Hi everybody.  It’s been a long time since I posted here.  I recently came back from three months in Peru.  Michiko-sensei emailed me in Peru, but the computers out there are a bit outdated and don’t read Japanese very well.  My wife and I stayed in Cusco, Arequipa, Pisco, Lima, and Huaraz.  Cusco is very touristy because of Machu Picchu, but we liked it a lot.  We got to experience a lot of interesting food and places in and around Cusco.  Ryo’s favorite thing to eat out there is called picarrones.  A picarron is a donut shaped fritter made of sweet potato and kabocha.  The closest thing I can think of is a malasada.

Machu Picchu is an amazing place.  Somehow the Inkas managed to build a town at the top of a spine of a mountain.  On the approach to Machu Picchu we climbed up a mountain that was about a 70-80% grade.  The other side was sheer cliff.  And the Inkas also managed to siphon water to the top of the mountain.  We also hiked up Wayna Picchu, above Machu Picchu (in the back of almost every picture of Machu Picchu).  So we climbed from the valley floor to the very top of the mountain in that day.

In Lima I worked in a restaurant called Bravo Restobar.  It was a great experience.  I learned how to make a few Peruvian dishes and sauces like ceviche, huancaina (a sauce), and causa rellena (a lime-y potato stack).  I was also introduced to a lot of ingredients and techniques that are very different from American ones.

Huaraz was Ryo’s favorite place.  It was also the highest place we went to .  We visited a glacier on a mountain that is about 5300 meters high.  We has become acclimated to  the altitude in Cusco, but Cusco is only about 3000 meters.  At 5300 m., it is hard to move, but we had to hike from the parking lot to the top of the mountain, about 20 minutes.  To help deal with the altitude we chewed on coca leaves and ate candies made from coca.  Glad I don’t have to take a drug test, because that would have made me fail.  In any case, the glacier was nice, but much smaller than we expected.  But the mountains around Huaraz are beautiful, what I imagine Switzerland must look like.

Hi everyone, long time no post.  A lot has happened in the past year or so.  But right now, things are a little more relaxed.  Ryo and I both quit our jobs and are currently unemployed.  It’s so nice, like a temporary retirement.  Next week we will be going to Kaua’i for camp.  I just got a new fishing pole, so hopefully I bag a few papios, moano, kumu (please!!!), maybe some akule or something.  We are also planning on hiking to Kalalau, a 11 mile hike in.  I don’t wanna carry too much food, so I have to catch fish those nights if I wanna eat.  I’ll have my 3 prong as backup, so I shouldn’t go hungry.

After Kaua’i, Ryo and I will be going to Peru for 3 months.  We will be staying at a homestay in Cusco for the first 5 weeks.  We are going to take Spanish lessons.   There was a study abroad program from my school to Argentina or Peru, but my trip costs less for 3 months (with two people) than the 3 week study abroad course by myself.  We each have 2 teachers (man to man).  One teacher teaches us grammar and vocab.  The other takes us out in the city for practical language use.  After the 5 weeks we have no concrete plans.  But, I want to learn about Peruvian cuisine.    My plan is to work in a restaurant in exchange for free/cheap housing.  I don’t have a working visa (though I don’t think it matters much).  I don’t think the pay is very good anyway.  I’d rather gain experience and hopefully save money in accommodations.  Everybody I have talked to who has tried Peruvian cuisine says that it is absolutely delicious.  I know there is a lot of Chinese and Japanese influence, so it is basically another type of fusion cuisine.

After Peru, my future is even cloudier.  The reason I wanted to go to Peru is because I want to learn a little Spanish.  I really wanted to go to Spain to learn about Spanish cooking.  But the cost of living is higher in Europe.  I figured I would gain a little Spanish ability first, then go to Spain.  So we, or I, might go to Spain.  Or, we might just stay in South America, if there is a job worth staying for.  It’s a little scary, because I might not earn enough money to get a ticket back to America.  We also might go to Japan, the most likely scenario.  Or we might end up back here in Hawaii.  Who knows?

Last week I went to our annual camp on Hawai’i.  I was only able to go for three days because of my and Ryoko’s work.  The first two days we were there it rained.  A lot.  The last day was sunny, but we spent most of it in Lihue at my uncle Jiro’s house.  The first day I was there, I was looking out at the beach and saw little black things popping in and out of the water.  At first I thought they were turtles, but when we got closer we saw that they were black triangles sticking out.  Then they came closer and we saw that they were stingrays!  So we got our masks and jumped in with them.  There were three swimming in a row.  They are really graceful swimmers.  I was following them around when one broke off and started swimming at me.  I started swimming away, and it followed me.  I dunno if it wanted to play or if it wanted to sting me, but I didn’t want to take a chance, so I ran away.

 a stingray

 a little shelter my friend built several years ago.  People have been adding to it and fixing it up.  Now it has a hibachi and tiki torches.  Also there is a tarp for when it gets too rainy.

Last year I enrolled in a new class, Culinary Competition.  There were 11 of us in the class.  The class was to build up the skills necessary for culinary competition (duh).  The class was divided into two parts.  After the first class 5 of us, including me, dropped out for various reasons.  I was busy with work, but mainly I quit because I didn’t really enjoy competitive cooking.  The remaining 6 students formed a culinary team, which went to the Western regional championship in Seattle.  By winning the Western championship, they were eligible to compete on the national level.  This past week they were in Florida competing for the national championship against 3 other teams.  And they won!  Congratulations to team Hawai’i!

Also yesterday, Ryo and I went hiking up to Ka’au crater.  It was a really nice hike, though the trail is a little iffy at times.  It is not a regularly maintained trail, since the trail head is technically on private land.  For a pretty good stretch, the trail goes along the side of the mountain, maybe 50 or 100 ft above the valley floor.  The trail was pretty muddy, and there is a lot of erosion damage.  At some points the trail was just a muddy slide that we would have to go around or jump over.  If we slid off the trail, there was no way to get back up on the trail.  The only option would be to go down and follow the stream.  But we made it to our destination, the waterfalls at the back of the valley.  There are three waterfalls total.  After the first waterfall, you have to do quite a bit of climbing to get to the second and third, but I think it was worth it.  We were debating whether to go up to the ridge of Ka’au crater, but it was another 90 minutes according to the guys we met on the trail.  So we quit after the third waterfall.

 first waterfall

 third waterfall.  Didn’t take the second waterfall for some reason

I was sitting at home yesterday when my niece came busting through the door saying “the Emperor is coming!”  The Emperor of Japan is staying at the Kahala, so the motorcade goes down our street.  I went outside, and there were police lining the road and telling cars to detour around the block or pull over.  After about 15 minutes, we heard the police motorcycles start zooming down the road.  Finally the Emperor’s limousine came.  Apparently the Empress was waving at us (we were the only people on the sidewalk).  I didn’t see her, since I was trying to take pictures.  There were several buses of people behind the limo.  There was also a big line of squad cars.  It seemed like every policeman on the island was escorting the Emperor.

from my front yard

We had another kaiseki dinner.  This time there were nine courses.  I don’t know why chef always gets on my case about putting four of anything on a plate, then he makes a nine course meal.  If he’s going by Japanese bad luck numbers, isn’t nine bad too?  Anyway…

 1. Shrimp cocktail.  Had lemon sour cream, cocktail sauce, cucumbers, tarragon.

 2. abalone.  It’s on cappellini with lup chong and some sort of air (the spit looking stuff).

 3.  uni bisque minus the soup (in the teapot on the right).  Deep fried oyster on a sage and kahuku corn rice here.

 4 (I think).  Deep fried eringi with seared foie gras and watercress.  The sauce is made from jaboticaba fruit.  Say that 5 times fast.

 5 (I think).  cod.  Dunno what went on this one.  Think it was a butter sauce with ginger, green onion, and amareth to garnish.  But not sure.

 6.  Veal.  Deep fried rice cake with a sweet aioli, minced veal, mint, and romain lettuce.  Tasted like a taco.

 7.  Pork belly.  with mashed potato and bok choy.  The box the pork came in said American style Kurobuta pork.  So, it’s the American version of the Japanese version of Berkshire pork.  I guess it sounds more expensive to have a Japanese name.

 8.  Okayu.  I think there was black bean and takana in it.  And apparently green onion, amareth, and maybe corn sprouts?

 9.  Shave ice.  Watermelon soup with pineapple granita.  Also a condensed milk panna cotta and li hing mui mochi balls.

This time around we were decently busy.  I was on the deep frier, so I was kept busy.  We had the bisque, veal, and pork belly, plus the eringi for the foie gras.  At least the bisque and pork belly were super easy to plate.  The veal…not so much.

The whole reason we went to Japan.  One of Ryo’s best friend’s wedding.  Apparently they are coming to Hawai’i in November for their honeymoon, and are depending on me to plan activities for them.  Any ideas?

 Japanese style

 Western style

 ???  Kochi style, maybe?

 cake and tart tray

 Ryo’s kimono

Going backwards in my trip.  Here’s some photos from Ristorante Hiro.  Was thinking that ￥10,000 was a little expensive, but now that I think about it, it’s not bad for 5 courses and 2 drinks.  Plus no tip!  That makes it downright reasonable.

  Antipasta:  cappellini with Kochi tomatoes.  My wife’s sister’s husband’s auntie (Seems like a lot of conversations in Hawaii start this way) has a farm in Kochi and always gives the family tomatoes.  Kochi tomatoes are like candy they’re so sweet.  Anyway, this dish was awesome.  Cold pasta with super sweet tomatoes.

Secondi Antipasta:  Chicken and foie gras sausage with fruit salsa.  Pretty good.  The sweetness went well with the chunks of foie in the sausage.

Primi Piatti:  Tagliatelle with roasted corn and a black pepper and butter foam sauce.  Very rich tasting, but I liked the pepper and corn.  I’m glad the butter sauce was in foam form, otherwise it would have been way too heavy.

Secondi Piatti:  Roasted duck with a cherry and red wine sauce.  I was disappointed.  I loved the duck, but the sauce was way too sweet.  And there was barely any starch.

Dolce:  Mikan panna cotta with a citrus sorbet (yuzu maybe?  Definately had some tang in the sorbet.  Maybe from some zest.)  Perfect ending to my meal.  Pretty light and refreshing flavor after a pretty heavy meal.

Heres some pictures from Tsukiji fish market.  Finally got around to putting my pictures onto my computer.

shellfish.  This guy asked us to choose something, then he would slice it up sashimi style for us.

summer oden.  Oden in jelly form.  I think Im going to experiment with making my own.

customers waiting to get into restaurants.

my breakfast.  Forget what it was called.  Something-don.  Or maybe something-chirashi.

  whale sushi.  A little oily for me.  Guess I like my whale cooked.