Music!
And movies!!
Cannot say which one was my favorite but this one was surprisingly funny. Â And I don’t even like unrealistic plots but this was OK.
After dinner at the Ship Tavern, my friends, their daughter and myself went to check out the “Fringe Club!“, an a cappella performance event in Covent Garden.
The featured performers of the evening were two non-professional a cappella vocal ensembles, one all-female, an older bunch and the other a college student group, both of which required audience participation that was, to my surprise, rather fun.
The musical activities.
One sushi night at my fave sushi joint.
A couple of soft serves to satisfy my addiction.
And nails for the holiday season.
A good variety of musical events throughout the month of November.
Hysteric Panic and Angry Frog Rebirth, both Japanese bands, playing at O-West
The good ol’ Glenn Miller Orchestra @ the Orchard Hall
Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin, the classic GRP line-up at Blue Note Tokyo
Blue Note red!
A music bar in Shinjuku that plays music in vinyls and “high-resolution” digital files
Mary’s Blood in-store event at Tower Records Shibuya
A Canadian music showcase at the Oscar Peterson Theatre at the Embassy of Canada
A Canadian music seminar where I was a presenter
Friends at a Danish record label celebrating its 20th anniversary had brought the celebratory wine to Tokyo
Attended an award ceremony at the Brazilian Ambassador’s official residence in honor of Sadao Watanabe, a Japanese saxophone player closely associated with Brazilian music
Rajaton, a Finnish a cappella group, at the Oji Hall
La Famille Bélier, a French film
Benny Sings, a Dutch singer-and-songwriter/producer at Billboard Live Tokyo
Chico & the Gypsies, a French “gypsy” group, at Blue Note Tokyo
The Crunchy Frog wine, Sauvignon Blanc produced and bottled by Charles Smith Wines in Washington, USA
So glad to have heard Rajaton perform live though I missed the first half of their concert due to other commitments.
The very special dinner I had with my friend Janis last month just before I left for my Viet Nam-Brunei trip was at a French but heavily-influenced-by-Japanese-and-sometimes-other-Asian-cuisines-using-a-variety-of-local-produce restaurant in the Azabujuban neighborhood where there is a good mix of old and new Tokyo as well as much foreign presence.
The venue
The restaurant has two menus for dinner and we chose a shorter one with fewer courses but which was plenty. Â We also asked for a wine pairing with our dishes. Â All was marvelous.
Bubbles to start. Did not get the bottle pictured.
Janis gave me a book and she herself is a true “New York City curiosity” in so many good ways.
And now the dinner and the wines.  I didn’t take notes so I’m not going to try to explain but there were some very interesting ingredients, not so much if in Japanese cuisine but definitely in the French kitchen, one of them being Chinese softshell turtle.
And the dessert.
Bliss. Â The restaurant comes with one Michelin star.
A blog by Ayako Mathies 