Tokyo Five Foot Runner :: Week 1

The annual New York City Marathon has come and go and even though I'm not living in New York anymore, the excitement and energy of the race has still found it's way to my soft heart. Aside from the US Open, I believe that the NYC Marathon is one of the greatest sporting events to attend. I'm always amazed at the diversity of people running the race (hello Grandma!) and always find myself getting a little teary eyed watching people from around the world challenge time, the city and themselves. This year was extra special since one of my best friends, Ms. Ha, took on the challenge and took one step closer to establishing herself as a true New Yorker. And she rocked it! For just her first marathon, she clocked in at 3:43:34 -- just shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon! I have no doubt, she'll be qualifying soon. 


Anyways, the point of this is that her commitment to training for a marathon inspired me to sign up for a Half Marathon in January. Actually, Ms. Ha and I ran our first official race together about a year and a half ago and while I have continued running to keep in shape, I haven't run in any races or taken it very seriously since. Well, that all changed this week as I began my preparation for 13.1 miles on January 9th, 2011. 


I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice Half Marathon training schedule because it has the most rest days and didn't muck up my schedule too much. I have to jump in on week 4 since we're only 9 weeks away but with week 1 under my belt, I think I'll be ok. My goals are:

1. Stick to the schedule.
2. Don't get hurt. 
3. Finish the race without stopping. 

So, what does one eat during race training? Well, obviously a lot of carbs and proteins but other than that, I haven't done too much research on the matter. So what did I fuel myself with this week? 

Pasta, duh! I adore this super simple tomato sauce recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It takes less than an hour to make, only has 3 ingredients (canned tomatos, butter and an onion) and is delicious. I made a big batch so it could last the week. Meatballs on day 1, hearty mushrooms on day 2 and just plain on day 3. 

Exercising is a weird thing. Burning all those calories definitely makes you hungry, but not right away. In fact, for hours after my runs, I'm not hungry at all. But then it just hits you. So, in order to avoid a total food coma, I've been craving soups. French Onion soup recipes are floating around the internets at the moment, so I decided to give it a go. Oddly enough, this recipe is very similar to the tomato sauce mentioned above but it takes waaaay longer than 1 hour and instead of tomatos, you add beef broth to the onions and butter. 

Sundays are the long run days. Today wasn't toooo bad - 5 miles. I decided to whip up some wonton soup because I saw some really nice photos on this blog, Joylicious. I added in noodles and lots of veggies to make it more filling - similar to a soup Squidward/Blammo and I used to order from Mama Buddha in the West Village. This soup is delicious and simple, but what I liked most about her recipe post is the story about missing her mother. I miss my mom too Joy! I especially miss her when I get gchats from her like this: 

Mom:  Hi Kimmi,I am online.  I am laughing and drinking , drunk! Have a good day. bye i love you 

I logged in 15 miles this week, more than I've ever run in a 7 day period so I deserve a little treat, no? It's been a very very long time since I've made my chocolate chip cookies so I finally dusted off my recipe and busted out a batch. I missed these little suckers!

Happy Japanese Birthday Party

 Friends are fun. I don't have a ton of them in Japan, but the ones I do have, I like very much. Quality, not quantity people! And even though I can count my buds on 1 hand, they somehow managed to extend my birthday celebrations to 3 weeks. My friend Natsuko invited me, Squids (who is requesting ANOTHER name change...Blammo) and my ABC Cooking Studio partner in crime over for a "typical Japanese birthday cake" party. It was a low key night in Saitama where we ate nabe, talked about appropriate x-mas gifts (Blammo: "Fireworks.") and listened to Spice Girls (only about 30 seconds of it...on accident...I hope.) 

Appetizer. Avocado, cream cheese and shaved bonito flakes with a soy dipping sauce. Pretty tasty and VERY Japanese. 

 キムキムなべ　

My friend made "Kimu Kimu Nabe". When Natsuko and I became friends, she said that I had to have a nickname because...that's what Japanese people do. So, she settled on "Kimu Kimu" which is my name doubled up and pronounced in Japanese. In honor of my birthday, she made Kimchi Nabe, a classic Japanese one pot winter dish with kimchi. Cute and delicious! 

More on nabe: Nabe means pot or hot pot. The clay nabe pot goes in the middle of the table and everyone sits around and eats it. It's filled with lots of veggies, tofu, chicken meatballs, pork, mushrooms...basically anything you want. They say that eating nabe brings you closer together, both physically and spiritually. 

Japanese homes get very cold in the winter, so nabe is a really popular dish. You can double your heating pleasure by eating nabe on a kotatsu, a low heated table covered with a futon. You sit on the ground with your legs under the futon and table where it is nice and warm. Natsuko says kotatsu are very evil because once you get under one, you can never leave. 

 Japanese girl's apartments are not built for foreign guys' feet. 

 Cake assembly. For Natsuko's birthday, I made her a typical American birthday cake - chocolate with cream cheese frosting and rainbow sprinkles. She pretended to like it, but I think it was too sweet for her taste. So, she promised that for my birthday, she'd make me a "typical Japanese" cake. I learned on this night, that it meant a sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries. 

 Me with my eyes closed, waiting for the goods. 

おめでとうございます！

The cake was light, fruity and very delicious. Exactly what I needed after our nabe dinner. How cute is this cake?!

And I got to take home some homemade kitchen mitts! ちょ~かわいい！(Very cute!)

New York Revisited

I left New York about a year and 3 months ago to spend time at home in California and ultimately, move to Japan. I really loved living in New York and ever since I can remember, have wanted to live there. And so I did and it was awesome. What do I miss most about New York? Aside from my friends, it's the food! I never quite hit the bar scene in NY, but I sure did dive right into the food scene and loved every minute of it.

New York and Tokyo are similar in a lot of ways, but one of the biggest differences is that, while I can get very good Japanese food in New York, it is pretty much impossible to get very good NY staples in Tokyo. We're talking hot dogs, pizza and bagels. And if we're getting personal, I'd like to add Banh Mi sandwiches to the list. So, on my trip to NY last month, I made sure to fill up on these classics.

First stop, Gray's Papaya on the Upper West Side for a hotdog and papaya juice. Japanese people actually love hot dogs, or more specifically "wieners" but they haven't quite figured out the bun and toppings part yet. 

 Cookies! Another American snack that just hasn't quite made its mark in Japan. Perhaps they're too sweet or too big? How could you say no to a classic bodega black and white? 

My bagel spot in NY is Murray's because I lived near the 23rd Street shop my first year in NY. I have fond memories of weekend walks for a Whole Wheat Everything with Sun Dried Tomato schmear. I still take pride that I now know not to ask them to toast...it's a ritual every Chelsea resident must go through. 

 ((I really wish I knew how to rotate images in blogger. )) 

 Alright, this soft serve is an area I think I can safely say that Tokyo has NY beat. This is a pumpkin cream cheese pie softie from Momofuku Milk. It was...just ok. As fun as all the crazy flavors can be, nothing beats a plain milk flavored soft serve from the Mini Stop convenience store. And if you ever see a sign for Hokkaido Soft Cream, GET IT. It's like drinking the milk straight from the utter. Ok, obviously, that doesn't sound that appealing, but you get what I mean. It's fresh!

Cake balls. Or as Momofuku calls them, cake truffles. These are birthday cake balls (i.e. funfetti) and they were very tasty, but weird to eat. These are a big thing in the South and is basically cake, mixed up with frosting shaped into balls. Cute idea, but they need to work on the name. (or DO they?) 

 I'm not going to say it is the BEST Banh Mi in New York, but it is certainly my favorite. Why? Because as any good Viet would know, it's all about the bread! It's gotta be airy, flaky, kind of flavorless and warm. Case in point: One of the best high end (or any end for that matter) Vietnamese restaurants in the world is The Slanted Door in the San Francisco Ferry Building. They have a to-go window where they sell Banh Mi. Being that they are in the Ferry Building, they have access to fresh "nationally acclaimed" artisan bread from Acme Bread, a personal favorite of mine. So naturally, they use it and...the sandwich is just so so. Another example that fancier ain't always better. 

Back to my point, I like Paris Bakery on Mott because they bake their own bread daily and supply their bread to other Banh Mi shops around town. 

 I would really kill for one of these in Tokyo. 

And a final word from your neighborhood sponsor/tagger with a message. 

It's My Birthday and I'll Eat What I Want To

It was recently my birthday and as a treat, my lovely Squidward treated me to some very very delicious meals. First, an oldie but a goodie, Il Mulino. Il Mulino in Tokyo (there's one in NY too) is a great place to go if you're hungry and like Italian food. Like, real Italian food, not Spaghetti made with ketchup. Before you sit down at your table, there's already 4 plates of antipasti waiting for you. That's my kind of restaurant. A word to the wise, the specials never change. Another word to the wise, get the specials. 

Now on to the main event. On Sunday night, Squids and I headed to Joel Robuchon, which is housed in this random chateau in the middle of Ebisu Garden Place next to the Yebisu Beer Museum. Classy! A quick run down: Joel Robuchon has the most Michelin stars in the world, this one has 3 and he was named "Chef of the Century" by some people. Oh, and he's cool enough to appear on Top Chef! Last year, I had my birthday lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Roppongi. It was a takeout chicken sandwich with brie and a side of Perrier. Oh how I'm moving up in the world!

 We ordered the tasting menu. It started off with a bang with some caviar mixed with crab and some sort of gelee. Delicious!

 So, I didn't have the balls to whip out my camera for every dish but this pearl pasta was too cute to not grab a quick snap with my iPhone. This was our 4th "main course" and I couldn't even finish this tiny plate of pasta because I was so stuffed. Everything was mindblowingly delicious though. My favorite was the egg dish which was wrapped in pasta like a little ravioli.

I really liked the waitstaff. Fine dining can be really annoying and people take themselves way too seriously. But the staff at Joel Robuchon were fun, funny and kept a close but not too close eye on us. We started making Sweet and Low castles and counting all the dessert spoons on the table and our waiters thought it was very funny and joked around with us. It really put me at ease. 

Did you know that petit fours does not mean that you get to choose 4 small little dessert treats from the petit fours cart? Yeah, me neither. (It means "small oven" and you can have as many as you want! Even better!)

No Joel Robuchon, thank YOU! Get ready for a bold, but factual statement: This is the best meal and best restaurant I've ever had. Yes, even better than Ko. First of all, this meal had about 17 dishes and every single one was interesting and delicious. If you ever have the chance to check it out, please do it! It is fantastic. 

By the way, what kind of people eat at Joel Robuchon? Former heads of state, that's who! On this particular night, we were surprised to see that our neighbor was none other than former Prime Minister Taro Aso! Well, we didn't notice until he got up to leave and only because Squids was mocking his amazing leather briefcase/clutch type thing. Taro Aso, by the way, is pretty cool. He's only my 2nd favorite Japanese politician (first place goes to Junichiro Koizumi because he looks like my dad and has AWESOME hair) but he's a pretty cool guy to see at a fancy dinner. According to his wikipedia entry, he loves fine dining! And now I can vouch for that. 

Why hello there birthday present! Happy birthday to me! 

Things That Are Awesome About America

Colonial America. You know, growing up out west, you really get robbed of the whole Colonial living experience. Basically, it is awesome and now I want to go on a rode trip down the East Coast. 

Gray's Papaya hot dogs with a side of papaya juice. Eaten standing up at the counter, people watching. 

Deep fried foods. Covered with sugar. Or candy. Or both. 

Honey Nut Cheerios. 

I heard this song a lot. And I like it. A lot. 

Banh Mi Sandwiches. Everyone has their favorite place and mine just so happens to be Paris Bakery on Mott in New York. Fresh baked bread every hour! 

Sandwiches! Check out this open faced chicken salad melt with bacon from Grey Dog Cafe in NYC. 

The Caprese Piadine from Tomatina in Walnut Creek, CA. It never gets old. 

Diet Coke. Not Coke Zero. Not Coke Light. DIET COKE. 

Corgis!

Homemade Sandwiches. A pre-wedding meal for the bridesmaids. What nice groomsmen! 

Bouchon Bakery. Who says you have to be french to make insanely good French treats?!

Nothing says Autumn like caramel apples. Already cut up and sprinkled with peanuts is so genius. 

Wine! We make some damn good wine. Again, eat it France! (errr...drink it France?)

Good deals. On really big Sandwiches. 

That someone at Hostess thought it wise to name this product GLO Balls..well, I tip my hat to you America. You did me proud. 

Out of Sight, Out of Touch

Who are these people?!

One of my greatest fears of living abroad for too long is getting out of touch with American culture. Namely, American pop-culture. It sounds really stupid and superficial, but it's how I communicate and connect with most of the people in my life. I work for an American company and conduct business in English. Communication isn't a problem and yet, it is. When you take away water cooler talk, simple conversation becomes a minefield of awkwardness and misunderstanding. There's no glue. At my old office, my co-workers and I couldn't be more different. But how could a Long Island mother of 3 and I carry on and fully enjoy a 15-minute conversation? Lost. 24. The Real Housewives of Orange County. How much I hate/you love the Yankees. They may have been purely superficial relationships and conversations, but at least it was a connection made. It makes working together easier somehow. It's the social lubricant of the American office. 

I'm getting dangerously close to becoming a complete foreigner to American culture. This sucks mostly because I used to be like...for reals in the know. I knew things, I probably shouldn't have, but it made me feel like I was a part of society. Celebrity gossip. Political gossip. What music was acceptable to show people on your iPod and which ones you should hide. I just looked at the iTunes top selling singles and albums and couldn't identify anyone other than Katy Perry and even then, I have no idea if I'm supposed to like her or hate her. Glee? Never seen it. Why is the #9 most downloaded song called (and spelled) Gonerrhea? There's a movie about Facebook? Is Twilight still "a thing"? Enrique Inglesias is now making music again? Have I seriously been away so long that pop music has lapped me? I've gone from working at The Worldwide Leader in Sports to not being able to tell you who won the last World Series/Super Bowl/Final Four. (I'm so un-American in my sports participation at the moment, that I could tell you who won the World Cup, Tour de France and any Grand Slam this year.) 

Sure, the internet helps a ton. I'm religious with my Google Reader reading and my friends keep me somewhat informed on what's "hip" and "groovy". But still, for every Marcel the Shell I do catch, 20 others come and go and I'm left standing alone with my sometimes functioning Apple TV catching up on last season's hottest show hoping not to read any spoilers online. And then there's the struggle between trying to stay relevant and trying to go out and live my life in this weird, wacky and pretty awesome in its own right country. Poor me, right? 

I'm about to go back to the States for 10 days and fear that I'm going to be overloaded with culture shock. Seeing as how much of my trip will be spend inside a metal tube high above the ground (an airplane), I'll be stocking up on the latest American Culture 101: Why We're a Dying Civilization required reading - Us Magazine and People. 

PS - Just kidding! America is awesome! (NO REALLY, don't block me at immigration. I've got some weddings and family hug parties to get to!)