Several Unexpected Guests--Everybody!

A couple days ago I received an invitation from Miyazaki Nobuo & Wakako to go to a steakhouse with them and my former roommate. A little background: I had her (Wakako) in one of my English classes out in the community and she ALSO had Cheong Dong Woen, my Korean x-roommate, as her Korean teacher. She and her husband (Nobuo) invited us to some Yakiniku in late summer (a Korean cook-it-yourself all-you-can-eat, very tasty). This time we decided to hit Sandaya (I believe that was the name, it was "Sanda(something)." In any case, a notable steakhouse. It was incredible. They had these little ham slices that you use to wrap around some cooked onions from the southern islands of Japan that were INCREDIBLE yet simple, and then we got out meals on what, of all things?

STONEGRILL!!

Some of you may not know what stonegrilling is, but let me assure you, it is a great experience. Onions, potatoes, and lots of steak, in a flat, rimmed stone set in a non-so-flammable wooden carrier, sizzling hot, with the meat almost raw. Sanda is actually where the Kobe Beef people got started, it is just once they started to market to Kobe, Kobe people bought them out and changed the name for sake of notoriety (Kobe is known for its excellence in general, so it made the meat marketable to a wide area of Japan and elsewhere on the world meat market).
It was just a great meal. Prices were steakhouse prices, but they insisted on footing the entire bill. I was very grateful!

Then came the real shocker: Wakako asked how many people were coming from America to visit in early April...

I counted in my head. "Six, I think...yeah, there will be six of us total including me."

She said, "I'd like to invite your family to my home for dinner in early April."

I almost choked as I spoke, "All of us?"

"Yes."

At this point I resumed my profuse thanks, and before I knew it I was back home with a full belly and a nice bit of cheer.

So guess what? I'm taking you folks stone-grilling when you get here! And we get to dine Japanese with these guys! Oh, and so you know, you might want to bring some small but meaningful thing from America as a token of your gratitude, those of you that are coming over, at least one for the group, I would think. They would very much appreciate it. It's the least we can do for a home-cooked authentic Japanese meal by a cook like Wakako (she's rather talented).

So the weekend has been a lot better than some of the past ones!