Tagged!

Craig Charles in the middle.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.

Craig Charles, who plays David Lister in 'The Red Dwarf', dvd of which I watched alone in Frankfurt.

2. What were you doing at 0800?

Sleeping. And snoring, I'm sure.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

Reading blogs.

4. What happened to you in 2006?

Adjusting to residing in PJ after 15 years of living in Singapore. Wonderful!

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?

"Alles gut, danke", to the grocer who offered me a plastic bag which I declined.

6. How many beverages did you have today?

Water, chocolate-oat drink, wine, berry juice.

7. What color is your hairbrush?

Ain't got one.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?

2 boxes of blueberries, a carton of berry juice and a bottle of yoghurt drink.

9. Where were you last night?

On a Boeing 747 from Singapore to Frankfurt.

10. What color is your front door?

Dark brown.

11. Where do you keep your change?

In my key-pouch and in the pocket of my pants.

12. What’s the weather like today?

Foggy and cold - between -3 to 0 degrees Celcius.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?

Rum & Raisins.

14. What excites you?

Soccer results, cliffhangers, deadlines and sometimes, sex.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?

Soon.

16. Are you over the age of 25?

Yes.

17. Do you talk a lot?

Occasionally.

18. Do you watch the O.C.?

No.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?

A few.

21. Are you a jealous person?

Possibly.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.

Atan.

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.

Khairul Ridzwan.

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?

Ah Fook.

25. What does the last text message you received say?

*

***

*****

**@**@**

***^*****^****

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

********************

**********************

^^^^^^^^

I send this tree with all the best wishes for you and your family this X'Mas and New Year!

26. Do you chew on your straw?

Only if it tastes good.

27. Do you have curly hair?

Only in three places.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?

An Iranian kebab joint for a Shawarma dinner.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?

Probably myself.

30. What was the last thing you ate?

Tagliatelle fruti di mare & spinaci aglio.

31. Will you get married in the future?

Errrr......... errrr............. umm.......

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?

Namesake. Directed by Mira Nair, stars the still-babelicious Tabu.

33. Is there anyone you like right now?

Plenty.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes?

Tuesday night. One plate I used.

35. Are you currently depressed?

Nope.

36. Did you cry today?

Almost, when finding out that Arsenal couldn't get 3 points at Portsmouth and Man U now leads the table.

37. Why did you answer and post this?

Because d.n.a.s. tagged me.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.

I don't comply to more than 37 instructions.

Narita Village: One Eel Of A Time

The map says it: WELCOME TO NARITA. Friendly statues.


Sloping street that leads to Narita-san Temple.

Rice crackers. The spinning plate grills at the same time.

Interesting arichitecture.

The Narita Visitors Centre, in front of which is........

........ my favourite Unagi eatery in the village: Chrysanthemum.

Check out the mouth-watering displays. One could almost eat the replicas!

Some local patrons inside.

That's where I sat.


Some pickles and cold vegetables for the first course. Keep the soup for later.

BUT BEFORE WE ADMIRE THE GLORIOUS BOWL OF UNADON,
LET'S FIRST OBSERVE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PROCESS OF
PREPARING THE EEL.

The 'slaughterhouse' gets cleaned first, by the apprentice.

The master picks a bucketful of eels.

Grabs the slippery fish from the bucket.

One incomplete chop to the head, to keep it from slipping away.

Pokes thru the head to the table, no escape for sure.

Finds the right spot and slices all the back to the tail.

The eel is now opened up. Spasmodic waves course along the vivisected fish.

The master skillfully debones the eel and

removes the inards, which isn't much.

The procedure is then repeated.

Again.

And again.

Until the bucket of eels is empty.

The bones are collected in another bucket.

They would be dried. And later seasoned and grilled.
Was told that they have aphrodisiac properties - 'adult food', said a Japanese colleague.
I have munched loads. Doesn't do it for me.
Maybe I was alone.

Back to our master. He has by now cut up about a hundred unagis.
Each is sliced in two.

And skewered for the grill.

Sometimes, they work in two. The master cuts and the apprentice skewers.

Two makes short work of the whole affair.

This requires skill and practice.

The grill cooks the unagi to perfection.

All smoked and ready! Just add the sweet teriyaki sauce.

Throw in on rice in a box and it's called Unajyu.

In a bowl, it's Unadon.

This was mine! The Unadon version of Big Mac, this.
With two slices of unagi. See the second one peeking from below a layer of rice?

The first time I had this soup (Fukuoka in 1991), the waitress said it's 'river soup'.
Took a few years, and many bowls later, for me to learn it is really liver soup - unagi liver.
That's the small bit in the middle of the bowl. The other two squid-looking things are bean-curd.

As usual, boy cleans up everything except the liver.
But after the pix was taken, the waitress comes over and says that it's good for the eyes.
So, boy gobbled the liver.

The meal ended with two cups of green tea, one regular and the other brown-rice blend.

With the stomach filled, Narita Village was then further explored.

That, is another story.