Trip to China Winter 2014: Day 1 - Goodbye Christmas

(Which means 'Christmas'. A proper Merry Chistmas is instead '圣诞节快乐' = 'Shèngdàn (jié) kuàilè')

So, finally my (almost) three week trip to China is here! Having celebrated an early and cozy Christmas this weekend, I leave all that mostly behind me as Christmas is not such a big thing holiday-wise in China. For sure, you will see lots of western-inpired stuff but that is mainly consumerism spilling over everywhere in a culturally more and more globalized world.

Being the number one manufacturing nation in the world, it would be hard not to partake in some of this as Santa has most of his factory(ies) in China producing presents at full speed this time of year. I will try to blog as much as I can about this, and of course my instagram will be my best friend too.
I will visit Chongqing around New Years Eve and hope to be at Jiefangbei at midnight when 2015 arrives, and go to holiday island Hainan to soak up some sun at Sanya, but mostly I will be at the smaller Wansheng(万盛) south of Chongqing to enjoy the company of my girlfriends relatives.

Kpop: Queen B'z

The group previously known as P.O.P Con in 2012, made a "re-debut" as Queen B'z this autumn with the somewhat different bloody vampire-hunter styled "Bad". Come Christmas Day they softened this with a cutesy song "2014 Wishlist" (2014 희망사항). While being a quite ordinary song, it is still better than many other sub-par - holiday offerings from kpop super-groups.

• Queen B'z - Bad (original version)/Bad (performance version)
• Queen B'z ft Byun Jin Sub - 2014 Wishlist (2014 희망사항 )

Trip to Sapporo: Day 5 - Cooking Janssons frestelse

(Click here for first day, yesterday or for all trips)

When visiting Sapporo this summer I got asked to make Swedish meat balls, which was great fun and something I can actually manage OK.

この夏、私は札幌を訪れた。私はスウェーデンのミートボールを作った。楽しかったよ。

Now my friends here want me to make Jansson's frestelse ("The Temptation of Jansson"), a potato casserole with potatoes, anchovy (a kind of pickled fish), and more. Of course I agreed.

友達はスウェーデン料理を求めています。したがって。私は、ヤンソンの誘惑を調理。名前は、Janssons frestelse (ヤンソンの誘惑)である。

The dish is usually not a stand alone dish but part of the Swedish Christmas Smorgasbord.

皿を一人で提供されません。スウェーデンのクリスマスディナーの一部を務めていました。

Here is the recipe. Good luck and don't blame me for the results. (^_^)

処方箋です。結果はあなたの責任です。私を責めないでください。(^_^)

1 kilo potatoes

2 onions (not to small)

3 dl cream

2 cans of anchovy (125 - 200g depending on how salt you want it)

3 tablespoons of bread crumbs

2-3 tablespoons of butter

1キロのジャガイモ

2玉ねぎ

3dLクリーム

アンチョビの2缶

3大さじパン粉（125〜200グラム、あなたがそれをする方法に応じて）

2〜3杯のバター

1. If you are using an oven, turn it to 200 degrees.

1. あなたは、オーブンを使用している場合は、200度にオーブンを回す。

2. Cut the potato to into thin pieces. Do not wash it afterwards.

2. 薄片にじゃがいもをカット。それを洗浄しないでください。

3. Cut the onion into thin pieces. Fry it with some of the butter.

3. 薄片に玉ねぎをカット。バターと一緒に炒める。

4. Cut the anchovy into thin pieces. Save the liquid from the can.

薄片にアンチョビをカット。缶から液体を保存します。

4. Grease an ovenproof dish with the rest of the butter.

バターの残りの部分とオーブン証明料理をグリース。

5. Mix potato, onion and anchovy. Pour cream and some of the anchovy liquid.

ジャガイモ、タマネギとアンチョビを混ぜる。クリームを注ぐ。アンチョビの液体の一部を注ぐ。

6. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs. If you want, some butter on top.

パン粉を振りかける。あなたがしたい場合は、上にバターを入れて。

7. Oven: Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Microwave. Bake 15-20 minutes on 750W until the potatoes are soft. Use grill towards the end if you have that function.

7. オーブン：45〜50分間オーブンで焼くジャガイモが柔らかくなるまで。

電子レンジ : じゃがいもが柔らかくなるまで750Wに15〜20分焼く。あなたがその機能を持っている場合終わりに向かってグリルを使用してください。

8. Please enjoy.

8. 料理をお楽しみください。

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Trip to Sapporo: Day 4 - Skiing clothes and nigori yogurt sake

(Click here for first day, yesterday or for all trips)

The goal for today was to manage to get to the Mitsui Outlet shopping center outside town, which without car takes some planning, especially if you can't really understand Japanese and don't have an internet connection outside your home base.
First I took the subway to the Fukuzumi station at the end of the Toho line. Then I just followed the directions to the bus station upstairs and found the bus stop for the No 88 bus. It is an open bus station so it is rather easy to find I think. Then you go with the bus to the final stop, which is the Shopping mall. This takes roughly 25 minutes I think. Remember, you only pay when you get of the bus. I had a With You card but it seemed like I couldn't use it which I think I actually should be able to do. Anyway, the driver was helpful in showing me how to exchange my bill for coins. Total cost 240+320 yen, and with bad bus timing it took roughly 1 hour.

The thing with Japan is that, in contrast with many other Asian countries, you can actually trust the stores to carry original brands and not copies, so the outlet got lot of international brands. It was all in all a very fresh and calm shopping center. I was hunting for gear to be able to go downhill (an I already before the trip was missing proper winter clothes), and had checked out the mont-bell outdoors store in Sapporo Factory already, so that proved also to be the only real choice here too. Really nice quality clothes at good prices.

There was also a farmers village store, with local produce, so I bought a nigiri bottle (mina NICORI from Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido) for my friends, which funnily turned out to be creamy white not from the rice, which is usually the reason, but from yoghurt! At 6% alcohol it is also a rather mild experience, I believe. Also, a heavenly "Polaris" cheesecake was bought and eaten.

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Trip to Sapporo: Day 2 - Sapporo Factory

(Click here for yesterday or for all trips)
Sapporo Factory consists of several interconnected buildings working as a typical modern day shopping centre with all the complemetary features like a cinema arcade, a restaurant plaza with a garden and entertainment scene, and so on. The whole area used to be the place for the Sapporo Beer production, and this was actually the first place in Japan where beer was brewed, starting in 1876 - though it is rather natural as Hokkaido is the place to grow wheat in Japan.

I slept in today, and then went shopping and also visited the Art Aquarium exhibition, which consisted of lots of fish in aquarium with special lightning effects.

Caramelized popcorns - yummy!

Puppys and kittens for sale.

And a mouse...

Snowshoes of all styles and looking rather flashier than the old style ones I remember having seen back in Sweden sometime when I was young.

 Oh, I think I'm in love and this is the object of my affection. An extremely chic and cool sofa from Francfranc.

And they also had this.

And this.

This actually almost made me get a tear in my eye - newly produced future with a 50s style. In Sweden we only find these in second hand stores. Impressive.

Santa Claus climbing the old Beer Factory Smokestack. Too much Beer? ;-)

Glas art.

Eh…a little strange children clothes. Chotto.

Gaming arcade

ANd the Fish Aquarium exhibition is turned into a disco during the evenings, I believe.

(Click here for the next day)