Cavalock and The Japanese Breakfast Cereal Movement

I'm gonna make a crazy predication and say that this is gonna be the next food craze to hit our shores, Japanese breakfast cereals. They look mostly like regular American breakfast cereals but are sold in packs instead of boxes and there are no toys in them. The three brands I noticed on the shelves were Calbee, Nissin and Kellogg's, and they come in various fruits, grains and nuts combinations.

Friends have asked us to purchase a couple of packs for them during our Tokyo trip and off we went scouring the city for them. Well, they were actually pretty easy to find as most pharmacies and toiletry or grocery stores sell them. They are apparently moving out pretty fast so I guess they are popular there too. Breakfast cereals haven't been my thing for awhile now but the baker-in-the-house tried some. She thought it was not bad and definitely "cheaper than a box of Post cereal" back home.

Each pack in Japan is about S$4 to S$6 depending on the size. They are actually on sale here in Singapore but at an insanely high price of S$10 each or more. But you won't find them in your regular NTUC FairPrice or Cold Storage (yet?). I have spotted them at our local Meidi-Ya and Takashimaya event hall below. Looking at how quick they are selling, it looks like folks here do have an appetite for them.

And now this. I may have went a little overboard with my Star Wars shopping spree four months ago in Tokyo. So for this trip, I think I exhibited a wee bit more self-control. Just a couple of cool folders and ... hmmm ... er...  an entire Star Wars helmet display collection.

Cavalock Goes to Pissing Alley

More meat, less fish. That pretty much summed up this trip's mantra. Yakitori dinners have been a regular affair since our last couple of visits here. Well, after years of visiting Tokyo, we finally had one at Shinjuku's infamous Piss Alley. We didn't really have any particular joint in mind so we cruised the alley a couple times, up and down we strolled. We settled on one that appeared ... er, friendlier ... and less crowded than the rest. After ascending a folding stairway to a dining room no larger than a roof attic, we tucked ourselves into a cosy little corner at the back.

This is how yakitori is supposed to be. All manner of delectable chicken parts and vegetables nicely grilled over an old-fashioned charcoal fire. And beer of cos. Now that's a whole other post that'll hopefully be up one of theses days. Heh. Anyway I only wish that I didn't take this long to at last explore Piss Alley. I do admit that a narrow alley filled with rowdy locals would appear imitating to first-timers but it's really a great place for some authentic and affordable Japanese food.

 

I know these aren't exactly the best shots ever taken of Pissing Alley but I hope they do highlight how narrow and cramp the place is. While online articles and write-ups do say that the area is mostly patronised by locals, we did encounter more than a few tourists there as well as an entire foreign boy (or were there girls too?) scout troupe!

And now this. Luxury. Capsule. Hotel. Three words I never thought I would see in a brand name. But thats what I like bout this city. Never fails to amaze me or raise a snigger.

Cavalock and The Izakaya Night-Out

It's a good thing that the baker-at-home made the necessary reservations before we left for Tokyo. When we finally made our way to Uoshin at Nogizaka, the popular izakaya was already quite packed with Japanese patrons, mostly office workers boisterously enjoying their dinner and drinks. I must admit, I found the lively atmosphere rather refreshing even though we were seated away from them.

We eagerly ordered more than a few dishes from the English menu. Their above house speciality Nokkezushi quickly became my favourite. A glorious mix of cucumber rolls topped with salmon roe, chopped tuna, crab meat and sea urchin. We had two servings by the end of the night. This enormous and luscious oyster below was another memorable dish. Now how I wish I had ordered another. Great food for a memorable night-out with friends.

Well, just when I thought I couldn't find another reason to love Tokyo, a Saturday afternoon at Ginza gave me one. The wide open streets were closed to traffic, tables and chairs set up in the middle of the road. Families and shoppers strolling, enjoying themselves. There's this huge chill vibe hanging over the area that's so engaging. I can imagine how much more appealing it would be if the weather was a tad cooler.

How I wish we could see that happening here instead of those ridiculous, choreographed Orchard Road closures. Do we really need mass yoga or tennis demonstrations? If only one is really sincere about closing Orchard Road for the people and not for the purpose of organising government-sponsored mass participation exercises. Just close the roads and let the people do whatever they wanna do.

Cavalock and The Fuchico Cup Biz Plan

It's all the rage in Tokyo right now. No matter which street corner or shopping mall corridor you look, Fuchico on The Cup can be found throughout the city. Spotted them four months ago but they seem to have flourished during my temporary absence. Like tiny mushrooms, they have sprouted everywhere, in either gashapon (capsule) machines or stores like Tokyu Hands. Incredibly cute and tempting, I bought several for friends but none for myself in March. Instead I bought a couple of their coasters which I posted earlier.

They are pretty cheap at only 300 yen each. Y'know what, I got an idea for the hipster cafes here in Singapore. Maybe purchase a couple hundred of Fuchicos, then attach one of the figures onto a glass of (homemade/organic/natural/premium/secret recipe/SG50) iced tea, sell it for eight to ten bucks! It's so simple. Like stick an 'exclusive' $3 plus figure form Japan on a normal $2 drink and charge up to $10 for it! The ridiculously cute photos will start going viral, word will spread and all the hip kids will come for it! Seriously, who can resist it? :)

Like I said, I bought some red coasters the last time and when I saw the new blue coaster series. Well, I couldn't exactly say 'no'. I thought the coasters made more practical sense as I foresee the girls sitting and falling off the edges if I tilt my glass or even poking an eye out while drinking. And now I have four coasters.

Cavalock and The Tokyo Haagen-Dazs Rendezvous

What are we as a race or even species without traditions? Traditions are important to me, l look forward to them. Like whenever I'm back in Tokyo, getting my glasses cleaned at the same spot year after year is a treasured tradition, as important as me getting my early morning ass-rim from my hotel bidet. But this has got to be my favorite Tokyo tradition, trying out all the new special Japanese Haagen-Dazs flavours. We saw what was available four months ago, now in the middle of a heatwave I can't think of a better time to see what's in the fridge now.

I have always loved Snoopy and the Peanuts gang since I was little kid so when I saw this huge banner in Ginza, I knew where I was headed that morning. Man, I thought I had a thing for Snoopy but definitely not as much as the mob at the Snoopy fair. Imagine the Chinese New Year Eve crowd at Chinatown, then multiply that by a gazillion in a mall, that's how crazy packed it was.

Here are all my Peanuts loot this trip. A folder, iron-ons (from Uniqlo) and a bag huge enough for transporting all them huge boardgames around. :)

Cavalock and The Beef Breakfast Bargain

Like I said in my last post, al fresco dining was the norm this Tokyo trip. We strolled passed this rather tempting beef bowl (gyu-don) stall facing the main road along Tsukiji outer market one morning four months ago, and made a promise to have breakfast there when we are back in Tokyo. So here we are again!

We made it our first breakfast this trip and reached the popular curb-side stall before 9am. There were two little old ladies manning the stall like the last time. Ordered the above two bowls of gyu-don on a blazing hot morning. I can't remember the last time I had beef for breakfast but I definitely won't forget this for awhile. I really liked this. Good and cheap (about 600 yen a bowl), the aroma and taste also instantly reminded me of corn beef. If you are into corn beef, I dare say you will enjoy this a lot. In the pix below, you can see a giant vat and I believe that's the offal stew. You can read more about the place at this Japanese food blog.

We read online that they are pretty strict bout ... er ... who they serve. I dunno how true that is but we didn't wanna risk a "soup nazi" kinda encounter so the multi-talented baker-in-the-house ordered in Japanese. We carried our bowls across the sidewalk and ate standing while chatting with a Japanese couple, whom we later suspect was having an illicit affair as in the guy's married but we don't think that's his wife. ;)

Anyway we did return for breakfast at Tsukiji yet again a couple days later. Really. This time we had a more "typical" chirashi and umi don breakfast. Later that day, I managed to pick up this little toy vehicle. Thought it would make a nice momento for our early morning visits to the famous market there.

Cavalock and Tokyo 2015 Part Deux

There I was, back in Tokyo again after just four months away. And I have to say it feels wonderful even if the country was right smack in the middle of a freakin' record-breaking heatwave. So what did I do more this time than previous trips? Eat outdoors of cos!

One of last week's favorite meals has got to be Luke's Lobster, situated along a little side street in Harajuku. It was a blistering Saturday afternoon as we criss-crossed the back alleys. With all the publicity this joint has been getting, we braced ourselves for a long queue but were pleasantly surprised to spot less than eight others ahead of us.

We all went for the larger U.S. sized lobster roll which is really what we would recommend to everyone. It was great. Now I never had a lobster roll in New York before but I simply can't imagine anything beating this. There's very little seasoning so you are getting really amazing meaty lobster goodness with every mouthful. The bun was also lightly toasted and buttered, together with those chunks of lobster in them, this was a winning lunch on a hot Saturday afternoon.

Well, I gotta admit I was one of the many who flew outta the island during the National Day weekend although technically I left on the Wednesday before and returned seven days later. Anyway, we didn't need SG50 to make this memorable trip. On Sunday 9th August at about 6.15pm, I was on the 21st floor of my hotel room getting ready to head out for dinner when I felt the place slightly tremble for about 5 seconds. The table and floor kinda shook a little, I asked around but no one else felt it at all. We had the T.V on and several minutes later I was vindicated when a newsflash came on about a 4.2 magnitude quake over parts of Japan including Tokyo. Of course, little tremors like these are rather common and none of the locals were particularly fazed by it at all.

This was in the news during the National Day weekend too. Takashimaya in Tokyo Times Square was giving away some kinda special gift to Singaporeans shopping there but the articles I read didn't exactly say what it was. I wasn't expecting anything but it was nice to receive a S$12 voucher to use back home.

Cavalock and The Wedgwood Wonderment

The strangest thing happened a fortnight ago when I found something I thought was lost forever since the last millennia. There I was cleaning my Dad's apartment, digging out my cupboards, throwing out CDs and stuffed behind a stack of comic books was this lumpy-shaped package wrapped in old paper. It was smaller than a shoebox and as I lifted it out of the cupboard, I instinctively knew what it was.

Two bone china Wedgwood cups that I bought at Heathrow Airport during my first overseas assignment a lifetime ago. A little gift for my parents but my Mom wanted to give one to my Aunt who is like the matriarch in the old family home. After that I didn't really pay much attention to what happened to the cups nor who exactly did they ended up with although I do know my folks didn't use them.

Over the years, it did cross my mind as to their whereabouts but I never really made any effort to find them. I asked my Mom once but all she said was it was somewhere in one of the houses. No point asking my Dad as he doesn't really care about such things.

Well, it was certainly a pleasant surprise that I uncovered them after all this time. I have not yet decided what to do with them. I suppose only time will tell.

So I was reading about the current topic of the day 'Privilege' specifically this article about comedian Leaa Dunham, her privileged background and how her folks helped launch her career. First let me just say that I'm not a huge fan of Dunham and it was me looking for stories about 'Privilege" that led me to it. While I do agree on certain aspects of the 'privilege' debate concerning race and gender in general, I have to disagree on a couple of points in that particular article regarding Dunham's parents giving her a leg-up in her career. Rich or poor, what parent wouldn't provide the best for his or her child? I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. You call it "privilege", I call it "parental instinct". There is so much more I want to say but it's a touchy subject so maybe I should just keep quiet.