volcano ramen and panda buns

On Satuday, Yuki took me out to run some errands, hers and mine. While in the course of those errands, we happened to be at a stop light when a restaurant caught Yuki's eye. Excited, she turned to me, "Have you ever had 'volcano ramen'?" No, I couldn't say that I had. So we took a break and went to have some ramen. Now, I have had ramen a number of times since coming here, but this was the first time I have ever seen people actually waiting to get in. The sheer number of ramen shops makes it unnecessary. So, that there was a family sitting at the door was a pretty good sign, in my opinion. The bar, however, was wide open, so we scooted past and got seated immediately.

After we ordered, I was amused when what I took to be a placemat was handed to me. It was paper, of course, and had illustrated pictures, with directions, on how to eat 'volcano ramen'. Directions for ramen! Feels like college.

As it turned out, it was not a placemat, but a splatter guard. lol. This meal was getting more amusing all the time. When they brought the ramen, it was in an incredibly hot black dish that was only partially filled. Then they poured the broth into the bowls in front of us, and sure enough, it started to bubble up immediately, spewing small drops of boiling liquid: splatter guard! I felt a little bit like an idiot, holding up a paper shield to protect me from a bowl of ramen, lol, but it was an experience. As it turned out out, it was the best ramen (maybe because I got the spicy flavor?) that I had ever had. Yum. I do suggest it, if you have the chance.

After eating, we went to a bakery so Yuki could buy some sweets for her family. It was a nice bakery, and they had such good looking cakes and buns I had to steal some pictures.

Mmm, looking is almost as good as eating.

Cheers,

sweet tooth Baer

Valentines Day

I hadn't planned on doing anything special for Valentines Day, honestly. I feel like I have spent quite enough time and money in my kitchen making gift for regular holidays to warrant the same treatment for "fake" holidays like V-day.

However, things change. At Don Quixote, I won a Rilakkuma rubber food mold at a UFO catcher... I was excited. So, I decided to compromise and make holiday treats for a few special people.

Aren't they cute? The rubber mold came with some Rilakkuma ribbon, so I decorated a bit. When I first tried to make the chocolates, I found out that the molds are so deep that each one is almost an entire chocolate bar. Delicious, but not very economical. So, for the final product, I used chocolate peanut butter as filling. I gave one box to Chingyi, one to Akemi (my supporter), and individual ones to my three English teachers at the JHS.

Everyone said, "Lindsay, it's too cute! I can't bite it!". Psh, mercy over chocolate? I think not! "Just cover your eyes and bite!"

Cheers,

choco-Baer