Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Luscious curry with tender chicken thigh! As mentioned previously, the primary objective of my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was to catch the '100 Doraemon Secret Gadgets Expo'. As soon as I reached the capital city after an unexpectedly long bus ride, I had to satisfy my grumbling stomach. I found myself back in the huge Berjaya Times Square, a 48-storey living, entertainment and shopping complex. Rasa Utara (lit. northern flavour) was the first restaurant I spotted, and my legs immediately brought me there.

Citrus loves cognac in a dessert dish!  To celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the blog, we had a sumptuous dinner at The Tavern which is situated along River Valley Road. The restaurant was officially opened in 1994, and has been serving European cuisine since then. Below is a picture of the owner in action, creating a delectable dessert dish for us.

Nasi lemak with pretty succulent shrimps! MH has just been awarded the Skytrax 5 Star Airline rating last year, compelling me to try flying with them for the first time in my life. Before reviewing the food that I had onboard, I'd like to say that I was pretty disappointed with the fact that no menu booklet was given for the medium-haul KUL-KIX (Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia - Kansai International Airport, Japan) sector. 

Beef bowl with three varieties of cheese! The war of beef bowl is a continuous one in Japan. It's said that as of 2008, Sukiya has established a total of one thousand branches not only in Japan, but also overseas. The one located in Kansai International Airport opens 24 hours everyday. We went there for breakfast before catching our flight back to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Burger, fries, salad and pasta under one roof! Finally, the time to head for Kansai International Airport had come. Before entering and spending a night at the comfortable KIX Airport Lounge, my BFFs and I decided to have supper first. First Kitchen is a fast food restaurant chain which has been around since 1977. To differentiate itself from its business competitors, it has been expanding its menu to include dishes not typically found in fast food joints, like Italian pasta. Note that there's no English menu available.

Japanese style mapo tofu ramen and 'Tianjin rice'! I've always been curious of the perception of Chinese cuisine in Japan. When I went to the Chinatown in Yokohama back in June last year, I was impressed by the number of Chinese eateries (and the price tags of each dish), but I didn't try any. In January this year, I dropped by one of the Gyoza no Ohsho, a huge chain primarily known for its gyoza (Japanese dumpling filled with minced pork and vegetables), branches near Pontocho, Kyoto.

Omelette art in the making! Look at the picture below. What do you see? A volcanic eruption? It was taken when I patronised Kichi Kichi, a small Western eatery located at one of the alleys of Pontocho, Kyoto. I got to know about its existence from a video which was pretty viral on my Facebook newsfeed sometime ago.

Huge grilled squid during new year! Since young, I've been a fan of this manga (lit. Japanese comic) called Kobo-chan written by Masashi Ueda. It encapsulates the daily life of a Japanese family in a light and humorous way, from which I've learnt quite a bit about Japanese culture. I recall reading a part when Kobo went to a temple during new year where lots of food stalls were set up, and the most notable was the grilled squid stall.

Nishin soba - a popular Kyoto dish! After an hour of leisurely walk, along with buying all those snacks and tidbits along Matsubara Street, we finally reached Kiyomizu Temple. As the area is pretty big, we didn't have to jostle with the crowds coming for  hatsumode (first shrine or temple visit during the new year). Afterwards, we went for a simple lunch at Sakura which is also situated at Matsubara Street.

Okay cream puff, but rich-in-coffee green tea tiramisu! Matsubara Street is really bustling with a lot of small shops selling not only snacks, but also souvenirs. Upon seeing people queuing for cream puffs at Kiyomizu Kyoami, we decided to give the custard flavour a try. Not only that, you can also take a look at the beautiful colours of the green tea tiramisu we ordered.

Highly chewy grilled dango and mochi! Still along Matsubara Street leading to Kiyomizu Temple, we stopped by as soon as a heady aroma of grilled dango (Japanese skewered rice dumpling) stimulated our olfactory glands. Yes, we took quite a while to reach the temple, not because of the long way up, but the fact that we succumbed to the temptation of various snacks along the way. :P

Chinese buns filled with beef, anyone? In the morning of 1 January 2014, we decided to pay Kiyomizu Temple, a part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage, a visit. Along the small Matsubara Street leading to the temple, we found a seemingly popular Chinese bun shop.