I had Menchi Katsu today. Danny Xu, a colleague, took me to a Japanese restaurant in Harumi. Both of us ordered Menchi Katsu thinking it had something to do with chicken. That's what the samples outside seemed like. It was good. Nice taste. Made a point to note down what i ate to verify later..

This is what Wiki has to say:

It is a Japanese portmanteau of menchi and katsu, which are respectively the corruptions of mince and cutlet. In the Japanese cuisinary context, the menchi is ground meat, usually beef or pork. Katsu is any meat coated with flour, egg, and breadcrumb and then deep fried.

The ground meat is mixed with chopped onion, salt, and pepper. It is then made into what's essentially hamburger patties. Apply flour on both sides of these patties, coat with beaten eggs, and then coat further with breadcrumbs. Deep fry until done. Eat with sauce and sliced cabbage.

The corruption from mince to menchi is purely phonological.

Katsu refers to the general cooking method of deep frying meat that's encased in breadcrumb. It is the result of adopting the Western cutlet using Japanese tempura style cooking methods. Katsu by itself usually refers to tonkatsu, which is katsu made with pork cutlets.

This is a link about how to prepare Menchi-katsu
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/beef/r/menchikatsu.htm

Parks - a creation

There are numerous parks in any city or village. I like what they do to the parks. There is normally a design and a plan. There is a conscious landscaping with fountains, ponds, lakes, streams and hills. This takes me back to a short story i read (i think in reader's digest) about a city lady buying a wineyard in rural france. She goes onto make some very good wine. She hires a landscaper to make a garden with a swimming pool that would clean itself and keep up a regular supply of clean water. Now that i talk about this lady with a wineyard, this takes me back to another article i read here in the "Daily Yomuri" about a girl who has taken up her father's business of making Sake. She is a the master brewer and her variety of Sake has been winning the national prize in Japan for 2 years consecutively. It was nice to read about her determination and resolve in mastering this art.

Coming back to parks after the diversion above, i have visited a few parks here like the one in the imperial palace premises, Yoyogi park and so on. Have always been impressed with the creativity exhibited in making something out of it. Would love to have something like this done in my "estate" sometime in the future..

Nature here in Japan..

Nature is another aspect that i love about Japan. Inspite of its industrialization, there is little pollution and a marked abundance of trees and grenery. One can't say greenery as the colors change in every season of the year - be it the cherry blossoms in April or the greens in spring or the colors in autumn. Imagine seeing greenery in Tokyo - an equivalent of Mumbai city. Be it a city or the rural area, greenery can at times get to be an eyesore. I have travelled to Nikko, interior Nikko, Hakone, Yokohama, rural side of Tokyo and never has there been a barrenness akin to what we see in india.

Milk Mystery - quite confounding

I found it quite surprising that the benefits of milk and poulty products were unknown to the Japanese till way into the 20th century. The general belief was that milk was for the small ones of the cows or the horses. People seemed surprised when milk was used for drinking by the westerners during Meiji Restoration. I think, i remember reading about Laflacio Hearn consuming milk (or was it someone else?) and people being quite shocked.

Chickens were bred for their eggs and not for their meat. In the travels by Isabella Bird, there was this section, where her guide bribes villages to get chicken so that they can be killed and cooked. There was this funny incident when a villager after parting with her chicken was so traumatized that she returned the money and took back the chicken grieving as if a family member was being affected.

The Western Affiliation, yet the lack of eloquence in Eigo!

I keep thinking about why the Japanese rushed into adopting all things that were western. This is in full view today. Most Japanese are fascinated by everything western. As in india, there is a clamour here for protecting the culture. Again, what confounds me is that inspite of the prevelant affinity for anything american or european, this seems to have penetrated the society very less. Very few people speak english. Is the english tongue so hard to master? Considering that the Japanese language is by itself so complicated considering the multitude of Kanjis that one needs to memorize. However, i remember reading a translation by John Brennan (About the life of Mitsuyo Ohira) where there is a mention of the english language being leant in schools way back in the 80s and 90s. Why then is there a marked absence of eloquence in this subject?

Hakone - Owakudani

Owakudani nature trail was a good one. It gave a feeling that one is walking in the midst of a volcano with the steam seeping out of the rocks. It must be due to the hot springs. Not sure though. People are warned not to stay on too long as there is a concentration of toxic gases at times. It is like the earth has opened up partially here and shows itself through smoldering rocks & poisonous gases.

Another unique thing about Owakudani is the volcanic eggs. Don't go by the term "volcanic eggs". The eggs (regular ones) are boiled in the water coming from the hot springs. Not sure again. Due to some chemical reaction, the outer surface of the eggs turn black. Nothing different with the boiled egg inside. It tastes like any other boiled egg. They claim that having one such egg increases your lifespan by 7 years. Well, we get a pack of 6 for 500Y. It was selling like hot cakes..:).. Lot of people wanting to live long i guess.. or just soaking in the experience.. :)

Hakone - Amazake Chaya

I am going to be talking about what is it that i found nice about hakone. Things that are good memories.

Between Moto-hakone & Hakone Yumoto is a small restaurant - Amazake Chaya. Hakone-Tozan bus #5 stops there. We get sweet, warm sake. Nice taste. Costs around 400Y. They also give some nice looking stuff to eat. Din't venture it though. Its a nice way to end a tired day before you hop onto another Hakone-Tozan bus and head for the railway station.

Nice warm and cozy atmosphere. What i found interesting in the place is that all the tables & chairs are carved out of trees ( i know most furniture is.. but there was something different about this furniture that made the atmosphere feel one with nature)