Takoyaki

Takoyaki literally translated means cooked octopus; "Tako" means octopus, and "yaki" means cooked by grilling. But takoyaki isn't just fried octopus - it's a piping hot ball of batter filled with green onions, crispy tempura bits, and octopus. It's crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and actually really tasty.

We got our takoyaki maker as part of the white elephant gift exchange at a Christmas party over a year ago. It's been sitting unopened in our cupboard ever since. Joe went out for a poker night, so I had a couple girlfriends over to make takoyaki and let our kiddos play. The takoyaki pan is like a griddle with small half-spherical molds. You use chopsticks to make the batter into round balls while it's cooking, and then flip them over so they brown nicely on all sides. It's definitely an art, and takes skilled use of chopsticks!

I don't particularly like octopus, so what I learned from this experience is that you can put pretty much whatever you want in them. It's not that I don't like the taste of octopus, because it really doesn't have a taste. It's more of the idea of what it is, plus it's really chewy and just hard to eat. Anyway, we made two different kids of balls: one with the traditional octopus, and the other with sausage and cheese.

 The ingredients. 

 Cooking in our takoyaki pan.

 Rounded into balls.

Topped with takoyaki sauce and sprinkled with seaweed flakes.

Takoyaki is a very popular snack in Japan, especially in Osaka (where it originated). You can buy it at any grocery store, 24-hour convenience store, and especially at Japanese festivals in the street food stalls.

I know I've posted about takoyaki before, probably even a couple of times, because it's Joe's favorite Japanese snack. But I thought since we actually made it, the snack deserved another post. Thank you Yumi for teaching me how easy it is to make at home!

We used a packaged takoyaki flour-mix so all we had to do was add water and eggs (like U.S. pancake mix), and then mix it with the main ingredients - green onion, tempura bits, octopus/sausage and cheese. But there are some simple recipes out there if you google it, just make sure you find a pan to make them in. I wasn't planning on bringing our pan back to the U.S. with us, but now I guess I have to! And I suppose I'll also have to throw a few mixes and sauces in our suitcases, too!

Looks simple enough, right? Thank goodness for pictures!

Not a Baby Anymore

Where did my baby go? It seems like just yesterday that I was rocking her in my arms and letting her sleep on my chest. Now I look at her - and she's a toddler.

She's a girl who likes to explore her world... is bursting with energy... is terrible at sharing... is an incredibly picky eater... loves to be around her friends... is a fantastic swimmer... dances when she hears music... sleeps with a baby doll... and can't get enough of books. She's a sweet, sweet girl who is growing up too fast.

My Final Thoughts on Siem Reap

First of all, I added an album on our shutterfly site: Siem Reap, Cambodia. Beware though, there are just over 400 photos in the album... and that's after I eliminated a couple hundred! I know it's a lot, but hey, it gives a couple special people I know cooped up at home, treatment rooms, and hospital beds something unique to look at. :)

Many of you have asked me a variety of questions about Cambodia. I'll attempt to answer some of them in this post. 

Where were you?  
Some of you were wondering, "Sooo where were you exactly?" Hopefully the map below can help you figure that out.  

Map is from here.

Was it safe?
Cambodia is one of those places that I never had any desire to visit. Then I moved to Japan, and it's all expats can talk about. Everyone that's been there has absolutely loved it. So we added it to our list of places to visit, and then I had E. We constantly asked ourselves (and everyone else)... Can you take a baby to Cambodia? Is it safe? Is kidnapping a problem there? What about mosquitoes and diseases? Is it clean? Will we be ok? After much research, talking to doctors, and getting recommendations from friends with first hand experience, we decided to go. Now that we've been there, every time I look back and think about all those questions and negative feelings that we had, I can't help but laugh! Out of all the places that we've been, I honestly think I'd have to say Cambodia is the safest. And sure, it's not as clean as Japan, but it's better than Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines. Now we are the expats raving about our Cambodian experience!

How was the food?
Excellent. Typical dishes included a variety of curry and stir-fry dishes. I was really worried about what E would eat - but I guess it's ironic that I was worried about food, because there's more foreign foods in Siem Reap than there is in Japan! We were able to find E a whole variety of snacks and foreign foods to eat from the grocery store. And when in doubt, we ordered her a fruit shake, which is something she loves and you can't get in Japan.

Were mosquitoes a problem?
No, not in Siem Reap. But there are disease carrying mosquitoes in rural areas of Cambodia. However, the hotel did provide us with a mosquito net for the crib. And we of course brought bug spray with us, just in case. But actually, the only time we got bit was sitting in the hotel restaurant. I imagine they're much worse during the summer monsoon season.

Is it really a poor country?
Yes. Children were begging at every temple we went to. Local babies and children were often running around without clothes on... and if they did have something on, it would just be a shirt. I'm assuming that's the same reason as China - no diapers. Well, yes there are diapers because we bought some for E, but many families can't afford them.

Are you glad you booked a personal tour guide?
Yes. Even though we booked a tour guide for our entire trip because of safety reasons, which turned out to be unnecessary, I'm still glad we booked one. It made our trip less stressful, so we were able to just sit back, relax and enjoy the sites. The tour is personalized, so we were able to go anywhere and do anything we wanted. Of course they provide an ideal itinerary for us, but we were able to tweak it to fit our needs. Plus, they provided an air-conditioned car - which is a must! It really was brutally hot in the afternoons.

Elodie really took to our tour guide, Chaya. She often preferred to be carried by him (which was fine by us!). Since he escorted us almost everywhere, he was especially helpful during meals and shopping - our own personal babysitter! ;)  I would recommend hiring a personal tour guide - it just made the trip easier.

I can't tell you enough how much we LOVED Cambodia. It far exceeded our expectations! It's a once in a lifetime trip, and becoming more and more popular... so I recommend you ALL visit before the tourists overwhelm the city.

Siem Reap - Day 4

Day 4 was our last day in Cambodia. We ventured out in the morning to visit the oldest group of Angkor temples: Lolei, Preah Ko and Bakong. Then we spent the afternoon shopping, swimming, and eating.

Preah Ko was the first temple to be built in the ancient Khmer capital of Hariharalaya. The temple was built under the Khmer King Indravarman I in 879 to honor members of the king's family. The complex consists of six brick towers arranged in two rows of three towers. The sanctuaries are dedicated to three of Indravarman's predecessors and their respective wives. The central towers all have images of the Hindu god Shiva.

Next we went to Bakong. Bakong was also built in the 9th century, and it served as the official state temple of King Indravarman I. The base is a great five-tiered pyramid, which is surrounded by eight towers. Bakong is the first real pyramidal shaped temple built in Cambodia, which researchers now call "temple mountain."

Lolei was the last temple we saw on our entire trip. It was the last of the three temples of the Rolous group (in this post) to be built. In 893, King Yasovarman I dedicated this temple to his parents and maternal grand parents under the Hindu god Shiva. The site consists of four brick temple towers grouped together on a terrace. The king built Lolei for his ancestors: one for his grandfather, one for his grandmother, one for his father, and one for his mother.

This was our least favorite day of temple hopping. I suppose it's because they just didn't stand out like the others. With that said, we're glad we had the opportunity to see them, as they had some seriously beautiful architectural detail.

One other thing I want to mention is that most of what we saw on day 4 were essentially tombs. But yet today, I'm sad to say that they are empty. Every single last tomb in all of Siem Reap is empty. Our tour guide said this is because of two main reasons. First, treasure hunters came searching for valuables... and took almost everything. What remained in the tombs was then stolen by tourists and sold in the black market. And this goes for all statues and any sort of valuable artifact in any and all of the temples in general. It's really sad to think about. I know I've said this before, but I wish more was being done to not only preserve these beautiful buildings, but to also find and replace it's treasures, statues, and artifacts.

Siem Reap - Day 3

Day 3 was a much more relaxing day. We took a 2-hour drive through rural Cambodia to see the temple of Beng Mealea. That trip took up our entire morning. Then after lunch and E's nap, we took a boat ride to Kampong Pluk fishing village.

On our drive to the temple, we drove through a market and saw quite a few villages and communities along the way. Most of the homes are on stilts, to keep dry during the heavy rainy season. It was certainly a unique drive, and I'm glad we were able to see the beautiful countryside.

Beng Mealea is called the Indiana Jones temple because it's overgrown by jungles. The movie “Two brothers” was filmed here and is apparently famous because of the tigers walking on the roof of the temple. It was built as a Hindu temple, but there are some carvings depicting buddhist motifs. It's built mainly of sandstone and is completely unrestored - trees and thick brush thrive throughout the entire complex, and many of its stones are just lying in great heaps. It's literally located in the middle of the jungle. The history of the temple is unknown, but experts suspect that it was built during the 12th century.

As you can see in the pictures below, parts of the temple have completely collapsed. You really have to be careful where you walk - but yet people still climb everywhere and anywhere they want: on rooftops, through hidden walkways, on walls, through fallen pillars and structures, etc. And I'm not going to lie, we did too. But at least we had an experienced tour guide with us leading the way.

Because this temple is so far away from the other temples of Angkor, and the road to get there is in poor condition, it's not well known among tourists (YET!). It was truly a spectacular site, and one of our favorite temples. It was quiet, and cool despite the terribly hot weather because of it's surroundings.

As incredible as it is to see the temple in it's original unrestored state, it also completely breaks my heart. So much detail and history hidden among the piles of stones.






After our afternoon break back at the hotel, we took a boat ride to Kampong Pluk fishing village.

Kampong Pluk is a stilted village on the floodplain. During the dry season (when we were visiting) the 6-metre stilted homes tower above the low water line, exposing the various livestock of the villagers, including chicken, pigs and dogs. Among the villagers, fishing and shrimp harvesting is the primary source of income.

We actually didn't like this experience at all. We felt like it was nothing more than a tourist trap, as we were constantly approached by begging women and children. The children would do anything to get your attention - the girl below was trying to get us to touch or hold her snake for money. The woman on the right was using her baby to try and get us to give her money (while she sent her older 3 or 4-year old onto the boat to beg in our faces). And actually, there were tons of women out on the lake with babies - using those poor innocent children as bait. It was just heartbreaking. I know when you go to a poor country, you obviously have to expect the begging portion. But this fishing village experience was beyond overwhelming.

After 2-nonstop days of temple hopping, it was nice to have more of a quiet day. E was able to take a long nap and get some swim time in before we left for the fishing village. And Joe and I were able to find some yummy grilled sandwiches at the market across the street AND U.S. chips and candybars!!!... which was a nice break from all of the previous Vietnamese and recent Khmer food we had been eating for the past several days. You better believe I enjoyed every single bite of my Simply Caramel Milkyway, and I even took a couple home with me too. ;)

Siem Reap - Day 2

Day 2 was a long day of sightseeing. It was the only day we were not able to go back to the hotel after lunch for a rest (and E's nap). The temples we visited on this day were clustered a bit out of the main city area. We were able to see: Pre Rup/ East Mebon, Banteay Srei, Ta Som, and Preah Khan.

First we went to Pre Rup and East Mebon, both identical in style. Pre Rup is a mountain temple built in 961 and dedicated to Shiva, the Destroyer. However, the name Pre Rup means to "change the body." This reflects the common belief that funerals were conducted at the temple. It was believed the vase in front was used as crematorium.

 

Next we went to Banteay Srei - a unique temple because it is made from pink sandstone. It was founded in 976 by two Hindu priests dedicated to The Trinity Gods “Brahma, Siva and Vishnu.” Banteay Srei is called "lady temple" and literally means "Citadel of Women." It is said that the details on this temple are so delicate that they could only have been carved by the hand of a woman. This is a temple where the exquisite and abundant detail is more impressive than the mass.

We stopped for lunch and had some amazing Cambodian curry and stir-fry dishes. I loved these cute coconut planters.





3 down, 2 to go for the day.

Ta Som was built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. The temple consists of a single shrine located on one level and surrounded by enclosed laterite walls. It has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees growing among the ruins. Many of the carvings are still in relatively good condition.

The last temple we visited was Preah Khan. Although, it was 2pm at this point and E was beyond exhausted. She fell asleep in the backpack, so we took a quick peek then headed back to the hotel. Preah Khan means "the sacred sword," and was built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII who then dedicated it to his father. Like the temple above, it has been left largely unrestored. It was huge, so our quick peek really didn't give us the opportunity to see all that the temple had to offer.

Our poor, sweet girl was such a trooper this trip. But I'm relieved to tell you that when she woke up she was rewarded with a relaxing and fun evening. After some pool time with Daddy, we had a nice quiet, traditional Khmer dinner.

We ate a lot of curries and stir-fried dishes in Cambodia. It's hard to explain the taste, because even though many of the dishes looked Thai, Indian, or even Chinese... those weren't the flavors at all. Each dish had it's own unique flavor, and surprisingly none of it was spicy. The staple is rice, so almost all dishes are served with this. Our favorite Cambodia dish was fish amok - a fish, coconut curry steamed gently in banana leaves. It almost tasted like Thai green curry, but slightly different and not spicy at all.