Tea And Sushi

Let's see, where are we... I've started the arduous process of getting a UK visa, finished Anansi Boys, and not been in the right frame of mind for writing, so didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. But I did go somewhere interesting last weekend.

Mom and I met with her cousin at Teahouse Kuan Yin, a marvelous little shop in Wallingford (for those not in Washington, it's a little neighborhood of Seattle). They have hundreds of teas, most of them served loose-leaf in a teapot on a tray. Also on the tray is a small hourglass telling you when the tea is done steeping, tiny little cups, and a strainer. You put the strainer over the cup while you pour the tea to catch the tea leaves. I've been told this is the "English" way of making tea. Or possibly the "correct" way. They even put a tea cosy over the pot. I've never seen one in a cafe before. I bet I'll see another one soon enough.

If you ever go to the Wallingford or Fremont area and you like Japanese food, there are about four Japanese restaurants on this one street, not even a block away from each other. One of them is dingy-looking, one is quite fancy, and the two others are very reasonable and very delicious. The one we always go to, Musashi's, was closed for lunch, but the one a few buildings down--Kozue, I think--was open, taking advantage of the other Japanese restaurants being closed. It's typical for a Japanese restaurant to close from about 3pm to 5pm, before dinner. For some reason I'd never been to this other place, and I was glad to discover it was nearly as good as Musashi's. I ordered hamachi, albacore, and salmon nigiri, and ate the omusubi that came with my mom's nabeyaki udon. Yum...

CLICK HERE to see the new installment of my short story blog, in which Elizabeth learns of another meaning for the word 'brownie.' Or catch up and read the other parts, too.

Photo: Another picture from my Rattlesnake Ledge hike. I thought it looked rather Japanese. I rather liked it.