Saikyo-yaki

I had heard about this authentic Japanese restaurant on Pacific Highway Crows Nest for a while and eventually I enjoyed my lunch at this award winning Asian favorite restaurant. Ju-Rin restaurant looks like an ordinary casual Japanese eatery from outside but when I walked in through the noren I could feel the authenticity of a Japanese restaurant, and the warm welcoming smile from friendly staffs made me think 'it's gonna be one of my favorite place!'

It's a bit hard to choose the meal I'd like to try since all the dishes are really tempting and after rolled down the menu I decided to try the Saikyo-yaki, a sweet miso-marinated grilled fish which tastes so yum... the sweetness of light miso flavor on smooth fish fillet are just perfect.

(Saikyo-yaki)

On top of that I ordered a wagyu set and I can only describe it as.. it melts on my tongue!

(Wagyu beef set)

I'd definitely comeback to try their new restaurant Hana Ju-Rin which will open at the beginning of December not far from Ju-Rin, located at 300 Pacific Hwy Crows Nest.

Tokyo Walking Talking

Tokyo Walking Talking, a web by a licensed tour guide from Tokyo offering walking tour exploring Tokyo and day tour to Nikko . She is a professional tour guide with pleasing personality, a humorous person with authentic local experience and genuine sincerity.

It was one fine Christmas day when we first met almost three years ago, she picked me up right at the door step of my shinkansen at Tokyo station then took me around Roppongi Hills, Shibuya-Harajuku and Akihabara for one day tour. And it was Christmas last year when she picked me up (again) at Haneda airport before we headed to Yokohama for one day tour, wish I had more time in Tokyo, time flies very fast when you are having fun. I treasure all those memories and wish I'll get to Japan again one day. She is not only an ordinary tour guide I met, for me she is one of my best friends in Japan. Happy Birthday Izumi-san! (sorry a bit late)

So if you want to explore and experience Tokyo with fun, you can book your private tour with Tokyo Walking Talking!

All about fish

Craving for fish? I'd recommend Sakae in the city to conquer your craving for yummy fish. I am not saying that the other dishes apart from fish are not good, their bento box menu is good and considerably affordable prices too . If you order one main menu then you can get the special sashimi for a special price of $4.5

It's not a fancy place but the interior is really clean with quick service and friendly service, it's one of my favorite eateries in town.

(Fish teriyaki set)

(Akamai/lean tuna sashimi)

Their sushi and sashimi are really fresh.

This grilled king fish head is on the entree menu but I like to have this with the steam rice. My photo looks a bit creepy but it does taste good! Fresh and slightly salted... the best King fish I ever tasted.

Maid Train

Maid Train = Train with maid cafe, if you are an otaku, you gotta love this interesting news from Japan Today

The Seibu Railway Group has announced plans to introduce a new Maid Cafe-style train service between Ikebukuro and Chihibu Station.

Akihabara's maid cafe culture is closely aligned with Japan's 'otaku' subculture that is rapidly going mainstream. As several animation houses already exist along that stretch of the railway line that runs from Tokyo to Saitama, Seibu Railway officials said they are hoping to promote Japanese pop culture in the area between those stations by solidifying its reputation as an anime production zone.

The emphasis of the new service will be to allow passengers to ride in 'New Red Arrow' trains alongside staff selected from Akihabara's maid cafes. Maid cafe games and competitions will be held and train announcements will be made by the maids. There are also plans to have small photography studio alongside shops around Seibu Chichibu station at which customers can pay to have their photographs taken with a maid.

The fare for a trip will be 3,500 yen for adults and 3,000 yen for children. Each trip will accommodate 360 passengers.

(Picture courtesy of Maid Train, train with maid cafe)

Would love to hop on the train.. can't wait to visit Tokyo again..

Only in Japan..

Mother's Crepe

It's Saturday afternoon and pretty much nothing to do, despite the wet weather I went out to city and ended up at the World Square shopping centre looking for something to munch on. On the lower ground level at the front of Shushinbou shop there is a new Japanese Crepe stand called Mother's Crepe. The display on the side is very attractive, a range of beautifully presented crepes and the 50% discount for the grand opening work very well for the promotion, people lining up to get their crepes for about $3.50 each. I was considering the ham and cheese since I prefer hot crepe rather than cold one but eventually I couldn't resist the strawberry choco!

(Strawberry Choco Crepe)

The strawberry choco was delightful but for me I like the hot and crispy crepe even when it stuffed with something cold like ice cream, or maybe my strawberry choco crepe was meant to be hot and crispy? So it wasn't crispy enough for me then, but once again it was a delightful snack for an afternoon tea time though.