| Thursday, April 12, 2007 |
| Our Week in Japan |
Origami
 When I think of this week's English lessons, I can't help but smile. I think we all had a blast this week. Beginning with the past times, I realized that I need to practice my origami, since my origami swan looked like it had been run over by a car or something. I also got hooked on the kendama! I bought my own from Daiso for $2 and I'm practicing with it ever so often. I'm getting better, but it's slow going. Thanks Shere for bringing your kendama to school for all of us!
Those of us who want to find out how to fold more animals in the way of the Paper of the Spirits, you can browse Tammy Yee's Origami Page for many cute creatures you can fold.
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Japanese Snacks
Wagashi - Japanese Desserts
 Wagashi basically means Japanese confectionary or desserts. The Japanese have a large collection of sweets, cakes, ice creams and many other desserts that will surely make your mouth water. Some desserts are seasonal, like the Hanamidango, which are eaten in spring during the cherry clossom season, while others are eaten all year round.
For any of you who are curious about Japanese food, I would recommend the sto res beside Coldstorage at basement 1 of Takashimaya. My friend Miss Nadiah, who teaches in another school, and I frequently go there for delicious Japanese desserts like Manju cakes, Mochi and Hanamidango. While these treats can be very expensive ($2 per mochi... /dies), they are fantastic to eat once in a while. I would recommend everyone try these treats some time. My favourite is the White Bean Paste Mochi - it just melts in your mouth.
Sushi
Another readily available Japanese food is sushi - which is probably the most famous of all Japanese foods. Sushi was created inthe 7th century AD (700AD). As the land of Japan is largely mountainous, it was hard for the Japanese people to grow rice. So they were forced to rely on the sea for food. With fresh seafood readily available, sushi was created as a quick and filling meal.
 Despite popular belief, not all sushi has raw meat. There are quiet a few that do have cooked meat as the main attraction. Sushi uses vinegared rice (rice with vinegar) which is stickier than normal rice. This prevents the sushi from breaking when you pick it up with your chopsticks. Sushis with raw fish are usually the sushis that feature salmon (a.k.a. sashimi) as the main topping. Other sushis feature omelettes (Tamago Sushi), cooked shrimp (Ebi Sushi), octopus (Tako sushi) and scallop (Hotate sushi) as toppings. My favourite are Tamago Sushi and Califronia Maki, which is a rolled sushi coated in salmon roe (eggs). It's really delicious!
A good place to get sushi would be Sushi Tei, but this restaurant is not halal. For halal Japanese cuisine, you might want to check out Ramen Ten, a restaurant at the basement of Far East Plaza along Scotts Road.
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I hope you all enjoyed learning about the pastimes and eating and living etiquette as much I enjoyed teaching it. Look forward to the upcomming composition, the last lesson we will have on Japan and it's people. We'll be writing about Japanese Drifters (car racers who drive as fast as possible and skid stylishly around street corners). Think Tokyo Drift. I'll see you guys in class! |
posted by Virelai @ 6:07 PM  |
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Name: Virelai
About Me: Yeah? Yeah? So I'm up to my knees in whale droppings with a long walk home underwater.
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