[KYOTO KYOTO .JP] BLOGS

Feelin the nostalgia for the 80's 90's. Too bad for me! I wasn't lucky enough to have an older sibling who knew better. I was a bored latch-key kid in suburbia. I used to ice-skate to some synth pop jams a la Depeche Mode every weekend at the mall. The ice-skating rink next to the Ruby's diner with the huge onion rings and crazy cold shakes. Being a girl, you kinda had to have the Immaculate Collection to dance in the mirror to at sleep-overs. In jr. high, our art teacher let us bring in CDs to play in class and every day is was Nirvana. I talked on the phone allll night to the boy I liked about many important topics including who was better: Axl or Snoop.





I want a big crazy dance party!!! MJ, Madonna, Prince, Guns N Roses, Nirvana, TLC, En Vogue, Janet, Salt N Peppa, Jodeci, BBD. Call it pop, call it cheesy, call it bad music! Who wants to dance?

It was a wet, gloomy December. Hung over and hungry, we walked in the rain to Risei. The café is not so much surrounded by as it is composed of Korean antiques.　The earthen walls have this ability to suck in all the hustle and noise from the outside.　You can hear the bubbling of a kettle on the gas stove, the ticking of old clocks, the muted sounds of cooking. It’s like stepping into another dimension.

There are only 3 things on the menu for lunch: bibimbap, nangmyun noodles, or soup. All of it centers around a generous amount of organic vegetables grown in Miyama, Kyoto. All of it is delicious, but my fav. is the bibimbap set that comes with soup and pickles and later tea or coffee.

Risei is about 100 meteres East on a little side street south of Imadegawa. Open Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 6pm.

Another rad person. Sure enough. Obsessed with Michael Jackson.

It is reassuring to know that in the beginning, noone ever really knows what they're doing.

That's what I found out this weekend. Maybe a few more peeps if you really don't mind sitting real close and if noone decides to lay down and go to sleep because said person has eaten and drank too much too fast ehem.

Yep I had a good ol potluck. No dance party or twister or cartwheel contests but lots of good home-made food and convo. My lovely guests were responsible for appetizer, a meat dish, rice/bread, and sides. I was in charge of soup & dessert.

Yeah. You wanna bring an easy homemade dessert to your next potluck? You should make some baked apples.
Here is a recipe:

Jona Gold apples
softened unsalted butter
sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg
vanilla extract
chopped pecans or nut of choice

*Pre-heat the oven
1. Core the apples with an apple corer (crucial tool)
2. Cream the butter with sugar and spices & vanilla
3. Mix in the nuts
4. Stuff the core
5. Put it in a casserole with apple juice on the bottom. Cover with foil.
6. Bake at 175 C for 30 minutes . Check & baste with the juices.
7. Bake another 20 minutes or until desired softness.

If you wanna get all fancy, you can take all the juices on the bottom add more sugar and reduce it to make a sauce.

Oh man. Everyone will love you especially if you bring vanilla ice-cream.

We all have these days

I've caught myself on more than one occasion this season going, F-F-F! F this cold! Like stomping the ground wanting to scream and throw something. For reals- super juvenile styles!

So I put on THIS surfy punky monstrosity!














It makes me feel like I'm giving this cold weather the middle finger.

The B-52's! They got style, they got fun party lyrics, they got beehives, growling, shouting girl vocals, mean bass-lines, funky guitars and organ. This band totally and completely does not suck ass.

When I open up a convenience store some day, this'll be a combo. You'll get pb toast with a side of banana slices. The combo #4. Along with other combos like french fries with a hot-fudge sundae; and hot apple pie with a slice of cheddar.

Anyone reading this while in the US, show a sister some love. Get me a fresh batch of real peanut butter straight out the grinder. Extra credit points for another batch of almondbeezie.

Everyone say Bana-na-na-na.

They say it's good having friends in high places, but I say it's good having friends in different places. You can might be lucky enough to crash at their place and get the insider's scoop on the city. Lonely Planet is good for starters but one gets a funny feeling that everyone is doing the same thing. Surely, there must be more to this place than this!

So big warm thank you to my good pal from way back when for showing me around Seoul. Heated floors, mind-blowing noodles, glasses shopping, tea drinking, and night-time sit-ups.

The plane ride is a mere 2 hours from KIX and tickets are decent.