Black Biscuits -- STAMINA

Saw the NHK educational variety program "Tameshite Gatten" tonight and the theme was on how to increase one's stamina as one ages. Of course, for all those veteran Japan hands, the word "stamina" has become part and parcel of the Japanese language, especially during the daunting summers when the energy levels can drop into nothingness. Often enough, the word is used when it's put next to ryori or "cuisine". The telly was always talking about the dishes to provide those calories for that boost in stamina such as unaju (eel on rice) or some form of ramen...dishes that I would be more than happy to nosh on even if my stamina was perfectly fine.

Also, the theme of tonight's "Gatten" automatically had me remembering the debut single of that gimmicky unit from the 90s, Black Biscuits, composed of Taiwanese tarento/actress Vivian Hsu and comedians Kiyotaka Nanbara（南原清隆）and Hiroyuki Amano（天野ひろゆき）. It was released in December 1997 and had a funky enough beat, but to be honest, I much preferred their follow-up "Timing". Still, the song written by Hiromi Mori（森浩美）and composed by Kenji Hayashida（林田健司）did very well by hitting No. 2 on Oricon and selling over a million copies. And it still makes for a nostalgic memory of watching Japanese variety television almost 20 years ago.

Of course, I was in my early years of life in the Tokyo area at the time, and one night I was out with a few friends for dinner in the Hibiya area. One of them was a fellow who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and seemed to know a number of the beautiful people in Japan. During dinner, he got a call on his cellphone from one of his buddies who was actually learning how to drive a car. In mid-conversation, he nonchalantly muttered to us that it was none other than Vivian Hsu. Ah...so close to celebrity.

My stamina food:
spicy ramen & karaage don
Also, my fast track to cholesterol overload!