Kenzo Napa - Kaiseki Tasting Menu

Kenzo Napa

Last night I had the honor of being invited to Kenzo restaurant in Napa which has been introduced to the Wine country by Kenzo Estate winery founders. It was an evening to remember ! Their generous hospitality in addition to their truly traditional and fine Japanese cuisine contributed in making the evening very special. In all the ambience, delicious food and conversations with their wonderful Manager as well as experienced Chefs gave us a very pleasant and enriching dining experience. And also it deepened our knowledge of Kaiseki dining.The colour combination and taste of wines from the Kenzo Estate Winery beautifully complemented and matched the taste and artistic combination of the sushis from the Chef's selection.
 I loved the sushis prepared by the Chef and more so because I could use my hand to eat them which is allowed in Kaiseki dining. The Kagoshima Yellowfish marinated in vinegar was delightfully delicious when paired with egg omelet. The sushi course consisted of  Flounder, Hallibut, Stripped Jack, Toro ( fatty underbelly of Blufin Tuna), Needle fish and Negitoro maki ( Toro & Chive roll) as explained by their wonderful Manager James. The matcha ice cream with a drizzle of the right amount of condensed milk paired with green tea was the perfect ending to a uniquely wonderful dining.
The evening also ended  with yet another pleasant surprise of receiving autographs of the famous Chefs which is a great  honour and a tradition of fine restaurants in Japan. I shall always treasure the autographs of Chef Eiji Onoyama and Chef Atsushi Okawara on the rice paper Kaiseki Tasting Menu. 

Sacramento

Washington D.C

One does not need to give up one's identity and roots to adapt to a new culture or country. What is needed is to embrace the new with all that is in you and not without it as then in the true sense will that will mark a true journey in your life . A journey of growth begins not with over adapting but with adapting and yet retaining what you already have.
You don't have to give up yourself or lose yourself to embrace the new. You can accept the new environment with an open mind and yet treasure the old. Finding something new in your life does not mean giving up the old. Embrace the new but also retain the old !

This too shall pass ! Tomorrow is another day ! These are golden words for all who are going through phases of transition or phases of sadness in their lives. It is true that each moment is another moment...And nothing remains forever...

There is a season for everything. Time has seasons too...There is a season for happiness and there is a season for sadness. Time is constantly changing ! So however many roadblocks, problems and challenges you may face in your everyday lives at home or away from home they can be overcome in time through patience, belief and hope.  Nothing lasts forever.

 There will be lots of moments of sadness and difficulty in your lives but remain as determined as ever  and hopeful of embracing better moments in times to come. When you do not find answers to all that you are questioning or searching in life, life answers them for you through it's decisions in it's own time. In due course of time you will find the purpose of your life visible. Fate is stronger than your wants and dreams most times. And you just have no choice but to accept what comes your way ! Life has it's own wants from you and if you truly fulfill your destiny by accepting what is meant to be , you will find peace and happiness. But you would say to yourself that all this is easier said than done. Who says it would be easy !? But belief works miracles and your belief and determination to succeed in battling all the difficulties in your life may bring you much closer to your destination. What cannot  kill you will  not destroy you...

Cultural Interactions are a two way process where both sides have to participate or become involved in being culturally sensitive to each other to make it a pleasant interaction. I always believe that give what you expect ! Give and you will receive... If you want people to be sensitive to your beliefs, thoughts and way of life then you too must offer them the same sensitivity. I often find people too rigid in their approach in accepting others' cultural beliefs and yet they want others to readily accept what they want out of them without a doubt or question. That is a completely selfish and inconsiderate approach. We must meet each other half way if we want any interactions to be successful in life . 

A Child's Right to Expression

Communication, Acknowledgement as an individual and the Right to Expression are some of the words or phrases that come to my mind when I think of children in the school or home environment. We cannot curb their right to express themselves as their expression would be an insight into their way of thought which if negative can be transformed and channelised into something positive while there is still time.

 We lose out on really knowing the children around us if we do not encourage them to talk, interact or discuss. Silence or lack of communication can alienate children from us. We must try to understand their wants and dreams instead of forcing them to accept ours all the time. Also we should welcome differences in thoughts.

We can tactfully motivate them but not force them. We can give them options and alternatives but not choose for them. Children need to be accepted as individuals too. Children should have the freedom to think and question and good parenting would be to be as honest as possible with your children. Of course all this has to be encouraged within boundaries of course as they are still learning the ways of life and we cannot afford to have them lose track because of unlimited freedom. Nothing in excess is good.

 So freedom of expression and the right to being an individual must be given but within the right boundaries by guiding them in the right way in the right direction through examples and discussions. Allow them to form their own opinions even if at times it may clash with yours. For instance your child may relate better to a grandparent, relative or friend that you may not get along with and you should be able to accept that without reservations. To be a good role model and guide to your children, one has to first free oneself from all negativity and one has to refrain from being judgemental. Always be accessible and reachable to your child in every way every time specially emotionally. In this stressful modern environment children are faced with stress, questions and life changing decisions every day more than our times and we should be sensitive to all that they are going through. 

Interaction with other cultures- Embrace it !

Embrace other cultures wholeheartedly ! Welcome and accept other cultures without reservations. As I always say embrace others with their differences however challenging that may seem at times. In being rigid in your approach to various cultures, you may be robbing yourself the pleasure of absolutely wonderful experiences in store for you. In not developing an interest in other cultures is in a way denying yourself interesting interactions with many people near you at the grassroots level and limiting a lifetime possibility of exciting adventures in exploring far away places. With the introduction of different cuisines from all around the world around you and cultural events brought to your country from outside , you may think that you are already immersed in other cultures but you are not really experiencing cultures upclose and personal till you actually include other nationalities in your lives through personal or work interactions. So always have a place for people different than you in your life as according to me  "opposites attract" knowledge ! And more knowledge about a way of life of others is always very interesting !

 Before embarking on a long journey to distant places, one must remember to brighten and awaken one's passion for travelling and leaving behind your comfort zone to start with. Once on the "journey away from home or at home to meet new cultures",  do not forget to sharpen your cultural sensitivity and flexibility to open yourself to new discovery of customs, beliefs and ways of life different than yours. Be prepared to deal with cultural shock too however well prepared you may be in your knowledge about that culture. However well versed you may be with different ways of life in various cultures, you are always in for a surprise in dealing with people of other nationalities as new interactions between culturally different strangers can be quite complex sometimes. Last of all clear communication is important in any interaction specially concerning people with cultural differences and as long as genuine communications flow from the heart one can never go wrong even if one is not fluent in a foreign language.

"Through travel do you learn about yourself and discover what you are searching for to define your existence completely."

            - Simrit Kapila

Such is Life !

 Transition is just not a mere word but a way of life and process to grow as an individual. Through transition do you actually connect to your deeper self as you discover a new side to yourself that you thought never existed in that phase in how you adapt to change and accept things you cannot change. Life is but change...
Life changes everyday...Relationships and people change every day for better or worse. In each moment of our lives we are experiencing change. Life changes for good and bad and in that we find our journey of  happiness, disappointments, heartbreaks and peace.
Transition may involve breaking of hearts and pain but such experiences truly define you in the long run because of the way you react to those situations. But change is not bad all the time. A relationship for instance matures beautifully when it changes with time when subjected to different experiences, conditions and environment.
 Transition does not mean that something has to break or be destroyed every time as it can also mean enhancement of your life and birth of something wonderfully new ! Yet we are mostly intimidated by the concept of change as to many it means loss of something valuable or loss of someone precious in that time and that is very painful. And sadly we cannot resist change or transition however unexpectedly unpleasant it may be. But we also have to remember that pain and joy are two sides of the coin of transition and one gives way to the other in time. Transition is never easy but it still has to be accepted and lived...Such is life ! Asi es la vida !