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.
Continue readingNo trip to 嵐山 Arashiyama seemed complete without trying some tofu cuisine 😛 We ordered 2 sets to try (total ¥4330) and we totally enjoyed the food and the pleasant environment.
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We had wanted to check out this place for the last few trips but it was always closed (because we kept picking the same day to travel 😡). This time, we especially picked a different day, and called in advance to make reservations.
We found the place slightly before 12 noon, and found the metal gates still locked 😮 However, looking through the gates, it seemed that the back door was open, and we figured that we would just take a peep, as we were not too sure if this was the correct place to be, as there were a couple of similarly-named places found in Google Maps.
Boy, were we glad that we went to the back, for we got to see how 叫化鷄 Beggar Chicken was prepared 😀 The owner was preparing the chicken, and explained to us how it was done, hehe! Continue reading
Since we were staying along the 淡水信義線 MRT Red Line this time, it was a pretty easy ride all the way to the end of the line to 捷運淡水站 Tamsui Station. Note that not all trains will reach the very last station, so take a look at the signboard before boarding 🙂
We arrived just after 11am, and were surprised it was not too crowded despite being a Sunday.
As we exited the station and walked towards 淡水老街 Danshui (Tamsui) Old Street, the first thing that caught our attention was the street performance by an artist painted in gold (蚊”風不動 – 街頭藝人). He seemed to be sitting on thin air without any support and was completely still which got the audiences impressed. He moved in a very slow manner when some audience went up to him to take a picture with him and got everyone laughing. He was really good!
This was a rather atas-looking Thai restaurant, with ATMs located within the restaurant 😮 But we wanted to grab dinner fast, before walking over to Docklands for a good spot to watch fireworks display, so we decided to just head into it.
JY helped to make reservations here, and so the 3 of us were here at Shisen Hanten (who recently won 2-Star Michelin in the 2016 MICHELIN Guide Singapore) to try some Szechuan food by the Japanese chef Chen Kentaro.
We liked the decorations and the lovely view of the restaurant with the very high ceiling on a very high floor.
Once we were comfortably seated, we were served the menu (with crumbs on them *gasp*). My friend said it was a good sign; for it meant that the restaurant was busy!
We were pleasantly surprised to find out that another bak kut teh shop has sprang up in this area, especially after our poor experience with another outlet (which has ceased operations since then).
Located near the famous Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice shop, we guess competition must be pretty steep. On a Tuesday night, both places were relatively quiet, and we thought that we should give bak kut teh a try 🙂
In addition to bak kut teh, this place also does zhi char stuff, and the sets that they were offering included both bak kut teh and steamed fish. We did not feel like having fish though, so we opted for:
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Our first night in Taipei in 2016, and we decided to visit this little local night market (because this was one of two night markets in Taipei that we have not yet been to)!
We have read many blogs and reviews of this night market and had more or less decided on what to try. Nevertheless, we took our time and strolled along. Our first impression was that this night market was not as crowded as the rest and there were plenty of walking space for everyone! We liked that there was a slight breeze and that the weather was not too hot or humid, thanks to a passing shower which provided much of the coolness.
This location is called 南機場 Nanjichang or South Airport because this area used to be an airport used by the Japanese during the Japanese Occupation. Because this was situated on the south of the main 松山機場 Songshan Airport, locals called it South Airport. 🙂
We travelled to 嵐山 Arashiyama in the morning, to experience the lovely stroll in the bamboo groves. It was an easy walk from the 嵯峨嵐山駅 JR Saga Arashiyama Station, as we basically just followed the crowd. This meant that there was quite a fair number of people attempting to take photos at the more popular spots within the bamboo groves, including 2 Japanese dressed in kimonos, with an entourage of photographer and assistants, and they attracted plenty of attention from all the tourists! Aside from this, it was a rather serene stroll 🙂 As we walked along, there was also a lone vendor selling pretty postcards.
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We were back again because of the Groupon offer, and so was the rest of the world 😛
Luckily we were there around 7pm, so it was a short 10 minutes wait. The queue just kept growing after that. This time, we tried the following:
Eat.Eat.Walk.Walk . 吃吃走走 