5pax Dinner @ Tao Heung 稻香超级渔港 Mongkok on 12May2013

Posted on May 27, 2013 by chefquak

steamed garoupa – this was very good everyone liked it

Taohueng 稻香group operates a number of mid-range restaurants catering to different cuisine like cantonese, teochew, shanghai & hakka etc. In my previous visits, I found the individual sets at 迎Joyous One at Tsimshatsui (which was the newest & more up-market within the group) and at Chung Cuisine at Times Square quite ok and good value.

I had a very enjoyable dinner at 稻香超级渔港 at Mongkok with my sis when we visited in Jan2013. However there was always the concern about consistency in these type of restaurants – that one could not really tell the quality of the dish just by looking at the online menu. indeed we had a “not so great” dinner at 潮楼 (another Taohueng restaurant) just the night before (though the set menu had looked very impressive), and we had wanted to change to a late dinner at beef hotpot @ budaoweng 不倒翁 instead. 🙂 however KCP, who was joining us for dinner this evening, could not make the change, so we went ahead with 稻香超级渔港.

酱蹄 sliced sauce trotters

蒜泥白肉 garlic sliced pork

still shy of the set menu the evening before, we decided to go for ala carte instead. the 2 cold dishes we ordered – 酱蹄 sliced sauce trotters & 蒜泥白肉 garlic sliced pork (JK thought this was very good) – were both good & not pricy, so that gave us some confidence. 🙂

scallop seafood soup in wintermelon

the scallop seafood soup in wintermelon, which the restaurant was promoting was kind of disappointing c/w the usual very good cantonese 例汤…so it looked like we were in for some hits & misses.

thankfully we had a really wonderful steamed garoupa next. this was very good & everyone liked it. 🙂

roast goose 烧鹅

romaine lettuce 油麦菜

the roast goose was quite good really but we just had a really good one that morning at Yat Lok 一乐@ Stanley Street which was more crispy & tasty. 🙂 JK complained that the garlic 油麦菜 romaine lettuce did not look like romaine lettuce, and it was just so-so – lacking in “wok hae”.

lobster noodle

we ordered a lobster noodle. the lobster was good but the yi min noodle 伊面 was quite lacking in flavours. it used to be that Mandarin Kitchen in London was the “go-to” place for lobster noodles in London like for 30 yrs. these days any restaurant in Singapore could do a good lobster noodle. it was surprising that the noodles here should be so below par!

稻香超级渔港 at Mongkok

we had 7 dishes including steamed garoupa & lobster for 5pax for HK$930. that’s about S$30nett. price was not high for just above average food but we were really expecting better. the tricky thing about ala carte was ordering the right dishes which were good for their price. in this case we did just ok but probably still safer than going with the set. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Cheap & Good 大牌档 Dinner @ Keung Kee 强记鸡粥 at Tai Wai Hong Kong on 10May2013

Posted on May 27, 2013 by chefquak

chicken porridge-强记鸡粥

<had another fun dinner at keung kee 强记鸡粥 on 28.9.2013>.

JK had been talking about this 强记鸡粥 in Shatin (which was located at Tai Wai 2 MTR stops from Shatin). 🙂

so we went there on our first night in Hong Kong on 10.5.2013. JK ordered the popular dishes.

the chicken porridge – their 招牌鸡粥 (top photo) was the best dish for me..the chicken was so sweet juicy & tender like a very good chicken rice chicken & the porridge was so smooth & tasty. 🙂

红烧乳鸽 roast pigeon HK$58

椒盐濑尿虾 mantis shrimp HK$80

the 红烧乳鸽 roast pigeon was to me just average. we also had the 椒盐濑尿虾 mantis shrimp. the 椒盐 deep-fry was actually very well done & tasty..however the shrimp were really “shrimp”, quite small so not fleshy & juicy..so the dish was passable just ok for me.

soy sauce beehoon 豆油米粉 HK$48

the simple soy sauce beehoon 豆油米粉 was really nice, & we duly polished off the pile of carbo with the porridge. 🙂

romaine lettuce 油麦菜

炸大肠 deep-fried big intestine HK$60

the romaine lettuce 油麦菜 in bean curd sauce was nice though JK felt it had not enough “wok hae”..I thought it was because of wet beancurd sauce whereas usual garlic fry would be “high heat dry wok” & good “wok hae”.

the only 败笔 (point of failure) in an otherwise quite wonderful dinner was, oddly, the 炸大肠 deep-fried big intestine – thought that was like the common standard food?? but looked like even the street stalls did better ones than these.

the whole dinner was HK$396 (S$64nett) for 4pax! 🙂 to me it was a really enjoyable meal & experience, and I would want to do more of these tai pai tong 大牌档 dinners when in Hong Kong. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Dimsum Lunch @ 迎 Joyous One on 11May2013

Posted on May 26, 2013 by chefquak

HK$38 BB pigeon

we completed our morning’s 5.7km 2hr hike at Dragon’s Back (Shek O Country Park) on 11.5.2013 a bit early & decided to make our way back to Tsimshatsui where we had made prior lunch reservation at 迎 Joyous One at Nathan Road. 🙂

we had wanted to take the HK$238pax 6-course set inclusive of a glass of wine, but that was not available so we settled down to a good dimsum instead, which could not go too far wrong in Hong Kong. 🙂

we made the usual dimsum orders. the 潮州粉果. this was ok but i thought Timhowan was better. the steamed fu pei quin was quite good too.

steamed chicken feet

steamed pork rib

the steamed chicken feet was good & much better than Timhowan (we later found the one at Lei Gardens was better than both). the steamed pork rib was also a lot better than Timhowan-the sauce was tasty but the pork rib pieces were just average but at least they were not mostly fat like at Timhowan.

mustard veg pig stomach soup

mustard veg pig stomach soup was just HK$38! this was good we all liked it.:-)

the BB pigeon (top photo) was HK$38 & smaller than the one at 强记 which was HK$58..the skin was more crispy but overall i think 强记’s tasted better.

the 香煎萝卜糕 was again below average. it was really surprising that both Timhowan & here could not do this well. the steamed fishmaw was quite tasty, above average…I thought 糖朝 sweet dynasty was better. the 珍珠糯米鸡 was also below average, Timhowan’s much better though that had lots of glutinous rice & not enough ingredients.

char siew cheung 叉烧肠粉 –

the char siew cheung 叉烧肠粉 was good better than the liver cheung fun at Timhowan but i think many HK restaurants did this better.

the 奶黄流沙包 custard egg bun was just average not as good as Imperial Treasure & Royal China. the 水晶包, a teochew dessert more commonly available in Hong Kong than Singapore was good, except they really should serve this & the custard bun last as a sweet but instead they served both first.

we had 12 dimsum item + tea + 10% = HK$388 (about S$62 for 4pax). though I made many comparisons here, the lunch was really quite good overall with some pluses & minuses :-), very relax and very enjoyable, and of course it’s still much cheaper dimsum lunch c/w Singapore. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Enjoyable Lunch @ Lei Gardens(利苑) Mongkok on 13May2013

Posted on May 26, 2013 by chefquak

lobsters steamed with superior sauce (上汤局)

on the final day of our Hong Kong trip, we did not plan a restaurant to go to.

we first wanted to lunch at the seafood place Rainbow Restaurant at Lamma Island (南丫岛) after the excellent food pictures of mantis prawns, lobsters & what else in my friend’s Facebook set off our “tam chiak” (means greedy for food) cravings…alas we should have done that earlier as Rainbow was only open for dinner & we were taking the 8pm flight.

next we thought to go to Caprice @ Four Seasons, a 2 michelin star restaurant after looking at the online menu for Joel Robuchon, Pierre, Ember & Caprice set lunch. unfortunately Caprice was full for the Monday lunch.

we finally got Lei Gardens(利苑), which I always thought was among the best Hong Kong traditional chinese restaurants, especially their soup (例汤). the one nearest was at Tsai Yee Street洗衣街 ‎Mongkok outlet (as we were staying at Sam Shui Po) and that also happened to be the only 2 michelin star outlet (the other outlets were 1 michelin star). 🙂

鲍汁凤爪 braised chicken feet in abalone sauce

CJ ordered 3 dimsum items. the first – 鲍汁凤爪 braised chicken feet in abalone sauce – was the best we had thus far c/w Timhowan添好运 & 迎. the abalone sauce was similar to that for abalone & goose webs so it was very tasty. 🙂 I guess the preparation was different from the usual deep-fried then steamed with black beans chicken feet so may not be fair to compare.

the soup (例汤) was good as expected,much better than Tao Heung 稻香 restaurants (which was also to be expected). however for this particular soup it was no better than, & indeed not as good as, the many 例汤 I had at Imperial Treasure Nanbei (from green papaya to 鸡脚草). 🙂

小笼包

the 小笼包 didn’t look that great, skin looked thick but actually it was very good, the sauce/soup was very sweet & the skin was normal thin. 🙂

2 small lobsters halved with golden mushrooms

2 small lobsters halved 上汤局 with golden mushrooms

JK was pining for lobsters so we ordered a HK$598 twin dishes combination (common in Hong Kong). the star dish was 2 small lobsters halved 上汤局 steamed in superior sauce with golden mushrooms – this was very good. 🙂

1/2 roast chicken – very crispy skin & tasty chicken

the 1/2 roast chicken had very crispy skin & was tasty so no need the usual 5-spice salt dip. in Hong Kong they called this the 龙凤 dragon phoenix pairing. 🙂

海斑 (garoupa) in claypot

we had another HK$298 2-eats combination. the 海斑 (garoupa) in claypot was also good tasting very flavourful. it was different preparation, not better than a steamed whole live garoupa but very good the way it was done. 🙂

the other dish was a thick beehoon in seafood soup – no fish or seafood but very tasty like our good fish beehoon.

garlic heng chai

and in Hong Kong, always order vegetables. the garlic heng chai was very good & flavourful too. 🙂

both JK & I were fan of 奶黄流沙包 custard egg bun. this was good, but I guess no better than Royal China or Imperial Treasure in Singapore.

we had 3 dimsums & 6 dishes for HK$1320 for 4pax (about S$55nett per person). it was a premium to Tao Heung but for a great deal more satisfaction & “shiokness”.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Value Dimsum @ 1 Michelin Star Timhowan Fuk Wing Street Hong Kong on 10May2013

Posted on May 25, 2013 by chefquak

脆皮叉烧包 crispy char siew bun

1 michelin star Timhowan 添好运 recently started a Singapore branch at Plaza Singapura queue reputed to be 1.5hrs long. I am not one to queue for dimsum. fortunately there was no queue when we arrived at the Fook Weng shop @福荣街 in Hong Kong just before 12pm on 10.5.2013. 🙂 there was some 5-6pax waiting though when we left the restaurant.

1 of my good friends, who was the chief instigator for this HK Eat & Hike (or maybe Eat & Eat) trip, was much fixated with Timhowan, so it was wise that the first thing we did was to satisfy her cravings. 🙂

Timhowan 四大天王 – crispy char siew pao, pig liver siew mai, waxed meat pan-fried carrot cake, & a mala cake

Timhowan has 4 famous dishes 四大天王 – crispy char siew pao 脆皮叉烧包, pig liver siew mai, waxed meat pan-fried carrot cake腊味香煎萝卜糕, & a mala cake马拉糕, as in their paper placemats above. 🙂

I liked the 脆皮叉烧包 crispy char siew bun best! – fillings were that of a great charsiew pao & the crispy skin was unique. I also liked the pig liver siew mai (unfortunately I did not take a picture). It was good, but I guess somewhat less unique as many dimsum places like Star of Canton had abalone siew mai & the 1 michelin star Bo Innovation (& I am sure many others) had foie gras or caviar siew mai. 🙂

pan-fried carrot cake 腊味香煎萝卜糕

I was much less enthusiastic with the pan-fried carrot cake 腊味香煎萝卜糕. It was really quite average, too average. we have very good ones in Singapore like Imperial Treasure & Crystal Jade etc.

mala cake 马拉糕 (left)

mala cake 马拉糕 was an enigma to me???…my very enthused friend obviously liked this, said it had very nice flavour (I wonder why haha?) 🙂 the steamed chicken feet – again this was ordinary & below par c/w many Singapore & HK dimsum place

the steamed fu pei quin -苻皮倦 was good, quite ok. 🙂 the steamed pork ribs were much below par, more fat than meat.

糯米鸡

the 糯米鸡 was good & flavourful though the small amount of filling were overwhelmed by the very large helping of glutinous rice. still taste-wise it was better than the 珍珠糯米鸡 we had at 迎 later.

the 潮州粉果 was very good, both skin & fillings, again much better than we had at 迎 later. the har gao was good but usual I guess

桂花糕 osmanthus jelly

the 桂花糕 osmanthus jelly was very good, very fragrant. 🙂

1 michelin star 添好运 Timhowan at 福荣街 in Hong Kong

we had 12 dimsum items & total bill included tea & service=HK$208 nett (like S$33 for 4pax). well I guess that’s why we came to Hong Kong to eat! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Kurama (鞍马) & Kibune (贵船) Hike on 20May2013

Posted on May 25, 2013 by chefquak

Kurama and Kibune are small towns in the hills north of Kyoto & excellent for a short day hike. It is just 30mins ride on the Eizan line from Demachiyagi Station, and about 1 hr all-in starting from (say) Gojo. 🙂 the hill is only 266m and the hike distance is about 2.6km and can be comfortably completed in 1.5hrs (though in our case we took 2 full hrs). 🙂

we started late and decided to take an early lunch along Kawaramachi so we got a 600yen subway pass & took the subway to Shinyakusomae station and walked down Kawaramachi. we found a cheap eat Yayoiken (see Great Affordable Eats @ Kyoto) and took a 690yen bento lunch each.

we then took the Tozai line to Keihan Sanjo station and changed to Keihan line to Demachiyanagi station & hop on the Eizan line for a 30mins journey to Kurama. 🙂 the train carriage had a few rows of seats facing out the windows. we could see momiji (maple trees) right by the window as the train passed. one needed only imagine how it would be like during autumn koyo (falling leaves) time. At Kurama station there was a poster of the Eizan train driving through the myriad of autumn colours. 🙂

we started the hike from Kurama side.

there was a 200yen entry fee (爱山费) at Niomen (仁王门) head of the trail from Kurama side. we did not take the cable car which was just a very short ride & cost 100yen.

the entire hike was largely shaded even though it was a hot day. we were armed with the usual bottled tea from the vending machine, liquids were something important to have.

the hike was really pleasant with some steeper slopes and stairs, though it was a bit tiring for my sis.

there were lots of maple of course (but we already knew that the best time for visiting Japan were during autumn and sakura, so we could only imagine the autumn colours but it was expected and ok). there were lots of giant cedar trees.

we reached Kuramadera, the main temple.

we reached the top. there was clear direction signs with distances to Kurama & Kibune. 🙂

the stretch of cedar woods (with rows & rows ramrod straight cedar trees) was impressive. 🙂

we reached Kibune about 3.11pm (Japan Time – camera is set to Singapore time), about 2 hrs after we started. 🙂

we climbed up to Kibune Jingu (贵船神社). surprise surprise they had free wifi…useful if unusual. 🙂

Kibune is also popular for its kawadoko dining, where you sit on some floormat platforms secured over the flowing river beneath and watch the rapids & falls. some say the temperature can be up to 5degC cooler than ambient. there is also the nagashi-sōmen (流しそうめん flowing noodles) where you try to catch somen flowing really quickly down a bamboo pipe & dip in sauces like you eat cold soba. 🙂

while we were walking along Kibune river side where all these restaurants were located, there were hardly any customers. perhaps this was not the season & the costs was quite high.

anyway we walked along the Kibune road by the river and came upon a bus station where we paid 160yen each and got to Kibuneguchi station to catch the Eizan train back to Kyoto. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Southeast Kyoto Tour of Tofukuji, Uji & Fushimi Inari on 17 & 18May2013

Posted on May 24, 2013 by chefquak

Fushimi Inari -1000 torii gates 鸟居

arrived Kansai Airport 6am on 17.5.2013.

there was no queue at immigration and no queue at JR (Japan Rail) office, and we managed to get the 4000yen “Haruka & Icoca RETURN” which comprised RETURN tickets by Haruka Express between Kansai Airport & Kyoto & an Icoca card with 1500yen store-value and 500yen refundable deposit. 🙂

we bought some burger & salad & got on the 7.27am Haruka Express No 4 for a 90mins journey and arrived Kyoto station at 9am. 🙂

Umeda Sky building at Osaka 173m 40 floors built in 1993

passing Osaka on Haruka Express we saw Umeda Sky building, 1 of Osaka’s 2 famous tall buildings. 🙂

370yen kitsune soba

there was a soba shop at the station so we shared a 290yen soba + 90yen kitsune (a Japanese fried tofu). 🙂 then we took the Karasuma subway line 1-stop to Gojo.

our hotel Citadines Gojo was located a few steps (like 20m) from Gojo station – so access wise for arrival & departure, it was really convenient. 🙂 for comparison, Karasuma Shijo hotel would be more convenient as it was similarly located at the doorstep of Shijo station on Karasuma subway line, and you can also walk to Daimaru, Takashimaya, Nishiki market, Teramachi, Kawaramachi, Kamogawa etc. however if your plan is to get the subway 600yen Subway Card (for unlimited travel on Karasuma line & Tozai line) anyway as we did for 2 days, then it makes little difference. 🙂

seemed that Citadines Japan credit card machine did not allow for card guarantee. I made the front desk call my Singapore credit card hotline, and was told that the transaction showed up as a wrong security number entry. I then asked the front desk to charge my card instead of just doing a card guarantee, and this time the card transaction went through. this was really strange experience but well we were not in a hurry & it was happily settled. 🙂

it was too early to check in Citadines so we left our luggage & set off for the Everytrail Southeast Kyoto tour of Tokufuji (东福寺), Fushimi Inari (伏見稲荷) & Uji (宇治). 🙂

torii gate at road junction on way to Byodo-in 平等院 temple in Uji (宇治)

we made our way first to Tokufuji (东福寺) 140yen by JR Nara line from Kyoto stations. next we went to Uji (宇治) 230yen by JR Nara line. 🙂

there was a bit more to see at Uji than Tofukuji. still I did not take good photos at both places. also the Pheonix Hall at Byodo-in was under renovation. we did walk through Byodo-in’s garden & museum, and also saw the Ujigami shrine & Uji shrine. the weather was hot & we were a bit tired & decided to skip Fushimi Inari & return to Kyoto.

On way back to JR Uji station, we found & shared a nice 1580yen set at a 中华料理. & later in the evening after checking in to our hotel room, we walked to Shijo & Kawaramachi & found a nice little family styled izakaya 居酒屋 called 百练near the junction of Shijo & Kawaramachi where we had nice beef teishoku & pork shabu shabu. all this were recorded in the post Great Affordable Eats @ Kyoto.

On Day 2, we slept late but were all ready for our most wonderful teppanyaki course lunch at Gozanbo (五山望) at 15flr of Hotel Granvia at Kyoto Station. I had arranged this with the head chef Yoshio Doi-san & he had kindly made arrangements even though he was on home leave then.

we had some time before lunch so I brought my sis to the 8th floor Ramen Village at Daimaru building at Kyoto Station west side. On the 9th floor, you can look down at Kyoto Station (above left photo).

skybridge linking the west & east buildings at Kyoto Station

There was also a skybridge linking the west & east buildings at Kyoto Station (some might have missed this) that could be accessed from the 8th floor Ramen Village & you could get a great view of Kyoto Tower (above centre photo). On our way to Gozanbo, we took a photo from the 3M level connecting passage just above Kyoto Station central exit (above right photo).

Fushimi Inari (伏見稲荷)

we set off to Fushimi Inari (伏見稲荷) 140yen by JR Nara line to Inari 稲荷 station. The first torii gate entrance was right by the station. we each grabbed a tea from a grocery, ready for the 2 hr walk. 🙂

each torii gate was donated by a corporation or individual

each of the 1000s torii gate was donated by a corporation or individual & their names were written on the side viewed downhill direction – that kind of acted as our direction guide…haha. 🙂

Fushimi Inari picture map

Mount Inari is 233m high & the whole walk took 2hrs.

at the top of Fushimi Inari @ 一峰

somewhat long way up but anyhow we made it to the top @ 一峰.

kannon (观音) at the bottom near exit of Fushimi Inari

on the way down at the bottom near the exit, we found this kannon (观音) and took some photos.

bbq quail @ Inari

my sis wanted to eat bbq quail – she was fearless (of bird flu) when it came to food adventures..haha. 🙂

we took a short walk to see the streets in Inari, crossing the JR Nara railway line & arriving at Keihan Inari station.

here we took Keihan line to Keihan sanjo (三条) station and walked over the bridge for a view of Kamogawa (鸭川).

then we walked down Kawaramachi and had a great kuroge wagyu shabu shabu & sukiyaki dinner at kashin 花心. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Kyoto & Osaka Trip with Sister @17-22May2013

Posted on May 23, 2013 by chefquak

my Kyoto trip(17-22may2013) planning was somewhat disrupted by the Hong Kong trip (10-13may2013).

anyhow I had booked earlier in Feb2013 a Jetstar promotion fare to Osaka for 2pax for just S$545. 🙂 when planning the trip I also searched for a cheap hotel, and booked a 5-nights stay for 48,510yen (about S$600 or S$120/night) at Citadines Gojo Kyoto.

my wife told me recently JR (Japan Rail) had introduced new tourist friendly & great value “Haruka & Icoca” card. this costs just 3000yen for 1-way by Haruka Express from Kansai Airport to any of Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe etc and 4000yen RETURN and include a Icoca store-value card with 1500yen store value PLUS 500yen deposit which you can get full refund. this means in my case I only pay 1000yen by Haruka Express between Kansia Airport & Kyoto 🙂 & the current fare for non-reserved seat is 2770yen 1-way.

previously you could only purchase a JR West 1day pass for 2000yen (or 3days or 5days if you plan to do lots of travelling) and you could only buy a 1day pass once. so I used to get a 1day pass on arrival to Kyoto on a 90mins journey on Haruka Express, and pay the full fare returning from Kyoto to Kansai Airport.

with airfare, hotel & train connections taken care off, next was to have some plan of the sights we were visiting, and to check the best & cheapest subway/train connections & timing to get to the sights etc

we wanted to have mostly walking/hiking outings & lots of eating of course, and so I planned to cover-

southeastern tour of Kyoto including Tofukuji, Fushimi Inari & Uji
walk from Heian Jingu through Maruyama Park to Kiyomizu
hike from Kurama to Kibune
day trip to Nara & Osaka – this was later changed to a day trip to Osaka visiting a few places I selected, namely Tenmangu (天满宫), Osaka Castle(大阪城), Sitennoji (四天王寺), and walking the shopping streets of Tenjinbashi suji, Sinsaibashi, Dotobori & Namba.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Affordable Eats @ Kyoto 17-21May2013

Posted on May 21, 2013 by chefquak

super-value Japanese beef (国产牛) teishoku (set) at 900yen

super-value beef teishoku (set) at 900yen

not every meal has to be kuroge wagyu, teppanyaki course or expensive sashimi. there are lots of great value meals to be had in Kyoto, Tokyo or anywhere in Japan. 🙂

on the first night of our arrival on 17.5.2013 we chanced upon a very interesting eat at Teramachi/Kawaramachi corner just opposite Takashimaya called 百练 (it is at level 2 of a small building). It was kind of a family-style izakaya 居酒屋- we were the only non-Japanese around. we visited again at dinner on 21.5.2013, and we were still the only non-Japanese around..haha. 🙂

I ordered this super-value beef teishoku (set). I asked for medium rare & it was nicely done & tasty. It came with the gohan aka rice set including pickles & miso soup. the beef was served with some pasta (which were ok but irrelevant) – all these for just 900yen. 🙂

pork shabu shabu for 1500yen

my sis ordered a pork shabu shabu for 1500yen. It was NOT kurobuta but it was really good, very sweet & tasty. 🙂

thick-cut bacon with asparagus for 500yen

I saw that our neighbour, a Japanese couple, ordered what looked like ham & asparagus dish, so when we went back 2 nights later, I managed(despite the lack of communications) to get the chef to do up this dish – which was a thick-cut bacon & asparagus for 500yen – it was very good! 🙂

on arriving on 17.5.2013, we visited Tofukuji then Uji. 🙂 on the way back to Uji JR station about 3+pm, we decided to share a set as a late & light lunch, & was lucky to pick out this rather nice 1580yen set at a 中华料理. the tempura was good, and so was the sashimi & the 2 side dishes – one was just egg, the other was rather more elaborate, and nice too! 🙂

690yen set @ Yayoiken-kakuni (belly pork), saba, potato croquette, tofu, egg & vege etc

690yen set @ Yayoiken-kakuni (belly pork), saba, potato croquette, tofu, egg & vege etc

on 20.5.2013, before setting off for our hike from Kurama (鞍马) to Kibune (贵船), we were looking for a place for early lunch and found this joint Yayoiken @ Kawaramachi. 🙂

the meal was just 690yen, and was quite good too, with kakuni (belly pork), saba, potato korokke (croquette), tofu, egg & vege etc 🙂 maybe Singapore should consider this meal ticket machine system common in Japan. it’s very labour efficient & staff have no need to manage cash too. 🙂

mini chirasi don set with 5 delightful side dishes for 1190yen

returning from the hike, we took the train to Keihan Shijo & walked across Kamogawa (鸭川) to Kawaramachi (河源町) side. we found this restaurant on the 7flr of OIOI building along Kawaramachi across the road from Takashimaya.

this fabulous mini chirasi don set with 5 delightful side dishes was just 1190yen & they provide a very tasty soup which you later add to the rice like ochazuke. the mini chirasi don came with amaebi, crabmeat, ikura, 2 pieces hotate, maguro, tamago. the 5 delightful side dishes were ikan bilis, braised beef, tamago & tofu PLUS a red bean/jelly dessert. 🙂

we had another set which was somewhat less good (by comparison) also for 1190yen. it was a salmon tekkadon(鉄火丼) – this was quite good – with 4 side dishes.

so good food were aplenty in Kyoto & at very affordable prices too 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Kuroge Wagyu Shabu Shabu & Sukiyaki @ 花心河原町店 Kashin Kawaramachi Kyoto on 18May2013

Posted on May 19, 2013 by chefquak

kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛放题 (all you can eat) shabu shabu & sukiyaki

after a very pleasant afternoon & surprisingly shaded walk at Fushimi Inari, we took the Keihan line from Fushimi Inari station to Sanjo station, and walked back along Kawaramachi towards Shijo.

we wanted to have some good shabu shabu & saw that 花心 Kashin was offering 2980 yen Japanese beef + pork & 3980 yen kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛放题 (all you can eat).

we had some problems (the usual lost in translation) at the 9flr restaurant when we showed the waitress the brochure we picked up at ground floor which said it was kuroge wagyu (all you can eat) whereas the restaurant menu showed kuroge wagyu + pork (all you can eat). we were just there for the kuroge & did not want to have pork to fill up our stomach..haha. 🙂 anyway we settled in for what they had on the menu rather than spend time miscommunicating. 🙂

1/2 shabu shabu (chicken broth) & 1/2 sukiyaki

there was another hiccup. we were asked to choose 2 from 4 different soup base, and we chose chicken broth & sukiyaki. this was a departure from the usual shabu shabu which was just kunbu water no soup base to talk about..anyway we did not get the usual shabu shabu sauce (sesame & shoyu) and the waiter informed us that the soup base we selected did not include any sauce. he brought the 2 sauces with a sign showing 100yen. We said we were not told otherwise we would have picked the kunbu with the sauce..anyway this time their turn to give in & they let us have the sauce free (or in Japan they say “service”)..as it turned out the restaurant was right & we did not really need the sauces. 🙂

tofu appetizer

dinner started (again) with a tofu starter with wasabi & sauce. it was nice so no complaints. 🙂

there was a tube of minced pork with the vegetable basket. it was good! we did not put any additional orders for this or the vegetables as we just wanted to eat kuroge wagyu!

kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛放题 (all you can eat) shabu shabu & sukiyaki

& the long awaited kuroge (top photo & above) – they were good! not as good as the thick-cut kagoshima wagyu konabe at Mikuni, but it was a sweet, flavourful beef. 🙂

it was a double-decker box & we soon asked for a second. this was however replaced by pork. the pork was not too bad too, but it really spoiled my appetite. fortunately our third & fourth orders of the double-decker box were all kuroge wagyu. satisfaction! 🙂 I thought I might get tired of the beef but in fact I enjoyed the last box the most, perhaps it was better cut than the first box & in any case I had gotten over the disappointment of the “interfering” pork. 🙂

the photos above were the shabu-ed (it means 涮 which I think by definition means 7 or 8 swipes in boiling water) beef – sukiyaki with raw egg & shabu shabu. the sukiyaki beef was best taken together with a small spoonful of sukiyaki sauce. the shabu-ed beef was good on its own & by-the-way the chicken broth was very tasty.

the set actually included selection of dessert. we picked a mochi ice cream (vanilla inside mochi skin – quite good), and an almond tofu (杏仁豆腐). I absolutely enjoyed the dinner- though I should avoid having buffets.

view of Kawaramachi Kyoto from 花心 Kaisin on 9Flr

& the view of Kawaramachi from 花心 Kaisin was good too!

c.h.e.f andy

Teppanyaki Course Lunch @ Gozanbo Hotel Granvia Kyoto Station on 18May2013

Posted on May 19, 2013 by chefquak

teppan Japanese beef (国产牛) tenderloin

Gozanbo 五山望 @ HOTEL GRANVIA KYOTO remains my best non-kaiseki teppanyaki course lunch restaurant in Japan since we first had our teppan lunch there in 2008 while staying at Granvia. 🙂

The view is excellent of course looking out over Kyoto Tower & cityscape and at the surrounding mountains. the service is always impeccable & the courses & plating (like the creamy soup, appetizer & teppan fish dishes) have good european influence. the teppan beef of course is totally great Japanese taste. 🙂

every time we visited Kyoto I made sure we had a lunch at Gozanbo. my wife & daughter did recently & I had lunch there with my sister yesterday. 🙂 we had the 400o yen & 6000 yen set.

I just loved the garlic. really “shiok”! I tried it at home quite successfully once with butter & sea salt. I think I am going to do this for my friends next dinner, together with wagyu steak. 🙂 always like their bread roll (like a baguette) toasted on the teppan.

our starter was a tofu dish with wasabi & some sauce – nice!

the 6000 yen set came with poached anago (conger eel) topped with an “ice cream”of blue cheese. I love blue cheese! this was pretty & taste was good, plating was like any French restaurant – so looked nice tasted good. but I not sure about this – think the usual grilled sushi or sashimi anago would be much better taste experience. 🙂

the 4000 yen set came with a seabass sashimi with some sauce & leek garnishing. this was very nice – maybe I just like sashimi FULLSTOP!

we both had a creamy white bean soup with tomato foam (this tasted really good!) and a nice refreshing yasai(野菜) salad.

the 4000 yen set came with a teppan tai (sea bream)…the young chef did this really well – the fish, the skin & the french beans. 🙂

the 6000 yen set came with a teppan prawn & asparagus & topped with an onsen egg – very much like modern european fine dining. the egg added a great combination of texture to a very tasty dish! 🙂

here you see the young chef at work on our teppan Japanese beef. the head chef Doi-san whom we knew was away on home vacation, but anyway he made arrangements for our prior lunch booking. 🙂

teppan kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛

according to the menu, the 4000 yen set came with 80g japanese beef tenderloin (国产牛) and the 6000 yen set had specially selected 和牛 (which should be kuroge 黑毛和牛) but a smaller 60g portion; BUT translation had always been notorious! the smaller beef from the 6000 yen set did not taste anything like kuroge wagyu. it was indeed more tender but the larger beef from the 4000 yen set seemed more marbled and tasty!

whatever – both were good but considering the price 6000 yen vs 4000 yen and the quality of the end result, I would say the 4000 yen was extremely good value (previously this was priced at 3500 yen however that was the time when the yen was 100yen to S$1.6 to S$1.7, but it is 100 yen to S$1.235 now!).

the chef served us both with kamameshi (釜飯) instead of plain rice for the 4000 yen set. I was never quite a fan of this. it did come with 4 tasty pieces of bonito and was quite nice really. 🙂

cake & sorbet dessert

we had a nice cake & sorbet for dessert and ended lunch with an all satisfying brewed coffee (good!). usually we would adjourn to an area for after-meal coffee (remember Gozanbo offers great views of Kyoto city!) but this time they said it was full. when I paid the bill I saw that the dessert area was in fact completely empty so perhaps they did not want to open up the section – fair enough I guess! if they closed the section, they need not open it just for me.

c.h.e.f andy

Takaosan (高尾山) Trails & Senbonzakura (1000 Sakuras)

Posted on April 25, 2013 by chefquak

takaosan (高尾山)hiking trails

Takaosan (高尾山) is the ideal destination for easy, fun trekking. The summit is just 599m and on a clear day we can see Mount Fuji & have excellent view of Tokyo’s cityscape. It is also easily accessible (& so a favourite weekend destination for many) via a 370yen 1 hr train ride on Odakyu Keio Line from Shinjuku, and that’s what I did on 10apr2013, the second day of my trip.

I had earlier learned from my driving holiday with my wife in Tohoku (just before it was ravaged by the Fukushima tsunami/nuclear disaster) that momiji (maple) koyo (autumn leaves) colours are best viewed in the mountains & sakura in the cities. 🙂 and though my Chasing Sakura turned Missing Sakura Tokyo trip was failing in its primary mission, takaosan did offer both great trekking + late sakura viewing especially the senbonzakura (1000 sakuras) on a 1/2 hr trek from the summit to Itchodaira. 🙂 I would just have to make do with that.

I also had to make do with my injured toes (suffered at a homegourmet dinner 4 days before my trip when I painfully hit the legs of my dining chair), and the “encouraging words “from my dear friends – “you are like my accident prone friend”, “that’s life wad” 🙂 & what took 3 hrs to recover at a tender age now took 3 weeks! very “sian” – low in spirit..haha. 🙂

there are 3 routes to hike up takaosan – route 1 which is paved all the way to summit, the nature studies route 6 which is Jeanette’s recommended hike passing by the Biwa Falls, & inariyama trail route. At mid-hill there is a route 4 that goes by a suspension bridge & route 3 which passes by 3 small bridges. route 2 is the circle route at mid-hill & route 5 is the circle route at summit. see http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/course/index.htm

The 5 mins one-way ski-lift & cable car from the base to mid-hill station each cost 470yen (more than my 1 hr Odakyu train fare from Tokyo!) just consider you were contributing to the upkeep of these nice places for all to enjoy (which was the not so profound truth) – I always tell myself. I took the ski-lift. 🙂

the sign above left tells you come in april if you want to catch sakura & october for the koyo colours. Looking at distant foliage with a hint of colours in the above centre photo, you can just about imagine what it will be like in autumn! 🙂 see http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo12/121119.html

suspension bridge along route 4, steeper ascend after the bridge

I decided to take route 4 to see the suspension bridge, knowing that I would likely turned back as the guide said after the bridge the route up was steep.

I decided to go route 1 all the way rather than route 3. this took me pass the Yakuoin Temple (药王院).

you could see that this was a favourite outing & picnic place for many – family & friends! 🙂

sakura at the summit

the late blossoming sakuras were few but always stunningly beautiful, endearing even if very short-lived. weather was sunny if not totally clear, but this was mesmerizing. 🙂

the senbonzakura route to Itchodaira was not quite lined with 1000 sakuras (or maybe some had bloomed & fallen).

senbonzakura (1000 sakuras) trail from takaosan summit to Itchodaira

still it was such a wonderful walk. 🙂 oooooooooooo!

nice warm bowl of shimeji miso soup- 300yen

I stopped for a 300yen shimeji miso soup- nice & warm & wonderful warming feeling in the stomach..haha. 🙂

there was another long rather tedious flight of steps to Itchodaira(the 5 photos above were taken at branch trek on the right side of these steps). I was wondering if to take it, which I did eventually. there was much lesser sakuras on the way up & nothing much to add to the experience, so in fact one could skip this part!

sakura at Itchodaira resting area

this was one of few sakuras at the resting area at Itchodaira.

I made my way back to takaosan summit. It was past 2pm & I decided not to risk the journey down route 6. It was actually easier to walk uphill & on steps than to walk downhill & especially on a slope, and the natural compensation for my injured left toes had caused my calves especially right side to take up most strain.

enjoyable red bean dessert!

since I came up mid-hill by ski-lift I decided to take the cable car down. there was a queue of people (about 10) buying the read bean dessert. I decided to try one (it was very good hot & crispy outside fluffy inside though too much of read beans). the queue time turned out to be much longer as there were quite a few buying a few packetfuls like 30 pieces whereas a few of us poor things were waiting just to get one!

I was at takaosan 9.30am and left about 3.30pm. I reckon normally I would have done it including route 6 downhill by 2.30pm. back to Shinjuku for a nice dinner then. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

1500yen Kuroge Wagyu (黑毛和牛) Lunch Set (sashimi, grilled & braised wagyu) on 14Apr2013

Posted on April 17, 2013 by chefquak

kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) sashimi

was considering couple recommended yakiniku restaurants in Shinjuku like Kurumaya & Jojoen (which was also highly recommended by a good friend).

I found Jojoen (叙々苑) with little difficulty at 7F of a building just across the road from Shinjuku East Exit. 🙂 as was shown on the website, Jojoen had quite good 1700yen & 2700yen set lunches, both were Japanese beef (国产牛) but not kuroge. It had good lunch traffic and was clearly a popular restaurant. I had wanted to try out Kurumaya as it had a lunch kaiseki set which included beef for 5500yen so I continued on. however I was not able to locate Kurumaya w/o my map & GPS (as I did not subscribe to the unlimited roaming service on 14apr2013).

as I was walking up the streets to get back to the Jojeon locality I chanced upon this 1500yen kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) lunch set. I decided to give it a go and was happily very well rewarded for my adventurous spirit..haha. 🙂

the set included 4 slices of kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) sashimi – I just love beef sashimi – and they were very sweet, tasty, not chewy & w/o residue. :-).

1500yen kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) lunch set

there was also the grilled wagyu. of course I was not expecting some top grade kuroge & anyway it was really very nice & tasty even though it was not the highly marbled “pang” (fragrant) variety. 🙂

kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) grilled

and I had always like braised beef, and the japanese way of braising beef & belly pork using mirin, sugar & soy sauce was a very nice recipe which I liked. 🙂

kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) braised pot

The shop name was in hiragana or something so I tried but was unable to locate the shop on internet. anyway I was quite sure that I would have no difficulty to physically locate this place again.

yakiniku shop at Shinjuku kabukicho

I was very happy with the cheap& good lunch which included everything I wanted – sashimi, grilled steak & braised pot. I am sure to be back here again next time I visit Shinjuku. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Trip Planning – Flight, Hotel, Destinations, Transport

Posted on April 17, 2013 by chefquak

everyone will find their own best way to go about things, for me, it’s planning. 🙂

like when I cook a 8-course dinner for 10 friends, or a buffet for 23 friends, it’s all about planning – the dishes, marketing, preparation & timing to start each dish etc.

so same for me when it comes to trip planning, it will not work for me to mistake unpreparedness & lack of research & planning as spontaneity.

the dates – for this what ended up as “missing sakura” Tokyo trip on 9-15apr2013, my plans were derailed (or became spontaneous to be the eternal optimist) as the weather changes brought the sakura flowering 2 weeks forward from the normal period, and Japan Guide’s Cherry Blossom Report 2013 was reporting full bloom in Tokyo on 25mar2013 instead of first week of april! but the point about planning is – once I know this, then I have to adjust the destination to places I can still find sakura (takaosan 高尾山) or where there are later flowering sakuras (eg shinjukugoen). 🙂
flights – the advent of low cost carriers have really trigger mass travels. for 30 years I have been travelling exclusively SIA, but for the last 2 years, I have done quite a few trips to Shantou & HK on Jetstar. for this trip, I was travelling alone and SIA cost like $1100 for lone traveller. Scoot (a new LCC subsidiary of SIA) was offering around $500 economy return c/w closer to $700 by Jetstar, and since Scootbiz was just $150 more (& very much less if you were to include the 2 free meals + 20kg check-in luggage + free flight entertainment) & it was an outgoing night flight, I decided to take Scootbiz outbound & return by economy. The only downside is a stopover at Taipei! My $680 fare was in fact about same as what my daughter paid for China Eastern economy return (which stopped over at Shanghai!) I also researched on the seats! according to seatguru.com, Scoot has the largest seat width at 19″ to 20″ for economy and 22″ leather seats for Scootbiz for the 777-200 aircraft for this flight; that c/w JAL’s 17.3″ for economy and 18.5″ for business, Cathay Pacific’s 18″ for economy & 20″ for business & SIA’s own 17.5″ economy & 20″ business seats for the same aircraft & Jetstar’s 18″ for economy & 20″ for starclass for A330-200 aircraft.
hotel – I looked at a few hotels including the Sakura chain which seems quite good & finally settled for Shinjuku Sunroute Plaza, which is just 3minutes walk from JR Shinjuku South Exit and 1 minute walk (right next door really!) from Shinjuku Teio line A1 exit. The cost for a 6 night stay was 63000yen all in including breakfast which was like <S$140/night. This was even cheaper than my recent stay at Hong Kong’s Kowloon Hotel, thanks to the lower yen forex rates. 🙂
destination planning – this has got to do with what you want for the trip. for my case, it was (1)chasing sakura (2)some trekking (3) lots of food 🙂 thus I checked out the top hanami (花见which means sakura viewing) spots, and where to go for later flowering sakura like at Shinjukugoen & also at higher altitude like takaosan (600m); and of course I researched also the takaosan trails, and the Shinjuku restaurants!
transport – this is very key because of cost & time. In Japan it is very confusing as you have JR Pass, JR East Pass, JR Kanto Pass and all the places you want to go (like in my case Takaosan, Nikko & Kamakura, and Izu which I dropped) are served by private railways which you have to pay a hefty supplement. For example the All Nikko Pass works for Tobu Nikko Spacia trains which connect from Asakusa which means you have to plan to get from Shinjuku to Asakusa to connect. If you use the JR Passes, in order not to have to pay hefty supplements, you have to get to Tokyo Station and take the Tohoku Shinkansen line instead! See this important guide here!

and there is one more variable – the weather! you do NOT want to take a 3 hr journey to Nikko when it is raining or go to Hakone when it is downcast & you cannot see Mt Fuji! so your daily destination plan has to follow closely the weather reports which maybe wrong of course! as my good friend told me=that’s life!

anyway I was fortunate that during my 7 days in Tokyo I was blessed with glorious sunshine and pleasant weather(or perhaps it was I who blessed the Tokyo-ites haha..). 🙂 it was no compensation for missing the sakura full bloom though, but hey that’s life!

c.h.e.f andy

Andy’s Travelogue

Posted on April 16, 2013 by chefquak

my son had suggested (and a few friends did too) that since I am lately into blogging, why not also start a new travel blog. 🙂

I thought about this, but the food & travel blogging are really for my own interest and expression and sharing among family & close friends, and very much a memory aid as I age..haha. 🙂 & if it does provide any service at all to other people out there who I now benefit tremendously from by reading & learning from their experiences on (say) tripadvisor & googling for internet & video recipes, it is merely the mutual empowerment provided by the internet & Facebook era…it is quite bothersome to be managing 2 blogs when the whole purpose of the exercise is just to record my experience & thoughts to aid later day recollections & perhaps to relish some fun & joyous moments. 🙂 so just 1 blog it shall be!

I thought about what to name this category of posts, which will be about travel destinations, hotels & travel planning & of course 1 of my greatest motivation – food! 🙂

I decided to call it travelogue as it is mostly a manner of monologue, and with the Facebook, social network & sharing culture some bits of dialogue among close friends & sometimes strangers, and of course it is like a catalogue of the things that I do and which interest me & my thought processes, and sometimes hopefully some insights and perspective at the time.

c.h.e.f andy

Happy to Give and Receive

Posted on April 16, 2013 by chefquak

I was having coffee with my daughter & JH at a Shinjuku cafe after a satisfying meal at Ganso Sushi, a kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi (回旋寿司) shop on 12apr2013. My daughter just returned from a full & wonderful day trip to Hakone having glorious sunshine & clear view of Mount Fuji, and I was asking her if she liked to retire early as her hotel was at Asakusa area, but she wanted to have a coffee together.

We were chatting about various things including her starting work soon after graduation and the career options for her & JH. I asked about her starting salary & she asked what she should give to me. I told her I knew what she would give to my wife but if she would like to give more she could give all to my wife. She said “no la, I like it to be the same”. So I told her I would accept of course and that my belief was in life it was just as important to receive as to give, which my daughter nodded affirmatively her concurrence.

All parents would be more than happy to receive any token appreciation from their children as they commence the next lap of their life’s journey with new jobs & financial independence, without placing too much burden on the children. It is both a great feeling for the children to offer and for the parent to cherish the offer & to reinforce the positive energy by showing appreciation for the offer.

Though we mostly know how short & transient life is, and what make us happy & how we should try to be positive, the world is so filled with tragedies, depression, anxiety, anger, sadness, and we are continuously invaded & distracted by negative thoughts throughout the day.

I constantly remind myself to make myself happy, and all my loved ones and friends happy (and strangers too) where I can without trying overly hard. This is of course just my personal views and may not apply to others – everyone would know how to make themselves happy if they want to & if they try. 🙂

Why not try overly hard? The thing is that if you have expectations that others must share what you believe, think what you think, or understand or appreciate what you do, then (1) your mood which reflects your true self however you want your self image to be will not be relaxed & expansive & you will be just putting pressure on yourself (2) there will be lack of earnestness and instead of generating positive energy, you will be generating negative energy.

But effort is important! I used to tell my children – you must want something! if you don’t want it or treasure it or show the pleasure in receiving or achieving it, why should people want to help you get it? 🙂

So try hard we must, because without effort there is no earnestness. I recall The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho said something like “When you want something, all the universe is conspiring to help you achieve it”. My understanding of this is that when you do something in earnest without having an ulterior motive or expectation but at the same time you are serious & fully committed and want it in all earnestness & enjoy & are happy doing it, then the positive energy trigger & bring forth all the positive energy from everyone else, so everyone is happy to help you achieve it.

So to me, the purpose must be to increase the happiness of myself and all around me. and so it is a pleasure to give. it makes people happy and make yourself happy. at the same time it is a pleasure to receive and to show the same earnestness in receiving – the appreciation & happiness. 🙂 if you belief that giving makes you happy because you also want others to be happy, then it follows that others feel happy when giving and if it also makes you happy to receive (please do NOT accept anything if it does not feel right or make you happy to do so!) then let others have that happy feeling of giving and positive energy & goodwill will multiply. Like the saying goes “sorrow lessen and happiness multiply when shared”.

We always teach our children – know when to say NO! that is correct of course. at the same time, we should know & treasure the moments when to say YES! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Asahi Sushi Shinjuku Sumitomo 50F Course Dinner on 9Apr2013

Posted on April 14, 2013 by chefquak

Kinki – a fatty Japanese delicacy

arrived Tokyo on 9apr2013.

had dinner arranged with my daughter & JH. they were already travelling Japan. decided to book a course dinner in a comfortable environment & easy to locate place, so booked Asahi Sushi at 50F, Shinjuku Sumitomo Building. They had a few course menu promotions for the month & great views up there. 🙂

JH & I had the 7-course with kuroge wagyu beef dinner. My daughter had a 10-item sushi moriwase set.

for the course dinner, we also had a small veg salad with mayo otoshi. The 7 courses were-

hokkaido crab claw with unagi & vinegared pickles (below photo left)
maguro & tai sashimi (above photo middle)
chawanmushi (above photo right)
kinki (japanese delicacy & chef’s favourite here)
kuroge wagyu grilled
8-item sushi moriwase
miso soup

the veg salad, chawanmushi & miso soup were non-events. the crab & unagi vinegared dish was very tasty. the sashimi were very average even for Singapore.

the kinki was fabulous. this very sweet tasting fatty fish is like between a cod (not as fatty) & chilean seabass (the latter is my perennial favourite). super! 🙂

kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) rare

the kuroge wagyu was good I guess but kind of underwhelming. I always felt Japanese wagyu were so good they were best eaten teppanyaki or yakiniku style rather than western fine dining style. When Andre Chiang was at Jaan years back, we use to frequent there a bit more. he had this kagoshima wagyu done in this Gordon Ramsay style similar to what’s done here in the above photo. It was good of course but I would much rather have it sizzling hot & with the freshly seared aburi marbling flavour. 🙂

10-piece sushi platter

my daughter was not too impressed with her sushi platter (above photo). It had anago, 2 pieces maki, hamachi? (not sure), ikura (these were small & I much preferred the large ones so maybe it was not ikura), tai, aji, prawn, hotate, maguro uni & akamai (lean toro). after I later tried the very good quality sushi at Daikokuya 大黑屋 kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi, I had to agree with her that you could get equal or better quality sushi at much lower price but of course ambience and view was a world apart. 🙂

her set also included the vinegared crab dish & miso soup.

8-items sushi moriwase

for the course dinner, we had a 8-item sushi platter-maguro, saba, akamai, hotate, amaebi, uni, ikura (small ones) & anago. It was good but same observations as my daughter. 🙂

was the dinner worth it? my daughter’s set cost 2730yen=S$30++. good kaiten sushi not withstanding, S$30++ for a plump, succulent, sweet hokkaido crab claw + 10 piece sushi including akamai, uni, anago, ikura, hotate would really be nothing to complain about in Singapore.

the 7-course dinner cost 6090yen=S$67++. here with kinki & kuroge wagyu thrown in, I would say it was still a very good set c/w say Kuriya Dining which offer very good monthly S$88++ set but my usual eat at Mikuni would beat this hands down in terms of overall satisfaction if not value of ingredients. 🙂

& that was before factoring in the free view of Shinjuku night skyline, privacy & quiet ambience.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Kuroge Wagyu @ Shinjuku Korin Yakiniku (光琳) on 11Apr2013

Posted on April 14, 2013 by chefquak

Kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) flank 1180yen for 100g

returned from another long journey again, this time to Enoshima & Kamakura and another 6 hrs+ walking. usually I would skip lunch to optimise the time for the tour. 🙂 this time I had 20minutes at Fujiwara station waiting to board the Odakyu train back to Shinjuku, and so helped myself with a bowl of 400yen nikusoba. good stuff! 🙂

still I was feeling like treating myself to a good meal. I already had 1 expensive course dinner at Asahi Sushi @ 50F Shinjuku Sumitomo building, a very good tokusen (特选) sashimi moriwase also at Asahi Sushi 8F Mylord Shinjuku South Exit, and a cheap food tour including soba, thick cut gyu don, and kaiten sushi. So I thought go try out an average yakiniku place. 🙂

I found this yakiniku restaurant Korin (光琳) near Shinjuku 1-chome. It had this very powerful suction chute-not only it rid the place of smoke & smell but the flame rose up when you placed the meat on the metal grill & actually seared & barbeque the meat extremely well – whatever maillard reaction you needed you could not get better than this. 🙂

special taster set of 5 meats (3 kuroge wagyu) for 1980yen

They have english & picture menu as in most eats in Japan. Not knowing how the meat standard was relative to the price, I elected to have the special taster set which included 3 types of kuroge wagyu for 1980yen.

all the meats were good & I enjoyed all of them, especially the 2 very marbled wagyu at the bottom of the above photo. 🙂 I think high temperature flaming (aburi) whether it was on marbled meat or on oily fish sushi or sashimi (like aburi toro) made a superlative improvement to the already great marbled taste.

being greedy I asked the waiting staff which menu item this was, & I made another order of this kuroge flank 1180yen for 100g (which you see in the photo at the top of the page). This really was fabulous. 🙂

So my dinner added up to 3160yen nett. you could also order beef tongue, scallop/prawn/seafood & bibimbap here as well as a set of 4 kimchi.

I am one very satisfied customer! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ganso Sushi: Shinjuku Kaiten(Conveyor Belt) 元祖寿司 on 12Apr2013

Posted on April 12, 2013 by chefquak

uni (sea urchin) sushi on 12Apr2013

Today is my rest day. The trips to Takaosan & Enoshima-Kamakura the last 2 days were rather tiring, each entailed >5hrs of walking on my injured toes. 🙂 Today I plan only to stroll around Shinjukugoen to catch any remnants of sakura flowering and later to pick up the All Nikko Pass from Tobu Pass Office at MB1 of Shinjuku Centre Building.

Ganso Sushi: Shinjuku Kaiten(Conveyor Belt) 元祖寿司

I was passing this kaiten sushi (回旋寿司) place on the way to Shinjukugoen. The first kaiten sushi I tried this trip was kind of disappointing, this fortunately though turned out to be much better. 🙂

kaiten sushi at corner from Shinjuku South Exit to Sunroute Hotel

kaiten sushi at corner from Shinjuku 1-chome

Like the other kaiten sushi shops, there was a powdered tea box where you dished out tea powder (I picked the toasted rice tea 玄米茶 ) & added hot water from the tap, and you can help yourself with the pickled ginger (see above photo).

I ordered the following sushi items-

uni (sea urchin) – 262yen
2xhamachi (yellow tail) – 2x130yen
ebi (prawn – don’t know what type, I only know amaebi, akaebi & botan ebi – this though was as large as botan ebi) – 130yen
ika (squid) – 130yen
anago (sea eel or conger eel) – 130yen

Total cost = 912yen for 12 pieces, about S$12nett.

The uni (top photo) was above average, good helping, sweet & not dry but not the very creamy melt in the mouth bursting with flavour kind, definitely good value for 262yen! 🙂

uni (sea urchin) sushi 0n 13Apr2013

I went back again the next day (13Apr2013) and this time the uni was very creamy & sweet, very good indeed, so do note the freshness & standard may vary a bit. 🙂

The hamachi standard was inconsistent. The one on the above right photo was excellent. The one of the left was just ok. I could not tell from just looking at them.

ebi sushi

The prawn sushi was good. It was large but not as sweet tasting & plump as botan ebi (which is very expensive in Singapore like 3pieces for S$25)

The ika was good not great. So was the anago. This the cheaper version. I did not take the 262yen ones which were like 2 times the size (in length). maybe I should have!

It was a really great sushi lunch and at very low cost of just S$12nett! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Economic Quick Food Tour of Shinjuku on 10Apr2013

Posted on April 11, 2013 by chefquak

had a nice dinner & great view at Asahi Sushi on 50th floor of Shinjuku Sumitomo Building with my daughter & her friend last evening, so decided to go for some cheap food this time round after my exhausting 5 hr+ walking trip to Takaosan (高尾山).

as I returned on the Keio line. I recalled this soba shop which I had wanted to visit. There was no difficulty locating it after the fare gate. :-).

I surveyed the available options and picked a 350yen soba which came with an ebi (the super tiny kind) tempura – see photos below.

350yen soba with tiny prawn tempura @ keio line shinjuku

self select soba options

This is an easy way to order your food. You just self-select the item you want, make payment at a “meal ticket machine” and out comes a ticket of your meal order which you then present to the shop & wait for your food to be ready. 🙂

what can I say? the 350yen soba was immensely gratifying. was it better than the S$3 bachormee (minced pork noodles)? I think not. but it is colder here and slurping a warm tasty soba was a very comforting & enjoyable experience.

I walked around the streets dotted with restaurants just across Shinjuku West Exit which was also around my hotel Sunroute Plaza. I found this interesting gyu don shop which advertised a thick cut beef bowl. When I first came to japan 30 years ago, I enjoyed very much the cheap gyu don at Shinjuku including Yoshinoya (吉野家). Those use the very fatty thin sliced beef which are similar to the Korean bulgogi cuts. Now lifestyle has progressed somewhat & the Yoshinaya gyu don is not a very attractive food choice.

This beef bowl however was quite excellent. The beef were thick cut as advertised (as seen in above photos) and the many sauces & chilli (see photo below) & rice were all excellent very tasty and enjoyable. It came with a miso soup & glass of water & you could help yourself to pickled ginger on the table. The whole meal costs just 330yen. This was a small portion (but was already quite substantial), and you could pick a medium which is 480yen or large, 620yen.

Next I went to try out what looked like a better quality conveyor belt sushi.

This was what I had (total cost=862yen)-

2 pieces salmon belly (262yen)
4 pieces shellfish (2x130yen)
2 pieces maguro (130yen)
2 pieces negitoro (210yen)

The sushi was rather underwhelming. The salmon belly was good not super. Maguro looked ok but was a cheap cut, negi toro looked great but had not much taste, the shellfish was good so I ordered a second helping. 🙂

the entire dinner – I didn’t have lunch of course & took small amount of the gyu don rice :-)..haha..if you can call that=330+350+862=1542yen=S$17++. 🙂

So basically you don’t need to spend that much money eating in Japan!

c.h.e.f andy

	Rosemary on 50% Discounts for 2pax Excelle…
	Braised Pig Intestin… on Teochew Light Braised Large…
	edmundc38 on 赠我 Gift to Me
	David Ong on 咖喱鸡面 Curry Chicken Noodles
	10 Must-Try Michelin… on Oyster Omelette (蚝烙) Starchy O…
	chefquak on SCG Bought Hill Street CKT and…
	Elli on SCG Bought Hill Street CKT and…
	chefquak on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity
	niamcl on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity
	chefquak on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity

c.h.e.f

cook.hangout.eat.fun

Category Archives: Andy’s Travelogue

5pax Dinner @ Tao Heung 稻香超级渔港 Mongkok on 12May2013

Cheap & Good 大牌档 Dinner @ Keung Kee 强记鸡粥 at Tai Wai Hong Kong on 10May2013

Dimsum Lunch @ 迎 Joyous One on 11May2013

Enjoyable Lunch @ Lei Gardens(利苑) Mongkok on 13May2013

Great Value Dimsum @ 1 Michelin Star Timhowan Fuk Wing Street Hong Kong on 10May2013

Kurama (鞍马) & Kibune (贵船) Hike on 20May2013

Southeast Kyoto Tour of Tofukuji, Uji & Fushimi Inari on 17 & 18May2013

Kyoto & Osaka Trip with Sister @17-22May2013

Great Affordable Eats @ Kyoto 17-21May2013

Kuroge Wagyu Shabu Shabu & Sukiyaki @ 花心河原町店 Kashin Kawaramachi Kyoto on 18May2013

Teppanyaki Course Lunch @ Gozanbo Hotel Granvia Kyoto Station on 18May2013

Takaosan (高尾山) Trails & Senbonzakura (1000 Sakuras)

1500yen Kuroge Wagyu (黑毛和牛) Lunch Set (sashimi, grilled & braised wagyu) on 14Apr2013

Trip Planning – Flight, Hotel, Destinations, Transport

Andy’s Travelogue

Happy to Give and Receive

Asahi Sushi Shinjuku Sumitomo 50F Course Dinner on 9Apr2013

Great Kuroge Wagyu @ Shinjuku Korin Yakiniku (光琳) on 11Apr2013

Ganso Sushi: Shinjuku Kaiten(Conveyor Belt) 元祖寿司 on 12Apr2013

Economic Quick Food Tour of Shinjuku on 10Apr2013

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: