Japanese Language is … Difficult!

Yes, I am Japanese and I speak Japanese.  But, Japanese language is very unique, and the people in different area have different accent and sometimes speak different words.  The standard Japanese that you may know is the formal Japanese language and most of the people around Tokyo speak this language.  

Nikuman (Japanese Char Siu Pow)

Another winter food I miss is nikuman!

“Niku” means “meat”, and “man” is short word for “manju”.  It’s like a Japanese version of char siu pow, but it tastes different from those you see at yam char restaurants.

Nikuman is a popular winter fast food in Japan and you can buy them at many places during winter including convenience stores: Lawson, Seven Eleven, Family Mart, Cercle K, etc etc….  I love nikuman!  We just call nikuman, but there are several types in different flavors, including “pizza-man”, “an-man” and “curry-man”.  (sounds like character names in cartoon :p )  Different shops sell different flavors.

The good thing about buying nikuman from convenience stores is that you can buy it ANYTIME during winter, as convenience stores open 24 hours.  Whenever you feel like it, you can just grab the hot juicy nikuman and eat straight away.  And, the price is also the good part.  One nikuman costs around 100 yen ~ 150 yen.  Very cheap yet delicious snack.

I just miss the juicy nikuman…. (><)  My favorite is the standard nikuman (different shop = different taste, and some shop use different pork meat such as black pork and try to stand out from others) …

Oh, when I went to China town in Yokohama, I had the most delicious nikuman from a stall.  It was huge, and the meat was very very tender.  ”551 Horai” is also famous for its nikuman.  This shop is originally from Osaka.  (website)

Japan and Perth..

I recently heard from my friends who moved to Japan permanently.  They said that the house they bought is very nice, and I should be visiting them on my next homecoming.  Sure I will!

They mentioned that they almost forgot how great the Japan’s services are.  For example, there was a problem in the electricity in their house, and they contacted Tokyo Power (like Westernpower here) and asked if the electricity could be fixed sometime soon.  It was Saturday and they seemed to be very busy, but the operator promised that the staff would visit the house within 1 hour.  And, they did.

If it was in Perth, we would probably have to wait their responses at least for few hours, I guess.  And, even if they promise to come and see what’s wrong, they don’t usually come straight away, or not on time.

Oh, and I’m really tired…. and feel sorry for my husband!  I’ve been waiting and waiting for my car to be ready to be picked up, but no phone call from the dealer yet.  My husband takes me/picks me up from the work every day even though he is busy for his own work.  As I wrote about the dealer before, they said they didn’t have black but they have silver.  I assumed that they have silver being ready to be sold.

I called them up today to see what’s happening.  Then, they told me that they had been actually preparing a SILVER LEAF for me.  And, they said they don’t have silver at the moment, and are still waiting for the delivery to arrive.  It will be another one and half weeks……   I NEED A CAR!

I was so upset… again!  First, they told me that they had black car, so I signed on the contract.  Then, they said they didn’t have black and offered me a silver.  Now, they said they didn’t even have a silver??? (@_@)

I can’t believe it… I’m used to this type of thing since I came to Perth, but still!  I sometimes really miss Japan..

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Undercover Boss

I watched a tv show “Undercover Boss” last night on channel 10.  It’s the first time to watch this show (I think there’s one previous episode the other day) and yesterday boss was Seven Eleven’s CEO.  He traveled around the country worked undercover in stores, bakeries, coffee outlets, in the distribution centre etc.

I thought it was a really interesting concept.  Especially Seven Eleven is the company I used to work while I was a student in Japan, and my mum still works there.   I emailed her as soon as I finished watching the tv show.

I know there are many many food waste 3 times per day at convenience stores (not only Seven Eleven) and it happens everyday nonstop.  In Japan the shops throw away onigiri, bento, pasta… everything as soon as they are expired.  I’m not sure about America, but in Japan each item has a sticker of “expiry time”.  If there is a bento with an expiry sticker saying “15:00 22/Feb”, and if it’s 15:01, shop staff must throw it away in the bin.  It’s the safety standard thing.  But, of course, food doesn’t go bad immediately after the expiry time, they are still edible.  But at the time I was in Japan, it was a company policy that any expired food must not be taken or eaten by shop staff.  They must be thrown away.

I think it’s very good that this American CEO is considering to build up the charity process for the expired food.  I just can’t stand watching the food which are still edible thrown away to the bin…

Japan should also consider the charity or do something about the waste – expired food –  It could save people’s lives.

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Colourful Rice Balls (onigiri)

As I mentioned before, steamed rice is an essential item for Japanese cuisine.  We sometimes eat just rice and tea as a meal.  A rice ball (onigiri) is a very common snack food which can be purchased at convenience stores, super markets and kiosks at train stations.  (Normally in triangle shape)

When we make bento, we sometimes shape the rice into balls or triangles to enjoy the looks.  This colorful rice balls look cute and I sure want to use it as a bento item if I’m making one   You can also arrange the ingredients and make your own color of onigiri.

When making onigiri, the rice has to be hot.  Normally we shape the rice with bare hands, with a bowl of salted water to dip the hands before handling hot rice.  You can also shape onigiri using a plastic wrap film if you don’t want to use your hands.

<Colourful Rice Balls>  makes 1 set

Ume (pickled plum):

• 50g steamed rice
• 1 ume