Unforgettable Hakone
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 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.
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Alma Char Koay Teow @ Bukit Mertajam
After delaying so many times, I finally went to Alma to try the Char Koay Teow (Malay style) that was highly recommended by some fellow BM readers. Let’s just say I could kick myself in the head for not trying it earlier because it was indeed a good one. Well recommended and thanks for the [...]
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Chinese Cuisines at Restoran City Star, Petaling Jaya
I was invited by Ken for dinner together with his friends from Tour2U at Restoran City Star in Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya during my Kuala Lumpur trip. This double shop lot restaurant owned by Mr CM Wong has a nice and clean environment with one section of the restaurant air-conditioned.
Our meal consists of several recommended [...]
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Ocean Seafood Village Restaurant @ Kota Kinabalu – Live Seafood Tanks!
I just remembered these photos taken during my trip to Kota Kinabalu. It was a seafood dinner me and SL took together with KampungBoyCityGal at Ocean Village Seafood Restaurant (??????).
But before I continue, first let me just say that the food wasn’t spectacular and the price was very expensive, mainly because the restaurant is to [...]
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Orang Hock Rojak @ Jalan Pasar, Bukit Mertajam
In Bukit Mertajam, there’s a battle of fruit Rojak among three stalls all located at the same intersection. Even the stalls have similar names as well in like ???? (Orang Hitam), ???? (Orang Putih) and ????? (Orang Hitam Putih). Was it a case of riding on other’s fame to confuse the unknowing customers, or was [...]
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Village Park Nasi Lemak @ Damansara Uptown, PJ
If you like your nasi lemak with extra ingredients then you gotta give Village Park @ Damansara Uptown a try. Besides plain nasi lemak, they offer various dishes as additional add-ons like ayam goreng rempah, sambal udang, sambal petai and even rendang.
Village Park is very popular and often comes in top for nasi lemak, especially [...]
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Kopi Time Kopitiam @ Atria Shopping Centre, Damansara Jaya
Just when you thought there couldn’t be more Kopitiams, new ones are coming up every now and then. It could only mean one thing, yum cha is Malaysians’ favorite past time, and Kopitiam business is still a growing business in Malaysia.
Some of my friends like to yum cha a lot, and they go Kopitiam hopping [...]
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Nyonya Restaurant, SS2
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 ()
52, Jalan SS2/24,
47300 Petaling Jaya.
Other reviews;
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BM Best Cendol @ Medan Selera Jalan Danby, Bukit Mertajam
First, just let me say that Bukit Mertajam has never been famous for cendol. My hometown has some great food like Yam Rice, Duck Egg Char Koay Teow, Laksa, Char Koay Teow, Wantan Mee, Mee Goreng, Koay Teow Soup, Dry Prawn Noodle, Curry Mee, Nasi Lemak and so on. But cendol is definitely out of [...]
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Ismal Char Koay Teow @ Jalan Bunga Raya, Bukit Mertajam
Went back to BM recently and had Ismal Char Koay Teow for dinner. It is still RM5 for a plate of Char Koay Teow Special, which comes with extra prawns, cockles and a sunny side up egg.
It still tasted as awesome like usual. But I realized I should have tried the Char Koay Teow in [...]
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