1st meal out of the house in the new year. Stuck with the one and only burger (SmokeShack™) I’ve ever tried at this chain but tried one of their milkshakes for the very first time. It was a good pairing.

Technically a la carte since I created this set for myself 🤗 but I so enjoyed this meal, I had to include it. I gotta admit I’ve never been a huge fan of the poké bowls in SG because they’ve mostly consisted of rice and lettuce, but today was different. It could’ve been because: 1. They stepped up their game (an upgrade in flavor in addition to decor upgrade? They’re also now charging for service. I had no idea they’d re-opened, much less that they were temporarily closed)? 2. I was hungry and dehydrated? This was my first meal 17 hours after my last. Whatever the reason, this meal felt nourishing and reinvigorating!

First solid meal in over 24 hours at Otsuka and after a 4-hour hike. 1. You’d never think there was a restaurant in this neighborhood of 🏡 🏡 🏡 but there it is... 2. There were over 40 people before me, 8 minutes into the restaurant opening. 3. This is quite possibly the best beef I have EVER had (minus the Matsusaka sliver @furflebear, @shobdw and I shared on a sushi after I shamelessly asked the chef to slice it 3 ways). I wouldn't know what I was missing with the Murasawa since they sold out within an hour. The Murasawa probably warrants a reservation ahead of time.

1st cooking class since 2014. I learned: 1. How to roast chicken with an Asian Spice Rub that looked different than everybody else’s. 🫣 2. How to steam rice in the Rolls Royce of ovens. 🍚 3. That it’s tricky getting the citrus: sugar ratio right in a Cucumber Onion Salad 🥒🧅 4. That the Vitamix is available here but at > double the price stateside. It probably took care of my fruit requirement of the day though. 5. How one may or may not want an $8K built-in coffee system in one’s home. ☕️ #cookingclass #juicy

Post-dental late lunch. Having scaled the hack out of my gum line, sand-blasted my teeth to its mere (yet I’ll say it’s pristine AF) coffee-stained state, I could not bear to subject my mouth to the horrifying, bacteri-fying prospect of another bio-film —> calculus-inducing meal (which BTW, is anything digestible and not water). But here we are. 3 h later. 😷

First time eating eggplant Parmesan with chopsticks.

My first real dining experience beyond the home since my 10-minute takoyaki lunch @ Don Don Donki a few weeks ago & courtesy of a generous relative. The “barf” bag’s for your face mask, the Saran-wrapped flatware are self-explanatory, the green Zappy wet towel’s for cleaning the former after unwrapping, and the red happy Zappy for cleaning the slob that’s about to work the equipment.

Post-cremation repast: 1. Fish that truly looks like it’s seen better days 👌 2. Sweet and savory batter-fried chicken. I’m guessing there was honey in it. 👍 3. Pork 👎 4. Tofu 👌 5. Salted egg shrimp 👌

Upgraded the default Kake Udon with a half boiled egg and it automatically climbed the ranks of 2 syllables to become Kamatama Udon 🥚🍜 The udon was great, the deep fried gyoza was good, but the potato croquette was mediocre. But ultimately, it was about the 🍜 right?