Our hotel staff recommended going to 華陰街 Huaying Street area for lunch, and we must say, it was a great recommendation!
We had been here during our previous trip, and unfortunately, the 麻醬涼麵 Sesame Cold Noodle stall had already closed down. So we kept walking, till we saw 2 long queues side-by-side, one for 脆皮鮮奶甜甜圈 Crispy Fresh Donuts (Taiwanese donuts that was apparently even better than the big brands), and the other for 三多屋爸爸嘴 Sando House, a place selling value-for-money sashimi.
Today was meant to be a relaxing day in our itinerary, and we wanted to spend the day exploring 熊本市 Kumamoto City.
As 熊本城 Kumamoto Castle suffered serious damages during the earthquake in April 2016, it was closed to public, and we could only view it from outside.
However, there were signboards to guide you to various locations for viewing and also to provide more information regarding the castle.
We ended our walking tour at 城彩苑 Josaien Castle Town, located at 桜の馬場 Sakura no Baba, near the foot of Kumamoto Castle.
We were exploring the area near our hotel after the bus tour, and it was rather late by the time our stomachs called out to us 😮
We had wandered to 天文館公園 Tenmonkan Park, and Google search showed us that there was an 居酒屋 Izakaya just opposite us! Despite being so near, it took us a little while to find the entrance 😛
We had to remove our shoes upon entering, and were pretty lucky to get the last table. Once we settled down, we were presented with a 100% Japanese menu without pictures or food models, haha!
We poured over the menu and had a fun time trying to decipher some of the items with our limited vocabulary. The friendly staff also tried his best to explain what some of the items were, and gave us some recommendations.
We had yet to enjoy sashimi during this trip, and just before the girls depart for home, we decided to visit 노량진수산물도매시장 Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market 鷺梁津水產市場 for some fresh seafood 😀
We had reached the fish market around 10:30am, and there were hardly any customers 😮 We walked around to check out the various seafood, and throughout, we were approached by vendors who knew how to speak Mandarin, making us even more worried about getting scammed.
In the end, we decided to play it safe, and just get some sashimi to share. At the main aisle, there were many stalls that were selling pre-packed sliced sashimi, but the fish did not seem very fresh. We kept walking around, till we saw a couple of tourists getting their sashimi from a stall 당진수산 (Dangjin Susan) Dangjin Fishery (할어-089, Tel: 010-2733-3910), where the sashimi platter prices were listed. We did not have to worry about bargaining or getting scammed anymore 🙂
Thanks to Starhub, we had a 1-for-1 voucher, and decided to try out Takujo at Emporium Shokuhin, serving contemporary Japanese cuisine.
Emporium Shokuhin is this huge area in Marina Square ground floor that has a collection of fresh fish market (with fresh lobster from Hokkaido!), frozen meat market, groceries, and many restaurants all congregating together.
The restaurant was surprising quiet at 6:45pm on a Friday night (maybe the price put off many people). Even when we finished around 8:30pm, there were only 4-5 tables full.
Since it was 1-for-1, we opted for the Takujo 8-course Signature Dinner Set ($128++), where we would get to try both grilled fish options 🙂
The menu was surprisingly in English only though.
When we decided to visit Ms I in Sydney and began our research, Sydney Fish Market (SFM) popped up on Google Maps and I made a note that we must come and visit because we are so fond of fish markets with its fresh seafood (or markets in general, really… Haha)!
After more research, we realized that this is the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and the 3rd largest fish market in the world in terms of variety. It is also a popular place with over 2.7 million visitors coming here annually.
But the most exciting part for us is SFM also includes many seafood eateries within its premises and one can buy fresh seafood to cook at home, or order them and have them cooked on the spot in various styles!
We were here for some Japanese-European fusion food because of the Chope offer!
Though there was a larger outdoor seating area, we opted for indoors, thinking that it would be less hot and more quiet. Erm, it was quite quiet when the blender was not in use 😛
It was ladies’ night today, so ladies get a free drink and 3 oysters at promotional prices. The staff said it is men’s night everyday; the men foot the bill everyday. Hahahaha!
To start, we got a Lychee Sake Cocktail and 3 Fresh Oysters to share. We also had a Raw & Cured Platter ($36++), Hamachi Collar ($21.90++), Charcoal Griled Saikyo Miso Ginger Spring Chicken ($24++), Jumbo Crab Meat Linguine ($29, free with Chope offer).
We were looking for a good dinner, and having an excellent experience at Akanoya Robatayaki previously, we decided to check out Tamashii (after reading MissTamChiak’s blog) too!
The location of the restaurant was not the easiest to find even though we had the exact address. It was located on the 2nd floor of The Offshore building but the entrance to the elevator lobby was in such an obscure corner. If not for the clear directions from MissTamChiak’s entry, we would definitely be lost.
For the record, you need to walk along North Canal Road until you reach this side alley with the picture of all the restaurant logos on the wall (see picture) and a direction to Elevator. Then you walk in the direction of the arrow and near the end of the alley you will see a small opening on your right. Push the door open and that’s the elevator lobby where you will take to Level 2. Turn right after getting out and you will see Tamashii. 🙂
XY highly recommended this place and we skipped breakfast to make a special trip here for lunch 🙂
At first, we ended up at the 三井選品 Mitsui Supermarket across the street, but quickly found out that the actual restaurant was opposite 🙂
The restaurant was at 2 locations and the menu is the same, just that the decorations were different. We were led to the second site 上乘三井 a few shops away, as it appears that the first site 三井本館 required reservations.
三井 Mitsui started off as a small eatery 三井小吃店 in 1992, and expanded to seven restaurants with slightly different concepts but each still serving fresh seafood and delightful Japanese cuisine to customers. We also got to know that 上引水產 Addiction Aquatic Development (which we visited in 2013) is also managed under them.
We travelled from 京都 Kyoto to 大阪 Osaka and first thing we did after dropping our luggage with the hotel was to visit 黒門市場 Kuromon Market! This market has more than 190 years of history and tradition, and is often called “Osaka’ s Kitchen” because of the number and variety of food and products that it contains.
The market is a must-go whenever we are in 大阪 Osaka because we simply love the hustle and bustle of a very lively Japanese market. Or for that matter, any market in any vacation that we go!
The friendly shouting of the stall holders amidst the selling, the abundance of food for tasting, and the smell of the freshness of the produce made us instantly perked up, despite a very rainy day in 大阪 Osaka!
Eat.Eat.Walk.Walk . 吃吃走走 