Another month, another banquet. Hosted by JASO, the same organization that threw the Thanksgiving dinner, I knew the food to come would be awesome so I jumped on the RSVP x).

The dinner was held at the Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka, a very fancy hotel that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford to stay in. After checking in coats and signing in, people were greeted with wine and the sorts. Though the RSVP calls for “smart casual”, men came in very formal suits and some ladies came in Kimono. Good thing I didn’t under dress ^^;.

Learning from the Thanksgiving dinner, I know that I should probably take photos of the food before people start crowding around the plates ^^;. The last photo is of a chicken baked in some sort of bread and salt. Yea… it taste as amazing as it looks.

Kicking things off by singing America and Japan’s national anthem.

Here’s the ceremonial breaking of the casket of New Year sake by the important people who made this event possible. Then comes the toast. かんぱい！

Aside from the main platters, there were side stands serving takoyaki, soba, and steak. I immediately went after the latter. Super tender juicy steak!

Some short of shrimp.

Roast beef.

Smoked duck and smoked beef tongue.

The chicken got busted out of that breading. Apparently you don’t eat that o_O.

Some of the other things that I didn’t get to capture. Baked scallops, shumai, and grilled fish patty. Simply delicious! Not shown: beef curry, lasagna, chashu, and finger sandwiches.

Of course… who can forget the desserts. Almond jelly cocktail, chocolate fudge bar, raisin rum cookie, strawberry cake, and Haagen Dazs ice cream. All you can eat. Not shown: Custard pie, cheese cake, and cream puffs.

  

Highlight of the event: Mochi pounding demonstration. International students were also invited to take turn wielding that hammer and pounding the mochi. I was sorely tempted to muster enough courage and channel my inner Guy Shishio with “mochi ni nareeee~!” but then I realized that you have to get up on the stage and talk about yourself afterwards. So I passed on it ^^;.

This here summed up the night quite nicely. The dinner was supposed to be a social networking event as well, with people exchanging business cards and such. However, I spent the whole time aiming at the food instead ^^;. Such is the case when one is hungry and good food is present. Needless to say, I was stuffed by the end of the event.