2016 Japan Trip!!!

God, I can't believe it's been almost a month since the Mrs and I had our holiday to Japan. Almost a year of planning and anticipation, all leading up to 9 days in the beautiful, amazing and fascinating country that we both fell in love with. Whilst I'd like to say that I made full use of my leave, I unfortunately did not because I got taken out almost immediately after that (more on that later) but overall, though it wasn't my longest or easiest trip to the land of the rising sun, it definitely has to be my favourite so far since this is the first time the Mrs and I travelled to Japan together.

We both adore Japan and it's culture. I watch anime almost daily, we both majored in the study of the Japanese language and to cap it off, I have a Japanese ramen tattoo on my right arm. So, needless to say, this trip was very, very important to the both of us...almost (exactly) like a second honeymoon. Not only that, it was my first time in Osaka which is the foodie capital of Japan! A week prior to the trip, I was so excited and anxious that I spent most of my time watching videos from Erwan Heusaff and Mark Wiens to prepare myself for what was to come. I had mentally prepared myself time and time again to indulge in at least five meals a day...that was the plan!

That said, I can't say that I particularly enjoyed the flight to Japan. The flight was from Sydney to Cairns and then from Cairns to Japan with a 3 hour layover in between. (urghhhh). This was the very first trip I've had where I had a layover...as a kid (and all the way through high school), I was fortunate enough to have been provided with annual trips to Hong Kong. Always a direct flight and always with a separate destination planned on the trip.We chose to fly with Jetstar so being a budget airline, you get what you pay for.

My arrival at Kansai International Airport was mind-blowing though....it brought me back to the time when I was a child, setting food in Japan for the first time. A clean, neatly organised and mesmerizingly efficient place unlike anything I had known. A place where almost everything had architecturally clean lines and flashing signs, loud sounds and exciting prospects. We were famished after our long flight so we immediately set off to find some grub. Fortunately, Kansai Airport is choc-a-bloc full of options! More than you can even count on two hands! After a long deliberation process, we settled for Tonkatsu as our first meal so we entered Tonkatsu KYK and grabbed a table.

The Mrs decided to start her trip the exact same way she started her last Japan trip: with Katsu Curry. I have to say, no Japanese curry I've had in Sydney even compares to how rich and delicious the curry in Japan is! It's the same stuff but just...more? More umami, more ingredients, more time, love and energy spent on producing the food. Whatever it is, it made for a delicious meal! The tonkatsu was also amazing since it was juicy, tender and cooked perfectly with a super crunchy exterior! Rather than having curry, I opted to order the pork loin set which came with miso soup, rice and pickles.

After having mildly satisfied our hunger, we set off to our accommodation which was an AirBnB apartment in the middle of Namba at Nipponbashi DenDen town. Navigating the public transport in Japan was a breeze! I had anticipated that I'd need my 4 years of Japanese to get me by but that was not true at all! The subway system was rather easy to understand and very, very efficient. My only gripe: we had purchase the JR pass which I quickly found, didn't apply to a lot of Japan's privatised rail system. Osaka mainly runs off the Nankai company's rail line and the subway (neither of which the JR pass worked for). Still, transport was affordable and we quickly got to our accommodation.

Where we lived, we were about 10-15 minutes walk from Dotonbori, Osaka's most well known eating district. Wasting absolutely no time, the two of us set off immediately to locate our next feed. Dotonbori is amazing....the sheer amount of choice you have is staggering! Every craving and desire can be satisfied...with super convenient massive signs to help indicate to you where. That being the case, we quickly found ourselves walking up and down the street with absolutely no direction or idea what we were going to have. Fortunately, I came upon a familiar green and red sign and I immediately made up my mind. Yes....Ichiran Ramen, the super popular chain of ramen restaurants that provide you with individual booths to "enhance" your focus on the food and "elevate" your dining experience. Unfortunately, said booths were closed for the day so we settled for the yattai section where it was standard tables. Nonetheless, it was a very satisfying bowl to start my trip with. Medium everything meant that the soup wasn't too thin or thick. The chashu though wasn't particularly impressive though I did enjoy the noodles.

On the second day, we set off for Kuromon Ichiba: Osaka's most popular wet market. Again, living so close to Nipponbashi, we were literally a short walk from the market which was amazing! I feel like I lost some weight due to all the walking I managed to do. In Osaka (or Japan even), you'll find a common theme where you're just plain confused by the amount of choice and variety that's available to you. This was also true for the market as you can literally walk up to any store and purchase your choice of fresh seafood whereby they will prepare the item for your immediate consumption. After taking in the whole market, we stopped at one of the stores in the middle and purchased two skewers of scallops along with an oyster to grill. Each item was ever so lightly brushed in a soy glaze which caramelised onto the surface of the seafood as it cooked over the grill. You pop the piping hot morsels into your mouth and just let it sit there on your tongue as it relinquishes the natural flavours into your mouth.

Two shops down, I noticed a rather familiar (and popular) store which sold only tuna. I recognised it as the store where Erwan Heusaff (mentioned above) ate his tuna collar. Obviously, I had to make some room for chutoro nigiri. No regrets here: despite being a fish shop and not a specialised sushiya, the rice was impeccably done with a perfect balance of softness and bite, vinegar and sweetness. This complimented the thick slices of fatty tuna on top which literally just melts in your mouth as you chew! So delicious.

I won't go into too much detail about what we did in between but after a full day of tourist-ing and sight seeing, we were hungry again! Heading back to Dotonbori for round 2, we started with some grilled crab legs from Kani Doraku. Then, we moved to Takoyaki, which as you know, are hot, piping balls of crispy batter and octopus. Topped with sauce, seaweed and dancing bonito flakes, this is the quintessential snack of the kuidaore (eat-till-you-drop) experience.

This not being enough, we decided to finish our dinner with a sit down meal. The Mrs had visited Osaka in her last trip and knew exactly where to go. She took me to a Okonomiyaki restaurant right on Dotonbori called Mizuno Okonomiyaki. Little did I know, Mizuno was one of the most popular okonomiyaki restaurants at Dotonbori (award winning, even). After taking the first bite, I knew exactly why...you eat this saucy pancake straight off the hotplate (which is kept there to keep it hot) and the more you eat, the less you can stop eating. Each bite is an explosion of varying textures and flavours...salty, savoury, sweet, crispy, soft and much, much more.

STILL not yet satisfied, we also opted to have an order of proper yakisoba as well. The yakisoba isn't necessarily cooked in front of you (like the Okonomiyaki above) but still good! The noodles sat on the hotplate long enough to become half crispy like chow-mien. Tossed with chopped cabbage, meat and a egg easy over. Mix it all up on the hotplate for a nice, saucy noodle dish!

After finishing dinner, it was only 8pm, so we decided to keep kicking on with some shopping. During our shopping trip to Shinsaibashi, we stopped off at Pablo's to grab some cheese tarts. I was surprised to see that a much bigger tart than the ones we can purchase in Sydney. It was also different in that the crust was made much thinner making it less crumbly and most...crispy. The creamy centre had a more tart (as in citrusy) flavour to it and was more visibly more viscous and wobbly than our Sydney ones. Very interesting!

The third day saw us leave our accommodation (temporarily) to take the bullet train to Tokyo. This is where I believe our JR pass came in handy. With the pass, you can take the bullet train up and down as many times as you can which worked rather well for us (because we needed it for our return trip). We had planned to eat a bento on the train but on our trip to Tokyo, we didn't understand the station layout too well so, we kinda missed it. Fortunately, we had some tempura for lunch before our train. I don't know how it is that food in Japan is so much better (actually, I do but I won't go into it here) but it is. The tempura had more depth of quality and flavour than I generally have anywhere in Sydney. Oh, if I could just have it again, that would be amazing!

Our time in Tokyo was very eye-opening. A far busier place than Osaka (and much more crowded), it made for a faster paced sight seeing experience. Unfortunately, at this point, "jelly belly" had hit me full swing and I was reduced to only craving one small meal a day (goodbye, eating-till-I-dropped). Nevertheless, we did manage to eat quite a bit through our visit to the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (more like...giant complex of ramen restaurants), eating at the high-tech sushi train: Uobei, Yakitori at chain-izakaya: Torikizoku, a visit to DiverCity Odaiba to see the Gundam statue and eat Tsukemen and Omurice as well as some very impressive pizza at Tokyo Station.

For me personally, the most memorable and meaningful meal I had in Tokyo had to be my visit to W.P.G.B or Whoopie Gold Burger. Roughly 4 years ago, I first saw an episode of VICE Munchies Japan (show below) where we saw the owners, Kushima Taiji and Kamishima Shogo, go out and party. I think that was the point where I found my desire to return to Japan reinvigorated. I mean, I'd studied Japanese for ages but for a while...after graduating, I'd lost any interested in travelling. Since that day, I'd watched the video again and again, anticipating the day I'd go back to Japan and enjoy this humble burger. So obviously, walking into this place was a huge deal for me.

That night, most of the other diners were locals, so I almost felt like it was odd that we showed up. Nevertheless, we ordered our meals and some drinks and sat down for my most anticipated meal....which did not disappoint. I ordered the Sunnyside Kevin Bacon which was essentially this massive burger with two thick slabs of chunky bacon and a runny egg in the middle. The beef patty was cooked on a binchotan grill which I thought, helped lend a charred, smokey element to the meat. See my instagram post for more details but after the meal, I wrote a sincere thank you note with my kindergarten grade Japanese under the photo. If the guys ever read it (or this)....thank you for fulfilling my 4 year long wish.

Unfortunately, one of my only highballs in Japan....

Burgers for you, burgers for you! I'll have a burger! You have one too!

The sunnyside kevin bacon

So, all Tokyo'd out, the Mrs and I pack our stuff and head back to Osaka for our final leg of the trip. 7 days into the trip with consistent "jelly belly" everyday, I struggled to see if I was getting any better or any worse. This really annoyed the Mrs to the point where she literally said to me "I miss your normal glutton self....". I felt bad for her that my illness was ruining her trip to I agreed to go to Kyoto for a day trip.

Finally got our train bento (ekiben)

I'll say this right now: Best. decision. ever.

Soy milk donuts!!

To be perfectly honest, I'd never had any fascination with historical Japan. I've always been enamoured with the quirky, cartoony vision of modern Japan (Akihabara etc) that I never paid attention to the classical sensibilities and the natural Japanese beauty. I will openly admit to being an idiot after this short day-trip to the heart of Japan. This place is BEAUTIFUL...the serene nature of every neighbourhood and corner just washes over you like an invisible wave of clarity and inner-peace. This mentality or methodology is even reflected in their food: clean, simple and clear flavours exemplifying the natural beauty of the ingredients and delicately layering each flavour so that you enjoy the natural essence of each element before moving on to the next. 10/10 would return to Kyoto!

Japanese style pasta with clams, yuzu and mushrooms. Apparently, a very popular item in Kyoto.

Wafu Pasta with soy milk base

Aburi Salmon Bowl in Kyoto

Gyoza from the famous shop on Dotonbori. Worth the wait (they were closed due to water issues on our first leg)

Final bowl of ramen @ Kamakura Honten...was so out of it that I couldn't even appreciate it....

On our very last day, we had to check out of our AirBnB lodging again to lug around our luggage for a short, final venture of the namba area. There, we hit up Gram Cafe and Pancakes for the most instagrammable pancakes ever, headed over to Namba Walk for some out-of-this-world sushi.

Fluffy, wobbly pancakes!!

My Deluxe 8 piece sushi set.

The Mrs' Chirashi Sushi Meal

With absolute reluctance, we headed back to Kansai International Airport for our flight home where we made the nooblet mistake of entering the terminal thinking there were more food options beyond....there were not. So note to future travellers: always eat before you pass that customs gate. Our very last meal in Japan involved a luxury/deluxe sushi and tempura set from Ganko Sushi which was right near our gate. It wasn't bad but...I'd have the sushi I had in the afternoon over that anyday.

We had quite a bit of Japanese Yen left over so we decided to splurge on the most luxurious meal available.

Overall, my most recent trip to Japan has been another wonderful one. My Japanese got better again, I indulged in quite a bit of Japanese food (till the point where I wanted to avoid it for one meal) and I got to see two cities I'd never before set foot in. Japan is a fascinating place with it's stark contrast of old and new. It's values are intertwined so perfectly in the fabric of it's society that you just can't help but want to explore and understand it. As always, the best way to start understanding a culture is through it's food and with Japan, you will have no shortage on variety or quality. Don't even bother with reading Michelin guides (unless you're only interested on places like Den) and just explore...I guarantee you that you will never have a bad meal in Japan.

Ester Restaurant - Chippendale, NSW

It's always the new year that brings out the best intentions in us. Something about...starting a fresh, clean slate and all this "new year, new me" stuff. Realistically, it's not any different from the last 365 days you've just experienced but somehow, you feel more motivated, more invigorated and more certain that this year, you will fulfill your tasks and achieve your goals. Such is the wave of emotions I was overcome with this new year. The passing of another year had me thinking about how quickly 2016 had passed and how little I managed to achieve blogging-wise...and it did not make me feel happy at all. I reflected on the fact that my blog had been around for awhile now (longer than any of my previous attempts) in fact, just today I found out that we've been active for more than 2 years.

So long story short: I'm back once again after my hiatus and I've recharged my blogging batteries for now. I have saved up a small collection of places we've dined at and as I've done before, I will make an attempt to write multiple posts until I've caught up. Today, I'd like to reminisce about the spectacular dinner the Mrs and I had at Ester. You'd think that being married and not having any kids (yet) would mean that the two of us would be able to share intimate dinner moments more often...well, you'd be mistaken. So therefore, in light of how rare the opportunity is, we tend to cherish the nights where we've committed to going out for a fancy dinner.

To be honest I've heard nothing but good news about Ester and the work they do but I could not have prepared myself for what followed. I met the Mrs after work where we decided to bum around at Central Park before heading over. At this point, the Mrs had yet to decipher where exactly I was taking her but she soon figured out (with the help of Zomato of course...). Arriving promptly for our dinner reservation, we were seating almost at the centre of the dining room that had yet to be filled with eager guests. This provided us with ample solitude to mull over the decisions of what we would order and how much we would indulge that night.

Upon arrival, each table is given a light snack to open up your appetite and help ease our hungry stomachs into readiness. A small plate of crisp, roasted chickpeas perfumed with aromatic herbs and a touch of salinity that begs you to go for more. The Mrs opted to not have any alcohol that night but I on the other hand, decided to settle in with a nice glass of Nikka from the barrel (after very little coercion from our delightful hostess).

Opting not to go for the set menu, we ordered a multitude of items which we believed best suited our palates. First to come was the fermented potato bread with salmon roe and dashi jelly. By far, the MOST impressive starter/bread service I've ever had in my life...the wood fired oven that you can see most prominently in the kitchen is a sure-fire sign that whatever comes out of that furnace would be delicious and that, to be honest, is barely sufficient to describe this bread. Cut open that savoury and smoky crust and you will find the most pliable, soft and doughy bread in existence. Slather a mild amount of the salmon roe combination onto the bread and put it in your mouth for an instantaneous umami explosion. This is the dish I would start and end my meal with...stuff dessert!

Shortly after came the roasted oysters with horseradish emulsion which were absolutely sublime! Admittingly, the mild shell-cutting-the-edge-of-my-mouth incident did dull my enjoyment ever so slightly however, I just couldn't get over how well the flavours melded together! The oysters were plump and buttery and the emulsion just gave it a really nice contrasting element.

There was a dish on the menu that I had to order for myself which was the blood sausage sanga. The Mrs isn't the biggest fan of blood sausage but I am a willing sucker for anything of the sort. This did not disappoint because not only was the sausage delicious, the slice of square bread it rested on was also impressively moist and soft...I'm sensing a common theme here.

The next two dishes to come were definitely for the Mrs however: salt baked crab and the marron with salt and pepper sauce. The Mrs adores crustaceans and shellfish (what she gets for being inducted into a Chinese family) but even I had to admit that the crab was mighty impressive in it's simplicity. The flesh of the crab was unbelievably sweet which I can only assume lends part to the fact that the baking of the crab in salt assists with. There was a crab roe dipping sauce that was provided but I remember barely touching it at all as the inherent flavours of the crab was more that sufficient. I almost felt bad for wasting a beautiful sauce that someone put so much effort into making! I personally was more impressed with the marron...smaller than the tasmanian lobsters I'm used to having but much larger than yabbies, the marron provided just enough succulent meat to whet your desire but sadly, not enough to satisfy it...not something for people with a huge appetite for seafood. The sauce was very, very impressive though...not an overpowering saltiness and a rather decent and refreshing kick from the pepper.

To round off our meal, we had ordered the flank steak with smoked cream and kombu. We then paired this with their house cauliflower with almond sauce and mint. Flank steak is definitely not my favourite cut of beef but my word, this was done well. Cut against the grain (like any good flank should be), the meat just tears away so easily...and then melts in your mouth when consumed...not something I would expect with flank. Every other element on the dish was designed to heighten your bovine experience...the smoked cream, the jus and the side of pickled daikon all served to take that humble piece of meat and make it heavenly.

Though the beef was great, the "designed-to-be-shared" portion sizing left the glutton in me wanting more. Fortunately, this is where the delectable side of roasted cauliflower comes in. I know from my experience with the many delicious cauliflower dishes I've had but prior to all this gourmet eating, I never could have imagined that the humble and unassuming cauliflower could taste so good and satisfying....but it totally does! The almond sauce was really rich in flavour and I really enjoyed the fresh, herbaceousness from the mint.

Overall, our night at Ester can be summed up in one word: impressive. At that price range, Ester is a standout amongst a lot of equally impressive eateries mainly for their service, their technique and how each dish complimented and elevated the next. There was literally no crescendo....it just kept going up and up. And if you're fortunate enough to find yourself sitting at one of their tables, please...double down on that potato bread.