Japan - Furano - Where to Eat Sushi

unagi (eel) & king crab sushi - Fukuzushi

regular chirashi bowl - Fukuzushi

I had been craving sushi on our way to Furano Japan and I was particularly looking forward to visiting a sushi restaurant that I had been when I last visited Furano, when I arrive we were informed that it was now closed which was a little disappointing. We asked around and were able to find a few other places to try,  they are all located in Furano town which is about a 5 minute taxi from the ski hill or a 15 minute walk.

Japan - Furano - Soba Lady Kitanomine Area

soba with tempura prawns

A few people told us to visit the "soba lady"; she is located on the main street that runs up towards the Kitanomine gondola. She is quite the character and has no reservations about telling you to eat your food as soon as it arrives as well as point out if you're doing it wrong. After our meal we took a photo with her, at which point she realised she could easily walk under my outstretched arm and proceeded to do so repeatedly finding it very amusing - she was very cute (I am almost 6 feet tall and Ollie is a few inches taller).

Japan - Furano - Rising Sun

eggs & croissants and eggs benedict

We first went to the Rising Sun because of a recommendation from a fellow skier. We almost didn't go in because from the outside, it's rather unassuming - almost like a coffee shop. However, venture inside and you'll find a cozy wood panelled restaurant with a warm chalet atmosphere and very friendly staff. Waiter Yoshi, Japanese by birth but substantially ozzy from the 45 years he's lived there, was absolutely delightful and a pleasure to chat to during our drop-ins.

Japan - Furano -Teppan Okonomi yaki Masaya

We recently went snowboarding and skiing in Furano Japan for 9 days. It was my second time in Furano, a small town in Hokkaido Japan that is about 3 hours from New Chitose Airport, Sapporo. We had an amazing time, lots of powder snow and delicious Japanese food. I am already trying to figure out when we can get back for our next visit! We tried quite a few restaurants during our stay in Furano and my next few blog posts will be on our favourites.

Hai by Goga by Bradley Turley

Tuna Edamame & Potato Salad - enoki and golden thread mushrooms, wasabi aioli ¥150

Just realised that I never actually published this and didn't quite finish either anyways the food is delicious so here is what I have written. I am off to Shanghai on Wednesday and looking forward to my next meal at Hai by Goga which is just around the corner from my hotel.

DimDimSum Hong Kong

Shanghai Soup Dumplings with Black Truffle

DimDimSum was voted one of the 101 best places to eat in the world in Newsweek's Foodie awards 2012, and in my own city I decided to check it out! My friend and I went to DimDimSum a few weeks ago and ordered off the picture menu, then started chatting blah blah blah, and after about 30 minutes realised that we had not received any food yet!

Japan - Hakuba Ski Resorts

snow man at Iwatake

During my 6 day trip to Japan I had 4 days of snowboarding in Hakuba, and there were 7 ski resorts. Thats a lot in such a small area, I would almost prefer there weren't so many, its hard to make up your mind on where to board!  I went to 4 hills in 4 days, next time I think I would maybe I would not go to quite so many. I bought a multi day pass which you can visit a new resort each day if you choose, the pass cost ¥16,500 for 4 days. I visited Hakuba in late March so keep in mind that the snow is usually a lot better earlier in the season.

Japan - Hakuba - Shinshu Dining Sarugaku

deep fried tofu ¥150, shiitake mushroom ¥150, chicken wasabi ¥150 and chicken teriyaki yakitori ¥200

On the second to last day of my trip I picked up a free copy of Hakuba Essential Guide at the visitor information centre, I wish I had gotten it sooner I would have had a little more insight on where to visit. After flicking through the guide I decided to go to Shinshu Dining Sarugaku because truthfully it was walking distance away and it looked good. Shinshu Dining Sarugaku is located beside a mexican restaurant on the side of a large new building in Echo Land.

Japan - Hakuba - Hie

tuna & avocado  ¥700

I was trying to figure out where to go for some Japanese food for dinner and was recommended to go to Hie by Daniel who was staying at my hostel. (there are a lot of restaurants that are not Japanese in Hakuba) As you walk up the road in Echo land it is easy to miss Hie, actually I walked straight by it. Hie is on the main road but slightly set back, Hie is just up from Weather Report/Top target which you cannot miss.

Japan - Hakuba - Kikyouya Sushi

tuna rolls, salmon, tamago (egg), ikura (salmon roe) ect..

As you walk in the door at Kikyouya Sushi, the first thing you notice are the walls are plastered with comments and drawings from past dinners which includes: olympians, celebrities and travellers from Japan and around the world. It gives Kikyouya a homely feel and throughout your dinner you catch yourself reading stories of peoples visits.  When we arrived we removed are shoes in Japanese fashion and were seated on cushions at a low japanese table in between two other groups, at one table there was a family and the other table was full of some very tipsy Japanese men, with a giant empty bottle of Shochu.

Japan - Chanko Dining Sumo-tei

Chanko Nabe before being cooked

Right after I arrived in Hakuba and through my stuff in my room, I went straight out the door for dinner with some aussies I had only met a few moments earlier, we went to Sumo-tei for dinner. Sumo-tei is run by a former sumo wrestle, he mostly serves Chanko Nabe which is a Japanese stew commonly eaten in vast quantity by sumo wrestler's. He's quite the character and enjoys breaking out sumo poses for photos.  They have 2 locations in Hakuba one in Echo Land and the other in Wadano, called Restaurant & Bar and Musashi.

Mr. Taco Truck Hong Kong

El Pastor and Carnitas tacos

On my quest for more Mexican food I went to Mr. Taco truck for lunch, actually the truth is I go to Mr. Taco Truck all the time, its near my work and its a tasty affordable lunch. Mr. Taco truck is located on Wo On Lane just off D'aguilar street in Central Hong Kong, this is Mr. Tacos trucks second location, their first location is located in Quarry Bay. For lunch I chose the taco combo.  There is a choice of fillings: El Pastor, Carnitas, Fish or Chicken they are served on either fresh corn or flour tortillas with cilantro onions on top.  The tacos come with mexican rice, refried beans and freshly made tortilla chips with 2 kinds of salsa. The Taco combo costs $65 hkd including a drink + 10% service charge.

eatRIGHT Hong Kong

Thai scallop salad

For lunch the other day I went to eatRIGHT to try the set lunch, I decided on having the scallop salad followed by tandoori chicken with couscous and for desert almond cake with a skinny late. Right away the waitress came back and informed me they were out of tandoori chicken, but they would make me a chicken breast instead which was great. I thought it was good service to offer another option even though they were out of the tandoori.

RHKYC - Pan Fried Crab Cakes

view from my office :)

So truthfully, most of the time when I eat out I eat at the RHKYC Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. I come here a lot, it's a great place to do work on my days off, I can sit outside on the balcony overlooking the Harbour do work and have lunch. Clubs are big in Hong Kong - everyone seems to be a member of one or two, or even more. I have a friend who's on a mission to join about  five of them. (she's joined two so far, and is pretty determined to get into the Hong Kong Club, eventually). Each time I come to the yacht club I generally order a lot of the same food, so for the next few months I have decided to try and order something new every visit and review it. I was also thinking maybe I should start reviewing the food from all the clubs. I am going to the Football Club for dinner tomorrow and have friends who are members at almost all the other clubs.

Socialito Hong Kong

Yesterday I went to Socialito Taqueria for a quick lunch on my quest for tasty mexican food in Hong Kong. For lunch I decided on the Pork Belly Tacos $80, and the Tuna Tostaditas $90.  The tuna tostaditas with avocado oil, grilled pineapple, picked jalapeno, spicy coconut aioli and cilantro were quite unique the flavours were a combination of Mexican and Thai together. I really enjoyed them they were light, the crackers crispy, the tuna fresh and the fruity smoky flavour of the grilled pineapple was really nice...

Dumplings Hong Kong

One of my favourite places in Hong Kong to get dumplings is Dumpling Yuan, I always take visiting friends there for a meal. First thing is that they are fresh and most times you visit there will be a lady sitting at a table hand making the dumplings on wooden trays. Second and the most important is the dumplings taste amazing, you can get all versions of the dumplings steamed or fried. My top 3 choices for dumplings are:

Vietnam Trip post 4 - Hoi An

cleaning dishes in the Hoi An market 

Ooooooh I actually thought I had already started this post then I opened this file and nothing... oops... darn... not as easy to post this as I was thinking....

The Chili Soup Challenge!

the first challenge the #8

Me and Gus with #8

Ed with #8

A few weeks ago I got a text from a friend saying "Ed and I are thinking of going to the spicy noodle place in Causeway Bay for a number 9, you keen for a rematch? Also Ed says hiccups are acceptable in a chili eating competition!" It all started the other night after way to many drinks we were at a friends apartment and all he had to eat was saltine crackers, chili paste and wine! So the chili challenges started... how much chili paste can you eat on a cracker? After a large spoonful Gus got the hiccups and I said he lost the competition. So I met Ed and Gus in Causeway bay and we went in to the restaurant. We tried to order a number 9 bowl of soup, there are 9 levels of hottness of soup at this Szechwan restaurant. The waitress actually said NO to us, another patron who translated for us (the waitress only spoke cantonese) said that she was afraid we would waste the food. So after some persuasion we convinced her to give us a number 8! I ordered mine with pork belly and tofu. They don't serve beer so we got 3 Tsing Tao beers at 7-11 to drink with the soup, hopefully making it a little easier to eat. Words cannot describe how hot this soup was! painful frikin hot, numbness, Gus was sweating, Ed turned red!

Vietnam Trip Post 3 - Hue

infront of a Kung Fu centre in Hue 

We arrived in Hue by train and walked with Robyn and Trudy to the taxi stand, and were met by the guys on Harley Davidson who were taking Robyn and Trudy to Hoi An. They organized a taxi to take us to a hotel that they owned. We went up to the room to have a look, looked ok, then manager said actually they have no rooms available. "huuumm Uh why did you show us the room then?..." Went across the road to their sister hotel (Hong Thien Hotel), room available $12 dollars. It was to hot to walk around and look for another hotel so we booked it!." We Said goodbye to Robyn and Trudy and wished them luck on their bike journey.

Boracay, Philipines

fresh seafood at market

A few weeks ago I went to Philippines  to sail in the Boracay Cup. I left Hong Kong at some crazy hour in the morning, took Cebu Pacific to Manilla. Next I took a plane from Manilla to Caticlan airport in Boracay, I had one of the scariest landings I have ever been in, the runway is so frikin short, and when we came in for the landing the plane was rotating side to side and when we landed I swear the back wheels lifted up a bit, actually people clapped when the plane finally stopped! scary...