Katsina

TGIF! Finally the end of work week. I was wondering about my plan tonight when my MSN messenger sent me a message from someone unexpected. My ex boyfriend from US pinged me...wow...

He said he was in Japan near Shibuya. Apparently he emailed me on Monday, but I never check my hotmail, so I didn't receive it. He said he was staying here till Sunday, and he wanted to see me for lunch today. (Sorry for talking about my 'day' gig today...)

Well, I just came back from my rendez-vous lunch at Katsina. I use this restaurant as my lay back relaxing lunch spot at least twice a month. Of course, their food is good, but what I like about this place is the spacious dining area where I can literally sink myself into the sofa.

OK, so let's get back to my lunch with ex...

He was still the same except he was more mature and sophisticated. Back in US he was known as a crazy boy...I mean...from the beginning it was crazy. Instead of nice meeting you ritual, he bit my hands...oh, what else, he was super good at singing and dancing Prince to me...and he was laying down on a kitchen counter waiting for me when I visited his place for the first time...oh, he was CRAZY and lots of fun!

I somehow miss the crazy time with him. I guess I grew older? I don't know what it is, but it all became a sweet memory of my youth. As I was having my last sip of coffee, I jumped out of my daydream.

Am I desperate to find an escape hatch from reality? I am not sure.
But at least lunch time caffeine has woken me up this time.

http://www.katsina.biz/

Marche de Metro

I am getting ready for my long bath right now...oh, I cannot wait to relax!

Tonight my co-worker took me to this quick bite place called, Marche de Metro, in Omotesando Station. It is located in the actual station, but wow~it is like a French influenced food court. It is a perfect spot if you want to grab something quick and easy. They even serve wine and beer there. Well, I was determined to relax tonight, so I had no drink with my Tom Yum Pho, but it was definitely a place to be if you were to hang out with your friends during your busy schedule.

I was expecting fast-food-quality food, but it was actually better than some restaurants I'd been to.

Here is the map...
http://www.tokyometro.jp/echika/map/marche/index.html

Perfect little spot in this weather...no walking in the cold rain.

300 yen bar

I've heard a lot about this 300 yen standing bar in Ginza...
Well, tonight was the night. My co-worker and I hopped on Ginza Line to check the place out.

It reminded me of one of those privately owned sports bars with no chairs inside (thank God, I am wasn't wearing my heals!) At the entrance, we bought these 300-yen tickets and moved ourselves to the bar. Everything there was 300-yen...including food.

http://www.300bar.com/english/index.html

I thought it was great place for young people who just wanted to hang out and maybe meet someone new.

My opinion? Well, my co-worker ended up texting me saying that it was not the label we were looking for. I must agree. I came to realize that drink & food weren't the only bargain price there. I felt like I was surrounded by men with the price tags...especially, when this American fella ended up making a public announcement, 'Man, I am horny tonight.'

So long 300~!

Yoroniku

My girlfriend asked me out for dinner. Since I was in this 'on hold' period with my boyfriend, I decided to go out to check this hip BBQ beef place in Aoyama.

Tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting much since I was NOT a big beef lover...

Well, I was wrong. This is somewhere I want to go back to.
The entire restaurant had this high-end restaurant environment where boys could use this place for thier first dates to impress the potential candidates.

I am definitely going back for more meat and their fabulous shaved ice. (The owner of the restaurant told me that some Asian rich men came over...from don't know where...just to eat their shaved ice...so go figure.)

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a388101/

Here is the information.

I only liked furred animals (well, they are fabulous...,) but hay, I had to change my mind.
I began my year of cow at this perfect restaurant...yum.

Rakushuen & Per Regalo

Girls often have relationship problems. Since my boyfriend decided to hide himself in the cave, I have been definitely one of them. Well, tonight I received a text from another one of them, and she decided to wait for me at this Taiwanese restaurant in Shirokanedai.

The restaurant, Rakushuen, has been one of my favorite Chinese authentic place since I've moved to Tokyo. Warning! It is not Fancy! It is like one of those you could find in China Town in SF. But believe me, it is a perfect place to indulge authentic Taiwanese food.

So there at the restaurant, my one of them was waiting for me. When I walked in, she already had our favorite dishes and beer on the table. I had my beer there, too. But this restaurant is not built to be a girl-talk friendly spot (chairs are not that comfortable, and I can hear what other people are talking about...,) so we decided to cash out.

Around the corner of Gaien Nishi Dori (I don't know why people call this street, Platinum Dori...nothing Platinum about the street...besides Shirokane means white gold...I'd prefer platinum over white gold..., but come on, this is Shirokanedai,) there is an Italian restaurant called Per Regalo. This place has a roof terrace, and I usually go to this place during the summer for my bubbly drink. When it opened up, the service was bad that I didn't like this place, but everything has improved since then. I even come to their lunch buffet time to time. Anyways...we sat in the bar area and talked about our problems until closing hoping to find the solutions or remedies (in this case, our bubbles and smoke became the perfect remedies temporarily.)

When I got home, I smelled like an ash tray and empty champagne bottle. There was my answer...I jumped into shower and sighed.

I grabbed a nicotine patch box from my closet and started reading the direction.
I can't be depressed just because my boyfriend is. Girl, Get Real!!

http://www.rakushuken.com/

http://www.per-regalo.com/
(Sorry, Per Regalo is now closed for good... as of August, 2016.)

Hyakumi-An

I had a brief meeting with this fabulous lawyer today.
She took me out for lunch after our 'hi, nice to meet you.'

It was my first time to visit Roppongi Hills Club.
I guess her company or herself is a member of this exclusive member only environment.

The food was great at this restaurant, Hyakumi-An. I was expecting a big bill after eating such a wonderful lunch. (I was a bit anxious since my company was going through this cost saving period...well, which company is NOT?) Surprisingly, it was like 2000 yen each (big smile.)

Well, if you are interested in the membership, here is the information. You can enjoy 8 different bars and restaurants there in the exclusive area.

The initiation fee is 1,260,000 yen + refundable deposit of 500,000 yen.
You need to pay 189,000 annually.

But don't worry! If you were a spouse of the member, you could be a member just by paying 126,000 yen a year to be a member of this club.

Nice, but I guess I have something else I better fancy.

http://www.roppongihillsclub.com/

Boudoir Tokyo

Besides going out and hanging out with friends...what do Tokyo single girls do?
I often wonder by walking down the street of Aoyama.

Me? I am a regular visitor of my spa.
When I look good, I feel good...don't you agree?

There is a big plus to my visit. I can talk about everything with my beautician while I am getting my treatment done. Yes...I visit them to get my personal counseling done. (I mean we talk about this n that...everything...she is like my shrink.)

So I visited my beautician after work.
Well, I really needed this session. Tonight my boyfriend told me he wanted to be alone for a while. I asked him if we were breaking up, and the answer was 'No.' (Why do boys want to be alone when they have problems?)

My bill tonight was somewhere around 10,000 yen. It was nothing to me.
I had the best counseling and treatment...and I even felt better about myself.

On the way home on Aoyama Dori, the wind wasn't as icy as before...

http://www.boudoirtokyo.com/