After the visit...

Whoa... just plain whoa.

That is my impression after visiting the Midori Restaurant. It was better than what I have expected! Basically, thanks to the visit, I’ve gained my knowledge about the Japanese culture! Moreover, we had free lunch offered by the restaurant and all the food were oh-so-good... Great, now I’m hungry again.

First of all, I learned about the basic Japanese etiquette. Seen any Japanese movies? If so, you will realize that the Japanese people are likely to bow most of the times. Now that is called ojigi. It could be a form of greeting, or to show your apology. We also learned about amairu, which is basically the feeling of respect. And shieza is the etiquette for sitting on a tatami. When it comes to the etiquettes in eating, those are the toughest ones. Seriously! You’ve got various ways to use the chopsticks, various ways to hold a bowl AND it depends on what kind of bowl is it (gohan, etc.), and you are also required to pour any type of drink in precision. We also learned about some basic greetings in Japanese, which I honestly already knew because I’ve been studying the Japanese language individually. Then, we discovered how to make sushi, tenpura moriawase and happosai. And the best part was, we got to eat them! For free! I can’t tell you guys just how satisfied I was – especially gastronomically.

See? I told you Japanese dining is an educational dining experience! ;D

Well, gochisousama deshita! Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu, Midori Restaurant!

Midori Restaurant

The trip to Midori Restaurant was successful. Besides great food, I learned a lot of new things. In our trip to Midori Restaurant, we were taught some Japanese etiquette.

• Ojigi, is bowing in two cases: when greeting someone or when apologizing. When bowing, males put their arms on their sides and females cross their arms. When greeting someone, you should bow 45 degrees. When apologizing, you should bow 90 degrees until you are forgiven!
• Shieza, explains how to sit on the tatami properly. Males should sit cross-legged, while females must sit with their knees folded under their thighs or with their legs on one side

We were also taught how to hold the chopsticks easily. Who knew, the other side of the chopstick (the thicker part) is for taking food from the table onto your bowl! Previously, I didn't know that. We were also taught how to hold the rice bowl properly (you should hold your bowl everytime you eat... except if it is burning hot!). We were also taught some Japanese culinary vocabulary, like ebi (prawn), kyuri (cucumber), gari (ginger), unagi (eel), etc.

Then came the exciting part! We were given recipes, then the chef demonstrated how to make California Roll (a classic!), Salmon Crispy Roll (soooooo yummy), Tenpura and Japanese vegetable stir-fry (which name I happen to forgot....) It turns out that making sushi is quite simple, but you need to master the rolling technique so that the sushi doesn't fall apart when you cut it (you would also need a super-sharp knife too to cut the roll easier... and you must have good sushi rice too).

Then.... we ate!!! Gastronomically, we are extremely satisfied. This is a great trip -- it was very informative and we were all satisfied :)

Thank you, Midori! <3

The Long-Awaited Visit... Yatta!

The time has finally come for me - oops - I mean for my friends and I to visit the Midori Restaurant... Hip hip hooray! Well I wouldn't be as excited if I were to visit another restaurant... However, I'm fully assured that this trip is going to be a super fun and exciting one. Come on people, I'm talking about a Japanese restaurant here! Who doesn't love Japanese food?

...do you or do you not?

Oh well, never mind. Anyway, I've always loved Japanese food. It's even number 1 on my "favorite type of food" list. Actually, I started off by hating Japanese food. God, I can't believe how foolish I was to loathe such a heavenly type of cuisine! My father was the one who introduced me to the delicacy. He gave me ikura sashimi, or "fish eggs", and it was my first-ever Japanese dish. At first, I thought it was the weirdest thing ever to be created for man kind to digest. Moreover, it was all slimy and...orange. But, it was so strange that it ended up tasting so good! So, strange things aren't always bad, are they? Ah, yes. Alas, Japanese food opened my eyes and my heart to accept strange, weird & extraordinary things into my life. :D

Therefore, I expect to eat more of this healthy-and-delicious-at-the-same-time cuisine at Midori Restaurant. In addition, I also expect this visit to upgrade my knowledge about Japanese culture, tradition and etiquette, because in fact Japanese dining is a truly educational dining experience, really!

Oh, and I have one more thing to say... yatta!

Future Trip to Midori

Japanese food, in my opinion, is one of the best cuisines I've ever tasted. Not only how it tasted, but in terms of health, it is considered as healthy. Nice healthy food, who wouldn't want that?

Who doesn't know Sushi? One of the most popular dish of Japan. I think, almost everybody in the world knows what Sushi is and have seen or even taste sushi.

Other than sushi, Japan has a lot more famous dishes like Ramen, miso soup, udon, and many others which I can't really remember right now. Anyways, we're going on a field trip to this Japanese restaurant located just a little bit far from the school and it's a very nice restaurant. I've been there before and I think that restaurant is a suitable place for us all to learn on making these Japanese dishes.

I'm hoping

Here's an interesting fact about Japanese food: not all food are well-cooked.

And they actually taste good. How amazing :)

Even if they're not cooked, they're actually healthy for the body and doesn't make you fat (for those people on weight reducing process).

Just by thinking about it, my stomach growls (seriously) and I expect to get the data that I want from visiting that restaurant.

Japanese Cuisine

On Tuesday 28 September 2010, we are going to visit Midori Restaurant which is a Japanese restaurant. I love Japanese food! I've always liked it since I was little, starting from the bento-style food. As I grew older, I didn't eat much Japanese bento food, but I started eating sushi. At first, I didn't know what sushi was, except for the fact that the fish they serve is raw. I was appalled by this because I have never, at that point in my life, ever ate anything raw. I thought it would be gross, but I tried it anyway, and I love it. It suits my vegetarianism as well. Although I am vegetarian, I still eat fish. Most sushi use salmon and I have read & heard that salmon is nutritious.

I am familiar with sushi, in fact, it has become one of my favorite food. I have once tried to make sushi at home, but it failed mostly because I had no rice vinegar. I'd love to know more about making sushi because it's not just about making food, sushi-making is art too. I would also love to learn about how to process raw fish so that it is safe to eat. I want to learn how to cut the sushi roll in perfect precision, making the sushi look neat as soon as it arrives on your table. I would also want to know how wasabi is made. I would also like to know Japanese eating etiquette.

Behind traditional food, there is always an interesting culture!

Japan's cuisine

Japanese cuisine is an interesting cuisine for me. It makes me want to know how do they make the sushi and sashimi because from what I know most of them are raw. When I go to a Japanese restaurant I want to see how can they make their dishes, how do they cut it, how can they make the rolls and how can they make it to stay in shape until the foods are delivered to all the tables. Not only that but I also want to know why do they serve most of their dishes cold not warm.

Japanese food is kind of tricky for me because like I said before some of them are raw, then how do they kill the germs that are in the meat and also how do they store the fish so it can stay fresh? Not only that I also want to know how can they make crab shell into a dish without hurting the person who is eating it because as we all know, crab shells are hard and they usually use this weird green sauce mixed with soy sauce to eat sushi and sashimi.

Personally I don’t really like Japanese food because most of them are raw and cold, I never liked to eat something cold. So I hope after my visit, I will be able and want to eat Japanese food.

Midori Japanese Restaurant - I wonder what?

On the upcoming Tuesday the 28th, the whole geography class (I pity the science class though) will be going to Midori which is a new Japanese Restaurant in town that does actually serve sushi and some other wow-ful Japanese food.

I had been to this restaurant once with couple of friends, but obviously I hadn't tried everything listed on the menu so later I'm hoping to try out something new for me. Besides the building, furnitures and some other basic stuffs relating to the restaurant, I would really like to actually know more not only about the restaurant it selves but also about the Japanese delicacy they serve. Last time I visited the restaurant, they serve delicious foods but the thing that I am concerned about is the high price they set for the foods listed down on the menu.

Oh well, I'll be expecting a lot from this restaurant on my second visit! It better be awesome, hahaha! :P

A Trip to the Land of Japan ...

... well, sort of ...

Next week we will embark on a journey (actually a small field trip) to a Japanese restaurant in our very own city of Bogor. Without traveling very far we have the privilege of witnessing how Sushi and other Japanese delicacies are made.

In my mind, Japanese food is unique and delicate on the tongue. With the simplicity of just rice, fish and some traditional spices, Japanese food can also be quite surprising. I really enjoy Japanese food, how it can make me so full even though the portions seem small (or sometimes, the portions are huge). I know some people who don't enjoy or don't even dare eat Japanese food (specifically Sushi) because it is known for being raw and fresh, but I suppose eating Japanese food as a child helps me get over that.

I am familiar with Midori (the restaurant that we will visit on the 28th of September) as I have eaten there a few times before with my family. Though what I am looking forward to is the process of making the food, and of course devouring it, because it is not something you see everyday unless you live in Japan.

I've heard that the process of making Japanese food is quite complex even though the result seems very simple, I'm hoping to see if that statement will be proving right or not. I'm also hoping that I get to try a different variety of Japanese food, because there is always something new.

So basically I'm hoping that I learn a lot (and eat a lot) when we go to visit Midori, I'm really looking forward to this trip.

- Nadira

Japan - The Heian Period

Japan - The Heian Period

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Hey y’all... So as you know (you do?), weeks ago I was given an assignment to make a presentation about THE HEIAN PERIOD. Sounds pretty... stiff, eh? BUT as an excellent geographist (yeah right), I’ve tried to make my presentation clear enough – like, crystal clear. Before I show you that, I’m gonna give you guys a brief explanation about what THE HEIAN PERIOD really is first-hand:
Did you know that Kyoto was where THE HEIAN PERIOD originally occured? Well, back then, after the Nara period, the capital city of Japan was sort of moved to Heian-kyo (which is Kyoto now). At that time, it wasn’t the emperor who was in charge of ruling the place; it was a noble family called the FUJIWARA CLAN, and this clan is just pure rich and powerful.So, they took over the emperor’s place and gained absolute control. The emperor and his court didn’t have so much political authority, so they filled their time by developing court ceremonies and just doing more arts... Before long, the court officials were already artistic. They implemented and applied arts to everything they do, making them more artistic (and romantic) everyday. THE HEIAN PERIOD is the period where Japanese arts was at its peak. So basically, THE HEIAN PERIOD was famous for its remarkable arts.
...and there’s still more! You guys could just check out my presentation, it has all the other information about THE HEIAN PERIOD. So there you go, people!

Japan - An Emerging Civilization

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Japan - The Shoguns

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Hello world, so couple weeks ago I did this presentation assignment about the new era in Japan. So this presentation basically outlined the modernization & industrialization that occurs in Japan and how their military made a big success.

This period of time is quite interesting in my opinion! It covers up things such as the change of Japan's capital city, the beginning of the Japanese to study abroad and even how they adopt the western fashion!

Japan - Contact With the West

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Japan - Drift to War

Hey there! I'd like to call this part of the Japanese history "Drift To War." So, what's it about? Like what the title states, it's about how Japan got into World War II. There are a lot of factors that made Japan get involved in World War II. This period is considered quite a frustrating time in Japan (quite frustrating to put together as well.... just kidding!). Japan has a ton of foreign and domestic problems waiting to be solved. Did you know Japan was in the League of Nations and were among the Big Five? I previously did not know this. Hope you find the presentation informative!

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