Indian restaurant Namaskar in Sendai

This post is pending for a long time. 13th October 2016 was our 11th marriage anniversary, which fell on a weekday. Although hubby and I are not into celebrating anniversaries in a grand way, we usually have some simple funny celebrations to create happy memories for us. So in the evening of 13th October, while returning home from his office, hubby bought various kinds of pastries and sweets like custard pudding, chocolate eclairs, several slices of chocolate cake and cheese cake from a convenience store located near our home. We had the pastries and sweets after dinner, and had a quiet anniversary night.

Various kinds of pastries and sweets hubby bought on our marriage anniversary day

On 9th and 10th October 2016, the weekend before our marriage anniversary, we went to Sendai City to have dinner at an Indian restaurant named Namaskar to celebrate our anniversary. It was also because I had been craving for an Indian dish named Masala Dosa for almost a year, and hubby did some internet search and found out that the restaurant serves Masala Dosa. Namaskar restaurant is located in Minami-machi dori area in the heart of Sendai City. The restaurant serves authentic Indian food cooked by an Indian chef and his assistants. The restaurant has bilingual staff and serves north as well as south Indian delicacies for lunch and dinner, with the lunch on Saturdays being buffet style. The restaurant has a seating capacity for 80 people, and is ideal for parties, seminars or even wedding receptions.

On 9th October, we left our home in Yurihonjo City at about 1.30 pm. Namaskar restaurant is located about 245 kilometers southeast of our home, and it took us about 3.5 hours of car ride to reach near the restaurant in Minami-machi dori area in Sendai City. After parking our car at a nearby car parking lot, we realized that it was just 5 pm and there was still about 30 minutes left for the restaurant to open for dinner. So we took a stroll in Ichibancho shopping arcade located in the downtown area. It is actually a covered mall that connects several streets together in the downtown area to create the largest arcade in the Tohoku region. The shopping area includes several different arcade malls and covers a T-shaped area along Ichibancho and Chuo dori. The arcade has various kinds of shops including budget 100 yen shops, an Apple store, clothing and souvenir stores, as well as many restaurants. While strolling along the shopping arcade, we saw a LINE store sporting a massive teddy bear at the front entrance beckoning people to enter the shop. While walking we also saw an artistic manhole cover with the motif of Tanabata star festival decoration. Sendai Tanabata festival is the most popular amongst all the star festivals of Japan. After about 30 minutes of enjoying the views along the shopping arcade, we left the area and went to Namaskar restaurant.

Hubby having softcream at a service area along the expressway on our way from Yurihonjo to Sendai City

Hubby walking along Ichibancho shopping arcade in downtown Sendai City

I am standing along the covered shopping arcade

The shopping arcade looks grand

Hubby and the shopping arcade

I am standing along with a massive teddy bear located at the front entrance of a LINE store in the arcade

Hubby and the huge teddy bear

Artistic manhole cover with the motif of Tanabata festival decoration located along the arcade pathway

We reached in front of Namaskar restaurant at about 5.45 pm. We clicked a few photos of us at the entrance area of the restaurant and then entered inside. We liked the ambience and the nice little Indian atmosphere inside. A restaurant staff showed us to our table and gave us the menu cards. To his dismay, hubby noted that there was no mention of Masala Dosa in the menu card. He was so shocked that I thought he would burst out crying as we had traveled about 245 kilometers to have Masala Dosa. Later I came to know that the restaurant stopped serving Masala Dosa a long time ago but they never updated their webpage or even the front of their restaurant where they proudly show an advertisement about Masala Dosa. I guess, it is our typical Indian way of doing things. Anyway since we were there we decided that we might as well have some other Indian foods that were advertised. We noted that the menu was vast. There were so many choices for dinner and it was challenging for us to decide what to order off the menu as everything sounded good. So we ordered several dishes and shared the food so that we could taste various kinds of dishes. We ordered a plate of Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka for starters which tasted delicious. We also ordered mango juice and an orange juice which arrived in cute Mughal style metal tumblers. I ordered a Thali set menu consisting of three kinds of curries, saffron rice, and Naan. Several kinds of choices were available on the types of curry and Naan. I chose two non-vegetarian curries, one vegetarian potato curry, and plane Naan for the set menu. The curries were served in small steel bowls that were placed on a round steel main tray along with saffron rice and a tiny Samosa. Naan was served in a small bamboo basket. Salad of shredded cabbage and soup were also included in this set menu. The taste of the curries was balanced with the right consistency and went fairly well with both rice and Naan. Naan was soft, chewy, and flavorful. Hubby ordered a bowl of eastern Indian style fish curry and saffron rice. The combination of saffron rice and the mild fish curry was perfect. He relished eating the food very much, and it reminded him of the fish curry he had at my parents’ home in India. Furthermore, he enjoyed having the potato curry from my set menu, which he felt was also cooked almost the same way as my mother’s food. The spicy and flavorful curries slowly made hubby forget about the Masala Dosa and we enjoyed the delicious food in the nice ambience of the restaurant. After having various dishes, we had dessert of some kind of Indian mousse. Finally, we wrapped our dinner with sweet Chai. We were very satisfied with the dinner and were so full that we could not move at all. Anyway, afterwards we went for a long walk in Sendai City and appreciated the surroundings and the moon above. That night we stayed at a hotel in Sendai City.

Hubby standing in front of Namaskar restaurant located in Minami-machi dori area in Sendai City

I am standing in front of the restaurant

Menu card kept at our table inside the restaurant

Hubby shocked and dismayed after noting that there was no mention of Masala Dosa in the menu card

Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka as starters along with a soup

Mango juice and an orange juice in Mughal style metal tumblers

Hubby having salad of shredded cabbage

I am having Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka

Hubby having Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka

Main course of our dinner

Hubby’s dinner of a bowl of eastern Indian style fish curry and saffron rice

The fish curry was delicious and tasted just like my mother’s cooking

My dinner of Thali set consisting of three kinds of curries, saffron rice, and plane Naan

Two non-vegetarian curries and one vegetarian potato curry were served in small steel bowls that were placed on a round steel main tray along with saffron rice and a tiny Samosa

Hubby having his dinner of fish curry

The fish curry reminded him of my mother’s cooking back at my parents’ home in India

I am having my dinner of Thali set

Hubby having potato curry from my Thali set

Hubby felt that the potato curry was cooked almost the same way as my mother’s cooking

Dessert of some kind of Indian mousse

Hubby having sweet Chai after dinner

After dinner, we went for a long walk in Sendai City and all around us was so dark

We at our hotel room in Sendai City

The next morning, on 10th October, we checked out of the hotel at about 10 am and started back on our way home. We enjoyed the outside views during the car ride. We had lunch at a restaurant named Hiraizumi Resthouse Maesawa Restaurant located at Maesawa service area along the expressway in Oshu town of Iwate prefecture. The restaurant is famous for a variety of menus consisting of Maesawa beef, which is one of the best beef brands in Japan. Hubby had roast beef-don (roast beef rice bowl) set and I had Kalbi-don (Kalbi rice bowl) set. We shared our food and the dishes of both the sets were really delicious. After lunch, hubby had coffee from a vending machine at the service area. While having coffee, he started looking at an information board with a map and signs to various landmark sightseeing locations in northern Japan. All of a sudden he had that strange deja vu feeling that he had been there before, standing in the same pose. We have done a lot of sightseeing, so I could not recall the service area. After returning home, I looked up some old photos, and realized that we indeed have a photo of hubby standing in a similar pose at the same position way back in July 2008 when we had visited Genbikei Gorge in Ichinoseki City of Iwate prefecture. Here is a link to the post about Genbikei Gorge.

Hubby’s lunch of roast beef-don set

My lunch of Kalbi-don set

Hubby having lunch

I am having lunch

Hubby tasting my lunch set

Hubby having a cup of coffee standing near an information board at Maesawa service area along the expressway

Hubby standing near the same information board way back in July 2008

I should mention here that our marriage anniversary on 13th October is the Japanese one. The marriage procedures of Japan are not yet recognized by the Indian government, so we had to register our marriage at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo on 26th December 2005, which we call as our Indian marriage anniversary. I love the fact that we get to celebrate our marriage anniversary twice in a year. So in the evening of 26th December, while returning home from his office, hubby again bought various kinds of pastries and sweets from a convenience store located near our home. He nicely arranged the pastries and sweets on a plate and even lit candles. We had the pastries and sweets after dinner. We made nice memories for a lifetime. I am thankful that God put the most wonderful husband in the world in my path. I am very happy and thankful for all the joy of having a loving and understanding hubby.

Various kinds of pastries and sweets hubby bought on our Indian marriage anniversary day

Obon Holidays

From 11th to 16th August, hubby and I had been to our home in Ichinomiya City during the Obon Holidays. Obon is an annual Buddhist event to commemorate our ancestors. It is believed that each year during Obon, the spirits of ancestors return to this world in order to visit their relatives. Traditionally, lanterns are hung in front of houses to welcome the spirits of ancestors, graves are visited, and food offerings are made at family altars. At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes, and seas so that the spirits can return into their world. However the customs followed may vary considerably from region to region. Obon is celebrated from 13th to 15th August every year.

On 11th August, hubby and I left our home in Yurihonjo City at 2 pm and reached Akita Airport after about 45 minutes of car drive. Our flight to Centrair Airport in Aichi prefecture was at 4.30 pm. After about an hour of flight, we reached Centrair Airport. While walking towards our connecting train, I noticed an advertisement board about ESCA underground shopping mall in Nagoya City. Seeing that advertisement, I was reminded of my doctoral work days about 2.5 decades ago back in Pune City in India. This is because the laboratory where I did my doctoral thesis work was acronymed ESCA. Some pleasant and some tough memories flashed back. Anyway, afterwards we took Meitetsu Airport Line train and reached Ichinomiya Railway Station at about 7 pm. My father-in-law and his wife were waiting for us at the station and we all directly went to a Japanese-style restaurant named Namazuya to have dinner. We all had set meals of Unadon, which is a bowl of rice topped with fillets of grilled eel. The food tasted delicious. We all chatted while eating and had a nice evening. Finally we reached our home in Ichinomiya at about 9 pm. We were rather tired due to all the travel, and went to bed immediately.

Hubby and I waiting at the departure lobby of Akita Airport to board a flight to Centrair Airport

Hubby standing at the arrival lobby of Centrair Airport

Many past memories flashed back on seeing this advertisement board about ESCA underground shopping mall

Hubby and I sitting inside Meitetsu Airport Line train and are on our way to Ichinomiya Railway Station

Unadon set meal for dinner at Namazuya restaurant

Father-in-law and his wife having dinner

Hubby enjoying dinner

On 12th August, father-in-law, his wife, hubby, and a few other relatives went to play golf at Springfield Golf Club in Tajimi City of Gifu prefecture. They left home at about 6 am. I am not at all interested in golf, and so I preferred to stay at home and relaxed in the morning. In the afternoon, I cleaned our home and watched some local television programs. At about 3.30 pm, hubby returned home after playing golf. Afterwards we cleaned a tiny garden in the backyard of our home. We had started the garden in May 2014 but since we usually do not stay in our Ichinomiya home, almost all plants had dried up and many weeds had grown in the entire backyard. So we weeded, pruned, and cleaned the garden as well as the backyard for about two hours. It seems that tending to the garden was very therapeutic and relaxing for hubby. It was dusk when we finished working in the backyard garden. At about 7 pm, my father-in-law, his wife, hubby and I had dinner at a Sushi chain restaurant named Sushiro located near our home. We noted that many Sushi dishes were placed on a rotating conveyor belt that wound through the tables at the restaurant. So we could easily pick up which ever Sushi dishes we preferred to have. However, if some dishes were not available on the rotating belt, we could order those dishes via tablets placed at the tables. These two ways of serving has almost eliminated the need for human waiters. We all had various kinds of Sushi dishes and had desserts too. The food was delicious.

Hubby cleaning and pruning the backyard garden of our home

Rotating conveyer belt (red arrow) and a tablet (green arrow) placed at our table at Sushiro restaurant

Hubby ordering a few Sushi dishes via the tablet

Father-in-law and wife discussing what dishes to order

Everyone eagerly waiting for their ordered Sushi dishes to arrive

A few Sushi dishes we had

Everyone enjoying dinner

I am having green tea

Dessert

Hubby having dessert

On the morning of 13th August, a few relatives, hubby, and I visited the home of my father-in-law’s eldest brother who lives near our home in Ichinomiya City itself. In fact, it is the main ancestral home of ‘Nagata family’. There is an exotic family altar at this home, where father-in-law prayed to welcome the souls of his late parents and all the ancestors. We all recited Sutras from a sacred book and prayed at the altar. Afterwards, we all had a nice time chatting with hubby’s eldest uncle and his wife over snacks and cups of green tea. In the afternoon, hubby and I went to a nearby shopping mall named Kisogawa Aeon Mall to purchase a few household items. It was peak of summer season and we were very tired after walking around in the huge mall for almost 1.5 hours. So we cooled ourselves with cold mango and passion fruit juice. After shopping we returned home at about 3 pm. Soon afterwards a family-friend couple visited my father-in-law and his wife. Since father-in-law’s home is interconnected to our home, hubby and I also visited them and chatted with everyone for about two hours. We had a nice time playing with the baby daughter of the family-friend couple. The baby is so cute. In the evening we all had dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant named Kyonkyon. We enjoyed having good food with friends and family.

Family altar at the home of the eldest uncle of hubby

After praying at the altar, everyone is chatting over snacks and green tea

Hubby with his favorite aunt

Hubby having cold mango and passion fruit juice at a restaurant inside Kisogawa Aeon Mall

I am enjoying the cold drink

Cute baby daughter of a family-friend couple

Hubby very happy holding the baby

The baby is so cute

Father-in-law (left) and his older brother having dinner at Chinese restaurant Kyonkyon

All enjoying the dinner

I am holding the baby of the family-friend couple during dinner

On the morning of 14th August at about 7 am, father-in-law, his wife, and hubby again went to play golf in Tajimi City of Gifu prefecture. I just watched some television programs and relaxed the entire morning at home. In the afternoon, I cleaned and polished several brassware items. It took several hours to polish and everything looked so shiny afterwards. At about 7 pm, hubby returned home tired but very happy after playing golf the entire day. Afterwards we had a simple home-cooked dinner.

A few polished brassware items

Hubby having simple home-cooked dinner

On the morning of 15th August, hubby and I visited my late mother-in-law’s grave located near our home, and offered our prayers. Hubby cleaned the gravestone with water, offered flowers, and lit some candles and incense sticks. In the afternoon, we visited hubby’s aunt Tatsu-chan in Okazaki City of Aichi prefecture. Tatsu-chan, my late mother-in-law's younger sister, has been a source of great influence and important fixture in hubby’s early childhood and teenager years. We were visiting Tatsu-chan after almost 4 years and were very excited about the visit. Tatsu-chan’s home is located about 75 kilometers southeast of our Ichinomiya home and it took us about an hour of train ride by Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line train to reach her home. During the train ride we were sitting in the front compartment and were a bit surprised to see a female driver because it is still very rare to find women in many fields of work in Japan. So I clicked a photo of the female driver for the sake of memories. We reached Tatsu-chan’s home at about 3 pm. As always it was a pleasure to meet Tatsu-chan and her husband. We had a lot of catching up to do and we chatted for about two hours over evening tea and snacks. We returned to Ichinomiya City at about 6 pm, and soon afterwards went to a Japanese-style restaurant named Yasuke-zushi for dinner. Father-in-law, his wife, hubby’s sister and her family also accompanied us for dinner. Yasuke-zushi is a multiple course high-end restaurant that deals with Sushi and sea foods. We all enjoyed having various courses like Sashimi, Sushi, grilled fish, steamed clams, and a few other sea food dishes. We grated the Wasabi stems ourselves, and it was so much fun using a large amount of the pungent condiment over Sashimi pieces. We chatted and loved having the dinner around a round table. We all had a very nice time. While returning home after dinner, my sister-in-law’s both the daughters accompanied us and they stayed overnight with us. Both the nieces played card games as well as Shogi games with their uncle for some time. At 9.30 pm, the nieces took bath and soaked in the bathtub for quite some time. They looked very relaxed afterwards and again played with their uncle for about an hour. The girls were too sleepy and fell asleep by 11.30 pm.

Hubby cleaning his late mother’s gravestone with water

Mother-in-law’s grave decorated with beautiful flowers

A female driver driving Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line train

Railway tracks as viewed from the front compartment of the train

Hubby posing with Tatsu-chan and her husband

I am posing with Tatsu-chan and her husband

Father-in-law, his wife, and hubby’s sister having dinner at Yasuke-zushi restaurant

Sister-in-law, her husband, and older daughter having dinner

Both the nieces enjoying dinner with their uncle

I am enjoying dinner with family

Sashimi

Hubby grating Wasabi stem to be used as a condiment for Sashimi

Grilled fish

Steamed clams

Various kinds of Sushi

Both nieces at our home

Hubby and younger niece playing a card game

Hubby and younger niece playing a game of Shogi

The next morning on 16th August, I made breakfast and fed the girls. Later my father-in-law drove them to their home. Hubby and I were to return to Akita that day itself, so we packed quickly and left our Ichinomiya home at about 12 noon. We took a train to Centrair Airport, and then a flight to Akita. We reached Akita Airport at 4 pm and our home in Yurihonjo City at about 5 pm. We had fun-filled Obon holidays with relatives and family-friends in Ichinomiya City.