チャリティーバザー Charity Bazar by Asian and Pan-pacific countries' women's society

4月8日

毎年開催されるアジア・大洋州婦人会によるチャリティーバザーに友人と出かけてきた。場所はANAインターコンチネンタル東京。　アジア・大洋州地域の２６か国がブースを出し、民芸品、手芸品、服飾、食品などなど高価なものも含めて沢山の物で大ホールは埋め尽くされていた。来場者も多く、会場は大混雑。こういった催しでは大使館の出番でお互いの交流増進には大変効果がある。友人は人気の紅茶を購入。私はラオスのブースで小銭入れを。今回はバングラデシュが議長国であったことから式典にはバングラデシュの大使夫人の両サイドに来賓の常陸宮妃殿下、総理夫人がお座りになり、同婦人会の会長である元外務大臣の高村夫人が、開催の趣旨と挨拶をされた。豪華なお顔ぶれで来場者も写真どりに大忙し。熱気が漲ったバザーとなっていた。

帰路、一昨年、日光で大使館ウイークを開催した時にフランス料理の方で腕を振るってくれた原宿のレストランIのシェフが今度オープンされた新宿御苑のお店を友人と訪ねた。お店の名前はプレブナンス。意訳すれば「お・も・て・な・し」。繊細で美味なフランス料理を久しぶりに堪能。味もさることながら、芸術的な盛り付けは日本食の美意識に通じるものがある。

I went to Tokyo to have a look of the annual charity bazar organized by the Asian and Pan-Pacific countiries' women's association held at ANA Intercontinental Tokyo with my friends. 26 countries' booths were laid out in the big hall of the hotel with many goods such as artcrafts, dresses, accessories, food from expensive ones to reasonable ones. Many visitors were moving around to look for their favorites. My friends bought some tea from Sri Lanka while I bought some small pouches for coins from Laos. Bangladesh was the chair-countiry this year, therefore at the ceremony the Ambassador's wife from Bangladesh was sitting with Her Highness Prince Hitachi and Prime minister's wife on her both sides. It was Mrs.Koumura, the former foreign minister's wife who made a welcome speech in both Japanese and English. The visitors were eager to take some photoes of them.
On the way back, we dropped in the new French restaurant named "Prévenance" meaning  "Omotenashi:warm hospitality" at Shinjuku Gyoen, opened by the chef who was in Nikko to help us for French cuisin program when we organized "Embassy week in Nikko" almost two years ago. He used to be a chief chef at "Restaurant I" at Harajuku. We enjoyed most delicate and tasty French cuisin. Artistic arrangement of ingredients in French cuisine is similar to Japanese cuisine. So elegant and delicate.