うさぎ居酒屋 - 東三国 IN OSAKA

When we were in Osaka, a friend took us to an Izakaya located near Higashi-Mikuni (東三国)station. We had the best of the best Japanese traditional cuisine in this family run restaurant.  With great food and exceptional service come together as one, it was a great evening. 

  The menu consisted of traditional sushi highlighted by contemporary Japanese cuisine.

 This dish of radish and chicken slices was delicious. 

 Fresh oysters for the taking.

The "kamo udon nabe" (鴨鍋) duck meat with noodles and mixed vegetables in clay pot is one of the popular menu in Izakaya especially in Winter. 

 Seasonal fish roasted in salt.

 Deep fried spring chicken

 Another Winter fish served with radish. 

" 焼きカモ" BBQ duck meat was fantastic.

 "天ぷら" Tempura

焼き鮭 "Salmon" - another exquisite dish.

"自家製漬物" Home made Japanese pickles

"お好み焼き" Popular pancake dish of Kansai

After a good meal,  we took a picture with the mama-san  to remember Usagi Izakaya.

If you are in Osaka and want to try the Izakaya food, I strongly recommend this "Usagi" restaurant. Take the Midōsuji Line (御堂筋線) from either Umeda or Shin-Osaka and disembark at (東三国) Higashi-Mikuni (M12). Take the exit from platform 2, turn to the street on the left and you can see the restaurant just 50 meters away.

MERRY X'MAS !!!

It's just 3 days before X'MAS eve. Christians all over the world are preparing for the biggest celebration of the year. Like many others, my wife and I have been busy since last week, in setting up our celebration needs - cleaning the house, putting up the X'MAS tree, buying presents and etc etc.

Our X'MAS tree

It's like a bakery - with so many fruit cakes and cookies done at home.

My wife spent quite some time in her " bakery" making all these.

 Final production - all ready to give away to our relatives and friends.

A favourite piece of mine.

Last night, we went over to City Mail for some last minute shopping and the mall is decorated with X'MAS colours. There was a group of Carollers singing to entertain the shoppers. 

They sang some of my favourite Christmas carols.    

When I compare the XMAS decoration and lighting here with those in Japan, I must say that we are no way near to what they have put up in for the festival. They decorated extensively even though their Christian population is only about 1%. It is more of a commercial event. However, many non-Christians are using this occasion to exchange gifts and presents.   

The beautifully lighted up Tokyo Hilton.

A huge X'MAS tree in the hotel lobby.

For the first time, Hakata Station, the main railway terminal in Fukuoka has been transformed into a X'MAS playground with a spectacular view.   

A street in Tenjin, Fukuoka.

Flower stand like this is a common sight in the Japanese street.

Perhaps one day, our City Hall could be more creative in making Kota Kinabalu a colourful and brightly lighted for festival like X'MAS. 

Wishing every one a MERRY X'MAS  !!! 

MALAYSIA AIRLINES TODAY - END OF THE ROAD FOR FIREFLY'S JET SERVICES

Let's share a very sad history of the Malaysian aviation history:

On 15 January 2011, at 09:30, a Firefly's brand new B737-800 landed at Kota Kinabalu International Airport on their Borneo inaugural flight. On this day this low cost carrier owned by Malaysia Airlines began their 2 x daily services between Kuala lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. Within a few months, they increased their frequency to 6 x daily and added a 2 x daily Kuala Lumpur - Sandakan vv from 01 August 2011.

Firefly has been well received by the people of Sabah because of their competitive low fare and the superior services both in the air and on the ground.

It's a shock when Malaysia Airlines made a decision to scrap all Firefly's jet services to the Borneo states. The sudden decision in dropping such a bombshell was unbelievable , especially to the people of Sabah. The CEO of Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the pull-out was a result of the restructuring exercise to turn around the losses. However, many people and I believed that Malaysia Airlines was forced to remove Firefly from the jet services to make way for Air Asia after the share swap deal.

This billboard is already "history" in less than a year.

A friend of mine, a regular on Firefly told me that he took the last flight out from Sandakan to Kuala Lumpur last week. It was a full flight. The crew were friendly as usual but he noticed a young stewardess with a gloomy face. She could have joined Firefly less than a year and now have to face the misfortune of losing her job. The crew were almost in tears as they bid farewell to passengers after landing at KLIA.

Today, Air Asia is the only low cost carrier dominating the Malaysia sky.  People with low budget have no choice but to fly Air Asia at the mercy of their fare structure which comes with many other charges. It is very strange that the Government did nothing to protect the people's interest despite the protest from majority of the people.

Two days ago, Malaysia Airlines announced that they would suspend eight loss-making routes early next 2012. They include the daily Kuala Lumpur-Surabaya, thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Dubai,  twice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Karachi- Dubai, twice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Dubai-Damman, daily Langkawi-Penang-Singapore, thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur- Johannesburg, twice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Cape Town -Buenos Aires and thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur- Rome. 

I doubt Malaysia Airlines can recover by merely cutting off their services. In my opinion, Firefly can help to generate profit by continuing to serve the highly lucrative low cost market.

There is a strong rumour in town that Malaysia Airlines will cease their operations in the Borneo states and MASwing, their subsidiary Borneo wing is to completely take over all the domestic routes in Sabah and Sarawak. If this happens, air travel in Borneo will return to the 70s era with no jet services.  

May God help the staff of Malaysia Airlines and Firefly !  

THE "KOUYOU" (紅葉) RED LEAVES

I would like to share these beautiful pictures of the "Kouyou" taken at the temple "Heirinji"(平林寺) garden in Tokyo by Miura san on 05 December.   

The spectacular view of the "Kouyou" can be seen all over Japan as early as October each year. I understand these red leaves are currently at their best.

A BEAUTIFUL JAPANESE AUTUMN DAY

On our first day in Tokyo, we went for a tour with Miura san who acted as our "driver" and "guide". Thank you, Miura san! 

 Before leaving the hotel, we had our first breakfast in Japan.  

 Healthy breakfast as recommended by Miura san.

This one was slightly heavier. 

Beautiful scenery at Rikugien gardens.

Maple trees were all around.

A coffee break at Doutor.

Good coffee and sandwich.

Our 4WD limo. 

Yellow leaves lining the side road near the Meiji gardens.

 The "Aki Matsuri" (Autumn festival) at Meiji gardens. 

 So many of the Japanese delicacies from all over Japan. 

We were offered " Shiso Yaki" or soya BBQ beef tongue from the Sendai stall.

For the rest of day, it's "jalan-jalan" (walk about) in the city and "makan-makan" (feast) time.

We moved into the Tokyo concrete jungle.

One of the best Unagi restaurant in Shinjuku area.

Unagi set for lunch.

Later in the evening, we selected this "Izakaya" (local Japanese restaurant) for an early dinner.

The starter was "beer + raw cabbage and miso sauce.

Followed by all the local delicacies.

Beef on hot plate.

Sashimi.

Yaki gyoza.

Home made sausages.

Deep fried spring chicken.

Yaki zakana  

Last but not least, it's the "takikomi gohan" rice cooked with mushroom and meat.

It was a day of leisure taking our time enjoying the gardens and the food before getting down to business on the next day.