Konbiniya
Here’s another thing that’s way better, cooler, more fun, and more interesting in Tokyo: Convenience stores. Sure, they all generally carry the same things as they do here in Vancouver, but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food they had to offer.
I went to Tokyo for fun last month with my bff Karlo. We got in at about 9pm, tried to sleep, couldn’t, so we got up at 2am and left the inn at 5am hungry. This is before we realized places weren’t open until 10-11am. We noticed a 7-11 (aka Seven & I Holdings) near our ryokan and decided to stop in. There were tonnes of refrigerated foods to choose from: noodle dishes, bento boxes, and triangle sushi rolls that were wrapped in cellophane to name a few. We ate quite a few of these because they were Y85 each, a filling go-to snack. They were tricky to open at first– it had been wrapped separately from the nori so carefully to protect the rice from completely hardening, sort of like an origami sushi. We decided on some familiar looking buns with tuna, cheese and ham at about Y125 each and ate in front of the convenience store. We saw a young girl coming out with a full bag of groceries and I remember thinking how weird is it to buy all your groceries from 7-11, but remembered just how common that is amongst language school students here in Vancouver–convenience stores in some parts of Asia are grocery stores. And why not! In Vancouver the idea is disgusting because you’re paying $6 for a loaf of bread when you could be paying half at grocery store x…
There’s this store on Robson that you’ve probably seen or passed by: it’s called Konbiniya, Karlo swore by all of their prepared food last summer when he was living off of Davie. Like T&T in Vancouver, they have a prepared food section which they gradually mark down towards the end of the evening.
I personally don’t like the prepared food here. I tried, but I just can’t eat it for some reason. BUT, unlike this picture suggests, they have added a crepe window where they make Japanese style crepes. I HIGHLY recommend this place if you want something different from Cafe Crepe. It’s only a few more blocks down and they make a more ergonomically rolled crepe for walking than the Cafe Crepe does–you can just grip it better. In Harajuku I had a crepe with peaches, frozen yogurt, and whipped cream. I had the identical one at Konbiniya a week ago and it was just as amazing. Ok, not really because we were walking down Robson on a Thursday night and not on any given day in Harajuku. Still, it nearly brought a tear to my eye…
Konbiniya has all those hard to find Japanese treats, like Glico brand cream filled cookies that are super yummy. It comes in a red box with the face of a little Asian boy happily eating the cookies. You can get that black coffee gum too. And all those canned iced coffees , except the Suntory Boss Brand, which is a shame. Anyway, it’s a nice place to visit when you miss Tokyo, minus the irasshaimase.
xx
Filed under: Japan | 1 Comment
If Japanese people do something, they do it to the extreme.. or not at all.
A brass coffee-roaster behind the counter at Coffee Tonya
Yesterday I went with my girlfriend to find freshly roasted coffee. In Canada or Australia, this would mean finding a micro-roaster where we could ask what date the beans were roasted, and just hope that we could buy some roasted within the last week.
When I walked inside Coffee Tonya, the strong smell of fresh-roasted coffee envelped me. A tall brass roaster was whirring behind the counter—they were actually roasting as I stepped through the doors. Awesome!
A Coffee Tonya employee putting coffee beans into the roaster. Sorry for the photo's terrible quality..
Near to the counter is what looks like a huge display of green beans, enough to be a storage area. I was fairly impressed, but quickly realized that it wasn’t just a display. It’s where you decide what beans you want, then they roast them for you, while you wait.
Green coffee beans at Coffee Tonya
A huge variety of green beans from nearly every coffee-producing country I'm familiar with
There were so many different kinds to choose from, I felt like a kid at a candy shop. My girlfriend picked Ethiopian Harar, her absolute favorite (she’s got great taste.) I picked Cuban coffee from the Crystal Mountain region. It’s very impressive. The flavors are diverse, yet balanced. Like eating chocolate-covered strawberries.
Japan is amazing; I was hoping for coffee beans less than a week old, and got beans less than a minute old.
Filed under: Japan, coffee, what i've always wanted | 1 Comment
Suntory times
A washed-up movie star advertising a Suntory product… seem familiar? I wonder if Tommy Lee Jones had a mid-life crisis while filming these Japanese commercials.
-jer.
p.s. This post is refering to the film Lost In Translation. If you haven’t seen it, make it number one on your list of movies to watch.
Filed under: Japan, for relaxing times | 1 Comment
Siphon coffee in Japan
Traditional coffee shops are rare in Japan, but this one is a great place to find.
Last weekend I went to a coffee shop in downtown Chiba, which is about an hour from Tokyo by train. It’s a great-looking little place that’s run by an elderly couple who didn’t want their picture taken. The decor seemed random and yet amazing.
The shop had many classic-looking lights such as these.
It had sort of an old-world a gun motif going on.
They had a few different origins of coffee on the menu, including Jamaican Blue Mountain–considered my many to be the best coffee region in the world. I tried cupping it a little while ago at JJ Bean in Vancouver and was surprised by how terrible it was, so at this shop I opted for the Kilimanjaro.
This is the front counter. Notice the ash tray—smoking inside is legal in Japan.
This has got to be one of the coolest-looking coffee grinders ever. Key Coffee is a very popular roaster in Japan.
Lovely milk and sugar bowls, beautiful wood table... worst latte milk ever.
The coffee was crisp and well-rounded, but I could tell that the beans were a bit old by the muted flavors. It was still delicious, and I will be going back there often. But never for a milk drink.
Filed under: Japan, coffee | Leave a Comment
Japanese train station signs
Everything in this country is cuter: clothes, cars, people, sings… everything. Sometimes it’s a bit too much, like the stands selling cell phone decorations, but most of the time the cuteness is very endearing. Train stations are a good example, here’s some signs on the train line between Chiba and Tokyo.
This is a play on words, it says something like "Don't rush in!!" but two characters form the word eggplant. Too cute.
I love the piston diagram.
Don't let your sandals get stuck in the escalator.
Don't let your hand get caught in the door! Why are there little animals? I suppose just because they're cute.
There are lots of photos on my camera, and Mariz has some pretty great shots from her time in Tokyo. Stay tuned for more blog posts from Japan!
-jer.
Filed under: Japan | 3 Comments
The coffee grounds from our cupping overflow onto the counter. Kyle Wheeler, seen here, helped me plan the jam. Check out his awesome t-shirt from 2% Jazz, in Victoria.
Espresso was flowing on Sunday in the Radio Station Café’s barista jam. It was a hot day, and was even hotter behind the espresso machine as Vancouver’s best baristas pulled shots after shot—three practice ones and the fourth went to the judges: Robert Csar from JJ Bean and Mark Prince who runs one of the best coffee websites on the net.
We used Moja’s espresso, a complex blend that was challenging to work with but it made pulling a good shot even more rewarding.
There was usually a long line of nice cameras documenting the jam, and the camera I was using was low on battery power, so I didn’t take too many shots. Here are a few that I did take:
Asuka Yoshimoto came down from the Blenz at Vancouver Public Library's main branch downtown. There are some very dedicated baristas at that shop.
Brandy from JJ on Powell pulled a stunning shot and handed it to the judges with an excited outline of the flavours they could expect in the shot. She made it into the final round.
Brandy's final shot pours into the presentation cups.
After nearly two hours and 11 baristas, the field was narrowed down to three finalists:
Brandy from JJ, David from Moja and Spencer from JJ relaxing before the final shots were thrown down.
Spencer took the belt home… And we headed over to the Irish Heather for a pint or two. Want to see some better coverage?
Check out vancouvercoffee.ca, robertcsar.ca or cleanhotdry.com
-Jeremy
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This is a coffee party that a friend and I are planning. It should be lots of fun..
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Paper Heart=Cuteness overload
true lurrrve
Does true love exist? That is the premise of Paper Heart a documentary/comedy starring Michael Cera & Charlyne Yi, who I only recognize as the weirdo girl who was high as a kite for most of Knocked up. I think I watched this trailer 6 times tonight, almost beating my record with Where the Wild Things Are. You’ll probably recognize some familiar faces in the trailer, including Bill from Freaks and Geeks. I’m just excited this cute asian girl is going out with Michael Cera. Go Asia! Maybe this post is partially narcissistic…and idealistic. Oh you didn’t know? I’m one of the few girls who finds Michael Cera’s geekiness and awkwardness hot. I also wear cardigans and I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to make statements like that. Not at all. My friend Jane told me I kind of look like Charlyne if I “Fell down the stairs, pulled out 19 wisdom teeth at once, and didn’t wash my hair for a week.” A GIRL CAN DREAM! For the record I think she’s totally cute either way. These two reflect each other in a indie weirdo way that’s sort of endearing. Anyway, go watch the trailer and hope to god it screens in Vancouver.
xx
Filed under: duets, uhmm, what i've always wanted | 3 Comments
The Happiness Project
The Happiness Project was playing at Red Cat Records when I was in there today, and it just blew my mind. It’s the first solo album from Charles Spearin, the lead guy from Do Make Say Think, who has also done a lot of work with Broken Social Scene.
He interviewed his Toronto neighbours about happiness, then set it to music…
“After each interview I would listen back to the recording for moments that were interesting in both meaning and melody,” wrote Charles Spearin.
It’s better to hear it than to try and explain it.. Listen here: www.myspace.com/charlesspearin
or download “Anna” by Charles Spearin, I think it’s the best track.
Filed under: music | Leave a Comment
This place is at 108 E. Hastings Street—cracktown. In the last year it’s gone from being just the dusty shell of an abandoned building to the coolest destination in the city.
It opens on Saturday. You heard it here first.
-jer.
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