Nameko's Food Adventures in Canada Week 1

Friday, November 23, 2012
(Forgot Nameko at home, so used my cellphone strap Nameko as a substitute.)

Dinner at a local Chinese restaurant (forgot the name): soup, beef with XO sauce, eggplant and minced pork in a hot pot, tofu and seafood in a hot pot, white rice (of course!), and dessert.

Saturday, November 25, 2012

Home alone. Cereal for "brunch" and frozen deep crust pizzas for dinner so didn't bother (re: remember) to take photos.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

After church, Nameko enjoys Sunday brunch (available Sat. & Sun. 9:30am-3:00pm) at Bistro Narra.

Hot chocolate, and steak (with hollandaise sauce!) and eggs

And a raspberry white chocolate tart for dessert!

Sunday evening Nameko enjoys a homemade meal at J&J's new place: a hearty winter meal of chili, potato skins and coleslaw.

Nameko gives out Japanese KitKat (Tokyo Rum Raisin, "Adult Sweetness" White Chocolate with Chocolate Biscuits, and Halloween Pumpkin Pudding) to all the friends assembled a J&J's.

For dessert there's (store-bought but still delicious) peanut butter and jelly cookies, and chocolate pecan pie! (Nameko is thankful that dessert goes into a separate stomach!)

Monday, November 26, 2012
Pastries from Ottawa for breakfast! Some sort of nut scone and a chocolate danish!

For lunch, rare beef and beef ball pho (Vietnamese noodles) from Pho-Mi 99--no onions or green onions, as requested. =P

Dinner is take-out noodles from a local Chinese restaurant (forgot the name): chicken and vegetable chow mein, and rice noodles with beef and black bean sauce

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

More pastries for breakfast and noodles (leftovers) for lunch. Popeye's Tuesday special--2 pieces of dark meat chicken for $2.89ish--and a biscuit for dinner.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Cereal, yogurt and random snacks for "brunch." Downtown family dinner at the Galangal Thai Fusion restaurant in Toronto.

Chicken satay and mango salad as starters.

Chicken Lemongrass Classic, Galangal Fried Rice, and Green Curry Chicken as entrees. Food was good, but was quite disappointed that although the description for the curry said "Chicken in green curry with bamboo shoots, carrots, eggplants and basil leaves" there wasn't any eggplant but broccoli instead. Would have ordered spicy eggplant instead of the curry if had known about the substitution in advance.

Looking for the eggplant in the curry (bottom right corner)

At N's apartment, Nameko discovers cranberry ginger ale (although he doesn't have any) and indulges in a melon flavoured Melona ice cream bar.

Thursday, December 29, 2012

Cereal for breakfast. In the afternoon, Nameko goes to B Trust, a local Chinese supermarket to get lunch (and leftovers become dinner). He has mango bubble tea, spicy fried tofu, shu mai, and eggplant in garlic sauce.

Nameko's First Trip Overseas

Fri. Oct. 23, 2012

From Tokyo Station Nameko boards the Narita Express.

And enjoys salmon, salmon roe and crab chirashi zushi and soy milk annin dofu (almond jello) for lunch...

 ...while enjoying the view

In about an hour, he arrives at Narita Airport--already decorated for Christmas.

 

After a couple of hours of waiting, Nameko finally spots the plane!

Nameko checks out the view from the plane window before taking his seat and making himself comfortable for the long flight.

Nameko doesn't want become Withered...

...so he enjoys a specially requested low-salt in-flight meal (dinner) of salmon with rice and vegetables, herb-crusted chicken salad and fruits.

Snack: sandwiches (asparagus, and tomato & cucumber)

Even though he already got a low-salt snack, the nice flight attendant gave him an extra (regular snack) sandwich and cookies! ^_^

For breakfast it's a kabocha pumpkin puree with chicken and vegetables (looks kind of funny but tastes good!), and fruits.

As the flight comes near to the end, Nameko enjoys a last view from above the clouds.

Cheap thrills

This year I spent $0 (or rather 0yen) on my Halloween costume, and I've got to say it was probably my favourite.

Although it wasn't just the costume, it was also the whole effect that I enjoyed. I had managed to get into the school without being noticed by any of the students. Since they had no idea that I had planned on coming, I decided to make it a surprise and stayed out of sight until the trick or treating. (I hid in the women's staff change room between classes and during cleaning time.)

The room I was in has two entrances, one with a single door (on the right) and one with double doors (on the left). There's a sink near the double doors and next to the sink is a bit of a column so you can't actually see the door on the right without going further into the room and then looking back. So anyway, I closed the curtains and locked up the single door and put newspapers up over the window. I put the candy on a back shelf--clearly visible from the double doors, which I left open. Then I hid in the little alcove by the single door.

At first I was worried that students wouldn't come in--a couple did pass by when they didn't immediately see a teacher, even though the candy was visible and the door was open!--but eventually a couple of boys came in and started heading towards the candy. And that's when...

Sadako came up from behind making moaning noises!!

The best reaction I got was from a third year boy. He had heard that I was in the room, but he didn't know where. Near the open doors there was a broom closet (to the left--so the opposite direction from where I was hiding). He was clearly all psyched up and expecting to see me pop out from there when he threw open the door. Consequently, he was totally unprepared to have me come up from behind him. He literally jumped and screamed! Totally hilarious. I really wish I had a video of that moment!

Even after students knew it was me, they still cringed back when I came at them with my Sadako pose (as pictured above). =P It was great.

Although I gave up watching the mask contest to keep the element of surprise, it was totally worth it. Probably my most fun Halloween at Kirita ever!

I only wish the event had taken place a little later so it would've been darker...Although I guess students might not have dared come into the classroom if it had been too dark, so it was probably for the best.

Bonus: Photos from the previous night's Sadako practice session!