JAPAN TRIP - FAVOURITE CHINESE RESTAURANT

When we were in Fukuoka during the 90's, this Chinese restaurant "Gyoza Li" , was our favourite. The food was fantastic and I rated it as the best Gyoza restaurant in Fukuoka. We were so happy to see that the shop is still in business with the same owner. Gyoza Li is situated near Yakuin-ōdōri Station (薬院大通駅) about 5 minutes walk from our hotel, the New Otani. 小笼包 Xiao Long Bao - these Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings were soooo... good. The juicy pork stuffing was just great!

The other favourites were the boiled dumplings(sui-gyoza) and Pan-fried dumplings (Yaki-Gyoza)!

Finishing the lunch with a Shanghai style "ramen".

Before leaving, my daughter and wife posed for a picture "down the memory lane"!.

KAMPUNG TOBOON

Kg.Toboon is a very small isolated village with a population of about 200. It is located in Ulu Kimanis, 75 kms from Kota kinabalu. I visited this village on Wednesday to witness the officiating of the Gravity water supply ceremony. This project was a joint effort between the Lions Clubs International Foundation of Ichinomiya Higashi, Japan and the Lions Club of Kota kinabalu. The completion of piping to the villagers' homes has ended their hardship of carrying water from the nearby river for consumption for the past 60 years or so. To get to this kampung, we had to drive through a 2kms gravel road. The ceremony was attended by some 60 + "lions" Kampung folks welcoming them with their traditional "gongs". A buffet lunch "Kampung" style.I went around the kampung and saw this river. It has crystal clean water running. There are not many of such rivers left in Sabah. Most of the rivers are muddy because of excessive logging. It is an ideal place for an outdoor get-away - to enjoy the nature or perhaps a good picnic.

JAPAN TRIP - TONKATSU " とんかつ" LUNCH

Our friends invited us to lunch at a well known "tonkatsu" restaurant in the Hikashi-ku (Eastern district) of Fukuoka. It was a wonderful lunch. Tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) is a popular Japanese dish. The set lunch came with miso soup, streamed rice, shredded cabbage and Japanese pickles "tsukemono" (漬物)
This tonkatsu was so crispy with no trace of oil or charred crumbs. I was told that this shop served the finest tonkatsu in Fukuoka. The pork they used was of high quality - "Kurubuta", a rare black breed of pigs from Kagoshima prefecture in Kyushu. The meat inside the "katsu" was soft and tender. It was really good ! The combination of tonkatsu and praw-katsu was also on the menu.
A "sayonara" picture.

MALAY WEDDING CELEBRATION

Last Sunday, We attended a traditional Malay wedding party at a country home resort near the city. It was a beautiful wedding celebration. The bridal couple was sitting on a well decorated stage where family members, relatives and guests could give their blessing by sprinkling them with yellow rice and scented water.

The blessing from a guest.

There were plenty of "makan" (food). We had a good time enjoying the traditional Malay cuisine, like curry, rendang, kurma, samba and other delicious dishes.

Guests enjoying the wedding celebration.

As we were leaving, we were given a "bunga telur" each. In Malay culture, bunga telur (flower egg), is distributed to each guests as the wedding ceremony‘s token.

JAPANESE NEW YEAR (正月, shōgatsu)

Miura san sent his New Year greetings to my family with a few pictures taken in Sendai during the eve and New Year day of twenty ten.. A snowstorm just before dusk.
On the morning of the New Year, a blanket of snow covered his car and family home. The Japanese celebrate New Year's Day on January 1 each year. It is one of the most important annual festival celebrated for centuries with unique customs. On New Year day, the Japanese people used to eat a special selection of dishes called osechi-ryori (New Year dishes) 御節料理, normally consisting of boiled seaweed, fish cakes, mashed sweet potato with chestnut , simmered burdock root, sweetened black soybeans and many others. It is believed that each dish in the osechi has a meaning, like good health, good harvest, happiness, long life, and so on. The "osechi-ryori" (御節料理) of Miura san's family

It was a good feast. I wish I was there to enjoy them. Again, I wish every one "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" To all my Japanese friends, " 新年おめでとうございます. 今年もよろしくお願いします!"

YUFUIN 由布院 - A HOT SPRING RESORT IN KYUSHU - JAPAN TRIP

We had no intention to visit Yufuin, a nice and quiet hot-spring town near Beppu in Kyushu. However, since my daughter wanted to meet with her primary school friends living in Beppu , we volunteered to drive her there. It would have been ideal to spend a night in a hot spring hotel there, but we could not, as my wife and I had a pre-arranged dinner appointment in Fukuoka that evening. The Yufuin Train Station (由布院駅). Visitors could catch JR Kyushu trains to various destinations in Kyushu. One of the best way to relax and see the whole town. The Yufuin main street with Mount Yufuin in the back ground.

Lunch time. I had this traditional Japanese Dango Jiru,( だんご汁) traditional soup with noodle of Oita They opted for Toriten (とりてん), the traditional chicken tempura of Oita. After lunch - exploring on foot.My favourite spot - The Koi ponds.

These were the beautiful fish swimming freely and fighting over the bits of food we were feeding them.

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Yufuin has many interesting shops selling all sorts of local products from wine to traditional food and Omiyage (gifts).

Lake Kinrin / 金鱗湖

We spent almost a day enjoying the good weather and the beautiful Japanese traditional environment of this small hot-spring town before heading back to Fukuoka.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing every one a Very HAPPY NEW YEAR! May twenty ten, bring us Peace, Love, Joy and Happiness! The last sunset of 2009.... ....and the last supper of 2009A good start with the first breakfast of twenty ten!

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Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!