Cavalock and The Great Vermicular Hunt

We were lucky this summer trip that Keio Plaza Hotel provided us with free breakfast choices even though we don't recall asking for it. My theory is maybe they got it in their records that we were members or regular guests or something. Anyway we decided to go for the traditional Japanese breakfast that was available at one of the hotel restaurants. Pretty fancy for the first meal of the day and extremely filling. Slice of saba, a bowl of rice, onsen egg, fresh salad and way more Japanese breakfast treats than we were expecting.

Then there was that one morning when we had leave the hotel to have our 'usual' Japanese pastries for breakfast. Reaching for a sugar high and carbo heavy start just cos we got lotsa walking to do. Hah! Not really that expensive and I think it's something first-time visitors to the country can easily grab.

On our last trip in March we spent a sizeable amount of time hunting for the elusive exclusive Japanese Balmuda toaster and then stuffing it in our suitcase before lugging it back. Well, here we go again! Only this time it's a (at least!) 5kg, 26cm Japanese cast-iron pot! Yes, we were still within our weight limit after all that, boardgames and all.

So what's the big deal bout this enameled cast-iron pot!?! For starters, it's a Vermicular oven pot that doesn't require any water at all to cook your food. That's their selling point. New Japanese technology at work again.

"Vermicular's main characteristic is its extremely airtight properties that make "waterless cooking" possible. Because vegetables'moisture and flavors are sealed-in, just a few seasonings will perfect the taste. You only have to cover and cook."

Everything stays in the pot and you can roast, steam and boil with it. All without water. The memorable part was how we hunted for this miracle pot throughout Shinjuku and beyond. The big department stores like Takashimaya carried the range but were mostly sold out. However we got our lucky break at Mitsukoshi department store. It wasn't easy packing it into the suitcase but we did it and it's now sitting in our kitchen cupboard.

Now I was just wondering, do people do this when they go overseas especially to Japan? I mean, buy crazy big innovative home appliances and then figure out how to bring them home? <^;^>