Seasonal Sodas

There have been a few interesting limited-edition sodas released this spring and summer, and I've finally gotten around to tasting of all of them. Coca-cola released a peach coke this spring and followed up with a clear coke this summer. Pepsi has released a line of J-Colas, as they're called, with Japanese art on the label. This line includes J-cola, J-Cola zero, and J-Cola midnight which has a currant flavor.

Peach Coke

This tastes exactly as it sounds. It's definitely coke, but with a really strong peach scent and flavor. I found it kind of overwhelming, and not exactly an improvement, but definitely interesting to try.

Clear Coke

                  

I was in elementary school when crystal pepsi came out, and I remember how excited I was when my mom let us buy some - we rarely got to have sodas. I was way to young to remember how it tasted, but I liked to imagine it was similar to this Clear Coke. This is a zero calorie soda, which I don't mind, but it does that artificial sweetener flavor. It also tastes lemony, and has a strong caramel flavor which was strange since it obviously doesn't have any caramel coloring. John thought it tasted like Sprite, but I disagree.

J-Cola 

                   

John thought this tasted a lot like Dr. Pepper, which is interesting because Japanese people tend to hate the flavor of Dr. Pepper. I thought it was fine, but just tasted like any old cola. I also tried J-Cola zero, and couldn't really tell you how it's different from Pepsi's other zero calorie soda. But not bad.

J-Cola Midnight

This one was really hard to find - we actually didn't see it until we were on vacation in Hokkaido. J-Cola midnight is a cola with cassis (black currant) flavor added. I actually thought it was really good. The cassis is fairly prominent, but blends into the cola flavor very well.

Summer Vacation

A few weeks ago John and I took a spontaneous summer vacation! We decided to go up to Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, for the first part of the week, and then pop down south to Kyushu for the final weekend of our trip.

Hokkaido was wonderful, much cooler than the hot humid weather Tokyo has been having, and with lots of wide open outdoor spaces. Our first stop was Noboribetsu, a small onsen town that's famous for its volcanic sulfur vents and geysers. After a night there we went to Sapporo, the biggest city in Hokkaido for several days, and then went out to Otaru and Yoichi. Otaru is a small port town with a lovely canal and old western style stone buildings. And Yoichi is the home of a major Japanese whiskey distillery. We really enjoyed seeing it all, and also relaxing, lying around reading, and spending time in coffee shops.

Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyushu, reminded us a lot of Tokyo but moved at a much more casual pace. In one ramen shop (that is very famous and had a line out the door) we were told to take our time and enjoy our meal! At ramen shops in Tokyo you are expected to eat as quickly as possible and get out, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.

Both Sapporo and Fukuoka are know for ramen - miso up north, and pork broth in the south, and we ate our hearts out. We liked everywhere we went except for one place. Quick tip - if you find yourself in Sapporo, Yukikaze was incredibly good! And if you find yourself in Fukuoka we thought Issou did not live up to the hype.

Sulfur vents in Noboribetsu

John bought me this adorable coke

Coffee and cheesecake, plus John in the mirror

Our hotel in Sapporo had a fire pit on the roof

The old Sapporo brewery

Yukikaze ramen - so delicious!

Yoichi is old-fashioned and uses direct fire stills

Yoichi distillery

The canal in Otaru

Drinks on the beach in Kyushu

Fukuoka at sunset

If you're not having cake for breakfast you're not doing vacation right

Afternoon Tea at The Kahala Resort

While my sister and I were in Hawaii we wanted to have afternoon tea. The Kahala Resort is actually the first place I ever had afternoon tea ten years ago, and I had amazing memories of the experience. At the risk of tainting the memories, and after calling to confirm a gluten free menu for Julie, we decided to give it a shot.

We arrived half an hour late, entirely because I mixed up the reservation, but they seated us graciously, and we never felt rushed. We were given tea menus, and selected the two teas we wanted to order, but then our server brought out samples of the teas to smell and we ended up changing our order. The White Rose tea is out-of-this-world delicious, and I only wish they sold it to take home! We also had the Kahala Signature Blend, which was a little disappointing. Black tea is the first ingredient listed, with hibiscus close to the end. I expected a slightly tart tropical black tea, but this was bright pink and basically like drinking Red Zinger. Not bad, but if I had understood I wouldn't have ordered it. At the Kahala you can have hot water refills, but you can't change the tea you ordered. We happily refilled the White Rose, but didn't finish the original pot of the Kahala Blend.

The Kahala was wonderful about preparing a gluten free menu for Julie that was creative and appealing. You just need to give them a day or two of advanced notice. Honestly, her savories looked more delicious and bountiful than mine! I think my favorite from the meal was a deviled egg with crab and bacon - I now realize all deviled eggs need a chunk of crunchy bacon stuck in them!

The atmosphere was really relaxing and the service was extremely friendly. And I don't mean to diminish them at all when I say that has overwhelmingly been my experience everywhere in Hawaii. We were seated outside on the veranda with views of the dolphin pools (that's right, they have dolphin pools!), the swimming pool, and the ocean. This is a mild complaint, but I believe the seating area has shifted from ten years ago, and is now farther from the dolphins. It also seems just a little more worn, or perhaps I've developed a more critical eye. I should admit we went on a kind of rainy gray day, so that must have influenced my impressions to some extent.

If you have the chance to visit the Kahala, be sure to walk around and explore. There is a beautiful spiral staircase with dozens of orchids growing along it, and while we were there before Christmas, the Christmas tree was filled with live orchids as well.

The Kahala Mandarin
Hours: 2:00-5:30
Phone: 808-739-8760
Address: 5000 Kahala Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Map

The Orchid Staircase

Always so relaxing

The bottom tier is gluten free

Gluten free desserts

The dolphin lanai

Ocean View

The orchid filled Christmas tree

Read about other afternoon teas:
The Aman Tokyo
The Palace Hotel Tokyo
The Metropole Hanoi
The Ritz Carlton Tokyo
Tokyo Shangri-la
Peninsula Hotel Tokyo
The Mandarin Oriental (second time)
Park Hyatt Shinjuku
Four Seasons Marunouchi
Hotel Chinzanso
The Mandarin Oriental

Yogurt Kitkats with Fruit and Nut Topping

There's a new flavor of kitkat out - yogurt with a fruit and nut topping. Based on the packaging, I assume it's for Valentine's and maybe White Day.

In general the kitkats with a topping seem to be premium kitkats, and the flavors are definitely better. I often find that fruit flavored kitkats have an unpleasant artificial sharpness to them. But these were really good. There was a tartness to the yogurt flavor, but not unpleasantly so. And the topping was a mixture of real dried raspberries, cranberries and almonds. I would definitely recommend them.

Yokohama Cup Noodle Museum

Last fall I visited the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama. That's right, Yokohama not only has a ramen museum, they also have a museum dedicated to instant ramen!

The first thing we did upon arrival was watch a brief movie about the man who created instant ramen. The movie is in Japanese, but you can get a headset with English, Korean or Chinese audio. I thought the movie was cute and had a sweet message about never giving up, which was a theme throughout the museum. It evidently took Mr. Momofuku many tries before he succeeded in creating instant ramen.

Afterwards there is a model of the shed Mr. Momofuku worked in for so many years, a room full of the many different iterations of Cup Noodles and other Nissin brand instant ramen, and some entertaining ramen themed art work.

But the highlight of the visit is the opportunity to create your own cup of noodles for 300 yen. First you are issued a cup and seated at a table with markers to decorate it as you please. Once your cup is ready to go, you can select a broth flavor and your favorite toppings and watch as the cup goes through the assembly line. To be honest, I thought it sounded a little gimmicky, but it was really fun. Depending on how busy the museum is you may be able to make two or three cups if you like, but I've heard of it being limited to one on some days.

Of course, at the end there is a huge gift shop if you need even more than your individualized Cup Noodle to remember the day.

Cup Noodle Museum

Admission: 500 yen

Hours: 10:00-6:00, no entry after 5:00, closed on Tuesday

Phone: 045-345-0918

Address: 2-3-4 Shinko, Naka-ku, Yokohama

Map

So many years and varieties of Cup Noodles

Cooling Down

It's amazing how much the weather can impact my attitude. It's finally been cooling down, and the skies are bright and clear after what felt like a summer full of rain. As the weather has improved I've found myself feeling so much more cheerful, and positive about Tokyo. When it's miserable outside and everywhere inside is crowded I can get quite down about living here. But then thankfully the weather changes, and my outlook with it.

I've been going on walks lately, and enjoying being outside again. Not much else is new, but here's a quick glimpse of some day to day highlights. 

Lunch with little friends

And dessert with bigger friends

Watermelon softserve and frozen s'mores at Dominique Ansel - beautiful and legitimately yummy!

A recent protest against the TV station in my neighborhood

My kind of bicycle

Afternoon Tea at the Aman Tokyo

It's been ages since I've posted an afternoon tea review, hasn't it? Luckily there's a new player in town - the Aman Hotel, and Raku and I were able to go a few weeks ago.

The Aman is a new hotel in Marunouchi, and it has a really unique atmosphere. Definitely no generic hotel lobby feeling here. Much of the lounge is black stone, and they've selected a black theme for their afternoon tea as well. Sandwiches and cream puffs are made black with bamboo charcoal, and even the tea cups and plates are black. The rest of the accents in the room are pale wood, and rice paper creating a really elegant but modern feel.

We had a window seat, which we were initially exited about, but I have to say in warmer weather I don't recommend it. We were so hot from the sun pouring in, and had to move our food to the other side of the table to keep all the chocolates from melting!

The food itself was really delicious and creative. Top marks to the chef for that. But I have to say there was too much chocolate. I know that sounds crazy, but just trust me. From the photos you can see that there are a number of fashion themed chocolates - shoes, purses, a jewel with more chocolates inside. Early on we noticed that a lot of people were leaving most of their chocolate behind, and we were scandalized. How wasteful! But we ended up doing exactly the same thing. There's simply too much to be enjoyed.

They have a nice selection of teas. Iced comes by the glass and hot comes by the pot, and you're welcome to change flavors with each order. But, they won't allow you to place your next order until you've finished your current glass/pot which does lead to an annoying wait at times. Our particular favorites were the Peach Bergamot iced tea and the Irish Whiskey Cream tea.

As far as I know, this is the most expensive afternoon tea in Tokyo, but it's a really creative and delicious menu in a unique atmosphere. If you're looking for an indulgent and out of the ordinary tea, this is it.

The Aman Afternoon Tea
Afternoon Tea Hours: 11:30-9:30
Phone: 03-5224-3339
Map

Peach Bergamot Iced Tea

Fashion Themed Chocolates

Excellent scones

Banana Caramel Chou

Tokyo Tea Lovers

Read about other afternoon teas:
The Kahala Resort Honolulu
The Palace Hotel Tokyo
The Metropole Hanoi
The Ritz Carlton Tokyo
Tokyo Shangri-la
Peninsula Hotel Tokyo
The Mandarin Oriental (second time)
Park Hyatt Shinjuku
The Four Seasons Marunouchi
Hotel Chinzanso
The Mandarin Oriental

What I've Been Cooking Lately

It's been a while since I've posted about my cooking, but I feel like lately it's been worth mentioning. With the warmer weather there's so much summer produce already available - peaches, cherries, corn on the cob. I enjoy those all so much more now that they're only available during a specific season. I've also been trying out a few Japanese recipes here and there. It might be a terrible excuse, but I rarely cooking Japanese food because it's so readily available, and I always think that nothing I could make would taste as good or be as authentic. But the last three recipes I tried all came out really well!

Oyakodon - Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl

Fancy Brunch - Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Gyudon - Beef and Sweet Onion Rice Bowl

Shiso Pasta - Shiso is a Japanese herb with a flavor similar to mint and basil

Prosciutto and Cherry Salad - Recipe from My Little Expat Kitchen

The Japanese dishes come from Japanese Soul Cooking.

See other JSC recipes:

Yakiudon
Mabo Dofu
Sapporo Soup Curry
Sesame Karaage
Omurice
Tan Tan Men
Pork Gyoza
Ebi Chili
Japanese Soul Cooking Review