Category: Food

Ramen and a Movie

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"Jinya Ramen" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Jinya Ramen” Austin, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going? Today was a day of leisure, with a little bit of DIY at home. Everyone slept in late today except for me, since I tend to wake up pretty early even on the weekends. But I enjoy having my morning coffee and watching YouTube or drawing before the rest of the family wakes up.

For some reason, Koa asked to have “real” ramen this weekend so we decided to check out a ramen restaurant that we haven’t been to before. It was just myself and my two sons together today since Mariko was out at a lunch party, and then off to a girls’ movie night. So it was boys’ day and that began at Jinya Ramen Bar. I’ve heard mixed reviews of this restaurant, but Mariko said the one ramen that she had was good so I was excited to try. She did mention that the other ramen that her friends ordered were not good, and I’ve heard similar reviews from native Japanese.

We each got different types of ramen, plus a side of gyoza and fried chicken. I’d have to say the ramen was just ok. Not bad, but definitely not one to recommend when there are better ramen places in Austin. But, I’m glad we checked it out so that we know where it stands compared to other places!

After lunch, we returned home and Koa and I took apart Mariko’s Kitchenaid Epicurean stand mixer to clean out the old grease and relubricate it. That was a messy job, but it went without a hitch. DIY mission accomplished!

To finish off the day, we went to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. I thought it was great! So many cool tie-ins to the original trilogy and I loved the action. The story was pretty good too, and we finally get to see the spice mines of Kessel and the famed Kessel Run, which is definitely not what I was expecting. After a disappointing (to me at least) Last Jedi, I was hoping to like Solo, and I was not disappointed! I can’t wait for the next Solo movie.

"At the Theater" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/17 sec, ISO6400
 “At the Theater” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

またね～

Start of the Weekend

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"Yakiniku Time" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO1000
 “Yakiniku Time” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going? The first day of the long weekend we have here in the States was a hot one! The thermometer in my car showed 95° F, which seems a little on the warm side for the month of May, doesn’t it?

Anyways, today Bay and I went shopping for some gifts he needs for his school, then to REI to pick up his birthday present (a Hydro Flask which was on sale), the to the Jerry’s Artarama for some art supplies, and finally, we stopped at Kinokuniya again. It was a pretty fun outing, and the only thing I bought for myself was an inexpensive oscillating fan for the home office. It makes sitting at the computer a lot more comfortable, especially since the computer is on the ground near my feet and it gets pretty warm – nice in the winter, but not great in the summer.

Later, I worked on an illustration on the computer before dinner, which was a yummy yakiniku (Korean-style grilled meat) meal. It was so good, but the house smelled like a Korean BBQ restaurant afterward. 😁 We enjoyed three types of meat: marbled beef, sliced pork belly, and spicy sausage. The pork was especially delicious. For dipping, we like a simple sauce of sesame oil and salt. Simple but perfect taste to complement the pork.

To finish off the day, we watched the movie Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. It was an ok movie, but there was nothing special nor memorable about it.

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

またね～

Hang Out

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"Music Mural" Austin, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/25 sec, ISO500
 “Music Mural” Austin, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

This evening I went with my sons to the new Korean supermarket, H-Mart, to buy some dinner at Donkey Mo’s fried chicken restaurant. The market has a pretty nice food court area with a small stage for live music. And it looks like they have a line-up of local musicians just about daily. It’s pretty cool! And also, there’s a little beer bar that sells bottles for only 99 cents.

I think Koa liked the place and he said it might be cool to hang out there with his friends and listen to some music (and probably eat wings!). It’s too bad that it’s a little far to bike to, but I’ll be happy to drop them off since it’s not a long drive.

The chicken at Donkey Mo’s is pretty good, but I think they use a little too much batter. It’s really filling but you feel a little icky because of all the grease. Still, it’s tasty and not too expensive. We bought four orders of chicken and four sides and the total came out to be about $42.

"Music" Austin, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/25 sec, ISO400
 “Music” Austin, 2018
"Food Court" Austin, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/20 sec, ISO400
 “Food Court” Austin, 2018

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

はるあん!

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"Pork Donburi" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO640
 “Pork Donburi” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。Tonight Mariko prepared an oishii dinner, which was a donburi of sliced pork and onion, with baby bok choy and onsen tamago. So yummy!

The recipe is based on a recipe is from はるあん’s (Haru-an) YouTube channel. If you don’t know who はるあん is, she’s a super-genki Japanese high school student who loves to cook and creates some great recipes. Mariko is semi-obsessed with her and told me that はるあん is her future daughter-in-law. 😆 I think she’s pretty funny to watch. Really silly and かわいい！!

Anyways, the video is below. Enjoy!

またね～

Mother’s Day

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"Lobster Roll" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Lobster Roll” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today we started Mother’s Day by preparing a nice breakfast for Mariko. Koa decided that we should make Chicken and Waffles for her, and Bay suggested mimosas, so we went ahead with something close: the kids made a chicken and waffles casserole dish and mango mimosas (substituting mango juice for the orange juice). It turned out great and we all enjoyed our late breakfast.

"Chicken and Waffle Casserole" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO3200
 “Chicken and Waffle Casserole” Cedar Park, 2018

The middle of the day was spent just relaxing and watching tv (I also had to work on getting my computer fixed) and then for dinner, Mariko requested lobster rolls. While I prepared the lobster salad, she baked really yummy buns.

I think this was my first time to make lobster and it was actually not difficult. We steamed the four lobster tails for about 15 minutes and they were tender and tasty. I combined the lobster meat with mayo, lemon juice, celery, green onion, salt, and pepper for a simple flavor that complemented the lobster nicely.

"Fresh Buns" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/55 sec, ISO3200
 “Fresh Buns” Cedar Park, 2018

We consider ourselves foodies and we like to try new dishes, and today was no exception. I’m happy that they both were yummy and that Mariko had a nice Mother’s Day. 😀

またね～