inspired by the gobo salad and Delica rf-1, i am making my own for lunch today. i got the lotus root, gobo, mizuna and sweet tofu skin from the japanese grocery shop.
i went to wholefood and found the purple carrots! the bunch was so pretty with the deep beet purple, orange and light yellow carrots. i am using fennel instead of celery. i am also skipping the onion and the japanese mountain potato. lets get on with making the salad.
peel lotus root and gobo. bring water (enough to cover the lotus root and gobo) to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt, add lotus root and gobo. cook at medium low heat or simmering water (not a rolling boil) for 10 minutes, shut off the heat, leave the pot sit on the stove for another 10 - 15 minutes. the lotus root and gobo are still being cooked slowly with the residual heat. take the roots out and let it cool down. slice lotus root crosswise, about 1/8" thick. slice gobo to match stick size.
peel and shred carrot, i cut by hand to match stick size since i don't like the texture of shred carrot.
shave or thinly slice fennel lengthwise.
cut tofu skin to match stick size.
pick out the green leaves of the mizuna, discard the white bottom. wash and dry mizuna in paper towel.
for dressing:
2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1-2 tablespoonsrice vinegar. the kind i used is very mild, i used 2tablespoons, use less if vinegar is too strong or acidic.
fresh cracked peper
whisk everything together, and done with the dressing! this is enough for about 600gr of salad.
toss lotus, gobo, fennel, carrot and tofu skin with dressing, cover and let everything marinate for about 30 minutes. add the mizuna, toss, sprinkle with toasted black sesame seed and voila!
the salad (without the mizuna) can be refrigerated for a day. add mizuna and sesame seed to salad when ready to serve.
i suggested Suzu for brunch before shopping since i got up late and didn't have time to eat anything.
The tofu looked yummy, i'll try that next time. the tempura was perfect, all vegetable and shrimps were fresh, crunchy tempura batter outside and the inside was cooked just enough. the ramen was ummm... good as always! the pork was tender, the dried bamboo shoot adds a very mild pungent flavor to the broth and the bamboo shoot texture has a lot of bite to it. the noodles were fresh and perfectly cooked, aldente! umm... more please!
i went to wholefood and found the purple carrots! the bunch was so pretty with the deep beet purple, orange and light yellow carrots. i am using fennel instead of celery. i am also skipping the onion and the japanese mountain potato. lets get on with making the salad. 
i used chubby hubby's recipe this time, it's almost the same as the recipe that i always use. still 225 gr powder sugar, 125 gr almond, 110 gr aged egg white (i/o 100gr), 30 gr sugar (i/o 25 gr). i skipped the salt and cream of tartar. also, this time i mixed less, there was still some specs of meringue in the batter. the feet were good, not as explosive as last time. i'll add back the salt and cream of tartar next time, i think the feet are more explosive with those 2 tiny ingredients. the shells were good this time, no wrinkle or collapse shells. i am happy with the result, yes!
last time it was like butter texture (spreadable). this time it's like a thick syrup, not quite as thin as caramel sauce but not as thick as butter. anyway, i'm not sure what the texture supposed to be like but i prefer the caramel this time over the last one. i'll come back to experiment with the macarons again soon.
there're big window panes as dividers between the bar and the dining room and the terrace (an indoor outdoor dining space)... check out some of the photos at their website. the crowd - mostly men in their 30's and up, all in conservative business suits, i felt like i was in finacial district. 
i glanced over the neighboring tables to see how big the portion is, all seemed kind of big. so we decided to share a starter and have our seperate entrees. charcuterie plate for the starter, there were country pate, duck liver pate, something looked like headcheese, ham (looked like serano) and things that i don't know the names but they were all good, served with a couple cornichons, a small mount of chutney and perfectly grilled bread. for entrees, madame Yoko ordered herself the sole with savoy spinach and dungeness crab with leek fondue. i had the pork tenderloin with pork belly and shelling beans. the pork was perfectly cooked, crisp with sweet glaze on the outside and still pink inside but fully cooked, not rare at all. 
the pork belly was crispy and sweet as well, perfectly cooked, again! the beans, beautifully cooked, not a split in the skin and yet so tender. i had a couple glasses of barolo from seralunga and the Yoko had a martini and a kir royal again. the barolo is excellent, deep ruby color, dry and very hearty... almost too strong for the pork but i like it anyway. we were stuffed after the 2 hr feast, no room for desert.... actually, i had a glass of muscato for my night cap. a perfect meal, actually worths a month wait.
