Tiffy in Japan | The Tower Restaurant Nagoya

Tiffy's Stay in Japan
The Tower Restaurant Nagoya

Sakae TV Tower

Earlier that day, I went to Seto with Kenji and his family (I teach him and his wife and son English) to this glassblowing studio to make our own masterpieces. Sadly enough, on my first try, the guy had to throw away the glass and we had to redo it because I didn't blow into the pole right.

It's really not as easy as it looks. Or maybe that's just me! Plus, that place was soooo hot. It was around 50 degrees in there. But I can't really complain since I love the glass cup that I half-made (I say half cause the guy who was guiding me through it practically did most of the glass-making). So you can say that I now own a glass cup that I made by myself -- a glass that cost Kenji ¥3,200.

After the glassblowing experience, we went to Sakae to have lunch since I had job interview at Oasis 21. I thought that we were going to eat at a place where they sell rice bowls since Yuuka, their daughter, wanted a udon. But no... We went to The Tower Restaurant Nagoya to have lunch.

I wanted to order the pasta set, which costs ¥1,800. But Kenji insisted that I order the lunch set, which costs ¥3,000. I insisted on getting the pasta but then he ordered so I wasn't able to get a word in. I really did want pasta, though :c It wasn't about the price, but oh well!

I'd tell you what's on the menu but it's in Japanese and I was barely able to read the English translations (fancy food terms escape me, I fail) so bear with me D:

This entrée had a sweet-sour taste to it. I especially liked the octopus. It was yummy.

The next entrée had fish sashimi on top of cucumbers surrounded by puréed pickles.

The soup? Mais con yelo, anyone? It was cold, too!

Medium rare pork -- just the way I like it.

And let me just say -- peach is my favorite fruit now.

I wasn't able to see the the Tower Restaurant at night but I was able to find a picture online.

Tiffy in Japan | Okonomiyaki

Tiffy's Stay in Japan
Okonomiyaki
Trip to Kyoto

A week before I went to Kyoto with my friends, a bunch of them went to an okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) restaurant here in Nagoya. But then something came up and I wasn't able to go. I didn't really know what it was back then. But my friend told me that it's a Japanese pancake.

So then when I went to Kyoto and my friends who live there asked me what I wanted to eat, and I told them that I wanted to try okonomiyaki. And so we did.

Since it's cheap (we shared an order of okonomiyaki and yakisoba), we decided to go there earlier in case there were a lot of people in line. And there were! This was the line to the door. We got there at around 6 and got seated at around 7:30.

I'm not sure exactly what was in our okonomiyaki -- I remember that Maki, one of the exchange students from the Philippines just asked me if I wanted it sweet or spicy. And since I wasn't sure how spicy their spicy is, I said sweet. If I remember correctly, the okonomiyaki had pork, cabbage, and probably some other vegetables. Okonomiyaki generally differs from region to region. And from what I heard, Osaka is known for its okonomiyaki.

Yuuum.

Tiffy in Japan | Häagen Dazs

This photo was taken when I went to Kyoto.

Back in the Philippines, Häagen Dazs doesn't really come cheap. But here in Japan, where a scoop of ice cream can cost from ¥300-¥400, it's not as expensive. Of course, I can always buy ice cream at the コンビニ for ¥100-¥200, but... :>

Oh! If there's something wrong with what I'm saying, feel free to correct me.

I love green tea ice cream. Plus, my ice cream came with mochi! Mochi is Japanese rice cake made out of glutinous rice. It's one of my favorite sweet here :)

I'll try to go to more food places here. And take more pictures.

Amano: A Taste of Southern Luzon

Amano Bistro - Bar
Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Type of Cuisine: Filipino - Southern Luzon

Amano Bistro and Bar, located at Tomas Morato, will be the newest Filipino restaurant featuring Southern Luzon dishes for us who would like to take a bite of distinct and spicy flavors from down south.



My dad’s side of the family hails from Sorsogon City. Although a part of me came from the Bicol region, the only time I got to visit Southern Luzon and get to sample their dishes was when I went to the beaches of Caramoan with my friends last October break.

During that trip, I got to taste really delicious southern dishes such as the famous Laing and the Bicol Express, which I fell in love with. This restaurant made me remember of that fun filled trip we had.

Cavite Monggo Soup
Would you believe that this was my first time to eat Monggo Soup? Cavite monggo cooked with vinegar and olive oil, a native way of cooking the dish instantly earned a fan. Now I understand why my mom loves this dish so much.

Torta de Patata
A well designed meal which consists of eggplant with ground pork with egg in a bed of potato garlic coriander. I found this dish interesting, though I suggested to the chef to mix the eggplant with the egg batter to have a whole and more exciting taste to the dish.

Laing ala Pinangat
A Quezon vegetable specialty with dried fish, wrapped with taro leaves that’s long-simmered in coconut cream. It has a strong flavor, which I think goes well with rice.

Palawan Tilapia
Palawan steamed fish in a symphony of bagoong (shrimp paste), calamansi (Philippine lime), ginger and spring onion. I found this dish to be ordinary despite it being well presented. It would be better if there would be a distinct flavor which will move the taste buds.

Calamansi Sorbet with Fruit Caviars
This Philippine lime sorbet, which is interestingly served with mango and melon caviar (locally called sago), is a very refreshing and smooth cleanser to the palette.

Bicol Express
This is one HOT dish. The best among the rest, the Bicol express, which is cooked in coconut milk, with fresh green chilies, is a famous dish from Naga City, Bicol. This dish emerged to be my favorite because of the perfect combination of tastes, which prove to engage you.

Amano Halo-Halo
Halo-halo of twelve sweets (ube, leche flan, nata de coco, langka, red bean, etc) served in frozen Buko (coconut) juice, an unconventional presentation which worked to its advantage.



After two weeks, when it finally opens, expect me to visit this restaurant again, to rekindle the tastes of my Southern Luzon food adventure, and to see for myself how the establishment fully operates.