Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Marjorie

It’s an overcast day; clouds big and heavy and low; seemed like they’re brimming with water vapour and about to shower what it has been keeping anytime now. But I smile as I look at them clouds. Because it’s like the year is brimming of promise, full of blessings.

The December count-thy-blessings blogging surely was fun (35 posts! And to think there were still a number of blessings received that we just kept private!); reminding us again that there sure are many blessings that He showers as every day, so long as we just acknowledge it and not focus on the negative side.

And so here’s to another year of counting the blessings He’s given us (note of the past tense, because He already has it in store for us; it’s just a matter of us being willing to receive it and count it as a blessing).

But just as we are getting ready for the goodness that is in store for us, let us also, even in our own little way, be a blessing to others as well in that even when we may not directly affect the entire world and make this a better world, at least by touching lives and being a blessing ourselves, we somehow create a ripple of goodness.

Happy New Year everyone!! 🙂

cheers for 2012!

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Marjorie

A few years back, I welcomed the new year in Japan with friends and colleagues. When we raised our glasses for a toast, before anyone could utter cheers and well wishes for the year, Gali enthusiastically and selflessly exclaimed “to Ate Marj’s love life!!!”. With a cheers as enthusiastic as that, even when everyone had their own wishes for the new year as well, everyone raised their glasses for the toast; a toast for my love life for the new year.

Funny. Because whaddyaknow? It was actually the year Atsushi and I started to become an item.

And so for this new year’s toast, after having had raised our prayers for the new year, I raise this imaginary toast to Gali. Gali, this is for you as my way of saying thank you.

Cheers to Gali’s love life!!!! 🙂

new year tradition

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Marjorie

Being a member of a regular Philippine household, I grew up accustomed to the flurry and mad dash during Philippine new years with all its tradition and superstitions. There’s the preparations for offering 13 fruits on the family dining table, the thorough planning of what to serve during Media Noche – no dishes with chicken to avoid a hard life come new year, serving sweet and sticky dessert for great relationships, boiled eggs which equal the number of family members for unity the whole year next year, fish and seafoods and pork for prosperity, faux gold candies for prosperity, hanging of grapes on doors and windowsills for further prosperity und so weiter.

Even when I was away from home and spent the new years in Singapore and in Japan for four consecutive years, me and my friends and colleagues still try to uphold the Filipino tradition, at least by not serving chicken and by coming up with the 13 fruits although in Japan, it can be quite expensive haha.

Last year, hubs and I spent our Christmas with my family whilst we spend our first new year with a private party in Boracay watching the fireworks display in the party crazed island. This is my first time therefore to experience and really immerse with the Japanese tradition of welcoming the new year. The celebrations itself will be featured in a separate post. This here is for the preparations.

The habotan (葉牡丹). Cabbage looking flowers to ring in luck and prosperity.

The kadomatsu (門松)which are placed in front of establishments again for luck and prosperity.

Of course we just had to pose beside one 😀

Mochi or Japanese rice cake (餅)!

And yes, the mikan/mandarin orange is considered auspicious as well.

These dragon charms are just so cute!!!! Though a bit expensive.

Let’s ring in a great new year everyone! 🙂

Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnais

Posted on December 31, 2011 by goodfoodhunt

Good food is best shared with good friends. And so for our bounenkai/Christmas lunch party early this December, Maj and I decided we try out this 2011 Michelin one star newbie – Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnais.

Facade is real pretty.

The inside is a bit cramped and we were ushered immediately to our seats after our coats were taken hence we weren’t able to take a photo of the place.

Maj and I decided to go for the 5-course Canuts menu although we each chose a different course.

House-made tarama & toast served with seasonal salad for Maj.

Duck foie gras panacotta with green Puy lentils for me. I don’t eat liver and there are times foie gras isn’t that good but Lyonnais did good with this one. This one I think is my favorite for that meal. The bacon was served whole, for aesthetics purposes.

It has to be eaten this way.

Next up is our soup for the day – Pumpkin soup with blue cheese. My second favorite. So creamy I just love it. The pumpkin soup we had in our wedding by K by Cunanan was REALLY good but the one by Lyonnais is still much better. That’s probably how it is to be a Michelin starred resto.

They serve the dishes mostly in a gray clay slab but all their china bear the resto’s name.

My main dish is scallops and lobster. The scallops were great. But the whole dish smelled fishy, the kind that can almost make someone with a very sensitive stomach gag. Beyond the smell though, the dish tasted good especially the scallops. But I’d say this is the least of what I liked in our Lyonnais meal.

Whipped fresh cheese with chives, garlic & parsley.

Dessert time! After having had forgotten to take a photo of Maj’s main course, I made certain I took a photo of her dessert with the Lyonnais logo powdered into her clay slab. Traditionnal pink praline tart & snow egg style

Mine was Eskimo Iced pumpkin, hot chocolate and hazelnuts. You’re supposed to dip your ice drop into the hot chocolate. I know I’ve already had the pumpkin soup so having pumpkin again for dessert is kind of redundant. But I sure don’t mind since it was really good. And boy, it was really wholly made of pumpkin.

Food was really good I think. The only thing though is that you have to consume your five-course meal in less than two hours as they have sort of a time limit for their lunch meals. Yes, even on a weekend.

Still though, the place is worth a try and pretty affordable at that.
Do check the place out! 🙂

Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnais
1st Floor, Ebiya Building, 4-3-7 Kagurazaka,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0825

in-laws

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Marjorie

We’re staying over with Hubs’ family for the new year holidays. The past three days had been really interesting and fun that it’s just but right to have this post for them, which I know is not enough to express how thankful I am to them.

As we go drive around for a road trip, my chest swells with thankfulness. We have received a lot of blessings this 2011. But one of the biggest blessings is that Atsushi’s family warmly welcomed me as a new member of the family that leaves me with a feeling of wanting to be a better daughter-in-law because of all the good things they’ve done to me.

Ojichan, Obachan, Otosan, Okasan, Mayumi, ありがとうございました. I’ll do my best to make your son even happier.

Will feature later on the places we’ve been to the last couple of days once I’ve downloaded the photos. Here are some teasers for now.

Free milk from Shionoe (しおのえ), the dairy farm we went to yesterday. Their milk jam is just so delicious!!

A stopover at Osaki no Hana (おさきのはな) in our road trip earlier for this beautiful view.

By the loooong Seto Bridge (せとおはし).

For most part of this evening, we watched videos of when Atsushi and his sister were still kids, with Atsushi as young as four years old (gee that’s almost 28 years ago!). One thing I learned: like how he is as a grown up, hubs was definitely NOT a boring kid as we had tons of laugh with Atsushi’s antics. As Otosan has said, he sure was a comedian. 😀

on albums and baskin robbins

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Marjorie

First day into our vacation and a long-awaited exciting package has arrived already.

Our main album,the black one, must have weighed more than five kilos! Dino and team are just amazing. Someday soon, I’ll try to post some, especially those that looked like paintings.

Had a mall outing with my family-in-law. Dropped by Baskin and Robbins. Love Potion #31 and chocolate mint. Love.

On Chocolate Hill

A chocolatey journey, with Yui!