Japan International Day

The Jacaranda City set the scene for a day of delights.  Accompanying me on my trip were H1 and M1 – experts on the topic of good Japanese eats and personal friends of the Japanese Ambassador and his wife.

Being ever the eager-beaver’s, we arrived early in the area and managed to find a “darling” coffee house known as The Tea Café in Waterkloof.  Victorian finishes – wallpaper, pressed ceilings and chandeliers made me feel like I had just walked onto the set of 7de Laan.  Too bad the cappuccino’s weren’t as appropriately made.  Three strong filter coffees were ordered during round 2 – a vast improvement.

And so the search for the Cappuccino King is on! (stay tuned....)

From here, we made our way to the Ambassador’s residence with lush rolling lawns and beautiful views of Pretoria.  Perfect for Guy Fawkes entertaining.

The gist of the event was to sample authentic dishes from various countries, the main one being Japan.  We created our own meze with Japanese sushi, Korean pancakes, Panamanian coffee and Chinese rice and coconut balls.  Oh, and not forgetting the cool matcha ice-cream to round off the meal.



Matcha ice-cream



Once we’d stuffed ourselves and felt like Emperors in the land of good food, we decided to shop for crafts, clothing and various other accessories available and bid on items for auction – Cuban cigars anyone? 

Origami

Proceeds from the day went to various children’s charities, as well as individuals and families affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, Japan.