Search of the Perfect Almond Croissant

I’m a breakfast person. I like long leisurely breakfasts, either at home or at a roadside café, with a good cup of cappuccino. On weekdays I eat alone, because Jason leaves work at the ungodly hour of 7:30am and no amount of love can get this sleepyhead out of bed at that hour to have breakfast with dear hubby. Plus, unlike me, Jason is NOT a breakfast person. So weekday breakfasts are simple: a bowl of cereal with fresh summer berries, or a couple of slices of toasted artisan bread generously slathered with salted butter and a good jam. I’m still working my way through the jams I bought at the markets in Provence last summer and savoring every bit of it. Although I enjoy having my simple weekday breakfasts in front of the computer, I make it a point to sit down to have at least one proper breakfast every weekend. With three dogs by my feet, hubby sitting across the table from me, I don’t know a better way to spend a Sunday morning, which brings me to, my all time favorite breakfast food: almond croissant.

I first discovered almond croissant years ago in Paris, under the Eiffel tower. As far as the ways to discover a ubiquitous Parisian pastry item, is there any better location than a neighborhood café a few blocks away from the symbol of Paris? Before my encounter with the almond croissant, a nice flaky on the outside chewy on the inside regular croissant had always been my favorite. That day, however, among all the tempting pastries lined up behind the glass counter, my eyes were drawn to an “ugly mutant” croissant. You can sort of still make out the shape of a croissant but it had a bug-like shell, and almond slices sprinkled on top. I pointed to that, stuck out my index finger and said “S'il vous plait.” Minutes later, I was biting into the most luxurious breakfast pastry you could ever dream of. Granted, it was my first trip to Paris and I hadn’t embarked on my Le Cordon Bleu journey yet so you could say I was a lot more easily impressed then, but still, I think honest good food is honest good food no matter how discerning ones’ palate is. I had an almond croissant every chance I got for the rest of our stay in Paris and loved every one of them.

Back in Tokyo, I scoured every bakery in my neighborhood and found only one place that sold an interpretation of almond croissant. It was Yoku Moku, an iconic bakery on Omotesando that is famous for their petit cigare (a rolled up crepe-like cookie) of myriad flavors. The petit cigares can be found in the basement of most major department stores but the freshly baked cakes are only available at the Yoku Moku café on Omotesando. What a lot of people didn’t know was that in the morning, they put out baskets full of freshly baked pastries and among them I found a giant glazed croissant which they named almond croissant. It was vastly different from the ones I had in Paris, a more glamorous version if you would, and it was HUGE. It took Jason and I a lot of effort to chow down just that and two cups of coffee. It was also hard to come by. Over the years I was only able to buy it twice. It was always sold out, even when you go right at store opening. I suspect on some days they don’t make them.

Flash forward a couple of years and we’ve left Tokyo, escaped the humidity and air pollution of Hong Kong and ended up in Singapore again. Singapore, being humid, presents a lot of challenges to bakeries. Crusts on bread turn soggy almost the instant they hit the shelf and it’s virtually impossible to get a decent flaky croissant unless you bake it yourself. You would think that after so many years the almond croissant is but a distant memory, but not so, because we again had some amazing ones in a Parisian bakery called Boulangerie de Papa that supposedly had the best croissants in all of Paris. My passion was re-kindled and I was again on a quest to find the best almond croissant outside of Paris. And found it I did, in the most unlikely place.

We went on a holiday to Angkor Wat early this year and stayed in Hotel de la Paix for a few nights. Despite initial reservations about the hotel’s location right in the center of Siem Reap town, it turned out to be a tranquil sanctuary with tastefully decorated rooms and friendly staff.The best surprise, however, was the almond croissants at the breakfast buffet. I had one everyday of our stay there and bought everyone they had in the bakery the day we came back to Singapore. Sadly though, the curse of the Singapore humidity lived on. The nice crispy almond slices, along with the crunchy crust of almond paste turned soft when we brought them back home. Nonetheless, I was still happy, for Cambodia is a helluva lot closer than Paris. I was already making plans to revisit Hotel de la Paix, just so I could eat their almond croissants.

Why don’t I just make them myself, you ask? Believe me you, that thought crosses my mind every time I obsess about almond croissants, and my pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu did cover it in one of the demo sessions. Problem is, even in Tokyo, the land of DIY pastry, I was unable to find almond syrup, an indispensable ingredient in making the almond croissant, and substituting it with anything else, thereby compromising the authenticity was, to me, unthinkable.
So I sustain myself on memories of almond croissants I’ve had, the most recent ones being from Bouchon in Napa Valley and Tartine from San Francisco.

Then one day, the pastry goddess smiled upon me and told me to go into Hediard, which is just down the street from where I live but is so easy to miss that I’ve only been inside a handful of times. She told me to go all the way to the narrow hallway in the back of the store and there on the shelf, I saw, a bottle of almond syrup!

Did I run home with my precious bottle of almond syrup and make almond croissants right away? Of course not! I dug out the recipe and studied it and decided that I should start with the best croissant, which in Singapore, means frozen ones from Classic Fine Foods and baked to perfection in my own kitchen right before eating. Since almond croissants are traditionally made with day-old croissants (yes, it’s actually an ingenious way to recycle leftovers), I’d bake a few extras, eat some on day 1 and make the leftovers into almond croissants on day 2. Simple, right? Not so. It was months before I could find a weekend where we’d be eating breakfast home on Saturday (freshly baked flaky croissants) and have time on Sunday to transform the leftovers into almond croissants. You see when you’ve waited for so long to do something, you just want everything to be perfect.

The day finally came last weekend. It was Singapore’s National Day on Saturday and we were watching the Olympics at home on Sunday. So we had piping hot flaky croissants on Saturday and I made my first mini batch of almond croissants on Sunday. They had a glorious crunchy crust of sweet almond cream studded with crispy almond slices. Inside the croissant is a sweet filling of the same almond cream but it’s soft, which, combined with the subtle hint of orange blossom from the almond syrup, made it taste like something entirely different. It was perfect! Ok, maybe not perfect because I think I put too much almond cream on top so the almond slices slid off when the cream melted in the oven. But the point is, they tasted exactly the way I remembered, and now I can have them whenever I want. Is this the way to end an obsession or what!


Recipe (for six):

Six day-old croissants (the best you can find)

100g unsalted butter, softened
100g icing sugar
100g almond powder
10g flour
2 medium eggs
10g rum
almond syrup
almond slices
icing sugar

1. Sift together flour, icing sugar and almond powder
2. Whisk together butter and eggs, then whisk in flour mixture
3. Whisk in rum – this is almond cream
4. Slice croissants down in the middle without slicing through
5. Soak cut surface in almond syrup
6. Pipe some almond cream into center of croissant, close up croissant and pipe more on top
7. Sprinkle almond slices on top
8. Bake at 180C/350F for 15 minutes or until golden brown
9. Sprinkle with more icing sugar if you want.
10. Cool on rack and eat when it’s cooled but before the sugary almond crust gets soggy

The Best of Tokyo, According to Lynn

Having lived in Tokyo for almost six years, I get approached a lot by friends and cyber-acquaintances for recommendations on sights to see and places to eat when they visit Japan. While I am by no means an expert on either subject, I do have a list of favorites. After typing out more or less the same responses at least half a dozen times in the past year, I finally got smart and decided to write it down in my blog so that the next time I’m asked I could easily attach a link instead of digging up all the information from the depth of my drawer and computer files all over again. So here it goes, in no particular order and highly subjective:

Asakusa:
You will see kaminarimon when you get out of the Asakusa subway station. It is the gateway with the giant red lantern that’s on all the tourist information brochures and post cards. Walk through it to find yourself in a little covered street lined with souvenir stores selling everything from snacks to key chains to doggie outfits. Most of them are quite cheesy but there are a few gems tucked in between, such as the store selling antique hair ornaments and combs and a paper store with endless varieties of Japanese paper. At the end of this street, just before you reach the Kanon temple, you will probably see some people waiting in line on the right side of the street. This is a must-stop for me every time I go to Asakusa, a little store selling Age-manjus, which are little deep fried buns with different fillings. My favorites are sesame and pumpkins.

Take a stroll in the kanon temple after your snack of Age-manju. Work up an appetite by seeing how ravenous the pigeons are, and find your way back up the market street. On one of the side streets on your right is a famous tempura restaurant. I can’t remember which street it is, but a fail-proof way to find it is to take a short walk down any street and look for a line of people waiting outside. I’ve personally never tried it because I haven’t had much luck with that place, but if you must eat lunch in Asakusa I suggest you eat there. Otherwise you’re likely to end up in one of the many many tourist trap restaurants in the area and be hugely disappointed. After lunch you can walk across the red bridge and take a look at infamous “golden turd” perched on top of the Asahi building.

Kappabashi:
If you have even the slightest interest in cooking or kitchen appliances, you must not skip this stop. It is on the Tawaramachi stop on Ginza line, within walking distance to Asakusa. Most shops are closed on Sundays and Public holidays and are crowded on Saturdays so the best time to go is on a weekday, during the day. I can go on and on about the things you will find on this street, but suffice to say, if it has anything to do with food, you’ll find it here. For dessert enthusiasts who don’t have a lot of time to check out all the stores, go straight to Okashinomori (it’s on the second floor with a small street entrance). You’ll find most of everything here, although prices tend to be slightly higher.

Meiji Jingu aka Meiji Shrine
Subway station Jingumae on Chiyoda subway line or Harajuku on the JR Yamanote line.
Right smack in the middle of lively Harajuku, yet as soon as you step through the first gigantic torii only tranquility and utter peacefulness awaits you.

Place a 100yen coin in a slot and shake out a stick from a metal can. Find the drawer with the corresponding number on the stick and get your fortune (it’s in English too). If it’s good fortune, keep it with you so it can come true. If you don’t like it, tie it on a tree branch so it can be taken away with the wind. Or purchase a wooden plaque and write your wish on it, then tie it to the designated racks where thousands of others have done the same.

If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince or the Prime Minister at the shrine or a wedding procession all decked out in traditional kimonos, led by a priest under a big red umbrella.

Wear appropriate shoes because you’ll be walking on tiny pebbles the entire way in, no short cuts.

Harajuku – Omotesando
After visiting the shrine, take a left and walk towards Harajuku station. Walk past the first station entrance and at the next, smaller entrance cross the street at the traffic light. You are now at the entrance of Takeshita-dori, home to the mega 100yen shop and cos-play costume stores. Walk down this street and you’ll come out on Meiji-dori. Take a right and walk to the intersection marked by La Foret on your right and Gap on your left. Here you can eigher continue on Meiji-dori to go to Shibuya, or take a left and walk down Omotesando-dori, dubbed the Champs-Élysées of Tokyo, it is home to luxury brand boutiques and the super chic Omotesando Hills. You'll also love the unique architecture of some of the flagship stores. My favorite is the bubble-like Prada store on the other side of Aoyama-dori, the Japan Nurses Association HQ, which houses Burberry, and Dior, whose silvery curtain can change color.

If you get hungry while on Omotesando, there are a few places to grab a quick bite:
Jangara Ramen, 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Get the “all-in” (zenbu iri) or, if you don’t like mentaiko, ask for mentaiko-nuki. The ramen is Kyushu styled, with a very rich broth. Best to avoid in summer.

Harajuku Gyoza, Jingumae 6-2-4, Shibuya-ku, behind Kiddie Land toy store
They have four types of dumplings: boiled with chive, boiled without chive, fried with chive, fried without chive. Get one of each, it’s very cheap. The chili dipping oil in jars placed on the table is not to be missed. I also like to order their cucumber salad with a very nice peanut dressing.

Azabu Juban – Roppongi Hills
Take exit 5a (Shin-Ichinobashi intersection) of Azabujuban station on the Oedo line, turn left and walk towards Roppongi Hills, turn left again at Jomo gas station. On the left side of the street is a little store called Naniwaya selling nothing but taiyaki. Unlike other taiyaki’s spongy shell, theirs is crispy and thin. They only have one type of filling too: red bean paste. On most days you’ll have to wait for at least 20 minutes but if you are lucky and go on a rainy day you may not have to wait. It’s best to eat it right there on the stop when the skin is still crunchy and the filling piping hot.

Continue walking down the street and you will hit Azabu Juban’s main street. Turn right and shortly afterwards you’ll see a store on a street corner selling mostly snacks made of peanuts. The store is called Mamegen. My favorites are the umeshiso and green tea covered peanuts.

Follow the main street to the end to find yourself at TV Asahi’s new modern headquarter. Check out the Mori garden and explore Roppongi Hills. Don’t miss the spider sculpture and the observation deck in Mori Tower.

Restaurants:
The restaurant that we visited the most was probably Teyandei, our neighborhood Izakaya. We’d show up on a Sunday night with no reservation and it would be ok. Weekdays are little more tricky so it’s best to call ahead. Our favorite dishes there are chirimen cabbage salad with jakko (ask the manager to make it for you if it’s not on the menu); unagi tamago atsuyaki; deep fried yamaimo (mountain yam); gomadofu (sesame tofu); buta-no-kakuni (braised pork); and ochatsuke (rice with dashi poured on top).

One word of warning, the restaurant’s entrance is not very conspicuous. From the outside it looks like someone’s house and the sign is a wooden board no bigger than a name card nailed to the wall. Walk upstairs, however, you’ll see an unmarked wooden door. This is the entrance to Teyandei.

While in Roppongi Hills area, there are two nice restaurants in the neighborhood:
L’Atelier de Joel Robouchon (5772-7500) and Aburiya Fudo Azabu-Juban 1-8-6 (3568-6224). It goes without saying that Robouchon needs no further intro, and the food is excellent. However, they only take reservation for the 6:30pm seating and the place only has counter seats. Aburiya Fudo is an Izakaya type of restaurant specializing in slow grilled food. From the freshest of mountain vegetables to the fattiest cut of meat, they do everything perfectly.

Daiwa Sushi in Tsukiji fish market is worth a visit if you don’t mind waiting. (there is ALWAYS a line) You can get up early, catch the tuna auction and head over to Daiwa before 6:30am or some sushi breakfast. The Omakase set contains the freshest catch and varies from day to day. We always order that plus a few pieces of uni and ootoro to finish. Hurry up and go before the entire Tsukiji market is torn down and moved to its new locations.
Tsukiji Market Central Building 65-2-1

If you are in the mood for some fine dining while in Tokyo, Sens & Seveurs atop the Marunochi Building will never disappoint. The food is always fantastic, the staff always attentive and the view is amazing too.

Patisseries
My favorite subject. First, let me just say that if you go to the basement of Mitsukoshi or Isetan or any major department store you will be spoiled for choices and most of them are really good. But if that’s not enough to satisfy your very discerning taste buds, I have the following recommendations. They are, in my opinion, crème de lacrème. I hope you enjoy them too.

Idemi
3-6-17 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku 3538-6780
Get there early (before 9:30am) to avoid disappointment, as most items will be sold out by lunch hour. Many cakes cannot be taken out of the shop so be prepared to eat everything there.

Patisserie Paris S’eveille
2-14-5 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 5731- 3230

Sadaharu Aoki
3-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Shin-Kokusai Bldg 1F 5293-2800

La Maison du Chocolat, next door to Sadaharu Aoki, so you might as well. Their chocolate tart is very good.

Patissier Chocolatier Frederic Scailteur
1-11-10 Azabudai, Minato-Ku

Pierre Hermé
La Porte Aoyama (5-51-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku) next to the UN building.

My “To-Visit” list:
Mont St. Clair
2-22-4 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo

Toshi Yoroizuka
Midtown, Tokyo

Provence, here I come

I never thought I’d be so depressed going to Provence. We’ve been talking going with our friends Albin and Agnes for years and finally made the booking in February. Both Albin and Agnes are food lovers and avid cooks so the idea is to go for two weeks, rent a villa, go to the market in the morning, lay by the pool during the day and cook and eat and be merry. Agnes is bringing all her food recipes and I am in charge of desserts. We have also talked our friends Gaurang and Christine into joining us for the first week. It promises to be a great vacation for all.

Then three days ago something happened at work and Jason had to cancel. My first reaction was to cancel my trip too, but we have two other couples expecting us there and it just wouldn’t be nice to not show up. So now I’m going solo. While poor Jason’s stuck at work, I have to figure out how to get myself from CDG airport to Gare Lyod, use the rail pass to catch the TGV to Avignon, find the rental car office and drive myself to our villa in a little village called Murs, which is 30km away. I feel like I’m in a nightmare where I’m a contestant in the Amazing Race, except I don’t have a partner to read the map while I drive. Albin and Agnes are nice enough to come and meet me at the train station so I can just follow their car back to Murs. I hope I can remember the roads because two days later I am going back to pick up Gaurang and Christine.

We are hoping that Jason can come and join me for the second week, but there’s a chance that he might not make it at all. So there I was, going to the supermarket before I leave to stock up for Jason, and somehow I found myself shopping for clothes. This is what I do when I get depressed, I shop. A shirt, a pair of pants, a skirt, a necklace and a pair of earrings later, I don’t feel any better. That’s the thing about depression shopping, it rarely makes you feel better but you just can’t help yourself. I’m hoping the beautiful scenery in Provence and the company of good friends will do the trick.

Provence, here I come, alone =o(

Tibet Travel Advisory

I know, I know, Tibet was two months ago, and we’ve already gone on another trip between then and now, but what can I say? Didn’t I confess to being a hopeless procrastinator a long time ago? Better late than never, right? Like I said before, Tibet was such an exhausting trip and what little energy I had left afterwards was drained on the post-trip photo-editing saga that took weeks. When everything was done, well, I was just too sick of Tibet to talk about it, hence the two-month lag. Many friends, however, are interested in going to Tibet (a forbidden territory until recently) and asked me all sorts of questions. And I know lots of other people are probably dying to know more about this mystic place too, so I feel obligated to shed some lights and give some advice should you decide to make the journey (plus, it’s been raining incessantly ever since I got back to Tokyo yesterday, so I’m housebound with nothing else to do).

The point I cannot emphasize enough is to do your homework before going. Keep in mind that Tibet, although opened to tourism for a number of years now, is still in a remote area where living and sanitary standards may not be what you are used to back home. If you are like me, who values a good rest after a day of sightseeing, I highly recommend booking the best hotel/guesthouse whenever you can. In big cities like Lhasa and Shigase, four-star hotels provide clean bedding and hot water showers. Once in the mountainous regions, however, things you take for granted (such as running water) is not always available. I’ve taken photos of all the hotels/guest houses we’ve stayed in Tibet for your reference (photo album attached at the end).

Another major concern is altitude sickness. Even in Lhasa, the altitude is 3500m above sea level and if you go to Lake Namtso or the base camp, it can easily get above 5000m. I highly recommend taking Diamox (acetazolamide) as a preventative before and during your visit. The side effects (numbing sensation in fingers an toes and frequent urination) can be bothersome at first but isn’t it so much better than having altitude sickness ruin your trip?

One of the things that really struck me when I was in Tibet (besides the sunny blue sky and beautiful scenery) is how the Tibetans’ lives are entirely centered around their quest to achieve Nirvana and happiness in the afterlife. People devote huge portions of their days to religious activities to the extent that anyone coming from outside of Tibet may find it incomprehensive. It helps if you at least understand a little bit of history and background of Tibet before your trip. It’s no secret that the relationship between Tibet and the central government of China is filled with turmoils over the years. If you are a foreigner, your guide will not be inclined to get into any discussion on the subject of the politics or the Dalai Lhama. You will mostly likely get the official edited version of the history so it is up to you to do the homework to complete the whole picture. Even if you are not interested in the politics, it will still serve you to learn the history and background on Songtsan Gambo and his two wives (Tang dynasty Princess Wencheng and Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti), the Dalai and Panchen Lhama, and the major branches of the Tibetan Buddhism. A large part of sightseeing in Tibet is spent on visiting various monasteries. If you do not have at least some knowledge of the background, it gets boring really fast. After all, all the monasteries look similar without the history behind them.

Other miscellaneous pointers that might be useful:
- Tibetan roads are atrocious and all but disappear once you leave the big cities. If you are prone to carsickness, bring drugs. And don’t even think about renting a car and driving it yourself.
- Tibet is dusty, especially if you travel on unpaved non-roads. Wet tissues and sanitizing gels come in handy because it’s not always easy to find running water.
- Bathrooms in Tibet are disgusting to say the least. It is far more desirable to ask your driver to stop by the road where you can find a tree to go behind.
- Climate in Tibet is extremely dry so you need to have drinking water available at all times. It is a delicate balance to stay hydrated while being able to hold it until you find acceptable bathrooms. My advice is to drink lots when you’ve checked into your hotel (with clean bathroom) for the day and only take little sips on the road.
- Bring a sleeping bag or sheets if you have to stay in a guesthouse. The one we stayed in at the base camp washes their sheets once a year.
- At the last large city before going into the wilderness, stock up on water and non-perishable food. We found it far more appealing to munch on cookies and bread on occasions than to eat what the guesthouse had to offer. Bottled water comes in handy when there’s no water to even brush your teeth with.
- Bring emergency medical supplies such as motion sickness drugs, painkillers (one of the symptoms of altitude sickness is headache) and anti-diarrhea drugs.
- Tibet is not the place to be adventurous when it comes to food. If it smells or tastes funny, don’t eat it! It is no fun to get the runs when you can’t afford to pick and choose bathrooms. Trust me!
- Last but not the least, be patient and go with the flow. We had roads close on us on several occasions for no apparent reasons and all we could do was to wait it out. It’s part of the Tibet experience!

Here are some photos and comments from our Tibet trip.

Manmade Mother Nature

Jason and I had this illusion that if we tried hard enough, we could be the outdoorsy/nature type too. Of course we never quite get it. There was the time when we went camping by the sea, and I was kept awake all night by the sound of our tent flapping against the wind and worrying that it would get blown away. When we stayed in a tree-top cabin inside the Daintree National Park in Queensland, Australia, we freaked out when we thought a wild animal had gotten into our room after the rain when it was merely making a lot of noise on the roof. We swore off camping for good last summer when we saw a snake less than 200 meters from where we set up camp in Izu peninsula, but were still not smart enough to stay away from a cottage in the middle of Hakuba snow country on a recent ski trip. All these mishaps and more finally made us realize that we are hopeless city folks who would not last a day in the real wilderness. That notwithstanding, we do like to venture out of the city once in a while to “get in touch with mother nature” even if it’s the manmade kind. This time it brought us to Chiba, a prefecture just outside of Tokyo city, to get a taste of life on the farm.



Our friend Tomoko and her colleague Taka planned the two-day trip and invited us to tag along for the fun. We (eight in all) met up at a highway rest stop on a Saturday morning and went to a place called the Mother Farm, as in mother nature? Or the mother of all farms? Probably the latter because this place has everything: cows, sheep, ducks, pigs, horses, the biggest rape blossom field in Eastern Japan, a Mongolian barbecue restaurant, and a mini amusement park. Everything runs on a schedule: the ducks march three times a day; sheep breeds from around the world are on parade in the auditorium; you can try your hands at milking a cow; and kids can race alongside miniature pigs in a ring. There’s fun to be had by the whole family.



The next day, we went to a farm for 30 minutes of all-you-can-eat strawberry picking for 1200yen. I had expected a tiny patch of field with half-ripe fruit, but instead it was a giant greenhouse with rows and rows of strawberries of different varieties. My favorite was a long strawberry called Akihime, so sweet! We soon realized that our worries that thirty minutes is not enough time was totally unnecessary; we slowed down and all but stopped eating after the initial fifteen minutes. A classic case of “eyes bigger than the stomach” (眼大肚子小)



With a full belly of strawberries, we set out for our final destination: tsuribori, Japanese-styled fishing on a fish farm (you toss back your catch or pay exorbitant price to bring it back). We opted for the toss-back variety, so for 500yen, Jason and I rented a skinny bamboo pole of a fishing rod, and a small basket full of tiny shrimps. We hooked the shrimp onto the line and dropped it into the fishpond. Soon afterwards, a fish swam towards the bait and started nibbling at it. We held our breath and waited for it to bite, yet it never did. It just kept on nibbling until the whole shrimp was gone. Shrewd fish, these are! They must have learned their lessons the hard way and found out how to circumvent the problem. An hour later, after having caught only one fish, we started sprinkling the water with handfuls of shrimps to hide the one that’s on the hook. This is where the fish really impressed me. They would dash quickly to the bait, then upon seeing the shiny hook, come to a skidding stop and slowly swim away with a disdainful look on their faces. How smart!

You can see photos from this trip here, including the cute Komimi that I befriended.

Pitfalls of a Romantic Idea

This is the little cottage that we stayed in when we went skiing in Hakuba two weeks ago. Hakuba is known for its good snow quality outside of Hokkaido and has a high concentration of ski resorts, the most famous of which being Happone, where the 1998 winter Olympics was held.

Our friends Tomoko and Robbee, both avid snowboarders, are big fans of Hakuba and make at least one trip there per season. Under their influence, and the disappointment in Hokkaido last year still fresh on our mind (we had no snow in Hokkaido, if you could believe that), we said yes readily when Tomoko suggested a long weekend of skiing in Hakuba. I was even more thrilled when I found the above cottage on the internet that allows dogs. I have always wanted to stay in a cottage deep in the snow, have after dinner drinks around the fireplace (never mind I don’t drink and this particular cottage has no fireplace) and talk with friends well into the night. So it was decided that we would drive to the cottage on Thursday night so we could enjoy three full days of skiing.

First lesson: when traveling in rural areas, don’t trust your navigator, even if it managed to pinpoint the place with the phone number.

When we arrived at the spot where our cottage was supposed to be, there was no cottage in sight. Instead there was a ski shop. Lucky for us, the owner was still up and directed us to where our cottage was (3 km away). What happened is that the number listed was for the ski shop/reception area for cottage. Who would’ve guessed that the reception and cottage would be miles apart?!

Second lesson: oil heaters are your friends.

Twenty minutes later, we finally found our cottage. After climbing up a mound of snow with a couple of footholds carved out, we found ourselves in the living room of a VERY VERY cold cottage. We fiddled and waited for half an hour before concluding that the main heater was broken. This left us with two little oil heaters. If you have ever been in rural Japan in the winter, you would remember that unique gas smell. In Tokyo, you can usually find this type of oil burner in outdoor dining areas in the winter, in the shape of huge heat lamps. We had to make a decision: leave the heaters on all night long and be reasonably warm and face possible gas poisoning, or turn them off and face the consequences. We imagined what the headline of the local newspaper would say to describe the unfortunate ski accident “Five Bodies Found in Cottage, Four Human and One Dog” and decided to be cold and alive.

I spent half the night trying to warm up my body and when I finally fell asleep and woke up in the morning, my nose was freezing and I could see my own breath. Meanwhile, Robbee and Tomoko had resolved to bury themselves under piles of blankets so high that I didn’t even see them when I first woke up. Libby was probably the one that fared the best, curled up in her own little corner on a folded futon.

Third lesson: oil heaters give you headaches.

Second night, we got a third heater from the cottage owner and conquered our fear of death by gas poisoning. We kept all three heaters on all night. The heaters and the tabletop burner for our nabe dinner made the cottage very toasty, even on the verge of overheating. We had a nice night’s sleep, but Robbee and I woke up with pounding headaches, presumably from the gas smell and lack of oxygen.

Third night, we kept all the burners on and turned on the exhaust fans in the kitchen and the bathroom. The cottage wasn’t as warm as the night before, but no headaches, and we could even smell the wood. Finally, some kind of balance!

All those lessons learned will come in handy someday I am sure, but I am not eager to test them out any time soon. Which is why, for our next and final ski trip of the season, I chose Naeba Prince Hotel, a mammoth structure of a chain hotel that will not be missed by any car navigator. Sure, it will just be a standard hotel room and we won’t be able to bring Libby, but at least the inside temperature will be substantially higher than outside. I think it will be a good way to end the ski season.

For photos of this trip, click here.

Ski trip to Tsumagoi

We went to Karuizawa and Tsumagoi for ski trip last weekend. Despite the accident, we (all four people and one dog) managed have lots of fun.

This is Libby with a snow covered mouth.



And this is Asama-yama, the volcano that erupted last year spreading ashes all the way to Tokyo, covered in snow.



For more pictures, click here

First Ski 2005

For every ski season, there is a “first ski” (hatsu-suberi in Japanese). It usually means the first weekend that a ski resort opens for the season, but it also means the first time one goes skiing for the season.

For our first-ski this year, we took the JR day-trip package to GALA Yuzawa. 13500yen per person gets you a return-trip shinkansen (bullet train) ticket, plus a one-day ski lift pass worth 4500yen. Considering how much we would’ve paid in highway tolls, plus gas, it’s not a bad deal at all.

The train ride took a little over an hour and a half. All along the way, there was no snow in sight. Then the train went into a tunnel, and when we came out on the other end, it was like a different world. I stared and said, “But, but, it was sunny just a minute ago.” Feathery snowflakes engulfed our train as it pulled into the station. GALA Yuzawa ski resort is directly connected to the shinkansen station: you step off the train, go up one floor, and you are in the lobby of the ski resort’s main building. It’s so convenient, I don’t know why we never came here instead of insisting on getting up at 4am and drive to ski resorts.

Half an hour later, changed and our things stored away in the locker, we were ready to hit the slopes. I was extra glad that I took precaution and brought mini heating pads (the type activated by body heat). I had one in each ski boot, one stuck on my tummy, and another one slipped into the kangaroo pouch on my fleece pullover.



“I am ready!” said I to the snowflakes coming straight into my face.
And I was glad to find out that, unlike last year, my skiing muscles didn’t refuse to wake up after a one-year hibernation. But it was cooooold! I covered myself up as much as possible, but the few patches of exposed skin on my face still felt the freezing wind and a stray strand of hair quickly became an icicle hanging next to my face, grrrrrrr!

I guess this is the price to pay for the adrenaline rush and the fresh mountain air. Let the ski season begin!

Shanghai Night

I have always considered Shanghai my hometown, even though I only lived there for 11 years. But those were the most impressionable years and the fond memories are permanently etched in my mind. The food is hard to beat too so we trudge back to Shanghai every year, but the trips are always very rushed. A normal trip itinerary looks something like this:
Day 1 – arrival at 9pm, dinner with in-laws
Day 2 – send clothes to tailor to be repaired; get eyes checked for new prescriptions; lunch at grandmother’s place; visit DVD shops; dinner; get hair washed
Day 3 – pick up altered clothes; leave on a trip to somewhere else in China
Day X – return to Shanghai; pick up new glasses; last visit to DVD shop; dinner with in-laws; hair wash again if time allows; pack
Day X+1 – 8am leave for airport

As such, I never have any time to visit the new landmarks or do any sightseeing. You might think it strange that a person who grew up in Shanghai would have the urge to go sightseeing, but Shanghai is changing so rapidly that in the last 15 years since I left, the landscape has gone through a total transformation. I can no longer recognize even the street that I grew up on, let alone name the dozens of new skyscrapers that jump into your vision field everywhere you turn. Lucky for me, a recent business trip to Shanghai gave me the opportunity to do some touristy things.

It was my company’s annual Asian regional regulatory affairs conference, a.k.a. free trip to an exotic location. Granted, Shanghai is not exotic to me, but I welcomed the chance to go for some great food and shopping, on company time. After the first day of meeting, which lasted from 8:30am to 6:30pm, our Shanghai office arranged a night sightseeing tour after dinner.

A tour bus with an English-speaking guide picked us up at our hotel and took us to the Oriental Pearl, Shanghai’s multi-functional TV tower complete with three observational decks. At 468m, it is the tallest tower in Asia and the third tallest in the world.


Looking at the Oriental Pearl from its base

The tower sits on the east bank of the Huangpu river across from the bund (waitan in Chinese), the financial district of Shanghai’s colonial era. From the tower, the old customs house with the trademark clock and various bank headquarters can be seen across the river.


View of the bund

I found that the best spot to take pictures is actually the lowest deck. It is not enclosed in glass like the two upper decks so there is no problem with glare, and the open design provides some very much needed fresh air. It is from this deck that I took the following photos of my favorite skyscraper in Shanghai, the Jin Mao Da Sha, which houses the Grand Hyatt Hotel on its upper floors. It looks infinitely better at night, and always reminds me of Gotham city.


Jin Mao building


Another angle

The Nikko Curse

Path next to Chuzenji Lake

Sometimes some places just refuse to cooperate. Be it Mt. Fuji who refuses to show itself from behind the clouds, or a specific restaurant that stubbornly remains fully booked every single time you try to go. We have the Nikko curse. Never had much luck with it: cancelled trip due to typhoon; freezing weather; crazy bus driver; buses running late; being stuck in a smoking cart on a train for two hours, etc. But when our trip to Niigata had to be cancelled due to the recent earthquake, Nikko came up as an alternative. Since we’ll be going with a bunch of other people, I thought, maybe the curse will be diluted by the luck of other people, if not completely lifted.

First thing to go wrong was the navigator on our rent-a-van. It flat-out refused to work. Then in the middle of hiking on Saturday, it started to rain. But that was the extent of things that went wrong, we even made the 7:15pm deadline to return our rental car. Not too bad at all. Maybe I can even consider the curse lifted?

More photos



Autumn Collors