The Coca Cola company has introduced a bottled Yerba Mate drink in the Japanese market. Sold as an unsweetened tea, there is no indication on the bottle that it contains caffeine, so you’re left to your own knowledge as to what Mate contains. The specific Yerba Mate they use is fairly mild: It is lightly smoked, so it doesn’t have the “green†taste of unsmoked leaves common in American health-food markets nor the strong smokiness of traditional Argentinian leaves. If not for the label, you might think you’re drinking a lighter houji-cha. I like it. The English, “Latin biorhythm Mate, Play! Eat! Drink Mate,†marketing text is a little weird though. Go figure – this is Japan!
Archive for the 'Review' Category
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Yesterday’s high was between +5C and +7C. The wind was pretty minimal. Patagonia Capilene 2 long bottoms under Marmot Hatteras nylon canvas pants were fine. On top I had a Capilene 1 silkweight tee, a Capilene 3 quarter-zip long-sleeve, and R1 hoody. That ranged from about right to too warm. The zippers on both the long-sleeve and hoodie helped regulate the temperature. It would be nice if there was a R1-weight piece with the lighter-weight micro-grid fabric on the entire back for use with a pack. In the evening on the walk to dinner, I deleted the Capilene 3 long-sleeve since I’d be indoors for a long period and didn’t want to overheat. It was a bit cold, as the temperatures dropped toward the evening low of +2C after the sun went down, and the wind came up to 5-10 m/s. It was fine for the short walk, but anything more would have been uncomfortable. As a side note, the Capilene 3 long-sleeve doesn’t play well with the R1 fleece – their surfaces bind against each other, making it hard to put the R1 on without the baselayer sleeves getting all bunched up, or the fleece’s back getting hung up across the shoulders. Continue reading ‘Layering Test 5’
I didn’t get to drink this last November, so it’s been waiting faithfully in the refrigerator for me until now. This limited seasonal from Sapporo Breweries is distinguished by its use of freshly picked hops (Tsumitate nama hop shiyou) grown in Furano, Hokkaido for a wonderful burst of Pilsen-bitter. The decoction is essentially the same as other Sapporo lager products, so the taste-bud-pleasing maltiness is similar to their other products. The carbonation in the glass after the pour is fleeting with no significant head, but there is still bubbling on the tongue when imbibed. This is a very good production beer. I like it better than the Suntory Malts Premium Pilsener, which is unfortunate, since I’ll never be able to get it again! Launching at the end of April, there is a similar Sapporo Kuro Label The Hokkaido that is using both the Furano hops and Hokkaido-grown barley. That one is both a limited edition and Hokkaido limited sales product. With any luck, I’ll get to try that one too. Here’s hoping! Continue reading ‘Beer is Good – Sapporo 2013 Furano Vintage Classic’
Wow. That’s the tenderest whole chicken sandwich I’ve ever had. One of the current seasonal selections at MOS Burger is the Karamiso (spicy miso) Chicken Burger. This one takes a little bit to arrive, since they grill up the chicken when you order the sandwich. Topped with a special sauce made from a blend of three kinds of miso - spicy Korean kochujang, sweet Chinese tianmianjiang, and sweet Kyoto-style miso – blended with aibiki (ground beef and pork), carrot, onion, and other vegetables, the juicy chicken thigh sits atop cabbage in a soft bun. The sweet and spicy sauce and the crisp, sweet cabbage balance the salty savoriness of the marinated, teriyaki-style chicken. Continue reading ‘MOS Karamiso Chicken Burger’
Just got back from Ward theater where they are screening Studio Ghibli’s Kaze Tachinu, The Wind Rises. I am so happy to report that it was in original language, which you won’t know until a good five minutes into it. I take exception to some of the subtitle translations, but for the most it was good.
This is supposedly Hayao Miyazaki’s swan song, he’s announced he’s retiring after this. There’s even a line of dialogue in the film stating that engineers and artists have 10 good years in them. Everyone says, yeah right, Miyazaki Sensei! But if he does stay true to that, this is a good note to go out on. The story is about the Japanese engineer who created the Zero, so Miyazaki has free reign with the airplanes he obviously loves. And while this is a Japanese story set in Japan, he also gets to put in the European and Italian flavor which he also has an affinity to. Continue reading ‘Kaze tachinu’
We had rumors of Salt Lake City, UT having good sushi. So far in the years we’ve been visiting, it has not been so. Today we found some, you have to go downtown. Takashi I can report was excellent. Yes there was a fairly long wait, but this was a good sign. Our waiter was good, friendly, knowledgable in the menu and specials. The sushi and nigiri was excellent, included a number of selections ive not usually seen. Honestly it rivaled some of the best I’ve had. Only criticism I’d have was the rice was a little too mushy. Not the perfect balance where the grains were individual yet sticked together.
Aside from that I’d say it was worth the $60 per head bill we racked up.
4 out 4 finally sushi satisfied monkeys.
Back in August I blogged about doing a job on Maui, what I neglected to write about was the wonder that is Stillwell’s cream horns. This past Thursday I found myself back in Kahului for work. I had enough time before my flight to take a quick drive toward Wailuku to Stillwell’s and pick up a dozen of their signature mini cream horns. 
These pastries are different from the cream horns I’d been used to from the Japanese style bakeries I’ve had before. Instead of a bready pan, it is a flaky pastry shell coiled into a horn shape. Then filled with a great custard filling, the ends sealed with chocolate, and finished with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. Continue reading ‘Horn of Wonder’
Rental Altima, kinda annoying. Keyless entry w/push button start. How do you turn on car without starting it? Couldn’t adjust power mirrors without starting car, radio turns off as soon as u turn off engine. Brakes overboosted, seat reasonably supportive. No USB.
Blurb says something about dark Belgian sugar, so I approached with a little trepidation. pours a dark redish brown, small head that dissipates quickly but does leave some lacing on the glass. My sinuses are acting up so my taste is pretty muted. Roast comes through in aroma, but there isn’t a strong smokeyness. There’s a fair bitterness, but not a lot of floral. Guess it works with the sugar as the bitterness doesn’t linger as long as some other beers, and there isn’t the syrupiness that often turns me off, its nicely balanced here. Medium mouthfeel balanced with carbonation to keep it clean. A solid medium dark beer.
3 out 4 Belgian sugar monkeys.
Hey, it’s that time of the year again! I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about watching the Kohaku this year, but I figure once it gets going, I’ll be more enthusiastic. I better set the VCR though, just in case I fall asleep or miss something. Here we go! Continue reading ‘2014 64th Annual NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen’