Can you throw a cup of noodle across distance without spilling it out? They can. (Not sure if there is any trick behind this)
My earlier post, I mentioned something about a dessert that comes in a yellow box. In it, it's 6 individually wrapped soft biscuit / cake, whatever way you prefer to call it. One thing about the Japanese, they are very particular about packaging. This box packaging is probably the standard packaging that one can find. When it comes to packaging, the Japanese can be very elaborate but that normally will also translates to a higher price tag.
Anyway, I had initially wanted to save this box of dessert for my mum but I was curious what's inside the box. The packaging does not give me any clue about the content other than knowing it's some nice dessert, from what my friend said. So I googled it and I think that was a mistake because after that I opened up and ate 2 of it and that's all happening at 10:30pm, way past my no food after 7pm rule!
Hakata Torimon!
The content inside the box
Anyway, I had initially wanted to save this box of dessert for my mum but I was curious what's inside the box. The packaging does not give me any clue about the content other than knowing it's some nice dessert, from what my friend said. So I googled it and I think that was a mistake because after that I opened up and ate 2 of it and that's all happening at 10:30pm, way past my no food after 7pm rule!
Hakata Torimon!The words on the packaging is written:
The spirit of OKASHI. It is what gives a peaceful and pleasant mind to the human race. All the time, man seeks romance in the OKASHI. We have been working hard and carefully, and work on. To weave the romance and fancy into each OKASHI. This, at last, we have made up "The HAKATA SEIYO-WAGASHI." If you taste the feeling and the spirit of the OKASHI which value tradition and living in the times, there is no pleasure better than it.
Honestly, I have no idea what they are trying to say. To me, the Japs are better known for their "amusingly" incorrect English. Perhaps some kind soul out there can enlighten me on this. Note the sentence, "there is no pleasure better than it", that sounds a little deluded.
The content inside the boxThis is a box of very delicious dessert. The filling consist of some yummy white bean jam and has a velvety texture. The skin and the filling are both soft and luscious. Thinking about it now, I think I still have the taste lingering around my taste bud. So back to why I think this thing fascinating to me? What makes me break the 7pm rule?
The individually wrapped biscuit has an air activated self heating function in it. You will find a small little white packet sticking on the inner side of the plastic packaging. It is called hokkairo, it's a small pouch containing iron, water, cellulose, vermiculite, activated carbon and salt. When the plastic wrap is open, the pouch will be exposed to oxygen in the air. The oxygen and the iron will form Iron Oxide (rust, eeks!) but as the rusting process takes quite a while to take place, so salt is added to act as catalyst to fasten the process. More information about this can be found here - Link
I took the liberty to open up the pouch to check the content. The heat generated is not v hot, it is just warm but not warm enough to make the whole dessert warm. Perhaps it's just a feeling thing, holding a packet of warm dessert on hand. So, the conclusion is even though the dessert is good but the one that fascinated me more is this self heating pouch than dessert. In the end, without realising it, I am only left with one now in the box.
The creamy and velvety dessert
From my googled result, I also learnt that this dessert has won numerous of awards. Although I am not sure what are the awards about but I guess it must be something good. There is also an online website where you can purchase this, sadly everything is in Japanese words and my limited Japanese words recognition can’t get me very far to buy it online. So, if anyone that is going to Kyushu again, this is definitely one thing that I will advice you guys to buy.
Note: Thanks (again) KK!
My earlier post, I mentioned something about a dessert that comes in a yellow box. In it, it's 6 individually wrapped soft biscuit / cak...
LOL, I think I’m easily amused!
A friend from Japan brought me gift, 3 different types of ramen from different part of the Kyushu region and a box of Hakata Torimon. I’ve always been fascinated with things from Japan because I know something inside the packaging will fascinate me.
All the goodies from Kyushu!
The content of the instant ramen that was about to turn into my dinner soon. It has 2 portion in it so you can save the other half for another time, if you're a small eater like me =)
This feels like cooking pasta but it didn't take as long as pasta to get soft.
My dinner =)
The noodle texture, definitely better than those maggi mee that's piling in my food cabinet.
This instant noodle tasted very good to me even though there is no yakibuta or spring onion like those on the packaging.
Oh then not to forget the little cakes in the yellow box. That's another fascinating box of dessert for another post. Thanks KK! ;-)
A friend from Japan brought me gift, 3 different types of ramen from different part of the Kyushu region and a box of Hakata Torimon. I’ve always been fascinated with things from Japan because I know something inside the packaging will fascinate me.
All the goodies from Kyushu!Eager, I was. When I reached home after work, I immediately cooked one of the ramen for my dinner. Have I ever mention to anyone that I like to eat ramen too?
Something about my brain, I’m almost always attracted to anything red. So my first choice of ramen to cook is this. That wasn’t a tough decision to make. Since the packaging of the noodles looks equally the same to me and I don’t have a food expert telling me which is the better ones, I guess the colour of the packaging will decide for me. Initially I thought that the red packaging also means spicy flavour then I read the kanji carefully only, it’s actually black sesame ramen or at least that’s how I interpret the katakana and kanji on the packaging. The packaging indicates that this ramen flavour originates from Kumamoto prefecture.
The content of the instant ramen that was about to turn into my dinner soon. It has 2 portion in it so you can save the other half for another time, if you're a small eater like me =)
This feels like cooking pasta but it didn't take as long as pasta to get soft.
My dinner =)
The noodle texture, definitely better than those maggi mee that's piling in my food cabinet.
This instant noodle tasted very good to me even though there is no yakibuta or spring onion like those on the packaging.Oh then not to forget the little cakes in the yellow box. That's another fascinating box of dessert for another post. Thanks KK! ;-)
LOL, I think I’m easily amused! A friend from Japan brought me gift, 3 different types of ramen from different part of the Kyushu region an...
One of the many things we enjoyed while our trip in Japan is the はなみ (Hanami, Japanese word for flower viewing). Our last few days in Tokyo coincide with the bloom of Sakura flower. It’s a sight to be seen by one’s own eyes. No camera will be able to capture the beauty of the flower, to enjoy it; one must really see it yourself. The sight of thousands of Sakura flower in full bloom at once is a breathtaking and mesmerizing moment.
One good place to enjoy a good はなみ is Ueno Park. On my last day in Tokyo, Ron and I make a trip there to see Sakura flowers. We initially planned to go to Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008 and even bought the ticket before that but we make away with the plan because we have decided to spend more time at the park enjoying the flowers, after all not a fan of anime either.
To get to Ueno Park, we took the JR Yamanote Line from Shinjuku station to Ueno station. Japan subway station is huge by size, so be careful of getting lost while there. We were a bit lost when arriving at Ueno station as there are more then one exits in the station but only one leads to the park with minimal walking distant. So, coupled with Ron’s maps reading skill and my half bucket にほんご. We manage to make our way there and spend some a lovely time there.
The entrance fee to Ueno Park is free, so save a bit on the pocket but the food is worth every penny to try. So, don’t pinch when you are on holiday.
A close up shot of the Sakura flower, this was taken outside the hotel that we are putting up
A shot of several Sakura flowers together
Sakura that I have seen are mainly white, so this is something different from the rest. A little of pink tint.
Another variation, stronger tint of pink slowly turning white towards the inner of the flower
The sight of a thousand flowers
The enormous amount of people from all parts of the world crowding together to see the Sakura flowers
The Japanese with their quirkiness. We had to take a shot of this seemingly "dead"frog, probably due to alcohol overdose. The locals here fancy picnic in the park during the はなみ season. They are seen everywhere in the park feasting and having a good time with their friends or family.
P/s: Looking at how all these flowers suddenly spring into life out of sudden as compared to the days before I left Tokyo for Osaka, I somehow have this nudging feeling that these flowers have a secret pact or something to bloom and wither together all at once.
One good place to enjoy a good はなみ is Ueno Park. On my last day in Tokyo, Ron and I make a trip there to see Sakura flowers. We initially planned to go to Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008 and even bought the ticket before that but we make away with the plan because we have decided to spend more time at the park enjoying the flowers, after all not a fan of anime either.
To get to Ueno Park, we took the JR Yamanote Line from Shinjuku station to Ueno station. Japan subway station is huge by size, so be careful of getting lost while there. We were a bit lost when arriving at Ueno station as there are more then one exits in the station but only one leads to the park with minimal walking distant. So, coupled with Ron’s maps reading skill and my half bucket にほんご. We manage to make our way there and spend some a lovely time there.
The entrance fee to Ueno Park is free, so save a bit on the pocket but the food is worth every penny to try. So, don’t pinch when you are on holiday.
A close up shot of the Sakura flower, this was taken outside the hotel that we are putting up
A shot of several Sakura flowers together
Sakura that I have seen are mainly white, so this is something different from the rest. A little of pink tint.
Another variation, stronger tint of pink slowly turning white towards the inner of the flower
The sight of a thousand flowers
The enormous amount of people from all parts of the world crowding together to see the Sakura flowers
The Japanese with their quirkiness. We had to take a shot of this seemingly "dead"frog, probably due to alcohol overdose. The locals here fancy picnic in the park during the はなみ season. They are seen everywhere in the park feasting and having a good time with their friends or family.
P/s: Looking at how all these flowers suddenly spring into life out of sudden as compared to the days before I left Tokyo for Osaka, I somehow have this nudging feeling that these flowers have a secret pact or something to bloom and wither together all at once.
One of the many things we enjoyed while our trip in Japan is the はなみ (Hanami, Japanese word for flower viewing). Our last few days in Tokyo ...
This is a night shot of the Tokyo tower from Mori Tower @ Roppongi Hills. This is our first sightseeing spot that we made on the first day we arrived in Tokyo. We reached here quite late but as a city that never sleeps, things are still going on as usual around this place. The view at night is breathtaking, the moment I saw the city’s view in front of me, I really can’t believe myself that I’m standing right at the heart of Tokyo. More importantly I have never imagined that I will be in Japan. Personally that’s quite an achievement for me as a holiday to Japan is never cheap and having the ability to come here through my own pocket, I’m already a very happy girl.
Back to the picture I posted, the picture that you’re looking at now is a picture that I have photoshopped using the sketch function from Adobe Photoshop Express. Photoshop is now going web based, you can join and use the services for free but bear in mind that they are still in beta version now, so there are still a lot of things there that are still buggy. For instance, the function to send pictures to email, the email I received has a lot of empty boxes and their image download don’t work. Other then that their interface is quite attractive and easy to use, as it is only basic tools that are available for use. I suppose once they are ready to launch the proper version they will then start charging for money.
This is a night shot of the Tokyo tower from Mori Tower @ Roppongi Hills. This is our first sightseeing spot that we made on the first day w...
Finally I managed to make my way down to Orchard and bought myself 3 Japan Rail Pass tickets. I bought the ordinary 7-day passes at the price of SGD388 each. I am lucky that I managed to buy this pass at a cheap price as another agent quoted me at SGD411. So, my advise to you guys out there who is going to buy this pass is to make a few rounds of call before buying it. The price of the Japan Rail Pass is fixed in yen but because when we buy we are buying it at local currency, the price of the pass will hinge on the currency fluctuations. So the daily rate of the pass will move together with the currency market.
This pass allows me to take unlimited rides within Japan for 7 days. Since we are covering quite a few cities while in Japan, flying within the country is not a viable option to us as it can be quite pricey. So this serves as more economical alternatives to us. On top of that our traveling expenses will be capped at a certain value.
To find out more about JR Pass, one can visit the website – Japan Rail Pass
So to answer my friend’s question on how much I have spent on my Japan trip so far, this is my cost:
Air Ticket – SGD 667
JR Pass – SGD 388
Hotel – SGD 667 (for 10 days)
Total = SGD 1722
This is the list of expenses that I have as of now. I suppose the rest will be when I’m there. Perhaps I will list my other expenses in Japan when I come back later.
Finally I managed to make my way down to Orchard and bought myself 3 Japan Rail Pass tickets. I bought the ordinary 7-day passes at the pric...
