Without question the best sushi I’ve ever had, and easily one of the best meals I had in Japan. Well worth the wait to get in. The sushi is served directly onto the wood, no plates.
Oh my god it was so good.
Tsukiji Tuna Auction
Up at the crack of about 4AM to get to the fishmarket by 5, just in time to get into the Tsukiji fishmarket tuna auction. At the current rate of depletion, it won’t be going on for much longer, ‘cos they’ll all be gone. (The Japanese fleet has already depleted most of the Pacific Ocean, and is now destroying the Atlantic – that’s a long way from home.)
Tsukiji Fishmarket
Now I’m not a professional fish-guy, but it looks to me like these fish are being transported in fishguts. Mmm-mmm, appetising!
Tokyo Tower
From helipad on roof of Mori Tower.
Colonel Santa
Sometimes you really know you’re far from home.
I was away.
When I took this photo, I didn’t have any idea where I was.
But I didn’t care, ‘cos I was with my friends.
I was away.
And I’ve been back for a while, but while I was away I did many things.
When I took this photo I was terribly afraid of dying.
New Zealand’s Next Top Podcaster
Lately I’ve been spending most of my time building New Zealand’s best podcast, The Discourse Weekly Show, with my friend Ben Gracewood (if you know the name, it’s ‘cos he’s the chap that quit from Paul Henry’s breakfast show).
You should check out the podcast, it’s really getting great.
Delicious Vegetarian Chili
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 4 or 5 cloves garlic
- 3 stalks celery
- 2 courgettes (call it zucchini if you prefer)
- 1 capsicum (any colour, but I suggest yellow or red)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 Tbs oregano
- 2 Tbs chilli flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- vegetable stock
- a cup of red wine
- vegetarian burger patties
- 2 tins red kidney beans
- 1 tin cannellini beans
- 2 tins chopped tomato
- jalapenos (optional, to taste)
Get all your bits together.
Chop all the veges.
Add oil to pot, sauté onions, capsicum, celery, garlic, oregano, and (not pictured) add the remainder of chopped vegetables.
Crumble the vegetarian burger patties.
Add pattie crumbles to pot.
Add bay leaves, wine, beans, chilli flakes, cumin, and tomatoes. Stir well and bring to the simmer.
Simmer, stirring occasionally. The longer you can give it the better, I like to give it at least 90 minutes to 2 hours.
I like to serve with rice, cornbread, sour cream, and hot sauce (this recipe isn’t particularly hot, I usually make it for potluck dinners, and unfortunately not all of my friends like it hot).
Great on toast the next day. (Great on everything the next day. Mmm-hmm.)
Into the internet
This is the way we did it, old school. Ihug dial-in system circa 1995 (aka a bunch of external modems plugged into terminal servers, in stacks and piles on a bodged together desk in Newton).