Okonomi-Yaki

Okonomi-Yaki

These were the savory pancakes I was talking about in the previous post.  They aren't the typical pancakes, though, that's for sure! 

We (Matt, myself and two of our new friends..the hubby works with Matt) sat down at a table that had a little grill in the center of it.  As we open the menu, we realize we have no idea what we are looking at.  I think the translator had a heck of a time making the American version, because there were "?" marks after many of the descriptions, the word "strawberry" was written "starrury" (lol..I'm realizing the "mocking stereotypes" aren't that far off from the truth) and this time there weren't any pictures..just a couple drawings of what the food is supposed to look like.  Eventually, we just point to the one that sounds the best and hope that it's the dish we came there to try.  

After 15-20 minutes or so our waitress came to our table and set down all our "pancakes" on the grill. We weren't really sure if we were supposed to wait, flip them or start eating.  Matt figured out that the grill was on long enough to add a little heat and sizzle to the concoction since the cook already cooked them in the kitchen (our order was so large they couldn't mix it up and cook it in front of us) .  We grabbed our tiny spatulas and cut off little pieces of our dish and placed it in our bowls to then eat with chopsticks (which I'm getting pretty decent at using!). 

Let's talk about the food:  Interesting is the best word I can use to describe it.  I didn't love it or hate it.  The first half of the pancake was pretty good but after that you just get tired of it. I had my fill of the flavors. That's just my experience.  The pancake I had consisted of eggs, bacon, "pizza cheese", onions, thin-sliced beef, chicken pieces and a hint of curry powder. That is mixed with (or in between)  the two pancakes.  Once it's cooked it is smeared with this sweet/tangy BBQ/soy sauce type sauce and then drizzled with this white sauce (not sure what it was, maybe some kind of mayo mixture?). It all was definitely filling, but not sure I want to race back for more. Like I said, I got my fill of the flavors halfway through.  The one I got was called the Depo-Yaki.  Matt got one that was stuffed with cream cheese and "pizza cheese" (as they call it) which I hear was pretty awesome. Maybe I'll have to try that if we are ever in the mood for that place again :)

Whether I like the food or not, I'm really glad we are deciding to brave the unknown and try new cuisine and restaurants.  I realize I'm starting to get a lot better at understanding the basics of Japanese: sumimasen (excuse me), aritgato gazaimas (thank you very much), konban wa (good evening), okanjo onekai shimasu (the check, please) and so on. It's a great way to learn the language, the body language and their culture!  Note: it is not okay to stab your chopsticks in your rice and leave it there. You have to lay your chopsticks down. (Just something I learned at the newcomer's brief!)

Other interesting and useful facts:

- the already-noted chopstick in rice fact

- do not pass food from your chopsticks to another persons chopsticks. Keep the food on the plate and let them grab it or you can set the food on their plate. Passing the food as well as keeping your chopsticks propped up in your rice has something to do with their funeral traditions.  When a person dies, they actually keep the body in the house for a whole day before burial. There is a tradition they use with the passing of their ashes or when they are in the room for the day, you keep a set of chopsticks stuck in what would have been their rice.  I'll review the research and get back to you on the specifics.

- do not take pictures of tombs. Has something to do with capturing their soul.

- many locals do not like you taking pictures of them. They fear by taking a picture of them you are actually capturing their soul 

- when you want to call one over, don't use the hand gesture of your palm facing up and wiggling your fingers towards you...they feel that's how you call a dog. You are basically calling them lower class. Instead, they use the gesture of the palm facing down and waving the fingers towards their body. 

- it is insulting to them if you tip them (at least off base). So don't tip! $$$

- they don't have the same customer service in terms of serving at a restaurant. Once you order, they don't like to bother you. You may be sitting at your seat wondering, "why haven't they come by to ask if I want a refill??".  They are waiting for you to call them over (this is where saying "sumimasen" would come in handy) or , even better, a lot of the time they will have service buttons at the table! You simply press the button and a light or ding will go off in the back and they will come right over!  

- slurping is normal here. In the states it is very rude and poor table manners to slurp. Not here. They will pick up their bowls of soup and just slurp away! 

Those are just a few I can think of that I like to keep in mind!  The more I learn, the more I'll share  :)  

Crocodile's Restaurant

Crocodile's Restaurant:


For date night, Matt and I decided to check out this restaurant I discovered, called Crocodile's Restaurant, on OkinawaHai.com. It's a place located in American Village near Kadena AFB. Let me start by saying American Village is quite a site at night! The huge ferris wheel is lit up different colors, the shops/bars/restaurants are all bright and colorful with music playing.  It was crawling with people, especially since the day and night on Friday was beautiful and had a nice breeze (something that is appreciated at hot and humid times!). We must have walked by three karaoke joints on the way from the parking lot to the Croc's!

Okay, on to the star of the blog. I read on line that this place has a fire show on Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately, since there was the threat of rain, they didn't have the fire show. So, Matt and I decided to sit inside and check out the decor. It was a really cute place! Very beachy and Japanese at the same time.  We sat at a table next to what looked like a turtle aquarium in a beach theme, but really it held some sort of little bird in there. Cute! Our table, of course, came supplied with a big bowl of bamboo chopsticks and our host came by with damp towels to wipe our hands (which reminds me, not once, in a Japanese food establishment, have there been napkins available. It's always a washcloth or nothing. Weird, huh?) .  Matt and I were given the drink menu. Matt only ordered a pineapple juice because here on the island a DUI is .03. That's, what, a beer?! I ordered a Moko Moko..some mango based blue cocktail which was pretty yummy.

I read reviews of the place and noticed that everyone raved about the fried crocodile. Interesting, huh? We ordered a plate of that for our appetizer..and let me tell you..it tasted just like chicken! The batter was light and fluffy and there was an interesting salsa on the side to dip it in.  For dinner, we ordered steaks (filet mignon for me and ribeye for Matt) and mine was complete with a shoulder of snow crab. Yum yum and yum!! Our meals were brought out on sizzling cast iron skillet platters served with steamed vegetables, baked potato mounds and white rice (everything comes with white rice!).   The steak cut like warm butter and the crab legs came with four different dipping sauces (the garlic butter being my favorite). 


For dessert we shared a scoop of coconut ice cream! It was smooth and creamy and very..well...coconut-y! This is a place we will definitely be frequenting again soon! Tonight we are checking out a place (again, in American Village) that can be described as serving "savory pancakes", with lots of different types of fillings and condiments sandwiched inside, such as : chicken, garlic, onions, shrimp, etc., etc.  I'll give you the inside scoop after we check it out! Bon Appetit!

Home Sweet Home

Hi folks! We just got our wireless internet working so now I can get back to blogging!

Matt and I moved into our new home Saturday the 14th (the same day we brought Petrie home from the kennel!) and I have to say: we love it here (never thought those words would be coming out of my mouth).  We immediately bought paint and paint supplies and got started painting our bedroom a fairytale blue and the kitchen cabinets a pretty sky blue. We still have more painting to do but those were the musts before the inspector came Monday, as well as TMO (the movers with all of our belongings).

The day we went to pick up Petrie from the kennel Matt and I spotted a litter of puppies up for adoption (so cute!). So cute, in fact, that the next week we went back and adopted one! Her name is Scuttle (from The Little Mermaid) and she is 9 weeks old, white, fluffy and has a big brown patch over her left eye. My two doggies are getting along much better than I had anticipated. They play play play for a good 20 minutes followed by a (blissful) two hour nap. Those naps are my window of opportunity to unpack boxes and get the house in order.

Let me backtrack a minute :

The very first week we were here in Oki Matt went to check in to his new unit (12th Marine HQ-- did I say that right?). At the end of the day he comes back to the hotel room and tells me they transfered him to another unit called the MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit). Basically, the MEU goes on ship and is "on-call". Since Marines are the first to respond to trouble in other countries (I like to compare them to the SWAT team who breaks down the doors and charge in). The MEU has to be able to reach the other countries in 48 hour notice, which is why they sit out at sea. The MEU, I've learned, also deploys quite often. The very day Matt came home and told me of his unit transfer is the day he also told me he is deploying in August for 2 1/2 - 3 months. Seriously?? I know the deployment isn't as long as other deployments, but it's still a deployment (and my first to go through) and  on top of that: we just got here! I don't even know how to drive yet. I guess I should make a list of projects to start (training a new puppy being one of them) and start making friends, pronto!  (I hear there is also a chance he will deploy again within the year, but I haven't heard any details on that just yet). 


So last week Matt and I decided to skip cooking dinner and venture out of the house to eat. I looked up local restaurants on OkinawaHai.com and came across a ramen "shop" a few miles from us. Talk about yummy! Thankfully the website came with a picture because the sign outside of it is all in Japanese and we would have passed it right up! It's hard for me to call this place a restaurant. It's tiny and as soon as you walk in you walk right up to a bar. You sit down and look at the menu (they had an English version). The cook and kitchen is in front of you on the other side of the bar. They greet you and you basically point at the picture you want (since their English is very limited..fine by me! The point is to exercise our Japanese! We are in their country, after all). We were served a huge bowl of curly noodles in a broth that has been cooking for 14 hours that day! It was topped with sliced pork, sprouts, and some shredded purple things I didn't recognize (cabbage? seaweed? anyone know?). Matt and I grabbed our chopsticks (since these restaurants don't carry forks) and slurped away! We were told that, here, it is perfectly normal and acceptable to slurp lol   Oh, they also had whole garlic cloves and a garlic press for you to add freshly pressed garlic into your soup..now that just made my night. Mmm Mmm Mmm..

Well, the puppies are still napping so I'm going to take this time to order more curtains (for the kitchen) and start hanging pictures on the walls. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Moshi Moshi!!!

We made it!! We arrived Friday night 7:30pm (Okinawa time) safe and sound! Let me start out by saying it was a smooth flight, with the 2 layovers being the most exhausting, and landing in Okinawa during it's sunset was beautiful. Really a great first impression of the little island.

After we landed we got our stuff, went through customs and our sponsor was there at the exit waiting for us.(  For those who don't know what a sponsor is, he is someone who is responsible for setting us up with lodging reservations, getting our dog set up in a kennel, making housing appointments and driver's license appointments, etc., etc.,) Ryan has been amazing. He happens to be the person that my hubby is replacing at work, and since he is on his way out he has been staying at the same lodge as us and has been ready and willing to take us anywhere we need/want to go!

The island is beautiful. Different, but beautiful!  The cars are all pretty tiny. So are the roads. The outside of shops and houses aren't the prettiest but with all the rain and typhoons you can't really expect the upkeep to be amazing, but the insides are nice. It's really neat driving off base and seeing all the road signs and shop signs in Japanese writing! It's pretty humid, but nothing I didn't endure in Virginia or Louisiana so far.  So far, our schedule has looked like this:

Day 1: Saturday

Ryan, our sponsor, took us by the BX where Matt dropped off his uniform to get pressed, they got their hair cut, Matt and I signed up for a cell phone plan and went to the "dark side" with iPhones. We went to breakfast at a place off base called Rose Garden. It was nice! Definitely will go there again, I hear they are famous for amazing french toast! After that, Ryan brought us by a beach to check it out and go for a little walk.  We then went to visit Petrie at Karing Kennels. Poor thing looked pretty scared but we were able to bring him out in the yard area and play with him for an hour or so. He seemed to be eating and drinking and "going potty" well, so that's all I really care about at the moment. He's healthy,that's all I ask for.

Day 2:  Sunday

We relaxed until about 11:30 then got ready to go meet our new friend Lauri for lunch. She took us to this really cute coffee shop which has so many choices for coffee and drinks as well as a full menu, which I've never seen before. We had a light pasta dish, which came with soup and salad and dessert at the end of the meal.  I didn't have coffee but I did try their mango soda. Yum!! I may have to put Coke on the back burner for a while!  Lauri was pretty amazing, she gave us lots of tips and advice for the island, she showed us around and took us to her and her husband's house off base. It was so cute! Very Japanese and their kitchen was amazing (black counters, candy apple red cabinets..very unique!).  After that, she dropped us off at the lodge and Ryan took us to visit Petrie again and then we went out to a Japanese steakhouse called 4 Seasons. Matt ordered a Mai Tai and it came in a whole pineapple! It was pretty funny. And very manly :)

Day 3: Monday

Today was a trying day. Got up early, ventured out and it was raining. All. Day.  We had our housing appointment and was told only 2 places were available for us to choose from. They were the same exact floor plan and literally right next door to each other. The whole point in being shown different places is to see the different styles and you get to pick which one suits you better. I almost wanted to cry when we walked into the multiplex. Everything was a dingy yellow and the floors were the floors you see in a grocery store. Yuck and yuck. The lighting is harsh and yellow. Hello migraines. 

Let me count the positives because I really need to focus on that, seeing as how we really don't have a choice on where we want to live: it's two floors, there are three bed rooms upstairs and two full bathrooms and lots and lots of closet and storage space. While the bedrooms are small, there are three of them so we can make do. Downstairs, the kitchen is pretty roomy...there's a washer/dryer, dishwasher, stove, lots of storage space, and a sliding door that leads out to a patio. There's a half bath, a decent sized living room (which will have to share with a dining room table) and a large storage space underneath the stairs, where we will probably keep all of Petrie's toys and water/food bowl. So while it is ugly, it's do-able: with lots of paint, rugs, and furniture. 

Ryan brought us by where Matt will be working, got lunch at the chow hall, then we brought Petrie by the vet to get him checked in and cleared, medically, brought him back to Karing Kennel, and then came back here to the lodge.

I know that's a pretty detailed account of the last couple days...but Mom might be interested :)  Things are going pretty smoothly, so I am very thankful for that!! Tomorrow we take our written driving test and Friday we pick up the keys to the new place!!  Lots to do, lots to do!!

Thank you, everyone, for the kind words and well wishes!! Matt and I are so excited to get this party started and check out all that this island has to offer! xo

So Long, Sacramento...

It's Sunday night. Sittin' here with a beer while the guys are hanging out on the couch watching/playing video games. Everything is packed up and sitting in the car. Petrie is snoozing Lord knows where. The time has come. It's our very last night in Sacramento and who knows when we will be back.  It's crazy to think that for such a long time (a few months) I have been counting down the days until we move. Not necessarily out of excitement, but to give me an idea of how much time I had to left to do this and that. To see the people I care about. And now the countdown is over! One more bedtime (as a kid my parents went by bedtime countdowns for our trips to Disney World..smart idea to get a kid to go to bed without argument!) until we drag our butts out of bed and start our road trip to Seattle!

The last week here has been great! Last weekend we went to Reno for a last hoorah with "the group" (the Sac friends). That was a blast! Then this week we went out to karaoke a couple times, went to dinner, made a trip to San Fransisco to see the Walt Disney Museum (very, very informative..highly recommended!) and then today took care of errands and went to dinner with a dear friend and her family.  This week's been a great way to say goodbye to a place we have considered home for a bit of time.  I will miss the people I have come to know and love very much!

While leaving here is sad I am also super stoked for our trip! I'm excited to get on the road with the hubs and Petrie and just spend time as a little family. Matt's mom is driving up from Portland to Seattle to see us once more before we take off on Thursday, so that's nice. I'm not really sure what the plans are for the 4th but I don't care. As long as I'm with Matt, I'm happy! First thing Thursday morning (5:30am) we check into the airport and our flight takes off at 8am! Surprisingly, I'm not terrified of the flight (as of yet). I bought three books to put on my Nook, I bought some ZzzQuil (Nyquil's sleep aid! Made just for me, I think!) , and have a portable DVD player. I think we are all set!

I am so, so, soooo looking forward to finally having my own space. For so long we have either slept on an air mattress, a hotel bed or a friend's bed. Definitely thankful to have a bed, period, but it's going to feel so good to have our own bed back. Our own kitchen utensils. Our own closet. Our own everything. I can walk around the house half naked (ok, or actually naked) again! Hopefully, it won't take too long to have a house available to us once we check in. Matt told me our household shipments are already waiting for us in Japan, so now we just need a place to unload it in!

Looks like things are moving along. My biggest stress at the moment is Petrie. I read the documents wrong when it came to his rabies shots. I thought it said he had to have at least two before transporting over, but really it said he had to have two post microchipping (and one of his two was prior to getting microchipped). Along with that, the most recent rabies shot had to be no more than a year and no less than thirty days before arrival in Oki. Well, his most recent shot was March 2010 (you starting to see why I'm stressing now?) Although it's good until 2013, the transportation requirements say he should have gotten another one this past year. He got his shot today. Matt thinks he will be fine, as his blood work papers show his rabies anti-bodies are great and, in total, he has three rabies vaccinations. I don't understand why microchipping and rabies shots have to relate! The point is, he got his shots. The point is, he is microchipped. So what if he got a shot before he was chipped?!  Irritating. So, keep your fingers crossed for us that everything goes smoothly.

Our cell phones are being turned off when we leave, so the only way I can keep up with everyone I know is through wi-fi and Facebook. I'm going to try posting blogs along the way, internet permitting.

Thank you Sacramento for the great memories! West coast friends and east coast family and best friends..I love you dearly and will miss you terribly! Our door is always open for anyone wanting to venture out to Okinawa! Scuba, snorkeling, pineapple park, temples and beaches..the list of activities goes on and on.

Good night!