Breakfast at the In-Law's House in Yokohama

The best part of visiting Tokyo on a business trip is the ability to see my husband's family who live in the Yokohama area. After a 35 minute JR train ride from Shimbashi to Higashi-Totsuka, and my in-laws met me at the train station.

my mother-in-law loves crab.

 Turnip (kabu) two ways. The turnip head is sliced and mixed with salt. The turnip greens are blanched with hot water and then mixed with salt and shoyu.

 New bamboo hearts (takenoko) and a Japanese vegetable I don't know the name of but is delicious.

 Tuna tataki topped with onion, and spicy green shoots with ponzu.

 Omelet with orange yolks.

We shared everything as well as salmon, takenoko rice and miso soup.

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No one makes a breakfast like a Japanese mother. It was so wonderful to stay with them.

Enkai in Akasaka

After visiting the Japanese headquarters of my company in Kasumigaseki, I joined a special enkai (drinking and eating party) in my honor with some colleagues. Enkais are a great time to chat and get to know coworkers outside of the office. The head of one of the division selected a small izakaya in Akasaka, which was near my hotel and also nearby the former location of the corporate headquarters. 

 Each person was given a small dish with fugu (blowfish) sashimi.

 Salad with Japanese dressing. 

If you've never thought of putting julienned slices of roasted seaweed on your salad, you should.

 Slice of Kobe roast beef with shredded daikon.

One of the izakaya's specialties, so soft and tender with a fantastic flavor.

 Roasted new bamboo shoot heart with katsuobushi.

 Tamagoyaki with demi-glace sauce.

 Assorted yakitori.

 Cheese plate with hotaru ika (firefly squid) and roasted beef.

Grilled fish fins.

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This was truly a feast, accompanied with a variety of drinks including draft beer, white wine, red wine and shochu. Such a great experience and a wonderful way to get to know colleagues.

My Conbini Favorites in Japan

Back in Japan again. Food in Japan is fantastic, fabulous quality as well as exceptional execution. However, even the lowbrow convenience store food is a revelation. 

 Chu-hi in a can

The peach chu-hi on the left was really delicious. The lemon chu-hi on the right was a bit stronger.

Unfortunately they don't sell chu-hi in a can in the U.S., but I definitely think it would sell well!

Ham and lettuce sandwich

I'm addicted to the conbini sandwiches. This version had tons of crisp lettuce, thin sliced Japanese ham, a little mayo and thin slices of white bread without crusts. Sooo good.

Final Beijing Meal: Cantonese Chinese Lunch

The final day before leaving Beijing for Tokyo, I went with my counterpart for a quick lunch at a Cantonese Chinese meal. Cantonese cuisine is nice, although I usually have seafood panfried noodles or dim sum at the Cantonese restaurants in Virginia. 

 Light and refreshing fruit drink with green limes. China had so many fantastic fruit beverages.

 Fried rice with shrimp and Chinese pork.

 BBQ pork ribs.

Stirfry of scrambled eggs with tomato and shrimp.

Beijing Sichuan Restaurant "The Source"

For the dinner with the office in Beijing, we went to a Sichuan restaurant recommended my main contact. I love Sichuan food, so it was great to try some in China. The Source restaurant is located in a hutong, a renovated old fashioned Chinese house. We walked through the main building, through a courtyard and into one of the side rooms. The hutongs lacked bathrooms in the olden days, and that is no different today. Source is owned by a Frenchman and his Chinese wife and serves a set course menu that changes frequently, and the waiter asks how spicy the customers prefer their dishes.

View of the courtyard at night.

Beginning appetizers.

Fried fish, pickles, beef and nuts.

Shrimp and vegetables.

This was a very delicate dish, and the plump shrimp were enjoyed by the street kitty that wandered over to our table to beg for a tidbit.

Oxtail soup, so delicate and fragrant.

Unique serving vessel. 

Spicy beef and vegetables.

spicy wonton soup

Lamb

Chicken in a flavorful broth

Sauteed Chinese vegetables

Saucy dan dan mein.

I should not have had this individual bowl of noodles, but I couldn't resist.

*** 

Truly a fabulous set course dinner and nice chance to spend time outside of the office with colleagues on rotation in Beijing. The nice thing about a set menu with a group of 5 people, is that you can enjoy small bites of each dish. We enjoyed beer and a South African white wine with the meal. The Source's address is 14 Banchang Hutong Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng district. Apparently, if you can eat spicier food, the chef is unrestrained with the chilies and heat. I was with a number of Japanese gentlemen who preferred a milder spice level.

Beijing High-End Supermarket

Across from the Phoenix Building Tower H office building, there is a new shopping mall with restaurants, clothing shops and a high end supermarket. For foreign expats, the aisles are full of familiar products that are harder to find at regular wet markets. Apparently, when you see a particular cheese or other western products, you should not hesitate to buy it.

 brie and camembert

 butter

 milk

 shelf stable milk cartons

refrigerated milk

Beijing Dining Experiences: Yunnan Restaurant

The office I was visiting was located right across from a new shopping mall that included a number of restaurants, clothing shops, bakeries and coffee shops, plus a high-end grocery store. With a colleague who has worked in the Beijing office for three years, I was in good hands. She ordered a variety of dishes for us to share and they were all delightful.

 Passion fruit drink. Soo good.

 Fried fish with spices.

 With the fork and knife the fish can be easily deboned.

 Noodle soup

Spicy beef.

Oddly it tasted like pork, not beef, but this had a lovely floral and spicy flavor profile.

Beijing Guangming Hotel Breakfast

The Guangming hotel has Japanese investors and large number of Japanese clientel. They also provide a free breakfast buffet in the morning. The buffet had a large variety of different items to select.

 Fried egg, Chinese vegetables, dim sum, tomatoes, hama and fruit.

Bowl of congee with Chinese vegetables.
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A little more traditional American-esque breakfast plate the next morning with fruit, vegetables, cheese, ham, bacon, egg, bread and bacon. For some reason, the bacon never is the same in Asia.

First Night in Beijing: Japanese Tonkatsu Dinner

I arrived in Beijing for my business trip and stayed in the Guangming Hotel, close to the U.S. and Japanese Embassies. One street away from the hotel was a row of restaurants. I wandered up and down the row of restaurants to figure out where to go, and where I could manage to order a meal. Seeking a little comfort, I went to the underground tonkatsu restaurant and was greeted by the Japanese chef.

 Just like in Japan, they have easy to understand menus and I was able to place my order in Japanese.

Cold nama biru (draft beer)...best thing after a long flight.

Rosu Tonkatsu set menu with shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup and tsukemono (pickles).

Kogiya in Annandale

We ventured back to Kogiya in Annandale during the week. Fortunately the wait time was non-existent, unlike during the weekends. We sat at one of the extra tables off to the side, without a vent system over the table. It's similar to the ones that they use at Honey Pig, except the grill is inset into the table. I had one item and one item only that I wanted to order.

 Pan chan is nice and varied.

 Gyu-tan, cow's tongue.

The tongue was clearly frozen before and not quite as good as what I've tried at yakiniku places in Japan.

My favorite, the ribeye. 

Really, this is all you need to order at Kogiya. Great beef flavor and no overly sweet marinades.