Our home in Japan

     Imperial Hotel was our home for this year. This was highly recommended by my parents who have been loyal guests since the 80's. Since my first time here last 2009, I too have fallen in love with the hotel. 

Feels like you're in a Palace. ^_^

     Now let me show you our room...

I love the TV in the bathroom!

     You will encounter toilets with controls everywhere. Isn't this just the coolest thing ever? ^_^

     Besides our elegant, clean and cozy room, service is excellent! The staff (I mean everyone) are the most accommodating, cheerful and friendly. They never fail to greet and offer their service with a smile and bow. Last but definitely not the least, their food is one of the best, which I will talk about later on. Overall, we felt all positive vibes. ;)

Imperial Hotel

Tokyo, Japan

Visit their website

Dessert festival in Japan

    There's always room for dessert... especially in Japan. If you recall my videos of the basement section of a department store, who won't be in awe and resist all those fancy, mouth-watering cakes and pastries on display? After every meal, we definitely didn't miss out on dessert. We had our own dessert festival in our room. ^_^

Baumkuchen cake

     This is a German layered cake, which is popular in Japan. We first had this when our Japanese family friend gave us a box of this. 

Cheesecake

     There are 2 cheesecakes: the fluffy kind and the baked one. This was the latter. It's light and creamy with a hint of citrus.

Chocolate refrigerator cake

     Mom was hesitant buying this one because of the size. This was the smallest... but couldn't resist after all. She made the right choice. :P

Milk and white chocolate

Love it!

Custard pudding

Mom and Dad's favorite. This is similar to Leche Flan.*

Laduree chocolate ice cream

     I was surprised and happy to know Laduree also has ice cream. Of course I chose chocolate. Love it! ^_^

Strawberry Shortcake

     A popular cake in Japan, also known as a Christmas cake. This is one of my favorite cakes. Love the combination which is light and creamy. I wanted to have another slice before leaving Japan. :D

     

     Japanese cakes and pastries are as good as they look. Taste and consistency are just right, not too sweet, not overwhelming.  

     As we were walking by Ginza and waiting for stores to open, we came across a bakeshop called Dalloyau. This was familiar to Mom and Dad.  Because of our amazement with their display, it took a while before deciding on what to buy. We bought Macarons, Madeleines and Strawberry jam (sorry forgot to take a picture of our stuff). Again, we enjoyed. ^_^

Pastry chefs in action.

  
Dalloyau
6-9-3 Ginza
Chuo-Ku
Tokyo
Visit their website


Leche flan -Filipino custard flan

Konnichiwa Japan! (Part 2)

     Hello Kitty has been an all time favorite (I'm sure most girls will agree). I can't believe I almost forgot to pass by this part. Thank goodness Mom brought it up. ^_^

     For fellow foodies, don't miss out on the basement section of a department store. This is why...

     Sorry I got overwhelmed so I didn't get to take pictures of all the food. Check out the videos for more goodies...

Let me share some info and tips I learned:

-You will encounter everyone bowing as this is a way of greeting and is also a sign of respect.

-Giving tips or "keep the change" isn't practiced as it's considered rude. 

-When eating noodles, you may slurp as slurping indicates it's delicious.

-The numbers 4 and 9 are bad luck. The former is shi which also means death and the latter is ku which also means suffering.

-Do not place your chopsticks in an upright position inside a bowl because it will look like a ritual done in burials.

     I'm currently learning Japanese and got to practice when I would order. The people here are the nicest and most accommodating, so you don't have to worry. Thank you to my friends, Candice and David for your help and tips. :D My first time here in Japan was last 2009 but I didn't have a camera that time. Now I already have not only one, but two cameras. ^_^ 

Konnichiwa Japan! (Part 1)

     Japan was always in my top destination list because of the food and culture. I would get engrossed and amused with the stories of my parents' trips here. I remember watching a show called Oh Tokyo before, where Filipino reporters feature Tokyo tourist attractions. Seeing their features on amusement parks, stores, markets and food led to my curiosity. The only time I ever set foot in Japan was for stopovers, which I don't consider to have been here.  Now that I have set foot here for real, let me share some shots of Ginza and Shinjuku...

Ginza

     This is the place to go to for electronics and gadgets. There are restaurants and a pharmacy too... Very complete.

Shinjuku

Biking is a common mode of transportation. 

I'm a vending machine lover. I just find these really cute!

Teaser for the next series

     Konnichiwa! Just got back from our vacation. You probably can guess by now what will be the next series. Have your eyes ready with what you will be seeing soon. ;)

Food from home: Comfort food

     You can't go wrong with comfort food because it's something familiar to the stomach. It's definitely something everyone looks forward to at any time. ;)

Sole Meuniere

     Would you believe I got the idea for this from Be Careful With My Heart? :D If you're a fan of the show, do you remember Sabel convincing Doris to try her fish with lemon butter sauce? I thought this would be complicated but it's really simple to make. The lemon cuts the richness, perfect blend with the butter.

Pasta Pomodoro

     To help contrast something rich, something tomato based always helps. I saute onions, garlic and herbs with tomato sauce. I used canned stewed tomatoes and blend it. 

Cheesy garlic bread

     If you have pasta, then you should have bread too. I've made this before. I just used whatever bread we had available. This is best with french bread. 

Chocolate cake with custard filling

     This is an all time favorite cake. The last time I made chocolate cake was during college (not too long ago). The recipe I had that time was longer and harder. The chocolate frosting took 2-3 hours to make. Good thing I found a simpler and better recipe. ^_^ This was my first attempt for the custard filling. I always thought making custard was hard because eggs could easily turn into scrambled eggs, but thank goodness that didn't happen. :D

     Just to share the good news, The Bandana Baker chocolate cookies made it again to Spot.ph Top 10 Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies in Manila. Thank you Spot.ph! ^_^

Mitsuyado Sei-men again

     We watched Kris Reali TV's feature on Mitsuyado Sei-men and Yamato bakery last week. We drooling as we watched Kris Aquino along with Kim Chiu feasting on each dish and had given positive feedback. The rainy weather also helped with our ramen craving. :P Without hesitation, we head here, which is our second visit (please see my previous post). 

Spicy Miso Ramen

Cheese Sauce Tsukemen

     This is one of the specialties here and was one of the dishes featured in Kris Reali TV. This got me curious because of the cheese. This is eaten by pouring the cheese sauce over the noodles, then noodles should be dipped in the broth. To my surprise, it was an interesting and yummy blend.

Chicken Katsu

     Chicken is tender and tasty. Not too oily, just right. Love it!

Gyoza

     As a result, there was no umay feeling after eating the Cheese Sauce Tsukemen and Chicken Katsu.* I look forward to another visit. ^_^

Mitsuyado Sei-men

22 Jupiter Street

Bel-Air

Makati City

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umay -Filipino term for feeling nauseous because of eating something too rich or too oily.