These are some of the delectable treats that were served at Alain Ducasse's press conference. They are from his first Tokyo restaurant, Beige. The one of the right was most excellent - a pile of candied orange peel atop a mini tarte citron.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Alain Ducasse
Celebrity megachef Alain Ducasse was in Tokyo for a press conference about his new restaurant, Benoit, opening in September in Aoyama. As a member of The Press (I think), I attended and got to meet this amiable, elegant, warm gentleman. Champagne was served and the view of Tokyo from the 9th floor of the La Porte Aoyama building was enchanting. I never cease to be amazed whenever I get to a high enough elevation to get an aerial view of the city - it truly is a Metropolis! I gathered enough nerve to introduce myself to him towards the end of the conference, and he told me he was looking forward to seeing me again in September at the opening. Ooh la la!
Sunday, April 24, 2005
omatsuri
The annual Akabane Matsuri took place today and from the balcony I had a most excellent view. There was an endless stream of marching bands and I felt like I was in the scene in the Godfather part II where the young Vito Corleone (portrayed most excellenty by Robert De Niro) decides to take matters into his own hands and kill the big Don of Little Italy in New York. There is a big religious festival taking place at the time, with lots of similar-sounding music like the music I heard in the streets of Akabane today!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
bon appetite!
I escaped from the office last Friday, on what had to be the nicest, sunniest, most-perfectly-warm spring day so far. Ai was heading to get her nails done in the area, so we zigzagged through the sidestreets off Omotesando to Le Bretagne, a crepe and galette restaurant that we had been to 4 years ago with Pop. This traditional cuisine from the Brittany region of France is made from buckwheat flour, and filled with such delectables as cheese, ham, mushrooms, eggs and salad greens. Ai had the salmon and egg galette, while I ordered the "healthy" crepe with swiss cheese and greens. Chilled vichyssoise to start, a glass of organic apple juice for Ai, a bowl of cidre for me, and a shared pomme crepe for dessert - perfection!
Thursday, April 21, 2005
ibook+ninapod+popo
Popo is a great companion and makes funny snoring sounds when he sleeps. when you walk through the door, he acts like it is Christmas and never fails to make you feel you are his favorite person in the world. apparently he will throw himself against certain Tickle Attackers who like to torture Ai, in an attempt to save her. what a sweetie pie!
she was asking for it!
Ai was playing around with my phone last night, and I thought she had just taken a couple of photos. today, sitting at my desk at work, I picked up my phone and discovered about 17 new photos all similar to this lovely shot. i burst out laughing and most likely made my coworkers wonder about my sanity.
thanks for putting some comedy into my day aibo!
thanks for putting some comedy into my day aibo!
the real stuff
After a hard day at work where i HAD to accept free cosmetic samples from Avon, I had a great dessert of kusamochi, imported directly from Niigata this morning by a Famous Actress/student of Ai. They came bundled up in (according to HK) banana leaves and were an amazingly beautiful swamp-green color. Perfect with a cup of green tea.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
morning dennys adventure
one of the great things about tokyo is the abundant fine dining choices. but every once in a while, i need to go to Denny's!!! i love denny's. their menus are fun to look at, the service is basic and no-nonsense (if a little amatuer-ish), the food is well priced and pretty good. i love breakfast denny's especially. this morning, i went with ai before heading off to work. i recommend the ham and egg japanese style meal.
spring has sprung
on the veranda, the droopy cilantro plant suddenly bloomed into gorgeous white pink flowers. the yellow pansies have been going crazy ever since i came here two months ago. i heard the first cicadas start their meeeee meeeeeeeee meeeeeeeee sounds yesterday morning. summer is just around the corner!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
the return of jack, er, ai
ai came back safely to tokyo and brought back many fun goodies to share with her family and friends! for herself, her favorite purchases were some fantastic tropical print sandals from Paolo, Nordstrom's exclusive shoe brand, and two tubes of arm and hammer dental care baking soda toothpaste. she discovered a great store called White House Black Market in Seattle that sells, need I say it, white and black clothes. this is genius! keeping a basic wardrobe with simple colors and going crazy with the accesories is the way to go, in my book. this way, you don't run into quite so many problems coordinating your articles of clothing due to fuschia not mixing with puce. this theory works for cooking too. a big plate of al dente pasta with a little fiery arabiatta sauce works via the same concept as a chic beige suite with a crimson scarf tied around the neck.
anyway, ai looks like she is channeling jack white in this photo, taken when we were going through all of her overseas purchases. popo is just happy that she is back.
anyway, ai looks like she is channeling jack white in this photo, taken when we were going through all of her overseas purchases. popo is just happy that she is back.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Let's go!
I took the boys for a walk on a recent Sunday. It is just the end of the Hanami season, so we sauntered to a nearby park and took in the last of the beautiful white-pink cherry blossoms. They were very good boy and didn't try to run away, as I had been warned one of them might attempt to do. The sight of them earned many ooohs and aaahs and 'kawaiiiiiiii's from the residents of Akabane. They were pooped (and they pooped) by the end and once back home, took comfort in lying down on the cold stone flags of the genkan and slurping up lots of water. I can't wait for our next outing!
not just a dream
AG performed a solid set at Star Pine's Cafe in Kichijoji. I was amazed at how the songs that I have come to know well can sound so different when performed live! I though everything sounded perfect, and I loved the intimacy of the venue as well. May I make one request? bring back the organ song!!
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