Foodie Adventures with Nach: Days 4 and 5

Let it be known (again) that I have wayward math. Alright, not really but Nach's visit began Tuesday night and continued through Sunday afternoon. I combined Saturday and Sunday because Saturday was a bit of a strange day for food (and by that I mean I really don't have pictures…), while Sunday we said our goodbyes on the streets of Chinatown. It was my last attempt to rid myself of the hipster. And if you are to believe UI, I was successful. UI may be making claims that this current Nach floating around TAY is an imposter, since he, UI was not with Nach during his final hours and I pulled a switcheroo.

Foodie Adventures with Nach: Day 2

At Aikage's suggestion, there is a change to the story formally known as "(Foodie) Adventures in How to Ignore a Hipster...".  However and despite the header image, this will not be a romantic comedy about canoedling, cup noodling, canoodling, or canned bread..ling(?).  I happened to take a  picture of some glorious art that day and this is all by chance.  None shall sully this thread! I'm looking at you, Aikage and Swan.  With that out of the way, I will be continuing the story on how Nach visited NYC and ate himself silly almost all of last week and at the start of this week.

Misadventures: Because You Know You Missed Them

It's been two long weeks.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, record flooding... and it's the first week of September which always means that people decide they need to do all the work they neglected to do for the earlier Summer months.

Yet, when Beetchie and I go out together, I am still surprised by the mishaps that occur when we're out together.  But why should I be? The weeks have been crappy and meeting up with Beetchie at the end of it all should always signal some sort of disaster.

Don't believe me or need a reminder?

What about the raw squid or raw taro? That doesn't sound like horror to you? Well it should because it sure was horrible to us.

What about that almost awful head injury?

Exploding bakeries? Anyone?

And countless other events (including all of the Japan trip) that I am not recalling here; I am beginning to feel like a broken record.

So why so surprised every time something happens? Well, because it's almost unbelievable.

That's not to say that we did not have a good Summer last year when we got Doughnut Plant doughnuts for the first time...or Ippudo or went to see Scott Pilgrim.  I don't recall anything odd happening and maybe that's just what the problem was.  Again the built up pressure of non-happenings could no longer hold and resulted in Saturday Morning's events.

We went looking for Nom Wah Tea Parlor.  On Google Maps, it appears to be right next to Joe's Shanghai but what we found next to Joe's Shanghai was this:

Really?

One Week, Two Chinatowns - Part I

This week, Beetchie made an NYC appearance for Spring Break.  Although it was not completely planned, we ended hitting up Chinatown in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

It's been some time since H1 and I have been to Chinatown in Manhattan (well, H1 went in January without me).  Though it has been pretty cold and the streets were fairly empty, there was something just off with Canal Street on Monday evening when we went.

It was... clean.  There were new buildings, and worst of all, it was not shady at all.  It was rather jarring, and completely odd.  A clean Chinatown just sort of seems wrong.  It shocked me in Yokohama, and it certainly scared me when H1 and I stepped off the N train line.

Maybe it was the light of the evening?

Spontaneous Trip to Chinatown

On Friday, we made a trip to Chinatown on a whim.

I find it disturbing but I'm beginning to think that BooHead's Asian is just not that 'strong'. I don't know where his love of dimsum is hidden or if it even exists.

Who could not love this?





The second disturbing mess was this thing that I made here on the table. Surely this was not my finest moment but can anyone guess what was swimming in goodness and then rolled twice on the table? Come on...guess.



The most disturbing mess is that either we got cheated at dimsum or their prices went WAY up. I don't know what that's about but I'm blaming the presence of Ant. on that one.

That was fun for us as well as getting ice-cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory stand located outside Pershing Square at Grand Central Terminal.



While their vanilla was good and peaches and cream okay, it's still not the greatness of the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.



Currently listening to: "Devin" by Kenji Ito, from the Saga Frontier Original Soundtrack; and "Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio.

A Day Out with My Imaginary Friend

For a long time, we all thought that CLee had an Imaginary Friend named Fred. Fred was his Snuffy for years. There was always talk of this "Fred" but no one had ever met him, until one day we discovered that he really existed.

As I was talking to X yesterday, it hit me.

I, too, have a Snuffy!

I, too, have an Imaginary Friend named Fred, although for even more secrecy, I call him Setzer (not so secret anymore though...oops).

Well, my friend, who really isn't imaginary, Setzer made a trip to NYC this weekend with some of his friends.

I saw him on Saturday and we went to Chinatown to where the cool kids hang out.

For some reason I forgot that he likes L, perhaps even more than I do (he's damned near obsessed but then again...I guess I teared when L died a horrible dishonourable anime death, ::insert my EFF YOU LIGHT!!! comment:: which makes me no different) and was very excited to get a cheapy black plastic ring with "L" all over it, which I found very cute of him especially since he's going to count how many days it takes for the "L" to wipe off; super excited to see an "L" baseball cap for $3.00, which I found very umm...suspect of him but was relieved when he didn't buy it; and I completely forgot (conveniently!) that he is Squall/loves Squall, which I found very lame and walked off like I didn't know him but not before judging him hardcore.

Heh.

I also did not get him that stupid Squall figure he wanted (conveniently?) but instead randomly picked something for myself in the form of Auron, which he quickly gave back to me.

Why is it that if I try to buy something for myself it always turns out something I don't care for but if I buy for someone else, I get what I want?

It's not right and I'm sorry, Setz but yeah, if I ever get a Setzer, he's all yours.

Also, the buying of lychee ice-cream does not make up for the fact that I did not get you anything from Japan nor do I feel better about myself, so you may lord that over me if you must.

Sadly, I couldn't make it to hang out with him yesterday but at least I directed him to Kenka and without my hand to force strangeness upon him, he had a meal that he loved.

Next time though, I'll be sure not to lapse.

One last note because it deserved a little blurb, I took this picture in Chinatown of something most disturbing.

You know those street artists that will spell your name out in some fancy manner on a piece of board to hang in your room?

I know I should not be surprised to find this in Chinatown but just another example of supporting shade and conducting shady buisness on behalf of the Chinese:

Forgotten Chinatown Shade

I forgot to mention it but we bought glow in the dark stars and moon to stick on Boo-Head's ceiling, and H1 was most appalled to discover that her kid's presento-pyo came in this bag:



Please click on the picture to enlarge if need be and read the various text on it.

Wha'?

Who did this? Was it those Koreans with their cuicks, again?

Ah, cuicks.

IFUCKING LOVE YOU!

That was some vintage stuff.

Making Christmas (Part I): Chinatown Friday

As I write this, it's actually December 10th even though I started this post on December 6th. The HOchieS had a very full weekend past, with Day-Off'ing, Chinatown'ing, Baking, Decorating and doing Christmasie Christmas'ing.

On Friday last, Sons and the HOchieS trekked off to Chinatown for some Dim sum. I think I have to make it a tradition of making the Dim sum trip to take pictures of the Chinese Christmas display at Golden Bridge and well, to eat Dim sum of course.

The dim sum was extremely good on Friday and I saw things I never saw there before. I was rather impressed and tried to take decent pictures for once. Umm, that didn't happen. Clearly it's due to my lack of photography skills but I'm still trying and learning. I think H1's got a better eye than I but does she have a Camera Eye? Hmmm...

Cart Love -



OMG, here come the meats:



H1 and her good "Camera" Sense, for taking pictures of babies and now beef & pork:





What?! It was a first for here! Juicy pork dumplings?! Oh, how disappointing - the juicy bit leaked out...ah well. They were still stuffed with piggyh bliss:



The display was quite festive this year:



I particularly enjoyed the Santa:



After the eats, we headed to where the cool kids go. Sadly, Soul Eater Volume 2 figures were not out yet so I couldn't buy my beloved Stein, but we did do some Christmas Shopping for Momma HOchie, some kids and I got H1 a present. That reminds me that I need to take that from her so that I may wrap it up.

It was a fun but busy day that ended after we went to the grocery to buy ingredients for the two day bake fest which we'll discuss in a Part II blog post.

Memorable Conversation of the Day:

Sons: We're the only non-Chinese people here.
::later on:: Or 2: Oh, there are some white people over there. The Chinese people put them in the corner - out of sight. No one puts baby in a corner!

Currently listening to: "Heaven's Dead" by Audioslave.

The Fish In Dragon Land

When we were in Chinatown last, we visited the Dragon Land bakery we often frequent when we're there and in it there's this tank - it's a rather not so giant tank with some rather giant fish in it. It's sort of cruel but I'm always fascinated by how many and what type of fish they're rockin'.

I remember one year they had tons of fish and within months, they were down to about 3.
Well, they've been down to 3 for the past 2 years or so, I'd say - a pike looking thing, another one that isn't as interesting and this huge thing that mills around. I forget what sort of fish he is.

The other thing I loved about this store, other than the steamed plain vanilla cakes, coconut bubble tea and the custard buns with the crumblies that H1 despises, were the tables.

Cruel once more, the owners of the store decided to create tables out of turtle tanks. So you could eat your pork filled snack while looking down at a turtle. I'd be sad if some asshole tried to dangle pork over my head knowing fully well I would never be able to taste the goodness.

I suppose it was cruel to have huge turtles in a small tank that was completely sealed as well because they also disappeared a few months after their debut and I've never seen them since.

I meant to do this to show Chloe but next time I'll remember to take a picture of my favourite tank and a table that now houses some mossy rocks and stagnant water. The kind of water mosquitos could breed in.

Currently listening to: "Fancy Mel" by Junya Nakano, from the Dew Prism Soundtrack and "Turn The Tables" by Shiro Sagisu, from the Bleach: Memories of Nobody Soundtrack. That song is epic! After hearing it used in episode 163 during the Renji/Ishida exchange, I've been obsessed with it and crying that they've not yet released or announced the third series soundtrack. I've been fiending for that thing for close to a year now!

Chinatown on a Rainy Wednesday

The gaggle (H1, Alex, X, M, and Or 2) went down for dim sum today in good ol' Chinatown. Beetchie was sorely missed and this isn't a post to make her sad. That objective was supposed to be fulfilled in the post prior to this one.

It was dreary, the subway was effed as per usual and a trip to the Brooklyn Bridge just ruined my post earlier this morning when I said I can't go there without Beetchie.

Apparently I cursed us.

Dim sum was rushed and the HOchieS left feeling a little bit unhappy about the whole deal (Trudging to work knowing you'll be staying until 7.20 at night is also no fun but alas, it had to be done).

For the first time ever, the HOchieS feasted upon something we've eaten quite regularly as children but never at dim sum because we always feel that the space that item would take up could be filled by other things we don't get on a regular basis.

What is this "thing" you ask?

That's right, it was none other than good time chicken feet. Due to the fact that our gang was not asian looking, we were discriminated against and fed the 'sauced' up version as opposed to the boiled goodness we're used to. I guess they figured they were doing us a kindness or figured we would waste their precious fatty legs and toes.

It was quite good though, regardless.

The usual suspects were inhaled, with some hilarity over noodles that could not not be eaten before leaving Golden Bridge.

After our particularly cheap eats of $33.00, a price that impressed H1 immensely, we hustled (but not really) down the street to buy some baos and pastries and hop on the train.

It was at this point I saw my favourite friend in the entire world, in all his hammy glory.

It was a rather depressing sight. I did not get the picture that made me a little bit revolted and I regret not getting the shot of the pig being hauled around the streets of Chinatown on a man's shoulder.
Camera Eye got it, but not L.O.

Currently listening to: The theme of Monster playing in my head.

The Tokyo-Ho Japan Chronicles - Day 3

Day 3 - Tuesday, May 29th



We'll call this day the Great Yokohama Piggyh Adventure.

Sure we did other things than this but this was by far the most memorable thing that happened to us that day.

And so the story goes...

We went out to Yokohama and before entering Chinatown there was this Arcade. It was the first real one we had seen, so we went in after 9 AM to hit up some Taiko Drum Master (which is my new favourite game and at least, the one that was most fun at the arcades) and to test our hands at some UFO Catchers.

For 100 yen, we managed to grab one pig from the second row of white and black piggies and out came tumbling that pig dragging 6 others with him! It was hilarious. There were pigs all over the ground! My head hurt from laughing so hard and we made our escape from the Arcade, with two bags of pigs, a previously obtained gloomy bear, and a monkey, with the girls working at the arcade watching us slink off like dirty criminals! But hey, Beetchie won those pigs fairly. Ah, they must have hated having to re-arrange that UFO Catcher Machine.

We then headed to the Doll Museum. It was cool yet scary as expected from a Doll Museum.



::shudder::

Also, I now have questions as to who "Licca" is (not that crazed scary betch in the picture above) as she seems to be the Barbie of Japan.

Our next destination was Chinatown. The problem with this Chinatown was that while it was the dirtiest part of Japan that we had seen and would see for the entire trip (yes, even the fish market was cleaner), it was still not at the level of NYC Chinatown dirt, taking away a vital feeling of what makes Chinatown what it is.

The other thing missing was the people on the street trying to sell you CD/DVD or Louis vitton on the sly.

As far as we could tell, there were no Chinese people in Chinatown but if they were, they were all speaking Japanese. It was very odd.

Also, the Chinatown in Japan has seen it fit to bastardize pandas. They've been exploited by trying to make them marketable. Save the Pandas! By buying some useless panda junk!

Here's that damned monkey in a panda suit:



But like our Chinatown, there's a tiny section in Chinatown that some Europeans have called home. It's not Italians but Ukkers. Ah, Ukkers. I was happy to see them.

Our last stop to that day took us to a residential area not far from a busy train station where we scared some kids and made them nervous as they hurried off to their parents. We were actually a little bit lost trying to find the Ramuen Museum.

Ah, Ramuen Town. It was shady and a re-creation of a dirty little ramen-serving town with multiple ramen shops. It was small but cool and quirky. Beetchie loved it plenty.



The WTF Moment(s) of the Day:

1. I don't know what's up with that Hokkaido Mascot and its relation to Ramuen but yeah. That thing was obscene.

2. WTF's up with the 'u' in 'ramuen'? I need to wiki that.

The Casualty Count:

1. The little sumo guy I bought Beetchie fell off her bag and almost lost to Yokohama. Fortunately, due to his large ass in red sumo undies, I managed to spot him on the grey ground but he, ::sniff:: sadly lost an arm.

2. Beetchie's virtual puppy that she could not walk and later was attacked by a larger dog. Let us all have a moment of silence...



Things We Observed This Day - Volume III

1. Those goddamned Japanese bicyclists are crazy! Many times did my life flash before my eyes.

2. Licca, unlike Barbie, has had many man whores. Ken's got nothing on her.

3. I can't slurp ramen. 10+ years of ramen eating habits could not be broken in 2 weeks, no matter how polite in Japan it is to slurp.

The Day's Eats:

1. That weird breakfast with a not fully cooked egg, kielbasa sausage, salad, seaweed, miso soup, and rice. The even weirder breakfast that Beetchie had. It's not the fact that she had grilled salmon for breakfast with rice, it was the natto that made it not so good. She has now deemed herself Nattofan. It was god awful but she says that activating it was fun.

Let us all be revolted by the following picture:



2. Pork ramen from Ramuen Town. Oh that was greatness.

3. Dim sum in Chinatown. It was not the same as dim sum here because there are no carts zipping around but there are set meals that have lots of dumplings, gyoza and shumai. I was not too impressed by those dumplings because I have to say curry should never be in a dumpling. At least they were nice to look at. Stupids! I'd rather have a happily filled stomach than happy eyes when it comes to food!

4. Shumai on a stick. Mmmm. Street shumai.

5. Absinthe and a 'cranberry'/vodka combination that actually turned out to be a 'grapefruit' juice/vodka combination. Much like the T-shirt and tie combination, it wasn't that impressive. I probably should have thrown a hissy fit but they were so sweet, how could I?

Currently listening to (as I revise the draft): Man of Mystery by MUSE.

My Brush With Evil.

It was on Saturday last.
There I was standing at the street cookie stand in Chinatown. I bought said good time cookies only to turn around and see one of my enemies.
I quickly turned around because where there is one asshole, there lurks another.
Sure enough second asshole comes STRAIGHT towards the cookie stand because of course, she wants some of those too. Ugh.
But thankfully this brush with evil was merely a close call. Still, hearing your enemy ordering 2 bags of cookies is a scary thing.
I'm very pleased I escaped that torture because tonight is one of those nights where it is re-affirmed that those two are truly disgusting, stupid people.
I don't know why it's justified for anyone to bash another person based on the fact that they are gay. And I don't know what right people have using derogatory terms to describe homosexuals.
And oh, the things I can go on about relating to those two but I need to get to bed.
Hopefully I'll have no brushes with evil tomorrow of the "I'm going to get squished in the mosh pit" variety at the MSI concert.
I am so nervous...

It's Time to Play The Music, It's Time to Light The Lights, It's Time to Meet The Muppets on the Muppet Show Tonight...

X and I saw a Live Action Muppet!



We always thought Janice was a vegetarian, goddamned dirty hippie until we saw her eating copious amounts of pork dim sum in Chinatown today...

And I swear this was before the turkey testicle, so I was not hallucinating. And X didn't have it, so she wasn't hallucinating. In the interest of privacy and protection of the Muppet we are unable post said picture here.

About that TT... We shall think of it this way: If I were to be stranded on a deserted island surrounded by a life time supply of turkey testicles as my only sustenance, I would rather die.
The taste was not the problem but the popping sure was. Ew.

Kenka's was a bit of a disappointment today. I will never eat pike again. The scallops were far from buttery smothered grilled goodness and the plum wine tasted like maraschino cherry syrup. If I wanted to drink cherry wine, I would have ordered cherry wine. I believe the order was for PLUM wine. Eh, maybe I'm just not a plum wine connoisseur which is quite possible.

The sad part about the whole thing was that in an effort to end dinner on a high note, I had to eat the rest of my salad.

Salad.

All in all, it was alright times. It was definitely good times that I got to see and spend time my friend of 12 years (who I had not seen in about 5), bond with X, see Marie and hang with everyone's favourite Beetchie.

Currently playing: Headache from bitter cold wind that blazed my tail today.