ROPPONGI HILLS

My last Tokyo post is all about a whole day in Roppongi Hills, the so-called city within a city of modern skyscrapers, high-end hotels, luxury shops, green spaces, world-class museums, numerous bars and night clubs and lively back streets.

My friend Rumi lived nearby so we decided to meet at the 45th floor lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo for a quick view of the city stretched out below.  We started our walking tour outside Tokyo Midtown where we walked around the park, over the bridge and the tiny brook and by the manicured green areas dotted with park benches to the concrete bunker 21_21 Design Sight off to one side.

From there, we walked several blocks away to the bustling area around Roppongi Hills where the Mori Art Museum and the Eiffel tower lookalike Tokyo Tower are located.  On the way there, we stopped for a takoyaki snack - Japan's street food.  Takoyaki are deep-fried flour balls made with octopus, tempura scraps, green onion and pickled ginger and topped with bonito flakes and Japanese mayonnaise.  Traditionally eaten as an after work bite along with a highball, a shot of whiskey topped up with ice cold soda water served in a large mug like a beer, Rumi knew that it wasn't the right time to eat the takoyaki but she and I decided we wouldn't be able to wait till sundown.  We split a highball and six takoyaki which were delicious and hit the spot for more wandering around the shopping mall nearby passing by the Mori and admiring Maman, Louise Bourgeois' humongous bronze spider sculpture.  We stopped afterwards at the beautiful terrace of The French Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt for a cold drink and some sunshine before walking back and trying to find a simple place for lunch nearby.

We finally stumbled on a small ramen place on a side street.  A vending machine greeted us at the entrance and Rumi dropped the appropriate coins for two bowls of hot ramen topped with roast pork and a medium boiled egg.  As soon as we sat at the counter, we surrendered our tickets to one of the ramen cooks and waited for our order and enjoyed the rhythm and blues music blasting in the restaurant.  I noticed that the place was packed with Japanese men again and we were the only ladies there (just like the other evening at the yakitori place)  and I asked Rumi why it was that Japanese women weren't often seen eating in traditional Japanese restaurants.  She explained that the ladies preferred more sophisticated Western food for lunch than casual Japanese fare.

The ramen noodle soup came with self-serve pitchers of iced tea and the usual condiments of chili oil and seaweed flakes.  We dug in and slurped like the locals and started to sweat from the hot soup and it was only then that we also noticed that all the men having ramen were eating cold ramen to stay cool on such a hot day.  We started to laugh because it seemed like we were in the sweltering American south listening to John Lee Hoooker while enjoying our hot soup and keeping our hair away from the broth.  We finished our ramen and on our way out, we laughed even harder as we realized there were paper bibs and elastic hair ties on top of the vending machine at the front to hold one's hair back from getting into the soup and cover one's clothes from the splatter.  Another dining culture experience shared with my foodie partner Rumi.

We walked lunch off and returned to Tokyo Midtown where we escaped the heat from the streets for a wander around the mall, looking into the Umami boutique (a shop selling umami flavored everything from crackers to sauces to nuts), Toraya (the traditional Japanese tea cake place) and for a quick espresso at Dean and Deluca.

After that, it was a short walk through Hinokicho park to Rumi's neighborhood in Akasaka where we put our feet up and relaxed before heading out to a Yakiniku (Japanese table barbecue) dinner nearby - again filled with Japanese businessmen.  I don't know how we managed to eat several platters of beef and offal with a large green salad tossed in a sesame dressing.  We were both so full that Rumi insisted we go to the local pharmacy for a tiny bottle of an herbal concoction that Japanese drink the night of food or alcohol excess to avoid indigestion and a hangover.  We downed them right then and there while the pharmacist watched us in amusement.  It didn't taste bad, jut like a shot of herbal liqueur without the alcohol.   It was a fun-filled, food-centered, non-stop walking day which gave me a chance to explore a part of town on foot and enjoy the city quirks with a Tokyo native.

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Tokyo Midtown

Tokyo Midtown Design Hub

Roppongi Hills

Mori Art Museum

National Art Center Tokyo

Suntory Museum of Art

Tokyo Tower

Asado Argentino

Our last evening in Buenos Aires was spent with family at home and a typical Argentine Asado (barbecue meal) where it's all about the lighting up the grill early then waiting patiently for the wood to burn then when the embers fly and the wood is white-hot, the grill is cranked up and the super hot wood chunks are pushed underneath before the grill is lowered again and the meat is cooked.  We always start with some sausages - always chorizo, sometimes morcilla (blood sausage) followed by several cuts of meat.  This time there were costillas de cerdo  (pork ribs), asado de tira (beef short ribs) and  bife de lomo (tenderloin)  plus baked potatoes.  Along with the meats, there are always several salads: cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm and corn, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, a mixed green salad, and shredded carrots with shredded beets.  Several plates of meat and bottles of Malbec later and the desserts were served: a strawberry mousse, a chocolate tart and brownies.  It was a beautiful spring evening with family and a great way to end our two-week holiday.

* The photo above is an Asado Argentino that we did at our home in Bali last year.  Again, it's all about the grill and the wood used.  We had a makeshift grill propped up on the ground but we still used wood and did it the classic way.

LUCILLE'S BAR-B-QUE

My son's birthday was a few days after our arrival in Las Vegas and he asked for two things for his birthday: ribs and a scary movie.  We booked a table for noon on that Saturday at a new-ish ribs restaurant that was a ten-minute drive from the Strip.  Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que is part of a chain.  Founded in Long Beach, California by North Carolina native Lucille Buchanan, this chain has grown and now has fourteen locations in three states: California, Arizona and Nevada.  The Nevada restaurant is located at the up-market shopping mall, The District, in suburban Henderson.

We arrived at noon sharp and waited for the kids to get there before we were seated in their covered front porch area where its' brighter and much easier for large groups.  The menu is large and has many different combinations of smoked barbeque - baby back ribs, beef ribs, tri-tip, beef brisket and chicken.  After deliberating on how much to order as the portions are very large, we settled on the Backyard Family Feast (US$84.99) which came with two racks of baby back ribs, beef ribs and two half BBQ chickens, plus a choice of four sides:  shoestring fries, sweet potato fries, coleslaw and corn on the cob. Along with that, we added a BBQ Rib Appetizer (US$12.99), a smaller portion of just St. Louis pork ribs, hickory-smoked and then grilled. For drinks, we had their sidewalk fresh lemonade which came served in large mason jars.

The food was served not long after and indeed, the portions were huge (as the photos attest).  The Backyard Family Feast was supposed to serve a family of four but was more than enough for our table of 6 adults and three children.  The ribs were good - smoky and spicy sweet from the barbeque sauce. There were also three types of barbeque sauce on the table for those who needed some more: original (sweet and smoky), hot and spicy (original with chili), and Memphis (less sweet and more vinegary than the other two).


We somehow polished off all the ribs and were only left with the chicken and a whole load of sides to take back home.  We skipped dessert but we did get a small ice cream sundae with a candle for the birthday boy.  That evening, we watched Poltergeist which seemed like a really scary movie when we saw it years ago but was not scary enough for our nine-year old.  He found the special ghost effects funny instead of terrifying.  He did get his two birthday wishes though. 


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Lucille's BarBQue

The District at Green Valley Ranch

2245 Village Walk Drive

Henderson, NV 89052
Telephone: +1 (702) 257 7427

JOGJAKARTA Day 2: Birthday Dinner at PAK BILAL'S

Candle-lit birthday dinner at Pak Bilal's home

We spent the rest of the day in our room relaxing after our busy Borobudur morning.  That evening we were going back to Pak Bilal's home for an Indonesian barbecue dinner for the eve of my birthday.  It was drizzling by the time we got there around half past seven and we were awed by the transformation that had taken place.

Candles lit the walkway and a gamelan player sat in one corner playing music for us.  We entered the hut which was also lit with oil lamps and many candles and were led to the same rough-hewn table where we had tea that same morning but this time, the table was covered with a batik tablecloth and set with simple china and cutlery.  There was a charcoal grill set up in the corner where the smell of sizzling meat and seafood beckoned.  On another corner, a small table was set up with an iced bucket of champagne.

Soto Ayam (chicken soup) then from the grill: mixed satay, chicken in coconut milk,
prawns and banana-leaf wrapped snapper

We were guests welcomed into Pak Bilal's home and quietly conversed sipping champagne while we waited for dinner to be served.  Our first course was Soto Ayam - a clear chicken broth with pieces of chicken and diced spring onions - warm and comforting on that rainy evening.  Terancam was next, a bean sprouts and cucumbers mixed with shredded coconut, lime and chili which was a refreshing and spicy salad.  Then came the different grilled items: small skewers of beef, chicken and lamb satay served with peanut sauce and chili kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), river prawns, ikan pepes (spiced snapper fillet wrapped in a banana leaf) and ayam opor panggang (grilled chicken marinated in curry).  There was so much food that we had to go slowly and have a bit of the satay and prawns first before we tried the chicken and the snapper.  Nasi putih (basket-steamed white rice) was served with the main course dishes.  As much as we ate, we hardly made a dent as the portions were quite large.  Thankfully, dessert was just fresh fruit - two mangosteen.

My birthday cake

As we sat and sipped our Javanese tea, listening to the patter of rain on the tin roof, we spoke of other birthday dinners and reminisced about wheres we have both lived in the last ten years - Paris, Moscow and Napa valley for me, Lausanne, Boston and Jakarta for A then together in Manila, Santiago, Dubai, Montreal, Marbella and now Bali.  How lucky we have been to have traveled and lived in so many different countries!  The dinner was ending but before we left, they brought me a chocolate cake and sang Happy Birthday and before I blew the candles out, I made sure to make a wish.

NAUGHTY NURI'S

Last weekend, we went up to Ubud for the day to see a few places.  First stop was Gaya Ceramics on the main road where we spent most of the morning chatting with Marcello and Miki about their amazing work and seeing the ceramics being made.  Next stop was a tour of the Como Shambhala estate which was impressive - the location right by the river gorge and the feeling of being completely surrounded by nature. Trekking up and down the property made us hungry which is what brought us to our penultimate stop - lunch at Ubud's infamous Naughty Nuri's Warung .

Naughty Nuri's is well-known for its' killer martinis, rowdy mix of expats and locals and barbecued ribs and this is what we went there for.  The place was packed - communal tables filled with groups enjoying cold bottles of  Bintang and plates of their famous ribs.  As soon as we found a space, we sat at on one of the benches and placed our order - two ribs, one mashed potato, one rice, two iced teas.  While waiting for our ribs which were being grilled right behind me on the roadside barbecue, we watched the crowd around us enjoy their lunch and fanned ourselves silly.  Soon enough, two plates of sticky-looking rib racks with half a lime were plonked onto the wooden table along with a bowl of garlicky-mash and another of steamed rice.  We squirted the lime juice onto the piping hot ribs and dug in.  Were they good? Yes!  Was it worth the trip and the heat? Yes again! There were lots of people standing around waiting to sit so after our lunch, we did as the large sign near the front said "Eat, Pay Leave."  Naughty Nuri's is a dive, one with a sense of humor and delicious ribs. 

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Naught Nuri's

(Across the road from Neka Museum)

Jl. Raya Sanggingan

Ubud, Bali
Telephone: +62 361 977 547
Open daily from 8am - 10pm

KOREAN GARDEN

We arrived late Saturday afternoon after a smooth flight from London Gatwick (this time we breezed through security and passport control) and although we tried our best to stay awake, we were in bed by 8.  The next morning, we started our holiday in Vegas with the usual very early jet lag breakfast at our favorite, The Original Pancake House, where we had our fill of fluffy pancakes with sausages and bacon.

That evening, we went for dinner at Korean Garden. Although this is one of our Vegas mainstays, we didn't have a chance to go there and have a meal last year so we were looking forward to having a Korean barbeque meal.  After ordering, we were served the usual banchan (small dishes of vegetables and pickles) and kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage) then the raw meat was set down to be cooked on the hot tabletop grill.  We started off with the sirloin steak served with a sesame oil and salt dipping sauce.  This was followed by some dak (chicken) and dwaeji (pork) bulgogi (barbeque).  We also shared some jap che (sweet potato glass noodles with vegetables) and mandoo (dumplings) which the kids loved.  To complete our Korean feast, we also had the beef short ribs stew that is no longer on the menu but worth the wait.  The food was delicious as usual and the service quick and efficient.  Surprisingly, we didn't have much to take home, just a bit of the pork bulgogi and the beef stew - perfect for a quick lunch of leftovers the next day.

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Korean Garden BBQ House

4355 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89102
Tel: +1 702 383-3392

Beach, Baptism and Barbecue

As soon as we wake up, our first view is of Laguna Beach with the sun streaming in through the large windows. Saturday morning was spent getting the rest of the stuff ready for N's baptism and barbecue party. We left for the church, St. Catherine of Siena, at around 3:00 and the baptism started at 3:30. J helped Rev. Eamon, the pastor, by lighting candles and assisting him by playing the altar boy. After the short ceremony, we headed home for the barbecue.

The buffet was laid with the salads I had prepared the day before - cherry tomato, corn and basil, roasted aubergines and shallots, baby potato and chives with mustard dressing and roasted peppers. My sister's father-in-law had made a mixed paella with lobster, prawns, mussels, clams, squid, pork and chorizo. The grill was fired up for some sausages from Berkeley's famous Top Dog - bockwurst, linguica, Calabrese and lemon chicken. There was also some skirt steak to be served with chimichurri (the traditional Argentine herb, vinegar and olive oil steak sauce). With the view of the ocean from the deck, the fantastic summer weather and the friends and family who were there, the day was complete and baby N got the party she deserved.