A Taste of Japan

We had to plan a small outing today to a place with clean toilets. In the almost complete effort to potty train William, we decided he was ready to be out of the house for more than the 30 minutes when we walk Bagwelle or play in the courtyard in the evenings. We racked our brains about places we know with clean toilets and decided a trip to the import grocery store followed by lunch at a food court in a posh movie theater complex would fit the bill.

First, before you get nervous, the potty-training part of the experiment was a success. We were out for two hours, no accidents, clean toilet facilities availed of twice, and only one fit thrown at the very end when it was nearing nap time. Good job, William!

Two points, however, stand out as even more exciting and satisfying ... if you can imagine that. First, the import grocery store had large quantities of Dr Pepper. This means that Karen (Greg's mom) does not have to import her own when she comes in December. We bought a 24-day supply, since one never knows what treasures might show up at the import grocery store when. Good news for Karen!

Second, we sampled "Ebisu" for lunch at the food court, specializing in okonomiyaki and yakisoba, two of my favorite Japanese foods. The yakisoba was fantastic, and the okonomiyaki pretty good, considering we're in Hyderabad with no Japanese restaurants. It helped that the stall imports the proper sauce from Japan (Otafuku, I think it's called; the one with the smiling lady face), imparting an authentic flavor. The prices were Japan-style, too, to round out the experience :) I balked when I realized my okonomiyaki cost just as much as my upscale Indian buffet lunch yesterday, but then I decided to think about the price in yen and not rupees.