Oden Sunday

Posted August 23rd, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

On Sunday my friend came over for Oden and Chirashi-zushi party!  I started simmering the tofu, konnyaku, daikon radish and boiled eggs on Thursday night so that they would absorb the soup and flavor very good.  On Saturday I added some nerimono (all sorts of fish-cakes) to finish-up.  It looked so yummy!

I can’t believe I forgot to take pictures! I must had been so busy eating and chatting…   (>0<)  So here is the image photo from Google…

(Mine was not this beautiful!)

One of the friend couldn’t join the oden party as she has been suffering from unfortunate food poisoning since last week. 

I remember my first and last food poisoning was in Jakarta…  It was terrible!  I was on holiday, but couldn’t even get up from the bed.  The whole body was cold/sweating/shaking/fever/vomiting/etc.  I just wanted to lie down on the bed, I couldn’t even stand the gentle air wave from the air conditioner.

I hope she gets better!


A Sight of Spring

Posted August 16th, 2010 in Perth WA | 6 Comments »

It was another cold night, and I wrapped myself in a blanket on the sofa and was watching tv with my husband.  It was warm during the day though…

As I stretched my body, I looked up the ceiling.  Then, I noticed something…. something black, something big…

It was a spider (>0<)!!

I remember, we had a terrible summer in this house few years ago.  Many many huge spiders showed up one night, and we had to fight them until midnight.  The thing is, both of us HATE insects – including spiders.  We were both crying but had to kill all the spiders otherwise we couldn’t go to bed. 

Image Photo

Image Photo

Those spiders were really huge.  They were about the size of my face!!  With the legs, of course.  And the bodies were covered with thick black hair.  Taranchula??  

Next day we called pest control to spray all over the house.  Since then, we started to spray insecticide all around the house in early spring each year.  This year we haven’t done it, but we will do it this weekend to kill all the spider eggs before they hatch.

Fortunately there was only one last night.  Our house has very high ceiling and it’s impossible to reach the spider.  We had to drop the spider to the floor first, so my husband started to throw small balls to the spider.  

After 1 hour….  the spider was still there.  My husband was starting to be tired.  We took the largest ladder from the garage, and tried to reach the spider by climbing up the ladder and using a combined two brooms. Finally, he could get the spider down….!  It dropped on the floor, and tried to run away.  Then I was in panic.  

My husband and I are not trying to be cute, but we are truly truly afraid of insects – especially the one with this size.  I was too scared to get close to the spider and kill it.  I screamed, he screamed, and finally he became a man… – grabbed a slipper and bashed the spider.  It’s over.

Afterwards my body was so warm: maybe from the thrilling and screaming.  If there is one spider, I believe there should be more around this house.  I’d better keep my eyes open… 

 

a


The Weather is Getting Better!

Posted August 8th, 2010 in Perth WA | 2 Comments »

I can feel the difference in air… it’s getting warmer, especially during the day.  I don’t need to turn on the little heater on my foot any more.

It’s so nice to feel the warm air, as this house gets really cold.  I used to be strong against cold climate, but I guess my body is changing, I couldn’t let go my thick jacket everyday.  It’s surprising to see people wearing camisole or half sleeve T: I’m wearing a thick coat and people around me are wearing summer clothes.

It was a lovely weekend.  The weather was great.  I’ve been pretty busy the past weeks, helping out my husband’s work and also contacting his clients to discuss about the jobs, etc.   Also I had to go to see doctor several times, and I realized my Medicare card had been expired quite long time ago. :p   I had to go to the Medicare centre with my passport.  At the same time I transfered my card to my husband’s, so that it’s easier for us to do the claim and other things.

Soon my friends are coming to my house, and I’m making chocolate cake!

aa


Good Bye Jazz

Posted July 21st, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

I passed my car to the buyer today and completed all the ownership transfer process.  Now I just need to wait until my new car is ready to be picked up…

Oh, by the way the dealer called me again and asked …

“Ume, did you want the SILVER or SILVER LEAF?”

……  SILVER, please.  I will be really mad if they mistake the color again (@_@)

Before I passed my car to the buyer, I asked a cleaning company to wash my car.  I wanted the car to be sparkling clean before giving to someone.  I’ve known the cleaner for quite a long time as they clean my office, and they do a really great job each time.

It was the first time to ask them for washing a car … well, I’ve never asked anyone to wash my car before, as I normally do it myself.  Maybe that’s the reason, but my car was always little dusty and I really thought I needed to replace the whole front screen.  The front screen was not transparent anymore, and I thought it was because of the damage from the strong sunlight in WA. :p

After the car wash…..   I was amazed!  I thought I was driving a brand new car.  There was no single dust, the little scratches around key hole were gone, the black body was shining, and…. the front screen was very very transparent.  You wouldn’t know if there is a glass in front of you.  This is how pro cleans….  Unbelievable.

Oh, I totally recommend this cleaner!  They are very friendly husband and wife, and the wife is Japanese.  Their website is still under construction, but I will update it later when it’s out. 😀

Contact: 044 918 0017

aa


I am disappointed…

Posted July 19th, 2010 in Perth WA | 2 Comments »
  
aa
I am shocked….  I recently purchased a car from a dealer, and it’s a black car.  I love black color, and I was so looking forward to driving it.  I signed on the paper last week, and I was waiting for the phone call from them to arrange when I could pick up the car and drive home.  Today, I received a phone call, and they said something that I didn’t expect…
aa
“We are so sorry, but we didn’t have any black color.  Would you be happy with silver?”
aa
I AM SHOCKED….  Actually silver was my second choice (I wouldn’t normally like silver, but this car looks ok in silver), but in my head I was already driving a black car!  
Of course I asked for the discount as it was their mistake.  But, I’m so disappointed 🙁
aa
Another shocking thing happened to me on weekend.  I was walking around Fremantle, and when I passed a restaurant I noticed there was something written on the wall.  I was trying to read as I walked, and then, I hit a lighting pole….!!!  
aa
It was just like Jessica Alba in the movie “Bood Luck Chuck”.  Seriously, my right forehead was so painful, and I thought it was going to be a black eye.  Now, it’s still swollen but luckily not blue or black color.  :p
aa
I will be careful in future as it was really embarrassing (><;)
aa

Farewell Party

Posted July 13th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

On last Sunday I hosted a farewell party for the friends who are going back to Japan for good.

The friends (a couple and a 2-year-boy) are flying back to Tokyo this week.  It’s been just 2.5 years since we became friends, but during the period we had such a great time together.

I gathered up my friends at my house, and I cooked several dishes: chicken, mushroom and vegetable pie, roasted chicken drumsticks, Asian salad (recipe), sandwiches,  beef randang (Indonesian style beef curry), roasted potato wedges with dips, and some dessert.  One friend (Korean) brought homemade bulgogi for us 🙂  It was REALLY delicious.  She said she used Korean mirin and Korean soy sauce.  Korean mirin is sweeter than Japanese one, according to her.

The weather was weird: it rained, then stopped, and rained again.  Luckily it was not that cold (to me).  We kanpai-ed with beer and wine, and enjoyed chatting and eating.  The kids were playing with toy and watching dvd.

I felt full after having one serve of bulgogi, because of the coke I kept drinking.  (#_#)

For the dessert, I made custard tartlets with passionfruit glaze, and sticky pudding.  The sticky pudding normally contains dates (sticky date pudding)  but I didn’t have dates, so I added whatever I had in the kitchen – sultana, dried cherries, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.

At first, I thought I failed the dessert… because the passionfruit tartlets looked little weird.  I didn’t arrange the custard cream properly to the pastry shells, and you could see the uneven surface of the custard through the passionfruit glaze.  And, the sticky pudding appeared to be rather dry and hard.  But, in the end no one cared about the looking, and they seemed to enjoy the taste 🙂  If it tastes good enough, I’m happy!

aa


Rainy Days…

Posted July 10th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

A rainy day like this, it’s better to just stay home and catch up with what you always wanted to do but didn’t have time for it.  Like, washing the clothes, cleaning, tiding up the office area, and this time, tax return.

I like working (writing something on computer) in a quiet space.  If someone is watching tv near me, or even in the different room, my ears try to listen to it and I can’t concentrate on what I do. :p  But, I don’t mind the sound of rain.  In fact, the sound makes me more concentrated into the project I’m doing.  That’s why I like rainy weekend.  … Well, sunny weekend is also great though.

As I mentioned before, I like drinking coffee.  I usually drink black coffee with no sugar, but sometimes I feel like sweet one (like cafe au lait).  In Japan I used to drink canned coffee very often because of my dad.  He drinks approximately 3~4 cans each day (always black with no sugar).  Not always canned coffee.  He actually goes to a cafe to drink coffee more often than buying a canned coffee from a vending machine.  When he is at home, he always buy a canned coffee because there is a vending machine just in front of my house. 🙂  In winter, I used to buy a canned hot cocoa from the machine just to warm up my hands.

You can buy canned coffee at grocery shops – mostly either Japanese or Korean shops – in Perth, and when I drink it, it makes me feel like I’m home.

I’d better start cleaning the house for tomorrow!  And prepare the food….

aa


Severe Weather Warning

Posted July 9th, 2010 in Perth WA | 2 Comments »

I was little worried about the weather yesterday morning.  I could stat to see the dark cloud in the sky around 9am, and it started raining around noon.  The rain didn’t continue, but it started again around mid afternoon.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the storm was expected to bring hail, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind which could reach 90km/h.  Luckily my area was ok.

I mentioned that 07/July was tanabata day on my previous post.  As I wrote “what is tanabata” here, it is a day where separated lovers brought back together only once a year and therefore I think that this is a romantic day for couples.  Yesterday, I received an email from one of my friends in Japan.  She said that she got married on 07/July (no ceremony or party, just submitting the form to the city hall).  I thought it’s romantic to make tanabata day as a wedding anniversary 🙂

Outside is still windy.  It’s going to be all raining until next week according to the forecast…   I don’t mind raining, but I just worry about the hail!  And, I was planning a gathering of friends this weekend.  It’s going to be very cold…  I bought a big heater online, but I don’t think it will arrive before Sunday (><)

I will tell everyone to wear warm clothes :p

By the way, it is 8:33 now and there was a small hailing!  I was nearly in panic… just worrying about the car.  But, the hail was pretty small/

It is yes weird to see the hail coming from the sky in Perth :p

aa

This photo was taken by me right after the short hailing this morning.

aa


Terrible Accident Happened to A Japanese Restaurant in Perth

Posted July 8th, 2010 in Perth WA | 2 Comments »

It was a tanabata day yesterday, and I was just thinking if I should be making a tanabata cake when I received a phone call from my friend.

“Matsuri Japanese restaurant in the city will be closed for awhile!”

Apparently there was a terrible accident happened yesterday at Matsuri Restaurant.  A car has crashed into a CAT bus before ploughing into the restaurant, sending diners running for cover.

At first I couldn’t believe the story, but the news was everywhere on tv, radio and internet. It was real!  Fortunately no one had serious injury, but it must have had been a shocking accident!

There were three customers sitting near the window and they had minor injuries.  I wonder how it’d be if it happened during the busy lunch time.

You can find out the full story about it at www.watoday.com.au.

(photos from www.watoday.com.au)

By the way, this morning I was told that the restaurant will still open.  They covered up the damaged window side with timbers and all the broken glasses were tidied up already.  There must be many people around Matsuri today who are curious to see what the restaurant looks like.

Oh, different subject, but a storm is going to hit Perth from today.  I REALLY REALLY hope there is no more hailing this time…  I mean, I wasn’t here last time when a huge hail storm attacked Perth, but if it happens again… IT IS NO GOOD.

At the moment it is 7:30, and the sky looks… ok.  Cloudy, but I can see the blue sky.  BUT, I remember people were saying that when last hail storm hit Perth the weather was fine too.  …Cross fingers..


Planning and Sleeping In

Posted July 3rd, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

Time flies…  It’s already the second half of the year.  I have something that I wanted to complete in 2010, but it’s been little difficult to find time for it lately.  It sometimes frustrates me, but I try to manage my schedule and plan the things that I need to do for the next few months.

Oh, the another thing I’m planning is a little home party. 🙂  I like having a little party, and just thinking about the food and the time with friends makes me really excited.  But, the problem is that this house gets very cold in winter and hot in summer… (><)  I really should buy a portable heater.  And, personally I don’t like just sitting in a same place, and prefer moving around.  I hope my friends also feel at home and move around to the sofa or to the garden and enjoy the time by doing whatever they want to do!

Last night I stayed quite late watching World Cup Brazil vs Netherland and Uruguay vs Ghana.  I woke up around 10, then did some of my stuff, washing clothes, cooking, etc etc.  After my husband woke up, we had a bowl of chicken porridge together.

(recipe : http://umeboss.com/posts/734/getting-cold/)

I turned on the power on a slow cooker last night and left it until just before I went to bed.  I just had to reheated it this morning.

I know it sounds really weird, but I like eating porridge with raw vegetables…  This time, I added shredded cabbage on top of the porridge with other usual condiments (fried shallots, char kwe, cut chilli…) Sometimes I add celery leaves, lettuce, edamame to the porridge – yes, it is weird, but I like it (^_-;)


Fine Winter Day

Posted June 30th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

JAPAN LOST !! (>0<)

It was a long game against Paraguay yesterday, and the first penalty shootout of the 2010 World Cup was carried out.  Japan lost in the end, but I think they did their best and I’m proud of them for coming this far as a only Asian team.

Anyway…

It was my favorite climate during the day yesterday!  Not too cold, but not hot, little windy and I could feel the air moving around me.  I like looking up the sky and watch the cloud moving.  At a glance it seems to be stopped, but if you watch it carefully the cloud moves pretty fast sometimes.  It’s my thing: I used to look up the sky and think “Australia could be under that cloud!” “I wonder what people are doing right now under that cloud over there…”  Then I felt that the world is such big and my little trouble seemed to be a tiny thing.

I was feeling little down over the last few weeks, as things happened around me and I wasn’t sure what I wanted.  But now, I realized something important after talking to friends and also reading some books.  Now I’m feeling pretty good 🙂

One thing that I still feel sad about is my cat.  She passed away just few days ago in my house in Japan.  Actually there’s a little weird story behind this cat, and I loved her so much.

Puu, a cat with mixed colors of black, grey and white, came to my house when I was around 17 ~ 18, I think.  I don’t remember how we started to have Puu, but she was already an adult cat (♀) by the time she joined my family.  She was a little strange cat!  Every night when I was taking bath, she called me “meow” behind the smoky glass in the bath room, and comes inside the bathroom and sit on top of the bathtub (I used to take bath while covering half the bathtub with plastic tub-cover to keep water hot, and she sat on the cover and slept!).  And, every night she called “meow” at the door of my room, then came inside the room and slept on my bed next to me, in my futon.  I had never seen cat that likes taking bath…

She was so smart too, and I felt some connection between her 🙂  But, one of her weird hobby – she liked jumping to the tray of kei-truck every time she sees any kei-truck – caused a trouble.  One day, she suddenly disappeared.  We think that she jumped on the tray of a kei-truck which was stopping around my house, and the truck started to move and Puu couldn’t get off the car.  I was so sad, and hoped she would come back soon.  But she didn’t.

After few months, mum told me an unbelievable story.  When my mum went to Lawson, a convenience store, one cat jumped inside her car and sat on the seat as if she was waiting my mum to drive home quickly.  My mum came home with the cat.  The thing we felt so weird was that the cat looked exact same as Puu!  Same color, similar pattern, and same gender.  We really thought it was Puu, but something was little different. (to me) And, the tip bone of this cat’s tale was little broken.  Besides, this cat didn’t like taking bath and sleeping on my bed.  It was a different cat.

I couldn’t believe what just happened.  This cat already started to feel at home and sleeping in front of tv.  The personality of the cat was obviously different from missing Puu, but we started to love this cat too.  We named her “Puu”, the same name as the previous one.

“Puu Ⅱ” was pregnant when she jumped in my mum’s car, and gave birth to 6 beautiful kittens.  She was really like a normal cat (very my-pace) but very adorable.

Since then she stayed with my family.  I really thought she had some kind of power, as she seemed to know everything!  For example, when I was walking towards my house from my friend’s house and started to see my house from the distance, “Puu Ⅱ” was already sitting in front of the house and looking at me.  And she looked at me with the look: like “hey you”.

“Puu Ⅱ” passed away because of the age.  I never knew how old she was, but she lived her long life like Mimi, my dog.  I hope she was very happy.

aaa


Apple Store in Perth

Posted June 26th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

The first Apple store in Perth was opened today, 26 June 2010 on Hay Street!

“The shop will open its door at 9 am, UME!”

It was what my husband said to me last week.  “Ok, then we can go there and get a free T-shirt, then head to McDonalds for brekkie”

It was our plan…..   but, as I thought, he couldn’t wake up early today >0<

He works at home and normally goes to bed in the early morning (he is a nocturnal person), and last night was not an exception…

His sleeping face was so peaceful that I couldn’t woke him up.  So, I headed there by myself to see what the shop looks like and then later I can tell him the story 🙂

It was again another freezing morning…  The radio said it was actually below 0° this morning!  WOW.

As I walked to the new Apple shop, I started to see people walking with small white boxes.  I knew straightaway that they were from Apple store, and the box contained the free T-shirt!  I had to hurry!  It took me 30 mins to park as I was stuck in the traffic (construction in the city… T_T), so it was already 9am past.

I was walking from East Perth direction, and when I reached to the traffic light on William street x Hay street, I started to doubt my eyes….  “am I seeing polices and security guards there?”

I was little overwhelmed, as there’re many people taking photos, and few security guards were standing at the door.  The shop was filled with people…

I didn’t stop walking, and headed to the store.  Then, two door men greeted to me and said,

“Good morning ma’am, thank you for visiting our new store.  I’m sorry but you will have to queue the line and wait.”

Then I finally realized there was a loooooooong queue of people waiting to get into the store!  Crazy!

After a short consideration in my head, I decided to queue.  I don’t normally do such thing (and I could come to this shop anytime in future) but I did.

I waited, waited…. and 10~20 minutes later, I was finally inside the store!  Cute girls in uniform were cheering and handed me a free T-shirt.

The shop looked great.  Many variety of goods, and many staff in blue T-shirts 😀  I played with those displays for few minutes, and had a quick chat with one of the staff, then left.   The atmosphere almost made me want to buy something!  phewwwww.

I didn’t think so many people would be here today.  I’m sure there’re some people waited before opening the door :p

This shop opens 7 days.  You can find info here →

http://www.apple.com/au/retail/perthcity/


Where to Go This Winter

Posted June 24th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

As winter comes, things make me miss down south.  I don’t know what the “things” are: maybe the cold air that makes me cuddle in a warm blanket,  the sound of the rain that erases all the noise outside…  All of them recall my memory of staying down south.

Winter makes me feel warm inside, in spite of the cold weather.  That’s the reason why I like winter.

I think many people prefer summer to winter, especially the people who live near the beautiful beaches, like Perth.  I’m sure some people are longing for the arrival of next spring/summer already.  I get to see many cheap deals at hotels and some travel packages around this time, eg Rottnest Island.  I understand why, as Rottnest Island is surrounded by beautiful ocean and there is pretty much nothing to do except for swimming and cycling.  But, I don’t mind going there in a cold day and watch the quiet beaches.

I actually went there couples of years ago with my husband and stayed for a night.  It was beautiful.  Although we had not much things to do, we enjoyed the slow time there.

I also like South.  I haven’t travelled much since I came to Perth and I’ve only been to Bunbury, Busselton, Pemberton and Margaret River, all of them were really beautiful towns.  As there’s nothing much to do and plenty of time, I could totally relax and day-dreamed about things – I couldn’t do such things while leading a busy days in Perth.  It’s really amazing that you could experience the different pace of time in just few hours drive!

It was about two years ago that we went to Pemberton.  We stayed in a farm lodge, and there’re horses, kangaroos, sheep, dogs etc wondering around right in front of our lodge. 😀

It started raining when we arrived the lodge, and it was very cold.  But, I couldn’t help going walking around the area.  Walking through the mountains, stepping on the leaves on the ground, avoiding huge tree roots…  there was no “road” or “path” that was created by human.  It was such a beautiful walk.

aaaaa, it makes me want to go there again (><)


Another Shopping Day

Posted June 19th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

This morning I woke up earlier than usual, and went down to the post office.  I wanted to send a gift to my formal student who lives in Hakodate. (I wrote about him here)  His birthday is coming up, and I wanted to send something “Australia” to him 🙂  He’ll be 11 at the end of this month… so fast!  I only remember him as 6 years old.

I also picked up a package from the post office as no one was at home when a mail man delivered it yesterday.  It was a MacBook case that I bought online!  Yey♪  You can always find things at cheaper prices online … 😀

After that my whole family (in-laws) and I went to Retravision in Midland.  I always think that Midland Retravision has one of the friendliest services in Perth!  They even serve coffees, teas, cookies and cakes for free to customers 🙂  I was checking up the new mixer, and one staff came to me and asked “would you like coffee?”.  “Sure” I said, then she made a coffee for me using one of the coffee machine that they sell there.  All the staff are friendly…  and I bought a new mixer 🙂  The price was sooo cheap, as they’re doing one-day sale today.

Then all of us headed to Jimmy Deans Diner for lunch.

At this Hollywood style themed restaurant, we ordered chicken burgers, chilli beef burgers, nacho chips, beef nacho, fish n chips and steak burgers…. plus milk shakes etc.  There wasn’t much vegetable on the table and obviously the food was not healthy…  (nacho chips!  Deep-fried chips with cheese and nacho toppings)  but I like the atmosphere there 🙂  I used to go to Jimmy Deans Diner in Scarborough and have milk shakes with friends.

I couldn’t finish the chicken burger… so full.

I’m watching World Cup now…. Japan vs Nederland.  Japan is 1 goal behind so far (><)

I got World Cup glasses from McDonald, by the way.  My husband insisted that he wanted. ^^;  I actually want the green Shrek ears !  The staff was wearing it and it looks so cute 🙂  I should get a Ogre premium chicken burger sometime ..


Grocery Shops in Perth

Posted June 3rd, 2010 in Perth WA | 28 Comments »

Due to the rapid foreign population growth of Perth, there are many Asian grocery shops around Perth and other surrounding suburbs.  There should be at least one shop near your house if you live within Metro area, although there are still only a few grocery shops down south: Mandurah Oriental Shop in Mandurah, Jacaranda Oriental Supermarket & Cynthia’s Asian Food Supply in Bunbury.

As I’m Japanese, I tend to go to grocery shops that sell many Japanese products.  Some Japanese products are made in Singapore, Taiwan, or elsewhere, but I try not to buy any Chinese-looking packaged foods even though the contents are Japanese food.  For example, “Japanese style mochi” but the package language is all Chinese and the production country is also China.  I’m still sensitive against China’s food safety (although China signed an agreement for establishing a cooperation mechanism on food safety (news))  … well, it’s almost impossible to not to buy any China products nowadays though.

Anyway, here are a list of Asian grocery shops that I often go to.

*** Updated here ***

…………………………………………………

<Emma’s Seafood YoungTofu>

They sell many varieties of Japanese food, including snacks, sweets, fish, icecream, condiments etc.  Ingredients for Oden can be bought from here.  It’s located in the heart of Northbridge, where other grocery shops and Asian butchers are gathered.

Address : 319 William St. Northbridge WA 6003
Phone : (08) 9228 8899
Open : 10:00 – 18:00 / 7 days
…………………………………………………
<Yee Seng Oriental Supermarket>
Well stocked up with fresh vegetables to canned varieties and frozen meats.  You can find basic Japanese food such as mirin, nori sheets, frozen burdock, frying fish roe, tofu etc etc as well as snacks and candies including dried cuttlefish to pickled plums candy.
and
Address : 36 Hulme Ct, Myaree WA 6154
Phone : (08) 9330 9096
Open : 7 days
…………………………………………………
<Hung Wei Supermart>
Varieties of food including vegetables and herbs.  The prices are reasonable.
and
Address : 3/333 Ranford Rd, Canning Vale, WA 6155
Phone : 08 9456 5080
Open : unknown
…………………………………………………
<Lion Oriental Food / Loi’s Eastern Supermarket>
Convenient locations : on Barrack street in Perth, and on Fitzgerald St, Northbridge.  Operated by the same owner, the Lion Oriental sells many Japanese food and liquor.
and
Address : 13 Fitzgerald Street, Northbridge Perth WA 6003
Phone : (08) 9228 9898
Open : 7 days
and
Address : 125 Barrack Street, Perth WA 6000
Phone : (08) 9325 2718
Open : 7 days
…………………………………………………
<Maruyu Perth>
A Japanese grocery and gadget shop.  All the staff are Japanese too.  As I walk inside the shop, I feel like I’m in Japan’s convenience store..   They sell snacks, Japanese food ingredients (curry roux etc), frozen vegetables and unagi, icecream, instant noodle, and some skin care and hair care products.  100 yen goods are also sold in store for $3.00 each.
and
Address : Shop 2-33 Barrack St, Perth WA 6000
Phone : (08) 9202 1764
Open : Mon-Fri: 10am-5pm
…………………………………………………
<Nippon Food Supplies Subiaco & Fremantle>
As an Japanese food importer, they sell lots of Japanese products in stores.  Fremantle shop sells some Japanese tableware including tea cup and chopsticks.
aaa
Address : 180 Rokeby Rd, Subiaco WA 6008
Phone : (08)9380-6783
Open : Mon-Sat 10am-6pm Sun: 11am-5pm
and
Address : 1/ 19 Collie St, Fremantle WA 6160
Phone : (08) 9336 6064
Open : 7 days
…………………………………………………
<Super Fuji>
A Japanese grocery shop in Victoria Park.  Friendly staff.  They do a rental service of Japanese drama/film DVD and Japanese song CDs in store as well.
They also operate a restaurant Sushi Station Fuji nearby.

Address :245 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park, WA 6100

Phone : (08) 9470 4402
Open : Monday – Saturday
*** Nippon Food Fremantle Shop and Super Fuji have been closed ***
*** Maruyu Perth is also closed for good ***


Cozy Afternoon

Posted June 2nd, 2010 in Perth WA | 2 Comments »

Although the mornings and nights get really cold, the daytime is still pretty warm and I like hanging around at a cafe and having a little time for myself.

As I sat down at Fiorentina in Fremantle and ordered a glass of latte, I started to hear some Italian people talking.  Then  I remembered my friend’s blog writing about her trip to Europe last month.  She showed some photos of cafes there, and pastries and tartlets in a showcase looked so delicious.  I liked the atmosphere of those photos.

I like this cafe in Fremantle, although the sweets here are little too sweet to my taste, I enjoy the atmosphere.  I noticed their kitchen has been changed from my last visit.  There’re more staff working in the kitchen too.  I guess their business is well.

The other day I had lunch with friends at Vinh Hong in Northbridge. I was curious what’s Vietnamese coffee is, so I ordered one Vietnamese white coffee.

It was drip brew coffee mixed with condensed milk…  The taste was just like normal coffee with condensed milk.  I thought it has different aroma or some spiced added :p  Anyway, it was just as nice.

I didn’t like this Beef Brisket Noodle when I just came to Perth, but since sometime I realised how much I like beef.  I like the ethnic flavor of the soup and tender bits of beef.  It warms up chilled body 😀

By the way, I baked souffle cheese cake that I was talking at here.

It is very sponge-like, and very fluffy and soft.  Should I call it “cheese sponge” ? 🙂


Autumn Food in Perth

Posted May 27th, 2010 in Perth WA | 2 Comments »

It’s really getting cold in Perth ~….  (do I say this too much? :p )

I really miss kotatsu: which is a wooden table with electric heater built in, and covered by a heavy blanket.  People in Japan spend most of the day around this kotatsu.  We don’t stay inside of the blanket, as it’ll get really hot, but we keep out legs and sometimes half the body inside the blanket and watch tv.  Most of the case we fell asleep after few hours…

I like winter, love the cold air and the snow.  It was snowing heavily when I was born, my mum says.  I was born in February, and the road was frozen when my mum had to rush into the hospital.  It was very early morning, around 2am, and the outside was pure white because of the snow.

One thing I don’t like about winter is the short daytime.  The sun shows up late, and sun goes down early.  It starts to get dark around 5pm these days.  So, if I want to take some pictures I need to do it before 3~4 pm and it is quite a rush to me.

In this cold weather, what I miss is the hearty Japanese winter food.  You can enjoy some of them, including sukiyaki and oden at some Japanese restaurants.  Or, you can simple make them by yourself!  Check out delicious Japanese beef curry recipe from here , or add tomato and arrange it into a soupy Japanese curry like this recipe here.  I also recommend white stew (in Japan we call it “cream stew”) in winter.  Check the recipe here.  Making them are very easy.  You can buy a packet of roux from grocery shops, and you’ll just need to add some vegetables and meat.  Leave it overnight for deeper, developed flavor.

If you want to make oden, the best place to go for shopping is Emma’s Seafood grocery store in Northbridge, I think.  They sell many Japanese products including oden seasoning, and also fish cakes for oden are available inside the store.  I sometimes buy 1 kg of them and do oden party here 😀  You’ll also need konnyaku, daikon radish, firm tofu and boiled eggs etc for oden.  The best thing to add is gyu-suji (bits of beef tendon) if you can find!  Great with warm sake.


Eating All Day

Posted May 24th, 2010 in Perth WA | No Comments »

It was a weekend with lots of food for me…  wake up, eat bagel, get Happy Meal from McDonald’s, have a muffin + black coffee at Fast Eddy, then dinner at South Ocean …  I really wonder where this appetite comes from.

Reading the paper is a thing that keeps me connecting to the world: although some of them are not pleasant news such as government mining tax (it affects the value of Australian dollars) and Rick Harts bankruptcy (because I still have a gift voucher).  I seldom get to watch/read news on tv and internet (I really should do that), so going to the cafes and browsing the paper while sipping the coffee is kind of a good chance to educate myself.  It’s good that McDonalds breakfast McValue Meal comes with a copy of The West Australian (only for limited time though)

By the way, my brother’s birthday is coming up!  I buy a birthday cake online and get it sent to the house every year for him 😀   I’m still choosing what cake I should buy this year…  ummm,  I would make one for him if I was in Japan!


Update

Posted May 14th, 2010 in Perth WA | 3 Comments »

The other day I was talking to my friends that we are so outdated.  A friend has been using her mobile phone for over 7 years now, and it’s so old… no camera, small screen, limited capacity, etc.   Back in Japan she used to use Japan’s mobile phones (of course) , but look at her now!  It’s so time to up-grade things here.  My case, I have been actually using my husband’s computer since I came to Perth!  I never had my own computer in my life :p  I really thought it is the time to have my own, and here is my first computer.

Yey~ .  I’m excited!  Now I don’t need to ask my husband every time I want to use computer, and can bring it anywhere: bedroom, garden, toilet…

For mobile phone, my friends and I decided to buy new iPhone which should be coming out around June/July.  And, I’m thinking to buy a new car to replace my current one.   … I’m going to spend a lot of money this year…!

I just need to work harder and harder to cover up the expense. :p

This month has been pretty busy, which is a good thing, but I’m not still feeling perfect.  It is really getting cold (especially today) and now my toes are freezing.  I’m waiting for my husband to come home and pick me up for dinner…  We are attending his friend’s wedding tomorrow, and their classmates and other friends are visiting Perth.  We are having dinner with them tonight… I wonder where we are going.

I am so hungry!


Chocolate Season

Posted May 5th, 2010 in Food, Perth WA | No Comments »