The Perfect 2008 Day

My favourite experiences from the 365 days of 2008 condensed into a day:

I will first kickstart my day with a bowl of "slippery beef congee" for breakfast at Law Fu Kee, Hong Kong ...

Followed by a mid-morning stroll through Union Square Farmers' Market, New York City ...

Before stopping for a snack, a lamb and chicken gyro from Rafiqi’s ...

Depending on my mood, lunch would either be fusion-modern at Iggy’s, Regent Hotel Singapore or a thoroughly traditional kaiseki affair at Tankuma, Kyoto.

A stroll through London’s Borough Market and Chelsea will help ease the heaviness of lunch. I will probably be in the mood for something sweet for tea. If I can't decide between Toscanini's ice cream or PS Café’s lemon pudding , maybe I should just have both...

Wouldn’t it be nice to warm up our appetites for dinner with some tapes at Bodega Y Tapas ?

But best not to get carried away as we need to leave some space for our omakase dinner at Tomo Fine Dining .

Alas I had to bid farewell to an old love.

To you:

I knew it was over before either of us admitted.

I wish I could pin the blame on you "You don't fit me!" But deep down inside I knew I let it happen. I tried working out but it only made matters worse. Somehow I had always known that you would trade me in for a chic-er, thinner Pretty Young Thing.

It is sad I couldn't get into you to understand what you were thinking; but it's even sadder that when we are together, I felt suffocated.

We had fun while it lasted.

Good bye, my Skinny Jeans.

It's time for soba!

Mummy thinks that I will be a real stud muffin when I grow up - the kind that makes women weak in the knees and hind legs. Oh you know like Leonardo Dicaprio when he was playing Jack Dawson in Titanic? Yet every now and then, even the King of the World needs to rest his weary royal butt somewhere and I found the perfect potted plant to cuddle into. Mummy’s not happy though - she thinks I have found another way to get dirty and I am not even potty-trained yet!

Mummy and I wish you all Happy New Year!

xoxo soba

Tankuma, Kyoto

I think the most memorable meal my sister and I had in Japan was a kaiseki lunch at Tankuma, Kyoto. On our way there, we kind of got lost as Tankuma was located in an insidious corner near Ponto-Cho and it didn’t help that restaurant signboards were written in kanji character. We arrived at Tankuma 5 minutes late – would have been later if not thanks to directions offered by the waitress from Ogawa Coffee, random guy on the street #1 and #2 and a construction worker.

Inside, we were shown to a private tatami room that was simply furnished as if not to distract us from the intricacies of the meal that soon followed. The lady who served us throughout the meal was dressed is a jade-green kimono, spoke no English but upheld the exemplary Japanese service etiquette.



Kaiseki is regarded as haute cuisine where seasonal ingredients undergo light touches, prepared to showcase utmost refinement. Tankuma is known for itamae-kappo (chef’s cuisine) and we went with the prix-fixed menu, which was decided a day in advance because they had to prepare the ingredients.



The starter was a smorgasboard of pickled vegetables, tamago with minced vegetables, slices of beef treated with wine, kelp sandwiched between fish eggs, freshly peeled boiled prawn, finger-sized cooked fish eggs, a couple of mackerel “hakozushi” and half of a huge chestnut.

I loved the presentation – the ickle bite-sized stuff, the subtle sweet savories and the warm colour palette. Flavour-wise, it was on the mild side but things nonetheless worked harmoniously alongside each other.



Next we had some sashimi - tai (red snapper), ika (culttlefish) and maguro (tuna) – that were doubtlessly fresh with firm but squidgy texture. The ika, in particular, was unlike slimy scums I’ve had before.



Following that we have a bonito-based clear soup with prawn ball, sheer daikon slice, carrot and mushrooms. I’m sure I’m not doing justice to this dish. I’m sure it’s more than just your average “mushroom” and “carrot”. Again, very pleasantly light but the flavours were well-noted.



In this pretty bowl, there was a too-cute flower fishcake, steamed egg, shaved yam, and something else (I apologize for my short-term memory), topped with some murky brown miso-ish paste.



By now, I was half-craving for something other than steamed or boiled, and LO AND BEHOLD, we received a grilled crab leg, perched on a grilled fleshy fish. Only in the sanctuary of a private tatami room could I dig, prick and spear the crab leg unglamorously.



The arrival of a rice dish signaled the nearing end of the meal. I love how the Japanese like to add stuff into rice without the big greasy fry-up; here we have some rice tossed with fish flakes.



For dessert, we had brown sugar konnyaku cake, a strawberry and slice of pear.

By the end of our well-paced 2 hour lunch, I was hara hacha bunme (“80 percent full”) and pretty much a kaiseki convert. If truth be told, my explanation below is about 60percent correct as our server didn’t speak any English so I probably missed out the crucial explanations.



There's my sister posing with one of the men who prepared our meal and our server outside the restaurant.

However, I can’t say kaiseki is for everyone because you pretty much need to be in the mood for kaiseki. Que Yumeji's Theme by Shigeru Umebayashi. Also, much of dining in Kyoto seemed awfully surreptitious so I would advise you to ask a Japanese or your hotel concierge to make a reservation for you.

ONE BIG BURNING QUESTION – Is it possible to get authentic kaseiki in Singapore?

Tankuma
355 Kamiya-cho, Shijo-agaru
Nishi-kiyamachi, Nakagyo-ku
Tel: 075 – 221- 6990

Dalloyau, Tokyo

Pierre Herme, Laduree and Dalloyau - they are kind of like the holy trinity of macaroon-makers and for comparison's sake, we bought a couple of macarons.





This macaron was almost too pretty but pity it was rather tasteless.



I liked the coffee better but the middle hazelnut-scented buttercream kind of killed the coffee flavour.

Well, I didn't feel anything when I bit into them - none of that wide-eyed amazement I had when I first tried Pierre Herme's. Hmmm, I wonder if it's just me...

yesterday mummy bought me a new collar - a sassy leopard print one. i feel "fierce"! maybe when mummy takes me for walks, other dogs will not dare bully me when they see my fierce collar. toro's mummy bought him a zebra print collar but i think he is jealous of mine because he keeps biting my collar.

xoxo soba

Shinjuku Day & Night

While in Tokyo, we stayed within the Shinjuku area. I saw there beautiful trees on my way to the train station.





At night, neon lights glow in your face and the area is well-trodden with people looking for either a bite or some sort of entertainment.



There is the well-known Shomben Yokocho aka "Piss Alley," which is a narrow alley just behind Shinjuku station, where locals go to grab a bite in cubbyhole yakitori shops.







Note to self: Must try this on my next trip.

Sushi Zanmai, Tokyo

After a jazz performance at Cotton Club, my sister's colleague Dale took us to nearby Sushi Zanmai for er, sushi. Sushi Zanmai is known for value sushi and they have an outlet at Tsukiji.




Sashimi platter


Otoro sushi


The other side of the otoro sushi


Anago sushi


Clam miso soup


Our chef

I thought it was pretty average - I mean, it bearing the "Tsukiji" label amplified expections but I wasn't blown away. Hmmm then again, I guess the word we are looking for here is "value" and I think I've been spoilt rotten by the good sushi I have had all holiday.

Sushi Zanmai can be found at various locations

The Christmas

We had a glorious Christmas feast prepared mostly by my younger sister and ... we welcome babies Toro and Soba to the family!















Toro and Soba are 2-month-old baby pugs but we will celebrate their birthday on Christmas because it is the day we got them. Soba pooed on my new dress on the way home and I did my darnest not to flinch - maybe I'm not totally devoid of maternal instincts after all!

Sadaharu Aoki, Tokyo

Sadaharu Aoki was the first name on my 'To Try Or Die Trying' list. The Japanese pastissier who broke traditional grounds by infusing Japanese ingredients into French pastries, made his mark in Paris and has 5 boutiques (3 in paris and 2 in tokyo) around the world.



I had done my research and was ready to order anything with green tea, yuzu or black sesame. But I didn't. Because the eclair genmaicha had me at "mooshi mooshi".



Genmaicha also known as "玄米茶" is the result of combining green tea with roasted brown rice. The result was an eclair filled with light cream, swathed with smoky bitterish aroma. I thought I was tasting hay at first; its flavours were totally unexpected but increasing likable with each bite.



We also bought 3 of his macarons - green tea, black sesame and fraboise.



Though not as decadent-tasting as Pierre Herme, I liked the intense green tea flavour and since I basically like ANYTHING with black sesame, it did for me too.


around Isetan Shinjuku


around Isetan Shinjuku

Pierre Herme, Tokyo

On our first night in Tokyo, my sister and I headed over to Isetan Shinjuku for food porn. To make the most out of my sweet foray, I decided to try Pierre Herme and Sadaharu Aoki.



I love millefeuilles and I knew immediately I had to have the Millefeuille Montebello, a flaky buttery puff pastry filled with tangy raspberry and pistachio cream. It was absolutely stunning to see and taste it. Sigh, I'm still thinking about it.





Of course we couldn't leave without getting his macarons.



Love at first bite for my sister, who almost wept with tears when she bit into the Rose.



The chocolate was likeable but I didn't like the bland vanilla macaron. Having tried macarons from Sadaharu Aoki, Dalloyau and Pierre Herme on this trip (and Laduree before), I think Pierre Herme has the best macarons. They are the plumpest and fullest, with the optimum meringue shell to cream ratio.

Sigh, there's no turning back once you've had 'Pierre'.

Pierre Hermé Paris
Can be found at Aoyama, Seibu Shibuya, Ikspiari at Tokyo Disneyland, Hotel New Otani and Isetan Shinjuku

Asakusa, Tokyo

Asakusa, a little too touristy but charming back alleys hidden behind Nakamise Shopping Arcade.

















People were queuing up for these age manju - fried sweet bean cakes.



Rice crackers galore!







One of the highlights was bumping into this incredibly rotund male performer dressed as a geisha.