Hi, there.  It has been two months since last posting!  I have to admit I have been rather lazy AND busy.  Lots have been happening during the summer and beginning of September.  Here is one of new services that started recently, “Bento Boxes” for special occasions.

“Seasonal Bento Box” for conferences and business meetings;

On a day when you have to spend all day long in a building with important clients or colleagues discussing about business or listening to serious power point presentations, the only time you can relax without having to spend too much time is “lunch break.”  But what would you do if you don’t feel like simple sandwiches from the corner shop or hiring a proper hot food buffet catering?  Here is one of the options.  “Bento Box” designed to match with your budget and desired type of food.   It can come with hot miso soup, lovely hot green tea (hojicha from Ippodo), and home-made Japanese pudding or a couple of chocolates from William Curley.

“Onigiri Bento” for a long train ride

Or when you travel by train with your business partners over lunch time, why not a healthy home-made Japanese Onigiri-Bento?  Containers are disposable and it comes with green tea in a pet-bottle, wet tissues to clean your hands, and chopsticks.  Travel light and healthy!

Today, on a kids-free Saturday morning, I had the most therapeutic and educating time at Postcard Teas’ green tea tasting. 

Tim, the owner of Postcard Teas, collects finest teas from all over the world and packages them into bags and tins labelled very tastefully, which you can post by mail. 

If I had to choose a word or phrase to describe his selection of teas (mostly made by nationally acknowledged tea masters and organic tea farmers), packaging and presentation, atmosphere and service of his shop, “personal experience that makes you want to share with someone special” is the way I would put in words.  

Every tea and every tea ware sold or used in his shop does have a history or story between Tim himself and tea farmers, tea masters, and tea ware artists from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, etc..  where he always travels to.  This is definitely why each tea and tea ware in his shop are introduced and sold in the way you can feel the land of its origin, and the person who made them.

Anyway.  Today at Tim’s workshop, he offered 7 distinctively different, yet all rare and high quality green teas from China, Korea, and Japan.  It was intellectually very interesting, too, by  starting  with teas from China, where green tea is originated from, then Korea, and finally Japan, centuries ago together with Buddhism.

In general, Chinese green teas have nutty flavours which can tolerate high temperature water, while Japanese green teas have deep and rich Umami flavour when prepared with lower temperature water that remains in your mouth for a long time.  Korean green tea is somewhat in the middle.  To my surprise, my favourite tea of the day was Sparrow’s Tongue from Korea! First time for me to appreciate Korean green tea to be very honest!

There is always something new to learn… I would love to take Tim’s workshop again, next time on Oolong tea.  If anyone is interested, I found £20 per session is almost under-priced for what you get and what you learn.  Even more, Tim gives you discount if you are a student or senior.  Postcard Teas is on Dering Street, off New Bond Street.  Highly recommended!

Last week, on a very sunny lovely evening, I went to a fantastic brasserie in Battersea named ”Gazzette.”  In the private dining room, my friend Satomi, a Sake sommelier, was hosting a tasting workshop for a group of 15 to try and enjoy match between Japanese Sake and French cheese. 

With generous cooperation by Asami of World Sake Ltd and Mr. Nakano of Dewazakura Sake Brewer from Japan, we enjoyed 4 significantly different high-quality Sake with a complete selection of prominent French cheese.

Superbly organized, the workshop started with tasting of sake and cheese together as each participant fills out two sheets of paper, one for analyzing each Sake and guessing the type of it, the other for commenting the best and worst match between particular Sake and cheese. 

Everyone there was very serious examining the Sake while looking for the best match.  In between, everyone was making sighs or saying Wow! to find the taste of Sake and Cheese soooo good!!  When everybody finished filling out the forms, Satomi gave answers for type of Sake with its name and specifications.  Then we all exchanged opinions on which sake works the best for which cheese.

Surprisingly, there seems to be no definite answer for the best match or worst match, meaning that Sake does work with almost any kind of cheese.  Personal preference seemed to reflect which one he or she want to enjoy more, either distinctive flavour of certain cheese or Sake.

After the tasting session, incredibly good and so much of French meal followed and it was almost like Christmas, New Year, and Easter came all at the same time!!  It certainly was a BIG feast and we all enjoyed the evening both intellectually and gastronomically to the fullest. No doubt.

I hosted a picnic for my son yesterday, celebrating Japanese Children’s Day.  That was fun, though it was a bit of a pain when he woke me up at 6am Sunday morning to bake together!!

We celebrate mainly boys’ healthy and happy growth on this day, while we do this on March 3rd for girls.  For boys, we put up banners of carp, which is a fish that is known to be so strong that it swims upstream even up into a waterfall, and miniature armours that symbolizes protection, and iris for decoration.

For food, Chimaki (steamed glutenous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), and Kashiwa-mochi (stcky rice-cake filled with sweet aduki-bean paste) are typical.

My son will certainly benefit from running around with his friends in fresh air, and from lots of sugar!