©石森プロ・東映　©円谷プロ　©藤子プロ・小学館・テレビ朝日・シンエイ・ADK 　 ©ダイナミック企画　©バードスタジオ／集英社・フジテレビ・東映アニメーション

From top left: Devil Man, Dorami chan, Doraemon, Ultra Seven, Ultra Man.  From bottom left: Dragon Ball, shocker, Kamen Rider, Go-ranger (red), and Go-ranger (pink).

They also sell baby bibs in Japanese characters.

©石森プロ・東映　©円谷プロ　©藤子プロ・小学館・テレビ朝日・シンエイ・ADK

So cute..!  I personally like Doraemon (>v<)

I used to buy white fish Nanban (deep-fried white fish in Nanban sauce) from deli in supermarkets.  It’s vinegary sauce whips the appetite, and the sweetness of the sauce and the onion are best match with steamed rice.

I made this dish with salmon instead of white fish.  The white fish we eat in Japan are different from those in supermarkets here.  You can make this recipe with any white fish, but I thought I’d try it with salmon.  I’m sure you can get the fish (that we eat in Japan) from some shops here too, but I believe almost everyone loves salmon and it’s easy to get from anywhere.

<Salmon Nanban>  serves 2

• 125g x 2 Salmon Fillet
• 1 onion, small
• 1/2 carrot
• 1 red chili, small (optional)
• 4 tbs soy sauce
• 5 tbs vinegar
• 6 tbs sugar

• 1/2 tbs corn flour + 1/2 tbs plain flour to dust
• oil for deep-frying
• 1 tsp corn flour + 1 tsp water

Bra has been a fashionable item across the world -  there are many cute looking bras in different shapes and different colours.  But, what can you do with your old bras when you are not wearing them?

Did you know that bras are actually the most highly sought after item for women in developing countries?  They are technically difficult to make in the developing world, therefore bras are valuable to women in those area.

There have been campaign for bra recycling in the past by Wacol or Oxfarm, but in the months of September and October, Berlei is setting up bra recycling bins in Myer stores Australia wide to give you the opportunity to help deserving women have access to a basic necessity.

If you have any unused bras at home, simply donate them at the  Berlei Recycle bins in Myer.  You will be helping to reduce landfill and create jobs in developing nations.  And, for every 10 bras recycled, $1 will be donated to BCNA (Breast Cancer Network Australia).

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This may sound gross to some people, but I cooked chicken liver too.  Liver is high in iron.

With 2 tbs soy sauce + 2 tbs mirin + 1 tsp ginger.  This tastes good.  My mum used to make this at home.  If you buy chicken liver in Japan, it comes with another offal (stuck together) and I especially like the another one.  It has texture and yummy (to me)!

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I made this to eat at home, but it’s also a great item for picnic.  It’s such easy to make and looks cute, like temari-sushi (small and ball-shaped sushi). You can add more colors such as red (red ginger), green (green veggie or green pickles), orange (tobikko) …

The good thing is, you don’t even need to make your hands dirty - shape it by using pieces of plastic wrap.

I used normal steamed rice (not vinegared rice) so this is not sushi.  You can use vinegared rice if you like.

Cheese scrambled egg, bacon, sauteed spinach and toast - a typical breakfast, but I love this

It seems that there are more than 200 people died from the heat in Japan this year.  My family and friends says it’s been very hot and humid.  There’s one 20-year-old man who passed away because his air-con was broken on that night.  It’s around 36°, but the humidity is high.  Besides, all the area is stuffy (many buildings)…

I’ve been reading this blog (in Japanese) since last week - she is Korean, and lives near my house in Japan!  She’s been in Japan for 18 years now with her husband (Japanese).  I always get surprised that many Korean people are fluent in Japanese.

I love Korean food  But, same as Japanese food here, I can’t find the “real” Korean food in Perth.  I really miss the proper way of eating Korean BBQ!  And, other Korean food such as komutan soup (oxtail soup), sundubu (spicy stew), kejan (marinated raw crab in spicy soysauce-based sauce) etc…  There are many Korean restaurants in Japan, but I believe there’re many in Eastern states too.

Korean cuisine is quite similar to Japanese cuisine, I believe.  They use many kinds of vegetables - even the ones Japanese people are not familiar with, such as leaves of sesame and dodoku (carrot-looking roots).  I love Korean side dishes - namuru dishes, muchimu (mixed - like salad) dishes, chimu (stewed) dishes….  The roasted and stewed beans ( I remember Hana BBQ had this dish) is my favorite!  They goes very well with steamed rice

In Japan, I always order Korean chilled noodle at yakiniku restaurants during summer.  I love the texture of the noodle (made from potato starch).  I had a funny experience in a Korean restaurant in Perth few years ago.  I ordered this chilled Korean noodle, but the waitress kept saying “oh, you shouldn’t order this.  I don’t think you’ll like it”.  I knew what I was ordering and told her that I used to eat this in Japan all the time.  She said “Oh, ok then. You should be fine”.  She thought I had never eaten the dish before, and non-Korean people wouldn’t like this dish.  I wondered why they’d put this item on the menu…  (did I tell this story before already?)

When I was talking to my family on skype the other day, my mum said she was making hiyashi chuka at home.  Since then I had a craving for it….  so I bought some ingredients from a supermarket and cooked it last night.

Hiyashi chuka is a Japanese summer dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings.  Normal toppings are shredded ham, shredded cucumber, shredded omelet and chopped tomato.  It has many colours.  The noodle is thin egg noodle, and the sauce (dressing) is tangy (vinegary)  Some people add more vegetables such as corn and bean shoots, and drizzle mayonnaise on top.

I used somen noodle this time - the key is to cook the somen noodle al dente, so that it has some texture.

Somen noodle also goes well with the tangy sauce.

I used shredded chicken breast instead of ham, as I’m not really supposed to eat ham at the moment.

Pour the sauce (dressing) over the noodle, or dip the noodle into the sauce and eat ♪

<Hiyashi Chuka Somen> Serves 2

• 200g somen noodle (dry)
• 100g chicken breast
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 tomato
• 10cm celery

• 50ml soy sauce
• 60ml white vinegar
• 70ml water
• 20g sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• roasted white sesame seeds to sprinkle

Remedy has been one of my favorite shops since it opened.  Few steps away from the busy Fremantle cappuccino street, this store is secretary but very popular among those people who find joy in collecting nice homeware, kids toys, accessories and gifts.

95 high street  fremantle wa 6160 … 08 94317080

131 oxford street leederville wa 6007 … 08 94448818

A Maize Homeware

A Maize Homewares is located in the Fremantle market.  It was previously located inside the Fremantle Markets but has been recently reinvented and moved to the front of the Markets on Henderson St Mall, opposite the Sail n Anchor and Old Shanghai food court. They open from Wednesday to Sunday.

I love the goods being sold here.  From antique-tic goods to the modern goods - I sometimes just go there and enjoy the atmosphere.

Zakka Box

Zakka Box offers unique zakka items (fashion and design phenomenon, it refers to everything and anything that improves your home, life and outlook) directly imported from Japan.  The shop atmosphere is lovely, and the staff is friendly.  Their concept is “Nothing you need but all you want”.

Shop 2-611 Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley WA … 08 9227 6338

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What did I eat last night…?  Roasted veggies and chicken.  I thought I ate a lot, but I guess my digestion system works too good.  I got up the bed and started preparing early breakfast.

I had some left over in the fridge, but I decided to cook udon noodle soup.  My favorite is to add egg to the soup (tamago-toji udon), but this time I just made a simple one.

With wakame seaweed, sprig onion (and naruto - fish cake).  There are many kinds of udon soup in Japan, and I guess I can call this “su-udon 素うどん” = which means “simple udon”.  Su-udon normally indicates udon noodle with nothing but soup and spring onion (or sometimes just soup).

Su-Udon (image from wiki)

Making the soup by yourself is very easy!  Besides, you won’t need to prepare many things when making su-udon.

<Udon Soup> serves 1

• 1.5cup water
• 1 handful bonito flakes (about 10g)
• 1 tbs mirin
• 1 tbs soy sauce