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The drama "Fune wo Amu" (The Great Passage) is really interesting.

It's a story about people who compile dictionaries, and it focuses on words and how to convey them. As I watch it, I'm struck by how fluid and subjective words are.

Since it's about dictionary compilers, the main goal is to "convey the meaning of words" in a way that "everyone can understand." However, I find that words are inherently uncertain, people perceive them differently, and they constantly change with the times. It makes me think that communicating something to someone using words is incredibly difficult.

Considering the person you're speaking to, the setting, the intimacy of the interaction, what you want to say, and the feelings you want to convey—after thinking all of that through and putting it into words, it's highly unlikely that the other person will understand everything exactly as you intended.

Words are important, but perhaps the shared time spent communicating itself holds meaning. Oh, and along those lines, I realized that serving food has a similar element.

Considering the other person's likes and dislikes, your own likes and dislikes, the environment, the time, their hunger level, the ingredients in the fridge, your specialties—you cook while considering all these factors. You'd be happy if the other person thinks it's delicious, you want to think it's delicious too, and if it's not, you'd want to make excuses. All these feelings get mixed up, and the act of sharing that space itself becomes meaningful. I wonder if it's something like that.

Wanting to eat with close friends and wanting to talk a lot with close friends—both involve sharing time and wanting to express yourselves to each other.

...I ended up overthinking a lot after watching the drama.

It's not a drama that's meant to make you think that hard; it's very enjoyable to watch. It's on NHK every Tuesday at 10 PM, so if you'd like, please check it out. There's also a novel, and it seems like it's been made into a movie as well.

I love Suntory Kuro Oolong Tea.
It's a "Food for Specified Health Uses" beverage, and I've been drinking it daily for about 10, no, maybe 15 years now.

I wonder if I started drinking it because it was a "tokutei hokenyō shokuhin" (FOSHU) product back then.
It was so long ago that I don't remember, but I always drink it after meals. It's become such a regular post-meal drink that I feel anxious if I don't have it.

By the way, it's supposed to help reduce body fat, but I haven't really felt any effects.
Or maybe something terrible would happen if I stopped drinking it?

Generally, I want to drink it after meals, but I particularly crave it when I've had a lot of salt and carbohydrates.
I have an intense desire to drink it after eating ramen, Chinese food, and surprisingly, pasta. On the other hand, with soba, pho, or udon, I don't crave Kuro Oolong Tea as much.
Ultimately, though, I just drink it no matter what I eat.

It's rare for me to stick with something for so long, so as long as I crave it, I want to keep drinking it.
I wonder how long this will continue.

Incidentally, I also like Puerh tea because it's similar to Kuro Oolong Tea.

There was a time when I heard that a ramen shop from my favorite chain had a slightly different flavor. I went all the way there, even though it was a bit far, and ended up thinking, "It's good, but not good enough to go this far for."

Time passed.

Recently, when I was out, I got hungry and searched for a nearby restaurant. Coincidentally, that very shop popped up. Since I wasn't familiar with the area and didn't know any other places, I decided to go there. I was surprised by how delicious it was!

It's possible the taste changed, but I don't think so. I think "my expectations changed."

The first time, I made a special trip to try the new flavor from my favorite ramen shop, wondering how good it could be. The second time, I was just hungry and went into a nearby ramen shop. That's all.

I knew that expectations and results tend to be inversely proportional, but I never thought my perception of taste would be so influenced by my expectations.

But if I think about it, eating with fun people makes it enjoyable and delicious. If I eat with people I don't like, even a good restaurant makes me want to leave quickly. So, I guess it's something like that.

I've realized that food isn't just about taste.

I searched for noodle factories nearby and found one that sells directly to the public.

A quick map search showed it was a 23-minute walk away. Even though it was a bit far, it was my only option, so I decided to walk.

Walking for 23 minutes under the summer sun, like the rainy season had already ended, was long and hot. After about 15 minutes, I imagined having to walk back too, but I couldn't turn back, so I pressed on towards the noodle factory. When I finally found it, soaked in sweat, it felt like discovering a power spot, and I was so happy.

A young man emerged from the shop, which had the atmosphere of a small, local noodle factory. He was very friendly and explained the different noodle thicknesses available. I chose two types: thin and medium-thick. They also sold extra-thick gyoza wrappers, so I bought those too. Gyoza wrappers from a noodle factory sounded delicious.

After I paid, the young man went back into the shop and returned a little while later with my order. The moment I took them, I realized something. I forgot to ask for a shopping bag.

Since I came empty-handed, I should have asked for a bag, but I completely forgot. And I felt awkward asking him to go through the payment and preparation process again just for a 5-yen shopping bag, so I thanked him and left. It didn't take me two minutes to regret it.

Walking for 23 minutes, carrying 10 servings of noodles and gyoza wrappers that wouldn't fit in one hand, was so hot and long that I forgot why I was even walking.

I returned home feeling as exhausted as if I'd been on a short trip, and immediately decided to make gyoza. Unlike supermarket gyoza wrappers, these extra-thick ones had a thickness I'd never encountered before. They were so thick it felt like I was pressing the meat filling into the wrapper. Their oval shape was surprisingly easy to wrap, which was great. When I ate them, they had a chewy texture, and it felt like the wrapper was the star and the filling was the supporting actor. I enjoyed a completely new kind of gyoza.

As for the noodles, they will appear in a YouTube video scheduled to be updated tomorrow, July 5th, so I would be very happy if you could watch it.

When a recipe calls for "1 clove of garlic," don't you think that's insufficient guidance?

There's a five-fold difference sometimes between a small clove of garlic and a large clove of garlic from Aomori Prefecture.

I've tried to think of a better way to phrase it, but it's tough. About the size of your pinky's first joint? But hand sizes vary. About the size of a USB memory stick? That probably wouldn't make sense. About the size of a plastic bottle cap? That might actually be pretty good.

It's the same with "salt and pepper – to taste," but it's really hard to convey recipes to people.

However, the intensity of seasoning largely depends on personal preference, so small changes in quantity are fine, and perhaps it means "please adjust to your liking." Even in kikkake's recipes, we frequently use "1 clove of garlic."

By the way, I love garlic, so if a recipe calls for one clove, I always add double.

Every time we film for YouTube, it's a process of trial and error. What we think will definitely be a hit sometimes isn't, and what we're not so confident about sometimes gets a lot of views. Things rarely go as we expect.

Still, I film with Konagi, who's in charge of shooting, while thinking about where the intersection lies between what we can do and what everyone can enjoy.

The other day, we did a test shoot to challenge ourselves with a completely different atmosphere and filming method than before. Whether that challenge will ever see the light of day is still uncertain, but what I realized had an effect even before that was a change in how I looked at what we usually film.

Since we post on YouTube once a week, we film regularly every week. And when you're filming every week, even if you're not bored, there are times when you want to change the content a bit. How to solve that feeling of routine becomes a concern.

Amidst such concerns, today, when we did our usual filming, there was a subtly fresh atmosphere for some reason. It was the same filming as always, but it felt a little different. That was because we had done the challenge shoot the day before.

When you return to your usual routine after doing something completely different, the good points of the usual and what should be preserved become clearly visible. It might not have changed anything, but there was a feeling that something was different.

I felt that when you're doing something repeatedly and it's hard to notice things, trying something completely different or a different method makes it easier to look back at the basics. Although I didn't do the challenge shoot for that reason, I was happy with the unexpected discovery.