Today is a holiday in Japan – it’s A Former Emperor’s Birthday (current Emperor’s birthday is December 23rd) – so Marc and I decided to go out to lunch.  (The kids were in school and Marc’s birthday is tomorrow, so it seemed like good timing!)  We went to a great restaurant in Roppongi Hills called the Hong Kong Kitchen, where they serve Chinese Dim Sum all day.  I really wanted to show you the appetizer that comes with the lunch set menu, which in my mind, Japan-ifies the Chinese food. All of the items were served cold.

From left to right, the items are: 1. Brine-soaked jellyfish cut in strips; 2. strips of cold, salt-marinated chicken; 3. marinated burdock – a root vegetable; 4. cold sauteed Chinese broccoli.

The rest of our lunch consisted of either a fried pork-bun or a spring roll, five yummy dim-sum dumplings, a bit of honey pork on rice and a dish of anan-tofu, a sweet, almond-flavored dessert.  Each dish was tiny, but satisfying.  Yes, my top reason for loving Japan so much has always been the food and it’s no different now than ever.