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おぐら Ogura @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 3 September 2017 by lendeliz

2017-09-03 19.13.28It is said that チキン南蛮 Chicken Nanban, originated from 延岡市 Nobeoka City in 宮崎県 Miyazaki Prefecture. More precisely, it all started from 直ちゃん Naochan, a small restaurant which serves its fried chicken breast marinated with Nanban vinegar, without tartar sauce. Nowadays, there are also restaurants that use chicken thigh meat instead, as it is more juicy and tender.

The first restaurant that started serving this dish with tartar sauce was said to be おぐら Ogura, within 宮崎市 Miyazaki City. So it seemed fitting that our first dinner in Miyazaki would be here 🙂

We headed for おぐら本店 Ogura Honten, which was located in a little alley. The restaurant looked like a little cottage, and it was fairly quiet at 6.30pm on a Sunday (and soon we realised that Miyazaki was basically rather quiet all the time throughout our stay :P)

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Categories: Dinner, Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

お好み焼「美津の」Mizuno Okonomiyaki @Osaka, Japan

Posted on 2 September 2017 by lendeliz

2017-09-02 18.19.50お好み焼「美津の」Mizuno Okonomiyaki was opened in 1945, just after World War II, making it the oldest お好み焼き Okonomiyaki restaurant in 大阪 Osaka.

We were there just before 5pm, and there was already a queue.

The staff would offer the menu (Chinese and English menus available) to the customers and take their orders while still in the queue. You are not allowed to add orders once you enter the restaurant, so choose wisely 🙂

The wait was bearable, and the queue moved rather fast.

We took the set (¥2105) which consisted of mini 山芋焼 Yamaimoyaki, and モダン焼 Modanyaki, which were the two very popular items here.

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Categories: Dinner, Japan, Osaka, Travel | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Hyde & Co @North Bridge Road

Posted on 24 June 2017 by lendeliz

2017-06-24 12.44.522017-06-24 12.26.12Our second stop today was the nearby Hyde & Co for lunch.

This was a small but popular cafe, and was almost full house at 1pm!

  • The Bomb ($13.90 for half portion): We liked that there was half portions (4 pieces) available. The prawns were fresh, and the chye poh (pickled radish) omelette as pizza topping was definitely something interesting, but the samba chinchalok spread was too spicy for us, and the pizza base was too hard. Also, our pizza was kinda burnt.
  • Hyde’s Chilli Crab Pasta ($22.90): There was a generous amount of Blue Swimmer crab meat, and the spicy Arrabiata sauce had sufficient kick without being overly spicy. It complemented the linguine well, and we enjoyed the pasta very much.
  • My Fair Lady ($6.50): We requested for the iced tea to be without sugar. The iced Earl Grey Tea with milk was light with a hint of rose. Quite lovely.

Note: Wi-Fi and water (including hot water!) is available for free.

Contact:

  • Location: 785 North Bridge Road S(198753)
  • Website: www.hydeandco.com.sg (Facebook)
  • Hrs: 12pm – 6pm (Sun-Mon), 12pm – 10:30pm (Wed-Sat)
Categories: Central, Intro, Lunch | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Tolido’s Espresso Nook @Crawford Lane

Posted on 24 June 2017 by lendeliz

2017-06-24 10.19.41We were in the area to collect hubby’s passport and the queue at Tai Hwa looked scary 😮

A quick Google Search showed a promising cafe nearby and we decided to check it out instead.

2017-06-24 10.21.59A nice cosy little cafe, it started to get really busy at around 10:30am. Luckily, we stepped in just a few minutes earlier, and were able to get our seats and place our orders quickly.

  • Sea salt spiced Chai latte ($6.50 nett) : After the initial light saltiness, the first sip was actually quite sweet and milky, before the spice settled in and started swirling all over. I liked the layers of taste!
  • Skinny latte ($5.50): With beans from Yahava, hubby is a happy man. He felt that this was a slightly watered down version of the one he usually has at Yahava, but still pretty good 🙂
  • The ultimate combo ($12): Perfect for sharing as we wanted a light bite, the 2 pancakes were fluffy and quite light.  The cheese sausage was awesome and really cheesy, without being overly salty.

Wi-Fi and water is available for free. Also,  there was a cute cat inside cafe!

Contact:

  • Location: 462 Crawford Lane #01-63 S(190462)
  • Website: www.facebook.com/tolidosnook
  • Hrs: 8am – 6:30pm (Tue-Fri), 9am – 6:30pm (Sat-Sun)
Categories: Breakfast, Central | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Cafes within walking distance from City Square @Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Posted on 16 June 2017 by lendeliz

There are quite a few cafes within walking distance from Johor Bahru City Square, and we tried 2 during our trip.

Faculty of Caffeine

Our first stop of the trip was to chill 😛 We shared a Waffle with Japanese Curry Soft Shell Crab (RM28.90 + 10% service charge + 6% GST as of  Jun 2017), and tried a hot Latte (RM10++), Iced Apple Lemon (RM12++) and Iced Apple Pear (RM12++).

The waffle was pretty normal, but the soft shell crab was really salty 😮

Drinks-wise, the latte was not bad, and the juices were freshly squeezed and refreshing 🙂

Note: Free WiFi was available.

Contact:

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Categories: Coffee/Tea Break, Johor, Malaysia, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Restoran Ya Wang 鸭皇药材烧腊大王 @Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Posted on 16 June 2017 by lendeliz

We ventured to Johor Bahru by bus today!

Lunch was at this popular restaurant, and we made it a point to arrive before 11.30am. It was actually getting crowded already 😮 We quickly got ourselves seated and got some recommendations from the staff on what to eat 🙂

  • 碳烤药材鸭 Herbal Roast Duck (RM22 nett): Apparently this place acted as consultant for the chain 店小二 Dian Xiao Er in Singapore, and we thought the roast ducks were pretty comparable, i.e. tender and juicy!
  • 叉烧烧肉 Honey BBQ Pork & Roast Pork (RM20): We definitely preferred the roast pork with its crispy skin 🙂 We would have preferred BBQ pork with a bit more fats 😛
  • 亚叁妮罗红 Assam Red Tilapia (RM30): This was the clear winner of all the items that we tried! The fish was really fresh, and the assam gravy was oh-so-addictive 😀 I think this was a Today’s Special and not in the menu.
  • 奶白菜 Taiwan White Cabbage (RM18): Pretty standard plate of vegetable, to make us feel less guilty about the sinful lunch, haha 😛
  • 海燕窝 Sea Birdnest drink (RM6.50): We were curious about what 海燕窝 was, and it turned out to be rather crunchy and jelly-like. The drink was perhaps a bit more like 糖水 (sweet soup dessert), and it was quite nice.

Overall, a very enjoyable meal 🙂

Note: Above prices included 6% GST.

Contact:
Categories: Johor, Lunch, Malaysia, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Cafes in Busan and Seoul, South Korea

Posted on 11 April 2017 by lendeliz

We had been to quite a few cafes during this trip, sometimes just to get breakfast for the next morning, and sometimes, we needed caffeine. And our favourite place gotta be…

카반커피 Kavan Coffee

IMG_2385IMG_2384Of worthy mention is this place, where we had the best Cafe Latte (₩3,000) of this trip. Strong, yet smooth, it had that oomph at the very first sip 🙂

The Green Tea Latte  (₩3,500) here was pretty good too.

There are 2 outlets, and the one we visited was near 서면역 Seomyeon Station 西面站 (check out the location map in their website). Do give it a try if you visit Busan!

Website: www.kavancoffee.com (Facebook)

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Categories: Busan, Coffee/Tea Break, Seoul, South Korea, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

애성회관 곰탕 (Aeseong Hoegwan Gomtang) Aseong Hall Beef Soup @Seoul, South Korea

Posted on 11 April 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_2760We wanted to grab some dinner prior to making our way to the airport, and once again, we went to the nearby 애성회관 곰탕 (Aeseong Hoegwan Gomtang) Aseong Hall Beef Soup, recommended by the hotel.

We got ourselves some 곰탕 (Gomtang) Beef Soup 牛肉湯 (₩8,000 (S), ₩10,000 (L)).

Simple, and super delicious, the beef slices were thick, tender, and flavourful.

We recommend getting the big bowl for the extra beef! The noodles quantity seemed to be the same, and they were worth slurping too. The soup was served warm (not piping hot), and it was very flavourful too.

What a delicious meal to end our trip with 🙂

Contact:

  • Location: 서울특별시 중구 남대문로5길 23 세창빌딩 Seochang Building, 5 Road, 23 Namdaemunro, Jung-gu, Seoul
  • Website: www.facebook.com/pages/애성회관/492191597564040
  • Directions: See directions here. Take Exit 7 of 시청역 City Hall Station 市廳站 (Subway Line 1/2, Station Number 132/201) and walk around 5 mins.
  • Hrs: 10am – 9pm (Mon-Fri), 10am – 8pm (Sat)
Categories: Dinner, Seoul, South Korea | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

동방영양센터 (Dongbang Yeongyang Center) Oriental Nutrition Center 東方營養中心 @Seoul, South Korea

Posted on 11 April 2017 by lendeliz

After checking out and depositing our luggage with the hotel, we went to the hotel-recommended 동방영양센터 (Dongbang Yeongyang Center) Oriental Nutrition Center 東方營養中心, that specialised in 삼계탕 (Samgyetang) Ginseng Chicken Soup 蔘雞湯.

Despite the staff who kept saying that the chicken was very small, we ordered only 1 set (₩14,000) as I did not have much of an appetite. I guess they were not too happy with us, but the restaurant was fairly empty while we were there.

The samgyetang really did wonders for my blocked nose 😛

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The soup itself was quite light, and the chicken quite tender. Again, it came with accompanying dip and side dishes. Overall, quite a decent meal, and rather filling for 2 of us.

From here, it was an easy walk to 덕수궁 Deoksugung Palace 德壽宮, which was our next destination.

Contact:

  • Location: 북창동 42-2 동화빌딩 서울 중구 세종대로18길 14, Bukchangdong 42-2 Fairytale Building Sejong Daero Road, Jung-gu, Seoul
  • Directions: See directions here
  • Hrs: 9am – 11pm
Categories: Lunch, Seoul, South Korea, Travel | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

남대문시장 Namdaemun Market 南大門市場 @Seoul, South Korea

Posted on 11 April 2017 by lendeliz

IMG20170406134129One of the largest traditional market in South Korea, 남대문시장 Namdaemun Market 南大門市場 has been opened since 1964.

There are stores that serves as wholesale markets (starts from 11pm to next day wee hours), as well as retail sections (some stores start from 9am onwards, with push carts coming out closer to 11am).

With more than 10,000 stores, all sorts of stuff can be found here, including clothing, accessories, toys, kitchenware, etc. Of course, there are plenty of food options as well, from snack stalls to cafes and eateries. It seemed impossible to finish seeing and eating in one day.

Since we were staying quite near 남대문시장 Namdaemun Market 南大門市場, we popped over quite a number of times for eating and shopping. In fact, hubby even managed to haggle a little for cheap men’s socks 😮 (Though we did see even cheaper ones at Dongdaemun…)

First thing we did was to get a map of the Namdaemun Market at the Information Centre near Exit 5 of 회현 Hoehyeon Station 會賢站 (Subway Line 4, Station Number 425), or you can get a copy from here. We also spotted staff stationed at different areas to help lost tourists.
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Categories: Breakfast, Coffee/Tea Break, Seoul, South Korea, Travel | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

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