Author: blh-admin

Trip to follow memory, a beautiful hometown Syria

An Arabian Restaurant Palmyra is located on the second floor of a building, a 6min walk from Ikebukuro Station West Exit.

We held this event and reserved whole this restaurant that runs by a Lebanese owner at this time!

Guest speaker is our tenant Mr. F who is from Syria.

“Syria has not been stable yet, and the civil war has continued since 2011.
I think most of Japanese associate Syria with refugees and war.”

But He said
“I only lived in Syria when I was little, so I don’t remember much, but all my families say the same thing; we want everyone to know that Syria is such a beautiful country. “

BORDERLESS DINERS Syria began with such his words. Let’s travel to the beautiful hometown of Syria through Syrian cuisine!

Experience a refreshing sour Middle Eastern cuisine with grazing culture

I said Syrian cuisine, but there is not really a clear difference between Syrian food and Lebanese food. Because Syria and Lebanon were one and the same country a long time ago.

Of course, there are also unique dishes from each country, but the main food culture of vegetables is the same. There are many cultures in Syrian cuisine, such as the hummus(mashed chickpeas) as a staple food, Turkish kebabs and Islamic food such as baklava.

 

Sesame and lemon, olive oil, herbs, many dishes using tomato in yogurt, but it is refreshing, but sour very fresh flavor in the mouth!
And there are also refreshing drinks of salted yogurt called hibiscus juice or ayran. Since Syria was a grazing culture, there were not many choices of ingredients. It is a simple and sophisticated food culture that uses naturally grown crops and livestock milk.

Dynamic taste! Extremely sour, sweet, rich! Syria!

Syrian food is dynamic taste! For example, the sourness of the ayran is not slight, it is VERY sour!
The coffee is so rich that the powder precipitates. And the hibiscus of the national drink which also has a light laxative effect is too much sour!
Of course, there are also meals and dessert with a dynamic taste to eat with such a thick drink.
Okra tomato stew is very sour, and dessert bakrawa and basbusa are very sweet!
Middle Eastern cuisine was like a great adventure.

Syrian young people are in all over the world. What made him come to Japan?

 

Well, after enjoying Syrian food, it is time for a Syrian story.
Currently, Mr. F has lived in Japan for about one year. He is a naughty teen boy who loves Japanese comedy and speaks Kansai dialect very fluently.
Also, he was born in Syria and raised in Saudi Arabia.

The last time he returned to Syria was just a year before the civil war began, when he was 10 years old. Since then, he has never been back in Syria.
Although now he is good at speaking Japanese and loves Japanese comedy, in fact, he didn’t think he would come to Japan.

“At first, I tried to go to a university in the US and I needed to have VISA to stay outside Syria because I am Syrian. Unfortunately, Just after VISA in Saudi Arabia ended, it became Trump’s administration at the timing in the US, and VISA for that suddenly dropped. I can no longer enter Saudi Arabia, and if I go to Turkey, where my parents stay, I have to make a refugee application. Then I decided to make a visa application to Japan.
Fortunately, Japan’s Visa went down and I decided to stay in Japan.
From there I knew how wonderful Japan is. “

Currently, Syrian young people are drafted when returning to Syria and must join the army. Much Syrian youth cannot return to their hometown to avoid recruiting. In addition, they cannot go around the world freely.  Most of Syrians don’t have choices and they have to stay temporary in various countries as refugees or immigrants.

“Syria is a really beautiful country. The beautiful geometric pattern of the mosques, and the world’s oldest city, Damascus.The most romantic and beautiful Syrian-like Arabic language in the world. Now I met Japanese comedy and love Japan, but I hope to return to Syria someday. And I want the housemates and everyone I met to know more about Syria someday. Syria is a really beautiful country. “

The feeling from Lebanon that was divided country from Syria

 

This time, the venue is the restaurant Palmyra, the owner Mr. Suriman who usually teaches Arabic culture at a university and he sells Syrian goods in the place to help Syrian children.

Mr. Suriman said,
“The Syrian people are not chemical weapons test subjects, they are humans with emotions.”
The neighboring country Syria with similar culture since it was the same country. And there are many Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Mr. Suriman believes Syrian and Lebanese people are brothers, and this motivates him to support Syria. He hopes that one day they will be able to come and go free again and create a society for Syrians to live their dreams. Dreaming of such a day tells stories about Syria in restaurants here in Japan.

BORDERLESS DINERS is a program where you can experience the country through meals. It was a moment that we can feel Syria close.

The next program is for Bosnia! You can touch a different culture every month!

『BORDERLESS DINERS ～ Experience international restaurants and travel around the world ～』

This is a hands-on program which is held every month!

Next time, we will invite beauty chef in Borderless House Shinjuku Honancho!
Bosnian food! Well, what kind of experience can you make next?”

Looking forward to the next report!!

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What kind of culture in Senegal? This is the program you can enjoy the international experience with five senses!

As-salamu alaykum! Hello, this is Yuya from Borderless House who is in charge of the program!

『BORDERLESS DINERS～Experience international restaurants and travel around the world ～』This new program has started since last month!

You can enjoy different cuisines in restaurants or catering in Tokyo!

Eat! Talk! think! It is a hands-on program where you can enjoy the international exchange with the five senses.

The second time is Senegal cuisine! I am going to report BORDERLESS DINERS was held on March 31st.

 

Fresh cuisine you can enjoy looking at! Cheerful Senegalese chef cooked in front.

This time is Live Cooking! that Aly san came to Honancho House in Shinjuku. Participants can see a process of making dishes with talking with Aly san right in front!

Says of Senegal cuisine, it’s so colorful and beautiful because they use paprika, eggs, tomatoes, and any other vegetables.

Being wrapped Fatayer(Samosa Senegal style), being fried Beignet(Donut Senegal style)

The participants were very interested in the dishes one after another. There are many questions and it’s Aly san time to shine!

First, you enjoyed the international experience with your eyes!

 

Plant to drink! The gut healthy drink that contains baobab and hibiscus

Next is the smell! Enjoy the vivid welcome drinks with baobab and hibiscus!

Besides looking, it also had a good smell. The smell of hibiscus and baobabs mixed up and seem to be in the forest.

Moreover, it seems to have the effect of recovering the intestines, and it is an excellent drink that is good for your skin and beauty as well!

After eating the appetizer Fataya while drinking the welcome drink, we felt more hungry!

But first, we learned a little bit about Senegal. Aly san talked about Senegal’s population, religion, and language!

“Thank you” is “Jërëjëf!” in Moloch spoken in Senegal

Finally, it’s time to eat dishes! Thank you for the chef Aly’s preparation!

 

Shiny hands! Holding and eating a large dish

In Senegal, lunch is the main meal of the day and staple food is the same rice as Japan.

The dish of rice cooked with platter and rice dishes and side dishes. This is Senegal’s feast!

This time we had a typical rice dish of Thiébou yapp and Sesaginal. What a sumptuous feast!

Chebu means rice, Yap means meat. Sesaginal, a dish made of meat and rice, is rice dish with onion sauce!

Let’s start to eat beautifully presented dishes with everyone!

but they said…..

“How do you eat even though there are no plates or spoons?”

Fufufu, have you noticed? This program is the international “experience” program, of course, you should eat it by hand just like Senegal!

It is Senegal-style to take a size that is easy to eat, and hold it for a while and then eat.

At first, they started to eat with hands nervously, but we can not stop at the overly delicious Thiébou yapp!

”You are a Senegalese!”
There were people who grab a tip and were praised by Aly san.

Everyone enjoyed the feeling of the hand.”

We were full for lots of delicious food, and noticed what a shiny hand! Good Smile!

Looks and tastes of Okinawa food? Senegal and Japan in common

Full, but the dessert is another! After all, we also enjoyed Senegal’s popular Beignet by hand.

Senegal’s Beignet, when you look closely it looks and tastes so familiar with Sata Andagi in Okinawa …?

“It is no longer Sata Andagi! The only difference is whether raisins are in or out!

The taste that is loved is the same things even if different countries.

 

Of course, the drink is coffee! Senegal coffee contains spice and is very rich!

Make bubbles and pouring in this way!

Actually, Senegal is a coffee lover country because it seems to be drinkable to all ages, male and female even if the taste is very rich.

“A country without homeless people” An aspect of Islam not known in Japan

They seem to be getting eager to know more about Senegal.

From now, we will have a lecture about Senegalese culture and religious to know about Senegal deeply.

“Senegal is an Islamic country in which 95% of the population believe in Islam.
However, the commandment is not so strict and we don’t have bad relationships with the other religious believer.”

Aly told us,
“We, Senegalese Muslims are doing really good with the other religious believer.
I’m Muslim but my school was a Catholic one and I have a lot of Catholic friends.
Important thing is to take the teachings in actions, live cooperating with neighbors and show gratitude every day.
Since it is really natural to help each other and be thankful, there are no people who are hungry in Senegal although there are people in difficulties due to lack of money of course. Senegal is a country which doesn’t have homeless people.”

We shouldn’t eat all completely in Senegal, “Omotenashi” country!

We shouldn’t eat all completely in Senegal, “Omotenashi” country!

“Do you know that Senegal is a country which has “Omotenashi” culture like Japan.
*”Omotenashi” is a Japanese word which means an attitude or an action with hospitality when we welcome guests.

In Senegal, people use the word “Teranga” for “Omotenashi”.
The word has the meaning of taking good care of the connection with other people and sharing it. This means also comes from Islamic teachings.

Aly says, “In Senegal, we don’t lock our house doors so that people who are hungry or who need help can visit anytime.

The Islamic spirits are widespread so that’s why we have this culture. We mustn’t eat the served dishes completely. In other words, they serve lots of dishes we cannot finish.

Even today, Aly prepared the food more than the amount for the number of people.

He says this is because he has a heart of the hospitality which he wants to make the guests feel full.

In Japan, it is not good to leave food so if we eat everything according to the Japanese culture, they serve continuously.

Don’t you think it is really interesting that there is a difference in the dining culture although both countries have the same “Omotenashi” culture?

Enjoy differences! This is also a good part of this program!

Islamic culture is to help each other. It is a warm religious culture.

Aly told us that the important thing is not money but the connection with people.

If we live in Japan, there is no opportunity to get to know the Islamic teachings and the way of thinking in life-based on the teachings.

This program became a really good one because we could get to know that Senegalese food is so nice and there is a nice culture in Senegal.

 

Of course, we took a photo together at last!

 

The next program is for Syria!

“BORDERLESS DINERS ~Experience international restaurants and travel around the world ~”
is a program which we hold once in a month only for our tenants!

We will have this program at a Syrian restaurant in Ikebukuro next time! What can we experience from the program?

Hope to see you next time!

Hello, everyone! This is Yuya from Borderless House planning team!

It’s getting warmer, spring has arrived! So you must be excited for new life!

With the coming of spring, our new program has started!

The program name is『BORDERLESS DINERS～International Experiences Restaurant for Traveling the World～』

This new hands-on program has started!

Food is closely related to cultural costume! Let’s touch different culture with five sense! See! Feel! Taste!

LINK UP, which was run as a Borderless House exchange program last year. We received many happy comments from the tenants, such as “new connections with other share houses!”

LINK UP is a program which provides the tenants with the opportunity to meet and connect through languages and interests.

During this program, we also received comments that “I want to know more about various countries!” And “I want to touch culture and international experience more deeply!” That is because we restart the program as “BORDERLESS DINERS”.

“BORDERLESS DINERS” is an international experience program focused on “food” in order to make you feel and learn deeply the countries of the world.

We are going to reserve restaurants in various countries in Tokyo for this problem! Eat! Talk! think! It is a hands-on program where you can enjoy the international exchange with the five senses.

The program will be held once a month for our tenants only. The maximum number of participants is only 20 people in this program, so you can interact with people more closely, which is a bit different from big events!

“Eating” and “learning about” food from other countries. Purpose behind the program

This program was launched with the wish of experiencing different cultures through “food” and enjoying the differences.

Italian, French, Chinese, Korean cuisine and ethnic food such as Thai food!

I believe that these types of dishes are familiar to everyone.

However, there are many countries that you may know the name of such as Myanmar and various African countries, but you have never eaten their foods!

The world has a variety of dishes unique to that country, and each dish has its own story and culture.

For example, because Japan has four seasons and the ingredients available in each season differ, Japanese food culture has developed along with events and seasons.

Furthermore, there must be many people who think of “niku-jaga” when hearing the words Japanese home cooking?

Do you know the origin of this national soul food of niku-jaga? ?

Actually, the origin of niku-jaga is beef stew!

What I mean is, “niku-jaga” was born as a result of the trouble of a certain historical person who could not forget the taste of beef stew and somehow wanted to make it in Japan.

Thus, traditional menu items actually contain rich international origins, and conversely, in some cases, they come from a culture that has been developed for religious reasons, and it can be seen that the origins of foods are very deep!

“Food” is a very familiar means of learning about a country.

It is our hope that while eating the food of a country, you can learn about that country. Through cooking, countries that were previously “unknown” become countries that you “would like to know more about” and “would like to go to”!

We aim to create a program that allows you to experience such things.

Venue changes every month! Traveling through food program, the first country is Myanmar!

This program was held in Myanmar restaurant which is located Takadanobaba on Feb 22.

4 Koreans, 1 Franch, 1 Saudi Arabian, 1 Taiwanese and 8Japanese participated! The ratio of male to female and ratio of nationality aere also slmost 50:50!

Is this place Little Yangon! ? A long-established cafeteria loved in Takadanobaba where 1,500 people from Myanmar live.

In fact, Takadanobaba is a fierce battlefield of Myanmar cuisine with over 20 such restaurants. Ruby, where the event was held this time, is a long-established Burmese restaurant that has been open for 20 years in Takadanobaba! Naturally, the restaurant staff is also from Myanmar! You can enjoy authentic cuisine from Myanmar.

What kind of country is Myanmar? ? The manager of the restaurant told me about Myanmar.

Start of program! What kind of country is Myanmar?

Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia and has about 1.8 times the area of Japan. It is a devoutly Buddhist country with over 100 ethnic groups, and there are several temples and pagodas on the streets.

Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia and has about 1.8 times the area of Japan. It is a devoutly Buddhist country with over 100 ethnic groups, and there are several temples and pagodas on the streets.

Reportedly, when he happened to come to Japan to travel 30 years ago, when he was listed as part of an anti-government organization by the military government, and unable to return home, became a refugee.

I told me valuable stories and exciting stories, such as the story of his time 30 years ago in Japan, the story of being able to return home for the first time in 20 years last year, and stories about Burma during the military administration and Myanmar in the present.

What impressed me the most was the story of Kyaw Kyaw Soe-san’s dream.

“Myanmar, which I returned to for the first time in 20 years, has become unrecognizable, but after since the government has changed, the people have no sense of unity. Therefore, I would like to spread the school song culture that I learned in Japan in Myanmar. I would like to make school songs so that students sing together and head toward the same goal.”

Hearing such precious stories is part of the appeal of this program!

The participants also find it interesting.

And finally, it was time to eat the cuisine from Myanmar!

Myanmar is surrounded by five countries, and Myanmar has absorbed the delicious points of the cuisine of these five countries!

Myanmar food is characterized by being a little bit spicy and a little bit oily.

In fact, Myanmar is surrounded by China, Laos, Bangladesh, Thailand, and India, and it is a multi-ethnic country in which various ethnic groups and cultures are mixed.

Therefore, the variety of dishes is also diverse!

The cultures of the surrounding countries have influenced the cuisine, and there are very good dishes from many countries, as the cuisine has incorporated the spiciness of Indian food, the quick and easy cooking methods of Chinese food, and the sweet and sour taste of Thai food.

This time, various dishes were prepared, such as the national dish that can be eaten in Myanmar to dishes that are eaten for celebrations such as weddings.

This time, various dishes were prepared, such as the national dish that can be eaten in Myanmar to dishes that are eaten for celebrations such as weddings.

Some people were a cautious about trying the foods, and some dug in quickly!

You could hear the voices of the participants at different restaurants saying, “This is spicy”, “This is delicious!”, etc.

The origin of udon is Burmese noodle nan gyi thohk? ! Connections in the world as seen from food!

The origin of udon is Burmese noodle nan gyi thohk? ! Connections in the world as seen from food!

Because there were participants from various countries, the predictions of each person varied! It was a heated discussion!

For example, “The udon salad is probably a kind of reimen in Japan because it is so light.”
“Perhaps sweet foods are used for celebrations? So tapioca and sweet potato desserts must be for weddings!”

Then, the answers were presented.

Have you ever seen this dish?

Don’t you think that it looks like udon?

Yes, this is actually udon found in Myanmar. The name of this dish is nan gyi thohk, and it is a type of udon salad.

The recipe for the noodles is almost the same as that of udon! It is made of soybean flour, and people in Myanmar eat the salad when they want to feel refreshed. It is home cooking and is often eaten as a daily meal. It is the same as in Japan, right!

Then, Kyaw Kyaw Soe-san said that this is the origin of Japanese noodles.”The taste and texture of the noodles are almost the same as those of udon.

so please try it once if you are interested!

There was also a dish called dan bauk, which is eaten during celebrations such as weddings.

It is a simple dish of stewed chicken and butter rice.

But making it is hard!

It is a dish that is very time-consuming to make as various spices are mixed and it is stewed for a long time.

However, once it is made, it can be served immediately like curry, and it was explained that it became a dish of hospitality served for celebrations since guests are not kept waiting.

In this way, even in a seemingly distant country, Japan is actually connected like a relationship with nan gyi thohk, and we realized that the heart of hospitality for cooking is universal!

If you order “the food served in the Borderless House program”, you will be able to eat these foods, so if you are interested, please check out RUBY in Takadanobaba!

Borderless House, tenants-only program that can connect with over 700 share mates

Finally, recommended spots in Myanmar were presented, and the program was concluded!

Then, a male participant invited everyone to a house party saying, “There will be a party at my shared house in Iriya tonight, so everyone is welcome to join and continue talking about the program!”

In this way, the Borderless House program is also able to connect with more than 700 share mates living in 69 share houses in Tokyo!

Next travel is SENEGAL!We will do live cooking next time in Shinjuku Honan-cho, our share house!

The cheerful senegal chef make Senegal cuisine for participants.I hope you will enjoy the next blog!

Venue and food change every month! Traveling through food international experience restaurant.

Why don’t you stay in Borderless House that you can join this kind of programs?

<Place informationgt;
– Ruby – Myanmar restaurant in Takadanobaba

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