Today, I faux pas and learnt it the hard way that it is the latter, when I said, "Hmm, this sauvignon blanc made my chicken really yummy," and everyone at the table cracked up.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The truth about wine and food pairing
I have always wondered, when connoisseurs pair wine with food, is the wine supposed to bring out the flavour of the food, or is the food supposed to bring out the flavour of the wine.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Eating too much in Japan PART II
Now I'll try to complete my Eating Too Much in Japan chronicles.
The ride Northwards from Hakodate to Toya was about 2 hours, and after spending the entire morning in a wild goose chase for sleeping Sakura trees, we were almost late for the train, and we were dying from hunger (considering how well-fed I'd been the past few days).
So I bought an extremely expensive sushi bento set (550 yen) of rice to munch on the train, couple with some heavily marinated fish that I grabbed on a whim but couldn't finish the night before.
Then you eat it Mr Bean style...like this...
Toya is basically a sleepy quiet little town with hidden treasures of its own (The International Summit wouldn't be held there if it was a blah). Famed for its genuine volcanic Onsen (Hot Springs) that the Japanese prized, and the Uzusan (A Volcano), that is curiously both a private possesion as well as a national treasure.
It was a dusty and cold SUnday late afternoon when we reached Toya, and all the small noodle stands were closed. So we were left with convenience stores like 7-11.
I think I might have mentioned previously that their 7-11s are not to be belittled, because they stack up pre-packed food with standard that can beat our Sakae Sushi/Genki Sushi hands down, feet bound.
This is just SNACKS, and I am so greedy. Dinner is just in 2 hours, but the strawberry Yogurt is calling me, the peach drink is talking to me, and so is the sponge cake that I'm about the grab before some Kukunaden snapped this picture.
Soaking our freezing feet at one of the many public HOT foot baths....
...WHile eating!!
Soon it was the ostentatious affair called dinner which was delivered to our room... Stonepot rice with scallops, scallop pie, sashimi, Oden, chawanmushi, Some vege, and I don't really know what the rest are called...
Okie fine I exaggerated a little for there was no geishas carrying tea pots dancing before serving us tea, nor were there elaborate little bows that we had to make before eating. And it wasn't some fancy hotel food that are commonly seen plastered all over the blogosphere. It was just quality, heart-warming traditional Japanese food that normal families eat on celebratory occassions. We just tucked in, but the spread was really fine, and the quality was good.
As the sun sets, the fireworks came, and amidst it's splendour, we ate again. Ice cream this time. I'm sorry, but we are THAT greedy. I'm certain that there were some more other food, and Sake and Beer, and I was warm, heady and overwhelmed (and pleasantly surprised) as well, that nothing else mattered.
When we awoke the next morning, breakfast was already there. Breakfast in Bed. :p
If I were a man, I'd want to marry a Japanese wife, judging by the typical breakfast that she'd prepare for me.
After scaling the famed volcano Usuzan in Toya, we attempted to eat to past time because buses pass by that area only 5 times a day, and we had about 3 hours to kill before the next bus came.
Food in Toya was relatively pricey because the bulk of the people made their livelihood out of tourist money. It's not that the prices there are massively inflated, but rather they just didn't have cheap food around. Eg, 1 bowl of Miso Ramen would cost 700 yen in down town Tokyo, it probably costs about 750 yen at the VOlcanic Site in Toya; and that was the cheapest item on the menu.
But amidst mulling aimlessly down the alleys trying to avoid the rain, we came across a make-shift stall with a huge crowd of Japanese School girls. Naturally, I had to take a look.
That stall sold these...
Pretty random and common Goreng Pisang look-alikes. But the stall owner also sold Big hot fluffy Hokkaido Potatoes that are baked in the Jacket, and topped with creamy HOkkaido Butter. On such a cold day, THAT spoke to me.
I also wanted this Goreng Pisang thinggie (it actually said Potato Croquette on the board), but it looked nothing like the measly pimply overfried looking one that you get at Bugis junction. This one is huge (about the size of my face), with a generous and creamy potato center and a tinge of banana taste in it (???). I swore I tasted banana.
Then the stall owner proceeded to intrigue the bunch of Japanese girls with bottled Hokkaido Fresh Milk that was actually creamy and thick, which sent them (and me) into fits of excitement. You can't blame me because I've just been whipped dizzy by the cold wind up in the mountain and warm creamy milk to go with my a hot potato sounded extremely enticing.
And because there was still time, we went to eat the Shio Ramen (sea-salt Ramen that was supposedly famous there)
I guess we probably didnt pick the correct noodle shop to eat in.
And the famous Toya confectionary... of rum-soaked raisins in soft cream, sandwiched between 2 layers langue de chat biscuits.
On the train bound for Sapporo about 2 hours later, I ate again.
Looking terribly pissed with my smashed Tiramiu...It's not Pre-taye anymore. *Pouts*
Plus some other random food that Zy grabbed from the convenience stall at the last minute despite my protests.
It says seafood noodle. But see that prawn on the chopstick that's smaller than my nostrils??? That's about the only piece of condiment in that noodle that can be remotely considered to be a seafood.
Upon reaching Sapporo, we followed the Inn owner's suggestion to try the famous Yaki Tori shop nearby.
Look at the look of the waiter in the top left corner. I tried to ask him what was the raw daikon (grated radish)in the plate for, and he proceeded to tell us that it was "OISHII!" Yay...so much so...
But the price of barbecued sticks of meat and veges are a bit high for us 5 backpacking travellors... cheapest was like 130 yen for the basic egg omelette thinggie. And the worse part is, you need to order at least 2 portions of every type of things that you order which means 130 * 2 = 260 yen = $3.50 to eat an omelette. And for me to make a meal out of eating the little nibblies like that, I'd prolly need to eat like 20 of them, of which the average price is about 200 yen each. Which means i'll hafta spend 4000 yen for a dinner.
So what we did was we ordered the bare minimal to prevent the cooks from emptying their pots of cold raw daikons on us, and went to the mao cow's favourite place on earth again. THE SUPERMARKET!!!
Extra cookie point for Daiei for slashing 50% off all its cooked food by the time we braved the cold to walk there.
Home Sweet Home...
Dinner Cheap Dinner
Awoke to breakfast lovingly prepared by ZY from last night's left overs.
As if insufficient, we set off to the Ishiya - the famous Shiroi Koibito Chocolate factory.
With Chocolate coated walls...Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Style.
Remember this famous advertisement in the 70's with a girl biting into this delicate confectionery made of white chocolate sandwiched in between 2 layers of langue de chat, and then spring seemed to have arrived around her???
Ring a bell??
:
:
:
Actually I don't remember seeing such an ad, but this stuff is touted as Hokkaido's most famous export.
And we not only get to watch the preparation process of the Hokkaidians' favourite chocolate biscuit, we get to eat at 90 minutes eat-all-you-can cake buffet.
I'm glad I've held back my cravings for all the pretty strawberry shortcakes and bursting fruit tarts, when I see them sitting prettily in Tokyo's Daimaru.
Our chiketto printed with the time when the 90 minutes is up
Cakes Galore!
And teas of all kinds...especially nearing the end of the 90 min, when you are just too stuffed to eat anymore cakes and pies
ice cream.
Oops...don't even think of asking me to smile for a picture when the soft serve here tastes like a dream.
Was so stuffed that I vowed not to eat anymore things for the rest of the day...
Even when we went to Sapporo Beer Museum, I just goofed around and didnt even take a sip of their specialty brew...
But as dinner time loomed near, we chanced upon this small alley at the entrance of Sapporo's Red Light district called "Noodle Alley", famous for its various types of noodles. DUH~
And we chose a quiet little hole in the wall shop Higuma that sells Butter Corn Ramen.
No pictures of how a buttern corn Ramen looks like, because I was sharing the noodles, and I had to fight for my share before ZY gobbles down everything.
The next day would be the day we moved our butts from Hokkaido back to Kyuushu
And this time, we'll be going to Kyoto. Via this route, with our by now Gi-normous luggage in tow.
Take a subway ---> railway station
Railway station --take a JR--> Sapporo Local airport
Local airport --internal flight--> across the oceans to Itami airport in Osaka
Osaka Itami airport -- Airport limousine bus--> Kyoto JR Central
Kyoto JR Central --subway--> Gion district where our hostel is located.
We had to prepare ourselves by eating a good breakfast. Of fat tomatoes, pizza, milk and Apple tea (They have the hot type in Japan).
Hokkaido is a land of many famously yummy food. Musk melons (I've seen one that cost more than my Levi's Lady's Cut jeans), asparagus, dairy products, cookies, and sea produce. I'll go back there again just to eat. And buy my Snuffles Cheesecake
The transporting and the waiting around took the entire day, that by the time we reached Kyoto, it was already 7-ish.
The Gion and its neighbouring area is heavily populated with over-priced restaurants, lussup (for adults only) bars hiding under the facade of restaurants, eat-all-you-can-for 90 min sukiyaki buffets; after parting our ways with the other 3 travellers because we were unable to reach a consensus on what to eat, we ventured into one of the small alleys, another quiet hole-in-the-wall place that sells Okonomiyaki, run by an elderly woman.
After which, we proceeded to hunt for other food. And we arrived at Wang Jiang. This has to be the cheapest place to eat out that we've seen in the entire Kobe-Nara area. With crudely advertised pictures of Mongolian Fried Mutton and long beans, an ugly Neon sign, and the sights of dirty-homeless looking people (probably lowly paid construction workers) entering and sitting at the counter of the eatery, it may be easily scoffed by the average traveller hoping to get as much out of their "Authentic Kyoto" experience. Because afterall, the Gion district houses some of the most exquisite tea houses and delicately prepared beef delicacies in Japan. Who has time for oiley Chinese food in such a dirty looking place with promises of leeching the stink of smoke and oil onto you the moment you step in.
Not big on Presentation, but big of taste.
On top of those dirty/homeless looking people, the place is also frequented by Salarymen. For the price of a set meal in some other eateries, they can get a spread here.
For the 2nd last stop in Japan, we decide to eat whatever we want, regardless of the cost.
First stop was at Mr Young Men, a Kyoto Restaurant that specializes in Okonomiyaki and Yaki-Soba (Fried Japanese Noodles), highly raved by a few Travller's guide book.
Apart from the more traditional versions of the Okonomiyaki with Pork and Beef (like the one I had the night before), they offer more funky ingredients in the Okonomiyaki with even Funkier names.
Hah! I wonder if the pre-dominant genre of reading material in the shop has anything to do with the shop's name; or if it has anything to do with its popularity amongst the ANG MO Travel Book writers
Censored...if not later they say my blog is a "Porno" blog...Now it's just "R21". Hurhur.
After a round in Mr Young Men, we headed out to take a walk around the Teramachi Covered SHopping Alley, then we spotted some people crowding outside a stall eating Takoyaki, condimented with lots of green onion sprinkled at the top.
I must say it's the BEST Takoyaki I've ever tasted.
The mayonnaise was generous, but not overdone; the barbecue sauce added a right touch of tanginess to it, and the chopped raw green onion (it's actually the green part of what we call Leek) makes every bite of the Takoyaki somewhat crisp and refreshing, that you won't get sick of it even after eating 8 balls.
Kyoto, being Japan's capital for about a thousand years, is the cradle of many aspects of Japanese culture as we know it today. Undamnaged by the WWII, it contains some of the most well-preserved evidence of Japan's feudal history, more than 10 of which have been classified UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Having only about 6 hours left to sight see around Kyoto before we catch the train back to Osaka, I chose to visit the Nijo Castle, or the Kyoto Residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns, with its famous Nightingale Flooring, famous Zen Gardens, Ninja's Secret Chambers, the historically significant Ninomaru Palace, within which Tokugawa Yoshinobu declared that the Tokugawa family would return authority back to the Imperial Court.
I know this is supposed to be a food-centric entry, but I was dizzy with excitment seeing all the things that I've only read about in book, so spare me a paragraph.
Castle Entrace
Entrance to the Ninomaru Palace, decorated with elaborate wood carvings and gold leaves, to demonstrate the power and might of the TOkugawa family.
A pond created using Zen Principles...Too bad I didnt have time to sit down and contemplate the points in Zen.
Sadly, no picture taking was allowed within the interiors of the Castle.
Anyway, from Nijo-Jo, our group split up and we went off to see the famous Buddhist KiyoMizu-Dera (Loosely tanslated to be Pure Water Temple) and the very quaint Chawan-Zaka (Teapot Lane), which was along the way.
A very badly formed Kyoho Grape Soft-serve, to combat the terribly hot weather, while trekking up the mountain slope.
The gorgeous tranquil Surrounding...
Believers queuing up for a sip of blessing from the cold mountain water.
I joined in the fun, just to have a taste of mountain water.
Even Jap Monks are anal about cleanliness, because they used UV to disinfect all the common metal scoops used to catch the spring water.
Refresher before rushing back to catch the Bullet train to Osaka.
Finally, when we reached Osaka, we ended the day by treating ourselves to thick huge chunks of fatt Barbecued meat.
For the 2nd last day in Japan, running low in $$$$$$, we ate simply. We were hoping to conserve enough cash to visit the Osaka Castle, take transport to the airport the next day, and buy 2 of those sweet musk melons home.
Apart from the couple of Shaka Shaka chicken from McDonalds and a Giant Frankfurter in the late afternoon, we didnt really eat anything.
Oh and then we got detracted from our original plan when we spotted a flea market, and blew about 2000 yen (~$30 sgd) of unplanned money on toys and clothes because things were going for as cheap as 100 yen per dress (~$1.30 sgd), and 300 yen for a winter coat. *Jaw drop*
But alas, as we got to Daimaru for our Melon Shopping, the prices were way beyond budget. I thought of setting aside 2000 yen ($30 sgd) for 1 melon is crazy enough...but spot the price tag??? One melon costs about 8000 ++ yen (which is about 100+ sgd), and the cherry tomatoes are even crazier.
So we thought, what the hell, we will have a ALOT of food for supper.
Ta Da~
On my last day in Japan, we really didnt have alot of Cash left...
We made our own breakfast...Of Oranges and Vanilla Yoghurt, and a sandwich that we forgot to eat the night before. :X
By the time we reached the airport at 2pm, I was feeling a little rueful that the trip was coming to an end, and all I wanted to eat was those little Japanese rice balls that mothers would into the lunch boxes of little school children before they went to school. And we squandered away our last bit of money on buying vanilla flavoured cigarrettes (1 box each) for the people at home who smokes.
The ride Northwards from Hakodate to Toya was about 2 hours, and after spending the entire morning in a wild goose chase for sleeping Sakura trees, we were almost late for the train, and we were dying from hunger (considering how well-fed I'd been the past few days).
So I bought an extremely expensive sushi bento set (550 yen) of rice to munch on the train, couple with some heavily marinated fish that I grabbed on a whim but couldn't finish the night before.
Then you eat it Mr Bean style...like this...
Toya is basically a sleepy quiet little town with hidden treasures of its own (The International Summit wouldn't be held there if it was a blah). Famed for its genuine volcanic Onsen (Hot Springs) that the Japanese prized, and the Uzusan (A Volcano), that is curiously both a private possesion as well as a national treasure.
It was a dusty and cold SUnday late afternoon when we reached Toya, and all the small noodle stands were closed. So we were left with convenience stores like 7-11.
I think I might have mentioned previously that their 7-11s are not to be belittled, because they stack up pre-packed food with standard that can beat our Sakae Sushi/Genki Sushi hands down, feet bound.
This is just SNACKS, and I am so greedy. Dinner is just in 2 hours, but the strawberry Yogurt is calling me, the peach drink is talking to me, and so is the sponge cake that I'm about the grab before some Kukunaden snapped this picture.
Soaking our freezing feet at one of the many public HOT foot baths....
...WHile eating!!
Soon it was the ostentatious affair called dinner which was delivered to our room... Stonepot rice with scallops, scallop pie, sashimi, Oden, chawanmushi, Some vege, and I don't really know what the rest are called...
Okie fine I exaggerated a little for there was no geishas carrying tea pots dancing before serving us tea, nor were there elaborate little bows that we had to make before eating. And it wasn't some fancy hotel food that are commonly seen plastered all over the blogosphere. It was just quality, heart-warming traditional Japanese food that normal families eat on celebratory occassions. We just tucked in, but the spread was really fine, and the quality was good.
As the sun sets, the fireworks came, and amidst it's splendour, we ate again. Ice cream this time. I'm sorry, but we are THAT greedy. I'm certain that there were some more other food, and Sake and Beer, and I was warm, heady and overwhelmed (and pleasantly surprised) as well, that nothing else mattered.
When we awoke the next morning, breakfast was already there. Breakfast in Bed. :p
If I were a man, I'd want to marry a Japanese wife, judging by the typical breakfast that she'd prepare for me.
After scaling the famed volcano Usuzan in Toya, we attempted to eat to past time because buses pass by that area only 5 times a day, and we had about 3 hours to kill before the next bus came.
Food in Toya was relatively pricey because the bulk of the people made their livelihood out of tourist money. It's not that the prices there are massively inflated, but rather they just didn't have cheap food around. Eg, 1 bowl of Miso Ramen would cost 700 yen in down town Tokyo, it probably costs about 750 yen at the VOlcanic Site in Toya; and that was the cheapest item on the menu.
But amidst mulling aimlessly down the alleys trying to avoid the rain, we came across a make-shift stall with a huge crowd of Japanese School girls. Naturally, I had to take a look.
That stall sold these...
Pretty random and common Goreng Pisang look-alikes. But the stall owner also sold Big hot fluffy Hokkaido Potatoes that are baked in the Jacket, and topped with creamy HOkkaido Butter. On such a cold day, THAT spoke to me.
I also wanted this Goreng Pisang thinggie (it actually said Potato Croquette on the board), but it looked nothing like the measly pimply overfried looking one that you get at Bugis junction. This one is huge (about the size of my face), with a generous and creamy potato center and a tinge of banana taste in it (???). I swore I tasted banana.
Then the stall owner proceeded to intrigue the bunch of Japanese girls with bottled Hokkaido Fresh Milk that was actually creamy and thick, which sent them (and me) into fits of excitement. You can't blame me because I've just been whipped dizzy by the cold wind up in the mountain and warm creamy milk to go with my a hot potato sounded extremely enticing.
And because there was still time, we went to eat the Shio Ramen (sea-salt Ramen that was supposedly famous there)
I guess we probably didnt pick the correct noodle shop to eat in.
And the famous Toya confectionary... of rum-soaked raisins in soft cream, sandwiched between 2 layers langue de chat biscuits.
On the train bound for Sapporo about 2 hours later, I ate again.
Looking terribly pissed with my smashed Tiramiu...It's not Pre-taye anymore. *Pouts*
Plus some other random food that Zy grabbed from the convenience stall at the last minute despite my protests.
It says seafood noodle. But see that prawn on the chopstick that's smaller than my nostrils??? That's about the only piece of condiment in that noodle that can be remotely considered to be a seafood.
Upon reaching Sapporo, we followed the Inn owner's suggestion to try the famous Yaki Tori shop nearby.
Look at the look of the waiter in the top left corner. I tried to ask him what was the raw daikon (grated radish)in the plate for, and he proceeded to tell us that it was "OISHII!" Yay...so much so...
But the price of barbecued sticks of meat and veges are a bit high for us 5 backpacking travellors... cheapest was like 130 yen for the basic egg omelette thinggie. And the worse part is, you need to order at least 2 portions of every type of things that you order which means 130 * 2 = 260 yen = $3.50 to eat an omelette. And for me to make a meal out of eating the little nibblies like that, I'd prolly need to eat like 20 of them, of which the average price is about 200 yen each. Which means i'll hafta spend 4000 yen for a dinner.
So what we did was we ordered the bare minimal to prevent the cooks from emptying their pots of cold raw daikons on us, and went to the mao cow's favourite place on earth again. THE SUPERMARKET!!!
Extra cookie point for Daiei for slashing 50% off all its cooked food by the time we braved the cold to walk there.
Home Sweet Home...
Dinner Cheap Dinner
Awoke to breakfast lovingly prepared by ZY from last night's left overs.
As if insufficient, we set off to the Ishiya - the famous Shiroi Koibito Chocolate factory.
With Chocolate coated walls...Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Style.
Remember this famous advertisement in the 70's with a girl biting into this delicate confectionery made of white chocolate sandwiched in between 2 layers of langue de chat, and then spring seemed to have arrived around her???
Ring a bell??
:
:
:
Actually I don't remember seeing such an ad, but this stuff is touted as Hokkaido's most famous export.
And we not only get to watch the preparation process of the Hokkaidians' favourite chocolate biscuit, we get to eat at 90 minutes eat-all-you-can cake buffet.
I'm glad I've held back my cravings for all the pretty strawberry shortcakes and bursting fruit tarts, when I see them sitting prettily in Tokyo's Daimaru.
Our chiketto printed with the time when the 90 minutes is up
Cakes Galore!
And teas of all kinds...especially nearing the end of the 90 min, when you are just too stuffed to eat anymore cakes and pies
ice cream.
Oops...don't even think of asking me to smile for a picture when the soft serve here tastes like a dream.
Was so stuffed that I vowed not to eat anymore things for the rest of the day...
Even when we went to Sapporo Beer Museum, I just goofed around and didnt even take a sip of their specialty brew...
But as dinner time loomed near, we chanced upon this small alley at the entrance of Sapporo's Red Light district called "Noodle Alley", famous for its various types of noodles. DUH~
And we chose a quiet little hole in the wall shop Higuma that sells Butter Corn Ramen.
No pictures of how a buttern corn Ramen looks like, because I was sharing the noodles, and I had to fight for my share before ZY gobbles down everything.
The next day would be the day we moved our butts from Hokkaido back to Kyuushu
And this time, we'll be going to Kyoto. Via this route, with our by now Gi-normous luggage in tow.
Take a subway ---> railway station
Railway station --take a JR--> Sapporo Local airport
Local airport --internal flight--> across the oceans to Itami airport in Osaka
Osaka Itami airport -- Airport limousine bus--> Kyoto JR Central
Kyoto JR Central --subway--> Gion district where our hostel is located.
We had to prepare ourselves by eating a good breakfast. Of fat tomatoes, pizza, milk and Apple tea (They have the hot type in Japan).
Hokkaido is a land of many famously yummy food. Musk melons (I've seen one that cost more than my Levi's Lady's Cut jeans), asparagus, dairy products, cookies, and sea produce. I'll go back there again just to eat. And buy my Snuffles Cheesecake
The transporting and the waiting around took the entire day, that by the time we reached Kyoto, it was already 7-ish.
The Gion and its neighbouring area is heavily populated with over-priced restaurants, lussup (for adults only) bars hiding under the facade of restaurants, eat-all-you-can-for 90 min sukiyaki buffets; after parting our ways with the other 3 travellers because we were unable to reach a consensus on what to eat, we ventured into one of the small alleys, another quiet hole-in-the-wall place that sells Okonomiyaki, run by an elderly woman.
After which, we proceeded to hunt for other food. And we arrived at Wang Jiang. This has to be the cheapest place to eat out that we've seen in the entire Kobe-Nara area. With crudely advertised pictures of Mongolian Fried Mutton and long beans, an ugly Neon sign, and the sights of dirty-homeless looking people (probably lowly paid construction workers) entering and sitting at the counter of the eatery, it may be easily scoffed by the average traveller hoping to get as much out of their "Authentic Kyoto" experience. Because afterall, the Gion district houses some of the most exquisite tea houses and delicately prepared beef delicacies in Japan. Who has time for oiley Chinese food in such a dirty looking place with promises of leeching the stink of smoke and oil onto you the moment you step in.
Not big on Presentation, but big of taste.
On top of those dirty/homeless looking people, the place is also frequented by Salarymen. For the price of a set meal in some other eateries, they can get a spread here.
For the 2nd last stop in Japan, we decide to eat whatever we want, regardless of the cost.
First stop was at Mr Young Men, a Kyoto Restaurant that specializes in Okonomiyaki and Yaki-Soba (Fried Japanese Noodles), highly raved by a few Travller's guide book.
Apart from the more traditional versions of the Okonomiyaki with Pork and Beef (like the one I had the night before), they offer more funky ingredients in the Okonomiyaki with even Funkier names.
Hah! I wonder if the pre-dominant genre of reading material in the shop has anything to do with the shop's name; or if it has anything to do with its popularity amongst the ANG MO Travel Book writers
Censored...if not later they say my blog is a "Porno" blog...Now it's just "R21". Hurhur.
After a round in Mr Young Men, we headed out to take a walk around the Teramachi Covered SHopping Alley, then we spotted some people crowding outside a stall eating Takoyaki, condimented with lots of green onion sprinkled at the top.
I must say it's the BEST Takoyaki I've ever tasted.
The mayonnaise was generous, but not overdone; the barbecue sauce added a right touch of tanginess to it, and the chopped raw green onion (it's actually the green part of what we call Leek) makes every bite of the Takoyaki somewhat crisp and refreshing, that you won't get sick of it even after eating 8 balls.
Kyoto, being Japan's capital for about a thousand years, is the cradle of many aspects of Japanese culture as we know it today. Undamnaged by the WWII, it contains some of the most well-preserved evidence of Japan's feudal history, more than 10 of which have been classified UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Having only about 6 hours left to sight see around Kyoto before we catch the train back to Osaka, I chose to visit the Nijo Castle, or the Kyoto Residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns, with its famous Nightingale Flooring, famous Zen Gardens, Ninja's Secret Chambers, the historically significant Ninomaru Palace, within which Tokugawa Yoshinobu declared that the Tokugawa family would return authority back to the Imperial Court.
I know this is supposed to be a food-centric entry, but I was dizzy with excitment seeing all the things that I've only read about in book, so spare me a paragraph.
Castle Entrace
Entrance to the Ninomaru Palace, decorated with elaborate wood carvings and gold leaves, to demonstrate the power and might of the TOkugawa family.
A pond created using Zen Principles...Too bad I didnt have time to sit down and contemplate the points in Zen.
Sadly, no picture taking was allowed within the interiors of the Castle.
Anyway, from Nijo-Jo, our group split up and we went off to see the famous Buddhist KiyoMizu-Dera (Loosely tanslated to be Pure Water Temple) and the very quaint Chawan-Zaka (Teapot Lane), which was along the way.
A very badly formed Kyoho Grape Soft-serve, to combat the terribly hot weather, while trekking up the mountain slope.
The gorgeous tranquil Surrounding...
Believers queuing up for a sip of blessing from the cold mountain water.
I joined in the fun, just to have a taste of mountain water.
Even Jap Monks are anal about cleanliness, because they used UV to disinfect all the common metal scoops used to catch the spring water.
Refresher before rushing back to catch the Bullet train to Osaka.
Finally, when we reached Osaka, we ended the day by treating ourselves to thick huge chunks of fatt Barbecued meat.
For the 2nd last day in Japan, running low in $$$$$$, we ate simply. We were hoping to conserve enough cash to visit the Osaka Castle, take transport to the airport the next day, and buy 2 of those sweet musk melons home.
Apart from the couple of Shaka Shaka chicken from McDonalds and a Giant Frankfurter in the late afternoon, we didnt really eat anything.
Oh and then we got detracted from our original plan when we spotted a flea market, and blew about 2000 yen (~$30 sgd) of unplanned money on toys and clothes because things were going for as cheap as 100 yen per dress (~$1.30 sgd), and 300 yen for a winter coat. *Jaw drop*
But alas, as we got to Daimaru for our Melon Shopping, the prices were way beyond budget. I thought of setting aside 2000 yen ($30 sgd) for 1 melon is crazy enough...but spot the price tag??? One melon costs about 8000 ++ yen (which is about 100+ sgd), and the cherry tomatoes are even crazier.
So we thought, what the hell, we will have a ALOT of food for supper.
Ta Da~
On my last day in Japan, we really didnt have alot of Cash left...
We made our own breakfast...Of Oranges and Vanilla Yoghurt, and a sandwich that we forgot to eat the night before. :X
By the time we reached the airport at 2pm, I was feeling a little rueful that the trip was coming to an end, and all I wanted to eat was those little Japanese rice balls that mothers would into the lunch boxes of little school children before they went to school. And we squandered away our last bit of money on buying vanilla flavoured cigarrettes (1 box each) for the people at home who smokes.
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