Tea Time Part VII

More teas, more Tea Time posts! ^.^

***Disclaimer: I'm *not affiliated* with any of these vendors. Just sharing the goodies I enjoy is all.

Bought a bunch of these Gen-matcha (Matcha-Genmaicha) from David's Tea to pair with my ochazuke. Pretty good, and really they'd have to be pretty bad to screw up Gen-matcha.

Spices & Seasonings Part II

This Spices & Seasonings post is 2+ years in the making. I kept pushing it off because I wanted to catch up on the skincare and makeup (what makeup?) posts. But alas, I won't ever catch up so here's this post, finally ^.^"

For the past couple of years, I've been obsessed with this Yuzu Marmalade from Yakami Orchard. So, so, sooo good and not too sweet. That crisp yuzu fragrance and taste is just addicting. It pretty much replaced all other jams and preserves for me even if I'm the only one in the family who eats it (hubby and the boys still prefer raspberry and strawberry jams). It's just delicious on buttered toasts, to sweeten teas, and even on pizza crusts ^.^ There are 2 sizes available, a smaller 300g jar which lasts me about 1-2 weeks, so now I only buy the big 580g jar which lasts a good deal longer. Oh, did I mention it's available through Amazon? Yeah. That makes it super easy. I usually buy 2-3 big jars at a time. 

This is the smaller 300g jar next to Momoya Chili Oil with Fried Garlic.

Afternoon Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Part II

One midday Sunday last fall, hubby and I were nostalgic for those spectacular afternoon tea sessions in Tokyo, so we dragged ourselves downtown Denver to find something close to make do with. We first stopped by a small tea room near his old company's office. Of course, of all the days we picked there was a demonstration downtown that day and the small tea room was totally full with an hour wait time. So off to the Brown Palace Hotel we went, and we got the last table too!

Sakana Sushi Ramen, Westminster

Update Sunday, May 31, 2020.

More food pics from Sakana, including this yummy peach chuhai they served.

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Original post Monday, May 11, 2020.

Sakana is also relatively new. They opened in 2014, I think. We had no idea the place existed until we moved out of our apartment in Boulder and into our current permanent home. Our first time dining there was in the spring of 2018--we were looking at open houses in the surrounding area. Boy were we pleasantly surprised! The food was great, and we'd miss Japan every time we go.

Sushi Zanmai, Boulder

Here's yet another long-time local favorite: Sushi Zanmai in Boulder. In fact, hubby and I have a longer history with Zanmai than with its sister shop Izakaya Amu. We ate here a few years before we tried Amu for the first time, so all around we must have been eating at Zanmai for 20 years now!

Izakaya Amu, Boulder

Third update Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

Just checked Amu's website and they're open again for takeout and delivery! WOOT!

Takeout time, here I come!

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Second update Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

Adding even more food pics from Izakaya Amu.

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Update Saturday, May 2, 2020.


Adding more food pics from Izakaya Amu.

Starters, seafood salads, and sashimi.

Grilled and fried small plates.

Entrees.

Desserts.

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Original post Thursday, April 30, 2020.

Izakaya Amu is another long-time local favorite in Boulder. I believe the first time hubby and I dined here was back in 2003. Yep, 17 years. Back then, being young (read: stupid) college students we didn't know crap about Japanese food. We just went along with our classmates, grad students, and professors, and we ate what they ate. It wasn't until our return from the two years in Yokohama that we started to appreciate the food at Amu.

As soon as hubby and I sat down, the chef always started us out with a small plate on the house while we peruse the menu and order drinks.