Satsuki Bazaar on Channing Way
One blue-sky Sunday in May. A section of Channing Way, between Shattuck and Fulton, was blocked. Two girls draped in summery garments danced to joyous Hawaiian tunes on a sunlit wooden stage, surrounded by a small crowd of both familiar spectators and curious passing pedestrians. The seductive smell of grill beef got caught in the wind here and there.
So it was the street front of the 61st annual Satsuki Bazaar and Arts Festival at the Berkeley Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temple on Channing Way. Inside the temple, a multitude of items displayed for silent auction held visitors’ footsteps, starting with orchids, matted photos and paintings, gift cards to sushi bars and diving lessons…
…to porcelain sets, stuffed toys, a wooden sculpture of Daruma, and Shichi Fukujin in a glass box.
But few things can attract everybody like food. The “dining hall” was packed to the door like a beehive overflowed with nectar.
Every few minutes there were tiny old ladies weaving among the crowd with big trays of musubi and sweets from the dining hall to the “bakery”, a front desk covered with homemade edible goods, baked, rolled, fried, pickled, and jarred.
We just couldn’t help it. The umeboshi (pickled plum) was going fast at $5 per small jar and $8 per big one. Mudpie hungrily grabbed onto two jelly jars, kumquat ($4) and persimmon-pineapple-apricot ($5), which have the exact same color. Then we started loading pastries into our bag…
First came the blueberry scone, which tasted like wet sand, but we paid only one buck for it, can’t complain.
Then there were little squares of mochi (and a lonely piece of brown banana cake). Each square cost a buck too (and they are about 20 times smaller than the scone), but none was as good as the mochi cubes in front of Cafe Hana. Pretty scrumptious lonely piece of brown banana cake though.
Now these are the real disappointment. The manju, mochi balls with red bean paste, looked so much better than they tasted. Is the yellow egg-shaped pastry dotted with poppy seed and filled with sweetened taro paste also a manju? Guess how much they were. $1.25 each. Sugar excess.
Fortunately the savory side is a greener pasture. The 2-dollar spam musubi hit the spot just right (processed meat always tastes so good after you reprocess it with sugar and soy sauce). The nori was mild, thick, and moist.
We top things off with a lustrous loco moco, a burger patty squatted on a bed of extremely moist short-grained rice, covered with a runny egg and a ladle of beef gravy. After one spoonful, Mudpie couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the afternoon. The whole thing was like a peppery, creamy, rich butter boat. All for $5, and honestly it would be just as spoon-licking without the grilled meat.
And so I learned something new. At Vietnamese Buddhist pagodas, you can find only vegan food regardless of festive occasions or normal days. Here at a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple, there is plenty of meat, crackling and sizzling on one blue-sky Sunday in May.
61st Annual Satsuki Bazaar and Arts Festival, May 22-23, 2009
Berkeley Buddhist Temple
2121 Channing Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 841-1356
Update: I WON something in the silent auction: an adorable set of tea cups and tea bowls, notice the matching pairs with one tea cup slightly taller than the other. The visit was a success!
I enjoy your writing style genuinely loving this website .
1I was suggested this web site by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my trouble. You’re incredible! Thanks!
2I have fun with, result in I discovered just what I used to be having a look for. You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
3I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thanks, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your website?
4Hello my friend! I want to say that this article is amazing, nice written and include almost all vital infos. I’d like to look more posts like this.
5Some genuinely good articles on this internet site, thank you for contribution. “Be absolutely determined to enjoy what you do.” by Sarah Knowles Bolton.
6Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my users would truly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Thank you!
7I am continually looking online for ideas that can assist me. Thank you!
8What i don’t realize is actually how you’re not really much more well-liked than you might be right now. You are so intelligent. You realize therefore significantly relating to this subject, made me personally consider it from numerous varied angles. Its like women and men aren’t fascinated unless it’s one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs great. Always maintain it up!
9Betrupi official giriş platformu ve resmi adresi
10Betrupi official giriş platformu ve resmi adresi
11Very interesting info!Perfect just what I was looking for!
12You have brought up a very great details, thanks for the post.
13Great goods from you, man. I have be mindful your stuff prior to and you are simply too excellent. I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the best way by which you say it. You’re making it enjoyable and you continue to care for to keep it wise. I can not wait to read much more from you. That is really a tremendous web site.
14I too conceive so , perfectly composed post! .
15I like what you guys are up also. Such smart work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my site :).
16Regards for this wondrous post, I am glad I discovered this site on yahoo.
17I really like your writing style, good info , appreciate it for posting :D.
18I have been surfing online more than 3 hours lately, yet I by no means found any fascinating article like yours. It is beautiful value sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content as you did, the web will likely be much more helpful than ever before.
19very nice publish, i actually love this website, keep on it
20Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?
21Valuable info. Lucky me I found your website unintentionally, and I am shocked why this twist of fate did not took place in advance! I bookmarked it.
22Very interesting topic, appreciate it for putting up. “Integrate what you believe into every single area of your life.” by Meryl Streep.
23Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Ie. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue fixed soon. Many thanks
24Have you ever considered creating an ebook or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my audience would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
25Thank you for sharing excellent informations. Your site is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched all over the place and simply could not come across. What a great web-site.
26Hello, Neat post. There’s a problem together with your site in internet explorer, might test this… IE nonetheless is the market chief and a big section of folks will leave out your wonderful writing due to this problem.
27Good article and straight to the point. I don’t know if this is truly the best place to ask but do you people have any ideea where to employ some professional writers? Thx 🙂
28Hiya very nice site!! Guy .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your web site and take the feeds alsoKI am glad to search out a lot of useful information here within the submit, we want work out extra techniques in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
29Do you have a spam issue on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was wondering your situation; many of us have created some nice procedures and we are looking to trade techniques with others, please shoot me an email if interested.
30Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!
31Good day! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
32What’s Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It absolutely useful and it has helped me out loads. I hope to contribute & aid other users like its helped me. Great job.
33I got what you mean , thankyou for putting up.Woh I am pleased to find this website through google.
34Respect to author, some superb entropy.
35I view something genuinely interesting about your website so I bookmarked.
36horse gelatin trick recipe
37Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing.
38Thanks for another informative web site. Where else could I get that type of info written in such a perfect way? I’ve a project that I’m just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such information.
39I really like your writing style, great information, thankyou for putting up :D.
40Good day! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
41Good day very cool site!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your web site and take the feeds also?KI’m satisfied to find so many helpful info right here in the publish, we want develop extra techniques in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
42