lioness in japan

What’s “neo-Japonesque” cuisine? Well, it’s basically a mix of European/Asian faves and Japanese dishes with a twist. The twist could go either way: a Japanese dish with a European touch or vice versa.

This approach is very common in Tokyo izakayas — you often find pasta and pizza next to hot pots and sashimi salads or what I call Japanese-Chinese dishes like mapo anything (from tofu to prawns) and fried rice, cha-han. Despite the attempt to make things fusion, there is almost always nothing complicated in a neo-Japanese izakaya.

Now there are those who do it okay and those who make it a little more special and I think Gomaya (details here) is a cozy nook in the heart of Shibuya that does neo-Japonesque well.

The dishes are simple but very full of flavour and it won’t cost you very much (3,500 – 4,000JPY).

We started with a few salady things as usual.

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Last Sunday was a friend’s housewarming in Tokyo so I racked my brains to make something that was simple but tasty….

ONIGIRI.

I have eaten many onigiris from the conbinis and izakayas here but have only made it once at home.

I don’t make onigiris at home because I’ve always seen it as a snack, not a meal, and it seems a bit troublesome to make on a whim, especially if I don’t have leftover rice. And I very seldom have any cooked plain rice lying around because the kangaroo doesn’t eat rice and if I do cook rice, it would be a one-pot wonder like porridge or fried rice.

Anyway, here’s my second attempt at making onigiris — all 19 of them… Some of them don’t look very triangular and this is a skill that I really need to practice!

I stuffed them with wakame & sesame seeds, or ume (preserved plum), konbu (kelp), and teriyaki chicken & black sesame seeds.

I used brown rice so I don’t think it was everyone’s cup of tea but the Japanese and gaijin at the party were really nice about it and said they were oishii. I ate a couple and thought they weren’t too shabby.

It’s been a while since I did a proper restaurant review, eh? I know that I made quite a dramatic announcement last year about not being very interested in cooked food anymore.

I think many folks might have thought I transformed into a hermit and only ate at home (or my own bentos). It’s been quite the contrary, I must say. I have been eating out but have not been actively taking photos and posting them here.

The truth is, while preparing food is a great passion of mine, I obviously still appreciate good food, flavours, and textures and find immense pleasure in dining out with friends.

Well, any food reviews from here on in would have a more vegetarian focus. I actually don’t eat at veggie places in Tokyo because my friends aren’t vegetarian, so I hope my reviews will help those who want to chow on veggie dishes in “normal” restaurants. Since the kangaroo is omni, I might take photos of his food and let you know what he thinks of it.

Celeb de Tomato (website here) is one such restaurant that has something for everyone. It’s quite common to find a specialty restaurant in Tokyo, but to give the spotlight to the humble tomato in chic surroundings, now that’s quite unique.

We kicked things off with a couple of salads.

The mixed tomato salad had red, yellow, green tomatoes in different shapes and sizes. Drizzled with just olive oil, I could taste the sweetness and tartness of the different varieties. The freshness of the tomatoes stood out for me, especially the green tomatoes.

The second salad had parma ham, black olives, tomatoes, arugula and crutons. Another simple but delicious dish. My friends kindly took their share of parma ham so I could eat the veggies.

Here’s a photo of my half-drunk Bloody Mary:

I thought it was one of the best Bloody Marys I’ve had — it was mildly sweet instead of salty or spicy like most I’ve tried. There was no hint of celery and it seemed it was just tomato juice and vodka. Even my friend who dislikes Bloody Marys thought it was surprisingly good.

For my main, I had the sundried tomato risotto with black truffles. I think there was a hint of cream or cheese in it and the chef was generous with the oil, so although it looked small in size it quickly filled me up.

My friends had the prawn pasta, tomato carbonara, and lamb dishes, which looked pretty good in terms of presentation. They didn’t ooh and aah but I personally thought my risotto was very tasty.

So what is my conclusion? This restaurant is typically Japanese in that it uses high quality, fresh ingredients and cooks its food with a gentle hand. I would recommend this for a weekend brunch or lunch instead of dinner because of its small portions and subtle flavours.

As promised, here are pictures of the tempura party held at my apartment a few weeks ago. It seemed to be quite a novel idea since most folks have only been to nabe and gyoza parties. A friend who is an avid fisherman got the idea when he caught many tiny fish and thought deep-frying them tempura-style at home was the way to go.

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Although making onigiri is very common in Japanese households, it seems like one of those things that you buy from a conbini (convenient store) or a departo (department store), so to me as a foreigner, I never thought of making my own.

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Japan has so much culture in its daily life so it’s not uncommon to see both locals and expats taking up a Japanese craft or martial arts skill.

Aikido must be one of the most popular classes to take up in the gaijin community, while ikebana, or flower arrangement, is a hit with mature women. My Japanese female friends tend to prefer learning the intricacies of Japanese tea ceremony, wearing a kimono, or Japanese dance.

While I do appreciate Japanese culture, my interest is fairly pedestrian but when I stumbled upon this bento by Pikko who blogs at Adventures in Bentomaking, my curiosity was perked. How awesome is this…?

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I was undecided whether to post this or not because this happened quite some time ago — mid-Jan and I’m sorry to say my passion for checking out restaurants has waned considerably.

It’s partly because I’m determined to lose weight and also my intellectual focus has shifted elsewhere. But, I will still blog about Tokyo from an expat perspective, trailing partner issues, and Japanese culture.

Nevertheless, this is a special post so it would be a pity not to talk about it.

One of my readers, T, emailed me to meet up while she was in Tokyo visiting her boyfriend last Jan. I was pleasantly surprised and flattered that anyone who read my random thoughts online would be keen to talk to me in the flesh. She seemed like a pretty cool chick so there were no fears that it would be a weird encounter.

On that chilly wintry day, we had lunch at Le Parc, a dim sum restaurant that sells itself as “nouvelle cuisine de Hong Kong” on its name card. The décor is old European-style with heavy wood panels, hefty carved doors, and moss green carpeting. It had none of the loud red and gold typical of Chinese joints.

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I was in for a treat when one of my Japanese friends said he would cook oyako don for dinner. We gathered at a friend’s place that could manage five people and just had a chilled night eating, drinking, and playing PS2.

It’s probably a sign of the times that we are entertaining more at home or maybe cheap izakayas are wearing thin in their repetitive (and boring) offerings.

How to make authentic and absolutely scrummy oyako don:

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I know this post title comes as a surprise because I’m a foodie who loves everything on her plate. But then, maybe it’s not so shocking because raw food is about eating good quality produce and that usually tastes marvelous.

Anyway, hear me out on my latest adventure…

Why am I toying with the idea?
Ever since I started my own business in Oct 2008, I have been reading a lot about productivity and changing habits. Around that time, I put just one boundary on my diet — no alcohol passed my lips for 30 days — and I never felt better. I felt less anxious, I focused on work well, I slept like a baby every single night, and my relationship with the kangaroo was excellent (not that we fought so much and we usually get along fine like any other live-in couple, but there were just no bumps or even the slightest tension; in their place, there were just awesome lovey-dovey vibes all around).

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This year’s reunion dinner in Tokyo was the best ever.

I was a little sad in 2007 and went back to the same dim sum restaurant in Roppongi Hills in 2008, so I thought I should shake things up for 2009. It’s strange that I’m not traditional (I mean, look at my work, living, and relationship situation — not very regular…) but Chinese New Year has a special place in my life.

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