Hakone is a quite a popular destination with tourists in Japan due to its vicinity to Mt. Fuji and its lakes. In fact, the place we stayed in is a typical onsen ryokan that faces a lake and the mountain. But before we got to the ryokan, we made a few stops at typical touristy attractions along the way.

Lake Ashi, or Ashinoko (???) is one of the lakes around Mt. Fuji and a scenic cruise was part of the itinerary. The “cruise” was barely ten minutes long but the view was breathtaking.

We had bento lunch with chicken and udon around Lake Ashi. Tender chicken with stir fried cabbage and carrots was a good accompaniment to the fluffy rice. I have always loved the Japanese short grain rice. The fried fish was a tad cold but the hot udon warmed me up.

Another stop that we made was at Owakudani, which is famous for its kuro-tamago, or black eggs. Word has it that eating one can prolong one’s life by 7 years! Apart from the black coloured shell (due to the sulphur from the soil), it tasted no different than your regular hard boiled egg. Apart from the eggs, there are other snacks such as buns, fried fish cake etc being sold here.

We arrived at the ryokan in the evening and settled down in our rooms. During the day, the mattresses are rolled and kept away and at night, spread out for the guests. I love how the rooms were almost like a studio suite by itself, with a small seating area, complete with fridge and washing basin, and the room had tatami mats, dining table and chairs, telly etc.

Another must-do in Hakone is of course to try the onsen. In fact most ryokans here will have their own hot spring facilities. Ours was located indoors on the top floor, with a gorgeous view of Mt.Fuji during the day.

Usually dinner is served in your room at the ryokan. However we were a bigger group so we got a function room to ourselves. Dinner was also in the bento form, with many small dishes. We had a small hot pot with flat noodles and some vegetables, grilled fish, seaweed salad, squid, chawanmushi, tempura and sweets in the form of jelly and melon slice.

What’s a trip to Japan without having sashimi right? But as it was not included in our meal, it was an additional 11,000, which sounded a tad expensive initially. However our sashimi boat was fairly big and could feed 4pax, and had 12 types of fresh, raw seafood such as lobster, salmon, tuna, scallop, sea urchin, sweet prawn, prawn, squid, octopus etc. Very fresh and sweet, sashimi’s indeed not to be missed in Japan.

After our good meal, some telly, a dip into the hot spring, we had a good night’s sleep and awoke to…

this view of Mt.Fuji from our room window the next morning. It was particularly refreshing walking by the lake in the crisp morning air.

We had another simple Japanese breakfast before we set off. Rice with miso soup, grilled salmon, tamago, yasai salad and another green salad.

It was quite lovely taking this break at Hakone as one can experience all the Japanese culture we’ve come to know with the tatami sleeping arrangements, hot spring and food.

This is an old establishment that has been here for years and has undergone a facelift since I last ate there. Driving past the other day, decided to pop in again to see how the changes fare.

Clean lines in the interior.

This is the Gulai Tumis fish. The fish was cooked in this sour tamarind gravy with lady’s fingers (okra) and pineapple and garnished with laksa leaves, or more known as daun kesom. Piquant and slighly spicy, this dish can be addictive once paired with white rice.

We also tried the Beef rendang. Flavourful but the meat was not as tender as I would like it.

Ordered sayur paku or fiddlehead ferns which were stir-fried with succulent prawns. Crisp and fresh, enjoyed this too.

It’s comforting to know that this place’s food has remained consistent over the years. And they do have quite an array of other dishes to tickle anyone’s fancy.

Nyonya Restaurant (www)
52, Jalan SS2/24,
47300 Petaling Jaya.

Other reviews;
- foodbin
- memoirs of a chocoholic
- kyspeaks

During a recent walkabout around the Pudu market (???) area, we were brought to this cendol stall in some alleyway off Jalan Pudu. Only after we were seated, we noted that many locals ordered their cendol in cantonese! Yup, the Indian uncle manning the stall speaks Cantonese. Heh.

The Cendol Kacang (RM1.10) is your usual plain cendol with a serving of kidney beans. The beans were soft and flavourful without being too mushy. And the cendol easily glides down one’s throat. The ratio of gula melaka and the coconut milk here is perfect, resulting in a refreshing, fragrant yet not too sweet dessert.

My favourite however, is the Cendol Jagung (RM1.20). Somehow the dollop of cream corn accentuates the flavours.

Great dessert during these hot days indeed. He also has Cendol Pulut, with glutinous rice and a special version .

Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol & Rojak
Mobile Stall next to Restoran R.S.S Maju,
Pudu Market Alleyway (Jalan Pasar?)
Pudu, K.Lumpur.

other review;
- ???? (in mandarin)

Idyllic Lamma Island

Even before I planned my HK trip itinerary I knew I wanted to head over to Lamma Island (???). Afterall, quaint, peaceful, tranquil etc has all been used to describe this charming island. Furthermore, it’s only a 35 min ferry ride away from Hong Kong (Pier 4 at Central ) which we shared with mostly Caucasian kids and their Filipino maids (before realizing Lamma island is a haven for expats!). Our afternoon there was probably one of the most memorable excursion during our 4 day HK break where even the foggy weather we encountered gave way to clear blue skies. Reached the northern village, Yung Shue Wan (??? or Banyan Tree Bay) and followed the picturesque walking trail towards the eastern village of Sok Kwu Wan (???). Due to the gorgeous weather, we decided to take a break near one of the pavilions along the trail to watch the sunset and it was definitely a humbling experience to see the island washed aglow in the golden light.

Most of the shops along the main street of Yung Shue Wan village sold food or souvenirs. We passed by this fella selling Egg Waffle Balls (???), Waffles and Takoyaki balls and opted for the egg balls @ HKD 10 per portion.

The egg waffle balls were pretty interesting as it had a slight crisp crunch to it, yet was somewhat chewy and soft on the inside. Probably not the best in HK, but it sure made a nice snack as were walking down the street.

Having read on a touristy pamphlet that Lamma Island had great tofu fah (???), we spotted this eatery on the main street and decided to have tea here. Only one table was occupied by a bunch of locals and they were talking at the top of their voices but that only added to the charm of Lamma Island.

Had to have the specialty and ordered the tofu fah and leong fun (??). The syrup on the tofu fah had a orangey-red tinge to it which we later found out was due to the ginger. Even the sugar was in the same shade of colour! Very smooth and not too sweet. And the leong fun was very refreshing.

As we made our way towards Hung Shing Yeh beach, we spotted this shack also selling tofu fah and then only realised that this was the famous Ah Po Tofu Fah that was mentioned. Haha. But we were quite pleased with what we had earlier and didn’t stop by.

Continued our walk and Hung Shing Yeh beach was gorgeous. Couldn’t resist climbing the rocks (even though I slipped and scratched my Ixus badly hence its new nickname – Scratchy) and sitting on them while soaking our feet in the ice cold water. By the time we reached Sok Kwu Wan after our few detours, it was already getting dark. Sok Kwu Wan is less picturesque than Yung Shue Wan as it’s more of a fish farm, lined with seafood restaurants. Even the ferries don’t run a frequent enough service here in comparison to Yung Shue Wan.

We still decided to experience seafood dining the HK way while waiting for the next ferry and chose Rainbow Seafood Restaurant (??????), the largest seafood restaurant there. And lucky we did as they ran their own ferry shutter back to HK and we managed to get a free ride back, while enjoying the brilliant night view of the HK skyline in the cool breeze.

It was fun picking out the live seafood from the tanks but we couldn’t afford to have much as we still planned to go to a couple of restaurants upon returning in HK. This plate of Flower Snails (??) was very fresh as it was scooped out from the tanks just mere minutes before being served. At HKD120.

This prawn dish was prepared with a dry garlicky soy sauce and was very yummy. This dish cost around HKD 180 for 4 large prawns.

Despite the steep price tags (in comparison to M’sian seafood lah), it was still quite a dining experience and the seafood can’t get any fresher as all of them were picked from the live tanks. Service too was top notch and the free ferry shutter def. helped.

Other review on Rainbow Seafood Resurant ;
- the gobble gazette
- asianish

It was the Chinese name that attracted me. with the same pronunciation as the chinese saying on contentment; “????” in which to know contentment and gratitude is to know happiness, it was quite a memorable name. it was just down the street on where I stayed in HK and I’d pass it on the way to the MTR station. Anyhow it was a place that served rice congee in fast food style. On our last day staying in HK island, we popped in for a quick bite and found out that they also served various c

Rice congee is very much the staple breakfast item as noodles and dim sum in HK. And for the uninitiated, rice congee is basically a very thin porridge, or rice gruel. Eaten with various condiments, the most well-known and popular of all is yau char kway (???) or fried dough crullers.

The interior is very modern, a far cry from what you would expect of an old school congee eatery with its shimmery mosaics, and wood veneered booth seats, but very inviting and comfy nevertheless. The air-cond was switched on full blast, but the hot congee would soon warm one up.

We started off with zhar leung (??), fried dough crullers encased in a thin sheet of cheong fun (??) or rice rolls . The rice roll skin must be thin yet not break when picked up. It was alright but would have preferred crunchier dough crullers. Hehe.

I am sure those of you would have followed TVB dramas religiously would have heard of the “Teng Jai Jook” (???) or Sampan Congee before. The story goes that boat people sold porridge with chockful of ingredients to passerbys and it became a specialty. The blend of ingredients included fish (???), lean pork (??), jellyfish (??), cuttlefish (??), peanuts (??), crunchy dough crullers etc and this version also included pig skin (??) and some deep fried crunchy vermicelli. Tastewise, it was quite good as I love the almost paste like consistency but I found that the presentation was sloppy as the congee was overflowing.

Considering that it’s more a fast food place, the service is on the abrupt end, but still tolerable. And the choices of congee available is quite impressive for me, so if you’re around the area and rice gruel is your thing, do pop in. Apparently their claypot cheong fun dishes with curry or beef are quite popular too.

Congee Wonderland ????
175, King’s Road,
Fortress Hill, Hong Kong.
????????175?
Open: 0630am – 2am

other reviews; (all in mandarin)
- openrice.com
- angelofsan
- goldenstar

i actually heard about this place only after reading pinkpau’s “guide to HK” and was curious to see how it fared in comparison to the old school dim sum places recommended so I went to seek it out. Got out at the Wanchai MTR station to find that Lockhart Road is actually quite a long stretch, with tile shops, bathroom ware shops etc lining the road and we were on the wrong side (better to come out of Causeway Bay MTR station). So we had to walk (much) further down to find Sunshine Plaza, which is in actual, quite nondescript.

Despite the walk down so many blocks, we were still a good 30 minutes early! They open only at 11am. The staff were only setting up the tables etc so we sat at the waiting area and twiddled our thumbs. Heh. However as soon as they were ready, we were ushered to a table near the window. And slowly, groups of dim sum lovers trickled in…

Instead of the usual peanuts and pickled vegetable appetisers we Malaysians are used to, we were given this small dish of chilli beancurd with cubed ham. A pleasant change and it tasted quite good. Was delighted to bite into the dark coloured cube to find that it was chinese ham. Yum.

I decided I wanted good ole chinese dim sum and ordered THE typical dishes of siew mai (??) or pork dumplings, and har gao (??); shrimp dumplings. As these were steamed upon order, waiting time is considerable.

Even the look of the siew mai entices with the yellow, green and orange. Packed tightly with minced pork, shrimp and vegetables, this was indeed a parcel of steamed deliciousness. The meat was juicy, with a bit of a crunch and topped with a pea, bits of salted egg and diced mushrooms.

The har gao was also wonderful with it’s very fresh prawns and translucent skin. Apparently a good shrimp dumpling pouch should have 7 to 10 pleats and I think this was achieved here.

Pinkpau also raved about the polo char siew bao (?????) so I decided to go ahead and order it and I must admit I am glad I did! It’s really as good as she claims. The skin and texture of the bun is akin to a mexican bun’s and smells really aromatic and inviting. The warm, fluffy bun couple with the char siew filling is really enough to send any char siew bao lover to heaven.

As sang chow lor mai fun (?????) or Stir fried glutinous rice is one of my favourites in M’sian dim dum restaurants, couldn’t resist ordering it when I saw it in the menu. If I thought ours was good, this certainly trumps it by miles. Not only is it not oily, the aromatic rice is a sight to behold with the bits of mushrooms, diced lap cheong (waxed sausages), piquant green onions and stringy egg omelette. Paired with chili oil, which spiced things up a little . A wee bit on the sinful side perhaps, but nevertheless a much appreciated indulgence.

Actually we also ordered a portion of the char siew but our order was overlooked (thanks to the slip of paper falling to the ground unnoticed) so we were given a complimentary dessert. I opted for my favourite, the Mango Pomelo Dessert (????). Even though it was creamy and milky, I wasn’t as wowed as I hoped to be. Instead the pomelo pulp infused a light bitter aftertaste and we joked about having to export Tambun pomelo to HK for that much needed sweet note. Hehe.

Total damage was HKD 212 which is on the high side. But we probably had the best dim sum here during our 4 days in HK. Everything was fresh and well prepared and had that dainty finesse that I have come to expect of these steamed baskets of tiny meat parcels. During our wait, I also overheard the maitre d’ taking orders for dinner reservations, suggesting that this place is also quite popular for their other Cantonese dishes. They have also recently been featured in the 2009 Michelin guide, recommending their stewed abalone and goose web, braised cow’s tail in red wine.

Fu Sing Sharkfin Seafood Restaurant ????????
1/F, 353 Lockhart Road,
Sunshine Plaza,
Wanchai, Hong Kong.
?????353?????1?
Open : 11-3pm, 6-11pm.

other reviews;
- big in hong kong

Just opposite Yung Kee is Tsui Wah, a char chan teng (???) chain that has outlets in Causeway Bay, Aberdeen, Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui etc but the one here in Central draws in the crowds thanks to it’s proximity to Lan Kwai Fong.

Despite it being after dinner hours, the place was crowded and noisy. Spotted an empty table and quickly grabbed in. Apart from the given menu, there are some recommended dishes’ flyers sandwiched bet. the table and the glass for one’s reference. Noticed that the menu’s quite extensive but have only got my bestie’s recommendation, the pork chop bun in mind.

To drink, we went with the Milk Tea which is any HK char chan teng’s signature drink. Generally, I find that milk tea in HK has too high a milk to tea ratio and I actually prefer teh tarik given that it’s kurang manis.

So yes, the item I came into Tsui Wah for – the pork chop bun. I expected it to be somewhat similar to the Macau pork chop bun and it was, but with some extras, the pickles, lettuce and mayo. Truth be told, while it tasted good, it couldn’t compare to the authentic Macanese ones. But then, they never did claim that it was the Macanese one, so I shall not make a comparison anymore. The pork fillet was thinner than what I hoped for but the bun was good. Lightly dusted and all.

I spotted the Spinach Shrimp Dumplings on one of the flyers on the table and went for that. When it was served, must admit I wasn’t too impressed as the soup was the colour of watered down milk and tasted bland. The dumplings were alright though, but not exactly fantastic.

Overall, despite Tsui Wah being one of the more popular chain restaurants in HK, I can’t rate much of the food as we were really there to snack only and not for a full fledged meal. We later found out that the Hainan Chicken Rice and curry is highly recommended here so if we stuck to those, we would have probably have had a better dining experience here.

Tsui Wah Restaurant ???? (www)
15-19, Wellington St,
Central, Hong Kong.
??????15D-19?

Open 24 hours.