So, after being under the weather for about a month, I’m got an appetite and it’s cold and rainy.
It’s time for ma-bo-to-fu!
It’s time for Spices!
But not the one on 6th Avenue, the original one on 8th!
Nice spicy burn your tongue goodness just waiting to be poured over faan and devoured!
Burp.
Continuing the “Missing HK” theme
Yup, still missing Hong Kong. That could have something to do with the fact that it’s 8 degrees C (47 degrees F) outside right now…which means it is cold inside the house too!
Yes, San Francisco does get cold too!
Tonight we are walking on the overpass crossing Connaught Road Central on the way to IFC 1. The traffic is fierce going toward Central; chill going toward Sheung Wan…
From the Pedestrian Safety Department
Here’s a sign that I saw in Mong Kok, at the intersection of Nathan Road and Argyle Street.
For those of you that don’t get it, here is what it means. Ready?
The sign is a red bordered triangle which usually means “Warning”! Inside the triangle is a ped who did not pay attention to his surroundings and as a result, got hit by the very old looking car. So the sign is basically saying, “Warning! Pay attention otherwise a very old car will hit you”. But, if you look closely, you will notice that there is no one inside the car. So maybe it’s a warning to stupid peds to be careful, otherwise they will walk into a very old car that is parked.
Which only someone really dumb would do.
We need a LOT of these signs in San Francisco.
Missing Hong Kong?
Yeah, I do. I’ll admit it.
I miss the food. The sights. The energy. The lights and the sounds.
Well, this webpage has a lot of the sounds that makes my brain think “Hong Kong, waaaah!”. And just for positive reinforcement, here’s an awesome panorama of Hong Kong side on a clear clear day at sunset, which is by itself, totally awesome! (link via Shaky).
Note: Sound page uses an imbedded RealPlayer and it apparently works only in Windows…bah!
Nothing like NYC during Xmas
If you really need to get into the Xmas mood, nothing beats a quick trip to New York City! Where you can see things like this:
Only in New Yawk!
Tokyo Tidbits and more Hong Kong advice
Well, this was my last day in Tokyo; just a few observations:
The Nissan Gallery in Ginza is great. Not only do you get to slam the tires and kick the doors of Nissan’s latest and greatest, there’s usually some sort of design related exhibit happening too. Today it was a small exhibit on iconography and type relating to Nissan’s logo and choice of fonts.
Tokyo is the world’s largest city. It’s public transport system WITHIN Tokyo is fantastic. You can literally get anywhere in this big sprawly city on either JR or Tokyo Metro. Trains run frequently and are clean, punctual and safe.
Ever wonder why so many people fall asleep on the train? Besides the length of the average commute (which is looong), the velour covered bench seats are heated! It’s a lot easier to fall asleep when you got a warm butt. And they still manage to wake up, Jabba the Hutt like, a minute before they get off the train. That’s a skill I don’t have yet…
This kick-ass transportation system falls apart the moment you need to get to Tokyo Narita. For a lot of travellers (and especially those of us who travel on our own thin dimes), the only way in is via rail, either by the Ne’X (for those lucky ppl with expense accounts or JR Passes) for Y3200 or the Keisei Limited Express (tokkyu) for Y1000. Here’s the annoying part: It takes OVER AN HOUR!!!
Do the words “Airport Express” come to mind? Hong Kong does it right. HKG to Central takes 23 minutes. If you choose the cheaper option, HKG to Central via A11 bus takes just about an hour. It’s cheaper (HK$40 vs. HK$100) and if you’ve got the time, take the basi. It’s a better deal. What do you get for the extra HK$60 that the Airport Express costs? Well, you get 40 odd minutes of your life back and in-town check in for your flight. That means, you go to the Airport Express station (Kowloon or Hong Kong) and check in yourself and your baggage. Get your boarding pass. That’s it. Fart around for a little bit before hopping the train to the Airport. Take a leisurely stroll around the Airport. Easy.
Anyway, Tokyo Narita could use a service like this. Actually for the amount of money people pay for the Ne’X, there ought to be a Shinkansen going out there!
One thing I do like about Tokyo Narita is that on the 5th level of the mall area, there’s an observation deck where you can go outside and watch the sun set and the planes land and take off.
Ramen out of the Loop
Or, there ARE reasons to poke outside the Yamanote (besides going to Hakone).
Today, I had a Y1450 bowl of ramen. More accurately, a bowl of chasiumen. It was a big bowl with a lot of cha siu in it.
I found my way to Harukiya, a famous old, old old (1949!) school ramen shop in Suginami-Ku. It was an adventure getting here, since all I had was the address and since this wasn’t a major part of Tokyo, my atlas was useless. I took the Chuo Rapid to JR Ogikubo station. Left the JR station and wandered around. Strange how everything on this side of the station looked new…and this is supposed to be an old place! On a hunch, I went back into the station and double checked the map for landmarks. Ah! There’s a koban on the side I should be on! Kobans have cops inside! And cops ALWAYS know where the food is their beat. Yeah, that’s it.
I walked in and spoke my best polite pidgin Nihongo. And you know what? He understood me!! Or since it was 14:00 and I probably looked hungry, he knew what I was looking for when I said “Sumisen, Harukiya, doko desu ka?”, probably with all the wrong inflections. He said it was a three minute walk. Although now I know where it is, it would take 2 minutes. Easy to get to. Here’s how to get here:
Take the JR Chuo Rapid (beeeg orange train!) to Ogikubo Station. Exit on North side.
Walk through bus/cab area to main street. You will see the Koban on your left. Turn right. Walk on sidewalk (it’s one of those covered sidewalks). You will pass a 7-11. Toward the end of the block, you will see a small ramen place, usually with a queue. It’s directly across the street from a Family Mart.
But more importantly, when you come here, get the corner seat by the door. That puts you right next to the big ass stockpots full of ramen goodness. The one in the foreground is where the noodles are cooked. The cook uses a strainer to pull the noodles out of the pot, bounces them around to drain them and plops them into the waiting bowl of broth that was just poured 20 seconds before.
The noodles were fresh made and the broth was delicious without too much of that MSG ickyness that lower quality places have. And since it was soooo big and pricey, guess what? That’s dinner!
Harukiya
1 Chome-4-6 Kamiogi,
Suginami City, Tokyo 167-0043
Dine and Dish: Asian Persuasion
Sarah from The Delicious Life has arranged a Dine and Dish with an Asian theme.
What it means that on Tuesday, 6 December, bloggers should eat somewhere Asian and blog about it. Which means that on my blog, it’s Tuesday, 6 December A LOT!
So this evening, after my noise-reduction headphones died on the airplane (filling my left ear with the kind of static that makes things fall out of one’s ear) and my subsequent arrival into Tokyo, I needed some food at a reasonable time.
I’m staying at the Juyoh Hotel again, in the Taito-Ku ward of Tokyo. This is “cheap lodging” central for Tokyo, and though it’s a bit off the beaten track, kanna beat Y2990 a night with free broadband! However, they have competition that’s a block closer to the JR/Metro stations. I may check them out next visit here. They also have free broadband allegedly. I’m holding my breath for an English version of their website…
Anyhoo, there’s a commercial block nearby with the usual bakeries, coffee shops and booze shops. And this soba shop.
When you walk inside, there’s the usual table and chairs. And to the right is a tatami platform with the short tables for you to eat at. Being the masochist I’ve been accused of being, I chose the tatami.
Singapore was 32 degrees. HKG was 11. Tokyo is 5 degrees at 2310 hours. Yeah, it’s cold. And it’s time for one of my favourite dishes in this kind of weather, tempura soba! The other dish I like in cold weather is ma-bo tofu over rice. Both of these dishes are great and hits the comfort food spot if done right. Done wrong, it makes my stomach like a brick and leaves me craving for a McDonald’s double cheeseburger.
The soba was good; it was springy and not soggy. The tempura was dark (an ebi and an jalapeno pepper) which usually means it was fried in old oil. But the soup went overboard with the MSG. But not too much that I got sick because of it. I liked the big side of scallions that came with it. Mmmm. Bad breath!
Dressing up in Tokyo
Why is it every time I’m in Tokyo, I feel underdressed?
It’s similar to the feeling I had when I was in Paris.
See, that’s why I pack so much lah!!
Yes, I’m here at the Juyoh again after 1.5 hours on assorted trains and walking…
HK Tidbits
Coming to you live from the Silver Kris Lounge in beeeeyoutiful Hong Kong International Airport…
Some random pieces of advice.
There is no affordable (nee, reasonable) lodging near the airport. None. Zilch. There’s an extorbitantly expensive hotel attached to the airport. No transit hotel like Singapore Changi’s. So if you fly in late and then have to fly out early next AM, you’re pretty much stuck in Kowloon. I stayed at the Star Guesthouse. It’s only a HK$30 ride to the Kowloon AeX station and it’s close to TST and the MTR. Small clean rooms. And no, I don’t have a picture. Too tired last night and too early this AM. But it gets my stamp o’approval as a cheap clean place to crash.
If you have an early AM flight to catch and are jonesing for a Sausage McMuffin with egg (in my humble opinion, the best travel food EVER), there’s a McD’s in the airport arrival hall. Most of us see it when we arrive into HKG. But the best part is that the prices are the SAME as in town. No ripoff markup here.
And the UA ground staff here know the score. As I was checking in for today’s flight to Tokyo, even THEY acknowledged that UA service sucks. And the food sucks. And the “flight attendants” were a bunch of baat poh. Although I had to say that first before heads nodded.
ha ha ha! But the Red Carpet Lounge here ain’t that bad. It’s pretty nice with big ass windows so you can see the gates and the airplanes. Also, they have FREE wi-fi here. Unlike SFO’s Red Carpet Club. Thanks SFO Airport Authority!
Being on UA is going to take some getting used to as I flew SQ from HKG-SIN-HKG. We got good food, beeyoutiful service and ice cream after dinner! Not to mention seat-back entertainment with on demand movies, yadda yadda yadda. Which we dun get none of these on UA. Period.
Like I said, this is going to take some getting used to…
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