gagwood blog

Take 2

2012-01-22T19:54:00.002+11:00

It's time to get back on the food/what- not warbling. Watch this space. Now that its PhD time I have to increase my different platforms of procrastination. I figure I'm even since I deleted FB and started twitter..... so I have room for das blog, and I always have room for moooorrrre fooooooood !

Smoochies x

Genova + werk

2010-07-28T09:30:00.009+10:00

Thsooo yes I finally got a job on an old sea hag of a superyacht and spent the first couple of weeks living in a shipyard in Genova, Italy. Not the most cosmopolitan of places let me tell you. One of the 'cute' laneways nearby was fearfully named rape alley. I was told tales of yacht crews fending off "thugs" with belts and fists. However, outside the horrid shipyard from hell was a beautiful dark city filled with mysterious streets and YUMMY OSTERIAS !

On a rare excursion out of the shipyard I went to osteria di vico palla, a well known eatery in the old town. I love osteria style dining, very 'rustica' as Joe Houndstooth would say.

First up antipasto fritto tipico - basically mixed deep fried fish and reggies. It was a bit of a grease fest, and the batter was a bit too thick for my liking. Nonetheless much tastier than the shipyard canteen.

Genova happens to be the home of all things that were trendy in the 90's - focaccia and pesto pasta. Yes, pesto pasta. Is it so retro it's cool again?

Foodie shame aside, the sheets of egg pasta slathered in fresh pesto were perfecto *delish*. Good quality olive oil, fresh non-bitter basil, parsley and pinenuts without that jarred pesto rancid aftertaste. Pesto is making a comeback in my world!

Gnocchi con gamberi, vongole and zucchini. Sweet sweet clams and juicy prawns.. mmm. The gnocchi was a tad gluey but overall a grand combination of flavours.

My dish - baccala al forno - a typical Genovesan tomato based salted cod stew and a specialty at vico palla. Tre fisherman haute cusine. I wish I could say I was more into it. I feel like this dish is something that I will learn to love, but not having been familiarised to salted cod before I arrived in Italy I always find it a bit too dry and chewy. The tomato stew was incredible; sweet, salty and dotted with ligurian olives.

To complete my 90's revival I opted for tiramisu for dessert. I hadn't eaten tiramisu since the late night binges at the Houndstooth so I was a bit fearful that I would have flashbacks of overeating. Then I realised I had already overeaten so I just ploughed it down (it was more than acceptable).

My favourite dish of the night was cremini. These creamy crispy cubes are made from semolina whipped with eggs and cream, deep fried and served in a mountain of sugar. They had a lovely custardy texture, not too sweet on the inside thank god - there was enough sugar to crunch on the outside.

Meal over. Done.

So back to yacht talk - this is my new humble abode. Floor space less than a cubic metre - check.

Bed half the size of a single bed allowing my feet to awkwardly press against the wall - check.

And I now share this room with another girl ! Cosy.

But complaints aside, it is funding what WILL be an amazing trip around EU come October when I finish work.

Plus I have been to some faaaarbulous islands so far:

Ponza (dogggggsyyy!)

Home of the World Famous Disco Bar Tunnel (looks like it had one too many a boogie - and yes it was in a tunnel)

Storytime with the cutest family clad in pink.

Capri

Mostly a richo paradise, a lot of I love money shops and white linen, but it did have an excellent windly walk with a view to kill (my boat is in the top right).

My bedroom garden + the porthole I gaze out at wishing I was swimming in the sea outside and not cleaning rich peoples toilets.

Good night all xx

My kind of socca

2010-07-10T23:06:00.009+10:00

One regional specialty in the Côte d'Azur is socca, a chickpea crepe cooked on a cast iron plate in a wood fired oven and served with ample lashings of black pepper. A definite winner for my tastebuds. I discovered this whilst aimlessly wandering around the Nice market after the trains went on strike and I was stranded there. Sometimes I wonder how much of my life I spend wandering around markets.. not enough.

The whole process from batter to mouth takes about 3 minutes.

1. Slop + Insert

2. Check

3. Remove

4. Give it to me now

5. Scrumptioussssssss. Just diviiine.

The final product is a texture sensation, crispy golden top and a soft crepe underbelly. Socca is cooked so quickly that you end up with a creamy chickpea paste middle where the batter hasn't cooked fully. Kind of like hummus except minus the garlic.

6. Rival 'gypsy slash Liza Minelli' socca seller.

During my hunt for work in Antibes I ended up moving into an apartment with 3 lovely ladies, Lou, Ginny and Sarah. It was so ahhh mazing to be able to cook again, especially with such good produce in the area. A plus of Antibes being a yachty town = loads of places for provisions (even AZN stuffs. CHILLI! GALANGAL! GRASS JELLY!** see below).

Check out the giant loquats ! I am so happy to be surrounded by people who value loquats, a highly highly underrated fruit in Aus. Seriously why don't more people eat them, the trees are everywhere in Melbourne ! One of natures hardiest fruit producers. Rant over.

I've always thought that risotto was pretty lame, one of those things boys first learn to make when they move out of home and want to 'impress'. However my flatmate Sarah showed me the light with a lovely porcini mushroom recipe. My first risotto ! I added in fresh shelled peas, lemon zest, a load of parsley and served it with creme fraiche. A proud moment.

Still completely infatuated with radicchio - I know I have mentioned it previously, but it is so sweet in EU. Tossed with mâche (lambs lettuce) and ricotta with a squeeze of lemon juice. Mâche is probably my new favourite salad green, it has such a lovely delicate flavour.

One thing the French really suck at is coffee. I don't understand. So close to Italy and somehow things go horrendously wrong. The best part about getting coffee was watching the old French men in this man-club cafe.

**I attempted to warm my housemates to the delicacy that is GRASS JELLY ! Ha, definitely NOT a winner.

Maybe it was the notion of eating black unsweetened jelly from a can. One day when their palates develop my level of maturity they might be lucky enough to appreciate. Ha ha!

Wow, 2 months have past and I'm still pretending I'm in Italy

2010-06-22T05:20:00.020+10:00

Mac is back ! Camera charger is back ! All systems go..

In summary:

I left beautiful Roma and my favourite Roman, Valentina, to look for a jobbie in Antibes, FR on a big dumb yacht.

Miss you pasta. Duck ragu filled ravioli, to be precise (Cul de Sac - in the centre of Trastevere. A long standing crowd favourite, think City Wine Bar but a touch more faaarncy).

Also miss you baccala.

Hello Antibes! A terrible excuse for anything remotely French (minus the market of course), Antibes is overrun by yachty types and people looking for work on yachts. The market, however, was a lovely distraction and markets in France are really as romantic as you would think. I would spend my daily 5 euro allowance at the market every day. My French has improved enough to order 200g grams and 3 slices of anything I point at. Baby steps..

This "french cheesemaker" guy totally stole my look circa 2007-2009. How dare he.

Before I looked for work I had to do a 1 week course on all things sea related including basic fire fighting! Most exciting. Secksy outfits, check.

Unfortunately, living on a budget in France means you have to eat a lot of bread and cheese. Take that dieting ! Ha ! Pastries are cheap too, also a tragedy.

My favourites tarte aux pommes and tartes tropeziennes (St Tropez specialty) filled with creme patissiere. Oh my hat.

Anything filled with creme patissiere can fill my mouth. Hmmm..

Strawberries and fromage frais whipped with a *touch* of sugar. So much better than cream.

A casual selection of treats gathered from the market. Who knew the unemployed could live so decadently.

And no I am not fat. But I dare not post any photos of myself.. ha ha. I also did get a job but more on that later.

blog hiatussss

2010-06-11T04:32:00.001+10:00

Ugh my macbook has taken an unwanted break from my life along with all my photos. Until the repairs I will be crying in my cabin every night wishing I could write about foooood.

Soon.

The reason I fell in love with Napoli

2010-05-14T04:23:00.013+10:00

Dear Diary,

Today I went to a fresh market and it was so good I had disturbing sexual thoughts about food.

Love Sarah

Seriously, this market in the heart of Centro Storico (just a 5 min walk from the BEST HOSTEL EVER) made me feel funny in my genitals. I spent the first 5 minutes wandering around like a giddy school girl saying Oh-my-gawd about 100 times in a row. This is how all markets should be. Insanely cheap farm fresh produce where the vendors actually let you smell and touch everything.

The seafood ( and their salesmen) was a highlight.

Fresh plucked mussels sold in sea hair laden clumps for only 3euro a kilo. Bargain !

The market is run along several laneways filled with fabulous bakeries, alimentari and butchers. Even "sexy" underwear shops.

^@!*^!*^&^*^*&^*!@&^*&@^

Also @&*^&*#^&@*^*@

After the morning of market pillaging, I helped cook a mega-feast with Gemma and Brendan (the excellent hostel management, seriously best hostel ever). I think I spent a measly 15 euro and managed to buy enough food to feed an army.

The radicchio in Italy is so sweet and sublime, not even a hint of bitterness. Fresh shelled broad beans + soft creamy ricotta + radicchio + balsamic + lemon = YES !

Finally got my chilli fix - chilli and garlic prawns with calamari. I'm trying to make up for lost time and eat as many prawns as I can now that I have released my inner prawn lover - why was I so retarded for 23 yrs of my life? I don't know. I guess I'll blame my parents.

Mmmmmmm. They even look delicious raw..

MY FAVOURITE - flash fried fresh alici (ffffffffff) courtesy of Gemma. I don't know how to even begin expressing my love for anchovies cooked this way. Not at all salty or oily like their well known forms, fresh anchovies have quite a delicate flavour. Sweet flesh lightly floured and served with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon. Buonissimo!

Simon the resident fat cat was quick on the alici hunt.

The feast. And it was only for 4 people. Also: chilli mussels, eggplant parmigiana and Brendan's amazing ricotta stuffed calamari on the left.

Napoli is such a beautiful unpretentious city. If you give yourself enough time to get used to the chaotic surrounds (and learn to dodge dog shit quickly) you will fall madly in love like I did. I can't wait to return, fingers crossed I get to revisit during the yacht season.

Bonus Simon model shot. Meowwwww

George Clooney is EVERYWHERE !

Won't miss him or the perilous traffic

Napoli to Positano

2010-05-12T05:40:00.010+10:00

I'm getting lazy and starting to forget all the lovely things I wanted to write about Italy (how can I forget? It's just buried under the last month of unemployed stress). Time for some blog action.

Back to Napoli dreaming. Just around the corner from Via Dei Tribunali is la chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, one of my favourite churches. I love the facade, a nice change from most of the decadent Baroque architecture in Napoli.

Strolled around the bay towards Santa Lucia * sigh *

Castel Dell'Ovo. Eggcellent. Get it?

Hopped on a bus for the most magnificent bus ride to the Amalfi coast. Positano was my first stop. Overtaking Gion as THE most beautiful place I have been to in my long lifetime.

Precarious roads winding around the dramatic coastline. Seems impossible to imagine how these villages were built into the cliffs.

Time for lunch and a swim (positively arctic). I couldn't believe no one else was swimming. Baking up a storm but not even a toe in. So basically I am a hero for swimming and everyone else loses.

The town of Amalfi itself was lovely but far more touristy than Positano. A lot of token white linen I LOVE MONEY style shops.

Lemon power! The Amalfi coast is the home of limoncello.. mmm yes please.

Finally had my first campari (excluding negronis) and one of the best oranges in my life.

Napoli Market next..

Neapolitan Carb Loading

2010-04-29T22:27:00.018+10:00

So before I swoon about my love for the city of Napoli I'm going to rant about the FOOD in Napoli... The masters of pizza, espresso, leering men and dog shit on the streets. You take the good with the bad, and believe me the good is MINDBLOWING here.

So I had a checklist of Neapolitan food it was imperative I try: classic margherita, sfogliatella and fried street food (100% fried = fuck yes). Also espresso, but that doesn't count in the food stakes.

1. Pizza

In the heart of centro storico is a classic street Via Dei Tribunali containing 3 pizzerias argued to be the finest pizzerias in Napoli - Sorbillo, Del Presidente and Di Matteo. I didn't use any method to choose, Sorbillo was insanely busy so I went to Di Matteo.

Even Bill Clinton has been here ! This picture reminds me of Mekong on Swanston St.

They also serve fried street food here but more on that later.

Upon much deliberation... margherita or... margherita I chose a margherita (with funghi). Only 3.50EU SO cheap. The best pizza in Napoli is always going to be super cheap otherwise the locals wouldn't go to them anymore. The service was shitty and everyone was greasy, hairy and overweight, but it is all part of the fun.

OMG it was delicious - thick crust and a sloppy, cheesy middle with beautiful charred flavour. Not too greasy, surprisingly, and the napoli topping was perfect. Personally I do prefer Roman style pizza, which is more like upmarket Melbourne pizza (think pizza meine liebe or i carusi) - thin and crispy with a few high quality toppings. It shouldn't surprise that I sat there with a beer and chowed the whole pizza down. These pizzas aren't small either, they are a normal large size (HUGE).

I wandered away blinded by the sun and slipped into a food coma for a good few hours.

2. Sfogliatella

Another specialty is sfogliatella. Sfogliatella comes in two forms; riccia and frolla. The former is made with crisp layered pastry (like a pastizzi) and the latter is made with short crust pastry. Both are filled with oh-so-DECADENT ricotta blended with cream, egg, cinnamon and candied citrus zest. I'm not so into short crust pastry so I tried riccia.

There is only one place you need to go to try this treat and it's called La Sfogliatella Mary located on Via Toledo (shopping central) right at the entrance of the beautiful Galleria Umberto 1.

*swoon* This is my perfect dessert. Smooth creamy citrusy ricotta filling with a nice crisp outer. Not too sweet. Perfect! I did try the frolla later on, however the riccia wins far and beyond.

If you trundle further down Via Toledo you find Gambrinus - a famous espresso cafe usually filled with people who want the world to see them and manned by arrogant waiters. Nevermind the espresso here is divine. If you sit at a table a macchiato is 5 euro, if you drink at the bar it's only 80 cents. Hmm.....

3. Fried Street Food

So I returned back to Di Matteo to sample their famous fried street food. Insanely cheap, you can load up on greasy treats for a couple of dollars.

Clearly loves his job.

Even the adorable nonnas are dying to get their fry fix.

I wish I took more photos of everything I tried but I wolfed it all down too quickly. The only one I snapped was this arancini.. delicious smooth cheesy pea and bolognese filled *$%%#!$%# I'll start my diet TO-MORRROOOOWWW!

Bonus sea cats - down by the port these rascally ferals bake on the sun warmed stones near Santa Lucia.

Bonus Emily Couture. High Faarshion

Romanced by Roma

2010-04-27T04:14:00.026+10:00

I couldn't have traveled to a more contrasting city after Tokyo than ROMA ! Waiting for me at the airport was the wondrous Valentina.. a beautiful introduction to Italy. I was so lucky to be able to stay with her at her Uncle's apartment right next to the Vatican. Posizione perfetta! Within minutes of arrival we had met her adorable grandparents who loaded us up with passata, pecorino, pancetta and a peck on the cheek.

Voila, penne all'amatriciana! Apologies for the bad photos. Case of the greasy lens.

Valentina played my faux Italian lover and whizzed me around Roma on her scooter. We went to a lovely cafe on Via della Pace, an idyllic laneway (Monica Belucci lives at the top of this building.. oooooh) and I had my first REAL coffee in what felt like a lifetime.

Mmmmm. For some reason I was feeling brave and drank COW for the first time in about 10 months. Unfortunately I faced dire repercussions later when I was strolling around Piazza Venezia with 9128801 tourists around and not a toilet in sight. Uh oh.

Il Fornaio was one of my favourite bakeries, located right near Campo dei Fiori (don’t go there at night unless you want to meet American tourists).

I wish I was more into biscuits.. nevermind I settled for salty, chewy, crusty bread. REAL BREAD !

We met up with her ever-so-charming friend David and strolled to Torre Argentina – ruins which had been taken over by stray cats! There was even a ‘homeless cat shelter’ set up at the base of the ruins.

Meow meow

David took us to an incredible restaurant in the Ghetto called Sora Margherita. Just look for the red tassel door. This hidden spot is popular with locals as it serves up some of the freshest pasta in town - made fresh every single morning!

I chose ricotta fettuccine served with lashings of pecorino and cracked pepper. Pepper, I missed you dearly. The ricotta was so creamy, salty and smooth. And the pasta.. oh my gawd. .. Carbs where have you been my whole life?

Valentina chose melanzane alla parmigiana, a SCRUMPTIOUS sandwich of lightly crumbed eggplant, fresh mozzarella, fresh sliced tomato and basil. Oh yummo. David went for the man option – agnolotti with beef ragu. Buon appetito! And yes I am going to keep adding in loser Italian phrases every chance I get.

Coffee time. Check.

I did the tourist stroll to the Spanish steps and stared at the masses shopping along Via Del Corso.

But if you walk another set of steps up you get a much better view. Fighissimo ! Sigh.

And ANOTHER set leads you to Villa Borghese. One of the best spots to escape the concrete trail in Roma. Acres of parkland and ponds making you wish you had your boyfriend with you so you could go rowing together.

And watch ducks together.

And marvel at the cascading wysteria.

Guess who I miss?

Goodbye Japan

2010-04-26T04:58:00.015+10:00

Farewell Japan, I’ll miss you dearly. Sob..

A few of my favourite things:

My lovely room at Kimi Ryokan in Ikebukuro

Bandaged, stilted trees

The computer chip (Metropolitan Government) building in Shinjuku

Heavenly Tokyo

The many ways to clean my ass

Tamago toast - my favourite cheap breakfast reprieve. Only $4 with a coffee at Dream Coffee.

Working class local food haunts

Coffee art with a Japanese touch

The holy grail of deep fried pork: KATSU

BEER

Taiyaki - Red bean paste filled pockets of joy

I definitely won’t miss:

Overpriced fruit ($5 lime)

Pachinko – like one hundred pokie machines going off at the same time and always stinking like a rotten lung

Depressed overworked citizens sleeping on the train

Shit vending machine coffee

Questionable sashimi

I'll be back. Kisses !

Hiroshima

2010-04-26T02:48:00.015+10:00

I thought it was important that I visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki during my trip to Japan, but unfortunately ran out of time to go further south than Hiroshima. Visiting the bomb memorial and museum was much more moving than I expected and I highly recommend everyone travelling to Japan to try and visit.

The A bomb dome - The atomic bomb detonated ~600m above this building, previously the Industrial Products Hall, leaving it relatively intact whilst everything within a few k radius was completely obliterated.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - the Memorial Cenotaph

Children’s peace memorial

Hall of Remembrance

To quell my feelings of queasiness after visiting the museum I turned to food. Of course. One of Hiroshima’s specialties is a type of okonomiyaki appropriately named Hiroshima-yaki, where the ingredients are layered instead of added to the batter. Hiroshima-yaki also incorporates seafood and yakisoba into the pancake equation = HELLS YES. Close to the city centre is a food centre called Okonomi Village - 4 levels of mouth watering okonomiyaki madness. I didn’t really know how to gauge the quality in this unfamiliar territory so I chose the place with a mother + daughter cooking combo. Femme power!

In several swift flashes a monumental stack was created in front of me. I went with the pork, shrimp and squid combo. INCREDIBLE!

Mmmmmmm ooohhhhhhhhhh

I travelled back to Timmy’s for one last night in Himeji and was greeted with home made sukiyaki...most excellent!

And the ever-so-adorable Hugo. Awwww...

Also – proof that pizza is phenomenally expensive in Japan. A large pizza for over $40!!!#$#!%$$#! No thanks.

Ramen Roundup Part 2 + Finding Eel

2010-04-18T19:13:00.017+10:00

When I told the dude who ran the hostel I stayed at in Kyoto that I’d had Kyoto’s best ramen he told me “no no no no you have to try Teppan-In”. I didn’t realise until I got there that this was a ramen chain – which made me a little dubious about his opinion.

Hmm what to choose? A combo with karaage ! Done.

This was by far the thickest and richest broth I tried. Definite blended roast pork vibe. Thank god I ordered a small (with extra corn). The eggs were soft boiled in soy and oh so golden and creamy. Very tasty. However, the noodles were disappointing – bland and overcooked (2 min noodle-esque). I woke up full after eating this ramen, a tad too full on for me.

And finally the grand RAMEN JIRO ! HAI ! I saved this experience for my final night in Japan. I’d read about Ramen Jiro on a few blogs before and it even made the Guardian’s 50 best foods to eat list. Although Ramen Jiro is a chain every store has their own take – however the hallmark rich garlic broth and thick noodles remain relatively consistent in all stores.

Somehow I managed to locate the notoriously hard to find Shinjuku branch – in a back street in north west Shinjuku. Again this was a vending machine affair, but there is not much to decide except for size. You get asked whether you would like extra fresh garlic and you can also get extra veggies (beanshoots only) and pork. Note to self: don’t catch a plane the following day if you get loads of garlic. Stinky.

The broth was orgasmic. Thin, soy based pork broth dotted with droplets of pork fat. Sounds intense, but I didn’t find it as rich as the broth I had at Teppan-In. Apparently the Shinjuku branch is known for going easy on the fat factor, so I shudder to think about the calorie content at the other branches – dieters beware! The pork was so lean and juicy. I saw them pull a whole rolled loin out of the stock pot, which explains why it is so tender compared to most dry roasted char sui used in ramen.

And the noodles ! Oh my hat. Super thick – probably 2/3 the thickness of udon. – and incredibly chewy. Sure it's not the prettiest ramen and isn't loaded with extras but Ramen Jiro is a MUST DO if you ever go to Tokyo.

Another meal I had been saving up as a departure treat was unagi. Creamy, soft, buttery eel. It's quite a delicacy here and costs about Y3000 for a lunch set anywhere with a half decent repertoire (more at dinner). Surprisingly, a great spot to find good quality lunch dining is the top restaurant level of department stores. I ended up going to an unagi specialist restaurant at the main Isetan in Shinjuku. Since it was my last lunch I decided to splash out and get the grand lunch set.

Look how pretty it is ! Many treats inside..

First up squid sashimi with black caviar and flash seared white fish - had the texture of tuna but the flavour of kingfish. The sauce was a white miso with sesame, and garnished with eschalot shavings. Incredible. The squid was a pretty crazy texture, a little bit chalky - probably not something I'd go out of my way to try again.

Another side was soft cooked asparagus, pumpkin and daikon served in gelatinous stock with a fish cake flower.

The main event - look at that... it was magnifique ! Smokey, salty, sweet and creamy. You could see the chefs delicately bbqing the eel with fierce concentration.

Afterwards I went for a stroll in Shinjuku Gyoen - a prime park for cherry blossom viewing and having some TIME OUT from overstimulation.

My favourite blossom were the trees propogated with many different colours

Bonus photos of traditional wedding I stumbled upon in Yoyogi Park.

Good day! Smoochies to everyone xx

Ramen Roundup Part 1.

2010-04-18T01:44:00.011+10:00

Ok ok ok ok I've been so swept up in wonderful Europe I have been slack with the blogzzz. Back to it !

So something that caused profuse salivation prior to leaving Australia was thoughts of ramen.. chewy, thick slurpy pork and chicken broth, topped with char sui, bamboo shoots and layers of soft cabbage and crisp spring onion.. oohh my ! I researched blog after blog (fooood bloggsss fooooood I love foood) and came up with a couple of spots which seemed on par with a religious experience. If only there was a ramen religion..

So my first proper ramen was Mouko Tan Men - Mongolian spicy chilli ramen in Ikebukuro. Such a welcome reprieve from the lack of chilli/spice in Japanese cooking. This place was such a hot spot with locals, people were queued inside, down the stairs and down the street (in sub zero temperatures, ramen dedication 110%).

I was getting pretty fire hungry looking at the menu outside. Mouko tan men has a chilli scale from 0 - 10, and I'd read that even level 5 was enough to make your eyeballs sweat. Excellent.

After waiting about half an hour I finally made it in the door and had my first vending machine dining experience. Pretty intimidating with the ramen nazis shouting to you asking for your ticket. I watched someone else and went for level 5 spiciness.

The shop itself was comprised of a bench running around the middle cooking space and manned by 4 tough looking ramen masters. Once you'd passed your ticket they would chant back to each other what the order was. Very entertaining.

Topped with loads of soft cabbage, bean shoots and smooth tofu with thick chewy noodles this was one of my favourite ramen experiences. The broth was thick and smothered in chilli paste, but I was regretting choosing level 5.. NOT HOT ENOUGH ! There were slivers of roasted pork belly, but not very much.

Never mind - I made a promise to return before I left Tokyo and this time I chose level 7. I also got extra boiled egg and spring onions. Now this was fire-in-your-belly, sweaty, leaking nose spicy. When I left I felt so out of it I wondered whether the chefs had spiked it with a hallucinogen. I can only imagine what level 10 would be like. One day I will return to conquer it.

Next up was Tiger-something-Ramen in Himeji - one of Timmy's favourites because you get loads of char sui.

Look at all the treats you can add to the ramen ! I always went wild with the sesame shaker and chilli oil.

This was a classic chicken and pork based thin broth. I prefer a thinner broth to other thicker broths which taste like a blended leg of roast pork - delicious, sure, but way to heavy if you want any chance of finishing your bowl of noodles and toppings! I wasn't a big fan of the pork in this - tasted a bit dry and the old, but the noodles themselves were a big winner. The thinnest I'd ever tried and very chewy. Ramen al dente. Tick.

Next up was 'the best ramen in Kyoto' Karako. About a 20 min walk from the main Gion centre, this place was definitely worth finding. I chose the char sui ramen. Thick, tender slices of dark, fragrant, roasted pork - easy winner for best pork in ramen for my whole trip. The noodles were not too thin or thick and cooked to perfection. The broth was a shoyu based thin stock - not too heavy. Karako also wins the award for best sides. Alongside the usuals there was tender sautéed spring onions, stewed cabbage, fried thick egg noodles and garlic chicken pieces. Super cheap too – only Y700.

I told the chef he was kawaiiiiiiiii and this is the look he gave me. Not really sure how to interpret it.

Quick update on weird things Japanese people do with their dogs.

And cats (well.. with plush cats at least.)

Kyoto Dreaming

2010-04-06T04:58:00.021+10:00

Although I didn't want to plan everywhere I traveled in Japan, Kyoto was somewhere I had firmly lodged in my itinerary. And I was not disappointed. Kyoto was the most beautiful place I have ever been to, tiresome temples and all, you could spend a lifetime in Kyoto and not see half of it. Gush gush gush.

Gion - geisha spotting ! The canal that runs through Gion is lined with weeping cherry blossom. This street (Shirakawa Minami-dori) is supposedly the most beautiful in Asia.

I did manage to spot an apprentice geisha (maiko) although I think her geisha powers made my camera freeze, so I had to steal this photo from someone else at my hostel. Lame. I was there, I saw her !

I'm sure everyone has seen a million photos of the temples and shrines so I'll only put up photos of my 2 favourites.

Fushimi-Inari Shrine. This shrine weaves ~ 4km through the forest of Inari-yama and consists of hundreds of red torii dotted with shrines and cemetaries along the way.

The poster boy for this shrine is a fox, so there are countless stone foxes creepily grinning and snarling at you as you walk through the trees. Kind of cute too, especially when they are dressed up in little red aprons.

Nanzen-Ji temple. The main reason I liked this temple was the aquaduct running through the temple grounds and along the edge of the forest. According to lonely planet there is a hidden 'breathtaking waterfall in a mountain glen' if you follow the aquaduct into the forest. However, my attempts to locate this supposed waterfall resulted in a massive bruise from falling over tree roots, and discovering an old cemetary in the hills = visuals from Generic Japanese Horror Film = running for my life.

Forest. Tree Roots. Lost.

Nishiki Market was another Kyoto hot spot for me. Oh I do love food markets! Kyoto is famous for pickles and tofu, so the market was full of pickles every colour of the rainbow. Tofu was not so colourful.

Happy Regetables.

Check out these tough guys making mochi dough. A lot of chanting and throbbing biceps..

Eventually after being filled with red bean paste and cooked on a charcoal grill they turn out like this:

Sea snake (poor mans eel). Still extremely delicious.

Fish cake sticks of every flavour. Mmmmmm

Wild salad combinations. Check out the roast pumpkin and red bean in the top left. Fusion !

Oysters shucked to order. These were massive though, like 3 regular oysters fused together.. Mega-oyster

Happening Kyoto spot, Mr Young Men. Seemed to be a lot of Young Women in there too. Naughty!

Extra photo of man holding silly looking dog at Kinkaku-Ji (Golden Temple). Everyone holds their silly looking dogs in Japan which I found a touch disturbing

Himeji Fine Dining

2010-04-05T03:44:00.015+10:00

Timmy and Maki took me out to eat real okonomiyaki in Himeji. My impression of okonomiyaki was based on emergency train food at Southern Cross = tepid, undercooked, bland cabbage glue with too much mayonnaise. Thankfully I have seen the light. The restaurant itself was also impressive.

Every dining table is equipped with a hot grill so you can crisp up the okonomiyaki if you are that way inclined. We tried a traditional okonomiyaki - more like a pancake, and also a softer version called monjayaki (right in first photo) - a soft omelette with a few fillings rolled in the middle. Both delicious but I think I preferred the monjayaki as it is served with a spring onion dashi dipping sauce and isn't smothered in mayonnaise which I find a bit too intenso. We also dined on seafood yakisoba (left in first photo).

Another Himeji fine dining highlight was a restaurant called Moon.

This was my first sushi (nigirizushi) in Japan, and it was incredible. The scallop was a definite favourite. Traditionally nigirizushi is arranged so the wasabi is between the topping and the rice, so I got a nice wasabi surprise when I first bit in. I also learnt that the pickled ginger is used as a palate cleanser and not supposed to be eaten with the sushi.

I can't remember what these chicken balls tasted like except mmmmmmm ooooohhh mmmmm. Not so into the raw egg yolk dipping sauce, but nevermind it looks good on the plate.

Mixed tempura - highlight was the whole oyster mushroom and shiso leaf. Shiso is a green herb which I'd only once tasted before (served with sashimi) when I went to Tempura Hajime with Whitford. It looks like a stinging nettle leaf but has an intense flavour kind of like vietnamese basil x fennel x mint. Delicious!

This soy stewed pork was NEXT LEVEL INSANE ! Beat the pants off any other pork dish I ate in Japan, even katsu.. yes seriously. The meat was so juicy and tender and ribboned wih belly fat. Oh how decadent ! It was served with sweet baked daikon, a soft boiled egg and fresh grated daikon. We couldn't figure out what the red stuff was, but it didn't taste like anything in particular.

Beef korokke. I'm usually into any kind of korokke because it's covered in mashed potato, rolled in bread crumbs (panko) and then deep fried, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the beef. Seafood korokke is a must try if you ever come to Japan though.

The last dish was the simplest, and pretty tasty even though it was a little trashy. Baked potato with curry mayonnaise and butter.

Coming soon... the epic Ramen post. Love you all!

Nara

2010-03-29T02:12:00.013+11:00

Timmy and I took a day trip to Nara - home to 8 World Heritage sites = extremely beautiful. The cherry blossom had just started in the Kansai area so I was gushing every 5 minutes about how picturesque everything looked.

Todai-Ji (photo below) holds Daibutsu-den Hall - the largest wooden building in the World, as well as one of the largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu means Great Buddah).

It was the start of the school holidays so the main temples were total chaos.. so we took shelter in Isui-en garden. Rolling carpets of moss, idyllic waterfalls etc.. One of my favourite gardens in Japan.

There are also 9823102809801 deer roaming throughout Nara, harassing everyone around the temples because the locals sell sembei (rice crackers) to foolish tourists to feed the deer with.

If you trek further into the forest the deer start to look a little less mangey.

Kasuga Taisha Homotsu-den

We passed this curious shrine with what looked like boobie charms hanging up to buy. How interesting.. I decided not to get one.

Kofuku-ji 5-storey pagoda - the second tallest pagoda (~50m) in Japan.

We were pretty templed-out by this stage so went and turtle watched at the local pond.

Catchup with the family in Himeji

2010-03-28T22:46:00.017+11:00

So a big part of the reason I came to Japan was to catch up with Timmy and Maki AND SEE MY NEPHEW HUGO! Sure, I'm not normally into cooing to babies but this is an exception. Hugo is ridiculously cute (and FAT).

I completed the "pass the baby" ritual, I'm now officially an Aunty. Oh yeaahh!

I feasted on home made yakiniku (Japanese style grilled meat), featuring melt in your mouth ox tongue, wagyu and pork belly. Yum yum.

Timmy and Maki taught me how to make takoyaki - surprisingly simple, just pour the batter (light flour batter with a few token spices, cabbage and spring onion) into the cooker, add octopus and extras (ginger, dried shrimp etc.) and turn with a metal skewer to cook into balls. Once they are cooked you add sweet soy, Japanese mayonnaise, my favourite bonito flakes and crushed nori. I wish I had room in my backpack for one of these takoyaki cookers. Sigh.

We visited a crazy 'theme park' about an hour away from Himeji, right in the middle of the country. In short, a Japanese man with far too much money decided to make a theme park with close to life size replicas of random world land marks. Very strange but tacky amazing.

Think Mr Moneybags stuffed up the scale of the pyramids though..

The latest open exhibit was a 7 storey Eastern European style castle, with nothing inside except for paintings made by disabled people using their feet and mouths. Paintings not shown.

Extra photo of me holding Hugo in the dark. Apparently there's less chance of catching maternal if you hold babies in the dark.

Forget plugs

2010-03-28T02:37:00.003+11:00

Spray on hair. Nice one Grandpa.

Also got a new jangle for my phone.

Fibre Saviour

2010-03-27T00:36:00.003+11:00

Since I have arrived here my pipe dreams of jogging every day, like back Home, have been smattered into the mud. Not only is it muddy but it is freeeeeeezing, especially in Kyoto (currently a cosy -2). Coupled with my fear of constipation and current consumption of processed EVERYTHING, I've been wigging out about my fibre intake. However, the vending machines have cured all my fears in providing me FIBE MINI - a dietary fibre drink. Thank god for vending machines in Japan.

That's all.

Tsukiji Fish Market

2010-03-26T21:20:00.019+11:00

Waking up at 5am is usually total rubbish, UNLESS you are going to TSUKIJI FISH MARKET ! HAI ! The most intense wholesale market I have been to. I saw my life flash before my eyes ~ 4-9 times as Mr Fish Seller men whizzed past on their industrial looking segues. If you get to the market by 5am you can catch these psychos auctioning off their latest and greatest tuna catch, however I only caught the end of the auction and was too intimidated to get close. Check out all the sea treasures.

Mmmmm treasures.

Check out these CrAzY shellfish. Not sure what they are, maybe shellfishus humungus.

Re: What is HUGE?

My favourite market treasure - packaged pansies from the innocent fruit + veg stalls next door. They seem particularly pure after witnessing big Tuna fish chainsawed in half.

From about 7:30 the restaurants in the alleys next to Tsukiji get hideously packed with people trying to get their mitts on the freshest sashimi delivered straight from the market (losers). Not my scene ! I heard there was amazing ramen nearby but alas, couldn't locate it. Instead I settled for bread, espresso & in Ometosando. See last post, double tick.

Side note: Lucky I forgot my Nivea Q10+, now I can have "happy time" every morning. Yay.

Department food markets + Finding good coffee

2010-03-23T20:57:00.021+11:00

At the bottom of most department stores are my idea of heaven. Crazy sexy wild food markets stocked with every kind of food (fresh and cooked) imaginable. Did I mention most places have free samples? It's like market tapas on crack.

Micro cherry tomatoes? Check.

$200 fruit hampers? Check.

Weird fern fronds? Check. (I ate one of these cooked tempura style in a lunch bento - see photo, lightly pickled and super crunchy. Yum)

And the staff are super cute. Kawaiiii!

Finding a good coffee has been a nightmare. Surprise surprise. Starbucks charge about $5 for a cup of faecal lava. Pass. Thought I hit the jackpot when I found this place in Ikebukuro.

The coffee was not too bad (cheap too $2.50). They have about 9 different blends but it is all percolator coffee. You can also get an egg on the side for about 80 cents. Bargain !

Wise man Whitford suggested this place "bread espresso &" in Ometosando Hills (near Harajuku) and it was like being in Melbourne again ! The lunch set (panini + salad) including a coffee was only $9! Finally a coffee that wasn't sickeningly bitter. I went back 3 times, even though it was a 30min trip from my ryokan. I would even say the bread is better than dench. Quote me.

Ometosando also happens to be the only suburb I've seen in Tokyo with a noticable amount of fixies.

Like you would ride a fixie when you can ride this amazing piece of machinery (not!).

Popped into the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space in Ikebukuro to go for a ride up the worlds highest escalator. I got the heeby jeebys half way up and couldn't look down. It's not that high though, maybe 2 x Parliament station.

Also went shopping at titty & co. Couldn't find anything I liked. Bum.

Stimulato Stimulato Stimulato !

2010-03-23T14:10:00.005+11:00

Time for a break from crazy electric city Shinjuku. Went for a stroll in Tokyo Imperial Gardens. Check out the crazy garden 'doctors' meticulously weeding the rocks.

Finally saw some birds other than the crows that dominate the sky. Lovely white swans swimming in the moat around the Imperial gardens.

Here are the crows:

The people are so ridiculously friendly in Japan. Upon asking for directions to a famous udon shop, Sakata in Ginza, this local walked 2km to the shop even though she was on a lunch break. Lucky for me because the menus are a tad hard to read. Perfecto udon - slightly chewy and not too soft. Mmmmm.

Something else I have been snacking on.

Hopped on an aeroplane and went to Japan

2010-03-17T02:31:00.007+11:00

I was pretty tired and I cried, hence the lack of beauty.

The food on the plane was rubbish but I ate it all anyway. Nothing has changed.

Then I got lost here (It wasn't as fun as it looks):

So naturally I calmed myself with food, pork never lets me down.

dance buffalo bill, DANCE!

2009-06-23T00:58:00.004+10:00

thanks to Boyd, Steve Boyd, I can't get this out of my head.

would you fuck me? I'd fuck me. I'd fuck me so hard.

Something's missing..

2009-06-22T14:02:00.000+10:00

One missing ingredient:

1 cup of lenka.

today I made a blog

2009-06-22T13:53:00.000+10:00

that's all.