www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvg6Wf5GtQk

This uploader of this video went to Antigua, Guatemala and made a video of magma BBQ. Yes, he used a volcano to cook some meat. The real action starts at 2:21.

The verdict? The meat was pretty good, but had a grainy texture from magma getting on it. The vegetables didn’t cook very well and were still sort of raw. Seemed like it was too hot to stick around to wait for them to cook. However, it was so hot, that some of the other meat in his bag got cooked right there in the bag as he was hiking around on the volcano.

I think this could be the start of a whole new tradition of BBQ.

Technorati Tags: @BGM, Antigua, barbeque, BBQ, Guatemala, mario world, volcano, yakiniku

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G09qA2N0Rj0

We had a guy who used to sell 焼き芋 (yaki imo) around my house. Would he have to yell ほかほか (hokahoka)??? Should I start an ice cream truck and yell “Ice Cream! BurrBurr!!!”

Extra MADness after the jump.

Technorati Tags: ぷりぷり, ぷるぷる, ぷる～ん, わらびもち, わらび餅, ice cream man, puripuri, purupuru, rice cakes, selling, sweet potato, vendor, warabimochi, yaki imo, yakiima, yakiimo

Who knew coffee could 萌える (moeru)?

Technorati Tags: art, エンターテイメント, カフェラテの無駄使い, スイーツ（驚）, テラアート, ニコニコ美術館, バリスタ, barista, Caffellatte, coffee, entertainment, 芸術, 飲みたいけど飲めない, latte, NicoArtMuseum, starbucks

What in the Sam Hill am I talking about? Well, depending on what part of Japan you are in, there is a statistical probability as to how your mochi is cut and what soup broth you have in your お雑煮. Yessir, there is even a line where people have round mochi on the one side and cut square mochi on the other.

関ヶ原 (Sekigahara) is the location of the decisive battle between East and West Japan that lead to the 250+ year 江戸時代 (Edo Jidai). This lies on the line! Also, people in East Japan and West Japan stand on different sides of escalators. There’s a lot of differences between east and west Japan that seem to lie on this line. I’ll leave a more complete list for another entry.

If you want to make お雑煮 for yourself, you still have some time! Go check out Cookpad and get cooking!

Technorati Tags: お雑煮, お正月, cookpad, edo jidai, Edo Period, escalators, 関西, 関東, 雑煮, food, kansai, kanto, New Year's, ozoni, shogatsu, soup, zoni, 正月, 江戸時代

I went to Mousse Fantasy on Sawtelle yesterday to go get a slice of JP cake. I saw this cake in the case for $40! But, it is totally what I imagine a Japanese Christmas Cake to be like.

Technorati Tags: ケーキ, baking, cake, dessert, 苺, food, Los Angeles, Mousse Fantasy, Nichibei, shortcake, strawberry, yelp link, 日米

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2hQGOOR5g0

This video has been very popular on my facebook, so I may as well post it to the ol’ blog. I saw it on a random blog a million years ago, so I’m very sorry I can’t credit it. ><;

I think my favorite is ツッパリ先生 (Tsuppari-sensei) because he puts 「吐露非狩古鬱」 (toropikarufurutsuu, “Tropical Fruits”) on the board. I’m a big fan of crazy 当て字 (ateji) like that.

BTW, the poor kids! And watch for the “orz” in the Chinese subs. XD

Technorati Tags: Ateji, ツッパリ, ツッパリ先生, commercials, fanta, food, japanese commercials, lol, school, soda, teacher, teachers, Tropical Fruits, tsuppari, video, 吐露非狩古鬱, 当て字

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1DBuFgt_Ug

[Thanks TokyoMango and co.]

Technorati Tags: alcohol, animals, bars, beer, edamame, izakaya, lol, monkey, puns, Utsunomiya, video, 宇都宮, 居酒屋, 枝豆

The 餃子像 (gyozazou) as is like the ハチ公 (Hachikou) of 宇都宮 (Utsunomiya) station. 宇都宮 is the big town in 栃木県 (Tochigi-ken), the next door neighbors to my ふるさと (furusato), 群馬県 (Gunma-ken). The gyoza there is excellent, and as an honor to the excellent gyoza there, this statue was erected sometime in the mid-nineties.

And now it is gone. I doubt they will repair it since it isn’t even noteworthy enough to have its own Wikipedia entry. Oh well, at least there still will be good 餃子 there.

The image here is of my pilgrimage to the statue. Maybe we can all do the Care Bear stare and repair it with love.

If you can stand the sight of the broken statue, go read the Yomiuri Online article. I can hardly bear to watch…

Technorati Tags: art, care bear, Chinese food, 田舎, destroyed, 餃子, food, gyoza, inaka, sad, statue

Japanese packaging is awesome sometimes. PingMag did a review of their favorites. There are special packages for easy refills, squeezable condiments (they show maple syrup, but my favorite was the combo ketchup/mustard ones), and single coffee serving, complete with filter! I remember a lot of these from living in Japan and I never realized how much I loved them until they were gone.

My favorite? The yakisoba and spaghetti that have a draining mechanism built in (pictured). It’s simple and brilliant.

Read the full article over here: Cleverly Convenient Packaging Design

Technorati Tags: clever, coffee, condiments, cool, design, food, japan, packaging, spaghetti, yakisoba

I wonder what the light and dark sides of sushi are… 巻き vs. にぎり?

(via Random Good Stuff)

Technorati Tags: food, gadgets, lol, sci-fi, sushi