Category Archives: Languages

Restaurant Review: Bengawan, Keraton at the Plaza, Jakarta, Indonesia

Posted on September 4, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

Disclaimer: In exchange for this restaurant review, I received one lunch at Bengawan, located on the 7th floor of the Keraton at the Plaza hotel, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Though the disappointing aspects were few and/or trivial, before getting into the … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Indonesia, Languages, restaurant review | Tagged à la carte, Bengawan, food, Indonesia, Jakarta, Keraton, Keraton at the Plaza, lunch, Marriott, rendang pizza, Sheraton, views | 3 Comments

Japanese Onigiri Month, Part Six: Nothin’ But Eel

Posted on March 21, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

Oof, that’s a lot of rice. No, it’s not slang for money; rather, it’s an obvious conclusion. Eat onigiri, spike your blood sugar levels. And if you don’t want all of those carbohydrates, have fun making a spectacle of yourself … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Japan, Languages | Tagged convenience store, eel, food, Japan, japanese, omusubi, onigiri, rice, snack | 1 Comment

Japanese Onigiri Month, Part Five: The Korean Edition

Posted on March 17, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

After a whirlwind tour of various Japanese onigiri, let’s take a gander at culinary influences from the Korean peninsula, the insular country’s western neighbors across the Sea of Japan: Bulgogi (ブルコギ/bu ru kogi/불고기). Literally “fire meat,” bulgogi consists of thin, … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Japan, Languages | Tagged bibimbap, bulgogi, Japan, japanese, kimchi, Korean, omusubi, onigiri, rice, seaweed, squid | 1 Comment

Japanese Onigiri Month, Part Four

Posted on March 13, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

After a brief pause in Japanese Onigiri Month, let’s see what’s in store for this pre-snowstorm Monday… Salmon broiled in white miso and mirin (さけ味噌漬焼/ sa-kay mi-so tska yahkee). A couple of words to assist while in Japan… -mirin (みりん・味醂), … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Japan, Languages | Tagged food, Japan, japanese, language, mirin, miso, omusubi, onigiri, rice, salmon, snack | 1 Comment

Japanese Onigiri Month, Part Three

Posted on March 6, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

Before a brief interruption in this month’s scheduled programming, I bring thee three more versions of Japanese onigiri to sample: I’m predicting it now… the food trend for 2017: onigiri and milk. Ya, maybe in a prison in Japan. But … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Japan, Languages | Tagged food, Japan, japanese, language, milk, miso, omusubi, photos, rice, salmon, snack | 1 Comment

Japanese Onigiri Month, Part Two

Posted on March 3, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

For the next installment of onigiri (omusubi) month, I bring you three – nay, two and a half – more suggestions, fresh from Japan…but first, a Japanese language primer: – 新発売 shin hatsubai = new product (new sale) – コシヒカリ … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Japan, Languages | Tagged food, Japan, language, omusubi, onigiri month, photos, rice, salmon, snack | 3 Comments

Introducing…Onigiri (おにぎり/🍙) Month

Posted on February 28, 2017 by findingfoodfluency

After taking a moment to reflect back on the more than five years BuildingMyBento has been around, two things stand out– There has only ever been one themed month, and that was five years ago. Not enough deference has been … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Japan, Languages | Tagged おにぎり, お結び, bento, convenience store, food, Japan, japanese, omusubi, on-the-go, onigiri, rice ball, snack | 3 Comments

The Tianzi (Son of Heaven) Building in Yanjiao, Hebei, China

Posted on August 28, 2016 by findingfoodfluency

China is – or at least, until recently was- the world’s petri dish for what I like to call bizarrchitecture. You have malls with Venetian gondolas (and Somali video games), (empty) towns designed to be spitting images of European villages … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, China & Hong Kong, East & Southeast Asia, Languages | Tagged Architecture, Beijing, building, China, Chinese, 福禄寿, fu lu shou, Hebei province, hotel, sanxing, tianzi, weird, Yanjiao, 天子 | 1 Comment

Idiosyncratic Indonesia

Posted on July 7, 2016 by findingfoodfluency

Oh, looks like we’ve been down this alliterative avenue before. However, this time, we’ll paint Indonesia in a more playful light. I’ve gathered three photos that have amused me since coming across their subjects in Java last year…although one of those … Continue reading →

Posted in East & Southeast Asia, Food & Drink, Human Nature, Indonesia, Languages | Tagged air freshener, credit card, durian, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, remote control, Solo, Southeast Asia, weird | 1 Comment

“Japan Week” New York, March 10-12, 2016

Posted on March 11, 2016 by findingfoodfluency

In which culture does a week last only three days? Whereas I currently don’t have a good – or sarcastic – response to that question, I will confess that it’s a treat whenever the annual Japan Week rolls into Grand … Continue reading →