Hongkie Town

Yeah, okay, I ate whale. For the second time. The first time was a couple of years back and it was raw. This time two small pieces, cooked. Both times, "Ha! You try it first, then we tell you what it is!" When I had raw whale, it tasted kind of like beef liver. "Why don't you just order liver instead?" I asked. Cooked whale tasted kind of like beef. I was not going to be rude to my hosts but they took my silence as enjoyment and said, "We guess you are not a member of Greenpeace." I do have some food photos but forgot to pack my card reader so perhaps after I get home.

This was my second sushi dinner and far superior to the first. The first one was at a chain in Ginza called Midori or Meidori or something along those lines (no English sign). The set course there was roughly US$50 per person, a bargain by Ginza standards. It was my second time there and, like the first time, people were lined up outside waiting up to an hour for a table. As chains go, this is considered to be a superior one and most of what we had was pretty good. But even my barbarian palate noted that tonight's dinner, in a tiny little independent restaurant tucked away on a back street, was far superior. I didn't see the bill but I'm sure that this dinner was well over $100 per person. But, like I said, even I could taste the difference. Even the sake (didn't get the name but I was told it was from a brewery that had a small output each year and only sold to select independent restaurants) had a deeper, more complex flavor than most of the ones I've had in the past.

Last night's dinner was at a restaurant on the 29th floor of the Sanne Park Tower. I took a taxi there from my hotel - turned out the place was only 3 blocks away. Oops. Again, my second time at this place, both times with a friend who just happened to, oh, win an Emmy award for inventing the DVD. We talked about his new business venture but, fueled by massive amounts of sake and soju, our discussions soon took on a more philosophical tone. Some hot stone cooking (marinated tuna cheek slices), some tofu skin, white asparagus, a mix of shellfish - all at surprisingly reasonable prices (for Tokyo) and an English menu that went through full descriptions on the drinks as well as the food. Tables widely spaced and a superb 29th floor view, cannot complain.

Each night (including tonight) I had so much to drink with dinner that all I could do was go back to the hotel afterwards, stuffed and wasted. I have not been to any bars at all this trip and, as I'm heading home tomorrow, won't get to any.

Today I did have a chance to take a break and get over to Bic Camera, where I played with the new Sony A350 DSLR. The new LiveView works really well but the camera is huge and heavy. I wanted to compare it to the new Canon Rebel Xsi (aka 45D?) but they didn't have it yet. I did see lots of other toys - including a 103 inch LCD TV that sells for US$50,000. I got one for my bathroom. Not.

The other thing I forgot to pack was the DVD drive for my laptop, so I can't listen to any of the CDs I bought. The one I will play first when I get back home is The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement. It's a side project from one of the members of Arctic Monkeys and said to be very influenced by Scott Walker's 60s solo albums.

Finally, for tonight, two taxi tales .....

I'm pretty good at getting around Tokyo in taxis. Most drivers don't speak English but either I know the Japanese name of where I'm going or I have a bilingual map in my pocket that I can point to. The other day, going from the hotel to the office, the driver made a wrong turn. A seriously wrong turn. He realized it after awhile and shut off the meter for the rest of the trip and apologized profusely. As it happens, the value on the meter when he shut it off was the exact amount it would have cost had he not gotten lost. I cannot imagine any Hong Kong taxi driver ever doing this.

Second was today. It's a stereotype that women cannot read maps. Of course stereotype sare generally untrue but, well, today I had a lady taxi driver who seemed bent on living up to it. I gave her the address I was going to. She punched it into her GPS. I looked at the display and the route it showed was exactly right. She pulled out of the hotel and proceeded to ignore the GPS completely. She started making a left turn at a place she should have gone straight. I managed to stop her in time. Then she got to a place where she should have made a left and kept going straight. I got her to turn around. She pointed at the GPS and said, "Navigation!" I said, "Yes, please use it!!!!!!"

Anyway, back home Friday. Leaving again on the 28th (Manila). And in just 15 days it will be my birthday. This year my age and the year I was born are the same number. Not sure how I feel about that but considering the alternative ....