Kyoho Grapes and Ultra juicy Momo Peach from Japan

These are the ultra premium grapes and peaches I lugged back all the way from Japan.

Kyoho grapes, considered to be the most expensive in the world, cost a whopping $60 to 80 (i think) in Isetan and that was why I had to buy a box back no matter what. They had very thick skin which in my opinion should be peeled away (easily) to fully enjoy the jello-like texture and wine like taste of these delicious morsels.

I had also bought a box of 5 momos for 1000yen and shucks, is it truly heavenly or what? Sweet and literally dripping with juice, I thought at a mere 200yen each, it was such a steal. If I could I would have lugged home even more.

Shucks, I want one now.

Great Chee Cheong Fan in Gopeng (15 min from Ipoh)

This is definitely not what Chee Cheong Fan looks like to a Singaporean.

Here we are today in Gopeng basking under the mid-day sun, waiting for an illusive chee cheong fan man to arrive. Plastic tables have been set up where the stall functions, but it's all empty except for a steamer. As the clock ticked, more and more people congregated at the area. Where the hell is he?

Finally, we see this super lao pok white car come by, its back seat loaded with all kinds of fried yong tau foo. He backed into the lot in front of the plastic tables and proceeded to off load whole trays of food onto the table. Turned out that the steamer contained the actual chee cheong fan and here in Gopeng, Yong Tau Foo was part of the deal.



Everyone scrambled to the food grabbing whatever looks good. I also realised that the Chee Cheong Fan here came with a light curry gravy similar to that of Lontong.

So was it good? Yes, especially the soft texture of the chee cheong fan. It sent CK raving and raving. But I found the Yong Tau Foo very oily actually but other than that the taste was fine.

More importantly though, this place also had the 'fun' element. You have fun choosing what to go with your cheong fan and of course, the waiting thrown in also created a nice buzz in your stomach as it anticipates the arrival of the goods. Yumm.

Fong San Dim Sum in Ipoh

This is the first time that I ever woke up at 6am for food. More specifically, for dim sum.

The place in question is a very famous restaurant in Ipoh called Fong San. It's almost an institution. If you are from Ipoh, chances are you would have grown up eating from this place. And what makes it even more interesting is that everyone from Ipoh knows that you gotta wake up in the wee hours of the morning if you are gonna be successful in snagging a seat.

It's the DeepaRaya holidays and we've taken a 2 day trip from KL down to Ipoh for what I would call a mini food fest. The last time I was in Ipoh I ate so much I fell so sick afterwards, I even sent CK on a panic attack!

Anyway back to Fong San, when we got there the place was already brimming! Amazing! But being pretty early, we got a seat pretty fast too. We were here with CK's colleagues - James and Janice - and were later joined by Janice's parents.

If you happen to be in Ipoh, I would say it was a gourmet experience worth waking up for.



Dim Sum was pushed in carts but the place was so friggin crowded that these pushcarts were held in standstill as people crowded around them instead trying to get their hands on the food. We got our dim sum... ranging from Polo Bun, carrot cake, har kow, siew mai, egg tart, chee cheong fan, spare ribs, etc.

The Polo Bun and Egg tart scored points while carrot cake (fried with bean sprouts.. eeks!) got the thumbs down. The other stuff were great too. I had a major craving for a sweet filling bao and here's wat I got, a tao sar bao, albeit in a rather strange shape.


If you are in Ipoh, do not give Fong San a miss. It's got a great atmosphere that is rare in dim sum restaurants nowadays. I always felt that dim sum should have a 'fun' element and yup, Fong San's got that.

Day 1 - Tokyo (Shinjuku)

We are off to Tokyo today and we reached the airport before 4am to check in for our 6am Northwest flight. Checking in was a little tricky as our flight was a connecting flight to another flight bound for the US. This meant heavy security measures were in place. In fact, both me and Ck got interviewed individually by a police officer.

That aside, we were well soon on our way to Narita, scheduled to land at 2pm. The plane ride was ok, but definitely not as luxurious as the likes of SQ or Cathay. At $428 (before tax) you really can't ask for much,

Well before we knew it, we had landed in Tokyo! This marked the beginning of our 16 day journey after months and months of research and planning. We are finally here!

After we cleared immigration and picked up our luggage, we headed straight to the limited express that took us into the city. Crowded with people, what struck me was that the train travelled at a very fast speed even though it was the more lao pok kind.

We transferred to the subway and soon, we are standing in front of the very cool looking Andon Ryokan. We had chosen Andon Ryokan for its sleek design and hip quotient.

Andon Ryokan..

Outside my room..

I had requested for a high floor at Andon Ryokan and so we stayed on the 3rd floor. All the rooms were double rooms and beautifully designed. You sleep on very comfotable bedding laid out on tatami floors and there is a tv in every room.



We settled in for awhile and took off for Shinjuku for dinner and the first taste of Japan.

Arriving at Shinjuku station is abit of a surreal experience as there were just so many people! Of course the fact that it was a Saturday night made it even more busy. Shinjuku station is said to be the busiest train station in the world and is in itself a made up of a confusing maze of exits and underground shopping centres.



We walked around first, trying to get our orientation right. We headed to Takashimaya's depachika (food hall) but it was a bit of a disappointment as I was expecting a myriad of activity, surrounded by so many food choices that I could not possibly decide wat to eat. Unfortunately, nothing caught our eye.

Hunger was slowly kicking in and we had to make our choice fast. So we decided to give Japan's homegrown fast food chains a try. We ended up at Lotteria and ordered a hot masala burger set (some promo in line with the HOT summer season).Though the burger wasn't as sensational, the view of the joint was.

Me @ Lotteria


I found Shinjuku to be the sleazier, dirtier cousin of Shibuya. There are loads of nightclubs in the red light district that not only provides services for men, but for women as well. Pictures of male escorts are plastered all over the front of these nightclubs - no qualms about it.

The area called Kabukicho was filled with loads of shops, restaurants, drinking holes and convenience stores. It was here that we found our first REAL meal. And it was a very good one at that.

Lights, camera and action at Kabukicho

It was a ramen shop somewhere in Kabukicho. Hot, busy and smelling oh-s0-great, we walked in, only to be faced with a huge vending machine. All in Japanese. How do we choose our order when we can't even read?

Hmmm... we had no one to turn to and everything was smelling so great so we just dropped some money into the machine and randomly made our choice. We got our ticket and handed it to one of the chefs behind the counter. What's more, there was only one available seat. We had to take turns eating the ramen in the end!

Thankfully, whatever we seem to have ordered was what everyone seemed to be having. And boy, was the portion huge. (The bowl was so so huge that both me and CK (known eaters) could hardly finish it.) A piping hot deep bowl of ramen filled with a tonne of smooth, slurpy noodles, topped with thick slices of fatty chashu with a1cm layer of oil floating on top. I still think this was my favourite ramen i ate in the whole trip.

What a great way to start.

The delicious ramen store...

Day 2 - Harajuku + Shibuya + Omotesando + Aoyama

Alot of ground to conquer today, we are going to cover Tokyo's hippest and trendiest (not to mention hugeee) area that stretches from Aoyama to Omotesando to Harajuku and finally, Shibuya.

We took the train to Omotesando, where high end boutiques such as Prada, LV and Gucci are found. But of course, we'll have to start off with a nice brunch to start the day right.

Lunch was planned at Maisen Tonkatsu, famous for it's breaded pork cutlet with rice dishes. Converted from an old bathhouse, the premises of Maisen is breathtaking.



A bit of info on why the pork cutlet at Maisen is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Firstly, it's not just any pork. These are the specially reared "Black Pork". Known as Kurobata Pork in Japanese, this kind of pork is naturally more juicy, tastier with a great bite to boot. World-famous chef Nobu Matsushita named Maisen as one of his favourite restaurants in the world!

There's wide variety to be found on the menu but I highly recommend the Kurobata Pork Tonkatsu Set as well as the Katsu-don Set pictured here:


When the food arrived, me and CK were so thrilled at it's presentation, but our first bite was even better. Anyway after this first visit, we loved it so much we vowed to return on our second last day in Japan, which we did!

And for those who love sandwiches, I am pleased to say that Maisen sells Tonkatsu sandwiches just outside its premises for those on the go (we had these on our flight home to Singapore actually)

Moving on, we walked the impossibly hip boutiques at Aoyama and Omotesando. A few boutiques really stood out including the stunning Prada building (below), the ultra advant garde Commes Des Garcons boutique and the BAPE store with revolving shoe conveyor belt centrepiece (think conveyor belt sushi).



The long stretch of Omotesando takes you alongside the most famous bouqtiues in the world and links up with the trashy, loudness of Harajuku. When walking along this street, do make sure you make a stop at Kiddy Land for your deserved overdose of cuteness. Surreal, weird and at times too cute, this 4 or 5 storey shop is loaded with Hello Kittys and other oddly shaped characters with a strange combination of weird meets cute.

Takeshita Street..


At Harajuku, we went straight to the famous Takeshita Street for our next overdose of weirdness. But this time, it's street culture weird. There were loads of shops that run the gamut of pet shops selling matching doggy outfits with doggy houses to Cosplay boutiques with French maid and S&M themes. If you're hungry, you can try one of the many crepe stands that line the place. We had a summer berry custard crepe which was very nice.



The other end of Takeshita leads to Harajuku Station where it's just minutes away from Meiji-Jingu, the largest and most important Shinto shrine in Tokyo. A must visit for its beautiful premises,marvel in the contrast of this unexpected oasis with the sheer madness of what lies just outside it. The serenity of tall trees and gravel road that leads into the very beautiful premises indescribable.

Meiji-Jingu Shrine...


Oh, and while you are there, do not miss the Cosplay kids on Sunday. Take a look at this and you know why you won't wanna miss it. From french maids to gothic punks to couples that looked like they just stepped out from the Victorian age, this is a spectacle to behold.



After the long trek, yup, it's time to eat again. Haha. Yayy. Our early dinner was at Kyushu Jangara Ramen, another very very famous place. They serve Tonkotsu Ramen which soup of the kyushu style, made from pork bones boiled to a milky broth. This one tastes great but it is a tad too salty for me. The first tonkotsu flavour one we ordered was much tastier than the miso base one. And like all ramen in Japan, this one too had a thick layer of pork fat floating on top, which we walloped. Yum.

However, I did prefer the ramen one we had in Shinjuku yesterday. Then again though, those who know me will know that I am addicted to the Tonkotsu Flavour by Nissin's Chu Qian Yi Ding, a flavour sold in Australia and Hong Kong but unfortunately is not sold in Singapore.



It was getting dark and the time was perfect for our next pit stop - Shibuya. Shibuya made my heart race with the crazy mass of people thronging the place. Loads of Ah Lians (those tanned girls with bleached hair and pale lipstick) infiltrated every corner and this place was teeming with dozens of fashion boutiques! Whoo hooo!

Shibuya spreads over a relatively large area so time is of essence is you really want to cover as much as possible. But if you are time strapped, it is absolutely essential to pay a visit to these few places.

1) Hachiko Statue.
Quite possibly the world's most loyal dog, Hachiko waited for his master's return for 10 years at the same spot where his statue is now erected. The story goes that his master had died at work and failed to return to their usual meeting place but the faithful dog kept at it till the day he died. Hachiko was the first dog in Japan to have his obituary run in the papers!



2) Shibuya Crossing
The epitome of the fast paced nature of Tokyo life, find yourself lost amongst the crowd at the world's busiest street crossing.



3) Shibuya 109 Shopping Mall
In a nutshell, this is Ah Lian central. Filled with shops selling the latest Ah Lian gear, I believe there are many bargains to be found at this place. But the shop that made me go absolutely crazy was this lingerie shop called Peach John. Check out their endless selction of the prettiest underwear you can find that range from tacky to practical, it's a girl's dream come true.



Example of Ah lian:


4) Dogenzaka
A long street that cuts diagonally across, this area is a sort of gateway to the other things Shibuya offers. Walk along it and you will find the most happening discos (like womb) nearby and a whole slew of Love Hotels as well as many quaint pubs, ramen shops and boutiques etc.

Day 3 - Asakusa + Kappabashi St + Ueno + Akhihabara + Kanda Yabu Soba

Asakusa, the bustling 'old town' of Tokyo is where we are headed off early to today. Home to the venerable Senso-ji temple, we planned to have the street snacks along Nakimise Street leading up to Senso-ji as breakfast.

Nakamise Street...


Super touristy but colorful, Nakimise street is lined with shops selling knick knacks, traditional Japanese sweets, souvenirs and snacks. We ended up with some Japanese Mua Chee thing (which wasn't too nice), black sesame ice cream and Japanese pancakes. The entrance to Senso-ji is flanked by a large red lantern that is now synonymous with images of Asakusa, even Japan. We were greeted by a vibrant scene of tourists (loads of Korean, Taiwanese and Ang mohs) and Japanese alike trying to get a piece of the action.

With both Senso-ji and Meiji-Jingu being must-visits for any Tokyo visitor, I think both me and CK preferred the serene, peaceful feel of the latter as compared to the boisterousness of Senso-ji. However, Senso-ji is not without its quiet areas. There were nice, quiet areas found in pockets of the vast premises.

Time for lunch and our next stop Ueno. We walked enroute to Ueno through Asakusa's quaint little streets and Kappabashi Street. Kappabashi Street is known as the 'kitchen town' of Tokyo. In case you are wondering, yes that is where Japan's famous plastic food is manufactured. Not just that, you can even find soba knives costing 260,000 Yen!!!



A large suburban area characteristic of the working class in Tokyo, Ueno is well known for the Ueno Park (home to countless museums and galleries) and Ameyoko Market, a large pasar malam of sorts. The historical Ueno Station is also a major gateway to other parts of Japan.

Ueno Park. A gorgeous green oasis amidst a concrete jungle...


Lunch was at Izuei Unagi Honten, a very famous Unagi restaurant with a whopping 260 year old history, said to favoured by the Japanese royal families. We ordered two Unagi bento sets, one with tempura and the other with seasonal items. The unagi was tasty but I thought the ambience of the place was even better. Served by an elegant old lady donning a lovely kimono at a table overlooking the beautiful Ueno Park and surrounded by groups of Japanese enjoying a quiet lunch, I thought this was a quintessentially Japanese experience, comparable to say, slurping ramen at a busy ramen shop.

Brilliant Bentos at Izuei, a 260 yr old restaurant!


Full and satisfied, we took a leisurely walk around Ueno Park and headed towards Ameyoko Market. We were supposed to walk through Ameyoko towards Akhihabara but CK thought we were supposed to head straight to Akhihabara. It was so sweltering hot that when we backtracked, we took a train instead. Hah.

Anyway, Ameyoko Market is filled with fruit stalls and other stalls selling fresh produce as well as second hand shops selling watches and stuff like LV bags. There were some cut fruit sold at some stalls and we had a honeydew which was refreshingly sweet and juicy.



We finally finally made our way towards Akhihabara. It became more and more evident we were in the electronics and gadget land. Neon billboards showcasing colorful Anime characters covered buildings and electronic shop after electronic shop lined the streets. What's interesting was also the fact that there were quite a number of female pamphlet distributors dressed in cosplay.

We have stepped into the fantasy (and definitely fascinating and kinky) world of cosplay, anime and gadgets in Japan.

Akhihabara...


One of the most interesting shops we have come across in Japan is what we call a 'porn plaza'. Imagine a 7 storey one stop destination for all your sexual and fantasy needs. From porn videos to dildos to role-playing costumes to weird gadgets designed for (gasp!) office use, this surreal place is reality in Japan.

What's porn at every storey...


The weirdest thing about this place was that there were several polaroids displayed of ordinary girls paying(!) to pose in various costumes or states of undress. There was a sign that said if you pay for this service, you can buy the costume you posed in at a discount.

Night fell and it was dinner time. We had planned to have dinner at another famous shop - Kanda Yabu Soba. Reputed to be the most famous soba shop in Tokyo, this antique gem has been open since 1881! We had such a hard time locating this place (walking in circles around Awajicho and even asking one salariman offering to bring us there!) but the effort was well worth it coz the place was exceptionally beautiful in a old Japanese style, the cold soba the very best I've tasted and the superb service of a very friendly old lady (with porcelain white skin in a traditional kimono) insisting to explain what you are eating - even though it was clear we dun understand a word that she's saying!!!

Cold soba. The very best you can get.


Our orders were not hollered, electronically imprinted or memo-ed into the kitchen. It was sung into the kitchen. Yes, our orders were literally processed into a song by a lady and well, the kitchen must have heard. Haha.

Anyway, we started with a hot soba which was just so-so. Then we noticed everyone was eating the basic cold soba so we ordered it. This is definitely the recommended option over the hot soba as the texture of the cold soba was simply exceptional. We were also served some salty homemade miso paste to go with beer. Very interesting too.

All in all, we had a really fabulous dinner and I highly recommend Kanda Yabu Soba for the best soba you can get in Japan.

Day 4 - Tsukiji Fish Market + Tokyo Imperial Palace + Ginza

We woke up at 5am today and we were at the train station by 5.20am.

Tsukiji Fish Market, the biggest fish market in the world, is where we are going. We've got to get there early in order to catch the world famous tuna auction. Indeed, anyone making a trip to Japan should make it a point to stop by here.

A crazy epicentre of fishy activity in the morning, emblazoned by tractors filled with the day's catch swishing past you from left, right and centre, it is inevitable that my pulse quickened dramatically in the midst of this one-of-a-kind experience. Tsukiji will be moving in a couple of years time and perhaps will be closed to the public from then on, so don't miss it ever.

Fresh tuna...


Frozen Tuna...


On top of that, Tsukiji outside the auction areas were filled with other treasures from the sea.



After all the action, we rewarded ourselves with one of Japan's top eating experience: We ate the freshest sushi in the world at Tsukiji at the crack of dawn. And we had that at Sushi Bun, apparently the world's oldest sushi bar. All 150 years of it.

The Uni (sea urchin), anago (eel with sushi bun's special sauce) and otoro (tuna belly) were to die for...


A fantastic start to the day, we headed back to Andon to clean up abit and met with a slice of daily life for the Japanese - morning rush hour. It was exactly like what you always see on TV, with train attendants giving a helping to squeeze people into the cabins. I managed to snap this.



Apparently the Japanese in the train were pretty amused by me photographing them. A few laughed and even waved!

Late morning came and we were headed to the Tokyo Imperial Palace and East Gardens. Stopping at the grand Tokyo station (itself an attraction), we stopped by the Marunouchi building and picked up a pizza from Jucheim. Jucheim is this super ATAS patissierie that sells an almost too beautiful to eat selection of mouthwatering cakes, pastries and warm meals.

The pizza we picked up was phenomenol. Unlike the hard, dry crust you would expect from a pizza from a bakery, the crust was light and airy, yet with enough bite and crunch to the thin crust. It's a pity I didn't take a picture of it.

Back to our destination, the imperial palace is a beautifully constructed royal home surrounded by moats with distinctive white walls. It is said to be the most expensive piece of real estate in the world.



Admission is free but visitors have to collect a token upon entering and return it to the palace guards upon exiting. We took a leisurely, albeit it was super hot, walk in the expansive grounds of the palace. The place is so freakin huge that it kinda killed the leisure part of it towards the end. Felt like a hike. I told myself to treat it as the pre-prep for our Fuji climb.

Hungry by now, we moved on to glitzy Ginza, home to Japan's most expensive and upmarket shopping. For the ultimate people-watching experience, do make a stop for some coffee and cake at Le Cafe Doutor located right smack in the middle of Ginza crossing. We ordered the 'thousand layer crepe cake' which I read somewhere I think was first made famous in New York.



Ginza is indeed one notch higher in terms of 'class level' with the endless stream of Japanese tai tais thronging the place.



Here are some iconic buildings we saw in Ginza. This is the Mikimoto building.


And this is a close up of the Hermes Building .




We visited the Apple Centre and Sony building in Ginza and soon it became dark. We had made plans to eat the famous Wagyu beef in this yakiniku place called Ginza Kahjohken. As we were a little early, I felt a bit apprehensive about entering the near empty restaurant. I was concerned that if we were to spend an obscene amount of moolah on something that didn't match up to our high expectations, my mood will be sorely affected.

We decided to go in anyway. No regrets at all.

Instead of sticking to the original plan of having the all-you-can-eat but lower grade wagyu beef, we opted for the higher quality wagyu instead. It proved to be the right decision as the first thick slab of meat that greeted us was shockingly aesthetic, superbly marbled with fat.



For the unitiated, Japanese wagyu is prized for it's marbling of fat within the meat. And this piece of meat that was presented to us was unlike anything I had seen before. Man!

Being a yakiniku place, there was a grill at every table where you'll cook your own meat. I grilled the meat lightly and put it into my mouth. The high concentration of fat caused the meat to literally melt to half its size in my mouth. Ooohhh...the pure sensation of the slithery, tasty fat oozing out of the meat to caress my taste buds is heavenly.

May I add that by 7pm, the place was packed to the brim. Filled with Salary men and the like. Apparently, this place was a really popular place after all. My worries were unfounded. Silly.

The chinese speaking waitress assigned to us also recommended the bibimbap and a nice tofu salad to go along with our meal. And of course we had beer wherever we went. I think we had Kirin Gold here? Ck and me agreed that was the nicest variety we had. In Singapore, you can find it sold in Meidi-ya and Isetan Scotts. It all added up nicely to a very well balanced, delicious meal.

After dinner, we headed to Roppongi for some nightlife but we didn't quite end up there. Instead we walked all the way to Tokyo tower. Japan's version of the Eiffel Tower. We walked along the streets of Roppongi and saw there were lots of black men, all touts for the various night spots in Roppongi. Hmmm... interesting. How the hell did they all end up here?

Doesn't it look like Paris?


We didn't get to go up Tokyo Tower in the end as it just closed when we got there. We did manage to take some photos though. We were pretty shacked out by the time we got here so we decided to head back to Andon soon after. It's been a really long day after all.

Day 5 - Ten-Ichi Deux lunch + Odaiba + Gonpachi

I made a mistake on my itinerary today. Somehow I had failed to note that the place we were supposed to go for lunch - the famous Dote No Iseya Tempura- was closed on Wednesdays. We decided to go have tempura anyway after some discussion and headed to Ten-Ichi Deux - the cheaper version of Ten-Ichi , Tokyo's most famous (and expensive) tempura restaurant.



The tempura unfortunately was nice but not overwhelming. I suspect the good stuff's really at the main restaurant where I read that your tempura will be fried right before your eyes. However, the restaurant was chic and a nice place to chill out. Presentation was nice too.

We stayed a little longer coz it started to rain and we were supposed to go to Odaiba, a seaside area in Tokyo with a slightly futuristic appeal. What's also special about Odaiba is that you have to take the Yurikamome to reach it. Yurikamome is a nice scenic train ride that goes through the rainbow bridge and takes you to different parts of Odaiba.



Odaiba contrasted very much with Tokyo, being more spacious and laid back. There were quite a few shopping malls here, namely one called Venus Fort, a dog friendly place with nice boutiques. Both me and CK bought some clothes from there. The Toyota megaweb is here too. You can check out Toyota's latest concept cars and participate in a range of fun activities like their version of Daytona racing etc.



We took a break and sampled some delicious soup from Soup Stock Tokyo. I don't have the pictures of what we had but here's something from their website.



Anyway, time passed pretty fast coz we started out late today and before we knew it, it was dark. One thing about Odaiba is the fantastic, romantic night scene. It feels like we are in New York! Complete with Statue of liberty some more. Feels surreal.



We ended our first leg in Tokyo with a lovely dinner at Gonpachi. A popular jappy restaurant with a gorgeous view of the bay that inspired the set of Kill Bill .



Though expensive (we had a single wagyu yakitori stick that costs us a whopping 1500yen = S$20! ), this is one absolutely fantastic place to drink beer. I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves to drink. The atmosphere was infectiously boisterous and the service staff friendly and helpful. It may sound strange but I thought this was one of the most memorable dinners I had with CK.