I attended the Japanese Street Festival with my husband and niece yesterday. This event is an extension of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which celebrates the long friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. During the festival, we sampled delicious Japanese sweets, watched traditional dances and martial arts demonstrations and shopped for native products.

I attended this event two years ago and blogged about my experience. However, I enjoyed it much more this time because I got to share it with my loved ones.

I work near BWI airport, which looks like the middle of nowhere but in reality is only a 10-minute drive from downtown Baltimore. So when my brother took me to lunch at Maiwand Kabob, a nearby Afghanistan restaurant, I was very surprised.

For some reason, I was expecting a sit down restaurant with exotic décor. However, the décor is simple, and patrons place their orders with the cashier upon arrival. Maiwand Kabob’s main dish is of course kabobs, which come in chicken, lamb, beef and kofta (ground beef). The Afghani flavor is added with seasoning and various side dishes, such as mint/garlic yogurt sauce, chickpea curry, samosas and bolani.

We both ordered the lamb and chicken kabob combo, which came with homemade Tandoori bread, rice, salad and a yogurt sauce, as well as a side of chickpea curry. I like how they cook your meal upon ordering so everything is hot and fresh. After about 15 minutes, our number was called to inform us that our food was ready. I was surprised at the enormous serving; we could have split one order.

When I originally read the menu, I assumed the food would taste just like Indian food; however, I was wrong. The flavoring was milder, not as spicy, and everything tasted different but in a great way. The meats were juicy and cooked to perfection, and the rice was sweetened with raisons.  While the chickpea curry and somosa tasted good, I definitely prefer the spicier Indian versions. Also, I had a diet coke, but I wish my stomach had room to try the mango shake or yogurt drink.

Overall, I am very excited about this establishment because it adds variety to local options like Bob Evans and Ruby Tuesdays. I cannot wait to go back and try other items on the menu, such as mantu, ground beef and scallion filled dumpling topped with homemade yogurt, meet sauce and mint, and mashawa soup, bean and lentil soup with chicken topped with yogurt.

For those of you that live in Maryland near Columbia and Arundel Mills, I encourage you to check out the Maiwand Kabob establishment in your area.

A few days ago I spent a great long weekend with close girlfriends in San Francisco – Becky, Steph and Bophany (our SF connection). While we visited touristy locations such as Golden Gate Park, Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market and Sausalito’s waterfront, I really enjoyed our time in Japantown, which is located not too far from the trendy Fillmore District.

Hotel – we stayed at Kabuki Hotel, which is an interesting property that offered a mix of Japanese and western décor. Our room, while small with all the typical furnishing, had huge Japanese print screens in front of the windows, a long deep tub and shower without walls and a Zen like shrine with a spotlight. Outside, there was a Japanese garden adjacent to the hotel with a koi pond and small walking bridge. There was also a Japanese spa, but there was no time to relax with all the activities just steps away.

Shopping – our hotel was connected to a mall filled with mostly Japanese stores, including sushi bars, a dollar and general store with “made in Japan” products, toy stores with a lot of Hello Kitty merchandise and clothing stores with kimonos. While there, we spent a lot of time in the bookstore to peruse through magazines, cookbooks and origami books. Yes, we could not read Japanese; however, fashion and humor are universal. We also enjoyed a snack from Bo’s favorite crepe café.

Dinner – For our first night, Steph and I ate sushi at the hotel restaurant, as we were quite exhausted from a long flight and still on east coast time. However, with Becky’s arrival on Friday, Bophany took us to Shabu-Sen restaurant. Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish that is like fondue – you dip and eat. Shabu-shabu comes with a pot of steamed broth, thinly sliced beef, seafood, tofu, vegetables, rice and dipping sauces. To eat, you throw whatever you want in the pot, wait a minute or two for it to cook, pull out the food with chopsticks, dip it into the peanut or soy sauce, take a scoop of rice and eat. It’s so easy and fun, especially when you have a cup of sake on the side.

Festival – a Cherry Blossoms festival took place over the weekend on the same street as our hotel. While Washington, DC’s festival is way better (see my blog posting on April 10, 2010), I did enjoy the various vendors, sword fighting demonstration and musicians. Best of all, they rolled out a large banner that read “SF Cares for Japan” in honor of the earthquake/tsunami victims in Japan. They took an areal photo of the crowd holding the banner and plan to send it to Japan.

On every occasion I stay in San Francisco, I usually make a point to visit Chinatown, which is one of the best in the nation. However, this time, I did not miss it because I had Japantown. This new location made my trip so much more interesting, especially when I got to share it with the ladies!

A few more photos from my weekend:

This weekend I visited the Textile Museum in Washington, DC to see an exhibit titled “Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats.” Ikat is a fabric that originated in the early 19^th century in an area now known as Uzbekistan, formerly part of the Soviet Union. During this time, craftsmen had access to textiles traded throughout India, China and Iran. They produced colorful fabrics through a special technique where the yarn is bound and dyed several times before weaving into interesting patterns. This process is unique because fabric is usually died after its creation.

I love the look of foreign fabrics, as they are a reflection of various cultures. In this exhibit, there was a large collection of ikats from the 19^th century that were made into elaborate robes (a.k.a chapan or chalet). In order to learn as much as possible about this unique material, I took advantage of a tour led by the docent. She informed me that in the 1800s only individuals from the elite class wore ikats due to the time and money it took to make them. They exchanged ikats as gifts at political or economic meetings and also used them as dowries for brides. However, over time people from middle to lower incomes wore ikats but just for special occasions.

Ikat Display

The ikats on display varied in color, size and patterns. The robes made for women were more tailored by the waste and arms than for men. Some patterns were shaped in figures that represent nature (e.g. trees, flowers and birds) and meant to reflect spirituality. The ikat robes on the outside were either all silk or silk mixed with cotton and on the inside were all cotton in a different pattern . I also learned that many Jewish craftsmen made ikats during this time. They mostly died their yarn in blue, which differed from red, the more popular color. The docent informed me that this region is hot during the day and cold at night, which explained why people wore layers underneath the ikats. Furthermore, she said that individuals in Uzbekistan continue to wear ikats today, but usually for special events like weddings and other cultural events.

I completely enjoyed the detail and vibrant colors used to make each ikat. While most ikats are made into robes, I was told that they have been transformed into other types of clothing and wall hangings. I wonder if there are any merchants in the U.S. that sell ikat products. If you know of any, let me know. I’d love to wear something made in this incredible fabric.