The day before Christmas, we attended a party of fellow Pinoys. Of course, where there are Pinoys, expect nothing but good ol’ Pinoy food. Unfortunately, while Pinoy food is undeniably yummy, it usually consists of meaty dishes. Think adobo, kaldereta, paksiw, binagoongang baboy and sisig. All that oil and fat. Mmm, hmm.

So we decided to repent for our sins the next day and stay away from meat for a change. Too much meat is simply unhealthy, you know? I perused through a free magazine featuring several restaurants in Tsukuba, and found one where we can eat seafood. To my delight, there was a restaurant not far away from where we lived. The restaurant is called 天竜本店 (Tenryuu Honten). It is located on the Tsuchiura Gakuen Sen, just after the Nishi-odori intersection.

We ordered a 9-item course dinner, yes, 9 items for each one of us. The course is called あったかなべお膳（Attaka nabe o-zen). Nabe means “pot,” and “nabe ryori” refers to the food that is cooked or boiled in a pot. Aside from the nabe ryori, we had the usual Japanese food like tempura, sashimi, sushi, chawan mushi, cantaloupes for dessert, and four other items the names of which escapes me.

This photo shows the assorted tempura (top right), sashimi (bottom right: raw tuna and shrimp, among others). The covered one at the bottom left is chawan mushi. The big pot at the top left is just for holding the ladles and the chopsticks.

Chawan mushi is a steamed side-dish served in small bowls. (Chawan means “small bowl,” mushi means “steamed.”). It is like the famous Filipino egg-pudding or “leche flan,” minus the sweet taste.

My stomach used to turn when eating raw fish; but surely even that has changed over the years of living here. Incidentally, my favorite is the salmon (orange one at the top row).

This is the seafood nabe. Perfect for the cold weather!

We finally got our seafood “fix.” The only problem was, there was just too much food, we felt like bursting! 🙂

Noticed the new appearance of this blog? Like it? I hope so. I thought that it’s an appropriate time to change our template, coinciding with the start of the new year. The image at the top left even shows a pair of eyeglasses, which incidentally jibes well with the name of this blog, “Salamin.” Salamin is the Filipino word for “eyeglasses” or “mirror.”

Anyway, I just found out that I’ve been tagged by Niceheart. Sounds like fun. It reveals a lot about a person’s experiences and idiosyncrasies. So here’s my list:

1. Sell my Dad’s paintings.
In our house, you will find several paintings hanging on the walls. All of them were painted by my Dad. At the altar of The Salvation Army in Tondo Corps, you will also find a large painting depicting the Salvation Army flag and the road to calvary (I hope they have not replaced it yet). That was also my Dad’s handiwork, one of his masterpieces so to speak. I believe that there are other paintings that have been given away to friends and relatives. Dad’s paintings are one of the most precious legacies that he has left me and my family.

This one can be seen at the dining room. Painted circa 1980.

This was the first of Daddy’s works, after a 20-year hiatus from painting. This was completed sometime in 1998. I bought the painting colors here in Japan and gave it to him as a Christmas present.

2. Write a program.
I suck at writing programs. Sounds a bit unusual for a Physics graduate, but it is unfortunately true for my case. When I was forced to take up programming in one of our courses in college, I had to tap into Baggy’s brains to write my programs. Kaya siguro di ako natuto?

3. Leave home without my health insurance card.
This sounds a bit paranoid. But here in Japan, the insurance card is the first thing that they ask for when you go to the hospital. I’ve made it a habit to always bring my insurance card anywhere I go, even when I go out of the country.

4. Go overseas without a travel insurance.
Years ago we never bothered about buying travel insurance. But we have acquired this habit of buying one for every trip we make – just like most Japanese, I guess. Some people would probably think that this is just a waste of money. But we are seguristas. Besides, some visa applications do require one to present a valid travel insurance as part of the requirements.

5. Drink and drive.
Actually, I’m not much of a drinker. But I always stay away from alcohol during parties because I am always the designated driver.

6. Have braces again.
I had such a bad experience when I wore braces several years ago. Aside from the usual pain and suffering, I had to lose two of my premolars, and then four of my incisors “died” and had to be treated by RCT (root canal treatment). My teeth have been aligned properly alright, but now I have to deal with four yellowing teeth because of the RCT. Ugh. 🙁

7. Have my ears pierced.
Yep, I’ve never had them pierced. My mom didn’t have them pierced when I was young. In retrospect, that was a good thing, because at least now I have a choice about piercing my ears or not. And indeed, I prefer not to. Some girls have had their ears pierced even before they had the chance to decide about it. So I have left my daughter’s ears unpierced, and she is free to do whatever she wants with them when she’s grown-up. I didn’t name her “Kalayaan” for nothing. 😀

8. Eat “nattou.”
Nattou (納豆) is fermented soya beans, usually taken with rice and raw egg. Ewww! I tried it once and vowed never to eat it again. It probably is the stinkiest food I’ve ever encountered. In fairness, I think other people have the same revulsions to bagoong, which I do eat.

Sticky, stinky beans. But people still eat it.

9. Have a dog for a pet.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love dogs. I just don’t want them as pets. 🙂 No, seriously, I was bitten by a dog twice. The same dog bit me twice, one on each leg. I still have my scars to prove it. I just don’t want to take my chances with dogs anymore. Not unless that dog has lost all of its teeth already. 😉

10. Have a laser treatment to correct my sight.
I’m myopic. I’ve worn eyeglasses since I was 11. But I like wearing glasses, really. It will take a lot of convincing for me to undertake something as drastic as laser treatment to cure my sight.

It’s my turn to tag. I’m tagging you, Lai. **Evil grin**