Japan Adventure

This cute little girl at a table nearby kept turning around and looking at us. She got shy when I took her picture, although her mom & grandmother tried to get her to smile.



Below is my lunch set. It's huge, but just a few bites of each thing. From the left, the largest bowl is rice, sprinkled with crushed sesame seeds & fish flakes (very tasty!); above that is my dessert and in a small "woven" bowl -- egg custard -- not sweet, but delicious, called chawan-mushi (see both closer below); the lotus-shaped small bowl holds steamed green vegetables, & the square bowl in front is pickles; behind is a large plate with tempura fish, raw fresh veggies & a small mound of potato salad; then in front is the steaming soup (see closer view below).

Look at all the colors. We've heard there have to be 7 colors in a Japanese meal to make it complete . . .

Closeup of my sweet -- the cherry-leaf wrapped, sweetened pink rice ball, which is a very special treat during Cherry Blossom Season. The leaf is a cherry blossom leaf, pickled from last season and slightly salty. The egg custard contained a delicious mushroom, pink fish cake & the "surprise" bean always in the bottom of the egg custard. Protein is stuck into most dishes.