Dinner at the Chinese Restaurant with Wise people

http://wachina.asia/

Chinese culture came to Japan in a big way centuries ago. This included rice, chopsticks, written language, Buddhism and just about everything else that we call Japanese civilization today. However, the diffusion of Chinese food is a different story.

Modern Chinese food came from the influx of Chinese into Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki during the late 19th century. The Chinese had no legal right to live in Japan, but were brought in large numbers as servants for the many Westerners who were settling in the country.

Shark Fin Soup

Gyoza are Chinese dumplings. The main difference between the Japanese and Chinese versions is that the ones in Japan are pan-fried so that they're seared on one side while in China they're usually boiled. Chinese gyoza wrappings are thick and it would be difficult to pan fry them so that the insides would be done. In China, they're usually served in soup.

O-hagi & Nambu Sembei as Today's Sweets

　http://www.mebukiya.co.jp/

　Ohagi is a rice ball coated with sweetened red beans.
　岩手県産ヒメノモチを100％使用し、芽吹き屋にて道明寺加工したおはぎ。
　Nambu Sembei is a rice cracker in northern area of Tohoku region of Japan.

　'O-hagi' is a traditional Japanese oval shaped sweet made from boiled glutinous rice coarted with a redbean jam, sweetened soy bean powder, or sweet sesame paste.  Traditionally O-hagi is eaten only on special days set aside for Buddhist services, the Vernal Equinox Day and the Autumnal Equinox Day, when pious Buddhists pay homage to their ancestors and offer O-hagi to them.

　
　Nambu Sembei (sometimes written as Nanbu Senbei) are a traditional snack in Aomori Prefecture, and in parts of Iwate Prefecture- specifically where they originated, the old Nambu clan areas around what is present-day Hachinohe City. The name Nambu refers to this area, and sembei is a Japanese word for cracker, biscuit, or cookie.

　
　Nambu Sembei, unlike other sweets in Japan, are not made from rice but instead wheat and come in a wide variety of flavors, including apple, pistachio, etc., but the most common types have either sesame seeds or peanuts in them.

　The peanut flavored ones are very good. They have a very mild and slightly sweet slightly salty taste, making it a simple yet very Japanese flavor that goes great with tea.

Lunch alone on Rainy Days And Saturdays

　何故、いつもデニーズか？　雨が降っているのと、お隣だから。

　Talking to myself and feeling old
　Sometimes I'd like to quit
　Nothing ever seems to fit

　Hangin' around, nothing to do but frown
　Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

　What I've got they used to call the blues
　Nothing is really wrong
　Feeling like I don't belong
　
　Walking around some kind of lonely clown
　Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

　Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you
　It's nice to know somebody loves me
　Funny but it seems that it's the only thing to do
　To run and find the one who loves me

Beef Rump and Pork Steak as Today's Lunch alone

　今日も何人ものお年寄りがステーキを食べています。皆さん食欲旺盛です。

　Japanese senior also recognized they should eat more protein, preferably at every meal or snack. Protein is good for building and maintaining muscle and bone. It’s also important for strength and function. A new study aimed to extend the benefits even further, to stroke prevention.

http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/stories/the-meat-guide-beef/

Body composition changes as people get older. One of the noteworthy alterations is the reduction in total body protein. A decrease in skeletal muscle is the most noticeable manifestation of this change but there is also a reduction in other physiologic proteins such as organ tissue, blood components, and immune bodies as well as declines in total body potassium and water. This contributes to impaired wound healing, loss of skin elasticity, and an inability to fight infection. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for adults for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Protein tissue accounts for 30% of whole-body protein turnover but that rate declines to 20% or less by age 70. The result of this phenomenon is that older adults require more protein/kilogram body weight than do younger adults. Recently, it has become clear that the requirement for exogenous protein is at least 1.0 gram/kilogram body weight. Adequate dietary intake of protein may be more difficult for older adults to obtain. Dietary animal protein is the primary source of high biological value protein, iron, vitamin B(12), folic acid, biotin and other essential nutrients. In fact, egg protein is the standard against which all other proteins are compared. Compared to other high-quality protein sources like meat, poultry and seafood, eggs are the least expensive. The importance of dietary protein cannot be underestimated in the diets of older adults; inadequate protein intake contributes to a decrease in reserve capacity, increased skin fragility, decreased immune function, poorer healing, and longer recuperation from illness.

Black bean solt daifuku-mochi as Today's dessert

黒豆塩大福
　岩手県産の黒平豆を生地に丸ごと使用。ちょっぴり塩味。粒あん入り。
　http://www.mebukiya.co.jp/

　Daifuku was originally called Habutai mochi because of its filling nature.　Later, the name was changed to Daifuku mochi.
　
　Since the pronunciations of Fuku (belly) and Fuku (luck)　are the same in Japanese, the name was further changed to Daifuku mochi, a bringer of good luck.　By the end of the 18th century, Daifuku were gaining popularity and people began eating them toasted.　They were also used for gifts in ceremonial occasions.