Takamatsu #1

At Haneda airport, to board a flight to Takamatsu, Kagawa.

There were many people travelling as the airport was busy and the bus to the plane was packed.

The view from the plane as we got near to Shikoku was amazing. We could spot some of the islands that we wanted to visit.

There we took a train to our hotel to drop off our bags before exploring the place.

While the plane was packed, the train in Kagawa was pretty empty.

First stop was Kotoden-Yashima which is a small station with cute benches, as below.

We came to Ikkaku for lunch.

The full name of this place is Honetsukidori Ikkaku Yashima Branch (骨付鳥 一鶴 屋島店).

Website: https://www.ikkaku.co.jp/

As we arrived when they first opened, the place was pretty empty, except for a few other customers.

Apparently, honetsukidori is a very popular dish in Kagawa. So we came here to try it.

There is even an instruction on how to enjoy it.

We ordered some 'fish cakes' with chicken meat and cartilage in it. I am not a fan of the chewy texture of some parts of it.

Here comes the honetsukidori, which basically means chicken with bone. We ordered 2 different types, one is the 'young chicken' with a much tender meat, and the other one is the 'old chicken' whose meat is very tough. The 'old chicken' meat was super tough and hard to chew on.

While the taste is not bad, it is pretty salty, so it is better to enjoy the chicken with cabbage and rice.

This must be a very popular place, judging by how grand the exterior of the restaurant looks.

Food outings

Went to Ebisu for lunch with colleagues one weekend and look at the souvenirs that I got from them.

We ended up in this little 2 storey Italian restaurant called Porto Bello (ポルトベッロ).

We had the grill & fresh pasta lunch set that came with a choice of drink, salad with 2 appetizers and bread, pasta, grilled chicken & dessert of the day. 

I ordered their carbonara pasta with bacon which was ok. I thought that the portion was a little small.

And here is the grilled chicken in a sizzling hot plate. I really like this dish and the sauce that came with it.

The dessert of the day was this cheese cake.

Overall, the food was good but the place was a bit cramped.

After that, we took the train to Harajuku, where we shopped around for a bit before walking to Minimal The Baking 代々木上原.

Website: https://mini-mal.tokyo/

I had tried their chocolate before but this is my first time trying their gateau chocolate.

I ordered the 3 pc set for 700 yen so that I could taste different flavours and compare them. Overall, all the 3 flavours were super good. I particularly liked the high cacao one. Love the dense texture of all the gateau chocolate. As their limited menu changes frequently and it would be good to visit again to try them out.

Visited this place called Tempura Uejima (天婦羅 うえじま) and was pleasantly surprised by how good their tempura was. This here is the Jyoutempura which costs 1,550yen. Looks at how big the portion is! Everything, including the pickled vege was delicious.

Lunch at Kagurazaka Saryo, Shibuya Scramble Square

Grabbed lunch at Kagurazaka Saryo, Shibuya Scramble Square (神楽坂茶寮 渋谷スクランブルスクエア店) with Mish.

She had a lighting that she had inherited from her ex-colleague for me.

As you can see, the weather on that day was rainy and cloudy.

I had the pork in soy based soup.

While Mish ordered the chicken meatballs in a yuzu accented broth.

Here are the tea to accompany our lunch.

I like how we both get a different tea pot so we don't mix them up and they have a very nice '和' feel to them.

We ended the meal with these delicious green tea desserts. Mish ordered the seasonal tart while I ordered the matcha cheese cake.

I have always enjoyed visiting Kagurazaka Saryo in Shibuya Mark City and this new place is nice too as they serve a different menu and the desserts were also good. Plus the window facing counter seat has an amazing view of Shibuya.

 

J's Bday

Last year, J's friends came over to our place to celebrate his Bday.

The outcome is this - shaving cream all over his face, just as we were about to snap a picture of the boys. LOL.

His friends brought yummy pizza, wraps and cheesecake from Costco. The portions were huge and we couldn't finish everything.

While the portions are huge, thankfully, everything was delicious and still delicious when reheated the next day! Anyways, I am in love with the big portions offered by Costco because it reduced the frequency that you need to buy something that you can easily stock at home.

They even gifted him his favourite A&W. 😂

 

Moving in Japan

After getting the keys to out apartment, we went to clean up the apartment before the actual move, to make it easier for us when we move in. Also, we wanted to do a check on the apartment and take not on which parts were already scratched or damaged before we moved in.

After cleaning, we stopped by at Saizeriya to grab dinner before heading back home.

heehee, in our attempt to be healthy, we ordered 2 plates of vegetables to go along with out main meat dish. J had the steak while I had the hamburg. I always get the hamburg at family restaurants.

Other than cleaning the apartment, we also had to change our address. 

On a separate day, we went to change our address and then went to grab breakfast at Royal Host. 

What's left is the actual move now.

We used Sakai for our move and as you can see here, the first that they do when they enter you place is to lay our the floor matts and to cover the walls so as not to scratch them.

Then they will count the boxes and hang up your clothes from the closet for the move. They will also put your shoes in their shoes box. After that, you will see the boxes disappear quickly from the apartment as the staffs carry 3 boxes each round.

Good bye to the moldy cabinet in my room. While I have cleaned out the mold, you can see that it is still damp as it rained before. Every time it rains, this part will get wet, which is why it got moldy. And unless, the crack on the wall, or the waterproofing gets fixed, the cabinet will always be damp.

My empty bedroom.

The empty kitchen.

The other empty room.

We actually came back a week after our move to clean up the place further. This apartment was sparkly clean when we returned the keys to the owner in person. Even though we had cleaned it thoroughly, the owner did say that the cleaning cost has already been charged to us so there is no need for us to clean the apartment. Oh well, I feel that it is still good for us to return the place in prime state. 

Double date at Cova

Double date at Cova for Italian lunch course.

This ham appetizer was yummy and such a nice opening to the meal.

This is one dish I have never had before. The bottom is like a mousse pudding that has dashi flavour that went so well with the umami of the raw prawn and the yellow sauce.

Another beautiful looking dish which is actually fish.

We had the meat bolognese and carbonara pasta. As usual, I am a big fan of the carbonara because of how thick and flavourful the sauce is. Also, it goes super well with the nama pasta made by the Chef.

For the main dish, J had the pork.

Look at how happy the carnivore is!

Meanwhile, I had the fish which was lovely.

Dessert that day was the bomb! I don't know how he come up with such lovely dessert each time but I always wish that I could order an extra one as an ala carte dish.

Instead of the usual canelé. today we had gateau chocolate and caramel.

Always enjoy the tea/ coffee served at the end of the meal too.