My Lovely Mum

Hello lovelies! Did you have a nice Mothers Day today? I hope so! We went down to the South Coast for a lovely fish and chips lunch. 

My mum is one very clever, special lady and did you know she is a Milliner? Mum has a millinery studio and vintage clothing store in Annandale, Sydney - if you are ever in the area please stop by and visit her. You can see her website here and her blog here.

Oh and her hats were recently featured in Vogue Magazine, Nine to Five Magazine, and on TV show 'So you think you can Dance'!






As seen in Vogue Magazine




So you think you can Dance






Nine to Five Magazine

Yay for mums! I love you mum! xxx

Special Magazine Designer Duo Guest Blog - Inside Out's Grace Lee and Country Style's Zoe Doyle

Today I have a special treat from two of my favourite Designers / Japan lovers in my office. I am so excited to say that today Hello Sandwich brings you lovely graphics by talented illustrator Grace Lee (see more of her here and here) and a shiny rice report by writer in the making Zoe Doyle. I hope you will enjoy!


The Shiny Rice Quest by Zoe Doyle

Why is it that anywhere in Japan, even in the most simple of cafes, the rice is always made to perfection? So perfect that even a dessert fiend like me, comes to the conclusion that I could happily live solely on plain rice alone? Good gohan (cooked Japanese rice) should be perfectly sticky, have a glossy sheen and leave you feeling cleansed from consuming a bowl of it. I always struggle coming back to Sydney each year after a trip to Japan as for some reason, our rice just doesn't compare so in my Sydney search for the best 'shiny rice', as I like to call it, here are my top North-side mid-price range picks for the best rice that will make you think you could live on rice alone forever.

Makato Chatswood
Makoto Sushi Bar is probably my favourite Japanese restaurant in Sydney. The lovely manager Sara always welcomes with a huge grin and the staff are ultra attentive. All sushi and food at Makato is brilliant, but their rice is my top Sydney pick. They use a special seasonal blend including Koshihikari and Hikari rice cooked to sticky yet separate grained perfection. The sushi Makato is truly famous for is beyond delicious and very creative. The wait can be a while after you put your name on the list as they don¹t take bookings, so give yourself an extra 10-20 minutes waiting time, but trust me Makato is always worth the wait!
336 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. Ph: (02) 9411 1838.
(Hello Sandwich's note: I also love Makoto in the city! Oishii!)


Minato Manly
Minato is a humble little restaurant opposite the legendary Manly Wharf. Minato is quintessentially Japanese, simple settings, dark wood floors, beautiful ceramics on display with smooth jazz playing and hidden inside the origami bow on your plate is a new Japanese phrase to learn! Minato is in my opinion the best Japanese on the Northern Beaches, I have friends who travel up to an hour just to eat at this little restaurant! They do some great rice here, although the rest of the menu is delicious as well. My favourites are the seafood platter, which starts with a huge mix of sashimi, nigiri, sushi, salmon and avocado salad, then followed by another tray of tempura, handmade fishcakes and scallops. The Minato roll is also especially tasty, and they do a mean Agedashi tofu which is my ichi ban favourite. Of course, all these dishes are to be enjoyed with a bowl of steaming white rice. Oishii!
47 East Esplanade, Manly. Ph: (02) 9977 0580.



Onaka suita? (hungry?)

Here are a few favourite Sydney Japanese restaurants brought to you by Hello Sandwich:

Wafu Organic, gluten free, dairy free and no refined sugar
Ichi ban boshi Try Olivia's favourite - Hiyashi chuka (which I mentioned here)
Ton Ton Azuma's version of Takeaway - you will love the bento boxes!
Azuma Yasu! Can we please go here for my birthday?
Yoshii or here?
Tetsuya's Say no more
Don don I used to love the healthy California don, which was basically a California roll in a bowl, but now I fear that they have changed owners and the food is not the same :( zan nen!
Sushi bar rashai An authentic Annandale favourite
Sushi suma Cheap and Cheerful Surry Hills Japanese
Sushi samuri Another Cheap and Cheerful one with special teishoku lunch box sets
Ryotei Amazing ramen and onigiri (P.S.While you are over the other side of the bridge, why don't you stock up on Japanese groceries at Tokyo Mart. Complete with a $2.50 section similar to a 100 Yen store in Japan where you can buy kitchen ware, stationery and other home goods - yes please!
Komachi My first Japanese teacher's favourite Japanese restaurant in Sydney! Can you take the ramen challenge?

Well lovelies, I hope you have enjoyed today's post and aren't left feeling too hungry! And if you have a favourite Japanese restaurant anywhere in the world it would be so wonderful if you could leave it in the comments below! Onegaishimasu!

Very special thanks to Miss Gracie and Miss Zoe for your lovely Hello Sandwich contribution! I hope there is many more to come!

Love Love

Hello Sandwich

xxx

Hello Sandwich in Inside Out Magazine

Wowzers! I can't believe it!  Hello Sandwich was in Inside Out Magazine! I feel so honoured! Thank you lovely Inside Out kids! You know who you are! Especially Foodie-Zine-Extraordinaire-Lee Tran Lam (best name ever!), Stylist-To-The-Stars-Vanessa Colyer Tay (and more here and here), and The-Amazing-Little-Post-it-Note-Queen-Gracie Lee. Clever Gracie was also featured (along side our friend Ampan man) in the contributors page below. Congratulations to the entire Inside Out team for a fantastic special Decorating and Renovations Issue!



Thank you so much for your support lovelies! It means the world to me!
Love love
Hello Sandwich
xxx

Japanese Book Covers

I love the way that Japanese bookstores such as Book 1st and Kinokuniya will cover your books in branded paper for you. In fact, its one of the things that gets me through my 5 hour Japanese class every Saturday - because its my dream to be able to read a Book 1st paper covered Japanese novel on board the Yamanote-sen.

But I also love Japanese fabric book covers - especially the hand made type! Aren't they just lovely!





















Wouldn't it be nice to custom make one of these book covers! Oh and if you like Japanese craft you might also like this blog post by the lovely Allison. And a big thank you Allison for your link to some great Tokyo Shopping Tips.

P.S. I have mentioned Lovegeek blog and their A-Z Japan list, but have you also seen Good-ness Blog's A-Z Japan? Hmmm...A Hello Sandwich Tokyo A-Z may have to follow!

Love love
Hello Sandwich
xxx

Craftastic Creative Club!

Isn't it nice when a few like minded creative types gather together to make some sweet crafty things. Like at the Brown Owls craft group, a national craft group run by the lovely Pip. Do you remember Pip's book that I mentioned here?

In today's busy pace I think an afternoon every so often to slip through a couple of crochet granny squares, string up a Polish Paper Chandelier or potato/eraser stamp ourselves a few reams of gift wrapping paper two could only be beneficial! Don't you think? How much fun would it be to make craft, sip green tea and meet with other like crafty types at a local community venue or artist run gallery? Sure, we may not quite be Leslie Hall, but we can only try right?!

Well tonight, I am proud to say that I have signed up for Brown Owls membership! And I am so excited!

Here is what Brown Owls creator Pip Lincolne had to say about her craft group:

Brown Owls is a crafty club, where you can meet other great people and work on crafty projects, together or independently. We learn from each other, chat, eat biscuits and just have nice times. It's designed to create connections, share skills and provide a nice social time for it's members. Does this sound like something you'd like to do in your neighbourhood? Yes?! Okay, you need a venue, a few members and some crafty enthusiasm! You can follow the lead of the other Brown Owls meets - or you can Brown Owl in your own way!

Some things you should know:
Please allow a few weeks for me to print up and post your memberships, people.
Brown Owls meets at LEAST every 2 weeks in Melbourne, but MONTHLY in other areas - meeting frequency is up to you.
Brown Owls is a 'learn from one-another' environment - it's not a craft 'class' (although sometimes someone nice will come and teach the whole group something!)
Brown Owls relies on member enthusiasm and participation - so try and get involved if you are not too shy. But we like shy people too.
Interstate memberships are $10 per annum (to cover admin, membership tags and postage) - and $15 for NZ and International.
All other costs (such as tea and coffee, snacks and room hire) are covered by members (hence the importance of low-cost or no-cost venues!)
I've prepared a 'Meeting and Venue Charter' for the 'prefects' in new Brown Owls packs.


Click here to visit the Brown Owls Members Blog


Kaotic Kraft Kuties

So...I was wondering...are there any Cute Sydney Crafty Creative Types out there who would be interested in a Craftastic Creative Club Meeting every once in a while? If you think this sounds like you, just leave a little comment below or email Pip and I am sure she can arrange some Brown Owls fun for you!

Love love
Hello Sandwich
xxx

Hiyashi chuka

Hiyashi Chuka bento style.

In all of my seven trips to Japan I have not once experienced a Japanese Summer! I must say, I do love winter but I thought the Jetstar sale was a good opportunity to experience another side of Tokyo AND I'm really looking forward to having a summer specialty Hiyashi chuka  when I go to Tokyo next month!

Hiyashi Chuka is a popular cold ramen dish topped with various ingredients such as ham, tomato, cucumber and egg and served with a refreshing sweet soy, ginger or sesame sauce.

Click here for a Hiyashi chuka recipe . You might also like this site and this site .

Not quite Ikebana

D-bros and Ikea

D-bros 

Little milk-bottle-like vases


Hanging jars (from capers) in my garden

My d-bros vases and a few bottles from my collection

Pretty multi-coloured glass vases

Milk bottle and a juice bottle I collected from Japan (table cloth from Newspaper Taxi)

It's not quite Ikebana but as soon as I get a bunch of flowers home I love to arrange them into a collection of little individual vases at varying heights. Don't you think they look so pretty that way? I usually put a selection on my dining table, one by our bedside tables, one by my work space and one tiny individual stem in the bathroom.

I use a collection of vessels such as a few mini milk bottles my mum gave me and some small jam / capers/ juice / mineral water bottles  that I have been collecting over the years.  But my favourite are these flat pack vases from Japanese brand d-bros (available from dedece plus in Australia) but Ikea have some cheap and cheerful alternatives.

Pretty hanging jars and bottles at a function