Food moments!

Hokkaido is famous for its fresh produce. Apparently, because of its cold and clean water, the seafood are extraordinarily fleshy and the fruits are abnormally sweet. I can vouch for that! The corn, potato, pumpkin, onion, honey melon are super sweet, juicy and crispy. The pumpkin, I hate pumpkin actually, but it is so creamy and velvety that I did not mind carrying it through almost 10 hours of flight and the long journey back to Malaysia for my granny to try. Anyway, here's a quick glance at the lovely delicacies we had in Sapporo and Tokyo. 

Pork Ramen at Rera Outlet Park, I rate it No: 1, whipped up by 櫻島拉麵, a ramen chain quite commonly found in Sapporo. The pork broth is clear yet flavorful, the noodle is springy but infused with the sweetness of the soup. The egg has the perfect half-melted yolk. Each bowl was about 900Yen (RM36) , I drank till the last drop of it.     

The famous Sapporo beer was like elixir of happiness in the cold weather. Cold, crisp and clean in taste, love it!

Sapporo's specialty "Genghis Khan" - BBQ lamb served with vegetables, soy sauce dips but no oil. It emits heady aroma. There were a few Genghis Khan outlets near our Susukino hostel, I was happily intoxicated most of the time!

Oh this is some sort of famous Hokkaido dessert, cream and raisin sandwiched in melt-in-the-mouth butter cookies.

The Hokkaido crabs that have been enjoying epicurean attention from around the world! The three kings there are Hairy Crab, King Crab and Snow Crab. The picture shown below is King Crab, we had earlier mistaken them for Snow Crab which can actually grow up to thrice their size!

The aunty at the Susukino seafood market carefully cutting the King Crab and Hairy Crab into small pieces for our convenience. We simply simmered the crab in water the steamboat style at our hostel to savor the original flavor, the meat was sooooo sweet.

The abundance of produce sold at the Susukino fish market. We bought one Hairy Crab and one King Crab at 5,500yen (RM220), my aunt is the haggle queen!

We found out the next day that we had mistaken the King Crab (far left, misleadingly called 鳕蟹 in Chinese) for Snow Crab (my aunts are holding their legs). We "wowed" so loud when the handsome seafood seller showed us the frozen Snow Crab legs, blush blush, they were so much bigger! The taste? Hairy Crab is yummy but the texture is relatively rough, King Crab is yummier as it is more succulent, Snow Crab is the yummiest with its delicate, marsh mellow-like meat!  

After a walk in the Susukino seafood market, enjoy fresh sushi at the Osanai Restaurant located near the market. 

Our steamboat dinner at the humble Weekly Sapporo Hostel, complete with sea urchin, salmon roe and scallop. (Can someone tell me why this photo refuses to lie horizontally??)

King Crab vs Snow Crab. 

Japanese desserts bought from the supermarket. Love the combination of mint leave, mochi and red bean. 

The Hokkaido experience is incomplete without the dairy products such as caramel, chocolate and soft ice cream especially. Here there's the three of us in Otaru. 

I fell in love with this at first bite and I will probably fall in love with the person who brings this to me again. Seriously, I do not know what this is called but it cannot be bought back for the filling is fresh from the fridge. It should be raspberry yogurt cheese, sandwiched in flaky, delicate butter biscuits slathered with cream cheese. Love it to the max!  

Sapporo is all about ramen and I will never get tired of it. Here is the Ramen Alley in Susukino. We chose a simple outlet, most of them were not open in that early morning anyway. We ordered Spicy Ramen and Butter Corn Ramen, the taste was good but I still preferred the Pork Ramen at Rera.

Cold Soba in Sesame Sauce spiced up with a dash of wasabi in Ueno, Tokyo. Mushroom Soba Soup to bask in autumn. Japanese Curry to feel closer to home.

I must recommend this, the best Udon I've ever had. It is simply udon served cold with a bit of minced chicken in Soya Gravy, but the flavor is unique and the udon's texture is soft and springy just like mochi, fully infused with sweetness of the gravy. It was a surprise find in the Ginza area.

Finally, a simple cup of hot coco at Akihabara the mecca of gadgets, watching the mad rush outside at my own pace.

The Meaning

I guess there are many Eat, Pray, Love fans around me. I have not read the book but have watched the movie. My only feeling about the movie was that I want to slap Julia Roberts. I could not feel for her suffocating void and I thought her worries were bullshit. Guess the book must be a lot better than the movie to have sold so well. Anyways, yes, there are moments when things are doing well but some sort of emptiness continues to swell within you. I think in moments like this I should also be slapped like Julia in the movie. In moments like this I would travel. The travels never really help find the answer like how it happened in the book; but they did help me forget the question.

Unlike the case in my other journeys, I usually could not pinpoint what was the best moment and I would not bother doing that. This time around it was different, there was this moment I felt so great that the only thought in my brain was… ah…. this must be the meaning of life…

Sinking your entire body into the hot spring when the cold autumn breeze cuts into your bones must be one of the greatest feelings life can offer. Exposing yourself to the crisp chilly air when your skin is numbed by the hot water makes it better. Repeating the two steps mentioned above while watching the golden leaves sway, stream flows and sky changes its colour is sheer bliss.

Heavenly: The Shika-No-Yu Onsen Resort that I chose is the light-brown building on the left, the hot spring pool is right behind the bamboo screens. The foliage in red, gold and brown complemented by the stream that let out plumes of steam will be what you see when you are soaking in onsen.  

All these… require only 800Yen = RM32 and you can soak till 10pm if you haven't melted. Towel set is available at 200Yen = RM8 but you can bring your own. Such affordable indulgence is found at the Jozankei Onsen, an onsen village located within the beautiful Shikotsu-Toya National Park. It is only an hour of bus ride from the Sapporo station, the trip costs 750Yen one-way. Try not to sleep so much in the bus, else you will miss the undulating stretches of mountain blanketed with autumn foliage along the way.  

   
I chose Shika-No-Yu onsen resort (定山渓温泉  本館  鹿の湯). The posh exterior is a little deceiving, not that the onsen area inside is rundown, just that the rates are unbelievably low. For RM32, you can enjoy the indoor pool, outdoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna with drizzle of hot spring water and also a spa corner where there's water gushing down from the above to massage your scalp and neck. The shower area is complete with a variety of face wash, shampoo and shower gel for you to try. The powder room has everything, including BB cream and eye brow pencil in a choice of two colors, so you do not need to walk out of the onsen as naked as you are inside. 

Yes, the need to bare it all in the onsen with dozens of other women can be uncomfortable to many. I would say it helps if you do not go in with your friends, as the other women there do not give a damn how you or your body look. It is a blur inside anyway due to the steam. When I saw women walking around the changing area in nudity just like they had clothes on, I was immediately at ease. It was a great feeling to be able to walk around as free as that. I was secretly admiring the bodies of other ladies - the curves, texture and sheen - and I think the older they are, the more beautiful their bodies become. The wrinkles, the effects of gravity and the depletion of lustre have composed a sophisticated piece of work, which reflects the effort she puts into living in the stern face of time.

Awesome end: The bus ride ends at an exclusive resort, its rates are higher than those at the main onsen area that is two stops away.

Tender touch: The rain added to the romance though it was troublesome to move about.

Falling for You

Posting a string of photos of fall foliage in one breath, just like how they took my breath away when I slipped into their embrace. I especially enjoyed standing under the trees, looking up at the blanket of gold and amber glowing against sunlight, felt like being showered with love. 

But then again this was not the best way to bask in the deep autumn yet...