Tokyo/Kyoto Apr12 - Day 6

Work has picked up significantly during the last 2 months and hence the hiatus, which I'm not proud of. But I'm determined to keep my blog going. How regularly I'll update I'm not sure..but definitely hate to let it die off. So... Let's continue where we left off for my Japan trip! Gotta keep it chop chop.

Lovely Kiyomizu-dera (temple) in the morning. Took a different route going up the hill and coming back down. Leisurely strolled around the entrance area. I've been there before so we didn't go deeper into the rest of the temple. After exploring, we headed down the famous vibrant street lined with souvenir and snack shops. Love the atmosphere and the goodies. A must-visit!

Off to a kaiseki lunch we’d been so looking forward to. It’s situated near a (beautiful in April) canal along Shijo Dori. Took some time to locate it as we were on the wrong side of the canal. Anyway it’s near the main road and beside Mcdonald’s so if you find yourself walking too deep in you’re probably on the wrong track. Taken from wiki, "Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals, and are analogous to Western haute cuisine." This restaurant offers 3 lunch menus at 4200, 7350 & 10500円. The 4200 one that we chose was impressive enough. Each item presented to us was really pretty and exquisite. Will definitely be back to try the others!

Name: Roan Kikunoi
Location: 〒600-8012 京都府京都市下京区 木屋町通四条下る斎藤町118
Expenditure: Lunch menu at 4200, 7500, 10500円 pp excl. sake

After lunch, nice to walk it off at the main canal just two streets away.

Salt Tapas & Bar (16Jun12)

Read & heard some good reviews + I love tapas so we couldn't wait to try this new place at Raffles City. Set up by Aussie celebrity chef Luke Mangan. Casual setting & part-alfresco. Some servers were kinda unpolished but that was okay for the lunch crowd. Wonder how they fare at dinner time. I'm sure it can get pretty crazy. Spanish music was a bit too loud.

Move on quickly to the food reviews. I wanted to order everything on the menu hee hee. Such is my weakness for tapas. Took one lunch set (free flat bread + 3 tapas) for $33.50 and everything else ala-carte. 1st tapas that we chose from the set was the tuna tartare. Love it! The sauce complements the fish very nicely. 2nd, crispy soft shell prawns which we thought weren't crispy enough. Yes it has some cruchiness but when you're talking about shells, anything less than REAL crunchy can render it unpalatable. True enough, a lady next to us started shelling the prawns. Imagine the effort and the (puny) reward. I don't think she enjoyed that! 3rd, truffle fries that garnered considerable negative reviews but which we thought were not bad. Expectations maybe? Somehow PS Cafe's truffle fries seem to capture everybody's hearts.

Beef tongue - I ordered this of course :p Who else eats such a thing? It's alright but I think won't be my first choice next time. Bone marrow - another of my favourite. It's alright as well, not crazy tasty. The generous garnishings kinda overpowered the bone marrow taste. Parma ham - super value for money! $10 an order for a significant number of pieces. Definitely a must-have.

Last but not least, alcohol. We had Spanish cava (much cheaper than champagne), 2 whites and a red (150ml each). Satisfied =)

So far there's only 2 tapas restaurants on my "keepers" list. This, as well as Sabio. I've tried Don Quijote (Dempsey), Serenity and Fandango and they're no where near.

Name: Salt Tapas & Bar

Location: #01-22A, Raffles City Shopping Centre, No 252, North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103

Expenditure: S$150 for 2 incl. alcohol

Langkawi weekend (Jun12)

To speed up my posting I'm gonna do a photoblog for this trip. Just photos and captions thank you. =)

Accommodation @ The Andaman (~220sgd a night). Just slightly worn but clean & spacious so I'm totally happy about it. Room service char kway teow is tasty. Photos courtesy of my sis.

Started the day with a morning swim and spotted our first animal - a carefully camouflaged flying squirrel!

Hotel provided free shuttle (prior booking required) to town area: monwedfri to Kuah Town & tuesthurssat to Cenang Beach if I'm not wrong. Pick-up at 11am and back from town at 4pm. We went on a sat and were dropped off at the Underwater World after a 33km 40mins ride. Simple seafood lunch at Langkawi Eagle House. Nothing special but decent food at least.

Motorcycle convoy spotted (some travelled from as far as Singapore). Followed by the Cenang Beach itself where lots of water activities were going on. Then massage and fish spa at a spa joint beside the restaurant. Good service. Went back twice. First attempt at being gnobbled by fishes. Nobody said it was this ticklish! (see expression on face)

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Other photos of hotel and its surroundings: Corridor. Restaurant front. Volleyball court among the trees. Swimming pool. Evening at the beach. Sunset. Humongous lizard. Elderly monkey ♥

Langkawi Cable Car & Oriental Village. Not to be missed!! So much more enjoyable than expected. Too bad the suspended Skybridge was closed for maintenance. I love the blue that engulfed us. Not for the faint-hearted though. Feels higher than the stated 700m above ground.

Other information:

• Seven Wells Waterfall might be worth a visit, although we could see it at a distance from the cable car.
• Dragon Dynasty Restaurant near Kuah Town. Chinese seafood. Air-conditionned. Cheap and good. Love the signature crispy duck.
• Langkawi Taxi (http://taxilangkawi99.blogspot.sg/): Super convenient to book a taxi for the day. It's like having your own car/van without having to drive it. Price is 210rm for 7 hours (add 50rm if you stay at the faraway Andaman hotel like us).