A One Minute Pancake Machine
I ran across this contraption at a Harrisburg Holiday Inn a few days ago. Naturally, I had to give this a try!
Despite the timing discrepancy and the disappointing shape and size of the final product, it actually tasted pretty good, believe it or not! Certainly on par with those ubiquitous waffle machines I seem to find in every 2nd tier (and under) motel I visit…
Hamamatsu is famous for their eel cuisine ("Unagi" in Japanese). Kazu-San takes us to his favorite eel restaurant called Unagi Fujita Hamamatsu Ekimae. This has got to be the lightest, most flavorful eel I have ever tasted - absolutely heavenly! In addition, we got to sample some fried eel bones - super crunchy with a smoky taste. Great source of calcium and a delight to snack on!
After hearing so much hype about the Impossible Burger, I was delighted to have an opportunity to try one out during my stay at the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport for the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Impossible Burger is made completely from plants, with a soybean extract called “heme” that’s supposed to mimic the “bloodiness” of a beef burger. From all online taste comparisons between Impossible Burger and their biggest competitor, Beyond Beef, most folks seem to be impressed with the “beefiness” of Impossible Burger. Burger King had a viral video proclaiming longtime Whopper lovers dumbfounded at not being able to tell the Impossible Whopper apart from its real beef version.
Whenever you go to Korea, there are a couple of things you really need to try. You need to try the Korean barbecue. Or for me, I need to have Korean barbecue of some sort. I need to have some Korean fried chicken. Fried chicken is amazing here. They call it 양념 통닭 (“yangnyum tong tak” = '“seasoned chicken”) in some places, but any kind of fried chicken you get in Korea is the best in the world, I think. And another favorite that I haven't heard a lot of people talk about are the strawberries.
Korean strawberries are unbelievable. They are like eating candy. I remember one time walking through an open air market a number of years ago. A guy drove up in a motorcycle with a big container. He opened it up and showed us these strawberries. And they looked gorgeous!! So, on a whim, I just went ahead and bought some. Right then and there, I put one of the strawberries in my mouth - and I could not believe how sweet it tasted!! It's literally like eating candy. There is absolutely no bitterness, no sourness. It is like eating pure sugar, it's unbelievable! It's so delicious. Love these strawberries!!
After a grueling day of piano workshops at the Yamaha Kagegawa factory, our Yamaha liaison Kazu-san treats us to one of the finest sushi dinners I have ever experienced in his hometown of Hamematsu.