In my ongoing quest to explore, document and capture visually the Canadian west coast food scene, I rely on a myriad of methods.  For instance, simple random stops alone when I spot a new location while walking or driving around town, listening to recommendations/suggestions from others that I personally know, reading informative online sources introducing places I've never heard of from people I've never met, and probably the most enjoyable, an invitation from friends/acquaintances to join in on a group meal.  With such a diverse system, you can imagine it is quite the shotgun approach; and just like Forrest said about his box of chocolates, "you never know what you're gonna get".

On a recent rainy evening (no surprise for Vancouver in the fall), I had the pleasure of dining out with my friends who have a young family, including two little boys aged four and one.  It seems the children are fans of rice and in particular sushi rolls, so we headed out in search of a kid-friendly, Japanese food serving establishment in Kitsilano.  This part of Vancouver is probably known as a neighborhood with a good concentration of restaurants across a spectrum of cuisines from around the world.  There are still many I have yet to try and given the boom-and-bust cycle of the restaurant business, I am sure there will be some that I will never get to eat at before they disappear into the restaurant cornfield of dreams.

We settled on Kitsilano Sushi - I know, not a very inventive name but it served as a bright beacon for us as we scanned the streets for something that met our needs in terms of location and the food being served.  Unknown to me, it was a very popular place for dinner, judging from the mostly full dining area as well as a line up at least five people deep who were either placing takeout orders or waiting to pick them up.  There were at least four people behind the sushi counter, which you see immediately upon entering the front entrance, as well as some staff whose main role appeared to be shuffling between the kitchen and tables, but with a lower emphasis on paying attention to the immediate needs of eating customers.  Either they are in need of more bodies to man the fort, or feel that service should just be about bringing things to tables and clearing empty dishes away.  Friendly, personal attention is not to be expected here - think more cafeteria service.

Personally, I am not a fan of maki (roll) sushi.  But for many Canadians and young children, I know its quite popular.  Maybe with parents, as it seems to be easier for their little ones to eat and rolls enable them to get some vegetable-based nutrients into them as well, it makes for a common selection.  The dreaded Dynamite Roll that we ordered, played right into my argument that maki do not often make for good eats.  For just minutes after we had placed our first round of sharing orders, two rolls of this were delivered to our table.  This shocked us, as it was going to be obvious that these had been made in advance, thus the prawn tempura inside would be cold and the outer crispy layer would be a oily, and soggy disappointment.  This was indeed the case.

The Alaska Roll (salmon, artificial crab, cucumber and avocado) was slightly better in terms of taste.  Though they did skimp out heavily on the outer dredging with Masago.  The rice, as with the earlier Dynamite Roll, was again overly soft for my personal liking.  Combined with the pressing needed to make the maki, it just made the rice seem more mushy than it should be.

The Assorted Nigiri set was just average, not much to comment on here.  Nothing had a hint of fish-gone-bad though, so passed on that front.  I think the high turnover they have here, would help in that regard, no matter what the quality of their ingredient may be.

The boys loved the Assorted Tempura.  Not to let this review have to depend on the preferences/pallates of those under four feet tall, I must include that it was not up to my favored standard.  The exterior batter was too thick, and deep fried in too hot of an oil - reminded me of the kind of deep fried veggies you get in a run-of-the-mill Chinese buffet.  I continue to find it difficult to find a really well done, light but still crispy tempura in Vancouver on a consistent basis.  The only exception being the yam tempura that I had at Octopus Garden.  They know how to do it right there in my opinion.

For quick, basic, and convenient (for take out) maki sushi, Kitsilano Sushi is a safe call and the price is definitely right and very affordable, which makes it the McDonald's of Sushi on this road.  Though I will not purposely go back as price is not a real huge factor for me when I am craving quality sushi.   The previously reviewed Sai-z that sits across the street, is on the opposite end of the cost spectrum.  That said, they make an interesting combination in such close proximity, with each carving out a niche and clientele base that seemingly supports both of their businesses.

Track Listing

1. How to use Loneliness
2. GIVE ME LOVE
3. SOME BOYS! TOUCH
4. City Wind
5. Nee Samishikute
6. Glass no Pumps
7. DAY BREAK
8. Wow Suteki!
9. Secret
10. LIFE

1. How to use Loneliness

Isn't sexy and loneliness two totally different things?  Well, we start off the album with it's pseudo-title track.  Interesting the songs sounds a little like what Koda Kumi would do because of the sexy atmosphere.  The song sounds a little flirty and yet keeps the innocence with the piano lines that keep appearing.  Definitly a strong start to the album and Maki sounds great here for her 1st track.

2. GIVE ME LOVE

Put a little more energy and dance and we get this track.  It follows the same sexy pattern and same sense of fun at the same time.  The swooping synth line after the chorus did bother me a little bit as I'm listening to it.  Other than that, this was just another offbeat track.

3. SOME BOYS! TOUCH

This was the song that got me into Maki in the first place.  It oozes sex appeal from every direction, but it really strikes you in the verses ~Yasashiku Touch....Catch....Touch..Catch..Touch~ I mean and how she's says it is like she really wants it badly.  The chorus has a march like percussion sound which surprised me.  Funny, at how upbeat the song is in the chorus.  I do love the synth here as well!

4. City Wind

Heavy thumps of sounds start up this otherwise soothing pop track from Maki.  The R&B influence is obvious, but how she tackles the song really gave the song some needed boost.  I would have preferred her to have left the thumping out.  The sitar that's in it was also an interesting addition adding mystery.  Other than that this song is very calm and pretty good.

5. Nee Samishikute

This song is also R&B oriented with that bubbly beat.  Somehow I didn't connect to this song as I wanted to be.  I found it to be oddly boring and fragging itself the whole track.  I am once again reminded of Koda Kumi's music with this track which I guess is surprising.  I just kind of wished she didn't drag the song to boredom though.

6. Glass no Pumps

I knew immediatly knew this would've been so similar to a Morning Musume track.  The only thing though, it's one lady.  As it was her first single of the era.  The thing that made the song as good as her others is that her sexyness was all over the song.  The chorus was also very catchy.  ~GARASU no PAAAMPUUSS~  Yeah, this song is ridiculously catchy.

7. DAY BREAK

Ahhhh, a nice soothing pop track.  Though it's very jazzy as well and her voice suits this style very well.  Her lower register is like whispering in the verses.  The fantastic music really brought out how versitile Maki can be which is good for her.  I think it's one of her standout tracks from this album as it so far doesn't sound like anything else she's done.

8. Wow Suteki!

I love the entrance with the song.  Sounds some like retro stuff.  The verses sounds pretty funky then she goes up into a medium register and sounds pretty cool.  Then the chorus sounds like another Morning Musume, which isn't always bad, but you would wanna stray away from it right?  Since, yknow your a solo artist trying to make a name in the world...I still enjoy the song with it's classic feel and touch.

9. Secret

After all them fun songs, she needs at least one ballad right?  Sounds of water dripping and some R&B stuff introduces into this simplistic ballad.  Though once again, I'm feeling the boredom of the song.  Musically, I know that they are trying to prevent that with some timpani rolls and some other random moments.  At the end of it all, it just didn't capture my attention. 

10. LIFE

Dissonant strings open this last song up and this one actually caught my attention.  Maki sounds very mature in the song and sounds like Hitomi Shimatani practically.  A full orchestra is actually backing the music for Maki and it's one of her better ballads from this album.  Beautiful song overall and a great album finisher as well.

Tracks Recommended

•  SOME BOYS! TOUCH
• LIFE
• DAY BREAK
• Wow Suteki!
• Glass no Pumps

This is actually Maki's 4th and final Hello!Project album.  To be honest, I haven't heard her earlier albums, but this is very good for an album from them.  Since, y'know, I'm used to all the Morning Musume stuff.  There's a lot of style she tried out for this album and they mostly pretty well done minus a few boring ones.  Since then she's now signed to AVEX and I can't wait to see what's in store from her.

My dad is gone, and I miss him.  WGN in Chicago was his favorite radio station, and as corny as it sounds, having that station on reminds me of him and it's almost like I can see him in his diningroom, eating lunch and listening to whomever was on.  So that's how I started to listen to WGN.  When we had the great flood on Montrose, my favorite WBEZ station provided a dearth of information about an area I needed to go to that week.  So that's how I ended up on 'GN. 

This morning I'm making my breakfast when Phil Vettel was a guest with Spike O'Dell.  They were talking about sushi.  Oh no, I thought as I waited to hear the latest round of misinformation propagated by the fact that it has become as popular as salsa and ubiquitous in our diets, at least in major urban areas.  Then I heard it, "maki sushi isn't authentic."  Now THAT caught my attention, because my grandmother who never make pseudo Japanese food or any modified versions of it, made some great maki sushi, and she was from 'the old country.'  Maki sushi has been present at New Year's Day celebrations, which is a big deal for people of Japanese ancestry and a real kicker when you are out celebrating New Year's Eve too long. 

Sushi referrs to "vinegared rice."  I grew up with many types of sushi, including some that were served from a bowl as their ingredients were mixed in and you used a rice scoop to put them on your plate.  There were also molded sushi's which usually meant a form of sashimi (raw fish) would be placed on top, or in some cases a picked fish. 

My mother also used to make maki sushi.  We grew up on "futomaki" sushi, which is a complex and time consuming as well as tedious sushi to make because of all the ingredients.  The photo above is from The Sushi Index, which has great photos and excellent information.  She would also make a tamagomaki, where instead of using nori (seaweed sheets) she would use an extraordinarily thin piece of scrambled eggs that were slightly seasoned.  She even had a special squarish pan for the task.  I've never seen anyone else do that and unfortunately I was too young to catch the finer aspects of how she was able to achieve this.

At some point Phil Vettel clarified his maki comment, saying that the maki with cream cheese and avocados, etc. are not traditional sushi.  Okay, THAT I can say is definitely correct.  I do have to admit I like California Maki because of the avocados, but my favorite all time maki is the Futo-Maki, which is a traditional Japanese Maki and in Chicago, there are few restaurants except for one that makes an excellent one.  On that note, I am going to figure out an order for lunch!

Avendo ora la casa piena di souvenir sardi, mi sono chiesto se non era possibile tentare uno sposalizio tra la bottarga di muggine e i california maki.

Mi sono messo all'opera di buon mattino e qui vi riporto la ricettina facile facile.

Come prima cosa dovete preparare il riso. Se per chi fa il risotto con il "fino ribe" o con il "basmati" è prevista la pena di morte, lo stesso vale per i maki. È assolutamente necessario un riso particolare che rilasci l'amido in una certa maniera. Sono indicati risi collosi con grani tondeggianti. Si trova comunque dappertutto quello giapponese fatto apposta, tipo questo:

Il riso va lavato e possibilmente cotto a vapore. Ovviamente non tutti posseggono un arnese apposta:

Neanch'io! Per cui si procede in questo modo.

In una pentola si mette il riso (mettiamo una tazza) ed una quantità leggermente superiore di acqua (mettiamo una tazza e ¼). Chiudere bene con il coperchio giusto e non aprirlo mai più! Neanche se vi accorgete che c'era caduto dentro l'anello con brillante che vi ha regalato il marito dopo 25 anni di matrimonio. Mettete a fuoco medio e quando vi accorgete che dentro l'acqua bolle mettete al minimo per 15 minuti. Sempre senza aprire il coperchio, togliete la pentola dal fuoco e mettetela a riposare diciamo 5 minuti. Ora potete aprire, e di solito il riso l'è cotto, e acqua non ce n'è più. Vi accorgerete subito della consistenza appicicosetta e tutto va bene. Adesso bisogna preparare una mistura composta da aceto di riso, sale e zucchero. Anche l'aceto si trova ormai dappertutto:

Mischiate il tutto e il riso è pronto.

Per fare i maki adesso vi serve una stuoietta di bambù, detta Makisu:

Essendo i maki dei cosiddetti inside-out, dovete avvolgere la stuoietta con della pellicola trasparente.

Prendete un foglio di Nori, uno intero, così vengono belli grandi, e mettetelo sul Makisu. Stendeteci sopra uno strato sottile di riso,

e girate il tutto in modo che il riso sia rivolto verso il basso.

Adesso avete tutta la superficie "pulita" del Nori a disposizione per il ripieno. In realtà potete metterci quello che volete, io di solito metto del Wasabi, Surimi, Avocado, Cetriolo, Insalata e un po' di maionese. Il Surimi, il Cetriolo e l'avocado dovrebbero essere tagliati a bastoncino, più o meno, l'insalata si arrotola un po' con le dita, Wasabi e maio si spalmano sul Nori.

Ora si arrotola il tutto, compreso il Makisu, et voilà! Ecco apparire un rotolone con il riso di fuori.

In questo momento entra in gioco la bottarga... Normalmente il rotolone viene passato ora in un piatto o contenitore pieno di uova di pesce volante (Tobiko), oppure di semi di sesamo abbrustoliti:

Noi naturalmente lo passiamo nella bottarga di muggine, che avremo appena spellato e grattugiato.

Alla fine non vi resta che tagliare dei bei rondelloni, e finiti sono i vostri maki california con bottarga. Buonisssssimi e non lo troverete mai in un ristorante!!!

Sono ovviamente da servire con salsa di soja, Wasabi e Gari (Zenzero marinato).

Un filmino per far vedere come lavora un professionista:

]]> http://notavailable.wordpress.com/?p=32 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:43:01 +0000 notavailable http://notavailable.pt-br.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/nobuta-wo-produce/ Di suatu SMA ada murid baru namanya Nobuta. Nobuta ini cewe yang sangat menyeramkan. Dandanannya kayaq hantu, pendien, ngga gaul ato mungkin lebih tepat anti sosial, jorok... Parah banget deh! Ngga aneh kalo dia selalu jadi objek penderita di sekolahnya. Nobuta ditolong sama Shuuji yang merupakan cowo paling populer di sekolah dan Akira bisa dibilang asistennya. Mereka berniat bikin Nobuta jadi cewe normal seperti cewe-cewe lain di sekolahnya. Proyek itu dinamai "Nobuta o Produce". Cewe itu dipermak jadi bersih sehingga jadi lumayan cantik. Pokoknya 2 cowo itu berusaha buat bikin masa sekolah mereka ngga membosankan. Kisah akhir cerita ini ngga bisa ditebak.

Cerita persahabatan yang ringan banget. Asik buat ditonton dan menginspirasi. Intinya, orang semurung apapun bisa berubah jadi ceria tergantung lingkungannya. Bahkan mungkin orang itu bisa jadi teman kita yang paling baik dan paling berharga. =) Pertama beli gue suka covernya. Bagus, gambar papan tulis gitu. Sekolahan banget deh. Soundtracknya juga bagus, dinyanyiin sama Kazuya Kamenashi n Yamashita Tomohisa yang main di dorama ini.

Cast:

• Kotani Nobuko (Nobuta): Horikita Maki
• Kiritani Shuuji: Kamenashi Kazuya
• Kusano Akira: Tomohisa Yamashita

Rating: 4 dari 5

Si Minah pastikan kekasih pandai jaga diri dan sopan santun
apabila berdepan dengan ibu bapanya

Oleh
Chairul Fahmy Hussaini

Tentunya kita semua ghairah nak sambut Syawal.

Tapi sebenarnya kan, dalam bab sambut-menyambut Raya ni, golongan Mamat dan Minahlah yang saya rasa paling hepi sekali!

Bagi si Mamat terutamanya, ini kesempatan terbaik untuk mereka mengunjungi rumah sang kekasih, untuk berkenalan dengan ibu bapa si Minah.Ini kira macam minta 'consent' atau kebenaran untuk mereka 'going steady' (berpacaran) lah!

Saya tak nafikan, untuk si Mamat mengunjung rumah kekasihnya, memang tak susah.Tapi nak menangi hati Pak dan Mak si Minah tu yang susah...Jadi macamana?

Ginilah, kerana tak mahu kaum Adam kita rasa sengsara apabila berhadapan dengan bakal 'bapak dan mak mentua', saya perturunkan pesanan daripada anak mereka, si Minah.

Ini semua bukan apa, si Minah tak mau si Mat yang dicintainya tu terus-terusan gelabah masa datang beraya nanti. Dengan penuh ikhlas Minah tulis mesej kepada si Mat:

Ke hadapan Matku yang dicintai...

Apabila datang beraya nanti, u mesti datang sorang...

Mesti pakai baju Raya tau! Kalau pakai baju biasa, bukan raya namanya my dear...

Kalau dah tahu lengan baju kurung tu panjang, tolong singsing, jangan biarkan macam baju wayang Cina!

Lipat betul-betul... macam Smart 4.

Tolong jangan selekeh bila datang tu. Mesti kemas, segak, murah senyum, pandai bawa diri dan berbual dengan my dad.

Sebelum masuk rumah kita, u check baju rapi ke tak... rambut kena maintain tau!

Kalau rambut panjang, ikat. Rambut tak mau tercacak-cacak O.K.!

Kalau hisap rokok, makan gula-gula sebelum datang ke rumah i!

Dah tu, ambik minyak wangi spray betul-betul... nanti bapak i bau asap rokok u!

Mat, bila dah sampai depan pintu nanti, kasut letak betul-betul ya.

Jangan letak sembarangan. Tengok kat lantai tu, kasut orang lain macam mana taruk... susun sama-sama.

Kasut yang u pakai pun mesti kasut Raya eh... murah pun tak apa, tapi jangan nak pakai kasut Panda pulak.

Oh ya... tak payah nak tunjuk u ada motor. Helmet pun tak payah bawak naik ke rumah, tinggalkan aje kat motor.

Apabila dah sampai, call me tau, cakap u nak naik...

Tapi apabila dah kat pintu, cakap "Assalamualaikum!".

Mat, u jangan lupa, i kat dapur... jadi u kena gentleman ah sikit.

Lepas tu jangan lupa salam siapa yang buka pintu... kemudian salam bapak i.

U kemudian tegurlah Mak i sekali, tanya:

"Apa khabar, Cik? Saya Mamat".

U mesti ingat Mat, darah i berderau kat dapur tu!!!

Apabila dah duduk dengan my dad, standard, u mesti tanya khabar dia.

Dah tu, u intro yourself, kemudian tanyalah...

"Dah makan pak cik? Niari tak kerja?"

O.K.?

Mat, kalau bapak i tanya mana u kenal i, jangan cakap yang kita kenal thru chatline pulak!

Cakap kenal daripada kawan-kawan O.K.? Alah... u drop some names of the other chatters in the chatroom lah jadi credible sikit.

Kalau my dad tanya pasal tatu kat tangan, lengan dan jari u tu, cakap tatu tu dah lama buat.

Jangan pulak u nak show off satu badan tatu u tu!

Kalau my dad tanya, 'Awak ni kenal sama anak saya, serius ke main-main?'

Cakap... u kenal dengan i baru 2/3/4 hari atau bulan atau tahun ke.

Cakap... saya serius pak cik, insya-Allah kalau panjang umur, murah rezeki ada jodoh dan direstui ibu bapa, ada jodoh kami...

Oh sebelum i lupa..!

U datang tangan kosong pun tak apa... tapi keluar tu kena salam adik-adik i.

U tau kan, i ada empat beradik. Seorang $10 tau!

Jangan lupa nasihat i ya Mat.

Sayang u.

Minah.

Berita Harian | Ekstra
27 Ramadan 1429H
27 September 2008
Sabtu

Designer: MAKI Studio
MAKI is a design and illustration studio based in Groningen, Netherlands. Their work can be described as wacky, humorous, urban and intelligent. They are also a lemur, famous for communication, worldwide. I ran across them via apparel. I found a graphic on a shirt that I found intriguing, looked up who the artist was, and I found these guys.

First up is...

Some of you may have seen the reviews for Yōsei Teikoku, the two-person unit consisting of  Yui Itsuki (Stage Name: Yōsei Yui) and Takaha Tachibana, on Die's blog. Well, that's where I discovered them, and as soon as I saw the reviews, I had to download some of their music. Well, I downloaded their two latest albums, GOTHIC LOLITA PROPAGANDA and metanoia, and while I've only heard the latter, I fell in love with it. They're pretty different from anyone I've featured, as they focus heavily on both gothic and rock elements, and there's a heavy usage of classical instruments such as strings. It works really well, and they have an interesting concept as well: Take this with a grain of salt, as I got it off of Wikipedia, but apparently, they use their music to try and revive the Fairy Empire by reminding us of the pure heart that believes in Fairies. The name of the band is also Fairy Empire, so it makes sense. I don't know where I'm starting with them yet, so keep an eye on my Upcoming page for them!

I'm sure a lot more know of Crystal Kay, though. While I despise her earlier works, I was pleasantly surprised by her latest album, Color Change!, and now I've decided that I'll be reviewing that era. So, expect this series of reviews soon, starting with the first single in the Color Change! era, Namida no Saki ni. (...Or is it Shining?)

The final feature is another case of "used to hate, now love", and she's going to be easily recogniseable for any H!P fans out there. Maki Goto may have left H!P for avex (which was the best move ever in my opinion), but she went out with a bang with her latest album, How to use SEXY. As I've suddenly fallen in love with this album, I've decided to review this era, starting with the first single, Glass no Pumps. So, once again, look out for that. (And I'm mainly starting here because she's being too lazy with her damn avex move.

And there it is! I know I have a few artists that I've featured recently but haven't acted upon yet, plus a few requests that have gone unfinished, and I promise I'll get to those. I'm just a bit of an idiot when it comes to featuring artists, so this was to be expected. Plus side: Today was my graduation from college, so I'll have a lot more reviewing time now~ So expect an upsurge in reviews, if I don't get too lazy.

Ambos equipos llegaban después de una primera jornada con más sombras que luces. Por parte del Portland San Antonio, lograron una pírrica victoria por 28-26 frente al Pilotes. Por parte de Alcobendas, el Ademar León le infringió un 29-20 en su retorno a Asobal. El Portland llegaba con las bajas de Kjelling, Jorgensen, Juancho y Malmagro, por lo que Chechu Villaldea se veía obligado a convocar a Niko Mindegía, que disfrutó de minutos, para este partido. En cambio, Rafael Guijosa podía contar con toda su plantilla, ya que recuperaba a Jorge Maqueda tras no viajar a León por una tendinitis.

El partido comenzaba con un 2-1 con goles de Maqueda y Djukic que daban una ventaja parcial a los locales. Acto seguido, el Portland endosó un parcial 0-4 que daba la vuelta al marcador. El Alcobendas jugaba con miedo escénico que le llevaba a pérdidas tontas de balón y a fallar hasta cuatro contraataques prácticamente seguidos, así como un lanzamiento claro de Jorge Maqueda en 6m. Los fallos de contraataque fueron lanzamientos fuera de portería, es por ello por lo que digo lanzamientos fallados más que paradas de Svensson, que hasta mediada la segunda parte del partido defendió la portería antoniana. Además, a todo esto se unía el poco acoplamiento del que está llamado a ser referencia en Alcobendas, el fichaje Bruno Souza. Después de un partido muy malo en León, hizo otro partido para olvidar frente al equipo pamplonica. De hecho, se notaba una significante mejora del equipo cuando el lateral izquierdo lo ocupaba el central Damir Djukic y el central Javi Suárez.

Por parte del Portland San Antonio y debido a las bajas anteriormente mencionadas, Villaldea se veía obligado a utilizar una primera línea formada por Jakobsen – Ruesga – Vugrinec, sin más recursos en el banquillo que el especialista defensivo Dominikovic y el canterano Mindegía. Para más inri, el croata caería lesionado en la segunda parte.

Todo esto propiciaba que el Alcobendas recurriese al contraataque y al saque rápido de centro para ahogar la poca profundidad de banquillo. Este contraataque, como viene siendo habitual, era subido por Samuel Trives, que en la segunda parte debió incluso actuar de lateral derecho debido al discreto partido de Jorge Maqueda. También se encargaba de la función de subir la contra Olivier Nyokas, en la segunda parte, cuando actuaba de avanzado en la defensa madrileña.

Tras el 2-5 mencionado, el partido transcurrió por los derroteros mencionados, con un Alcobendas sin encontrar su sitio en el campo, sólo encontraba acierto de la mano de Maki, probablemente el mejor jugador del Alcobendas en este partido. El Portland jugaba mucho a la contra directa, sobre todo sobre Nikcevic, mientras que en la primera línea Renato Vugrinec lograba en el partido un significativo 7 de 7. A pesar del pobre partido de Alcobendas, se llegaba a un mínimo 15-16 al descanso y con un Portland que no lograba romper el partido.

En la segunda parte, el Alcobendas cambió su defensa de su típica 6:0 cerrada a una 5:1 que ahogaba a Ruesga, el mejor de largo en el Portland, y que en la primera parte campó a sus anchas en el terreno de juego. Mediada la segunda parte, en una acción de ataque Dominikovic se lesionaba y tenía que ser retirado del campo sin poder apoyar el pie. Unido a las bajas de Juancho y Jorgensen, hacía que la defensa pasase a ser una 5:1 con Mindegía en el avanzado y sorprendentemente Klaus Jakobsen en el centro defensivo. De hecho, en la 6:0 también actuó de pareja defensiva con Dominikovic.

Después de que el Portland cogiese una ligera ventaja en el marcador de en torno a 3 o 4 goles, el Alcobendas logra meterse en el partido, hasta que en el minuto 23 de la segunda parte aparece la pareja arbitral para inclinar la balanza de lado del grande con una serie de decisiones controvertidas. Doble exclusión a Alcobendas (a pesar de lo cual Damir Djukic lograba marcar) y faltas dudosas a favor de Portland. Si en la primera parte fue Maki el jugador más destacado del cuadro madrileño, en los segundos treinta minutos era el pivote Víctor Tremps el referente, logrando 7 goles de mucha calidad. Ambas porterías funcionaron. Tanto Svesson como Saric, y Mijatovic, que jugó los 60 minutos del partido, rayaron a gran nivel.

En definitiva, partido bastante malo que ganó el grande. Veremos cómo evolucionan los lesionados antonianos para ver si llegan al partido en León. Por parte de Alcobendas, pobre partido con demasiado miedo a la categoría que puede costarle caro en caso de que aparezca en los partidos de su liga. Además, patética entrada en el Amaya Valdemoro, con mil espectadores siendo muy generoso.

OK well, not just this, but I am so happy with the new arrangement. I did another purging of my stuff and managed to maximize space! And Mom hasn't been too proud of my hogging the whole space in the bedroom. I am so happy, since most of the collage stuff is within reach I won't feel too lazy to start making stuff again.

Aside from that I have been writing again *clap,clap*, just for fun not really serious. I am getting my groove back! More of short stories and a few poems plus a novelette in the making.

One of the movies that I really want to watch is Amelie, yes, I know I am probably the only person who hasn't watched it, but I will. I even have Audrey Tatou on my vision board to remind me!

Speaking of watching, I am drawn to Asian dramas now, not really the heavy drama type but those with outrageous yet funny storylines with the usual cliches like terminal illness, contracts, traffic accidents, amnesia, hugging from behind etc... It's called escapism but contrary to what my sister accuses me I am not addicted to it, I can force myself not to watch OK?

What I really want to watch is this:

And even if Rainie Yang has the most irritating voice ever, it's OK.

I just realized after having bitten into my left cheek, I need to have my upper wisdom teeth removed, it's very painful. If I have the money I want to get this:

"To help you get a more beautiful smile, Invisalign uses a series of clear, removable aligners to gradually move your teeth. You wear a set of aligners for two to three weeks, removing them only to eat, drink, brush and floss. As you replace each set of aligners with the next in the series, your teeth will gradually move until they reach the position we prescribe for you. The average treatment time is about a year."

I am the Sushi Monster...just like Cookie Monster, I go around screaming, "Sushi! Sushi!". Specifically of the Maki kind. I don't know, I'm not really mad about sushi but ever since my birthday I have been craving for Salmon Maki.

Arise and Build is coming up, I need a part time job? Any offers?

I do not normally comment on food, however today I will make an exception. I just had some of the best sushi I have EVER tasted. If you are a fan of sushi / Japanese food you will not be disappointed. It is located at 50 Kingston Road East in Ajax (beside Casey's) with Dine in / Take Out & Party Trays. In case you are not sure they are in the RioCan Durham Centre in Ajax.

www.makimono.ca

The service is awesome and the prices are good!

Andy MJ (Manny) / a.k.a the G.T.A Patriot.

i wanted to take part in the supa-skizz soooooo long.
now, endlich! i've got scannd this first tast (thanx annette) &
los geht's.

Tracks:
1. How to use Loneliness
2. GIVE ME LOVE
3. SOME BOYS! TOUCH
4. City Wind
5. Nee Samishikute
6. Glass no Pumps
7. DAYBREAK
8. WOW Suteki!
9. Secret
10. LIFE

Review:
The album definitely gets off to a strong start with How to use Loneliness! Now the music does remind me a little of Namie Amuro's WANT ME WANT ME, but it's so much better and has so much originality. Now it does remind me a bit of SOME BOYS! TOUCH, but only to a certain degree, otherwise this song is such a powerhouse of synth and infectious beats. The opening is a fusion of that seemingly Indian-like music, along with some infectious synth. The vocals are quite different from her previous songs, a lot lower, yet more sultry. And all the echoing didn't hurt. Anyway, the beats keep you interested and with that the verses even sound good. What's better though is the chorus. I loved the ad-libbing in between and the music, so aggressive; and for once it was so addictive. The bridge was fantastic too, a mixture of Indian-like music and some of that awesome piano chords, a lethal combination. If this wasn't the best album opener I don't know what is. One thing I know is that she might be able to use loneliness, but looks like she won't need to.

Well if you love synth, there's a good change you'll love GIVE ME LOVE. And to be honest with you, when I first heard the piano opening for a second I though it'd be almost like Dancing Queen, but afterwards it transformed into a thumping synth tune. The beats had an ethnic vibe to it, African I want to say. Anyway I started to get tired of the song within the first minute, but I listened a little longer and it began to grow on me, especially when the piano and other instrumentals entered. And after a while the infectious synth beats begin to sound really good. Not a bad follow up.

And just when things can't get any better, or naughtier in this case, SOME BOYS! TOUCH appears. It was by far the naughtiest sounding song from any of her singles, and trickiest too. It's not half as bad as it sounds, that being said, it's still amazing. Maki's vocals are sexy and they seem to complement the heavy synth beats. The song features some great heavy snyth beats along with an fantastic strings section, namely the chorus. And initially the song sounds sinful with the heavy dark dance-like music, the chorus is actually more pop than anything, very nice arrangements. Undeniably the best song from her singles. Just listening to this song makes me feel guilty.

Time for the laid-back City Wind. Honestly from the thumping beats I almost though I was listening to Say It Right. But thankfully I wasn't in this case. Afterwards the beats were joined by a piano, giving it a little more distinction. And truthfully it gave it a little club feel, like back in the old days, like 30's or so. And for some reason I can't help but imagine a lounge singer when I hear this. The occasional synth before and during the chorus was great, and despite it being mid-tempo, the song was rather catchy. I think the instrumentals were the real treat though rather than Maki's vocals. But all and all, this song was really good.

From the start of Nee Samishikute with the acoustic guitar, later followed by some odd synth features, I knew that it' be somewhat of a pop song. The one thing I liked about it was the fact that it moved rather quickly, didn't mope around. Vocals were not a big issue either, very good at a few points. The pianos playing didn't hurt either, and the background instrumentals really made the song pop out at you. The climax was rather relaxing, and had somewhat of a classical feel to it. But the chorus was so excellent. Towards the end of it it was good, well the vocals really stuck out at me, but it was really good.

One of the most pop oriented tracks on the album is up now, Glass no Pumps. Originally released as the first single and beginning the How to Use SEXY Era. It's very cutesy, bubblegum like pop, that being said it's not all that terrible. Turns out that the song is rather enjoyable. The synth beats in between the chorus are surprisingly catchy. Overall the song is pretty fun to listen to in general, very hard to resist it's cute sound.

Another experiment of Maki's is the song DAYBREAK. It's very jazz inspired, nice percussion and brass instrumentals, and the snaps are nice. Despite the jazz music, her vocals were amazing, not weak oat all. I was actually shocked to hear just how good she sounded in this song. That and the fact that the song wasn't so slow paced. It made for an interesting yet wonderful combination.

While Glass no Pumps was very happy pop, WOW Suteki! is mostly pop with a lot of synth riffs. And although the music does get annoying from time to time, the vocals are good at least. Even though it sounded like that stereotypical flying saucer sometimes. Either way the song was just odd. That being said it did feature a rather catchy and wonderful chorus. I guess the instrumentals aren't all that bad.

After all that pop, it's time for some beautiful ballads, the first one up is a fusion of ballad and pop entitled Secret. Now it's mostly a ballad but it does exhibit some pop qualities. The instrumentals with the bells, piano, and strings were so awing, just what a ballad needs. But what I loved even more than that were the vocals, they sounded so personal, so intimate, and so sincere. I really hope that she'll continue to release more songs like this, especially if it's this good.

Ending this song on such a beautiful and serene tone is LIFE. The orchestra in the beginning really made the song sound so beautiful and so heavenly, which is a nice change from her previous songs. The vocals were also so lovely too, lots of emotion in theme rather than just singing. And the instrumentals were so magnificent, namely the orchestra. The verses weren't boring at all, they were actually very beautiful, and they moved along so smoothly. Now despite the song not being all that catchy, it makes up for it in the sound department. Again it's one of the best ballads from Maki that I've heard. But I wasn't fond of the ending, I think it just needs to end a little earlier, or extend the track. Either way, it's was the perfect ending to an impressive album.

Overall Review: How to Use SEXY was sultry perfection. You'd have to be crazy if you can't see that Maki Goto knows How to Use SEXY! The arrangement of the album was perfect. From the infectious, addictive opening track to the solemn closing ballad, this album had it all. For the first album that I've heard from Maki I must say that I was impressed. The opening track was phenomenal and so so sexy! And from there the album got better, to where it ended on a very good note. And I was impressed that most of the songs featured so much synth, to give it a central, more unified theme. As for the ballads, well they were phenomenal as well. The scans were so SEXY too, man she looked hot too! Anyway after this album, I can't wait to hear her new material. It's pretty evident that Maki Goto can use SEXY! So what have you learned?

Final Grade: 100A+

Maki vivia em um pasto bem verde, junto à outras vaquinhas... Mas Maki não era muito feliz. Ela não entendia por que as demais vaquinhas a tratavam tão mal. Elas zombavam de Maki, pois ela era diferente: Maki não tinha manchas pretas como as outras vaquinhas e, também tinha comportamentos estranhos, ela bebia o leite ao invés de "produzir" o leite como as demais vacas do pasto.

O dono do rebanho decidiu, então, afastar Maki das outras vacas, pois Maki sofria demais com tudo isso. Resolveu doá-la.

Resumindo: ela veio parar na minha casa Õ_o  e olha só o que ela aprontou na primeira oportunidade ao ver um leitinho:

Tout d'abord il ne faut pas s'y méprendre: Sushi Ba est un tout petit corner où on va pour dejeuner sur le pouce. Vous ne viendrez pas chez eux pour feter un anniversaire avec une quinzaine de potes...

La décoration est tendance avec une peinture vert pomme et un bar tout blanc. Bon, les aller-retour incessants des livreurs ne sont pas forcement des plus agreables, mais on s'en accomode...

La carte est tres 'nouveau resto japonais avec plein de trucs tout nouveau'. Le poisson est frais, meme si le choix n'est pas fou. Les sushis sont corrects, bien qu'ils patissent du principal défaut de toutes les chaines de ce genre: la quantité de riz est astronomique !

En entrée, les classiques salade de choux (un peu fade), soupe miso (meilleure qu'avant), mais aussi des nouveautés telles que les tartares de saumon ou de thon accompagné d'avocat, assez bourratifs.

Les menus sont assez classiques, avec des yakitoris, des makis, des sushis, des sashimis, .... Mais il y a aussi des préparations innovantes. J'entends déjà les puristes crier au scandale, " ouais le jour ou je te verrai commander ca, j'egorgerai ta mere...". Un peu de changement de temps en temps n'a jamais tué personne. On a testé en exclu mondiale le maki "poulet mayonnaise" sans nori: tout un programme! On nous sert d'ENORME maki blindé de riz (et quand je dit blindé c'est un bien faible euphémisme), avec au centre de petit morceaux de poulet mélangé à de la mayonnaise. Pour être honnête, la quantité de riz écrase un peu le goût du poulet, et on pourrait presque nourrir tout une famille pendant une semaine tellement il sont bourratifs... Mais s'était sympa quand même.

En conclusion, Sushi Bâ est un petit sushi sympa quand on à la flemme de faire à manger le week end. Les plats sont corrects, les prix aussi. Dommage que les cuisiniers (pour ne pas dire sushi ya) aient eu une crampe sur le riz. Bon ca ne vaut pas un Kilala ou un Yamamoto pour leur produits d'une fraicheur incroyable ou leur ambiance, mais tout le monde n'habite pas rue Saint-Anne...

Dare to be different. Amid the hundreds of restaurants offering sushi in the greater Vancouver area, in all forms from the horrifically bad but cheap all-you-can-eat, to very good but preferably-on-expense-account options, it is clear that some have taken a step to differentiate. When it comes to their creations, some have been quite bold and have included ingredients that would make die hard traditionalists cringe and scream bloody murder. Sai-z is clearly one of them, incorporating a creative blend of traditional and non-traditional ingredients in many of their dishes. Case in point, their use of fruits such as mango and papaya in some of their sushi rolls!

Located on popular West Broadway, which is lined with numerous restaurants thus competition is fierce, Sai-z is located across the street from a boutique cinema theater. When the weather is warm, the sliding doors are opened, and there is a narrow patio that has a few tables right on the sidewalk. Stepping inside, the waiting area leads to the main floor area with table seating that has a mini grand piano off to the right. On this night, there wasn’t a live performer, but I am told that it does take place on certain nights. The crowd was quite young, mainly twenty-something groups of friends or couples on dates. I think the relaxed mood of the place probably is conducive to intimate outings and conversations, compared to say the boisterous izakaya scene downtown.

Scanning the special summer set price offering and not finding it to our interest, my dining companion and I chose from the regular menu. After placing our order for drinks, a one-spoon otoushi of a marinated mixture of tuna and green onions. Unfortunately, this was bad, quite literally – it had a terrible fishy smell to it. Not the best of starts.

Seeing the uni chawanmushi peaked my curiosity, so I had to give this a try. A large piece of uni was floating on top of this steamed Japanese egg custard, and deep below were some other seafood ingredients such as scallops, fishcake, prawns, as well as some mushrooms and thin slivers of yuzu peel. The base stock that was used was quite rich, perhaps too much for my personal liking. The addition of the uni certainly didn’t aid in lightening things up. It tasted okay, but I guess I like my chawanmushi simpler.

Another hot appetizer we had was this noodle wrapped and deep-fried shrimp served with a spicy mayo dip. The contrast between the crispy exterior and the plump, juicy shrimp inside was superb! The overall flakiness of it made it a bit messy to eat at times, as bits would fly off while biting through the crust. The dip was a mixture of shichimi and Japanese mayonnaise, adding both a creamy and spicy element to the total dish (and a mix that I’m finding appear more and more around Vancouver’s izakaya scene). This was a great pick up from the hot appetizer section.

Next up was the sushi selection. By-passing some of the unique choices, we settled on a single roll, called the Double Smoke Roll. This was comprised of a combo of unagi (smoked eel) and smoked salmon. Pieces of fake crabmeat, tempura bits and sprouts also added some more texture and flavor, with the outside of the roll dressed with a sweet teriyaki-like sauce. I thought the dual smoked flavored would be overpowering, but was pleasantly surprised that it was not. Each piece was densely packed, making it feel more filling than it already ways. A solid offering.

A platter of assorted nigiri rounded out our meal, sixteen pieces of maguro, shake, ebi, hamachi, hotate, tobiko, uni, unagi, a California roll and a dynamite roll. The size of the rice ball was "very Japanese", by that I mean it was smallish and loosely compacted. Personally, this is what I am used to and prefer. So I was glad that it wasn’t that usually tightly bound, poorly flavored, monster-sized ball of sushi rice that you find at too many places in this town. The fish was good, each fresh and succulent, and not too big that it would take more then one mouthful.

Sai-z definitely feels and looks unlike your regular run of the mill restaurant specializing in Japanese food in Vancouver. I think it may be remnants of a previous tenant (Italian, Greek?) but the inner chamber looked very inviting with it high ceiling. There seemed to be a second deck above as I could hear some people upstairs dining as well. The open sushi bar that lines the back wall was quite long, and I could picture people wanting to sit up there and take in the show. Service was a bit lacking at times, with servers spending more time standing by the sushi bar than paying attention to diners. Our server in particular was quite anxious in clearing away our plates each time, which bothered me as it seems she was more interested in doing that than any other service task. Finally, pricing was perhaps above average, and thus might turn off some folks who are used to more quick dine-and-dash sushi joints.

I’ll certainly go back, though probably not often just given the price point. There are still a slew of menu items that I’d like to try out, so that gives me another reason to return.

Sai-z Japanese Restaurant
3116 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
Tel: 604-732-7249
Hours: [Lunch] Fri-Sun, 12pm to 2:30pm; [Dinner] Sun to Thu, 5:30pm to 10:30pm; Fri & Sat, 5:30pm to 11:30pm

(raw vegan)

Tonight I went Japanese as result of all the Asian market shopping I did on Thursday in Viet-Town (so there will probably be a lot more Asian vittles to come this week!).  I prepared 3 different maki rolls and created the "rice" using Pure Food & Wine's method of processing jicama and pine nuts until rice-like, but in different proportions.  I seasoned the mixture with sea salt and mirin and then dehydrated it to remove excess moisture.

These spicy-faux tuna maki rolls taste uncannily like the real deal.  Fleshy, lower-moisture Roma (plum) tomatoes were ideal for the task.  I sliced them vertically and scooped out the seeds and inner membranes, then diced them into a bowl.  I added sea salt, dulse flakes, and olive oil, tossed well, and then put them into the dehydrator for about 2 hours to remove any excess juiciness.  Finally, I tossed them once again with chili paste, sesame oil, and chopped scallions.

I love the chewy texture of rehydrated shitake mushrooms.  For this maki, I used a combination of both fresh and rehydrated mushrooms that were both marinated in nama shoyu, sake, and agave, then sprinkled with a little truffle salt.  I rolled them up with sesame seeds and some lovely chive flowers.

This is absolutely one of my favorite maki rolls.  Umeboshi plums are a pickled variety of Japanese plum known as "the king of alkaline foods" in the macrobiotic diet.  They are magnificent for digestion and even taken as a hangover aid.  They have a distinctive and powerful tart-salty flavor, incomparable to any other food.  Umeboshi plums are available whole, in a paste form, or as vinegar.  For these rolls, I used the paste.

Shiso leaves are sometimes referred to as "Japanese basil" but are actually from the beefsteak plant.  It tastes nothing like basil, and like ume plums, has an incomparable flavor to any other herb.  In my area, it's tough to find so it's a real treat when I score some.  Shiso and umeboshi plums are a perfect, harmonious match, which is why you will commonly find shiso leaves included in a package of ume plums.  Cucumbers are the perfect balancing and cooling compliment to the ume plum's and shiso's sharp flavors in these maki rolls.

<3, JMK

The magical girl susami

Excerpts from Wikipedia.org

The city's location, in a valley located between two mountains - Mount Malarayat and Mount Makulot - makes it a low risk area. These two mountains serve as a wind breaker in times of typhoon. Mount Makulot at the western portion also served as shield of the city in times of eruption of Taal Volcano.

Lipa City is a major recreational, religious, commercial, industrial and educational center in central Batangas province, as shown with the presence in the city of entities like Nestle Philippines, De La Salle Lipa, The Nazareth School, Canossa Academy, the San Sebastian Cathedral (seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa), The Mabini Academy which was founded in 1922, the Carmelite Convent, Robinson's Place Lipa Mall, Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club, Summit Point Golf and Country Club and SM City Lipa Mall. The City is also home to the Fernando Air Base, the former headquarters of the Philippine Air Force's 100th Training Wing and Air Education and Training Command (AETC) which is known in military circles as the Baguio of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Our usual routine is to stop by a church but since we arrived late and Zie is too hungry we decided to have our lunch at SM City Lipa.

Here are my shots.

Here's what we put in our stomach.

And of course before we go home, we don't forget to stop by the Church to give our prayers and to say thanks for our safe journey.