Nosh of the Day: blue thing

Coconut / gula melaka* mix on top of sticky rice. I have no idea why the rice was blue. It tasted OK though!

* Gula melaka is a Malay thing. It's a kind of palm sugar which resembles a cross between dark brown sugar and molasses (gula means sugar). It is often used in traditional cakes and desserts. You used to be able to buy it in solid patties, which you then grate or melt to use in cooking. (Quite nice on vanilla ice cream too!)

Singapore: No One Can Save Us Now

Meeeltiiiing! Well, it happens to all of us in Singapore.

This piece is currently stationed outside the national Singapore Art Museum. It's part of a show of local artists' works called 'Future Proof', which runs until 15 April. I was only passing en route to another venue, but hope to catch the full exhibition before it ends.

http://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/exhibitions/







No One Can Save Us Now by Mojoko & Eric Foenander

Nosh of the Day: Muji 'shmallows

Muji in Singapore (and I would strongly suspect Japan, though I didn't go in during my visit) sells food! To Londoners this will probably seem a bit surprising. Not a deli / butcher etc, but quite a selection of packaged sponge cakes, savoury snacks, fruits, sweets.

I invested in some 'strawberry marshmallows with jelly'; the jelly being slightly sour, which was a pretty tasty combo. (I possibly wouldn't advise eating the entire packet in one go though... which I might have done.. ^^)

Japan: fortunes

Somebody asked me about this last night, so here's what I know!

At most shrines and temples in Japan, you can pay a small fee to find out what is predicted for you. I saw fortune-papers at both Shinto and Buddhist places of worship - so I am guessing it is universal.

A fortune sheet might cover luck in health, career, housing, love and other things people hope for.

How it works:
I took my fortune at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Here, you shake a tombola-type thing and select one stick from it. The stick has a number corresponding to the drawer holding your fortune. The fortune itself is written on a thin piece of paper. My friend Haruko's was quite promising; mine wasn't!

If you like the fortune, you take it home with you. If you hope it will change, you tie your fortune-paper to a special tree or structure at the temple. That is what all of those little white paper tags are.

I took my bad one home as a tourist souvenir - which I rather hope doesn't mean it will all come true!

Fortune 'tombola' & drawers at Asakusa, Tokyo

Singapore / Indonesia: 'Civet Cat Coffee' (no s**t!)

Ah yes, a luxury delight no less! Coffee that's been pooped by civet cats. Mmm.

Kopi Luwak comes mainly from Indonesia, and is apparently a highly delicious beverage. The coffee (kopi) beans used have been yes, eaten and pooped by civet cats (luwak). In the wild, the cats eat the soft coffee fruits, digest the fruit part, then poop out the remaining bean. This has been altered by the cat's digestive system, and after processing, produces a strong, thick, but normally non-bitter, coffee.

Apparently Kopi Luwak originated a couple of centuries ago. Colonials forbade local workers from using beans (directly) from coffee plantations, but the curious and resourceful Indonesians discovered this way around it.

Today Civet Cat Coffee is an expensive delicacy; a 10g sachet sells for £80 / US$125 online. If you're in Singapore and really want to try, it seems Takashimaya is now selling it too. I didn't much fancy it myself, though!

Japan: humidifier

Almost forgot this, sitting now in SE Asia with the fan on!

Some things in Japan are ultra-modern. Other things are good, old-fashioned-functional. Here's an example. An old-style humidifier for the cold, dry winter days. Actually, this was in a trendy 'art' cafe in Kyoto - so probably done for characterful effect. But my friends say they're used elsewhere too - it still works well!

Singapore: Tiong Bahru residents

Most days I take the little jaunt up to Tiong Bahru market for a cheap and delicious hawker-style lunch or breakfast. As I walk through the estate, I see the same four cats living their daily lives on home turf. We are all creatures of habit.:) Here they are, snapped during a selection of walks: (apologies, Blogger layout not working again but if you click on pix you should get an index view!)

Brown/grey half-tail

Half-tail

Evil black!

Half-tail

Cute black

Evil

Hitler

Cute, eating grass

Cute

Malaysia: Old China Cafe in KL

My friends took me for a scrumptious Peranakan* meal in this rather lovely place. Old fashioned furniture, fittings and photos; arts performances upstairs apparently. My friend even pointed out that the lights were on old-style pulleys.

*Peranakan, or Nyonya, food is the traditional cuisine of the intermarried Chinese/Malay communities from the Malaccan Straits. These people are known as Babas (men) and Nyonyas (women) and have their own traditional customs and dress, as well as food. In terms of flavour - I guess I would call this nosh Malay with more fragrance and subtlety (and possibly variety?). Lots of delicately flavoured curries, aubergine, ingeniously steamed chicken and fish... Overall: bloomin yum!

Upstairs

Old China Cafe: 11, Jalan Balai Polis, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Singapore: Car parking

OK it's not all like this in Singapore, but this particular lot on the edge of Chinatown caught my eye. It's one of those high-density automated ones - where your car is mechanically stored in a rack. Very good for saving space. They exist in Japan (if The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift is to be believed - though I only saw them for bicycles during my visit!) And they certainly don't exist in the UK. Other parts of Europe I don't know. Kinda fun though.

Click on pix to enlarge.

Singapore: Marina Bay Sands

Hmm, well after the excitement of Artangel's little boat on the roof of London's Southbank Centre (see Boat with a View, Feb 2012) I find this in Singapore.

View from Raffles Place, some distance away

Turns out it's the (relatively new) Marina Bay Sands complex: unfeasibly large and flash hotel, bars, clubs; unfeasibly large, flash mall with unfesaibly large and flash brands. (Even a Louis Vuitton island!) There's also a casino and art/science museum.

Actually I had a lurk around it with a friend last night, and it was all a very pleasant ambling experience. But one has to ask: in a small country simply encrusted with huge, flash hotels, malls and brands - does this even bigger, flashier and brandier one make money? I know there's a lot of wealth in Asia, but surely it is finite? There's a Prada, Gucci etc at almost every glittering mall (of around one million!) on Orchard Road alone. Can the market for spending here really be that endless?!

My guess is, of course, that the MBS geezers (they of the Las Vegas Sands outfit) did their homework quite thoroughly before building. But it's all a bit staggering to me!

The ArtScience museum - designed by Moshe Safdie. Shaped like a lotus, rainwater is collected in the centre, flows down the levels as a waterfall, then is used/recycled for the restrooms.

Singapore: MMA & a peaceful moment

This Sunday, my (fragrant, tropical) MMA class happened during a rainstorm. The community centre is partly open-air, with just wooden slats between the grunting, sweating fighters and the elements. You could feel the occasional cool spray from outside. I took a break from the Dojo to fill my flask at the water fountain, and what did I hear? Nothing but the heavy-duty pitter-patter of big rain, on big leaves. It suddenly struck me: I'm in Asia, 7,000 miles from home, and it's kinda nice!

Japan: Plastic fantastic! (food models ^^)

Yep, they really are everywhere in Japan. And they're really handy for customers - especially tourists with limited menu-reading ability!

Most restaurants (and some shops selling specialist foods) display vinyl/silicon models of the items they sell. They are called 'sampuru サンプル' from the English 'sample', and may be in the shop window, or in a nearby case. The replica dishes are extremely detailed, so you know exactly what you are going to get!

The models are made by specialists, who take casts from the actual restaurant dishes / ingredients and then paint them up from photographs of the original food. It really is an art form, and craftspeople have to consider the replica's 'appetisingness' at all times. A regular bowl of silicon noodles can cost the restaurant over £200 / ¥20,000. (An entire display case must be quite an investment!)

The Japanese trend for replica food in restaurants started as early as 1917, apparently, when they were made from wax. Today competitions are held for fake-food artists.

Food shop in Kyoto

Realistic! Click on pix to enlarge.

(The fruit depicted here are Umeboshi - salty pickled plums, which the Japanese eat with rice and also to aid digestion and health.)

Nosh of the Day: warabimochi & anmitsu

Actually, TWO nice traditional desserts we tried in a tatami-matted Kyoto restaurant.

Haruko chan's - warabimochi: very soft-sticky-style mochi made from bracken starch (yes, those ferns we stomp through in woodland!) with brown sugar syrup. It is usually rolled in some kind of powder to make it easier to manage. This one used matcha (green tea) powder.

Warabimochi

Mine - anmitsu: various sorts of agar jelly, mochi, something else chewy, anko (sweet, mashed, red beans), marron (chestnut) and syrup. I had mine with matcha jelly and ice cream (more sophisticated than it sounds!)

Anmitsu

 

Martial art of the month: Japan - Sumo

Tournament ceremony, Tokyo *

Pronounced 'smo' by Japanese, sumo is a grappling art, and a professional sport (exclusively) in Japan. It has ancient roots and connections with Shinto beliefs, and is still heavily ritualised.

How it's played
Two rikishi (力士) battle to push their opponent out. A rikishi is out if he steps from the ring (dohyou 土俵) or touches the ground with anything other than the soles of his feet.

At the start of the bout, both wrestlers crouch and touch the floor with their fists (the only time they can touch the floor with hands). They must then both simultaneously launch into the fight. If it is not simultaneous, the referee will restart the match. Bouts themselves tend to be very short - sometimes just a few seconds. The referee and judges decide the winner.

Frieze from my visit to Sumo HQ (ryougoku kokugikan) in Tokyo. Tickets to an actual event are very expensive!

Kit

Two mawashi 廻し (belt / apron things). An ornate one for the tournament opening ceremony; a plain one for fighting. Mawashi colour and ornateness reflect rank. On entry to the stadium, the very top wrestlers can be distinguished by a thick rope around their waists.

Tournaments
There are six professional Grand Sumo championships (honbasho 本場所)  held in Japan each year - in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Each event lasts for 15 days, where senior fighters will compete daily, lower ranks less.

There is a lot of money in Sumo, but despite heavy modern commercialism and sponsorship, ancient practices are still upheld. Before fights, opponents are kept in separate East / West rooms and observe a number of rituals. When entering the dohyou, stomping is used to drive out bad spirits, and sacred salt is tossed into the ring.

The 'cede' list for a tournament is called a banzuke 番付 and is written using a specific kind of calligraphy. Even today a dohyou and platform are contructed fresh for each event, by special craftsmen using traditional materials - clay, straw bales, sand.

Stablemates and brothers are not allowed to fight each other at tournament.

Stable
Typically, wrestlers join a 'stable' where they have to observe a strict way of life. If they break rules, they can be banned from wrestling, and bring shame to the stablemaster.

Demands include growing their hair long, always wearing traditional Japanese dress (reflecting their rank) in public, a ban on driving and other aspects. They are allowed wives. Fighters are divided by rank in accordance solely with their performance. Senior fighters might be allowed to have their own apartments etc - but this could all go if they fail during one tournament.

Wrestlers will train, bathe and eat in accordance with rank. The pay for the more senior fighters can be extremely good, but by all accounts stable life can be very tough and pressurised, with all ranks subject to immediate change depending on performance. Lower ranks don't get a good deal. As recently as 2007 a young sumo trainee died after brutal bullying from his seniors.

Foreign rikishi can join a professional stable in Japan.

Women are not allowed to compete professionally, or even touch the 'pure' dohyou during tournament season!

Click on this link to see a sumo fight in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=nsmo4YxISx0&NR=1

* Image courtesy of Konnichiwa blog.

Japan: toilets

It's a cliche, but it had to be done. 

Japan's loos are a thing of wonder. During my brief recent visit I encountered all varieties - from the squatover pan with no toilet paper provided (e.g. Kyoto JR) to the bafflingly hi-tech.

In the techno case, you have a variety of sprays, 'bidet' and drying facilities while still sitting. Often you can  also choose duration, angle etc. Ladies toilets also usually have a sound and volume setting for modesty: recordings of gushing water sounds to disguise any, er, 'other' noises.

Basic options.

Flushing is another poser. A flush device might be recognisable from the West, but it also might be automatic, part of some light sensitive thing you need to activate, or on a wall-button nowhere near the loo. And it probably won't be indicated in English. So be warned.

At Shinjuku station I mistakenly pressed the emergency button - prompting a concerned official in uniform to come rushing into the karzy. (And requiring me to sashay out nonchalantly, pretending I didn't understand.)

A slightly more complex offer. NB: no English, though the pictograms are useful!

But the thing the Japanese really have got right: heated seats! My friends had these in their homes, and you will find them in nicer public amenities too. What comfort on a freezing February day! When I get rich, I am definitely importing this idea to my home in the UK!

Japan: bus, zmaaaas and class

When you go somewhere different, things will be different. In Kyoto I travelled quite a bit by bus. Generally (and conversely from the UK) you get on at the back, then pay or swipe your travelcard when you leave - from the front doors. Sometimes you need to ping the card both on boarding and alighting.

Bus drivers wear smart uniforms and white gloves. Rather than cowering quietly behind (what should probably be) bullet-proof glass a la London, drivers sit in an open seat and talk to customers as part of their duties. As each person exits you will hear him say 'zmaaaaas'. I thought this was a weird recording at first, in fact it is a real man saying 'thank you' (arigatou gozaimasu). He also announces 'ugokimasu' (we're moving) as the bus pulls away. I admit this must be pretty much a snore if you are a bus driver, but it's friendlier for customers.

To me the Japanese bus experience reflects the low-crime and in a way 'un-cynical' side of Japan. Who could be trusted to consistently pay after their journey in London? Or not knife the driver and grab the cash? OK, I could be trusted, but you get my drift! (Actually I think London bendy buses were scrapped partly due to fare-dodging.)

Japan is highly advanced, but (or should I say 'and'?) there seems to be very little inclination to dodge, rebel, rock the boat. To a Westerner - and possibly to Japanese too! - there is an element of repression here; but it does lead to a more harmonious society, and there appears to be a far stronger ethic of considerateness (see Masks, Shibuya entry). I know traditionally Asian cultures focus more on the wellbeing of the group - less the individual - but I have certainly seen plenty of rule-dodging in other parts of East Asia!

So why is Japan so orderly?

Having read, and talked to both Japanese friends and lived-in-Japan-gaijin, it seems Japan has a very broad middle class. There must be an underclass somewhere, but I certainly haven't seen it during my visit in the way I have in Europe, US, and SE Asia. So perhaps this lack of divide plays a part in the non-desire for boat-rocking? In Japan, are people less likely to look at others with envy or genuine disgust at the rift between have and have-nots?

One Japanese friend I spoke to didn't view janitors, bus drivers or shop workers as people with 'lesser jobs'. (And I think we do in Europe and other parts of Asia!) To my friend, a bus driver is a trusted official, others might be more commonly expected to be old people (working in retirement to earn a bit of extra cash and keep in socially with colleagues) younger people working their way up, or perhaps married women jobbing for pocket money. The social stigma element is not there. Of course this is just one person's opinion, but if the view is common, this lack of stigma feels kinda healthy. And if you feel you have respect and an OK life, surely there is less appeal in rebelling?

Plus it could throw a different light on the idea of hierarchy. Are we in the West, perhaps just as hierarchical as infamous Japan, but in another way - with class?

All of the above is my own conjecture based on observations. I am not a socio-economist and my experience of Japan is of course very limited! But there is definitely something very different going on in Japan and I find it interesting!

Meanwhile, please do feel free to comment. And as for your time in reading this: 'zmaaaaas'!

Japan: around Fushimi Inari

I was hungry after my day at the shrine. So I had a mooch around the local village and found these yummy, crunchy little biscuits shaped like fish! They are sweet-tasting. (If anyone knows the reason they are shaped like fish, please comment!)

Here's what the shop and village looked like. Traditionally, low-rise, wooden buildings are more common in Japan. Without advanced techniques, tall, brick or stone buildings do not fare well in earthquakes.

        

                                           

Japan, Kyoto: Fushimi Inari shrine

Tourist times! But a really wonderful day out of snowflakes and sunshine for me. (Apologies for the mad layout, Blogspot is next to impossible to format at prez.)

Avenues of Torii

This shrine (really a collection of shrines and beautiful spots) is scattered across a hillside of bamboo forest, and - if you want to do the whole thing - involves a 4km walk up steps and paths lined by thousands of Torii (red gate-like structures used in Shinto religion).

Torii literally means 'bird-perch' and actually the one thing that struck me about this visit was the loud and vibrant birdsong at the site. (I even thought it was a recording at first; it wasn't!) The inscriptions on each Torii are actually the names of the businesses that have donated them and supported the temple. Yep good old corporate sponsorship! This might seem unromantic to the Westerner - but they still look lovely, don't they?

Inari is the name of the mountain, but also a kind of Shinto 'deity' which represents business (so the corporate sponsorship is pretty apt!) and, among other things, rice and foxes.

Priests unloading rice?

                                                                                                                               
I don't know a lot about Shinto, and even if you don't pray here, I can thoroughly recommend a visit for great vistas, peace and nature.

This day also marked my first stand-alone train ride in Japan using survival language skills to get from Kyoto to the small village near this mountain. So proud!