Monthly Archives: May 2011

rustic napkin bouquets

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Idea: Erika of Detalye Weddings and Events

Execution: by Atsushi and Marjorie 😀 Doing it together was so much fun! It was one of my favorite evenings on our last week before the wedding. It was good to have our good laughs offset the scary atmosphere of Prince Plaza Hotel II where we stayed for 3 nights. (Segue, on Prince Plaza Hotel II: I am sensitive to “presence” of those not human. At one point, Hubby asked me, “Can you feel the ghost? Even I can feel the ghost”.  That’s how eerie the place was. One good advantage of the place though is its convenience being just right in front of Greenbelt IV.)

Materials: bought by Erika’s team in Divisoria

So proud with our finished products! Ready for handing over to Macy of K by Cunanan to adorn our napkins.

Happy Birthday A!

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Hubby made me extremely happy on my birthday with how he prepared for it – gave me a bouquet of flowers & Godiva chocolates, went to shopping with me and had dinner at a posh French-Japanese fusion restaurant (the kind that takes off your coat off you and puts it back on after your dinner). And now that it’s his turn, I wanted to make it extra special as well.

First off, a meal on a very good resto would be nice. I had in mind Quintessence – a Michelin 3-star-rated French resto in Tokyo. But their phone is like forever busy! After more than an hour of trying, I tried to call their other number – the one designated for confirmation of bookings. And, well, naturally, I was told they don’t accept bookings made through that number. It has to be the other number. But she did cater to my request though – to inquire if they still have a table available for lunch on May 21st. After some checking, the reply: their Saturday lunch is fully booked till July! OMG. I tried 3-star Joel Robuchon (only La Table and Atelier, both 2 stars, serves lunch) and as expected, they’re also fully booked already. I checked out the Tokyo Michelin list; not all in the list is open for lunch. It has to be lunch for two reasons: one, these Michelin rated restos are so expensive, I can only swallow the price for lunch and second, lunch is most convenient for the sched of activities I had in mind for Atsushi’s birthday.

Anyways, after a number of calls, I was able to book for Modern Japanese Esaki. See our review for Esaki on my goodfood blog.

Birthday boy in Esaki.

The Aoyama district has a lot of interesting architecture, both traditional and modern. But we just have to stop at this non-negotiable:

hubby in his favorite place - the bookstore

Anyways, second stop for the day – Rikugien via Komagome Station.

It’s a rich park, if I may judge by how the whole park is walled.

We’re on the brink of the start of summer hence the place was all lush green. Would love to return here on different seasons.

The boon of these goens are the teahouses that sometimes offer pseudo tea ceremonies or even just plainly sell traditional green tea and  sweets. This was one of my main reason for bringing Atsushi here actually – for us to share this tea break.

The other was just for us to simply share a peaceful walk along the greeneries. And have a healthy talk and discussion, besides. I love those walks. 🙂

And of course, we just have to have a traditional picture.

Next stop was back in Yokohama – watch Pirates of the Carribean on the uber posh Colette Mare.Colette Mare has to be posh and really comfortable so that their tickets of 2000yen each is justified. Pirates was cool! Just the right movie for a birthday celebration. Hubby wanted to watch Black Swan as well but knowing how distrubed I was when I watched it, it just wasn’t a birthday sort of movie hence we decided to watch it the following day instead.

By the way, Hubby and I are aiming to have our house smell as good as Colette Mare does. Goodluck!

My birthday present. It’s just a few hundred yen I know. But I figure I ought to start replacing Hubby’s plants that I killed by not watering them more often. Apparently, the water vapor in the air can’t keep them alive. I was so positive the water vapor theory would work. 😀

And to cap the day off, we toasted Hubby’s birthday with the champagne that Maha gave us as her wedding/housewarming gift to us. I love Moet and Chandon! Glad it was with a chill box that we can re-use for later! We don’t have champagne/wine glasses at home yet so we used the mugs that the Hamakawa-sans gave away for their wedding. Tee-hee!

We also finished off the other red wine bottle that Maha brought during our housewarming. End result, I was blabbering coñotic English the rest of the night. 😛

Happy Birthday A!

Michelin 3 starred Esaki

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Tucked on an unassuming sidestreet in Aoyama, Esaki’s basement location makes the restaurant a hard-yet-good-find. And with Esaki being on its second year on the Michelin 3 stars list, it sure is one good, if not great, find!

The chef and his apprentice.  Oh how I envy the apprentice! I wonder what it takes to be one.

We had our reservation for lunch. Esaki has only one 6-course menu for lunch and it was at 5250yen – which I think makes Esaki the most affordable among the Michelin Tokyo 3 stars list, at least for lunch (dinner menu is around ~20k or more). Their ume shu is certainly not cheap though, at 1000yen a glass. In other restaurants, normal price of ume shu is at 200~500yen.

the brown-sugar one (darker) that Hubby ordered tasted better albeit it was stronger

As a support to the nationwide, if not worldwide, campaign to help Tohoku recover  fast, Esaki used ingredients taken from the quake-hit regions.

First off, Sazae and Asparagus in sazae liver sauce. Sazae, a turban shellfish (that looked more like a snail) harvested in Chiba, tasted mushroom-like and a bit tough for a shellfish. The asparagus, which was from Hokkaido, was so tender yet crisp. The sazae liver sauce has a really curious alternating taste – bitter, salty, sweet. It was so delectable though that you’d find yourself spooning the sauce when you’ve already eaten the meat and veggies. 

Mushroom and veggies. The mushroom came from Fukushima. I love the yam sauce with the mushroom. It was slimy yes, with just a very slight hint of saltiness. The one in the apex of the triangle has a sesame and peanut sauce. It actually reminds me of the peanut sauce in the Filipino Kare-kare. The beans on the other hand means to off-set the taste of the two, I think, with it being almost bland – no flavor whatsoever.

Sashimi. Thin, almost translucent slices of hirame. Very fresh, very nice.

Now this one’s my favorite among the entrée. Salmon with black rice. This kind of salmon matures during autumn. So when this kind is harvested at this season when they’re still adolescents, it makes for a creamier meat that’s almost boneless (I certainly didn’t see nor felt any bone on the one served me). The salmon was fried perfectly, no fishy taste and smell at all in that I even ate the skin when normally I always keep the skin at the side of my plate, uneaten. The black rice was curiously crunchy and sticky. Fatsia sprout (taranome) tempura was also added in. The whole lot is sprinkled with salt that was extracted from the bottom of a hot spring. Very very nice.

True to the Japanese custom, rice was served last. We had Takikomi Gohan (boiled, flavored rice) with Miso soup. The boiled rice was seasoned and cooked with the cabbage from Miura Peninsula. Even though meatless, the rice was so flavorful in itself. The miso soup served was one of the most unique miso soup I had ever tasted. The button mushroom was made more slimy and flavorful by the natto added to the soup. Yep it has got that distinctly natto taste – similar to soybean yet more stronger.

The rice and miso were great combi with the houji-cha or roasted wheat tea.

Now, for dessert! We were served a bowl with a lid that would make you think that whatever is inside is something hot. Hence I had some difficulty connecting it with the fact that it was now time for dessert.

When we opened it, we got this. Suggestive of a tomato sauce.

But once we took a spoonful of the rich redness – ahhhh, it was heaven. It-was-just-so-good that each sip was almost orgasmic. So goood. Ahhh, so good. Yep, it’s so good you just can’t stop exclaiming so with every spoonful. As Hubby said, it was the best dessert he has ever had in his entire life so far (glad to have had made the breakthrough on his birthday 😀 ). Puree of Amaou Strawberry from Fukuoka with a teeny weeny scoop of sherbet.

My dessert went great with the herb tea.

Ahhhh…good food!!!!

By the way, Esaki’s toilet is so pretty and clean I can stay in it and while the day away. 🙂

An interesting fact: With 14 restaurants having Michelin 3-stars rate, Tokyo still tops Paris this year, making Tokyo still the center of the gastronomical world. Very interesting. And exciting, especially if you’re living in the area.

Address: Hills aoyama B1, 3-39-9 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Telephone: 03.3408.5056
Home Page: http://www.aoyamaesaki.net (In Japanese)

down the chute

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I think a lot of people would agree with me when I say that when it comes to packaging, food presentation, food decoration et al, the Japanese is the leader of the pack. The amount of detail they exert on every packaging is nothing short of amazing. Me and my friends usually say sometimes (when for the nth time we were amazed with the packaging), “the Japanese really think of everything!”. And even for simple household stuff, the packaging can be quite a pleasant surprise sometimes.

Take for one the common salt. I still wasn’t able to buy us a cute (yes, it has to be cute) containers for the kitchen and yet I have to buy salt already. No worries, the salt already comes in a good packaging, that’s good enough for display.

Pull the tab. It says “akekuchi” meaning, opening point.

Pry open using a fingernail.

And voila! Salt can now go out the chute. So handy.

Dandy.

Review: Detalye Weddings and Events

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Was browsing my roaming phone earlier and came across food trip pictures that I should have had featured on my goodfood blog. But I ran out of time till I cannot make an accurate review anymore. Hence, before things get hectic, even when I still don’t have pictures from Dino Lara, I have to make a go on my review, putting in as much pictures as I have at the moment.

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I figure half of why I felt so calm the morning of our wedding day was that I learned to let go; that I did my best with what needs to be done with the time given me; that for the wedding day itself, I am letting God do the rest.

The other half is that I know we’ve chosen really good suppliers and that I trust they will also do their share to help us have the wedding we’ve dreamt of. I think this confidence stems as well with the thought that even when I wasn’t there to remind our suppliers (especially those whom I have had no contact with for some time already) of what we wanted for the wedding, I am assured that our coordinators will be there to make things work.

My confidence was justified – Detalye Weddings and Events is one efficient group of coordinators.

I couldn’t count anymore the number of times that I’ve met with the couple Erika and EJ; a nice couple, although I really look diminutive with how tall the two are haha. I booked their partial coordination package albeit it was a revised one already because when I booked them, I was already able to book most of my major suppliers.

Back when I was still researching for escort cards, I fell in love with the idea of us having airplane origami escort cards. The escort cards are actually part of Detalye’s scope but thinking it would be too laborious to work on the origami considering there’ll be a 100 guests, I didn’t bring up my wish the next time Erika and I met. But lo, Erika mentioned she read my blog and since EJ is luckily into origami, they’re gonna make us airplane origami. Can-you-just-imagine how happy I felt? haha!

Half the number of the origami planes were in orange whilst the other half is in lime green. True to their name, Detalye was really OC with the details – for couples, they gave an orange and a lime green for each. Love that small detail.

Now I have these hypersensitive nose. I get really bad sinusitis when I get exposed to dust and minute particles. Suffice it to say that I get sick whenever I go to Divisoria (a pity, really, since there are a lot of good finds in Divi!). Erika and her team though were kind enough to buy us the materials for our invites and our napkin holder – which hubby and I DIYed – and for it, I am really grateful.

Oh, since I booked them on the spot when we met, they gave me a freebie – supposedly a hair accessory for the bride. But since my couturier Richie Torres is gonna provide one for me already, I requested Erika if they can provide chopsticks headpieces for our little girls instead. Erika went beyond the chopsticks idea – she accessorized the chopsticks with neutral and orange wooden flowers and green berries. It left me totally green-eyed with our little girls. I want one as well!! haha.

Now, I was really having a hard time looking for a match with long handle. So much so that 2 days before the wedding, Hubby and I decided to just buy an orange and a green lighter in Ace Hardware. Completely unadorned! Of course Erika knew about the purchase and that we’re settling with it as we really had no time anymore.

Come wedding day, Erika told me they were able to scour matches with long handles. Great! But when I saw how the matchboxes were wrapped in lime green and orange and that it was literally covered with stamps,stamps that has our initials and wedding date as that, OMG!! Well, you can imagine how a bride can be really giddy. Really happy and thankful. I promise to post a picture of it ASAP – whichever comes first, Dino’s pictures or us making some order out of the chaos that is now the library cum luggage room.

Except for during the actual ceremony, Erika seemed to be right beside me almost all the time; calming me down, giving me water, even assisting me when I need to go to the toilet (yeah, I had to go once!). Erika was even coaching me before my walk to be mindful of the carpet edge as it’s a usual stumbling block for the brides (I tried to feel the carpet edge with my feet because I really don’t want to look down as I walk down the aisle and it was successful!) When I sufferred migraine from right after the wedding, Michelle (on the car en route to Ville Sommet), Erika (on the chalet), EJ (during reception) was ever ready with a pain reliever for me.

One other thing. It was already at the back of my mind but I really wasn’t able to confirm with Dylan if the flower beds he was providing us for the rings and arrhae already comes with a pouch. Come wedding day, Detalye came to the rescue by bringing an orange organza pouch. Girlscout! 😀

And oh, did I mention already how calm and collected their team is? Not panicky at all. No running around.

There were just a few hitches though, among of which was that the Bestman and MOH weren’t given their gifts. Somehow it was given to the parents (we already had separate gifts for the parents) and it took us a couple or so days before we knew it was with them and that we had to collect it back. In the end though, Bestman and MOH got their gifts. All ended well.

There’s one thing I realized with the qualities a coordinator should have aside from being organized and efficient – they should be trustworthy. They will be handling the payments on the day, making purchases and receiving your gifts (all of our guests really held true to our request – those who gave gifts really gave cash gifts). Hence, your coordinator should be one who is trustworthy in that even when you don’t re-check the calculation anymore, you know they did it right.

And Detalye is one trustworthy group of coordinators.

If our wedding had been a success, it was partly because our prayers and all that we worked hard for bore fruit. And of course it was also partly because we had a very efficient and organized coordinator who handled things smoothly and efficiently.

Thank you so much Erika, EJ, Michelle and the rest of your team! 🙂

Supplier: Detalye Weddings and Events

Rating: 4.75/5

Contact details: info@detalye.com.ph, erika@detalye.com.ph, +63917.8937452

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Oh there’s more to be thankful for with Detalye!

  • They took care of the script with our emcee
  • They took care of booking the vans for hire that our families will be using during their 4-day stay in Manila-Tagaytay
  • They even had an itinerary ready for the drivers!
  • that and more besides.

bladeless

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Learned of the existence of coolness, in many ways, just this morning.

Bladeless electric fan. Cool right?

See how it works in a video and also see their cool balloon research here.

Excited for Hubby to be home this evening so we can open our package together. Thanks to PMTech!