Welcome to Hirochan's World

Hiyashi-chuka is a popular summer meal in Japan. It is a noodle dish composed of chilled ramen covered with various toppings such as eggs, ham, cucumber, tomato, bean sprout, seaweed, and pickled red ginger. It looks gorgeous when all the toppings are on. Hiyashi-chuka is usually served with a vinegary soy dressing and mustard, or sesame based dressing. When I see a sign saying "Now we serve hiyashi-chuka." in front of a ramen shop, I know summer is coming and I get excited. Here is my advice: You should make noise when you eat hiyashi-chuka or any noodle dish. The louder you are, the more people know that you enjoy it.

I have a sad announcement. Koots has closed. I am not able to have their hojicha any more. Ronnie and I went to the one at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo. But the price of a hojicha latte was more than 500 yen, which is twice as much as Koots in Bellevue. Only thing left for me was their apron and T-shirt. Oh, dear, you will never know how much I miss their hojicha latte :(

When I was in LA, my coworker introduced me to pinkberry . I did not quite understand why people lined up for an hour to get a frozen yogurt. But I was told even though the frozen yogurt had no strong impact, once I tried it, I would want to have it again. Red mango is sort of a Washington version of pinkberry. The taste of plain frozen yogurt reminds me of yakult which is a Japanese probiotic milk-like drink. I think most Japanese are familiar with the taste for this reason. I like having the plain frozen yogurt with a topping of fresh berries. Their newest flavor, tangomonium, is also good ;)

Ume's owner, My friend Ayako, baked homemade bread when I stayed at her condo. Ayako said she took a class to learn how to make bread. The whole process takes time. We needed to knead the dough and leaven with yeast, wait for a while, and then knead and leaven again. However, all the effort was worth it when the bread was finally done. It was so fresh, soft, and a little chewy inside. I liked it very much. Thank you, Aya-chan. Remember I always have room for your homemade bread!

Ronnie and I visited my friend Mayumi at her work place. She works at Tokyo Station Conference which is located just next to Tokyo station. The building was tall, modern, and very much in the style of Tokyo. Ronnie was impressed the gorgeous restroom. He explained he was able to enjoy a panoramic view while using the restroom! Ronnie said it was the first time for him to take a photo inside of a restroom. Here is the photo of us. From the left side: Yuki, Me, Ronnie, and Mayumi. I like Mayumi's flight-attendant-like uniform.