Sunday

It's the rainy season. It's warm and rainy and humid. I like it. Yesterday Nobu and I went out to buy a new computer (a MAC! Can you believe it?) and while we were walking through downtown there was a sudden downpoar. It was such a relief from the heat and humidity that everyone was smiling and laughing while running for shelter under trees and in doorways.

My garden is also enjoying the rain:

The leaves are HUGE!

This is the only zucchini I have been able to eat. Sad. They have...... blossom rot.

Balcony herb and tomato garden; they are loving the constant rain!

This little tomato is the first one to start ripening. I can't wait to pick some.

And, because it's going to be a damp rainy week that doesn't have a chance of clearing up...

I made waffles.

Yums.

My waffle iron is a piece of junk, so I had to bake them in the iron for about 7 minutes and then finish in the toaster oven for another 5. It was worth it, though. I used a yeast-raised waffle recipe found on Orangette, and added an extra teaspoon of sugar to the batter.

山東刀削麺 Santon-Toushou-men in Hara

On Friday, Nobu and I went out to our favorite local Chinese place, Santon-Toushoumen. It used to be part of a larger chain of Toushoumen chains, but has recently broken off and is operating alone. The interior is spacious and very clean. Most of the staff, including the owner(?) don't speak much Japanese and no English, and are very curt when they wait on you. I have not seen them smile once.





What is special about this place is aside from offering a huge variety of Chinese dishes and snacks is their noodles, which are shaved off of a huge block of noodle dough with a machete right into a pot of boiling water. Their most famous variety is "Tantan-men", which is a very spicy soup filled with ground meat, spring onions, Chinese chives, and thick toushoumen. I can't eat it because it is so spicy, but Nobu says it's very good.

We started with spring rolls. Crisp on the outside and gooey within, these boasted whole shrimp inside!





Entrees here are too big for one person- we shared a dish of Chicken with Cashew Nuts. It was a little less sweet than I remember American take-out of this dish being; it seemed like there might have been more soy sauce in the sauce or something. It was very good, and the sauce went well with the sweet cashew nuts. It was good over the Garlic Shoots Fried Rice, which was garlicy without being overpowering, and not greasy at all.





I tried a little bit of Nobu's soup, Tonkotsu Toushoumen. It was saltier than most tonkotsu soups, and much less rich. I would not recommend it, but Nobu said it would probably be good for someone who doesn't like the heaviness of regular tonkotsu soup.

Santon-Toushou-men (near the Hara exit of Nagoya's Tsurumai line)
hours: open daily for lunch 11:30 ~ 200; 　dinner 5:00 ~ 2AM
price: Lunch sets from 750 yen, dinner from 1200
*There is also an all-you-can-eat for groups of 5+ for about 2000 yen/person
English menu: none
English-speaking staff: none
vegitarian/vegan entrees: not enough to be worth it

flowers! drinking! things on sticks!

I just spent all weekend enjoying hanami, or admiring flowers, at Tsuruma Park in Nagoya with Nobu! When the cherry blossoms come into bloom, everyone grabs their tarpaulins and booze and heads outdoors to party under the cherry trees. Although there are many places with cherries blooming in Nagoya, Tsuruma Park is definately the place to be. There are street performers, booths selling lots of weird and delicious food, and of course hundreds of beautiful cherry trees to admire.









We were exhausted after walking around all that time, and decided to take a rest at a small mom-and-pop cafe near the entrance to the park. We had oshiruko, a soup-like dessert made of sweet azuki beans. Perfect on a cool day!







I endorse this cafe whose name I forgot.



By the way, check out my cool new shoes. Oh yeah!




On the way home, I stopped by a recycle shop near my house to look for yukata fabric. Spring has started, and that means that festival season is right around the corner! I bought one used white yukata which must be pretty old, because it's quite small and stained. Unfortunately it won't fit as-is, so I plan to make a sundress out of it.





I also got one roll of uncut navy blue fabric, to try to create my first home-made yukata! It's all straight lines, so I don't think it will be too difficult. Stay tuned.