Ramen Kagetsu Arashi & Tsujiri, Hankyuu Taipei + Saboten, Taoyuan airport

This post here will be the last one from my Taipei Trip.

Met up with XQ at night for dinner, but before that THIS!!!! I've been wanting to ride on these bikes ever since I saw them on my first night here~

Once again feeling to XQ who helped me with the U-bike

I feel like a small kid again.....

Loving the view, the weather and just the feeling of riding on a bike!

Was supposed to head to Shihlin night market as I've never been there but after looking at the huge selection available at the mall near Taipei City Hall.....I'm sold!

So for dinner, we had japanese at Ramen Kagetsu Arashi at Hankyuu department store (統一阪急百貨台北店).

XQ with the teppan fried rice kind of thing - Chinese chive and egg fried rice!

My "Ninniku Genkotsu Ramen" that was loaded with garlic!!!  Love it!

Even XQ approves of her fried rice!

After dinner, it was desserts time!

TSUJIRI!!!!!

Finally I had the opportunity to try Tsujiri and in Taipei! lol~

I went for their shaved ice selection and ordered the Signature uji- kintoki!

THE BEST MATCHA SHAVED ICE DESSERT I'VE EVER HAD!!! Step aside green tea bingsu, you are no match for this!! 

The green tea flavour is strong! The red bean paste complements the taste of the green tea really well! There is truly nothing wrong with this dish, maybe except the shirotama as I'm not a fan of mochi-like things.

TSUJIRI, WHY YOU NO COME TO MALAYSIA?

If not, I can have you every day!

I love shaved ice and I love green tea~ <3

After desserts, it was time to exercise a bit......

......walked around and spotted this cute little creature! hehee....

Apparently this guy collects donation from passer-bys to care for these dogs.

Interesting looking lights surrounding the trees that look like wine glasses.

The next morning, I had the big breakfast at McD with XQ before heading off to the airport.

Had plenty of time to burn before my flight as I was there early, so I decided to get a nice lunch before boarding.

Had rosu-katsudon for lunch at Saboten Japanese Cutlet. Whilst Air Asia flies from terminal 1 of Taoyuan airport, one can easily take the free sky train from terminal 1 to terminal 2. Saboten is located on the 4th floor of terminal 2. :D

Spotted the check in area for Eva air! Soo cute!!! omg~ I wanna fly Eva air too the next time!

Minamikata - Izakaya

First Izakaya experience

After our Kyoto trip, it was already near 10pm when we arrived back at the Hankyu Minamikata station near our hotel.

 Walked through a back alley and spotted this cute little izakaya place.

They are a franchise branch I think, as I have seen the same brand at several places.

So many salaryman drinking with their colleagues. Saw them do something really interesting which I didn't quite understand.....everyone stood up, drank, then clapped once and did something. I thought they were going to "chai mui" or something but it actually signaled the end of the party.... 

Look at the setting! 

Happy cousin with her warm green tea.

Everything for 300yen only (before tax)!!! Well....almost everything.

Some interesting ingredients.

Grilled scallops or snails anyone? They came raw and we were supposed to grill them ourselves, but I told the waitress that this was my first time and I had no idea how to grill them.....so she grilled ours for us.

The scallops were big, yummy and juicy despite their look. As for the snails, we were to chicken to taste it in the end. They were super huge!!! Wayy bigger than any escargot I've ever had........ sigh~

The salad was disappointing because it was wayy too salty.

Tempura shishamo. Quite worth it as there were 10!!! The size is slightly bigger than what we usually get here.

We had another plate of tempura prawns .....6 for only 300yen!

Yea, for just 300yen, we got 6 nicely fried tempura prawns.

So much fried food near midnight~ omg!!! 

The worst part is after this supper....we headed back to the hotel, showered and immediately ZZZed.

Osaka Sunny Stone Hotel

For our first night, we stayed at Osaka Sunny Stone Hotel which is located close to Nishinakajima-minamikata station on the Midosuji line. The hotel is also conveniently located close to a hankyu station, Minamikata.

To get to the hotel, exit at Gate 1 of the station and turn left. Here you will see a family mart, just keep walking straight and you will spot another family mart. The hotel is just a little further away from the second family mart and easily noticeable since the building is quite tall and is grey.

At first we were a little worried that the semi-double bed might be too small as many guests have complained about that on agoda but we found that it was just nice for the 2 of us, quite comfy actually. The toilet is the usual cubicle type that you see in most business hotel and is equipped with Shiseido toiletries, toothbrush, comb, razor, towels, bathrobe and hair dryer.

Room was comfy and I like the fact that we could control the heater unlike in some hotels where you can't control the temperature at all. Thank goodness for the TV because music station was showing and I caught Kisumai's performance for their latest single! <3 

This is how the room looks like on the last day when we are packing to leave to another hotel. We stayed here for another 3 nights after we returned from Kobe.

Toilet on the right. It's the standard toilet that you get in most business hotels with a tub, sink and bidet toilet seat.

Our messed up semi-double bed. Just nice for 2 girls, with enough space to move around. I have read comments where couples found the bed small, so I suggest couples to get the double bed instead.

Address:

Shin Osaka Sunny Stone Hotel (サニーストンホテル)

4-12-2 Nishi- Nakajima, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 532-0011 Japan

(http://www.sunnystonehotel.co.jp/pc/index.php)

Kyoto - Kamogawa and Gion

After buying our souvenirs from the shops leading to Kiyomizudera, we headed back towards Kamogawa to enjoy the night sakura.

But of course, we had to try out the snacks along the way.....:P

Green tea shuu/ cream puffs anyone?

Yummy~ Love the cream puff texture and the cold green tea custard.

Some traditional fish cake? I think this is their most popular potato flavoured one.

The parfait looks super yummy....regret not having one green tea parfait there.

Fresh senbei~ Reminds me of those that I had in Asakusa.

Bought one....super sweet~

Such a nice little garden at the side of the road intersection.

A traditional shop.

opps....too early for this!

Pretty sakura at night!

Kamogawa in the back ground.

Super clean and clear water.

Saw some girls in pretty kimono and asked to snap a picture of them. So happy that they said yes. At the shops leading to Kiyomizudera, you can actually rent a kimono for the day at a cheap price (rather than having to but a kimono which is super expensive).

So many tourists traveled to Japan alone. 

Met an American there who was enjoying the night sakura too.

Saw some bakers making baumkuchen at a shop in OIOI (Marui Marui) at Kawaramachi. So interesting~ I've only seen it in Yumeiro Patisserie. Sigh~ another expensive place for shopping.

  

Took the Hankyu subway back to Minamikata and along the way, at one of the stops I suddenly spotted a shopping arcade, so we made a quick stop. I don't remember which station this is.....could be Awaji.

Spotted the same franchise okonomiyaki shop that we tried at Tenjinbashi-suji.

Similar yet different.

Bought some things and we're off again.

hehe....as you can see the stop is above ground and not underground, hence I was able to spot the shopping arcade.

Time to go home again after a long day~