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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Thursday 29 November 2007

Random stuff

Whilst looking for lunch around Roppongi Hills last week, we came upon a couple of things that either amused us or intrigued us. Of course, armed with my camera, I couldn't resist taking photos just for your viewing pleasure and amusement.

There's a jewellery shop somewhere in the vast vicinity of Roppongi Hills called "White Trash Charms". I kid you not! Here's proof:



In front of the Mori Towers, there is a giant 10m high spider (here's another shot of the spider taken from an interesting perspective by someone else). There is a strange sac-sorta thing underneath the body of the structure, and here's Rob taking a closer look:



After lunch, we went in search for Robuchon's restaurant, L'atelier de Joël Robuchon, because that is where I wanna dine next! There's also a fine patisserie at L'atelier with lots of yummy looking pastries. I just love it when bakeries and patisseries have viewing windows into the workings of their kitchens. Here's a patissier/baker glazing sweet rolls:

Saturday 24 November 2007

Hawai'ian @ Roy's, Tokyo

I must admit that when Rob suggested we try Roy Yamaguchi's Hawaiian-fusion restaurant located in Roppongi Hills, I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance. The first two things that came to mind about Hawaiian food were spam and pineapple pieces (y'know, pizza with "Hawaiian" toppings?) - not exactly gourmet ingredients right?). Rob previously had the opportunity to eat at one of Roy's restaurants in New York City for dinner with his collegues, and he raved about it. Naturally, he wanted me to try the food too. I knew of Roy Yamaguchi's fame and reputation, so I knew that the food would at least be pretty good. With that in mind, we walked into the restaurant for lunch on Sunday afternoon.

Roy's Tokyo Bar and Grill offers a brunch deal for 3500yen per person, and you could choose each course from a pretty good selection. I actually expected it to be more pricey, given the chef's celebrity fame and the restaurant's location in Roppongi Hills. We were seated by the window, and we had a lovely view of the Hills and Tokyo tower in he distance. Service was excellent and absolutely faultless. The waiter assigned to us was vey friendly and helpful, and he spoke great English. He was even gracious enough to print a copy of the menu for me! After dining in NYC for two months, we felt somewhat awkward not tipping, especially since service and food were very good (of a higher calibre than perhaps 80% of the restaurants we dined in NYC). However, we were also aware that tipping in Japan may be taken offensively (we heard stories) so we stayed on the cautious side. Let's just say that we would have been more than happy to tip for the service and food.

We were first served our respective juices (included in the price) and shortly after with bread and muffin. Rob selected a kabocha (sweet yummy Japanese pumpkin) muffin and it was good enough to warrant a mention and a photo!



For appetiser, I went with Roy's Style Ahi Poke with Fresh Mango and Avocado. The poke was similar to salsa, except it was made with cubed fish. It was quite tasty: minimally dressed, accompanied with mango and avocado and topped with a smattering of flying fish roe, and I could detect a hint of sesame oil - all of which went very nicely with the raw ahi cubes. Rob chose the Kahana Style Pork and Shrimp Spring Roll with Black Bean Mango Chilli Sauce. Compared to the mild-tasting ahi poke, the spring rolls gave a strong kick to the tastebuds, in a nice way. The spring roll was crispy and delicious and perfectly accompanied with the chilli sauce.

My ahi poke and Rob's spring roll:


Prior to the main course, we had some lovely fruit salad which doubled well as a palate cleanser. Fresh raspberries, blueberries, pineapple and melon with a whip of fresh cream - it was just delightful!



I chose the Catch of the Day Special Dish for my main course, which was mahi-mahi with black soy bean sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender - ah, the Japanese sure know how to cook seafood! By the way, I've never had perfectly cooked fish or seafood at any restaurant outside of Japan. The black bean sauce was very bold and salty, which I felt was a bit too strong for fish. It would be perfect for something like steak. Thankfully the sauce wasn't drowning the fish, but rather was left around the rim of the plate to leave the diner the option to use the sauce as desired. Rob's choice was Grilled Black Tiger Shrimp and Scallops with Chorizo Clam Chowder Sauce. The prawns were crispy and delicious, and it was good to eat scallops that haven't been overcooked until dry and rubbery. The sauce was rich and creamy, which Rob happily sopped up.

Catch of the day (mahi mahi); and grilled prawns and scallops:


Then it was dessert time! We could choose from five types and I selected the Mango Pudding while Rob went with the Raspberry Mousse. Both were okay, somewhat on the too-sweet and rich side for my tastebuds.

Mango pudding and raspberry mousse:


It was a nice date, and we had a great time. It seems like it has been quite awhile since we had time to enjoy ourselves, being busy with moving and furnishing our new apartment and me starting a new job. Service at Roy's was impeccable, food was wonderful and it was a much-needed quality time with my hubby.

Friday 23 November 2007

Tokyo declared world's best restaurant city

Michelin has declared that Tokyo is the undisputed world leader in fine dining. And we live in Tokyo! I have to say, I am in foodie heaven here :9 That's a pretty good title coming from Michelin especially since I would have thought that Michelin would be a bit biased towards its home country of France.

Monday 19 November 2007

Hakone: Day 2

On the second day of our Hakone trip, we went to various sites where we can view Mt Fuji. It was a great morning - the sky was clear and Mt Fuji was clearly visible. Being so kiasu, I took photos of Fuji-san at every location that we could see it. So I have many shots of Mt Fuji from several viewpoints. Here are two of the better shots from one side of Lake Ashi:

Photo 1: View of Mount Fuji with a torii (shrine gate); Photo 2: View framed with the silhouette of momiji (maple leaves):


We met a cute Japanese family, and the guy kept saying that we were very lucky to be there on that day - he'd previously been to Hakone about five times before, and this was the first time he could view Fuji san that clearly. He spoke pretty good English, and it turns out that he is some sort of TV personality on a TV network in Japan. His wife is pretty and his two daughters are so adorable! After a short chat, we exchanged contact details and parted ways. We walked through the Ancient Cedar Avenue which is more than 400 years old, briefly stopped by the Detached Palace Garden, then boarded a "pirate ship" on a 40min sightseeing cruise of Lake Ashi and disembarked at the northern end of the lake.

Rob and me with the famous mount:


The Ancient Cedar Avenue and the garishly-decked "pirate ship":


To our pleasant surprise, we bumped into the Japanese family again at the other side of the huge lake! They were on their way to Owakudani, which happened to be next on our itinerary, so we went with them. Owakudani which is a sulfurous volcanic site where we ate black onsen tamago (hot spring eggs, cooked with the sulfurous hot spring water). This place stank like a giant did a really bad never-ending fart, and the littlest girl of new friends walked around with her fingers shutting her nose. So cute! Despite the stink, Owakudani was really crowded with visitors, and it really was quite an interesting visit. There was a good view of Mt Fuji at Owakudani, but the view of Fuji-san was by then getting obscured by some clouds. Had we visited Owakudani in the morning, we would have had such a magnificent sight of Mt Fuji.

The sight upon exit of the cable car station at Owakudani; close up of the bubbling sulfurous water:


Eating kuro tamago (black egg); the sight during the cable car descent on the other side of the mountain from Owakudani:


When we arrived back at Shinjuku Station in the evening on Sunday, I was tired. It was a great weekend, and what a lovely way to celebrate my birthday. One day soon, we will perhaps climb Mt Fuji.

Wednesday 14 November 2007

Hakone: Day 1

Two weekends ago, I had Saturday off (substitute day off for working last Sunday for the school's Halloween party). This meant that for the first time since beginning this teaching job, Rob and I got a Saturday and Sunday to spend with each other. Since it was the weekend closest to my birthday as well, we took the opportunity to go to Hakone for an overnight trip. It also happened to be the weekend of Hakone's Daimyo Gyoretsu (feudal lord's procession) festival, so that would mean crowded trains and streets and expensive accommodation. However, we didn't know the next time I'd get a Saturday off, so we went ahead with the plan. The procesison was kinda interesting and amusing to watch: locals decked out in Edo-era costumes doing various performances. Accompanying the procession were brass bands from various clubs, and there was even an American cheerleeding squad.

The beginning of the procession; the 'daimyo' (feudal lord)


These guys were performing funny dances; and the 'hime' (princess) decked out in a full kimono outfit:


Later on Saturday afternoon, we took the 40-minute funicular ride to approximately 550m above sea level to Gora to see one of the parks. The mountain air was refreshingly crisp but chilly. We then made our way back to our hotel to have our dinner and soak in the in-house onsen (public bath).

A big fountain at the park; and in the Rose Garden


On the funicular back to Hakone, we had front seats and we could see the driver's panel and through the windscreen. Thought it'd be fun to take wacky shots

Wednesday 7 November 2007

Hello there!

View of our new kitchen from the front door:


We have sort of settled into our new apaato and finally have the internet at home. This apartment is quite new and never lived in before, and this is our first time having to furnish our abode from scratch. Brand new fridge, washer, curtains, microwave/oven, everything! Kinda nice having new eveything! It did take awhile to acquire these things since both Rob and I have full-time work schedules, and we both wanted to make the biggie purchases like the fridge together. Thank goodness for shops being open late and on Sundays since that is the only day in the week we have together (my off days are Sundays and Mondays). My favourite buy is the fridge - big, efficient and so quiet! Pricey but it's a good investment. It's really the only thing we kinda splurged on.

The city location means that our 1brm apartment is quite small, so we have to be careful not to buy too many things. It's good that we are minimalists. We both work in Chiba so I often wonder if we made the right decision to stay in Tokyo. Almost everyone I know do it the other way: live outside of Tokyo where it's cheaper and commute into the city for work. It's good we travel in the opposite direction of the peak traffic flow - being sqooshed in the train during peak time is not very nice (been there done that). Yep that infamous image of crowded Japan subway holds true - they employ people whose sole job on the train platform is to push everyone on the train so that the train runs on schedule. Anyway, Rob's office will soon relocate to near Tokyo station, which is only 25mins walk from our apartment. Benri ne!

My work is going relatively well. Teaching toddlers is such a challenge! It's a good thing that not all my classes are baby classes. I am getting the hang of things though (it is so different to the what I did at the high school I taught on the JET Program). My workplace is nice, and my collegues are great people. Four out of the five gaijin teachers are Aussies, and one of them is from Perth! Turns out she is my age and went to school with one of my good friends from uni! Such a small world hey?

We are pretty happy with where we are now and I am ever so thankful for how fortunate our circumstances are. At the moment I have photos of the apartment before we moved our things there. Once we're settled and have tidied up the place, I will post more photos.

Looking in the bedroom from the living area; and the view from the windows in the living area (Rob's standing in the doorway between the living room and the bedroom, and the kitchen is to the right of the shot):

Tuesday 6 November 2007

Congee Village, NYC

Our final eat-out in NYC was at a Chinese restaurant, neither a new nor adventurous dining experience, yet it is perhaps one of the best eats we had in NYC. Even the name Congee Village doesn't hint that they serve so much more than just congee. Located close to the heart of Chinatown (though it can still be considered to be within the vast vicinity of NYC Chinatown), it wasn't too difficult to locate. The restaurant space was quite large, and we were directed to the dining area above the bar adjacent to the main dining area. The interior was beautifully decked out with bamboo, which seemed rather extravagant for a place so casually named. Service was friendly enough.



The NYC foodie folks in eGullet said that the lamb chops were to die for, but that you had to explicitly request for the lamb chops menu. In fact, there are perhaps five levels of menu in addition to the one you'd be presented, Not being a big fan of lamb meat, I was admittedly reluctant to ask for lamb chops, but the curiosity about the legendary lamb chops eventually won. And it was just like the eGulleters said, not a whif of mention of lamb was on the menu, which already had quite an impressive offering. So we asked the waiter about the lamb, and him not understanding much English and us not having the ability to speak much Chinese certainly made for an amusing encounter. Eventually he called the floor manager over, and the manager informed us that indeed they served lamb chops which would cost $18 for a plate. Since it didn't look like we were going to be given a range of choice to choose from, I asked how the lamb was served. "Special sauce", he replied. We placed an order for one.

We had fried Mantau (Chinese bread) to start with. It was beautifully fluffy when bitten into. If I recall correctly, it was served with honey as a dipping sauce.

The fried mantau:


After that, our order of Frog's Legs Congee arrived, and Rob had his first taste of frog's legs which he said tastes just like chicken, but more tough to chew and more bones to deal with. The congee itself was mildly flavoured, which was a good thing since I'd half expected it to be heavily salted like most food we had in NYC. We also ordered Lotus root with special bean sauce based on recommendations again by the foodies in eGullet, and it was really scrumptious and more-ish. It was a huge serving but we surprised ourselves by finishing it off before we left the restaurant.

Frog's legs congee and the lotus root with special bean sauce:


When the chops arrived, frankly, it didn't look anything outstanding. Since I quite dislike the strong taste of lamb meat, I hesitantly bit into one of the chops. It was delicious! Succulent and tender with a yummy sauce, it was perhaps the best lamb I have ever eaten! Even after eating all that food, placed an order for the Baked Rice with Seafood, mostly because we liked how it was presented stuffed inside bamboo. It was pretty tasty, and the squid in particular was very tender.

The yummy lamb chops and the baked rice:



We rank this dining experience as one of the top three best eats we had during our 2-mth stint in NYC. I'm glad that this was a really nice experience since I don't know when the next time we'll eat good Chinese food again (let's just say I've yet to have decent Chinese food in Japan). When Rob paid compliments to the manager about the lamb, the manager proudly told him that they had many more lamb dishes to choose from, and that we ought to come back to Congee Village to try them. And I thought I'd never say this for lamb meat, but I really would like to try their other lamb dishes! Too bad we won't have the opportunity to do that anytime soon.