Imports : Strawberry Fragranced Fresh Japanese Green Tea

Moving to a new home can certainly throw off my schedule and blogging activity. I was pooped and got incredibly lazy that the last thing I wanted to do was to blog about anything. My stomach, however, always craved for home cooked meals. Thank goodness I had my new kitchen as a prime motivator to unpack most of my boxes labelled "kitchen stuff" and quickly put all of my kitchen gear to its proper place. It didn't take much time to figure out where to put most of my kitchen stuff, like pots and pans, spices, plates and utensils, as I had designed the kitchen myself to make it as practical as it can be with the house's original layout. Certainly, we had to break down walls to create a much more open space than it originally had. What a beautiful difference it makes. It's been just over a month now since I moved to my new house and there are still bit a of fixings to do, here and there, but nothing major. Things are starting to come together now. In a few days, I will take pictures of my now favorite hangout and will certainly post a couple of them.

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I have to admit that lately, my focus was more on getting the place organized and cozy, but from time to time, I still managed to cook some of my favourite meals but never found the right time to take any food shots. Finally, I got around to it last weekend and I am now back in action. I had to look into my boxes for my camera, my tri-pod and the rest of the props.

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As a first post since my moving, I'd like to share with you my favourite evening tea : Japanese green tea with a tinge of strawberry fragrance. This tea was given to me as a gift from a friend who had spent 3 weeks in Japan to visit her family. As a little anecdote, I kept bugging her to bring back a Japanese dessert specialty called Dai-fuku, which I fell in love with a few years back when I was in Tokyo. They're fresh and very moist rice-flour cakes stuffed with red beans. When made right, they're incredibly savoury. In Montreal, they're almost impossible to find them this fresh, only frozen in popular Asian grocery stores. So, when she came back from her trip, my body language in welcoming her back was ridiculously funny as if I were ready to jump on the Dai-fuku she'd bring back from Japan and have absolutely no care in the world to hear about her experience and her trip. Obviously, I was very happy to see her but I was also dying to have my teeth sunk into a delicious Japanese sweet treat. Unfortunately, she didn't have any due to her tight schedule in visiting family and friends. However, she had brought back this fantastic green tea with strawberry flavour.

For years I've been drinking green tea from tea bags but ever since I tasted tea from fresh green tea leaves, I can't go back to the bags. I would pay more money to enjoy an evening tea, made from fresh leaves, after a nice and hearty dinner. It's a well known remedy for digestion problems and a great antioxidant. That, and it's also great with a mouth-watering Dai-fuku.

It can also be purchased in local Asian grocery stores. Any other fragranced green teas can also be found in specialty stores but they're harder to find.

Next stop, I'll be visiting a local Japanese bakery, recently discovered by that same friend who went to Japan. It is located in a popular district of Montreal and specializing in Japanese sweets. I will certainly write and most probably rave about it, as I've already tasted a few samples shared with my friend. Now, that is a great foodie friend!