Matsuri Adelaide

It was the first time visiting this beautiful 'city of churches', not much time though since it's only a one-night-weekend getaway. Taking picture and enjoying Japanese food are two hobbies that can't be separated when I travel, I'd try to find at least one local famous and one best Japanese food in town. 

Matsuri Japanese restaurant is one of the top recommended ones in Adelaide, an authentic Japanese restaurant with excellent service and great food, I am happy did choose the right one!

(Salmon steak served with wasabi mayo) 

(Tuna sushi)

(Matsuri on level 2/167 Gouger street Adelaide)

Here are some shots around the city of Adelaide, a city of churches.

(Macadamia Chocolate from Haigh's Chocolate)

(The Pancake House on Gilbert Place, Adelaide) 

(Russian Blints from The Pancake House, Philadelphia cream cheese and raisins rolled in French crepe served with blueberries and vanilla ice cream)

Zakura

Yesterday was the warmest day over the past few week, plus the clear sky it's a perfect time for a day out. Hanging around Bondi Junction mall and decided to have lunch at Zakura in Oxford Street.It's one of the best Japanese restaurants in Eastern suburbs with authentic Japanese cuisine, good ambiance and great service. They serve from fresh sashimi & sushi to hot nabeyaki udon, from a small plates of crispy calamari tempura to the complete bento box served with rice and miso soup. This time I wanted to try their special home made teriyaki sauce so we ordered one teriyaki salmon bento box and a salmon carpaccio. The salmon teriyaki set also comes with salmon sashimi, pan fried gyoza, agedashi tofu and salad. I know that carpaccio normally served as appetizer but the thinly sliced salmon in olive oil and mayonnaise comes in generous portion also yummy enough for a main meal.  

(Salmon teriyaki set)

(salmon carpaccio)

(Zakura in Bondi Junction mall)

Miso Bolognese Ramen

Ryo's Noodle House in Crows Nest is one of my favorite Japanese eateries in Sydney, this down-to-earth ramen house has a complete range of ramen from shoyu to tonkotsu. This relatively small place with Noren door and menu written in Japanese on paper scrolls all over the wall give the authentic feeling of a Japanese shop.

Normally I stick to my favorite tonkotsu flavor but today picked something from the menu that I had never tried before, ramen with miso bolognese sauce. The name says it all, the ramen served without soup like a usual ramen  instead it served with  minced pork, bamboo shot and mushroom in a thick miso sauce, garnished with spring onion and topped off with shoyu tamago (soy sauce egg). 

(Ramen with miso bolognese sauce)

(steamed veges for fresh topping)

Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day, the first Saturday in May each year, when the participating comic book shop around the world give away comic books for free to anyone comes into their store. It was the first time I heard about this event when I run into Kinokuniya Sydney store yesterday and joined the queue to get a free comic book.

Some cosplayers didn't miss the opportunity to show-off their costumes and the shop's staffs were dressing up in fabulous costumes too!

Izakaya

I had been quite busy over the past couple weeks, on top of that the unusual rainy days made my days 'busier' than expected. Eventually we got a bit of sunshine on the weekend and decided to dine out at Musashi in the city (corner of Pitt-Campbell st), an Izakaya style Japanese restaurant in Sydney.

Now talking about Izakaya, in Japanese i means 'to sit' and sakaya means sake shop, Izakaya evolved from a sake shop to a drinking and dining place with casual atmosphere yet has great friendly service. Every city in Japan has its own local famous Izakaya and here are some of best Izakaya in Tokyo I'd definitely recommend:

Yamariki Izakaya, an Izakaya in 'East end of Tokyo' (Morishita) run by 4th generation owner. Yamariki offers its famous Nikomi, beef guts stew cooked in miso for 8 hours and your could try this Nikomi with garlic bread. 

Mimasuya, claimed to be the oldest Izakaya in Tokyo (opened in 1905),  it offers beer-battered fugu (poisonous blowfish) which can only legally be prepared by licensed chefs. It's located at 2-15-2 Kanda Tsukasa-cho, Chiyoda-ku. 

Wish we had those Izakaya in Sydney, we do have some izakaya down here but none of them is as good as the ones in Japan. Musashi has good dishes but for me it's a bit too elegant for an Izakaya and a bit pricey.

(Japanese kir, a cocktail from Musashi)

(Salmon teriyaki from Musashi)

(John dory with garlic butter sauce from Musashi)

Japan: Kingdom of Characters

Windy with showers, that's the weather forecast for today but it doesn't stop me from going out to the Japan Foundation Gallery at Chifley Plaza. Today is one of those selected Saturdays the exhibition opens.

Japan: Kingdom of Characters, an exhibition by Japan Foundation Sydney, it's really worth a look even if you are not a big fan of Anime or Japanese culture. Displaying some life-sized models like Hello Kitty, Ultraman and Gundam, also a dozen of cute and adorable anime models. The exhibition runs from 8 April - 28 May, so you still have time to visit this great exhibition!

 (Hello Kitty)

(Pokemon)

(Gundam)

 (Ultraman)

(The bunny girl) 

(Carmin from Septem Charm Magical Canan)

(Kasumi from Dead or Alive)

(Kasumi from Dead or Alive)

(Misty Mei from Otaku no Video)

(Natsume Aya from Tenjho Tenge)

(Natsume Maya from Tenjho Tenge)

(Parfait from Heartful Memories)

(Takaya Noriko from Gunbuster)

(Tohsaka Rin from Fate)

Tadaima!

I am back home! Back from my 'kampung' (hometown), a small town of Central Java, visiting my family and friends three weeks wasn't long enough..
Eat, eat and eat... that's all I did so not much to share except some shots from my 'kampung'..

(Egg serabi) 

 (Plain serabi)

The above pictures are 'serabi', an Indonesian traditional delicacy made from rice flour and coconut milk, and palm sugar, sweet and rich in flavor. Every province or city has different kind of serabi, in my hometown serabi could be served plain or cooked with egg or banana. 

(Teh Poci) 

The above 'Teh Poci' is a traditional tea pot from Central Java, made from clay and used to serve strong jasmine tea with strong aroma and normally served with rock sugar. 

(Ketupat)

Ketupat is a kind of rice cooked in a woven palm leaves, boiled for hours so it has a firm texture and served with dishes like curry.

(Salak and banana)

Salak is a tropical fruit native to Indonesia, believed to be a high nutrient fruit and could ease diarrhea but don't eat too much otherwise you will have constipation..

(Kenanga flower)

 (Mango tree)

The 'kenanga' flower and mango tree  are from our backyard, the mango tree has been producing sweet and delicious mangoes for nearly twenty years!

Pray for Japan

All six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been connected to external power on Tuesday according to the Tokyo Electric Power Co. This news brings a little bit of relief even the nuclear crisis is still far from over with the high radiation and contaminated food found in some produces, but expert says no need to fear radioactive contamination of food, rain if proper steps taken.

So let's keep praying for Japan....

(A picture designed by Mu63n)

I have a friend who share the same passion about Japan, he has great skills in drawing and art designing and he really is into anime, he designs the above picture for me and if you'd like to see more of his drawing you can visit his devianART profile, Mu63n.

Talking about anime, last weekend I joined the Animania 2011 in Sydney and here are some of my shots

(A stall organizing a donation for disasters in Japan)