japanese.shopping

we came back to this street again after our breakfast at the hotel... the first discovery is a small bakery that selling freshly made daifuku

i was so tempted to try some but my stomach was completely full then... so i give it a miss...

then we saw this shop that selling japanese arts and crafts, there were already quite a lot of foreigners browsing through the items when we arrived...

there is also a wide selection of japanese ceramic and lacquer ware, of various quality and price...

then we crossed the street to a kind of bookshop but besides japanese magazines and comic, it also sells a full range of groceries

japanese soft drinks such as bottled tea, sake, hello kitty and snacks...

a full range of comic and a few machines for self shot photo and transform them into little stickers...

we walked further to the side street, here is another japanese bakery with a rather fancy name

bakery my heart

they have soft buns made of matcha or azuki red bean paste, they also sell the mentaiko baguette and the typical so called japanese style western sandwich such as one that wrap with port cutlet (tonkasu)...

although i was not hungry, but i couldn't further resist this... I can't recall the name anymore but basically is a typical summer snack made of flour, dust with matcha powder (green) or sesame powder (brown) and you dip it into the syrup before you eat it... a very common and refreshing summer snack that i ate everyday when i was in kyoto last year around the same time...

then we walked across the street to the two big koreans/japanese groceries stores...

a full range of japanese curry paste, we bought two pack so that we could have japanese curry at home soon...

a cold section from one of the grocery stores, displaying full range of konyaku, fish rolls, fish balls and even kimchi...

a full range of miso (white, red) from korea or japan, also a comprehensive selections of japanese pickles that can imagine ....

another full range of curry paste, from mild to hot, from paste to cube, from various cities in japan...

we both were thrilled to see onigri on sales here in another shop, it is really so so japanese as you can buy all sort of onigri from seven-eleven, family mart and different 24 hour convienient stores that exist on every streets and corners.... we both had a konbu onigri to munch on...

muij is not located in japanese town but at the famous shopping street called k�ningsalle... though muji has stores operate internationally but it is good to browse in one here, we both got a top from muji, just like the simplicity and the concept of this brand....

so what do you think of the japanese shopping experience here in dusseldorf, impressive?

another.day.at.kushi-tei

we were here for supper on friday night upon our arrival... we came back again tonight for dinner.  this place is an izaka-ya style restaurant with dishes mainly complementing beers and sake...

kushi-tei of tokyo dusseldorf

 

chicken liver yakitori - very nicely done

grilled saba - super fatty, juicy and fresh! i had this almost all for myself...

curry katsuo-don, according to johannes the pork cutlet is re-fried, so it is not as good.  i had a sample of the curry sauce, the taste is not too bad though... so it was a disappointment for him...

assorted sushi - jolly good
we come to conclusion that kushi-tei is definitely specializing in yakitori, sushi and any side dishes that could wash down easily by beers and sake but main meal is not their strength...
nonetheless i cherished this eatery to bits!!

japan.or.germany

after two and a half hour drive, i wonder if i am really at a city called dusseldorf in germany or i am in any city in japan? it is deceiving... we arrived to this particular part of the city, hungry for supper, we enter this restaurant and these are the decorations that welcomed us....

well, it is typical japanese restaurant decoration and motifs, i know...

but how can you explain this... a menu board that full of japanese characters and no sign of western alphabets

with japanese waiter/waitress at the bar, johannes and his asahi beer

and another japanese waitress

a portion of assorted sashimi - maguro (blue fin tuna), sake (salmon) and saba (mackerel) - super fresh and yummy...

karagae - deep fried chicken cubes, was okay but i prefer the one from next door....

delicious and super yummy 6 sticks of assorted yakitor

different types of sake wine that you could imagine - they can be found here....

although there are westerner customers in the restaurant but this place is really frequented by real japanese only... the workers of the restaurant exchange conversation in japanese and even among the japanese customer the japanese language prevails....

the freshness of the sashimi is of japan standard likewise the yakitori are also as tasty as those you can find in any yakitori restaurant in japan.. the choice of sakes are endless to my knowledge...

it makes me really believe that i am in japan but the fact is i am in japan dusseldorf, we walk out the restaurant with complete satisfaction.

me in Indonesia???

a closed sister from my church wrote me an email just now telling me that she saw me in a dream last night/this morning.
"i dreamed about you last night, that you went to semarang and surabaya and we were there. the dream was very real, so real that when i woke up this morning i was a little bit sad because i woke up in the netherlands! what was you doing in the dream? as far as I remember, not only having a vacation, but also for prayer? healing ministry? i’m not sure. it was more like a rest to your soul, too. yes, that was it. and the situation was good, johannes was there, too. you looked quite happy and relaxed, but reluctant as not sure what to say when  i asked what you were doing there"
well, two days ago, i got 2 friends invite in facebook wanting to link me and asking me if i am the one who got healed through the revival meeting by pastor niko.  i accepted them and briefly chat and share my healing experience with them.  they also told me that my testimony is now in circulation within the church community in indonesia and that's how they get to know me and was touched by my healing.  i told them it was GOD who has done it and that HE spares my life, so that i can be a blessings and testimony to many other people, in this case even virtual.  i told this sister the dream is not coincident, i may not have made a trip to indonesia physically but certainly certainly spiritually and my testimony has impacted some souls in indonesia.

i thanked GOD that i can create an impact to people afar... all glory and honor is for HIM alone!!!

lazy.dinner

this is what happened when both of us working 40 hour per week, and both want to go to gym on the same evening.... we compromise our dinner...

first come to mind is spaghetti, so we cooked enough spaghetti for two meals...

quick and easy salad, a bed of rucola (rocket leaves), half dice cherry tomato, mini mozzarella cheese, salted anchovies from spain, EVOO, balsamic vinegar, black pepper - violla!!

a pot of spaghetti bolognese with minced meat, that's our dinner for yesterday after a hard workout at gym for him and a heavy zumba dance session for me... time to eat up the carbs...

today dinner, we just grilled some teriayaki salmon (grilling 3 min) using some deep frozen salmon

it doesn't taste as good as fresh salmon, but that's the best we can have on weekday... the highlight is mentaiko speghattini aka japanese style spaghetti with salmon roe and a onsen soft boiled egg and heaps of nori...

the runny egg yoke is a real compliment to the fish roe spaghetti. Also rather quick and easy to cook!!!

zumba

this evening i went to fitness center for the first time after may be 5 weeks break in between. i took part in the zumba dance lesson which i normally do 3 times a week. perhaps it has to do with the 5 weeks break or perhaps i have lost my physical condition or may be i am just not fully recovered yet... i don't know, just about 15 min after the lesson starts, i begin to feel dizzy and heavy sweat... well sweat is normal in any zumba dance session but heavy sweat like that, i am not sure.
i almost wanted to stop at that point in case i will blackout and fainted at the dance floor, but when i adjust my physical movement, taking it with a little slower rhythm and relax in my movement, i managed to finish the whole lesson. phewww... it was good to get active again, and my aim is to back to 3 times a week, let's see how it goes...

made.in.holland

macaron is a french thing, it is so french that most patisserie cannot duplicate or produce to the average french standard, let alone a fraction of the standard of the premium name artisan patisseries in paris...
my favorite patisserie in den haag, a shop that we frequent once in a month or so to indulge in french standard cakes/tarts now also making macaron....

i was there to purchase some tarts for my birthday in mid july and saw their macaron and bought a box of 8 to try... i didn't have so high expectation as usually the non-french version of macarons are sugary, hard and lack of flavors

but jerrau live up to my expectation, in fact beyond my expectation... i now no need to hunt down macarons in paris or france but can drive just 20 min to get fresh and high quality macarons

macaron, my love. i love it because it is small. it is sweet. it is satisfying. and most of the time i only eat one and stay happy for the whole day!!

viva macaron. made.in.holland.

soy.milk.maker

my FIL brought us a new kitchen gadget when he visiting us a few weeks ago. a soy milk maker.

soak the soy bean overnight or for at least 4-5 hours

put them into this magic machine, add appropriate amount of water

select the right button, in this case 'good soy milk', 20 min later you get a freshly brew soy milk. in fact you can also make the thick vegetable soup with magic machine (we made corn soup once) and also cold fruit/vegetable drinks (which we haven't try yet)...

i love having a glass of warm soy milk with my breakfast...

perhaps it is an asian thing, i prefer soy milk over cow milk and getting fresh soy milk here in the netherlands is rather difficult so with this machine, i can have fresh soy whenever i want...

from.amsterdam.to.rotterdam

we visited three cities in a day. zaandam.amsterdam.rotterdam. it all thanks to the beautiful summer weather that we both are in the mood of going somewhere...

this part of rotterdam is not new to us, in fact we frequented so regularly....

hotel new york from the car park

erasmus bridge



some old and new buildings rather chaotic scene




another prespective of the rotterdam skycrapper at this hook of south...



tourist in my own city

taking a walk around the waterfront

some benches for sunbathing, people eating at the terrace of the hotel new york, at the other side people are bbq-ing, kids running around and we notice a guy even setting up his kite at the is compound....

and an old time remembrance of those who boarded the steamboat from rotterdam to new york...

when the sun is almost set our stomach is grouching again for food... we discovered a small korean eatery run by koreans, so we decided to transform our palette from rotterdam to korea...

a bowl of rum yung (€5) to share, it's made of korean spicy instant noodle with zucchini, mushroom and beef strips... good as a starter but perhaps a little too much as later we discovered the portion they served are too generous....

my bimbibap (€9) , such a big bowl and absolute delicious, it comes with a miso soup, kimchi and marinated cucumber as side dishes as well....
johannes' bento (€12.5) like meal, with heaps of bulgogi, raw salmon and fried shrimps and rice of course... to big a portion that he couldn't even finished the meal....

but nonetheless, our stomachs are so satisfied at the end of the day