The Emperor of Japan celebrated his 63rd birthday on February 23, 2023 and here in Houston, the Japanese community celebrated with him! Thank you to the Consul General of Japan in Houston, Mr. Hirofumi Murabayashi, for hosting a beautiful reception at the Hyatt Regency last Wednesday. It was nice to hear the speeches from representatives of the City of Houston, Governor Greg Abbott, and various Texas Senators like Senator Ted Cruz. It was also nice to see leaders of the Japanese community come together for a social event, especially since we have had so few chances to see each other since COVID. Happy 63rd Birthday again to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan!
Every year before before the rodeo, there is a 3 day BBQ Contest. There are three categories to enter: brisket, ribs, and chicken. Starting two years ago, there is also an “open” category where contestants can submit anything of their choice! There is also a new category for KIDS where kids can compete for the best cooked steak! Starting 7 years ago, the Wordl’s Championship BBQ Contest went global and started an “International Village”. In the cohort group was Japan and two teams from England. Over the years, the International Village has grown and grown and this year, there were 8 teams: two from Canada, two from Australia, and one team from Mexico, Brazil, UK, and Japan. As the interpreters for the Japan team, Susan and Koh were at the competition everyday to help support and Mariko was also there to take part in the action. On Thursday February 23, BBQ Shogun from Japan had a Japanese party and invited Consul General Murabayashi along with several leaders of the Japanese community. It was so fun to show everyone the BBQ Cookoff concept and for everyone to be able to walk around and meet other some of the other 250 teams. BBQ Shogun, otsukaresamadeshita! Thanks for coming and good luck in Austin (their next competition place)!
One of rodeo’s biggest culinary events is a one evening event called the Rodeo Uncorked Roundup & Best Bites Competition. It took place at NRG Center on February 19 and Annoura Realty was honored to be invited by our friends at Amcap Mortgage and Independent Title. They hired a pink hummer limousine to bring up a fun group of realtors to enjoy stressfree the unlimited award winning wines of the Champion Wine Garden and the unlimited food from some of Houston’s top restaurants. Mariko and Mik met us there and we enjoyed going from booth to booth sampling everything from Bang Bang Shrimp to prime rib bite sized sandwiches to smoked ice cream! If you are looking for some good restaurants to visit and dishes to order, here are the winners of the Best Bites contest and what they served:
Outstanding Showmanship:
1st Place: Eculent
2nd Place: Brother’s Produce
People’s Choice Award:
1st Place: Cotton Culinary: The Cotton Pearl (Duck fat crostini with Wagyu beef and lemon verblanc pearl)
2nd Place: Patra Lee’s Kitchen (Caramel stracciatella ice cream with praline ethiopie and whiskey caramel swirl)
