As I left my night class and waited for the lights to change on this very windy night in downtown Tokyo, a lone scrunched up ball of paper blew past me and continued to roll and bounce down the street, the very picture of a modern-day version of urban tumbleweed.


In other news, I have rediscovered a deep and very real love for Scrubs and even find myself wishing that my Mancunian sibling's medical life bears some semblance, no matter how minute, to that fictional setting. Just imagine, your daily routine would consist of innumerable encounters of a dubious nature, dialogues of sarcasm everlasting, man-love of what we are assured is of a completely heterosexual nature, and highly extensive inner monologue. If only.

Country of origin: England
Alcohol Content: 5.6%
Price: ¥

Appearance: A very deep dark brown.
Smells: Hints of brown sugar and hops.
Taste: Full-bodied, malty and goes down real smooth. Finishes clean with only a mild bitterness.

Pleasant enough but takes a back seat to the reigning champ, McEwan's.

This year's haul made up for what was lacking in quantity with a boatload of quality (not to say that I got that many in previous years ^^; )

For those not in the know with Japanese customs surrounding this very stressing time (for some), here in Nippon, the girls buy the guys presents or chocolates for Valentine's. The very lucky guys get things made for them by their lovely counterparts. Not to be left out, it's the guys' turns to return the favour on March 14th, White Day. This does present itself as quite a boon to us guys. If we get something on Valentine's, then we give the giver/s something of more-or-less equal value, monetary or otherwise, on March 14th unlike elsewhere where the guys usually have to go out on a limb and give presents to the object/s of their affections whilst being all kinds of uncertain whether he will get something back, materially or otherwise, thusly being the source of much trepidation.

This year, even though it's not the custom here and I could very well have been thought to be ... err ... heterosexually-challenged, I bought Ets a nice little heart-shaped tin of Lindt chocolates. I got a very nice present too. A box of handmade ... that's 'made-by-her-very-own-hands' and not 'made-by-robotic-hands-in-a-factory-in-Tokyo' ... chocolate.
SCORE!! (^_^)v


Oh, and we also got round to using that chocolate cake mix I got in KL. It turned out quite a bit larger than expected due to an unavoidable cake eruption despite following the instructions on the box (hence the muffin-like appearance) but we managed to make it more presentable by covering it with some handmade icing and strawberries.

Country of origin: Germany
Alcohol Content: 5.1%
Price: ¥389

Appearance: Pours a yellow golden colour with a lovely creamy head. On aesthetics alone, this should be the poster boy for beers everywhere.
Smells: Quite a strong whiff of hops with a pleasant bitter tinge.
Taste: Medium-bodied palate and has a very nice malty and dry finish. I think it's quite safe to say that this, so far, tops my beer list (Ales and lagers have different lists :p )

Country of origin: America
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Price: ¥

Appearance: A clear, golden lager colour.
Smells: Nondescript.
Taste: Pleasant enough and tastes like any of the 'major label' beers. Unremarkable but very drinkable.

Imagine the whiff of a dozen deep-fat fryers beckoning you like a siren to its' oily embrace. A dietician's nightmare and potential candidate for Morgan Spurlock's new documentary. That's where Ets and I ended up for dinner last night.

The concept is simple. It's an all-you-can-eat affair where you choose skewers of various edibles like pork, beef, chicken, crab balls, shrimp, bacon-wrapped vegetables, aubergines, lotus root, potatoes, hashed browns ... the list goes on ... and bring it back to your table where you dip it in batter, dust it in breadcrumbs, and then proceed to deep-fry the sucker. Aside from some salad, rice, and curry, the entire meal is pretty much like that. Oh, and you have about half a dozen different dipping sauces to choose from.
It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good.

Country of origin: England
Alcohol Content: 5%
Price: ¥458

Appearance: A nice, clear, light brown.
Smells: Light with some roasted elements.
Taste: Very clean and quenching. Slightly malty and only mildly nutty. Very well-balanced and would go down a treat with some spicy food.

Country of origin: Austria
Alcohol Content: 14%
Price: ¥600

Appearance: Reddish-brown and pours with hardly any head.
Smells: Sweet and malty.
Taste: Heavily spiced with a treacle-like sweetness. Almost sickeningly sweet and will blindside you with a sledgehammer made out of alcohol if you're not careful.