Happy New Year！！！

 I am so shocked that I missed the New Year Fireworks on the River Thames.

Normally, I manage to watch the annual fireworks on TV even though I'm half asleep, but due to the effects of being penetrated on the eve of New Year's Eve, I had lost my memory by 8am when I finished eating my New Year's Eve soba.

It's kind of mushy. I feel as if the year hasn't started yet. Even though we ate osechi and ozoni. I didn't give my children New Year's money 💦.

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It's the morning of the 3rd, the last day of the New Year, and I'm writing this blog in the IKEA restaurant after driving my son to Gatwick Airport because the railways are on strike. The strike has been a disaster this winter, letters have not been delivered, train timetables have been non-existent, and I've had to wait until Christmas to get a bit of light. Before Christmas, I had set the temperature in my room low in order to reduce the utility bills a little, but once Christmas came, I didn't care about that. It's the UK I'm afraid of the bill.

And what I wanted to say was, "My aspirations for this year". What is it? Is this the right kanji? Well, it's a goal.

To make wagashi and Japanese sweets better known.

That's what it's all about.

Sweets are a luxury item. It is a food that will not kill you if you don't eat it.

But I think there are many nutrients that reach the heart.

I think the heart needs coffee and tea to relieve the café, and sweets to give it the excitement of seasonal and event-specific changes that it can't help but look forward to.

The café is relatively quiet except lunchtime. You can have a relaxing cup of tea and browse through the manga and art books in the café, or you can catch the manager, who seems to be free, and have a chat with him. If you think, "I'm glad I came to the Japanese café An-an!" I would be very happy if you think, "I'm glad I came to the Japanese café An-an".

As spring approaches, there will be more and more beautiful and colourful wagashi on offer. Please come and try them.

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January Wagashi

Hanabira mochi (flower petal cake) ￡2.50

These rice cakes are a simplified version of the osechi eaten at New Year's, but made into a single wagashi. The inside is filled with miso bean paste and the softly cooked burdock root is so tasty that it still has a little crunch to it.

Contains soya beans.

Black soy bean daifuku ￡2.00

Daifuku mochi made from sweetened black beans, one of the 'mamemame-shi (may you be well)' items in the Osechi. These black beans are boiled black without wrinkles, which also means "stay young, beautiful and healthy".

Contains soya and wheat.

Zenzai ￡2.50

Served at the Kagami-Biraki (Kagami-biraki) ceremony to share the blessings of the rice cakes offered at New Year's. Hot, sweetened Zenzai and rice cake with cold vanilla ice-cream to your liking.

The ice cream contains dairy products. Can be changed to soya milk vanilla ice cream.

(Available from around 10 Jan Eat in Only).

Thin-skinned Inaka Manju ￡2.00

Steamed sweets are wrapped in grated aromatic yam skin. It also contains sweetened chestnuts, making you feel like you're getting a little bit better for your money. (On sale from late Jan).

Various small rice cakes ￡6.00

Enjoy the mochi with seaweed & wasabi soy sauce, mitarashi, soybean flour and sweet bean paste.

Contains soya. (Eat in Only)

Koshi An & Grain An Daifuku (￡1.50 each) and Dorayaki (Matcha, Koshi An or Grain An ￡1.80 each) are always available. However, as they are limited in numbers, it would be helpful if you make a reservation in advance if you are buying more than five.

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Events in January

OkonomiYaki Evenings
Every Thursdays 17：30~20：00

We are trying to restart Okonomiyaki Evenings from this month as the eggs seem to be back, Eat in/Take away, both slots need to be booked in advance. Please contact the café. (If no bookings are made by 5am on the day, Okonomiyaki Evening may be cancelled for that day. Please understand).

Japanese Art Club

Sunday 15 Jan (time to be announced).

Japanese art will be introduced and workshops will be held. The first session will be on calligraphy. We will introduce how to make New Year's calligraphy and how to draw simple ink paintings. (Age group 13 years and up).

On the day of the event, we will serve free Ozenzai, as it is Kagamibiraki day.

The first session is Drop-in without reservation. Feel free to come along.

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wishing you all good health and world peace...

Best wishes for the year 2023.

All the staff of An-an