Matcha place : Beard Papa, Crispy Cream Puff

I love Macha.
Though the Matcha ramen that I tried was very unique and unusual for me,
Matcha flavored sweets are my long-time favorite.

When I went to Asian cities such as Taipei and Jakarta a few years ago, I was surprised at that Matcha was getting more popular.
In these days, Matcha seems to get more popular even in New York.

This is Beard Papa's Chu Cream. Maybe it is called as Crispy Cream Puff.
Beard Papa is a Japanese cream puff shop that is expanding its business globally.
When I was walking in Jakarta International Airport, it smelled of sweet shu cream.
Then, I found a familiar yellow-colored shop of Beard Papa.
There are 22 shops in the United States, mostly in CA.
Among them, only one shop is in Upper West Side, Manhattan.

What I think is great about this she cream is its fresh crispiness.
They inject cream into she(crispy puff) just after you order.
Thus, when you bite it, the crispy puff is still crispy.
I mean, the puff is very thin and light.
So it become damp easily after the puff and cream are put together.
They offer you the cream puffs at their best condition.
I recommend to eat it right there. It's freshest.
the texture of combination of crispy puff and smooth cream is amazing.

Among their products are plain vanilla, cocoa, and matcha.
Matcha flavor is not so heavy, very light flavor.
For my preference, I prefer more heavy matcha flavor.
But, it's Ok. Here is the United States.

Some shops in Japan are selling heavy matcha puffs.
I must try those ones, when I go back to Japan.

Crispy Cream Puff-Matcha flavor

Matcha Ramen! : Mentoku in Hell’s Kitchen

I came across unique ramen in NYC. : Matcha ramen.

I guess this was my first time to eat macha ramen.

In Japan, Macha Soba is very popular as Cha Soba(茶そば).

“Soba” is traditional Japanese noodle made from buckwheat, and “Cha Soba” is soba with green tea flavor. (You may know, “Cha” means tea.)

However, Matcha ramen is a cutting-edge at least for me.

What was more, what was Matcha falvored was not the noodle, but its soup.

The ramen that served in front of me was beautiful ramen swimming in the super green soup.

How healthy it looked.

The ramen was not as heavy and oily as other typical ramen.

That must come from “Matcha”.

In these days, all kinds of green tea including matcha is getting more popular because its ingredient has good effect to avoid absorbing fat.

I’m not sure how it works in medical terms, but I heard that it is said that tea is good for metabolism in China as well.

People in China like to drink oolong tea many times in a day. That might be why people are not fat for Chinese cuisine some of which are cooked with oil.

The ramen was not only delicious, but also eased my feeling of guilt to have eaten ramen in the late night.

744 9^th Ave, between 51 St & 50 St, New York, NY10019 

Matcha ramen

Hakata Tonton : Japanese hot pot restaurant

A Japanese style hot pot place! West Village.

   

My friends asked me to go there.

It was my second time to visit this restaurant.

The first time, I had to wait about 30 minutes to have a table.

So, this time we were smarter to make a reservation.

Of course, we ordered pork belly pot.

They have several kinds of hot pots.

They are basically for more than 2 people.

The pot is served with a big pot filled with the mount of vegetables and pork belly.

And the pot is on a small range, thus the pot can be kept hot.

The hot pot was very good, because…

1.    You can eat a lot of vegetables. Healthy.

2.    You can gain collagen that is contained in pork belly and pork feet. Good for keeping your skin beautiful.

3.    You can share the pot with your friends. Exciting and fun!

Don’t forget to enjoy the soup with rice.

It must be the most enjoyable and delicious part of all kind of hot pot.

You can choose one from rice, ramen and udon(thick noodle).

One of my friends said, you can also take a package to go.

You may enjoy the pot at home.

If you want a pot and a range, you can buy them at Japanese supermarkets such as Dainobu and Sunrise market in Manhattan.

Of course, it’s cheaper to buy them in Japan…

Hakata Tonton

61 Grove St, New York, NY 10014 (West Village)

Japanese hot pot

At first, the pot is filled with a heap of vegetables.

The green ones are kind of garlic stems.

After around 10 minutes, it's time to eat!!

Restaurant staffs are very helpful, they let us know if it was ready to eat.

The restaurant name "Hakata Tonton" is supposed to mean "Hakata Pork".

Hakata is a city in southern Japan.

Ton is another way to read "Buta" that means pork.

Enjoy!!

Earthquake in Kumamoto Japan : where to donate

Last Thursday, April 14th at around 8 am, it was just after I got out of bed.
I picked up my phone, I was about to check some news.
Then, a message with beeping alarm came out on my phone in my hand.
It was the alarm that provides natural disaster information in Japan that I still set on my phone.

It says in Japanese, "Earthquake information, maximum seismic intensity is 7."
I was surprised because seismic intensity "7" is so huge.

In 2011, when the 3.11 East Japan Earthquake hit Japan, I experienced seismic intensity 5 in Tokyo.
Even 5, it was the biggest quake in my entire life.
The books and files in shelves came out, the tall cabinets reaching almost to the ceiling was shaken back and forth, they looked almost falling down.

In the news, I found houses collapsed, land slides and destroyed high ways.
That reminded me the great earthquake 5 years ago.
The direct damage is devastated, but also there are a lot of difficulties to get back to normal.

Kumamoto in Japan is famous for its beautiful landscape, hot springs, historical sites and good seafoods.
I hope everything is restored and daily life, business, tourists are coming back earlier.
Also, condolence to the victims of earthquake in Ecuador.

To support (donation or volunteer)
-JAPANESE RED CROSS ASSOCIATION
-Association for Aid and Relief, Japan
-Groval Giving

Gorgeous SAKURA in NYC

Spring has arrived finally! With pollen allergy.

You may know, the typical symbol of Japan is SAKURA, cherry blossom.

Yes, I don’t know any Japanese people who don’t like SAKURA.

Even in New York, I can’t help looking for sakura trees.

Let me introduce some nice places for sakura in new york.

Central park

The area around the gate at east 90^th street is filled with great Sakura trees.

Most of them are old trees, thus the view was dynamic.

sakura

sakura

Trinity church

Although there are not so many trees in the church, the view of trees surrounded by buildings is unique.

A private place

So astonishing great tree in a private place.

This tree was a kind of SHIDARE SAKURA.

It is different from typical sakura tree in the shape of its branch.

The branch is drooping. (“SHIDARE” in Japanese means drooping.)

The drooping branch with gorgeous flowers bending in the wind is so graceful.

That’s why I like this kind of Sakura the most.