Toilet Tool ― 2011/10/01
780 JPY at a local DIY store
As the toilet of my family home was a non-flush type (you might not believe, but pit toilets have been very common until very recent), I didn’t know what to do when the toile in my home, which is a flush, got jammed up.
Being ignorant of the mechanism of the clogged toilet, I have wasted good money on Kurashian, a nation-wide plumber service open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week but cost you at least 8,000 JPY for each service.
Only recently have I learnt this thing could easily sort out toilet
trouble of this kind. But there was another problem…I don’t know what it is
called. Toilet suction cup? maybe? or any other particular name? At a local DIY shop, I falteringly said: “Eh…ah…would you stock
something to sort out a clogged toilet?”,
with push-and-pull gesture. The shop assistant knowingly grinned and
took me to the section where the thing was.My gallant endeavour was somewhat rewarded.
I don’t think I will buy this again in my life, so I might not have to know… but what do you call it, either Japanese or English?
Today's Fish ― 2011/10/03
Cobia (probably…but I’m not sure...) JPY800/ a quarter of the fish
A big shopping failure!
At first glance, I thought it was a shark, which we don’t usually put onto the table. But the fishmonger told me that it was Sugi, a kind of white meat fish, and rarely caught around here. But he did not strongly recommend (at this point I should have known).
I decided to give it a try, not realising why the fishmonger seemed to avoid eye contact with me.
Back home, I show off my shopping to my husband boasting how clever I was shopping such a big chunk of an exotic fish at this price.
Then, I cooked it in the safest way: deep-frying—oil or fat makes everything tastier.
While I was frying the fish, my husband started making noise: “it’s outrageously smelly! isn’t it rotten? what are you going to feed me? ” As usual, I ignored him.
Tasting!
Not until did I actually taste it, I knew how unpleasant the smell of the fish would be. Yes, there are some fish that are really fishy (eg. mackerel), but their smell is in a way appetising (for person who was brought up on blue-skinned fish, like me ). This one was completely different. How could I describe it? A mix of rusted metal and rotten seaweed left on beach for several days under Augsut sunshine?
Lesson from this disaster: 1. I must read fishmongers’ face expression; 2. Following his suggestion is safer way to get nice fish than believing my own judgment; and 3. When it comes to choosing fish, be conservative—don’t leap at something looks novel.
Today's Cat ― 2011/10/06
Rosy Seabass ― 2011/10/12
JPY800
Encouraged by Moonshadow-san’s comment (thank you!), I tried a new fish again, but this time I followed my fishmonger’s advice.
Today, he looked cheerful and very confident when introducing this fish to me: “Oh dear, it is a very nice fish. You must like it. Why don’t you try it tonight? ”
He was right, the Nodoguro (literally means “black throat” because of its darkend throat) was delicious. Simply stewed with some slices of ginger root, its flesh was succulent and fluffy. Being a white meat fish, its taste is light, but has plenty of fat beneath the skin, which makes the fish literally melt-in-the-mouth.
Actually, it turned out that this fish was quite highly regarded among Japanese fisheaters’ world. There is even a mail-order business selling only rosy seabasses.
Toda's Cat ― 2011/10/14
Butter Shortage ― 2011/10/15
Today when I shopped at a local baking ingredients store(I ‘m not sure what this kind of store is called in English—a store selling a variety of flour, sugar, and everything you need when you make breads, cakes, and other confectioneries at home, regardless of it is western or Japanese), I was told there has been a great shortage of butter.
I didn’t realise that. I was even about to forget there was milk and yogurt shortage after the 311. According to the lady behind the counter, in some areas milk was still thrown away due to the fear of the “R” contamination and milk and yogurt supply for ordinary consumer was prioritised to butter. I was also told every patissier was struggling to produce cakes with less butter or using butter-margarine mix.
I was surprised to hear that: no milk carton carried the result of their R-stuff testing, which, I believed, meant every milk company was selling milk without testing the products—they were not as bad people as I assumed!! And I worked out why yogurts were sold at discounted price, but never butter.
Although the government is reported to have decided an urgent import of 2,000 tons of butter, I guess the things would be the same as what we saw in March—everyone innocently gets one more carton—just in case. And these “just-in-case” cartons would make the shelves empty in a flash. You see, if a hundred of million Japanese want to secure a 2oo-gram carton of butter, we at least more than 20, 000 tons (if my calculation is right ).
For this winter, you might have to be prepared for having
non-fat, or 100% trans-fat Christmas cakes, if you stayed in Japan.
Today's Cat ― 2011/10/18
Today's Cat ― 2011/10/19
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