8D Avia Japan Trip: Sake Tasting at Takayama Old Town

 

 Do you know what’s the best thing to do after a morning walk by the river? It’s a visit to an old town in Japan. This time we are going to visit Takayama Old Town. The old town has so many kind of shops from daily household shop, souvenir shop, skincare shop, food shops and even sake shop. While all of these shops are charming, I really recommend a visit to the sake shop. This is because the shop owner will allow you to taste the sake for free (while he secretly hoping you to buy few bottles of sake of course). The shop owner (or the tour guide, if you are joining a tour group) will give you a picture of all kind of sake which are available for testing. If you’d like sweeter kind of sake, you can mention the word “amai onegaisimasu” and the shop owner will understand. Well it sounds like broken Japanese I admit, but at least the shop owner understood. Hahaha. 

 

Since the weather is pretty cool outside it’s probably the right time to try out hot sake, especially since it’s only 500 JPY. My brother is not slow to take the offer and the shop owner immediately asked us to go to the drinking area (which looks like a simple cafe) where he puts the machine to heat the sake. He gave us a timer too and told us two simple words “three minutes”. I suppose we just needed to wait for three minutes before the timer alarm us to take the hot sake from the machine. The three minutes rules work for all kind of things I suppose, not just cup noodles. There were no other customers except for two Japanese tourists drinking but I had to admit it was a bit too early for sake-drinking. But hey, we may not be able to visit this place again so cheers!

 

We spent around 15 - 20 minutes drinking sake until our Mum started to nag us to finish drinking it faster cause she wanted to check the other shops but reluctant to go first by herself. But mom, I don’t think sake is meant for one-shot unless we are super depressed about life. Oh well, I eventually tried to finish it faster with the help of my brother but I did not leave the store without taking one cute souvenir, Sarubobo doll in wooden sake cup. Kawaiidesune~

 

Takeaway Review: Yummy muffins from Chocolat N’ Spice, Tanjong Pagar Plaza

 

I was actually trying to find out where Woobbee is located at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. There is no KOI at Tanjong Pagar area and I did not feel like drinking Liho’s bubble tea today so I went all the way to Tanjong Pagar Plaza with my colleague after our lunch at Tanjong Pagar MRT. But our Woobbee hunt has actually led us Chocolat N’ Spice, a humble muffin store at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. The store was not big but is seems to be perpetually patronised by customer. And not few customers came out with boxes of muffins. Boxes, my goodness. 

 

Driven by curiosity, I decided to try two of their muffins, Cheese (SGD 1.30) and Double Choc (SGD 1.50). I’ve devoured the cheese muffin in the office earlier at 4PM-ish because I have to survive the 5.30PM call that I have with my boss. The cheese used inside the muffin is actually cream cheese (like the fillings of Mr Bean’s cheese pancake). However, you will only taste it at the bottom of the muffin. It’s not bad although I wish they give more cream cheese but that way, the price will probably increase, huh. 

 

Since I brought the Double Choc muffin home, I had the time to plate it and let Eeyore Tsum to take a small bite on it. But Eeyore Tsum got a tad too comfortable and refused to budge from my muffin. I am a chocolate lover so any double chocolate flavour seldom disappoint me. At SGD 1.50, I think Chocolat N’ Spice sells pretty good muffin. I would probably buy again if I feel like walking a distance to get my hands on Woobbee bubble tea again in future. 

 

Btw, I see so many mixed rice (cai fan) stalls at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, I wonder which one is better than the other. The competition is fierce there. Maybe I should start doing cai fan review series soon. 

 

Chocolat N’ Spice

 

Blk #01-18 Tanjong Pagar Plaza

 

 Opening hours:

 

Monday: 8.30AM - 4.30PM

Tuesday to Friday: 8.30AM - 5.30PM

Saturday: 8.30AM - 2.30PM

Closed on Sundays and public holidays

 

8D Avia Japan Trip: Hida Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market

 

I like to check the surrounding of the hotel that I stayed in whenever I am in foreign country. Japan is no exception and I love it when I found out that there’s actually something to see within walking distance from our hotel in Takayama, Hida Takayama Hotel. From google map, I can see that there are two markets near our hotel but the nearest one would be Hida Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market. Since mum would definitely have revolted if I left her in the hotel by herself, I decided to chose this market for our after-breakfast morning walk. 

 

While the walk is considered easy (no uphill route), it is still not an easy feat for mum who broke her knee last year. But she seems to be fine to walk at her own pace and she let me and my brother to walk further ahead to check the route just in case we took the wrong path. So by the time she reached the intersection, we would be in time to alarm her that the walk that we just took was actually wrong. Oops. Well, I never say I am good with map but neither is my brother. 

 

After several turns, we finally managed to reach Miyagawa Morning Market which is located at the riverside. A lot of tourists seem to cycle to reach the place but my cycling skill is noob so it’s out of the question for me. Plus who is strong enough to give my mum a ride, definitely not me. She’s not heavy. It’s just me who is weak. LOL.

 

There are many things to see at Miyagawa Morning Market from souvenir store which sells Sarubobo dolls and huge version of Pretz (oh my, they sold it in 9 packs too) to food stalls such as takoyaki and buns filled with Hida beef or red bean. We just had a bit too many Hida beef the day before, so we tried out red bean bun this time and it tastes so comforting if you eat it while it’s warm. Yummy. 

 

You will feel this good morning stroll vibe while you are walking through the market. We saw our tour guide there too shopping for miso. My mum quickly joined him and well, I did not really know what happened but she ended up with two packs of miso. It’s not for soup base though, it seems to be eaten together with beef. That sounds pretty good actually. Too bad I’m staying away from my mum so my brother will be the person who enjoys this benefit. Damn, I’m kinda jealous but it’s my own faullt. My choice of life, actually. 

 

Do take a walk here if you have the time to spend in the morning. Since it’s named morning market, I guess it will be safer to come in the morning (like around 8 or 9AM) because I’m scared it will close in the afternoon. 

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: Egghost Dessert, Taipei

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 I love eating cakes but I don’t recall Taiwan had many pretty cakes the last time I went there in 2016. Now when I browse through my instagram, it seems that instagrammable cakes has made their appearance in Taiwan and oh boy, they are really beautiful. Egghost Dessert is a cake shop located a few blocks away from Xingtian Temple MRT. I will definitely include Egghost Dessert in my list when I go visit Taiwan again in the near future (I hope). It seems that it’s famous for the matcha cake range especially the matcha pound cake (with matcha sauce omo omo!) and matcha mango cheese cake (also served with dark matcha sauce). 

Occasionally Egghost Dessert will launch limited edition flavour just like the beetroot cheese cake. Hmm, I wonder how does it taste despite its beautiful color gradient. Some cakes are sold only for 4 days so if you are wondering what kind of limited edition flavor they are having at the moment, you should check their instagram account, @egghost_dessert.

I totally can’t decide if I like pound cake, sponge cake, or cheese cake best but Egghost Dessert have all of them and the price for this cake is NTD180 on average. While this may not be cheap in Taiwan, it’s the normal cake price in Singapore. And you can get beautiful cake with not-so-usual taste like beetroot, cherry, and matcha mango. Oh gosh, the matcha mango cheese cake looks the best for me, I am so gonna go get one. 

The shop does not seem to be very big in size so it’s probably best to go on off-peak timing like weekdays. But do note that Egghost Dessert close on Monday and Tuesday. Their opening times are as follows:

Monday, Tuesday - Closed

Wednesday to Friday - 12PM to 8PM

Credits: @mimienc918, @tiffanie0331, @_zejoaur, @egghost_dessert, @lealdragon, @quinyoneat, @emma_.wu

Eat Cheap in Singapore: Thai Wanton Noodle from Kinmoo

 I am not sure if I’m become more economically wise or more cheapo, but I’m so happy if I can find a restaurant which offers yummy food at affordable price and located at accessible place. I know I ask for a LOT for the amount that I’m willing to pay, especially in Singapore context. But hey, SGD does not fall from the sky and the world economy is forever in hot soup so it’s best to spend considerately. Remember what the financial adviser usually says, 30% of your income (net, dont include your pension fund) should go to your saving. Ahem. 

When I ask my bae to find a seems-yummy (since we have not tried) and cheap food, he gave me Kinmoo because he loves noodle (especially wanton mee, oh well a true-blood Cantonese family I suppose) and it’s below 10 SGD. Kinmoo’s most popular dish, Baamee Keow Haeng Moo Dang (a.k.a. Dry wanton noodle) costs SGD 7.90 which is awesome considering that Kinmoo is a air-conditioned restaurant and not hawker fare. Nowadays, hawker fare, too, can reach to 10SGD+. 

Taste wise, I like the slices of Thai version of pork compared to the wanton itself. Plus Kinmoo use a lot of garnishing like pork lard, fried shallots, coriander and spring onions which I like to mix with my noodle. Since my noodle costs less than 10SGD, I can order a drink to go with it and together with my Cha Yen (Thai Milk Tea), the bill comes at 12 SGD per pax. Happy me. 

Atmosphere-wise, there was some gathering when I visited Kinmoo so the place was just noisy and it’s hard to hear my bae clearly. I misheard him a few times until he was kinda fed up and asked me to go for dessert hunt instead. If you don’t mind the noise, I think the place is okay for a quick meal tho. 

Kinmoo is located opposite Bugis Junction (exit from McDonald’s) at 2 Tan Quee Lan Street #01-02. It opens everyday from 11.30AM to 3PM and 5.30PM to 10PM.

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: Ootoro Milk, Kaohsiung

My curiosity about Ootoro Milk was acually caused by a number of factor, first: the abundant topping, second: the instagrammable sauce at the bottom and last: the shape of the glass. Ootoro Milk is actually one of the trending instagrammable food in Taiwan. The cafe used Japanese technology to come up with a way to mix collagen and special milk and ice (which somehow looks like yoghurt) and serve it with fruity toppings and sauce. That just sound like the perfect summer drink to face the merciless sun. 

I usually have more spare time to spend in Kaohsiung compared to Taipei probably because Kaohsiung generates more laid-back vibe? I dunno. So it’s so interesting to know that Ootoro Milk has a store within walking distance from Sizihwan MRT station (take exit 1). To be more precise, it is located along Yanping street and I don’t think you’ll be able to miss it since Ootoro Milk has put a lot of potted flowers in front of their lovely store. 

You can check their menu on the wall and some instagram users mentioned that there are hidden flavours which can be launched randomly. Oh my, this kinda keep the surprise and fun factor up. Original flavour costs 110 NTD however, if you are looking for your instagrammable drinks, you must go for the Marble range (i.e. those milk which come with a layer of sauce at the bottom of the milk) which costs ranging from 120 NTD to 150 NTD. Some of the popular choices seem to be blueberry, mango and matcha. Hmm, I would probably order blueberry too because Ootoro Milk gives a lot of blueberries yumz and blueberry is the matchmake from heaven to milk. Just like your blueberry yoghurt, right? Few reviews mention the milk is not bad but it has the thick texture and a bit of cheesy feeling. I suppose it would be like thick yoghurt kind of feeling, maybe. 

Hmm, it’s probably a good idea to visit Ootoro Milk not during peak hours since the store does not seem to be big in size. If you love the cup, you can take it home after you finish drinking your drink. Isn’t that awesome? But to be honest with you, I often end up with super full luggage on my last day in Taiwan whenever I make the trip here, I end up throwing away whatever cup I manage to seize from any cafe that I visit there due to space issue. Haiz, I should just get bigger luggage I suppose. 

Ootoro Milk opens from 12PM - 7PM on weekdays and 11AM to 7PM on holidays. 

Credits: @alleyhuang314, @yi.lin_, @tingketing, @alice001218, @lyoulyoubi, @_yen.12.11, @yichuchuli 

Singapore Food Log: Kabe No Ana, Jurong Point

 “Hmm, what taste good nowadays? How about something with mentaiko?” Fel has never rejected invitation on eating pasta because after all, her love for pasta grew when she was studying her bachelor of arts in England. Instant pasta is enough to make the heart of this 30-something years old lady feels contented. Fel has heard from Vivi, her high-school buddy who has a mentaiko-lover husband, that there is this yummy mentaiko pasta sold by a Japanese restaurant in NEX at Serangoon. Apparently, it can make your love to mentaiko grows. But NEX is located at Serangoon and it will take Fel probably one hour to commute there from her house in the West. Thankfully, the restaurant, Kabe no Ana has another location in the west at Jurong Point. Sometimes the universe works together to open the path to your goal. In this case, mentaiko pasta goal.

So on one Saturday, Fel has finally visited Kabe No Ana which is located at the Japanese street area of Jurong Point. This mall is huge and it seems that there are many food sections scattered all over the place. There was no queue yet at Kabe no Ana so Fel could quickly come in and meditate over the many choices of pasta offered at this restaurant. There are many cream and meat sauce pasta offered by Kabe No Ana with carbonara and bolognaise as their main popular item. However, Fel was fixated on Mentaiko Ebi Kinoko pasta (SGD 14.90) because this dish has a lot of ingredients that Fel loves, prawn, mushroom and of course, mentaiko cream sauce which is poured over that yummy tagliatelle. Fel loves cream sauce pasta but this time, it seems that the sauce is a bit salty. Maybe they should go a bit easier on the mentaiko.

Meanwhile, Fel’s dining buddy for the night, Mona has ordered one pasta in the meat sauce menu section named Mt Fuji. Sadly, the spaghetti was not served in the shape of Mt Fuji as what the menu has shown. In addition, the meat sauce provided for his pasta is not enough so the pasta feels a bit dry in general. He should probably go for the bolognaise instead but Mona is not the type who order ordinary food at any restaurant. He likes to play it wild. Hmm.

Overall, Fel thinks that Kabe no Ana is a great place to have your fix of Japanese pasta (especially the mentaiko sauce, yumz!) and she would love to come back to try out their other pasta (maybe carbonara) and lovely cakes at the counter

How much calories does a bowl of the Daily Cut have? - part 2

Last Wednesday, my friend told me that’s she was the second from last person who managed to order from the Daily Cut at 8.20PM. She told me that the queue for the Daily Cut at the basement level of One Raffles Place was so long even after 8PM. So when I saw a moderate level of queue at 8.10PM the next day, I quickly joined the queue. Oh gosh, I think I’m being peer-pressured somehow but then again, the bowl from the Daily Cut taste really better than other joints that I have tried. 

This time around, I decided to choose different base since I have chosen sweet potato before. I was kinda hungry after gym (which kinda beat the purpose of exercise since I just eat back what I shed, but whatever), so I wanted to eat my favourite staple, rice. The Daily Cut gives healthier version of rice though, Brown Rice. 

My order that night is: A petite bowl of brown rice + broccoli + oyster mushroom + teriyaki chicken thigh + crushed tortilla chips + chimicurri sauce. I wanted to try Japanese curry sauce but they ran out already. Oh well. I should just be grateful I still managed to get a bowl. Hahaha. 

With the help of my Daiso kitchen scale + myfitnesspal app, here goes the calorie:

60 grams of teriyaki chicken thigh: 78 cal

181 grams of broccoli: 51 cal

70 grams of mushroom: 20 cal

120 grams of brown rice: 156 cal

Total calorie for the above order is: 305 cal (hmm, this is probably because the staff did not give me a lot of chicken because they are running out of stock). 

I wonder what will the last person who made order got in their bowl. Maybe more base and lesser protein hahaha. Morale of the story is, let’s just order from the Daily Cut when the sun is still out there. But on a positive note, this will be a great food intake when you are limiting your calorie intake.  

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: 唐點小聚 Social Place, Taipei

Whenever I hear of the words “dim sum”, I would often think of going to Hong Kong because that’s the country which will immediately pop out to your mind when you think of Cantonese cuisine, right? Furthermore, dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong always manage to elevate the beauty of the favourite dim sum items such as Chinese bun and dumplings to be even more beautiful on platter. However, it seems that now you can enjoy similar dim sum experience in Taipei at 唐點小聚 Social Place.

Social Place offers instagrammable dim sum on plates and this is the reason of why I’m including it in my list of Taiwan instagrammable food (which I will conquer when I have the chance to revisit Taiwan). The dim sum restaurant is located within walking distance from Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT station. Its FB page show English translation of its menu (woohoo) for the benefit of those of us who can’t read traditional Chinese characters on the menu. It opens daily from 11AM to 10PM. Based on @wennick’s insta post, Social Place seems to be decorated in Tiffany & Co’s color and this would elevate your instagram game to the next level. After all those kind of blue-green-ish does not come often in the restaurant setting.

Let’s talk about the pretty dim sum items, shall we? First, they have Pear-shaped Dumpling with Crab Meat (138 NTD) which I thought was dessert item. Looks can be deceiving after all. I would definitely order this because they are so pretty. If you are not sure on what to order, it seems safe to go for the dim sum platter (238 NTD) and @yen.food.life’s platter looks so interesting, it even has heart-shaped something. The charcoal custard buns (138 NTD) are another must-order item since it comes in black color with gold dust sprinkled on top of it. Custard buns have become exceptionally luxe.

Have you ever thought that your rice roll (zhang fen) can come in color other than white? Nope, me neither. But Social Place manages to pull Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimp (138 NTD) off and serve it in pink which I suspect is beetroot’s color (and hopefully not chemically induced coloring). Next item which I would like to order is definitely the Steamed Rose Floret Bun (58 NTD) because well, rose-shaped ice cream is so last season, right? I wonder what’s the filling for the rose bun though. Hmm.

Social Place does serve other normal items (but less instagrammable) in their menu like rice, noodles, congee, chicken, etc. You can try them out but don’t forget to check out their dessert department because it’s not everyday you can eat your mahjong tiles. Yes, you read them correctly, Social Place includes the mahjong tiles (108 NTD) in their menu. Don’t worry, they are actually coconut pudding so your teeth won’t break from eating them.

Ahh, just talking about the food makes me want to go there and try them out myself. Hope they are as nice as they look on menu and instagram.

Credits: @jjeanllin, @shannonliu, @zoelin090, @yen.food.life, @rabin1030,  @wennick, @akumatw, @fanialin