji, a small town famous for its green tea and a world heritage shrine. Amazing!

This building, Byōdō-in, is so beautiful that it is featured in ¥10 coins. The phoenix on top of its roof is featured in the ¥10,000 notes. Apparently, this building was made into a Buddhist temple, dedicated for people to depart to their next life. I think.

Sample set of different soba: one of which is matcha soba.

I had another emo-period of terribly missing my precious, however, as if my dad inlaw knew, I got emails from him with happy photos of Little E. He looks very well loved and spoilt. He’s a blessed boy to have such loving grandparents, who are generous with their time, attention and love. The three most important, and so precious, things anyone can offer. I felt a lot better after seeing the photos 🙂

After lunch, we visited a registered UNESCO world heritage shrine, Ujikami-jinja. I love going to shrines, again, because they remind me of my grandma and my childhood. I also like seeing the bundles of people’s prayers hung up around the place. I personally think that without hope and faith for a better future, what kind of life would you have? 🙂 regardless of your religion or lack thereof.

We then went to the oldest continuing green tea producer and shop. We met the one of the owners, who is a 14th generation of tea producer and saw a photo of his grandson (the 16th generation). He proudly showed us the many awards they won and how apparently, their tea is the tea of choice for the emperor of Japan!

There, we did an introduction to Japanese tea ceremony, including grinding our own matcha (green tea powder). I am not a fan of matcha but I wanted the experience, so I’m glad that I did it. Also, at least now I know for sure that I really don’t like the stuff, because Uji is probably the place to have it 🙂

I liked Uji, it is only a short trip away on the train from Osaka and/or Kyoto, which makes it a good day trip option 🙂

Japan: Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture

The same with Sendai, we spent most of our time in Nagoya doing more shopping. Most of us have been to Nagoya before so we’ve done the touristy things, with my brother inlaw living there for the last 4 months. We did go to the Nagoya castle though as it has new sections recently opened.

On one of the days, we had boys and girls day, with us girls spending the whole time shopping 😉 specifically, shopping at Uniqlo lol while the boys went to see some cars. So stereotypical really.

My favourite building in Nagoya

Random park where people sat eating their lunch

Nagoya was also the place where I got to meet a new side of my inlaws that I’ve yet to meet before. My bother inlaw has a friend who works at a very good restaurant, so he kindly organised a dinner there for us. The 6-course disgustation dinner came with a 2-hour unlimited drinks. Unlimited. To say that we made the most of the offer would be a severe understatement. The night didn’t finish until 2am for some of us, with recuperation time lasted a lot longer than expected. I have so many hilarious stories and photos that I’m sure will make me grin stupidly for a long time! It was so fun.

The bar where we ended the night

Mr E also had one of his rare shopping urges during our Nagoya trip, so I made sure I took advantage of it. In one shop, he got almost a whole new wardrobe. I am so happy! We both love Japanese fashion, preferring the uniquely shaped/patterned items. Another example how compatible we are 🙂 I am blessed with someone who accepts my weird dress sense.

That calligraphy brush holders on the top left corner were ¥120,000!

On one of the mornings we have in the city, we went to an antique market held on a temple grounds. I love antique markets, this one especially, since they have things that my grandma had at her home 🙂 I found a stack of mini photos that I was so tempted to buy to frame, but Mr E said that they’re of wartime entertainment. It didn’t seem right to buy them as some of my relatives suffered under the Japanese occupation of Indo. The smell at the antique market reminded me of my childhood; spending time with my grandma while she prayed at the temple, a mix of incense, rain and mosquito repellant 🙂 I enjoyed the market.

We found a vending machine selling what we thought were bottles of tea. On close inspections, we saw a fish in each of the bottles…. this would have trumped all the gross drinks we’ve had so far!

Japan: Sendai and Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture

I LOVE Japan’s public transport system! Most places are easily accessible, even for non-Japanese speakers. We caught the Shinkansen from Hakodate to Sendai and apparently, for 20 minutes, we were way deep underwater. Too cool!

There weren’t much to see in Sendai, for me at least. We spent most of the time shopping, which works for me. I am so good at emotional-shopping now! Japan has the best clothes for little boys, very unlike Australia. From my last count, I think we have about 50 items for Little E alone. Plus all the knick-knacks. We had to buy more luggage allowance…..

Mr E and I finally got the chance to have a dinner date. It was so great, no time limit so we could go for as long as we want to. We went to a restaurant that specialises in beef tongue, which is a Sendai speciality. This trip has been good for us, I have been reminded frequently how good we are together. I am thankful ♡

We took a day trip to Matsushima, which is apparently one of three most scenic spots in Japan. It lived up to its title! I loved it there 🙂

We took a ferry ride to try take in all the vast number of little islands in Matsushima. Unfortunately, the ferry was packed to the brim, so we had to stand at the back of the ferry. The smell of the fume almost got too much for me. I still liked it though!

My favourite of the trip: the Date Masamune museum, one of the most famous samurai in Japanese history. He was also the person who built up Matsushima to be a prosperous town. His childhood story was a little sad, being disregarded by his own mother, however, luckily his father saw his full potential and believed in him. I highly recommend this museum if you’re ever in Matsushima.

More of the beautiful scenes of Matsushima: an iconic Japanese bridge leading to one of the many islands, a 700 year old tree and beautiful caves for meditation.

Our stay in Sendai ended at a very high note: a slightly drunken night at a local Jazz bar. Ginger Highball is now officially my favourite drink! 🙂

Japan: Sapporo, Hokkaido

I totally forgot to post about Sapporo, so here’s the highlights of the trip:

A nice walk through Odori Park, which had different types of roses on display. My favourite ones are the Honey Suckle roses from USA, they smelt so sweet and strong!

This is apparently one of a kind slide, made from marble (I think). There was a nice old man, who told us he goes on the slide every single day. We believe he is an employee of the city, responsible for showing people around the “artworks” as part of the Sapporo International Art Festival.

A really nicely decorated arcade full of shops and restaurants. We spent a great deal amount of time here, mostly in a 24-hour shop called Don Quixote. I love that shop, you can get anything there!

One of the best dinners of the trip. We chose it after going through a lot of restaurants as a compromise. With 5 people of different tastes and budgets, choosing a place to eat is one of many compromises we have to make. This restaurant was awesome! If you look carefully at the photo, there’s a man with a horse head. We’re still not sure what dish you have to order, but whatever it is, it’ll be served by a man with the horse head, plus a whole lot of singing and chanting. It was fun!

Mr E and his brothers shared 2 serves of Beef Hamburg that had strawberry fairy floss stirred through it. Different and delicious 🙂 On the way out of the restaurant, we peered through one of the windows at their fairy floss machine. Our waiter must’ve seen us because he offered us to make our own! And we did. Like I said, best dining experience yet.

A trip to Sapporo will not be complete without going to the Sapporo beer museum. To celebrate one of the most famous Japanese beer brands, the museum is free and provided a nice tribute to the brand’s history. After a BBQ lamb lunch, called Genghis Khan BBQ throughout Hokkaido, we then spent the next few hours shopping in the converted old Sapporo beer factories.

The next day, we went to a museum dedicated to the Ainu people, the Northern Japanese aboriginal people. I loved the museum and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. It is an interactive museum where you are allowed to touch and have a go at the exhibits, such as grain pounding and games.

This is a pair of boots made of salmon skin.

This is apparently an example of girl’s underwear, made of bark fibre. It is amazing how humans can be so resourceful! Surprisingly, the fabric is not that rough. Amazing!

A teething toy: I have seen babies around chewing almost the same thing. It’s quite different from the western teething rings from chewy plastic that Little E had 🙂

A baby swing, I assume it is more like a bassinet? Ingeniously basic but functional.

This is apparently the kind of house they used to have. It reminds me of the traditional houses some parts of Indo still have now. The inside of these houses look the same as the non-Ainu houses I’ve seen. I am interested to know who influenced who?

I guess you can’t go to Hokkaido without going to Sapporo, so I recommend at least spend a day in the city if you’re in the island. Everything here seemed to be at a smaller scale of things in Honshu, so you’d be able to cramp in more things here 🙂

Japan: Hakodate, Hokkaido

We got in late into Hakodate, the last city of our Hokkaido tour. After dropping off the hire car, we went to Lucky Perriot, apparently “the Number 1 local hamburger place in Japan”. How could you say no to that?

It had to be the worst food I’ve had in Japan, in equal top position with the onigiri of random unidentifiable filling I bought on my first trip here. Sorry, Lucky Perriot!

After a restful night, some of us went to the Morning Market for a fresh seafood breakfast. I had fresh crabs and sea urchin on rice, it was delicious. I noticed that the sellers in this market were a lot pushier than those in any other markets I’ve been to. Though being Japanese, they were still not as pushy as ones in SE Asia 🙂

On the way back, we walked past this place….. I take comfort in the fact that it was the only shop with no one in it.

The rest of the day was all about sightseeing. Hakodate was apparently the first ever port in Japan open for International trade. The city is heavily influenced by western styles, most noticeably, the star-shaped fort. It was apparently designed by a man who studied Dutch architecture.

It was in the fort that I finally succumbed and Skype’d my inlaws and Little E. I had been holding off as I didn’t want to upset him (and myself). Little E looked so chubby! And happy. And content. I knew he would, but I am glad regardless to be able to see it. Afterwards, my mum inlaw emailed and said that Little E didn’t get upset at all. He was happilly pointing us out on the photos around the house and took comfort in grandma saying we will be back. I, on the other hand, was not fine. Sigh. Isn’t this so much of a #firstworldproblem? Longing for my son when on an overseas holiday? 😦

Anyway, dinner was at a food alley, with most of the places only able to fit a maximum of 5 people! I loved the ambience of the place 🙂 This kind of outdoor, basic, fuss-free dining spots is what I love about Asia.

Squid ink and potato butter corn gyozas! The potato butter gyozas came with salted raw squid. I didn’t like the dip 😉

To finish off the night, we went on the Hakodate ropeway to see the night view of the city. We were lucky that we got to see it as the cloud went over really quickly and soon we were in it. Funnily enough, there were still people taking photos of the “view” with flash. You wouldn’t be able to see anything! Ha.

Our night cap for the day. Our hotel provided these shaved ice machines for free. It was such a treat for both the young and old guests! 🙂 Mr E and his brother went nuts on the condensed milk!

And so, that ended our trip to Hokkaido. I’ve always wanted to go, I’m sorry that it was not winter as the island would be way prettier then. However, I did enjoy the trip. Hokkaido is so much different from Honshu (main island of Japan), offering mostly nature and its picturesque landscapes. It is beautiful!

Japan: Biei and Furano, Hokkaido

After such a lavish buffet breakfast where I almost overdosed on fried salmon and pickled seaweed, we set off for Noboribetsu, making brief stops along the way.

The first stop was Biei, to see this tree. Apparently, the “Ken and Mary” tree is a special tree, making a cameo in a 1970s TV commercial for a Nissan Skyline. Would you believe that there were people lining up to take photos of this tree? Ha.

The view on the drive, so picturesque! ♡

Our second stop was Furano, where I had melons and more melons. I had a melon crepe and Mr E had a melon jam bread roll. We also shared the best melon smoothie! It was such a welcomed relief on the hot humid day.

Then, we came to the lavender farm, where everything was, yep, lavender and more lavender. I’m not a fan of lavenders, the smell nausea-inducing. This place, though, was okay, as long as I don’t spend much time in the many shops scattered around the place. The farm itself was beautifully maintained.

I sampled some of the lavender cheesecake and it was actually alright. It didn’t have a strong lavender taste at all 🙂

As our last stop, we went to the Anpanman shop, previously run by the creator! I was hoping to meet him and have him sign a book, but apparently he died last October 😦 I had a great time picking up a few things for my precious, but it made me miss him so much that I had to stop myself bursting into tears a few times.

I enjoyed the trip, though Japanese speed limits are sooo frustrating! 50km/hr on a highway??? Far out.