We didn’t make any real plans for the Kyoto leg of the trip, so we figured we would just re-visit 奈良 Nara on the first day we were in Kyoto since it was close by.
Right after stepping out of the train station, we noticed something was going on, with some folks dressed up in traditional costumes. A quick search later, we realised we had stumbled into the preparations for the 采女祭 Uneme Festival.
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On the last day of our 5-day Kansai Wide Area Pass (link to: Official Website, Japan Guide), we decided to make the most of it and went all the way to 彦根 Hikone at Lake Biwa after dropping our luggage in 京都 Kyoto.
And we gotten an eki-bento in the form of curry katsu sando which we enjoyed on the train ride.
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Once we arrived at 白浜駅 Shirahama Station, we quickly made our way to 三段壁 Sandanbeki and 千畳敷 Senjojiki via bus.
三段壁 Sandanbeki is a cliff with rocks engraved with the works of nature. Ripple marks were created on the surface of the layers about 16 million years ago when waves and currents moved sand and mud from the seabed. At the bottom, there’s a legendary cave where Kumano naval force hid ships as long ago as the Heian Era, and one of Japan’s largest bronze statue Murodaibenzaiten is dedicated in the cave. One can pay to go down an elevator to the cave but we didn’t venture.
千畳敷 Senjojiki meaning “one thousand tatami mats” is a rocky coastal plateau in Wakayama known for unique geological formations. This is a vast, white, terraced rock plateau eroded by the Pacific Ocean, allowing for coastal hiking.
The weather was beautifully sunny—great for photos, but not so great for our sun-fried selves, LOL! Luckily, a refreshing strawberry-flavored shaved ice (¥150) from one of the souvenir shops revived us a little.
Continue readingWhile waiting for our flight at the Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 Departure Area, we went to grab a bite.
The tea here was very refreshing, while the 三杯鸡套餐 Three Cup Chicken Rice Set was just alright. The 梅乾菜 (a kind of preserved vegetables made from mustard green) in the 梅乾扣肉套餐 Pork Belly and Hakka Preserved Cabbage Rice Set was really good. I finished one full bowl of white rice with it!
| Contact Location: Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1-3F (Departure Area) [Google Maps] Website: https://www.prioritypass.com/lounges/taiwan/taipei-taoyuan-international/tpe11d-homme-kitchen Hours: 6am – 11pm |
After a rather strenuous hike up and down 象山 Elephant Mountain (the steep stairs were really quite a killer for the knees coming down, especially for my short legs!), our wobbly legs could not take us too far for dinner, and we decided to head back to A13 where we had earlier wanted to check out for lunch, but were too late.
We were unable to reserve seats, and were a bit sad to learn that the queue was at least an hour. Suddenly, they asked the group in front of us if they were willing to 拼桌 share table, which the group declined. The staff turned to us and we nodded our heads vigorously and were ushered in immediately! As we made our way in, we heard the earlier group enquire about sharing table, but there were no more… oops. It was 2 groups of 3 pax sharing a huge table that could fit 10 pax, so there were no concerns of mistaking our orders or eating the wrong item.
Continue readingFirst thing off the list when we reached Taipei was 大稻埕魯肉飯! We literally lugged our luggage over to grab dinner.
Ms K really enjoyed the 魯肉飯 Braised Pork Rice here. She said the soy sauce was very fragrant. and we were all wow-ed by the 腿庫飯 Pork Hock Rice. The 白菜滷 Braised White Cabbage was very well-braised too. The NT230 was very worth it!
We were lucky to make it here just before the dinner crowd arrived and didn’t have to queue. By the time we settled down, there was a long queue with quite a few takeaways.
| Contact Location: 台北市大同區長安西路220巷17號 No. 17, Lane 220, Chang’an W Rd, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103 [Google Maps] Website: [Facebook] [Instagram] Hours: 11:30am – 8pm |
Our last meal for the trip was at Pekin Restaurant 北京楼. There were quite a few outlets, and Dr K recommended this one.
A pity the peking duck was already sold out by the time we reached.
We settled for Roast Chicken 烧鸡 (half) instead, as well as Claypot Pork Ribs 砂煲排骨, Jade Beancurd 翡翠豆腐, Qing Long Vegetables 青龙菜 and Red Bean Paste Pancake 豆沙锅饼. Food was generally not bad, with a total cost of RM113.35.
| Pekin Restaurant Johor Jaya 北京楼: Location: 1, Jalan Masai Baru, Johor Jaya, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia [Google Maps] Website: pekin.com.my Hours: 10:30am – 10pm (Daily) |
Another recommendation by a local, this Horfun 滑蛋河 was delicious with a good punch of wok hei! The other item Pineapple Pig Stomach 黄梨猪肚 was also very yummy with the bouncy pig’s stomach. We also tried the Crispy Noodles, Fried Spring Roll, Fried Dumpling and Fishballs. Total cost was RM88.30, including drinks. Overall, an enjoyable dinner 🙂
| Hoong Tho Restaurant 鸿图酒楼: Location: 20, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia [Google Maps] Hours: 10.30am – 2:30pm, 5.30pm – 9pm (Wed-Mon) |
We were strolling along when we chanced upon this place and ended up having a lovely tea-theme dinner. Each item had elements of different types of tea, and this was probably the best tea egg I have had in a very long time. Not only was it fragrant, the flavours were well-infused into the tea egg! They do sell the egg spices pack for making your own tea eggs back home, but being lazy us… the staff proceeded to share with us that they have outlets in JB too 😛
It was a lovely space for us to chill out and there was also a variety of products available for purchase.
| Purple Cane Ipoh Tea House 怡保紫藤茶馆: Location: 2, Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar, Osbrone Street, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia [Google Maps] Website: https://www.purplecane.my Hours: 11am – 8pm (Daily) |
We were very happy to find a new place to try out Peranakan food! Prior reservations were required as walk-in were discouraged, and we also placed our orders in advance, ahead of the trip. We loved the ambience here and had a great time here!
We tried the following:
Note that there was an additional 10% service charge.
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Eat.Eat.Walk.Walk . 吃吃走走 