Attempt x to eat healthy

I think this is a pretty balanced meal. In the bottom box is rice, hot smoked trout salad, carrot and tomato and on the top box are blue berries, mandarin, grapes and dried cranberries. I can't decide if I should have this for lunch or dinner.

In awe of the phantom

I went to watch The Phantom of the Opera last night with my friend, Silvia. When I heard last year about it coming to town I was enthusiastically determined that I would go and see it, but as time went, I decided against it especially with the ticket so expensive. I justified my decision by the thought that the show was overrated, until guilt got the better of me (of cancelling... again...).

As I entered into the dark theater, the stage was dull, dull and dark, but not for long. It began with an auction that I could barely recall from the movie and then the chandelier took flight and the stage was unmasked. I was terrified by the blasting organ music and horrified of the golden colored ornaments that framed the stage (strange inexplicable childhood phobia), but awe took over. Oh the music was wonderful and Anthony Warlow had played the phantom so so well that I couldn't help but feel disturbed by his eerie peculiarity, sympathize with his struggle, weep at the recognition of myself in his fallen quest. Amidst this collection of feelings, I realized that no one is made of just one substance. The phantom is not purely evil, just misunderstood... which led me to buy Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, a book on which the musical Wicked (currently playing in Melbourne) is based.

I'm obsessed with making bento these past couple of days and pictured is the ones I made today: grilled salmon marinated in my kecap manis mix, steamed bokchoy on a bed of steamed rice.

nyam nyam nyam

If there is a food that I hold dear to my heart, dearer than bacon, it would be salmon, simply grilled with a sprinkle of salt. You don’t even need oil for this fantastic source of protein for there between the threads of protein lies precious goodness of unsaturated fatty acids.

bento magique

my bento 1: black sesame & brown rice onigiri (rice ball) topped with umeboshi (pickled japanese plum), braised lotus root marinated in sweet soy sauce, all on a bed of shredded cabbage.

my bento 2: omelette bed, tuna salad, Korean pickled raw squid and vegetarian sausage.

moshi moshi bento

Chawan mushi with prawns, onigiri, tuna salad, prawns & smoked trout, cucumber

bekal monster

I love japanese animation, but my cooking mood seems to always emerge when I'm watching them. Last night I made pandan bread after watching Yakitate Japan from episode one again. Anyway, I let my dough rise twice in hope that I'd achieve that snowy softness, it came out very cakey, soft nevertheless. The pandan essence smells nothing like pandan. Yuen's market sells frozen pandan but that won't do. I dream of being able to cook with real pandan again.

Tonight I'm watching Ichigo Mashimaro. I had to pause it every now and then to try to read the Chinese subtitle that seems to flash by. The itch to cook took over and then off I went to the kicthen. My ingredients are limitted, I'd like to have some cucumber, that would go well with the tuna salad. For more details, please click on the picture. That will take you to my Flickr page and you'd be able to see little notes.

我在想。。。 台灣便當跟日本的 bento 有什麽分別呢?