I had considered letting this Meme die. But seeing that it's Reid from Ono Kine Grindz who tagged me, I thought I'd go ahead and do it. Mainly because Reid is a good guy, and I'd feel really bad if I didn't.
The rules?
1. Delve into your blog archive,
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to),
3. Find the 5th sentence (or closest to),
4. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions,
5. Tag FIVE people to do the same.
So I went to the beginning and started counting; and lo' and behold, it was one of my favorites. Hogetsu Bakery! It was a short post on June 19th of this year, and the 5th line was; "Many people I know still drive to Los Angeles to get their Manju, or just buy them from Nijiya or Mitsuwa. " Which is still probably true.....
So knowing that I'd be doing this, I drove down to Hogetsu on Friday:
And picked up some manju:
The Missus enjoyed the Kyoto-style confections that I picked up on this trip. And of course I also got all her other favorites as well. All told these five pieces cost $4.70. I also had a nice conversation with one of the owners who remembered me as the "guy with the camera".
So who am I tagging? Well, let's do something different. I'll let whoever feels like volunteering for this meme to carry on. Just "pencil me in" as the "tagger"!
Hi Kirk,
I remember that post and the manju quite well. I was planning a visit to Hilo in a couple of weeks, but I couldn't get the tickets for the flights I wanted. Instead, I'm going to Kona. If I am not too tired, I may still drive to Two Ladies Kitchen for some of theirs.
Posted by: Reid | Sunday, 09 October 2005 at 06:33 AM
Hi Reid - Sounds like a nice trip! I used to go to the Big Island quite often, it's a great change of pace from Oahu.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 09 October 2005 at 09:26 AM
Those are beautiful little delights! I love the Japanese attention to detail.
Posted by: Beth - The Zen Foodist | Sunday, 09 October 2005 at 12:48 PM
Hi Beth - Believe me when I say, when they are fresh, the manju tastes as good as it looks.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 09 October 2005 at 08:17 PM
Kirk,
The manju looks really outstanding! :D I really like the looks of the flower looking one, but I wouldn't mind eating them all1 ;P
Posted by: milgwimper | Sunday, 09 October 2005 at 10:04 PM
Hi Mills - I heard that the Kyoto style manju was good - the key word in the sentence is "heard"....
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 10 October 2005 at 08:48 AM
kirk, are there many different types of manju? i dont' see a picture of the manju in the picture... isn't it supposed to be sort of baked? like maui style manju?
Posted by: Annie | Wednesday, 12 October 2005 at 02:25 PM
Hi Annie - What we consider in Hawaii to be manju is not what the Japanese consider manju to be. What is considered to be "mochi" in Hawaii is called by the catch-all definition "manju". So the big white one is Habutai Manju, The Green one with Kinako, is called, what else - Kinako Manju. The multi-colored one is I think called Suama. Even Dorayaki - those pancakes with red bean filling is considered manju.
Here's a little article I found from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manju
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 12 October 2005 at 02:51 PM
really? ok i just checked out the link, thanks!!
so when we enter the store, is it proper to call the confections mochi or manju? so basically only in hawaii, do we call them mochi?
Posted by: Annie | Wednesday, 12 October 2005 at 03:04 PM
Hi Annie - I think it's ok to call it whatever you want, and are comfortable with - in this case they'll know what you're talking about.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 12 October 2005 at 06:38 PM