Unforgettable Hakone

January 27th, 2010

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone
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.

 Unforgettable Hakone
 Unforgettable Hakone

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone Unforgettable Hakone

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…

 Unforgettable Hakone

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone

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.

 Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone

hakone8 300x235 Unforgettable Hakone

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Unforgettable Hakone |

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Chinese Cuisines at Restoran City Star, Petaling Jaya

December 25th, 2009

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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Chinese Cuisines at Restoran City Star, Petaling Jaya |

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Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

December 24th, 2009

Today is Christmas Eve *yaay*…

22740 217341437559 554502559 2964366 7433394 n Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

Doing anything special on this eve of Christmas? A get together with family and friends, perhaps? Or spending some quite time with your other half?

Well, with Christmas just merely hours away, PenangTuaPui would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a merry jolly Christmas and to those who are not celebrating have a joyful happy holidays!!

22740 217362592559 554502559 2964427 3438449 n Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

Here is a song to all…and let’s sing aloud together ~Cheers…

22740 217341412559 554502559 2964364 5952679 n Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight.

Have yourself a merry Iittle Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star
upon the highest bough.

And have yourself
A merry little Christmas now.

22740 217341452559 554502559 2964368 7657827 n Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

 Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

22740 217341437559 554502559 2964366 7433394 n 300x239 Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010

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Village Park Nasi Lemak @ Damansara Uptown, PJ

December 10th, 2009

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 [...]

 Village Park Nasi Lemak @ Damansara Uptown, PJ
 Village Park Nasi Lemak @ Damansara Uptown, PJ

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7th Village Koay Teow Soup @ Restaurant Lin, Raja Uda

November 20th, 2009

Contrary to the many good feedbacks about Restaurant Lin’s 7th Village Koay Teow Soup, I found it to be average tasting at best. I was back to Penang not long ago and decided to explore more Butterworth food. After researching for a while, I found this Koay Teow Soup to be one of the highly [...]

 7th Village Koay Teow Soup @ Restaurant Lin, Raja Uda
 7th Village Koay Teow Soup @ Restaurant Lin, Raja Uda

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7th Village Koay Teow Soup @ Restaurant Lin, Raja Uda |

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Penang Road Famous Cendol and Ais Kacang @ Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth

September 24th, 2009

Was back in Penang a few days ago during the Hari Raya break. It has been a loooooooooong time since I last posted anything on Penang food so here goes. Despite Bukit Mertajam being a lot nearer to Butterworth than Penang Island, the only food I posted before in Butterworth is Sweet Paradise (Chao Quan) [...]

 Penang Road Famous Cendol and Ais Kacang @ Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth
 Penang Road Famous Cendol and Ais Kacang @ Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth

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Bermuda & Onion Western Cuisine @ Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL

July 20th, 2009

Clever business owners have taken up the pre-World War II houses along Changkat Bukit Bintang and turned them into a potpouri of international restaurants. Whatever international fare that you have in mind – French, Italian, Japanese, German, Indian, or Brazilian, it is most probably available here. No wonder foodies fall in love with this place [...]

 Bermuda & Onion Western Cuisine @ Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL
 Bermuda & Onion Western Cuisine @ Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL

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Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

July 7th, 2009

A true Penangite would definitely have heard about Ang Hoay Lor and the food that is served there. It is truly synonymous with Penang’s local delights and flavour. This quaint shop located right in the heart of Old Georgetown is famous for its oyster mee, bak khi, fried tang hoon, pork leg beehoon, fried oyster and tauhu suan na, to name a few.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine outlook Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

Limited parking is available. We circled the area twice before we managed to get a prime parking spot right in front of the shop J. The authentic feel of olden days greeted us as we entered the shop.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine signboard Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

It was quite clear that Ang Hoay Lor has its share of loyal supporters, people who have been patronizing the shop for years. We settled on a few specialty dishes and sat back to wait while sipping hot chrysanthemum tea.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine tea Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

The fried oyster was the first dish to arrive. It looked a bit dark from overfrying, but the taste proved otherwise. There were sufficient fresh oysters and the spring onions added that extra oomph to the dish.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine oo chien Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

The oyster mee came next, with generous helpings of oyster, fish meat, pork and vege. We felt that the dish was slightly on the salty side.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine osyter noodle3 Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine osyter noodle2 Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

One thing we note is that only pickled chillies and cabai burung are provided here. We were quite disappointed when we asked for sambal, and were told there was none available.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine must have Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

For those unfamiliar with bak khi, this (we are told by the server) is a famed Hokkien delight. It is essentially pork meat wrapped in a layer of cornstarch flour, fried and served in a thick soup.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine bak khee3 Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

After our experience eating this dish, we all agreed it is an acquired taste. If you like the texture of sticky cornstarch, you will most likely enjoy it.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine bak khee2 Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

The other 2 side dishes we ordered were the prawn fritters and the tauhu suan na. The prawn fritters were fried to a crispy golden brown (mmmm J) and the tauhu fried with suan na was indeed flavourful, though a bit salty.

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine stuff prawn Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

ang hoay lor chinese cuisine tofu2 Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

All in all, if you are looking for a taste and ambience that is reminisce of Old Penang, look no further than Ang Hoay Lor.

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 Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant

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Bernsy @te Melbourne

July 3rd, 2009

Hi guys, haven’t been blogging lately but promise to blog more often. While we have moved to Melbourne, we have also started to cook a little more than eating out, so I will post some recipes of the dishes we are trying out on Daily Rantings, and perhaps I could start posting my Cari Makan and Recipe posts on Bernsy @ Melbourne.

http://atemelbourne.blogspot.com

24986236 1276802678061740968?l=bernsy.blogspot Bernsy @te Melbourne

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Fiftythree

June 5th, 2009

Once in a while, the ladies who keep me sane at work would cast their boyfriends aside and indulge in a day of eating and shopping together. We went to Fiftythree for lunch, first time for all of us.

 Fiftythree Fancy potato chips served on a platter of charcoal was our amuse bouche of sort.

 FiftythreeFollowing shortly was a little gunny sack bag containing the exact number of mini bread rolls as there were folks on the table. There were heated ball bearings at the bottom of the sack, keeping the rolls warm. Now, I am all for the novel idea and presentation effects but the bun, oh do I think it sucked. It had a too hard crust, a too dense innard and too salty in general. No amounts of good butter could save it.

 FiftythreeThe appetizer was chilled cherry tomato and watermelon, with horseradish, and mozzarella foam. This dish, I’m guessing, was trying to get this interplay going between temperature, texture, and flavour. If so, I think the idea was a great one but the execution fell short. I found the horseradish too dominating and the dish could do better without. That, plus the heavy cream sauce lining the bottom of the plate was quite redundant too.

 FiftythreeThe main course was barramundi with pear and blackcurrent jam. This was more palatable and the fish was fresh. The sweet jams surprising went well with the fish and the bits of fried shallots added delicious enthic flavours.

 FiftythreeDessert was apple risotto with rosemary foam and struesel of sorts. There was no rice in this dessert. The apple was chopped and diced finely to resemble risotto. Served warm, the cinnamon notes harmonized with the scent of rosemary pretty well, if not unusual. My palate could not decide if I was having a savoury or sweet course. Interesting dish that was easy to eat but I would not order it again.

Fiftythree remains an interesting place to visit once in a blue moon because I truly was not really impressed enough to come back again anytime soon.

Fiftythree
53 Armenian Street
Tel: 6334 5535
Lunch: Tues – Sat
Dinner: Mon – Sat

9784817 6521541775303238138?l=skinny epicurean.blogspot Fiftythree

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