My First Homegrown Asparagus

I planted these beauties a couple of years ago, but last year's toothpick thin wisps were only useful as dental floss. This year, for the first time, I have something I can actually eat. So what if they're no bigger around than a #2 pencil? The taste is fantastically sweet - by far the mildest and sweetest asparagus I've ever eaten. All, um, four stalks worth.

Hopefully they will continue to grow bigger with each successive year. Maybe in about 16 years, I can have enough yield for a whole meal!

That's is little fellas. Grow! Grow! Grow!

Warning: Objects in photo are smaller than they appear.

What are these?!?! Asparagus for ants?!?!

Keller in the Caf - Making The French Laundry's Lobster Macaroni and Cheese at Work

So, I promised a colleague at work a homemade lunch something like a year ago. But between the busyness of work and home, I kept putting it off. As the months (and months, and months...) passed by, I grew tired of getting "the look" every time I ran into this guy, so I decided to finally make due on my promise. I was on the hook big time, so I wanted to blow him away. I needed to come up with something extraordinary - maybe even, something French Laundry-esque.

Chances are that you, like me, probably haven't had the chance to eat at The French Laundry (for those of you living in a cave somewhere, I'll simply say that TFL, under the helm of celebrated chef Thomas Keller, is considered the best restaurant in the US, if not the entire world). For "regular people" like me, missing out on this experience is probably best for the wallet, but yet incredibly disappointing. But all is not lost.

I recently picked up Keller's French Laundry Cookbook, which was published almost 10 years ago (I know, I'm a bit late to the party). The book is an unquestionable masterpiece, a treatise on modern culinary technique and thought. Keller describes and details the food as prepared in the restaurant - no shortcuts. He offers advice to help guide the home chef when things get complicated, but never are things dumbed down. Of course, this means that unless you have a contingent of sous chefs working for you, cooking from the book is generally time consuming and meticulous. And sourcing raw ingredients of the level of quality that these dishes demand can be quite expensive. But in my brief experience with the book, it is absolutely worth it.

Don't just take my word for it, though. One of my favorite reads these days is Carol Blymire's abmitious French Laundry at Home blog, where the self-described "nutjob" (hey, she said it) is blogging her way through this book with the goal of executing and chronicling every single recipe contained within. The impressive thing is that she's not a trained chef - she's just a regular Joe, er, Jane. Recreating French Laundry food at home is something to aspire to, but why stop there? Why not take it all the way to the office cafeteria? I intended to do just that.

This presented quite a logistical challenge. I wanted my food to be first quality - that is, it would have to taste like it was just made, not like leftovers or reheated slop. The thing is, there is limited equipment in my office cafeteria (that I have access to, anyways) for actually making real food. Here's what I had to work with:

1. Microwave
2. Fridge
3. Butter knives
4. Running water

Well, that rules out quite a bit right off the bat. I suppose I could have made something cold, or a sandwich, but that just didn't sound that exciting. Hmmmm... And then I remembered coffee time. Huh? I keep an 8 cup french press in the office for making coffee... with boiling water that I get from the cafeteria! So that means...

5. French press
6. Boiling water

My thoughts kept drifting back to 3 magic words from Keller's book - butter poached lobster - which is featured in several French Laundry preparations. Because it's not exposed to high heat during the poaching process, the muscle fibers do not tighten and sieze up, making the lobster uncommonly tender and soft. With a French press and some hot water, I can essentially poach the lobster on site in the cafeteria. No, not directly in the french press, as you might be thinking. Sous vide, of course! Now which dish to choose...

The most amenable to cafeteria cooking (and, I have to say, most appealing to me in general) was the "Macaroni and Cheese" or, (deep breath now) Butter-Poached Lobster with Creamy Lobster Broth and Mascarpone-Enriched Orzo (exhale - ahhhh). Just kind of, um, rolls off the tongue. Anyways, I figured that the lobster cream and the orzo would nuke just fine, and besides the lobster, there were no other elements that would require heating.

Before we start, let's be realistic about this - there's needs to be substantial prep work done at home to make this possible. But it was indeed assembled and plated in the office cafeteria, much like what would be done in a restaurant. I should point out for all of you book owners and Keller afficionados there are a couple of minor liberties with the dish I chose to take. For one, I wanted to include some type of vegetation, and I happened to find some nice pea sprouts in the grocery store, so I adapted that element from the "Peas and Carrots" dish a couple of pages away. I also left out the Parmigiano crisp. Sue me.

Steep the Lobster, Before - Hello little guy. No animals were hurt in the making of this ... Ah, screw it. Who am I kidding? Nice knowing you! Pour vinegar seasoned boiling water over your lobster off of the heat.

Steep the Lobster, After - The lobster has now been submerged for 2 minutes. This par-cooks the flesh just enough to allow it to release from the shell. Time to get this thing out of there and pull the meat before it cooks too much. Make sure to save the bodies for the stock.

Harvest and Vacuum Pack the Meat - The meat has been removed from the shell, cooled, and vacuum bagged with some butter. It's only partially cooked at this point, so it can be more or less treated like raw meat. Must be kept in the refrigerator.

Prepare the Lobster Cream - This photo is skipping waaaayyyy to the end of this process. Let's see, make a stock out of the chopped up lobster bodies, strain it, reduce it by half, add cream, reduce it by half again, and strain again. Cool and pack in a microwaveable (is that a word?) cotainer. This is about a 2 hour process, but the taste was, well, I can't think of a superlative that is strong enough to convey how good it really was. Just incredible.

Par-Cook the Orzo - Boil orzo in salted water, but remove while still crunchy. Rinse under cold water and drain. Pack in a microwaveable container. Keeping the orzo crunchy here will ensure that it does not turn to mush when reheated later.

Pack the Supply Kit - Lobster meat in vac bag, lobster cream, orzo, mascarpone cheese, pea shoots, meyer lemon zest, salt, and olive oil. Bring to office and place in refrigerator until service time.

When the time comes, find a space to set up your meez. This may be tough, especially in the middle of the lunch rush.

French Press Sous Vide Lobster - Since the lobster meat is already partially cooked, it only needs to be warmed through. I mixed boiling and tap water until I thought it felt right (about 120-130F, if I had to guess), dropped the vacuum bag in, and lowered the plunger to keep it submerged. I refreshed the water mix after the butter had melted and let it sit for a few minutes while prepping the other components.

Final Prep - Make the pea shoot salad. Combine the pea shoot greens (cut off excessively long stems), some salt, and the lemon zest. Dress with olive oil. Next, microwave the lobster cream and orzo to heat up. Stir together and add in the mascarpone. By the time this is done, the lobster should be heated through.

Plate Dish - Place a mound of the orzo mixture in the center of a the plate. Remove lobster from bag and place on top of orzo, tail first, then claw on top. Top with pea shoot salad.

At the risk of blowing my own horn, this was a spectacular success. The lobster was beautifully tender and flavorful, and that orzo... Makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Happy tears, of course. Not only did I win rave compliments from my colleague (actual quote "this might be the best meal I've ever eaten"), but I also managed to create quite the scene in the bustling cafeteria. No doubt people will be talking about this day for some time!

Now for some dessert. How about, ho hum... French Laundry donuts?

These better be good, since the dough takes a couple of days to make. The moisture in the dough is primarily egg yolks, so it has a nice richness to it.

These look fantastic, and they tasted even better. This is really bordering on ridiculous now. Just incredible. The beauty of these is that they freeze well, and taste freshly made after reheating in a toaster. Just use the bagel toaster in your cafeteria, if you have one.

Just ask yourself - why should you settle for cafeteria slop any longer? With a little know how and some pre-planning, (and the proper motivation, I suppose), you can eat incredibly any day of the week.

Opia Hong Kong - A Hidden Jewel in Causeway Bay

Update 05.04.08 - Apparently, Opia has closed, as of April 30! This comes as a disappointment to me, since I have enjoyed a couple of great meals there. In fact, my last visit, which is captured by the writeup below, was a fantastic experience, and reasonably priced for such high quality food. A new restaurant will be replacing Opia at the Jia Hotel later this year, so stay tuned, I guess.

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Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island is a fascinating collection of old and new. Luxurious (and expensive) shopping malls (yes, plural) share street addresses with wet markets, open air produce stands, and nick-nack trading alleys. In this area lies the JIA botique hotel, and its restaurant, Opia. It's easy to miss the unassuming hotel and its tiny sign as you pass by on the street, but the food here is worth taking notice of.

I hesitate to use the f-word... you know, "fusion," as I don't want to scare anyone away. But Opia's menu is full of dishes containing elements of Japanese, Thai, Australian, and Mediterranean cuisines. Not to worry, if there were a template for how to select and blend these flavors flawlessly, it would be found here.

The discreet entrance to Opia along Pennington Street in Causeway Bay gives no indication of the sophisticated space inside. The stunning interior stands apart from the old world neighborhood just outside.

I have actually been to Opia once before, but not since Executive Chef Dane Clouston has revamped the menu after taking full control of the kitchen. I remembered that meal as one of my most favorite in all my trips to Hong Kong, particularly the soy-laquered Wagyu ox cheek, which remains an Opia signature item. Despite my lust for this dish, last night I went with the chef's degustation menu - a six course delight intended to introduce the diner to the essence of Clouston's food. Most courses had two options to choose from. Okay, enough chit chat - let's do this.

Japanese Inspired Oyster Shooter with Mirin Tamari and Seaweed Green Tea Soba Roll

Talk about a fantastic way to start off a meal - the briny, oceanic essence of a fresh oyster shares the stage with sweet Japanese rice wine (Mirin) and tamari in a bite that goes down way too easily. I would have liked a few more of these. The soba roll wasn't bad, either, but was nothing special. Apologies for the fuzzy photo - I was still trying to get my camera settings worked out for the low light when my stomach took over and the oyster just, um, disappeared.

Kingfish Sashimi with Black Bean Dressing, Crispy Wonton, Cucumber Oil and Shiso

Kingfish appears to frequent sashimi menus in Australia far more frequently than elsewhere in the world, which, after tasting this dish, I find quite depressing. The kingfish had such a nice, soft texture, and rich, creamy taste uncommon to many whitefish. All of the condiments were effective enhancements, adding texture and balance to the richness of the fish.

Dumpling of Quail and Foie Gras with Sticky Chili Relish, Salad of Crackling, Ginger, Shallot and Baby Cress

My server recommended this choice, and I was glad that I took his advice. The dumpling was full of savory roasted quail, bound together with a little foie gras. The salad was full of bright, fresh flavors and a variety of textures (fried ginger crisps, cilantro, fried shiso). The chili relish was sweet with a just hint of heat that lingered in the background - nice balance. It was altogether a great dish that represented well the essence of Opia's food.

Pan Seared Foie Gras with Toasted Onion Oil, Milk Chocolate, Caviar and Baby Basil

I'm sorry, did you say chocolate? Unbelievably great pairing of the ultra rich fattiness of the foie and the light sweetness of the mousse. The salty caviar was the perfect element to balance out this fantastic dish. And the foie? It was perfectly cooked, with a nice seared crust on the outside contrasting beautifully with the ultra soft, almost molten interior (the texture was remeniscient of bone marrow). The flavor was insanely rich and delicious.

Blood Orange Sorbet

A little sweet, with a natural light sourness. Cool and refreshing, it was a nice palate cleanser.

Sumac Spice Black Cod with Red Harissa Dressing, Queen Green Olives, Mint, and Saffron Yoghurt

My first thought when this was brought out to me was - holy crap that's a lot of strong flavors thrown together on that plate! There were lemon segments, mint leaves, pomegranite seeds, olives, shallots, a sweet chili sauce, and saffron infused yogurt all paired with a spiced slab-o-fish. I took a bite, and tried to see if the flavors were as wild and unfocused as I thought they might be. A second bite, and I was amused. I shook my head after the third bite, thouroughly delighted (and mildly surprised) that all of these elements seemed to exist in a harmony of bright, clear flavor, each one adding a note to the collective boquet. Not to mention, the fish was perfectly cooked (with nice crispy skin, too). The yogurt was key, I think, in bringing everything together. Another bit of genius from Mr. Clouston.

Strawberry Trifle with Sherry Jelly, Vanilla Sponge, Cream Custard and Pistachio Nut Praline

A nice way to close things out. The photo shows a quenelle of strawberry sorbet resting on top of the trifle and its tasty praline top. Inside were layers of the above listed elements, which combined to be fruity and creamy, without being too heavy.

What can I say? I love this place. The integration of Asian and Meditarranean flavors with modern Australian fare is done with wisdom and elegance. I know of no better place where the much hyped/poo-pooed fusion phenomenon is accomplished with such focus and success. Whenever I'm in Hong Kong, I'll be stopping by.

Opia
JIA Botique Hotel
1-5 Irving St.
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

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Chinglish Shop Sign in Dongguan

No surprise to see translation humor in China. This one was particularly funny.

A shop on the street in Dongguan City, China. Since those XXXL T-shirts I bought fit like muscle shirts, maybe I can find something here that will fit.

Mao Jia Fan Dian (Mao's Family Restaurant)

Dinner with the Chairman

Once again, coming to you live from the People's Republic! I had visited a Hunan style restaurant a while back which was decent, but it was a very casual neighborhood kind of place. I had a chance to step it up a bit with a visit to Mao's Family Restaurant, a chain of restaurants established in 1987 by a distant relative of the late Chairman. This place serves up a proud tradition of dishes representing fiery cuisine of Mao's Hunan provincial heritage. A new Moa Jia branch has just opened up right down the street from my hotel in Dongguan City, so I decided to bring some of my colleagues and check it out. Typically, my trips to southern China involve numerous Cantonese mega-meals, so I thought it would be nice to change things up.

The Chariman himself is waiting to greet you upon entering. You'd better like the food, though, or else!

Chrysanthemum Tea - The tea server jets his arm back and raises the teapot up next to his head, shooting a laser of boiling water right into your cup. Nice aim, buddy.

Ma La Xia - Spicy Numbing Shrimp - Although food here is primarily Hunan sytle, this dish throws a nod to neighboring Sichuan province. Shrimp are skewered, fried, and topped with garlic, dried chilis, and a generous helping of mouth numbing Sichuan peppercorns. This dish is always a winner for me, and it was great this time as well.

Snake - Well, this was a new one for me. When we were reading the menu, I thought it would be fun to order this. But when the dish was brought out, I was a little taken aback to see how, well, how snake-like it looked. But Rich!! (you're thinking) It is snake! I know. But, seriously, look at the picture. I had no idea the skin would be so vividly blue. And look at that piece right in the front. That's where the freaking head goes! I should point out that there was also a mountain of stir fried hot peppers and garlic.

Yup. That's me, eating snake. The taste was surprisingly mild and non-exotic, almost like fish - but with a lot of bones, which made it difficult to eat. Yeah, lots of bones. The peppers had a nice kick, too.

Eggplant and Four Season Beans - Fantastic flavor on this one. When I asked how it was seasoned, they told me that there wasn't any special seasoning, it was just normally seasoned. Whatever that means, it was great. I could have eaten this whole dish myself.

Hong Shao Rou - Red Cooked Pork Belly - We couldn't come here without ordering this, the Chairman's favorite dish. Five spice seasoned chunks of pork belly are stewed in soy sauce and spices, and were served over a bed of dried mushrooms and unidentifiable vegetables. The belly pieces were incredibly soft, with tender meat surrounded by soft, gelatinous fat (belly is, of course, what we use in the States to make bacon out of). The skin was left on, and had become soft and sticky. Of course, fat equals flavor, so this dish was obviously delicious. It was quite rich, though, as you might imagine.

Here is an inauspicious page of the menu, featuring, ahem, bull penis. Since I had already eaten one tubular meat product (snake), I decided to pass on this one. Okay... Maybe I would have passed anyways...

At the end of the meal, I was happy to have found a new place to put on my "regular spots to hit up when traveling to Dongguan City and staying at the Dong Cheng International Hotel" list (what - don't you have one of those too?). The food was good, and although moderately expensive by Chinese standards, it's still quite reasonably priced. One of my Chinese colleagues was unhappy with the portion size for the price, but the high quality and great taste was more than enough to balance that out for me. So if you're in Dongguan, go check it out for yourself. Just make sure to bone up on your Mandarin first.

Nobu Hong Kong

Chances are, if you've ever had a conversation with me about food, somewhere along the line, I've mentioned Nobu. I had always had an appreciation for good food, but it was Nobu that awakened the beast within. My first taste of Nobu was nothing short of a revelation - a turning point in my food life that redefined my culinary understanding and, consequently, ruined me for life. I will never forget the tastes and smells of that meal. Years later, I can still vividly recall my first bite of hamachi tartare, then wanting to lick my plate clean of the Matsuhisa dressing on my sashimi salad. I remember how the salty-sweet taste of saikyo miso perfectly complimented the rich butteriness of black cod, and how each dish appeared to be a visual work of art. I have since been back to Nobu several times - always a good experience - but nothing resonates quite like that first time. Now that I've exposed myself as totally biased... (I'll try to be objective. Really.)

So it is that I was thrilled to try out the newest branch of the Nobu empire during a trip to Hong Kong in December. Residing in the glorious InterContinental Hotel, it's just reaching the first anniversary of operation. Frankly, it's about time I went to check it out.

From what I've read, it seems like this restaurant has been received less enthusiastically than the New York and LA originals (see this review for example). Nevertheless, it's only fair that I reserve judgement for myself. I was dining with a few companions who graciously allowed me to select the courses for the evening (poor souls!). I wanted to hit a few of the classic Nobu signature dishes but also try out new menu additions and some of the Hong Kong special offerings. Here's how it shook out.

Menu:

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
Salmon New Style Sashimi
Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa
Creamy Spicy Prawn
Black Cod Saikyo Yaki
Toro Collar Steak
Nobu Style Fish and Chips
Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles
Sushi - House Special Roll, Hamachi, Unagi, Mackerel, Ama Ebi

A beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline sets the tone for the meal to come.

Yellowtail (Hamachi) Sashimi with Jalapeño - Starting out with one of my all-time Nobu favorites. This was perfectly executed and tasted fantastic. I love the combination of the creaminess of the hamachi, the saltiness of the soy, the zing of the jalapeno, and the brightness of the cilantro and yuzu. Just a fantastic dish.

Salmon New Style Sashimi - Another Nobu standard. Hot oil is poured over seasoned raw fish, creating a half raw-half cooked preparation that melts softly in the mouth. This dish was also executed well, although, I confess that I kept thinking that I should have ordered the Kobe beef rather than the salmon for this dish. My bad.

Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa - This was a selection from the Hong Kong special section of the menu. While I did enjoy this dish, I had expected the XO salsa to pack more of a punch than it did. Hirame is rather bland and neutral as a raw item and I thought it could have been enhanced with a more flavorful garnish. I understand the philosophy of not wanting to overpower the natural flavors, but why go for pungent XO sauce in that case?

Creamy Spicy Prawn - I goofed and ordered this instead of the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce (another of my Nobu faves), but it gave me the opportunity to try a different arrangement of the same flavors. This dish was fairly substantial, featuring 6 large prawns topped with enoki mushrooms and creamy spicy sauce (basically homemade spicy mayo). While the taste was great, I was a disappointed that the prawns were overcooked and dry. Perhaps it was carelessness during the final pass under the broiler (notice the sauce on top is browned), or maybe they were already toast by the time they got there. Whatever the case, this shouldn't happen at a place like this. I didn't complain though, and give them a chance to remedy the problem. I have a hard time sending food back - it's just such a waste.

Black Cod Saikyo Yaki - Ah yes, the famed Black Cod with Miso. And with this dish, we were squarely back on track. The butteriness of the Black Cod (which isn't really Cod, but Sablefish) is a perfect foil for the sweetness of the miso glaze. And when the outside sugars are properly caramelized (as evidenced in this photo) and the inside is soft and moist... It was perfectly prepared. This dish so lives up to the hype.

Grilled Toro Collar - I had read that this recent addition to the Nobu menu was an instant sensation. Upon placing the order for this dish, the server advised me that it would have a strong fishy smell. Undeterred, I ordered it anyways. I suppose I thought that this would be similar to grilled hamachi collar I had eaten in the past - rich, tender, fatty flesh falling off of the bone. And toro being toro, I expected this to take the hamachi experience to the next level. Well, my inflated expectations did me in this time. It was, in fact, quite fishy, as I had been warned. There wasn't really a lot of fat in the meat, and it wasn't particularly soft in texture either. So 3 strikes. Considering that this costs twice the price of hamachi collar, I would stick with that next time.

Nobu Style Fish and Chips - Another newish menu addition I had read about. But this one delivered the Nobu experience. Cubes of golden yam and fish are formed into a terrine-like mold before being breaded, fried, and topped with a tartar sauce-like garnish. Crispy and delicious, each bite gets you that classic fried fish taste but also a bit of potato. So good, and unexpected from the outside appearance. I wish I had taken a photo of the inside of one of these lovely morsels, but they disappeared too fast.

Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles - I like the idea of taking something as pedestrian as cabbage and pairing it with something so over-the-top. The combination of the black truffles and the cabbage was remarkably good. The earthiness of the truffles really enhanced the subtle sweetness of the cabbage. My only complaint here was that the cabbage was not quite cooked as much as I would have liked. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but there was still a crunchy raw characteristic to it wheras I feel that a little more roasting would have softened the texture and enhanced the sweetness a bit more. Not to mention that this was being roasted in a wood burning oven, so there would have been additional flavor from longer exposure as well.

Assorted Sushi - House Special maki, with unagi, hamachi, saba, and ama ebi nigiri. Since I was lucky enough to choose, I made sure to hit a few of my favorites. The house special roll combines a bevy of fresh fish and is wrapped in a hand-cut paper thin sheet of daikon (now those are some serious knife skills!). A healthy dose of wasabi was the perfect compliment to the tasty sweet shrimp, but the hamachi and saba were utterly sublime and stole the show (mackerel can be strong and fishy sometimes, but this piece was awesome - as expected at this venue). The only disappointment was the eel - which tasted nothing like the fine specimen I ate on my very first Nobu visit - yes, even the eel blew my mind that day. This piece was not as fresh tasting, and the texture was not the fluffy perfection that I had expected.

At the end of the meal, my party and I were overall quite satisfied. There were some huge hits (hamachi with jalapeno, black cod with miso, Nobu style fish and chips) which were enough to outweigh the misses (toro collar, overcooked prawn). It appeared that the core essence of Nobu cuisine was indeed alive and well at the Hong Kong branch. I suppose if I have the chance to eat there again, I would stick to these classic dishes and sushi, which were all fantastic. It would be a stretch to classify dinner here as a great value proposition, but the quality of the raw ingredients is second to none. Of course, charging such high prices invites careful scrutiny. I doubt that any of the nitpicky complaints I mentioned would be quite as troubling at half the price.

Bottom line - if you want to see what Nobu is all about, don't be afraid to head over and give this branch a try. But do yourself a favor and choose the basic Omakase (chef's choice), where you will get a house selection of the signature dishes of Nobu Matsuhisa. Just make sure to consult with your server on any particular likes or dislikes if necessary. All said and done, I think my previous Nobu experiences have not clouded my judgement here, but rather have invited me to be even more critical than I otherwise might have been.

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Kyoto Leftovers: Mishima Beef, Grocery Store Sushi, & Plastic Food

Some leftovers from my um, world famous (ahem...) Kyoto in Photos series. Most of these were taken while shopping at Takashimaya. Other food shopping photos can be found in my Nishiki Market post. Enjoy!

Mishima Beef at the basement grocery store in Takashimaya. Just stunning quality here.

The fat marbling on this Mishima Beef strip loin (aka top loin, NY strip) is unbelievable. The great tragedy was that I had no place to cook this, so I had to pass it up.

More Mishima Beef. This is ribeye, and is quite pricey at over $100/lb. It looks so good I want to cry.

The ulitmate insult - I found this piece of superb quality beef at a convenience store!!! Even the cheapo stores in Kyoto sell great meat!

A huge block of otoro - fatty tuna belly. This is another of my personal faves. Looks like this piece is about $100/lb.

The fish section at Takashimaya's grocery store had an array of single nigiri sushi pieces for sale at about $0.45 a piece. I grabbed a few pieces for a quick afternoon snack.

I also snagged a few other pieces of sashimi for dinner. At closing time, all sashimi/sushi is marked down to clear out inventory. Freshness is key for items eaten raw, and would be compromised by letting inventory sit overnight. I happened to time my visit perfectly to grab some otoro on the cheap (center). Buri (from a large hamachi - left) and some unknown whitefish (right) complete the set. Ice packs, wasabi, soy sauce, sudachi, and chopsticks were all included for no additional charge.

Look at that amazing marbling of the tuna belly! If you can even find it, this stuff goes for about $12 a slice at a good sushi restaurant in the States. After the discount, I got all of the above sashimi slices for less than that!

The grocery shop at Takashimaya department store has an indoor wood grill. A (very warm) cook uses it to prepare yakitori (grilled chicken skewers).

While in Japan, I discovered the existance of a whole new industry - plastic food modeling. Many restaurants have giant window displays showing detailed models of each menu item.

The variety of options here is stunning. Actually, what's really stunning is how detailed and accurate these models appear. Meat has sear marks, soup broth is translucent, and those fried shrimp look crispy and delicious.

Welcome Baby Greyson!

Today we take a break from all things food and travel to share some great news.

After waiting 8 days past his due date, Greyson David has finally arrived! He was born on Jan. 21 in the wee hours (he chose to come at 4:01AM, just as I had predicted). He weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 19" long. Mom is doing well, and his big sister Elisabeth is "soooo excited!" to meet him (and feed him, and hold him, and help change him...). He is quite a handsome fellow, and has already captured our hearts.

So life with 2 kids officially begins. We are managing okay so far. It's definitely an adjustment, but not quite the same as going from none to one. Anyways, let's get to the photos!

Just a few minutes old here. He was alert, looking all around right from the start.

Mom gives a well deserved kiss to her little man.

What a good looking guy!

Time for another nap.

Wow - I'm sure not in Kansas anymore!

Elisabeth couldn't wait to meet her little brother. She held him, fed him, and gave him lots of kisses and hugs.

Ready to go home. Mom sure looks great, doesn't she!