Qi Le Boneless Chicken Rice and Soup 祺乐起骨鸡饭 @ S11 Blk 744 Yishun Street 72 (Next to Yishun MRT) - 26 June 2016

Qi Le Boneless Chicken Rice and Soup 祺乐起骨鸡饭 @ S11 Blk 744 Yishun Street 72 (Next to Yishun MRT)

Recently, I moved to Yishun and had the time to explore the area. I came across this interesting chicken rice stall in Yishun chicken rice stall which is next to the MRT.

If you google chicken rice Yishun, you would be overwhelmed by 925 Chicken Rice – there are few blogs out there which actually showcase this stall, but it is definitely worth a try.

After you exit the MRT towards the HDB side, you can’t miss Blk 744.

You also can’t miss the S11 signboard next to the coffeeshop (kopitiam) either.

This coffeeshop is always bustling and filled with people. It is 24 hours btw – so there’s always food. There’s a Muslim stall there as well.

Closer view of the kopitiam – nearly every table is taken.

There’s already a long queue in front of the stall. Note the stall next to it quite free ah?

Hello Hokkaido! Légumes Restaurant Asperges Biei レストランアスペルジュ13 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Légumes Restaurant Asperges Biei レストランアスペルジュ13 June 2016

Légumes Restaurant Asperges is basically a French restaurant located in Biei, Hokkaido. We were wondering if we should try eating French food in Japan but were tempted immediately after reading so much positive reviews on this exceptional restaurant and knowing that it is awarded 1-Star Michelin. The restaurant is helmed by Chef Kato Kazunori and part of the group which includes Moliere Cafe (3 Michelin Star) in Sapporo.

We arrived at about 7 pm and was greeted by a delightful building in the heart of quiet Biei. It looked pretty expensive.

 

The interior was equally stunning. 

Hello Hokkaido! Uni Murakami Hakodate Honten うに むらかみ函館本店 – 6 June 2016

Uni Murakami Hakodate Honten うに むらかみ函館本店 – 6 June 2016

Before the Hokkaido trip, we saw lots of wonderful uni-don reviews on the internet about Hokkaido, and we knew it was a must-try to eat uni in Hokkaido. We are sea-urchin aka uni fans in Singapore, but it is often too expensive and the serving size is pathetic. Therefore, we must get our uni fix this round.

Uni Murakami うに むらかみ was a popular name that came up when you google uni in Hokkaido. They have 3 branches actually – 1 is the main branch in Hakodate, and 2 in Sapporo. Apparently, the Sapporo branches gets their stock from Hakodate, therefore we made a reservation (a week before) for the Hakodate branch well in advance to make sure we get our uni fix.

The location isn’t hard to find, as it is located right beside the Hakodate Morning Fish market. The whole place was deserted when we arrived (around 7 pm) apart from some restaurants.

Left of the restaurant – quiet

Equally quiet – right of the restaurant

Rating system thus far.......

Rating System

This blog has existed for a few years already. I thought I should clarify what I meant by the yays and nays….

Basically, this blog uses a simple 8 point rating system.

Legend:

YAY – 👍👍👍👍 8/8

YAy – 👍👍👍 7/8

Yay – 👍👍 6/8

yay – 👍 5/8

nay – 👎 4/8

Nay – 👎👎 3/8

NAy – 👎👎👎 2/8

NAY – 👎👎👎👎 1/8

Essentially, the number of capital letters indicate how strong the ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ is (Yay means Good and nay means Bad – for those who don’t know their meaning)…

I know you will wonder why can’t I just utilize an easier more intuitive system?

Hey, this is my blog and I want to differentiate from the rest! Give me some space to showcase my artistic freedom!!! ^_^

Hello Hokkaido! Hotel La Vista Hakodate 函馆湾多美迎酒店 / ラビスタ函館ベイ 7 and 8 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Hotel La Vista Hakodate 函馆湾多美迎酒店 / ラビスタ函館ベイ  7 and 8 June 2016

One activity you cannot miss in Hakodate is to savour its fresh seafood. Many will head to the world famous Hakodate Morning Market to satisfy their appetite. Another alternative is to stay in a hotel such as La Vista Hakodate which we did for 2 nights.
The website of the hotel: 

http://www.hotespa.net/hotels/lahakodate/

We decided to stay there because of its famed buffet spread. Being big eaters, we can chomp down everything we want and get a good night stay in this top ranked hotel and its famous rotenburo. In fact, La Vista Hakodate's buffet is ranked #2 in the entire Japan as ranked by rocketnews:

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/05/05/japans-top-10-hotel-breakfasts-2016-kobe-hotel-dominates-list-once-again/

This is their secret weapon: 

Free flow of their kaisen don - yum!! We just scooped plenty of their kaisen (seafood) such as ika, ikura and salmon and went for more at least 2 more rounds of their free flow kaisen don.

Hello Hokkaido! Coffee Mori no Tokei 珈琲 森の時計 and Ningle Terrace ニングルテラスin Furano – 14 June 2016

Coffee Mori no Tokei 珈琲 森の時計 and Ningle Terrace ニングルテラスin Furano – 14 June 2016

I am a fan of unique coffee houses, so when I was in Furano, this place was highly recommended by the Tourist Guidebook. It was also highly raved by bloggers.

When we arrived at Furano, it was dark and drizzling – putting our plans for a Farm Tomita into disarray. We did not want to check in or hotel as well – so I suggested a visit to this café to seek refuge from the rainy day. Imagine how nice it is to enjoy a warm cup of freshly grounded coffee while the rain drizzles outside – warm and safe in the café…… ^_^

Referencing from websites and maps, the café was said to be located in the forests below New Prince Hotel Furano. We were worried whether we could find it in all that rain, but I decided to brave a trip anyway.

After we parked, I found Ningle Terrace instead:

I would advise visitors to park next to Ningle Terrace. I found a sign next to the Terrace:

That means we are on the right track! Follow the route the sign says.

It led us into the route just next to Ningle Terrace. I was a little worried then, as I was not sure whether it was too deep inside, and it was raining. Nevertheless, I decided to go in still.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, the sight wasn’t too welcoming.

Hello Hokkaido! Furano Farm Tomita 富良野 ファーム富田 and Tomita Melon House Hello Hokkaido! Furano Farm Tomita 富良野 ファーム富田 and Tomita Melon House とみたメロンハウス - 15 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Furano Farm Tomita 富良野 ファーム富田 and Tomita Melon House とみたメロンハウス

This June, I took a trip with my family to Hokkaido to spend late Spring/early Summer. Hokkaido is nice during this period during the transition from Spring to Summer - the weather is nice and cooling, not too warm yet. Unfortunately, during this time, most of the flowers are not in bloom yet, especially the much raved about lavenders.

That brings into the place I am reviewing for this post - Farm Tomita in Furano.

Furano is a mainly agricultural place - with tons of vegetables farms mainly, due to its inland status. It is famous for vegetables and curry - in contrast to Hakodate which is famous for seafood.

There are tons of gardens in Furano as well. When people talk about Furano, the beautiful summer gardens come to mind. When I spoke to a bartender in Sapporo about what to see in Furano, he recommended Farm Tomita without batting an eyelid. This has gotta be THE place to visit in Furano, not to be missed.....

If you are on a tour, Farm Tomita would definitely be in the itinerary. If you are on a self-drive, here's the map code and telephone number for your Japanese GPS (Navi).

Telephone: +81-167-39-3939

Map code: 349 276 889

The first picture I took when I entered the garden.

We were there in mid-June, so most of the flowers were still budding.

Mini-flowers.. imagine how they would look when they bloomed!

Hello Hokkaido! Kinotoya BAKE Cheese Tarts in Sapporo - 11 June 2016

Sapporo Kinotoya BAKE Cheese Tarts

If you are ever in Sapporo, try not to miss the delicious original cheese tarts from BAKE by Kinotoya. Almost anyone who arrives in Sapporo would not miss trying all these tarts.

Hello Hokkaido! Farm Restaurant Azemichi Yorimichi in Furano (Kamifurano) あぜ道より道ファームレストラン - 16 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Farm Restaurant Azemichi Yorimichi in Furano (Kamifurano) あぜ道より道ファームレストラン

Before leaving Furano, we wanted to try out for the last time good curry in the area. We googled and found an interesting recommendation in Google with consistently good reviews.

The website of the restaurant is this:

http://yasaimura.co.jp/aze.html

We were amused by the cute photos in the homepage – apparently it’s run by a group of female farmers. The vegetables are freshly harvested and they offer what they can get from the day before. It is truly a joy to enjoy the freshest vegetables!

The restaurant operates from 10 am to 4 pm (Last order 3.30 pm). Take note they are closed on Wednesdays.

The restaurant is situated far out in the fields so it may be a challenge to find.

Here is the telephone number for your GPS (Japanese Navi):
Telephone: 0167 45 3060
Map code: 349 251 398

And here’s a picture for you to identify.

Very beautiful setting in the farmlands – picturesque!

Tokyo Series - Value (cheap and good) lunch at Michelin Star Restaurant Nakajima @ Shinjuku 新宿割烹 中嶋

Hi there! Sorry about the lack of updates in years! Honestly sorry but I was really caught up with Life... I graduated from my studies and became a slave to my work... but recently I quit my job and had some time to travel - went to Japan.

I took a lot of pictures but I didn't get a chance to blog about them... let me select a few worthwhile restaurants to showcase.

For my first post after a long hiatus, let me showcase a Michelin star restaurant! Well, when I first chose the place, I didn't know it was Michelin - it had good reviews in tripadvisor that attracted me there.

The name of the place is *drum-roll*......

Nakajima 中嶋 (literally means middle island)! Apparently it specializes in sardine ryori, or sardine dishes. My first thought was disgust, as I wasn't a fan of sardines. My only schema of sardines was that of those canned types... so wasn't exactly a turn on, but I decided to go give it a try to see what the Michelin fuss was about.