osaka 30Sep08

i actually wrote things down in my journal for the first few days so that i won’t forget…. the rest of the days towards the end are a blur though. osaka was such an amazing time, brief but definitely memorable. filled with food and food and food and more food! what more could i really ask for.

the flight.
i shared the aisle with the cutest well behaved toddler i have ever met. she lasted the entire 9 hour flight without throwing a fit, crying, or being obnoxious. i wanted to steal her.

the arrival.
osaka. well… we decided to stay in Shinsaibashi, which is the loud, crazy, fun part of town. it was also not exactly what we had expected. in fact, we had no expectations so we were open to anything. well saturday night at around 10:30pm after riding the train for an hour and then on a plane for 9 hours…. loud, crazy, fun wasn’t exactly what we wanted to walk into. on top of that, we were lost.

luckily, some friendly canadians called our hotel and pointed us into the right direction. checked in. tiny room, but that’s okay it’s japan! took some deep breathes and decided to walk around the hood. we found a fritter type thing that looked vegetarian… ends up there was a few tiny bits of squid around it and i managed to dodge them. i also had a rice ball from the convenience store…. and boy are they convenient!

here’s what i discovered in bullet point form:
- famima is family mart in japan. why did they call i famima in LA and family mart in japan? still boggles my mind.
- my ass is too big for the japanese toilet seats
- on that same note, japanese toilet seats make noise so no one can hear what you’re doing
- there’s also a seat warmer, a bidet, an ass spray and deodorizer… very fancy!
- it’s really humid (coming from winter, i was happy it was warm)
- shinsaibashi streets were filled with ladies dressed in ity bity dresses with high high heels and lots of bikes
- this place looks like fun…

day 2.
fresh new day. we started off by walking around shinsaibashi during the daytime to see what it was exactly that we were in last night. wow daytime is SO different. we walked down to the dotombori where the big crabs are… turns out there a many of those, they are a chain resturant (later discovered, also in tokyo). we took a “tour” cruise that did absolutely nothing for us except let us rest on a moving boat for 30 mins. it was in japanese…. and did nothing but go down one side of the river for 10 mins, turn around, go down another side, turn around and end. at least we had some shade?

we took the JR train from Namba station. Namba station is amazing because there’s a gigantic underground shopping mall with all kinds of foods. we ended up at Umeda station. wandered around the maze of shopping centers and bridges and food courts. visited the hep five building with the big whale. shopped at the gap because we don’t have that in sydney. yes there is no gap in sydney. and ended the afternoon by taking a train to our hood again and wandered around america mura. it’s basically a little american section of southern osaka… totally random i know, but oh so refreshing when you’ve been away for so long.

the night.
that night we met up with a friend of a friend. he met up with us at Umeda station and took us to an event that he was attending with his girlfriend and friends. it was a mexican festival!!!! yes that’s right, mexican festival in japan. god vini and i were SO happy. we drank coronas – although they came with lime juice packets instead of an actual lime. danced, met some great people, ate mexican food that was more authentic than we would ever find in sydney. although, they did give me chopsticks with my quesadilla and i was very confused. we had a great time getting to know our new friends. after the event ended we said our farewells at our shinshaibasi stop and headed out to explore some more. we found what will soon become our favorite place in osaka…. tako tako king. i mean it’s KING TAKO! we had takoyaki some yakiudon and some beers. met some random strangers and had a fabulous time. mind you, we know how to say “thank you” and “excuse me” in japanese…. yet we seem to get along great with the staff at the restaurant.

we end the night with some tipsy purchases along the major walkway and headed back to the hotel. the next day we make our way to Umeda station to board a train to Kyoto!

oh yeah, and they had yoshinoya! and apparently it’s good?

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: travel
Tags: adventure, asia, food, holiday, japan, osaka, travel, trip, vacation

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japan recap in parts 29Sep08

so i’ve decided to repost my japan vacation so that one day i’ll look back and remember what i did! the trip started on september 13th and ended on september 27th. we did osaka – kyoto – tokyo – yugawara – tokyo – osaka. here goes…

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: travel
Tags: japan, life, random, travel, vacation

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thanks! 20Sep08

for all my birthday wishes! i’m having a fabulous time in japan… i don’t even know where to begin. i plan to repost the daily entries when i get around to having more time to spend on a computer. in the meantime, i’m taking tons of photos and eating lots of random things. more to be posted soon….

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: travel
Tags: japan

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konichiwa 13Sep08

dear lovely readers,

i’m finally going on vacation!!! YAY!! I am leaving for the airport right now…. JAPAN here I come! I hope to update this blog with all my funny food adventures. stay tuned! but if you don’t hear from me… you know I’ll be enjoying myself.

xo,
Maggie

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: travel
Tags: japan, life, random, travel

{1 comment}

A Lighter Creamy Spinach Pasta 8Sep08

I’m not going to lie, it tastes MUCH better with full cream and lots of it. Luckily Ii only had milk which means, yay low fat white sauce! Sorta?

Ingredients:
1/2 lb (8 oz.) of fafalle pasta (you can use any pasta) – cooked al dente (don’t forget the salt in the water!)
2 cups of milk (heavy cream or half and half for the fatty version)
4 springs of fresh thyme
1 french shallot diced fine
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch of spinach – use the leaves only and wash thoroughly in cold water
extra virgin olive oil
red chili flakes
dried oregano
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
chili oil to garnish

Step 1: The Spinach
Make sure to wash the spinach leaves thoroughly because there’s lots of sand in spinach. Feel free to buy a bag of baby spinach instead. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the spinach leaves for about 15 seconds and place in ice water. Make sure to put the ice UNDER the colander so you don’t have chunks of ice in your spinach. drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Use a paper towel to get the remainder out. Roughly chop the cooked, dried spinach and set aside.

Step 2: The Sauce
In a large saucepan, melt the tablespoon of butter. throw in the shallots and saute until translucent – about 3 minutes. Now throw in the garlic, dried oregano, fresh thyme, salt and pepper and some crushed red pepper for another 3 mins but turn the heat to low. By this point you will need to add a small drizzle of olive oil. Let everything simmer for another few minutes and then slowly add in the milk or cream and bring to a simmer. stir often and let that reduce down to about halfway. Now add in the spinach and mix thoroughly to get the sauce in the leaves. And finally fold in the pasta.

Plate and garnish with chili oil, some more freshly grated parm, some fresh cracked pepper – whatever you feel like! I personally like spice so chili oil with chili flakes for me!

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cheese, cooking, food, pasta, recipe, recipes, spinach, vegetables

{1 comment}

Wholemeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 7Sep08

Wow yummy. Chocolate chip cookies have about a million recipes. The one that comes on the tollhouse chocolate chip bags is actually a really good one. This one however, was altered from Martha’s kitchen. These are the thin crumbly yet slightly chewy ones. I don’t really like cakey chocolate chip cookies, if it’s cakey, it should be a cake! I used wholemeal flour again (because I have a big bag of it) so it’s slightly good for you

Ingredients:
2 cups of wholemeal all purpose flour (regular all purpose flour is the same portion as well)
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of butter (or shortening)
1 whole egg
1 egg white
2 cups of semisweet dark chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350°F or 170°C

Step 1: The Mixing
In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt. Then in a larger mixing bowl, mix together the butter/shortening with the sugars (the white and brown!). Add in the vanilla, whole egg and egg white. Now fold in the dry mix from before. Mix with a spatula until all combined and then fold in the chocolate chips. The chips should be last!

Step 2: The Baking
use 2 spoons to form dough balls about 1 inch in diameter and place them on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. they will spread so make sure you give enough space. bake for 12-15 mins – until golden brown. i like my cookies soft in the middle for some reason so i took them out at about 12 mins, keep them in there for another 1 -2 mins to get the middle solid. if you’re using 2 baking sheets, make sure you rotate the trays halfway through the baking time and switch levels.

Let the cookies cool on a cooling tray and enjoy! I actually made a few batches crunchier because Vini likes them crunchy – perfect for ice cream sandwiches just like diddy riese!

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, chocolate, cookies, cooking, food, recipe, recipes

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Sundays Are The Best 7Sep08

Sundays mean sleeping in, making breakfast, and work :/ freelance that is!

okay, I’ve been avoiding a post on life after MySpace, mainly because i kind of don’t really know where to start and I’ve been pretty busy with other things. so 1 week down of being unemployed and it has honestly been the best week I’ve had in a long time. it blew past too quickly. my days are filled with running errands, getting things done that i would have never had the time to do and getting inspired for all the many side projects i want to start and finish.

I’ve finalized plans for the japan trip – booked the last hotel, bought the japan rail pass and started to make a list for things to pack. been reading up on the must-sees and planning my nights out in Tokyo with a friend from college, Blake.

I watch martha stewart daily and even learned how to cut a chicken! also been cooking plenty – as you can see with the increased posts. Hmmm I have neglected to go to the gym, surprise surprise! but on the plus side, I have been so incredibly happy with life and everything about it. Just a few minor kinks in the way, like staying in the country, finding some form of income, and figuring out what I want to do next… eek! I’ll worry about that later.

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: random
Tags: life, random, rant, rants

{1 comment}

Spinach & Cheese Pie 3Sep08

For dinner tonight I made a spinach and cheese pie. I actually have been wanting to make this since I had it for lunch at the David Jones foodhall a few days ago. This was nothing like the one I had for lunch… it was better! if I do say so myself

Ingredients:
8 sheets of filo dough (or phyllo dough)
10 oz of spinach, washed and dried (or you can buy frozen!)
3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of feta – cut to tiny 1 cm cubes
1/2 cup of low-fat ricotta cheese
2 medium yellow onions – chopped
2 cloves of garlic – chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
fresh ground pepper (you can add as much as you like)
1 tablespoon of butter
2 eggs
2 egg whites
canola spray

preheat oven to 350°F or 170°C

Step 1: The spinach
if you decide to use frozen, defrost the block of spinach in some warm water, strain, squeeze out all the water as much as you can, ring it out like a cloth. use a paper towel to soak up the rest. if you are going from fresh, chop the leaves up roughly. in a low heated saucepan, melt just a tiny bit of butter – just enough to coat the very bottom of the pan and put the leaves on. cook to just wilted and it turns bright green. remove from heat and let it cool. once it’s cool – strain, squeeze and ring to get all the excess water out.

Step 2: The onions & the mix
melt the tablespoon of butter in a saucepan and then throw in the onions and garlic. stir occasionally. remove from heat when the onions are translucent and set aside to cool. now, in a large mixing bowl, mix with a large spoon the following: ricotta, 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites, parmesan, feta, salt, pepper, and cumin. when the onions have cooled, add that in. when the spinach is drained, throw that in as well. make sure to just mix enough to get everything together.

Step 3: The dough
get your canola spray ready! in a pie dish, spray a thin layer of oil on the naked pan. then place 1 sheet of filo dough on it – don’t worry about the edges we’ll worry about that later. spray another thin later of oil, and place another sheet of filo. do this for 8 sheets of filo dough total. the key is spraying the oil on EACH layer. now trim the edges of your dish with scissors and thats it!

Step 4: Bake Bake Bake
spoon in the cheese-spinach mixture into the filo crusted dish and spread evenly. bake for about 1 hour, until toasty golden brown and the mixture is set. let it cook for about 15-20 mins before cutting and serving. enjoy!!

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cheese, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, spinach, vegetables

{1 comment}

Wholemeal Lemon Bars 3Sep08

Sounds gross I know.L emon bars are supposed to be buttery bad for you goodness but since I’m on a healthy kick, I tried to make it slightly better for you. try them out!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of wholemeal all purpose flour
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
170 grams of butter (or 1 1/2 American sized sticks) – cut into small pieces and room temp
4 eggs
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of wholemeal all purpose flour
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
1 1/2 cups of sugar
powdered sugar to serve

preheat oven to 350°F or 170°C

Step 1: The base
With your hands, mix the 1 1/2 cups of wholemeal flour, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and butter together until flour is mixed in but still looks crumbly. Press the mixture into a baking pan – I used a 10×10 baking dish. Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Remove from the oven but keep it on.

Step 2: The yummy part
Beat the eggs, lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of flour together until well mixed. Pour the mixture on top of the baked crust and throw it in the oven for another 25 mins or until the mixture is set (use a toothpick!). Remove from the oven when it’s ready – it should have a golden brown layer on top. Let it cool before cutting. Sift powdered sugar on top before serving!

Hope you like it! I ate a bit too much :/

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, bars, cooking, desserts, food, lemon, recipe, recipes

{1 comment}

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osaka 30Sep08

japan recap in parts 29Sep08

thanks! 20Sep08

konichiwa 13Sep08

A Lighter Creamy Spinach Pasta 8Sep08

Wholemeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 7Sep08

Sundays Are The Best 7Sep08

Spinach & Cheese Pie 3Sep08

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