Distant World Final Fantasy Concert @ Chicagoland

Back from Rosemont Theater!

The first Distant World concert I've attended was at Minneapolis, and it was a VIP seat. This time, it wasn't a VIP seat (it's too expensive!), but I feel that this concert was 100 times better than the concert at Minneapolis.

There are so many world premierre songs played at Rosemont Theater. Here's the program:

1st half:
Prelude (FF)
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec (FF 8)
Winning Theme - World Premierre (FF)
At Zanarkand (FF 10)
Don't Be Afraid (FF 8)
Ron Faure (FF 11)
Distant World ~ Memoro de la Stono (FF 11)
Love Grows (FF 8)
Swing de Chocobo (FF)
Melodies of Life - World Premierre (FF 9)
Fisherman's Horizon (FF 8)
J-E-N-O-V-A Remix - World Premierre (FF 7)

Intermission

2nd part:
Bombing Mission (FF 7)
FF 7 Main Theme (FF 7)
Suteki da ne - World Premierre (FF 10)
Aerith's Theme (FF 7)
Dancing Mad - World Premierre (FF 6)
Kiss Me Goodbye - World Premierre (FF 12)
Theme of Love (FF 4)
The Man with the Machine Gun (FF 8)
Medley: .... Twilight, Beneath the Bloody Borders - World Premierre (FF 14)
Terra's Theme (FF 6)
One Winged Angel Advent Children version - World Premierre (FF 7 AC)
Winning Theme
ENCORE: One Winged Angel Advent Children version (FF 7 AC)


English version of Suteki Da Ne. Yes... that sounds really awkward. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the English version. The phrase "suteki da ne" is kept in the song, but the rest of the lyric was translated. Well... they keep the meanings close, but it sounded really really weird after years listening to the original Japanese version of that song.

Melodies of Life and Kiss Me Goodbye (both are in English) wasn't well sung either. :(

And lastly J-E-N-O-V-A. I was very very very excited when Arnie announced that song, but as I hear the beginning of the song... it was horrendous. The remix didn't have the vibrancy - it didn't make you feel that you are in the middle of a battle. It gets much better in the middle, but I had been disappointed with how the song was started.

Of course, One Winged Angel blasted the whole concert. I didn't expect it to be in Advent Children's version - they have Chicago Mages, comprising of 2 electric guitarists, to hype up the song. Brilliant!

Another surprise Arnie and Nobuo told us at the end of the concert was that the second CD of Distant World is going to be recorded next January, and will be on sale next summer!

Distant World tour is going to continue even next year, and for sure, they will come back again to Chicago in July. Something to look forward to? Of course!

Photos (and perhaps videos?) will follow soon.

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Bento fever

Monday and Thursday are the only days in this semester that I can't get free lunch. I'm currently working at a cafetaria, so they give me free lunch at the end of work. Saves me a lot of money :)

I'm fine with Thursdays since I have no other classes after lunch time, so I have my own sweet time to make or buy lunch. But not for Mondays.

So I decided to bring lunch from home, just like how I used to when I was in elementary school. The difference was that my mum used to prepare it for me, and this time I prepared my own lunch.



Pika bento (or so I call it). It's the cutest bento I've ever made, so I felt sad when I stabbed the pikachu with my spoon and put it inside my mouth. It's actually pretty simple to make:

1/2 C white rice
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp chicken stock

You can add coconut milk instead of water when cooking the rice, but that's optional. What I wanted to achieve here was just the yellow color, and not making the traditional Indonesian yellow rice. You'll need more ingredients to make that :)

As for the sushi rolls, the basics of making sushi rolls still applies - the only difference is that you use yellow rice instead of white rice:

1/4 C cooked rice
1tsp salt
3 T vinegar
1 seaweed sheet
1 frankfurter sausage (or any sausage of your choice), cut into long halves
1T mayonnaise

Mix the rice with salt and vinegar well until they appear more sticky. Spread rice evenly on seaweed sheet, covering about half of the sheet, place the sausage in the middle on the rice, spread the mayo on the sausage, and roll it. Some people use a sushi rolling board, but I don't. After you roll it halfway (all the rice covered by the seaweed, make sure to clench the roll with your hands to make the sushi roll firm. A great tip from my friend is to stick a few rice at the other end of the sheet so that after you roll it, the seaweed doesn't get undone. Basically, the rice will act as a glue :)



Again, it's sushi rolls. It seems that sushi rolls are kinda perfect for lunch boxes - they are bite-sized and contain carb, meat and vegetables (depending on the choice of filling).

I tried using frozen steamed vegetables because they contain a mixed variety of vegetables. They have good texture, but one thing I regret about these kinds of vegetables was when they were seasoned in the packaging. I'm not a big fan of vegetables with caramel sauce, so I don't like the overall flavor. On the other hand, I find unseasoned frozen vegetables pretty good!




Unagi. Oh yes, I LOVE unagi! It's been my favorite ever since I started eating sushi (just because it's the only cooked fish they have - I wasn't used to eating raw fish back then). I didn't make this from scratch - I bought the pre-grilled ones from Asian market here. I just have to grill it for a little bit in my toaster oven.

And if you notice, I also have usaringo (rabbit-shaped apples)! It's always been my dream to make one. I have been watching many J-doramas and anime, and I always saw usaringo in their bento boxes. So.. I finally managed to make one! It's pretty simple:

Slice apples into wedges, leaving the bottom a little flat so the rabbits can stand. Make a 'V' shaped slice on the skin, make sure that you don't cut it too deep. Start peeling the skin from the edge until it reaches the 'V' cut. Pull the skin apart. And at this time, the "ears" actually won't stand. So you have to soak it in salt water (~1 tsp per 2 cups of water). Just wait for about 3-5 minutes and the ears will magically stand up!



This one was pretty simple, but I'd say it's pretty balanced. A little too much rice for me, though. LOL. I shaped the rice using a rice mold (the Japanese have tons of collections of rice mold!) Most of the foods in this bento were leftovers from dinner. Leftover salsa, leftover chicken... It didn't take long preparing :)

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Jerky Days

It's been 3 months since my last post. Nowadays I would post my food pictures to Facebook instead. Yes, Facebook basically has everything that you need for internet social profiling. You can post pics, videos, notes... everything.

But again, I still like blogs better due to its customizable features.

Not until recently, I have been addicted to eating jerky. It started with Jack Link's Teriyaki beef jerky. It's probably a little weird, but I like to eat something that is a little tough to chew. Not too tough, though.

During Thanksgiving break at New Orleans, I found many different types of jerky. There was one alligator jerky that I had down there, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it.

I bought several types of jerky back home: maple duck, elk, ostrich, kangaroo and buffalo. Well, they're not pure duck or pure elk or anything - all of them are mixed with beef. The textures are not so different either. I'd say elk and buffalo have the roughest texture, and they are a little bit hard to chew.






The duck is pretty good - at least it's slightly more tender than pure beef stick.

I'd say Kangaroo jerky was pretty good, but it's not my favorite somehow.

Ostich is not so bad. I'd say it's a little tender.

Elk... a little tough, but I like it.

Buffalo was the toughest jerky among the 5 that I bought.

I love eating jerky - I love Bee Cheng Hiang's pork jerky (is bak kwa a jerky?) the most, but they don't sell that here in US.

Even so, I wish they could put less salt in the jerky. I have low blood pressure, so I'm not so concerned about getting hypertension. It's just the saltiness that bothers me...

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It's been a while

To put it simply, I've been busy these days. Looking for summer internship, chasing after my professors to schedule my research, thinking of honors class projects to be done this semester, working part time at a cafetaria, club meetings and activities... Whew!

And I just had an exam yesterday, and there is going to be another exam tomorrow.

Enough complaints! Now, time for food! Luckily, I managed to cook for myself almost everyday. Saves the money, adds the experience, adds the fun!

Spicy mayo shrimps with musrhoom:

Bento preparation:

Checkered rice (plain rice and rice with furikake)


Added some fried sausages and hams

2nd bento. Fried egg + rice + mayonaisse + chili paste!

I decided to make a fruit gelatin to stack at the bottom... I need more fiber these days :P

Seafood spaghetti with vodka sauce (thanks, Bertolli!)

The healthiest food of the semester. Haha. Mixed vegetables + leek + chicken gizzard.

My Saturday breakfast! Pork wanton noodle with shrimps and mushrooms:

I used Nasoya wanton wraps. They're pretty good!

Ayam balado. Indonesian spicy chicken, cooked with my mum's recipe :D

Time for more artistic food! Peeps born out of clementine orange!

Pork rib with lotus root soup. One of my favorites!

Sliced beef and king oyster mushroom cooked in Korean galbi sauce

Okay, enough for now. Time to study!

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Summer 09 Singapore trip

Went to Singapore for 3 days to accompany my Mum's medical trip.

3 days was definitely not enough to cover all the food I've come to like in 6 years. Well, these are the few of my most favorite foods in Singapore:

Sarawak Kolo Mee



I found it when I was lurking around Toa Payoh area after church. It's quite hidden in the corner, almost next to a petshop. When I first found it, the price was still $6, but now it's raised to $10 :(

The one I ate above was in Vivocity. Indeed, the restaurant Vivo has better atmosphere because it is air-conditioned, but I still prefer eating in Kolo Mee in Toa Payoh. The noodle in Toa Payoh is more chewy and more fragrant because they use minced meat in Toa Payoh (in addition to the char siew). Also, I don't remember having fried wontons in Toa Payoh branch. In Vivo, the noodle is served with fried wontons. They're okay - they're just like normal fried wontons - but I think I'd prefer minced meat over fried wontons.

I almost always had my lunch after church there. Most of the servers speak Mandarin, and I can't speak Mandarin (but I try to speak a little bit). Since I always visited that restaurant at the same time every Sunday ordering the same dish (I always ask for pieces of abalone instead of prawns), the servers there know me well, and they always gave me extra noodles and meats.


Crystal Jade La Mien & Xiao Long Bao (Takashimaya level 4)



I like most Crystal Jade restaurants in general. I like Crystal Jade Kitchen the most. To be honest, I don't really like CJ La Mien that much, so I seldom visited this restaurant. What I love the most is the Xiao Long Bao. Compared to Din Tai Fung's xiao long bao, the xiao long bao here has the best xiao long bao skin. The skin of the xiao long bao in Din Tai Fung is too thin, so the xiao long bao often burst before I can put it on a spoon. To me, the best part about xiao long bao is the broth, so if the broth is lost, I feel that it's just the same as eating normal meat dumplings.

The xiao long bao in Crystal Jade comes in 5, while the one in Din Tai Fung comes in 8. I often eat alone (very seldom people would accompany my food trip), so the serving size in Crystal Jade is just nice for me.

Viva xiao long bao!


Prata and teh tarik



The best roti prata I have ever had was in my first year of junior college in NJC. The vendor changed after a year, and I didn't really like the new vendor as much. I'd say the one in Al-Ameen (Upper Bukit Timah Road) is also a good place to eat prata.

My favorite of all prata is cheese prata. Plain prata is nice, too, but normally I'd have to order 2 pieces because 1 piece was normally not enough to make my stomach satisfied. Some people prefer to eat prata with sugar, but I prefer to eat it with curry. Sometimes, the prata is good but the curry is not. That's why I'm a little selective about eating prata.

The one in Food Republic (Wisma Atria) was not bad in terms of both the prata and the curry. The curry is a little too thin, but it's still acceptable to me.

Teh tarik normally accompanies my prata, but it's quite regrettable that the teh tarik in Food Republic was not good. There was a strange bitter aftertaste, and somehow the bitterness 'sticks' in my throat.

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Ujung Pandang Crab

My dad brought back one tub of crabs from his business trip to Ujung Pandang (Indonesia).




These were biggest crabs I've ever eaten.




Okay, the claw/pincher is always my most favorite part. I had some difficulties trying to crack the claw. Normal crab cracker won't do. I had to use a stone pestle to crack it because it's so damn hard and thick. But a hard work comes with a big reward!



The sauce has similar taste to that of Kepiting Saus Padang, but it's a little sweeter. It tastes great with white rice or mantou. My cousin said it's quite hot, but maybe my pain receptor has been pretty much dulled, so I didn't really think that it's that hot.

The female crabs were filled with tons of crab eggs. Normally, crabs with eggs don't have much meat inside, but these female crabs from Ujung Pandang have so much meat inside the legs and the claws.

I love the crabs!


P.S: beware of your cholesterol level after you ate these crabs xD

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Mousy bread

This was what happened when I couldn't finish my bread roll but felt bad if such a beautiful roll was thrown into the garbage bin.



I don't really like bread, simply because it had been my only portable breakfast during my first six years living in a dorm. I was quite a busy person in JC, so I had to wake up really early to school. Even though it only took at most 8 minutes by feet, attending meetings at 5.30 or 6 am just means that I had to wake up latest by 5 am.

I ate too much bread that I can't make myself to eat bread when there are other options.

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