4-14-2011

My love affair with food continues.  The fresh fish you can buy even in Tokyo is pretty darn good and if you know when to go to the store you can get some great (for here, reasonable elsewhere) prices.  This smoked salmon needed something special to go with it, so it went over a sauteed mushroom sauce and the last of the tri-colored fettuccine given to me last month.

4-15-2011

Mochi dango are a constant experiment for me.  There's a dango shop in Kamakura that has seasonal flavors as well as some unusual regulars.  From the top are sakura paste, honey-lemon paste and sakura matarashi.  Unfortunately, the weather caused them to turn before I could eat them. *sad face*

4-13-2011

Harajuku is known for cutting-edge fashion and pop culture. The displays sometimes go a bit overboard in that respect. This display was in the basement of LaForet. The black paint on the Kewpie dolls is a nice touch, but makes those dolls no less creepy.

4-12-2011

The obsession with cute continues. The panda buns were so popular in Yokohama Chinatown that pig buns now exist.

They're more delicious than the panda ones too. Mmmm...

4-11-2011

My cooking school for new ovens, and as such my bread seems to be getting darker. This one is Pain au Lait, which uses milk instead of water. It's a very sticky dough and I'm not sure it was worth all the extra work...tasted much like the other breads...

4-10-2011

In Kamakura there are many sweet potato-flavored items to be had.  This seasonal manjuu had a sakura exterior with sweet potato paste, called yōkan, inside.

4-9-2011

I'm a sucker for bright pink cherry blossoms.  These were found in Kamakura in the garden near the Daibutsu (Big Buddha statue).  We decided to stop there for lunch and to admire the pretty pink.