Music! in the Month of November, 2013

A recap of my music-related events from this month…

Nick Lowe @ Billboard Live Tokyo.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra @ the Sumida Triphony Hall

Jin Oki @ Yamano Music, Main Store

Michael Monroe @ Liquid Room

Paul McCartney @ Tokyo Dome

Sir Paul continued

The Duke Ellington Orchestra @ Blue Note Tokyo

Ilya Rashkovskiy @ Yamaha Hall

Cecile McLorin Salvant @ Cotton Club. They spelled Cecile wrong!!

noon @ Tower Records Shibuya

In case anyone is wondering “Tower Records” is that good old Tower Records that used to exist in the US. It has survived in Japan via a management buyout and it continues to thrive despite the economic hardships. Hooray to Tower Records!

As Tower says, “No music, no life.”

November Sushi

So…  November sushi report.  Early November, I had to accompany my father for lunch one Sunday when my mother was in the faraway land of Myanmar. Then I tried a sushi bar I had not been to before in Suidobashi for a leisurely Saturday lunch.  Then my best friend and I did our routine sushi night out. And I took a couple of visiting US guests out to lunch at Nobu.

Kozasa

Ryoheizushi

Nobu

Cooking… Lately…

It’s not as though I have not been cooking but I have not necessarily been using recipes or been documenting anything for the past few months.

So here we go.  A couple of dishes I made two weekends back for which I took photos.

Mock yakisoba (fried noodles)

It is “mock” because in lieu of yakisoba, the recipe which was published in the weekly cooking column on the Japanese print version of The Asahi called for “kiriboshi daikon“, dried and shredded Japanese radish.  (The dried form is available everywhere and I don’t know anyone who makes it from scratch as the link suggests.)  Substituting carb with a vegetable I thought was not a bad idea and the recipe said the texture is similar.  The result…  Hmmmm…  It’s OK for what it is.  I skipped pork which was in the recipe because I didn’t have any so if that was added it may have tasted more like yakisoba.

Yellowtail cooked in red wine with ginger and daikon.

This was a recipe I came across on an ad-based section of The Asahi.  It’s by Kiyomi Mikuni of Hotel de Mikuni.  Easy and fab!!

Mosaique, a Fabulous Wine Bar in Tokyo

Fully enjoyed my second visit to the wine bar section of the Mosaique restaurant a couple of weeks ago.  The food and the wines I knew were going to be great but I loved that I impressed my friends when the bill came. ^^

A Casual Bistro Night Out with My Bestie

My best friend and I had gone out to Billboard Live Tokyo to check out a Nick Lowe show which was great.  Afterwards we went out for a bite to eat.  I always love the after show casual and fun dining when it’s with good company.

Wine Bistro Picoler