Archive for August 2018

Home Archive for August 2018

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

Award for sake sold at Takayama Old Town Japan

Price for hot sake at Takayama Old Town Japan

Sake drinking area at Takayama Old Town Japan

Heating machine for hot sake at Takayama Old Town Japan

Hot sake bottle for two at Takayama Old Town Japan

Doll decoration at Takayama Old Town Japan

Sarubobo decoration at Takayama Old Town Japan

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~

8D Avia Japan Trip: Hida Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market

Miyagawa Morning Market at Hida Takayama Japan

Huge packs of Pretz at souvenir store in Hida Takayama

Sarubobo dolls from Hida Takayama souvenir store

Takoyaki stall at Hida Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market

Red bean bun from 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: Ootoro Milk, Kaohsiung

Ootoro Milk at Sizihwan Kaohsiung Taiwan

Fruity collagen milk from Ootoro Milk Kaohsiung

Blueberry Marble and Tiramisu Marble from Ootoro Milk

Blueberry marble with blueberry sauce from Ootoro Milk

Blueberry and mango marble milk from Ootoro Milk

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

Meat sauce and cream sauce pasta menu from Kabe no Ana Jurong Point

Carbonara pasta from Kabe no Ana Jurong Point

Mentaiko cream pasta from Kabe no Ana Jurong Point

Mt Fuji meat pasta from 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

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: Social Place, Taipei

Social Place Zhongxiao Dunhua Taipei Taiwan

Pear-shaped dumpling with crab meat from Social Place Taiwan

Dim sum platter from Social Place Taipei

Pink steamed rice roll with shrimp from Social Place Taipei

Steamed rose floret bun from Social Place Taipei

Charcoal custard buns from Social Place Taipei

Mahjong coconut pudding from 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

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Wandering Fel

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

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

8D Avia Japan Trip: Hida Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: Egghost Dessert, Taipei

Eat Cheap in Singapore: Thai Wanton Noodle from Kinmoo

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: Ootoro Milk, Kaohsiung

Singapore Food Log: Kabe No Ana, Jurong Point

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

Taiwan Instagrammable Food: 唐點小聚 Social Place, Taipei