paths and rivers

"It's funny about paths and rivers. You see them go by, and suddenly you get upset and want to be somewhere else... wherever the path or river is going perhaps." -Sniff, from Comet in Moominland

older than charlie parker

not a very good day, today. i lost a glove, and a few other things... so i go home, put the "charlie chan" quintet's jazz at massey hall on the turntable. then lie on the sofa and wait to be transported elsewhere.

but instead of 1953 toronto, i find myself in a certain bar in kyoto. a bar that casually serves 30-year-old talisker, where the bartender looks after an immaculate collection of jazz records and usually ends the night slightly more drunk than his patrons. it's called slow boat.

the other day i turned 35, a year older than charlie parker when he died.

avocado memories

when i was growing up, we had huge avocado trees in our backyard. in season, we'd hear them at night, dropping thump-thump onto our roof. and after school i'd invite my neighbors marky f. and jen to avocado fights, where we'd sling rotten pieces at each other (and occasionally, when we're feeling mean, some hard, young ones as well).

and of course we ate a lot of them. i still love avocados, ground into guacamole or sliced and dipped into soy sauce like sashimi. they're the flavor of my childhood but i'm also happy to eat them in new ways...

such as this avocado ice cream with a mango and tapioca pudding at the slanted door in san francisco...

and this salad of cantaloupe, avocado, cucumber and watercress with a drizzle of vinegar, sea sea salt and olive oil. such simplicity, and genius, at chez panisse. 

you shouldn't live alone

once upon a time in tokyo, i lived in a little shack made of wood, paper and a little bit of concrete. none of the windows or doors shut properly, so the room (there was only one) was always drafty. during the winter it would get so cold i'd have to read books, write letters and work on my laptop in the bathroom on my temperature-adjustable "washlet", the warmest place in my 200 square-foot apartment. but the apartment had a certain charm, "omomuki" as they call it in japanese. i loved it.

my parents were initially baffled that i'd choose to live in such squalor rather than with them, in the suburbs, just an hour away. but i think my mother secretly came to like the place, as she'd visit quite often just to have tea, and we'd chat for hours until she'd suddenly glance at her watch and say "oh my, this apartment of yours is so old it makes me forget the time!"

she was the one who told me to always have flowers and plants around. it's always nice to have other living things in your room, she'd say, "you shouldn't live alone." i think it's good advice...

on summer mornings...

a few hours of cool and quiet before the heat sets in and the asphalt begins to sizzle

august in new york

the early bird... gets first pickings of fresh produce at union square market on saturdays. so which one looks best?

why do my favorite summer dishes...

like soba (i don't feel like eating anything else once temperatures reach 30 degrees celsius)...

blanched bean sprouts pickled in a mix of sesame oil, vinegar and japanese "dashi" (the perfect combination of crunchy and sour)...

and cold, marinated eggplants...

... require so much boiling and grilling? my kitchen is like a sauna!

summer dishes to cool you down -unless you're the cook

more postcards from cinque terre

postcards from cinque terre

cinque terre

the highlight of our 2-week trip in italy was cinque terre. built into the cliffs along the ligurian coast, the 5 towns that comprise the cinque terre aren't just postcard villages dependent on tourism, they're real, wine-growing and fishing communities.


some highlights: "trofie" with pesto genovese (below left), and seafood pasta (right), and (further below) a classic ligurian dish of layered seafood called "cappun magru," which is also the name of the restaurant itself... "cappun magru in casa di marin" is in groppo, a 30 minute hike up from manarola, where we stayed. our server christiane gave us such knowledgeable and thoughtful advice on wine, and the vino da tavola by carlaz was the most interesting vermentino i've ever tasted. i do think ligurian wines are under-appreciated. the 5 terre wine cooperative sold some very reasonably-priced, good wines, and i'm really regretting not buying a bottle of the local dessert wine, sciachettra!

we enjoyed hiking up to volastra and corniglia, and on to vernazza. the views of the vineyards and ocean from the hills were fantastic. but nothing beat the view from our b&b, la torretta, in manarola. i sat on the terrace for hours, watching the sun settle into the mediterranean, trying to burn the image into my mind so i could revisit it when things get tough at work.

eat like locals do in firenze

i tried something new in firenze this time: renting an apartment with a kitchen. the main reason was that my parents, who were joining me, don't like to eat out very much. restaurant food is too salty, too oily, too much everything, they say. and while i enjoy eating out, and love some firenze restaurants like il santo bevitore (above is their zucchini souffle), i agree. it's a bit much to be eating out for every single meal during a 10-day vacation. and what's funner than shopping like the locals do?

so i chose le tre stanze, an old florentine palace that's been turned into apartments. our room came with a basic kitchen and cute little garden. we shopped at the san lorenzo market for fresh vegetables, fruit, gorgeous cheese and prosciutto, and some ready-made condiments. we picked up zucchini blossom focaccia at the cantinetta verazzano, and discovered some excellent, 7 and 8 euro bottles of vernaccia di san gimignano in the enoteca across the street...

my parents couldn't be happier. not only could they eat well, and in moderation, they could also indulge in some embarrassing family habits like arguing loudly over who should get the biggest piece of buffalo mozzarella, and, 5 seconds after finishing a meal, rolling out of our chairs and onto our beds for "digestion" naps!

siena

i still remember the first time i saw the clam shell-shaped piazza del campo in siena. it was 10 years ago, at the end of a rather long vacation. italy, to me, is foreign in so many ways, and i feel that italians tend to not let you forget that. but when i walked into the square, i felt a different, very strange sensation... for the first time during that trip, i felt like i belonged there, and nowhere else. i don't think i'm the only one that feels that way. everyone seems so absorbed in just being there.

i always stay at palazzo ravizza. a palace-turned-pensione that was last renovated circa 1960. it could definitely use some cleaning and freshening up, but oh, the views... 

and something else i saw in siena that made me smile. men of a certain age, out on a stroll:

there's something about rome...

it doesn't have the grace of florence or the sophistication of milan, but there's something about rome i find irresistible.

it was the last week of june and already blistering hot... and rome isn't one of those cities with shaded alleys or cool gallerias. everything is wide open to the sun's rays. so after some walking around, a plate of cool, marinated artichokes was just perfect. so was a glass of frascati superiore (yes there is superior frascati)... and some homemade summer pasta, with barely-cooked veggies and a generous sprinkling of pecorino.

italia!

there is one place i really love to visit in the summer. early july, to be exact. it doesn't matter that it gets unbearably hot and muggy. my favourite things -- white peaches, melon, and zucchini blossoms -- are all in season, and the clothes are on sale.

herring is so underrated!

not only are they relatively abundant and affordable, they're also rich in omega-3, DHA and vitamin D -- basically an edible brain-lift! and considering how fatty they are, they're quite versatile and taste equally fantastic smoked, raw, or marinated. they also pair well with a surprising variety of wines and cocktails, a point proven at the "herring pairing" event hosted tonight by russ & daughters and astor wines & spirits.

i sampled some interesting combinations, including schmaltz herring with thin slices of boiled potato paired with reyka vodka, and pickled herring with onions and cream sauce on baltic rye served along with a shot of vermouth. i was impressed by how fresh the new catch holland herring was. one booth served a raw fillet on a roll, garnished with cornichon and onion, which was excellent... although being japanese i couldn't help but think it might taste even better on rice!

my favorite, though, was the curried herring with medjool dates and roasted cashews, paired with lillet blanc. sweet, rich, and so unexpected... i had to go back for seconds. i've never eaten so much herring in one night, i feel so much smarter now! also, some star appearances: wylie dufresne of restaurant wd50 serving a herring and nasturtium gazpacho, and john zorn and his band playing music.

happiest hour

leaving work while it's still bright and sunny outside is too precious an opportunity to waste on bad wine or sloppy well drinks. if i have a choice i'd rather head to the ten bells bar in the lower east side and order a glass from their marvelous blackboard... in today's case a tokai from slovenia's collio, which borders italy. and if i'm feeling peckish the octopus and potatoes. and more indulgent, the pulled pork sandwich. 

mombar cafe in astoria, ny

one of my favorite places in astoria is mombar cafe, at the "little egypt" end of steinway. they do an excellent, smoky baba ganoush and fava bean dip. and i hear they make great offal dishes, like sheep's brain.

the kitchen is tiny, but as the food shows, it has soul.

memorial day weekend

glimpse of a previous life

this shugo tokumaru video brought back so many memories about shimokitazawa, one of my favorite neighborhoods in tokyo.

there's something about shimokitazawa that's quintessentially tokyo: the contrast between the mad jumble and the calm. the hyperactive child, sleepy salaryman and nutty old lady all in one. it's the city i love. i hope it never changes.

boulettes larder

whoever starts the day with the best breakfast wins

chez panisse

after an exhausting week of work meetings in san francisco, i finally made it over to berkeley and alice water's chez panisse.

it was better than i had expected.

i was so excited throughout the meal i forgot to take my usual photos, except for the starter: local halibut tartare with cucumbers and chervil. just perfect together with a glass of sauvignon blanc, an unfiltered natural process alliance wine from the russian river valley. then i had tomales bay clams with chickpeas. the dishes, however complex the preparation might actually be, came off as being very simple, light and straightforward.

san francisco

new toy

what do you wish for?

after the rain...

everything turned color. dark greens and violets. it's already looking like summer.

i finished reading part 3 of haruki murakami's latest novel, 1Q84, on the subway. the series is only available in japanese at the moment, and i won't go into the story line, but it got me thinking about the concept of a parallel universe. i imagined myself in a parallel universe --a world where this had happened instead of that, where i had done one thing and not the other, or had gone to live there instead of here... then i realized i had totally missed my stop by several stations. i ended up having to hail a cab. sigh.

on classical music

for everyone who loves classical music, as well as anyone wondering about its relevance today... benjamin zander explains it best.

morgon for spring nights

the trees are covered in easter-colored blossoms, and all over town cafes are moving onto sidewalks and boasting of backyards. so you put on your sunglasses and --yay!-- throw out your tights.

but come night time, it gets a bit chilly, and of course, the landlord has turned off the heating for the season. so you put your socks back on and wrap yourself in flannel... and then, what do you drink?

the morgon "cote du py" from jean foillard is an excellent wine for such nights. a luscious cherry flavor but smooth silky palate. it's probably the most beautiful kind of gamay i've ever tasted. perfect for days you want something refreshing but deep enough to "hold you" at the same time. my favorite importer at the moment, kermit lynch.

back in queens

... and wasting no time!

at sripraphai, the best thai in new york

goodbye england...

things i love about london

borough market was crazy at the weekend, but i did enjoy taking a look around. i'd definitely go with a huge shopping basket if i lived there.

the vegetables were gorgeous, if a bit pricey

everyone talks about how london's dining scene has really improved. with a few exceptions, though, they're still best at doing the traditional things like pies, bangers+mash, and smoked fish. i also had some very good cheese on this trip. (below: la fromagerie in marylebone)

scones with clotted cream and jam are my favorite. and what's better than traditional afternoon tea service at claridge's? well, how about waking up to the smell of butter and discovering that your friend has just taken some scones out of the oven, just in time for breakfast?