Fresh from our garden

The brinjal or eggplant is from our garden. We sliced it into 2 pieces and stuffed it with cheese and a little bit of miso. It turned out to be delectable and enjoyable. The brown stuff is fried iwashi (sardine fish) coated with bread crumbs. The lettuce is also fresh from our garden.

An adorable kitten

I managed to take few photos of this little kitten outside my neighbours' house. It most probably left its mommy. It does not appear to be more than a week old. I tried to feed it but would run away from me. It took quite an effort to take photos of her (not sure whether it is a male or female kitten). After a few hours hanging outside the house, it disappeared into the bushes never to be seen again.

Brinjal and cucumber from our garden

Top picture right hand side is the brinjal and left is cucumber. They are the first fruits of the 2 plants. Second picture is my brunch with the salad containing slices of the cucumber. Needless to say the cucumber tasted as fresh as it can be as it was taken from the plant an hour before.

Growing onions

The onions should be ready to be harvested in about a month's time. We have planted them since last winter. Hopefully, they will reach the size of the onion above (we bought it). It's nothing like eating newly harvested onions or vegetables.

Lettuce & Takoyaki

This is the Flashy Butter Oak Lettuce which is grown in our garden. We have been harvesting and eating them almost everyday and given away some yet there are still more left in the ground.
Below are the Takoyaki or Octopus Balls prepared by my mother-in-law. She is such a good cook that her Takoyaki is comparable to the best in the restaurants.

Growing tomatoes in our garden

It may take another month or more for the cherry tomatoes (topmost pic) and the normal tomatoes to grow bigger and riper before we can harvest them. It sure is exciting to see them grow. Gardening is good for the overall health.
The spring weather is comfortable but the tomatoes need slightly warmer weather with plenty of sunshine.
Will post again when the tomatoes are ripen.

Danger of allowing aged drivers to drive

The big worry in Japan when walking,cycling or driving one may be hit by an old car driver. There are many drivers in Japan who are aged over 80 and still driving with valid licences. This is just an example of a case when a 87 year old driver who mistakenly hit and killed a mother and young daughter on a bicycle recently. 

Sushi and mentai pan

I got the tray of 24 pieces of sushi at half the price from a supermarket near my house. The usual price was 1399 Yen or S$18 and at a 50% discount it was $9. It was delicious and fresh and my wife and I had it for dinner. We also got a tray for my in-laws.

The French loaves with mentai is one of my favorites too. It is known as mentai pan in Japanese. Mentai is fish roe and pan is bread in Japanese. I got them at 20% discount.

Knife wielding man killed 2 in Japan

A few days ago in Kawasaki, Japan, a man Iwasaki 51, went on a rampage, killed 2 school girls and injuring many others with knives. He also knifed himself and died on the way to the hospital.
Iwasaki was a hikikomori, a term used for a recluse. He was adopted by his uncle and aunty after his parents divorced when he was a boy. He hardly speak to his adopted parents and has no friends, mobile phones nor computer. His neighbors told the press that he was a troublemaker ....to continue reading click here

Japan convenience stores can't do without foreign workers

In Japan, most convenience stores (Lawson, Family Mart, 7-11 etc) are operating with minimal Japanese staff. Of the 14 staff at one outlet, only one is a native Japanese according to a report. The job often involves long hours and night shifts which is unpopular among the Japanese. The foreign staff are mainly from China, Myanmar, Nepal and other Asian countries.
The foreign staff has been reportedly abused and discriminated by their customers.
For detail report read here 

Bara chirashi don...SG vs JP

My Singapore friend told me she paid S$26 for the above bara chirashi. It is too expensive even in a restaurant. I've got mine (below pictures) from a supermarket in Japan for S$2.60 (50% discount as it was evening time). I think there isn't much of a difference in taste but mine cost just 10% of my friend's!

Kakigori in Japan

Today is a warm spring day with the top temperature of around 30c. The cafe has started selling kakigori which is the equivalent of our ice kachang since last week. Kakigori is available only during the hot season.

KFC & Mister Donut Japan

I was curious how the KFC would taste like and so I ordered a 2 piece set which comes with fries and Pepsi Cola. I was rather disappointed because it tasted differently and not so yummy as the one in Singapore. The price was 680 Yen or about S$8.50.

Before ordering KFC, I had the cotton snow candy (melon) dessert from Mr Donut. It is shaved ice with syrup and small pieces of melon. It tasted quite good but a little expensive (slightly more than the price of KFC).

Takoyaki cooking set

My mum-in-law bought this takoyaki set. She has been thinking of making takoyaki for a long time so we encouraged her to get this set which may also be used for frying veggies etc. It is a multi cooking set. The takoyaki was made by her. It tasted good but a bit softer than the ones we ate at the cafe. Think she needs to improve in order for me to appreciate. This set cost S$150. We thought the price was reasonable until we located one at a different store selling for about $40. However, I must confess that her's is a branded one as compared to the $40 one which is a relatively unknown branded.

This is from the takoyaki stall

Curry udon for spring

Now enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Today's temperature is between 17c and 25c which is comfortable and nice. To celebrate the cool weather, we decided to have curry udon for our breakfast. Wish SG's weather is like this.

Cooking Fried Bee Hoon with BT

Bara chirashi and futomaki

Bara chirashi don is a dish of pieces of sashimi over cooked vinegar rice. Futomaki is also known as "fat sushi roll" or more commonly known as "California roll".
We bought them from a supermarket. They are delicious, appetising and fresh too. They are not expensive in Japan because they easily available in konbini (convenient store) and supermarket.
Each bowl cost 400 Yen which is about S$5. The futomaki is cheaper and is $4.