シンガポールの「大戸屋」 / Ootoya in Singapore

数週間前に、突然、豚カツと牡蠣を食べたいです。だから、「Orchard Central」というデパートへ行きました。しかし、その日は水曜日です。だから、「とん吉」の外で、長い待ち行列があります。結局、他の和食レストランに和食を食べに行きました。以下は僕の晩御飯です。
A few weeks ago, I suddenly have the urge for Japanese Katsu and Oysters. Therefore, I decided to make the trip down to 'Orchard Central'. However, that's a Wednesday and due to the promotion at 'Tonkichi' every Wednesday, the queue outside 'Tonkichi' every Wednesday will always ended up to be pretty long. In the end, I decided to give the other Japanese restaurants nearby a try instead.

「チキンカツとじ重セット」 ここのチキンカツがカリカリだし、美味いです。 それで、周りの卵がほくほくだし、全然鹹くないです。 だから、カツ、玉ねぎ、ご飯を一緒に口に入れて、 一瞬でとても幸せになりました。美味すぎです。 美味いチキンカツと比べて、セットの副菜と味噌スープの味は普通です。 （しかし、ここのキチンカツより「とん吉」のカツの 味と質のレベルのほうが高いです。） 'Chicken Katsutoji Jyuu Set' The 'Chicken Katsu' over here are pretty crunchy and delicious. And the fried egg that's covering the 'Katsu' aren't soggy and aren't too salty. Therefore, as and when you took a piece of 'Katsu', a bit of onions and a bit of rice into your mouth, you will experience a sudden sense of happiness. As compared to the 'Katsu', the other dishes that come with the set meal are pretty ordinary. (By the way, in terms of the taste and the texture, I still think that 'Tonkichi' still serve the best 'Tonkatsu' in Singapore.)

「あさりせいろ」 ご飯、野菜、椎茸、浅蜊を一緒に蒸籠に入れて、蒸し料理です。 普通の炒飯よりこの料理の味のほうが豊富だし、ご飯が柔らかいし、 美味いです。(ﾟдﾟ)ｳ-(ﾟДﾟ)ﾏｰ(ﾟAﾟ)ｲ-…ヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ…ｿﾞｫｫｫｫｫ!!!! です。 その上、そこに、たくさん新鮮な材を利用して、いいですね。(≧∇≦)b ですね。 （しかし、残念だ。その店で牡蠣せいろがありません。牡蠣を食べたいです。。。） 'Asari Seiro' Pretty much the same way how 'Dim Sum' was prepared, the chef had thrown ingredients like 'rice', 'vegetables', 'mushrooms', 'clams' into the 'Dim Sum' basket and steam them together. The final product has a pretty exciting and delicious taste as compared to an ordinary 'fried rice'. Besides for the taste, the rice were pretty soft too and the chef has also added a generous portion of ingredients into this dish. (Too bad they didn't have a similar dish that was made out of 'Oysters'. I seriously would like to give it a try.)

これはその和食レストランの内装です。 皆さん、レストランの名前を知っていますか？ This shows the interior of the Japanese restaurant. I guess that most of you should have a pretty good idea what's the name of this Japanese restaurant already.

そうですね。レストランの名前は「大戸屋」です。 これはシンガポールの「Orchard Central」の8階の「大戸屋」支店です。 That's right. The name of this Japanese restaurant would be 'Ootoya'. This would be one of the Singapore branches that is located on level 8 of 'Orchard Central' shopping mall.

営業時間（「Orchard Central」支店）：

• 12:00～21:30

Operating Hours (Orchard Central):

• 12:00pm - 9:30pm

* こちはシンガポールの「大戸屋」のFacebookページです。（英語のサイト）
^ こちは日本の「大戸屋」の資料です。
~ これは「Orchard Central」の資料です。（英語のサイト）
* Click here to find out more about 'Ootoya' Singapore.
^ Click here to find out more about 'Ootoya' Japan. (Japanese website)
~ Click here to find out more about 'Orchard Central'.

シンガポールで唯一のうどん屋？The only Japanese Udon restaurant in Singapore?

シンガポールでラーメン屋とか、しゃぶしゃぶ店とか、居酒屋とか、様々な和食レストランがあります。しかし、もしうどんを食べたかったら、何処にいきましょうか？
In Singapore, there's a very big variety of 'Japanese restaurants'. For example: 'Ramen restaurants', 'Shabu Shabu restaurants', 'Japanese style drinking places', etc... However if you have the sudden urge of eating 'Japanese Udon', where can you go?

数週間前に、「Liang Court」というデパートの一階で シンガポールで唯一のうどん屋（？）が営業を開始しました。 そのうどん屋の名前は「たも屋」です。 これはシンガポールの支店の外観です。 There's finally a Japanese Udon restaurant in Singapore. The restaurant was opened a few weeks back and it's located on level 1 of 'Liang Court' Shopping Mall. The name of the restaurant would be 'Tamoya' and the photos in the above shows the exterior of the branch in Singapore.

和風カレーうどん 'Japanese Curry Udon' 実はね、そのデパートへ行く時、最初の目的は和風カレーを食べてみたいです。 しかし、そのうどん屋を見て、目的を早速に変えていました。 結局その日の晩御飯は「カレーうどん」です。 実はね、そこのうどん種類が多いし、値段が高くないです。 In fact, going to give the 'Japanese Curry Rice' at 'Liang Court' a try was my main reason for visiting the shopping mall. However, I changed my mind, as soon as I saw the new 'Japanese Udon restaurant'. Hence I ended up eating 'Japanese Curry Udon' for dinner that day. In fact, I had a hard time selecting the type of 'Udon' that I wanted to try, especially when there are more than 10 different types of 'Udon' on the menu and the price are pretty reasonable. さすがに和風カレーです。全然辛くないです。甘いです。 それで、シンガポールで大部分の和食レストランのうどんは致命的な点が あります。それは柔らか過ぎです。しかし、あそこでその問題がありません。 そのうどんが柔らかいし、硬過ぎないし、美味いです。(≧∇≦)b ですね。 This is indeed 'Japanese Curry'. It's pretty sweet rather than been spicy. And on top of that, one particular reason why I don't really like to have 'Japanese Udon' in the local Japanese restaurant was due to the fatal problem of the 'Udon' being too soft. However, I don't experience the issue with the 'Udon' over here. In fact, the 'Udon' over here are pretty chewy, not too hard and delicious. Which ended up to be pretty good dining experience. そのうどん屋はうどん料理以外、天婦羅とか、お握りとか、 色々な料理も販売していました。 Besides for 'Udon', they also prepare and sell Japanese delicacies like Tempura, 'Onigiri'(Japanese Rice balls), etc...

営業時間：

• 11:00～22:00

Operating Hours:

• 11:00am - 10:00pm

* こちはシンガポールの「たも屋」の資料です。（英語のサイト）
^ こちは日本の「たも屋」の資料です。
~ これは「たも屋」のFacebookページです。
# これは「Liang Court」というデパートの資料です。
* Click here to find out more about 'Tamoya' Singapore.
^ Click here to find out more about 'Tamoya' Japan. (Japanese website)
~ Click here for the Facebook page of 'Tamoya' Singapore.
# Click here to find out more about 'Liang Court'.

おせち料理の初体験 / My first encounter with 'Osechi Ryouri'

今年の元旦は日本で過ごしました。そして朝の10時頃起きた後、早速に歯の磨いて、顔を洗って、朝ごはんを準備しました。。。
I have spent my New Year for the year 2013 in Japan. Once I get out of bed that morning, I quickly get myself ready for the luxurious breakfast.

実は2013大晦日はそのイベントを参加していました。 これはJR京都駅の伊勢丹デパートで、 毎年開催されている一日限りの お持ち帰りおせち、朝八時頃長蛇の列があります。 僕もその列に並び、おせち料理を入手しました。(≧∇≦)b During the very last day of 2012, I have participated in this 'event'. This annual event was held by the 'Isetan' departmental store located inside 'JR Kyoto station'. They will be selling the 'Osechi Ryouri', which is also known as traditional Japanese New Year food, over here. In fact, there's already a long queue of people queueing up for it at 8am in the morning. I managed to secured a place in the queue 安ｄget myself a set of 'Osechi Ryouri' too. O.OV

これは僕の戦利品です。 Here's my reward for queueing up for more than an hour+.

これは「泉仙」のおせち料理です。 Here's the 'Osechi Ryouri' by 'Izusen' restaurant.

「泉仙」のおせち料理のメニューです。 メニューによると、ここに様々な海鮮と肉と野菜の料理もありますよ。 超楽しいですね。 And here's the menu. According to the menu, there's a mixture of seafood, meat and vegetables dishes. And I'm looking forward to taste everything.

ほんまに豪華だし、華々しいし、味も多彩です。 それは朝ごはんと言えども、昼ごはんをスキップして、 二時間を利用して、料理を全ての食べ終わりました。 お腹がいっぱいです。大満足です。 （しかし、牛肉が食べられません。 だから、捨てなければなりません。残念ですね。） Not only luxurious, it looks glamorous and there's a great variety of tastes. In fact, though most Japanese will have it for breakfast, but it took me 2 whole hours to finish up all the food. I even have to skip my lunch to finish this. My conclusion for this meal, 'Satisfying'. (My only regret for this meal, would be the beef stuff. Since I couldn't eat them, therefore I have to throw them into the rubbish bin. :( )

* こちは「泉仙」の資料です。
* Click here to find out more about the restaurant 'Izusen'. (Japanese website)

元旦 / New Year

お寺で鐘を打ったあと、2013年を迎えます。深夜の天気がとても寒いのに、八坂神社に参拝に行きます。それは僕の初詣です。初詣は、歳が明けてから初めて寺社に参拝し、一年の無病息災を折ります。
After participating in the event of striking the Night-watch bell for 108 times, it's time to welcome the year 2013. Despite of the crazy cold weather, I still decided to proceed to pay my respect at 'Yasaka Shrine'. In Japan, the first visit to a shrine each and every year is also known as 'Hatsumoode'. The locals will pray for their well-being for the upcoming year on this visit.

その深夜、天気が寒いものの、八坂神社に参拝に行った人が多いですね。 （もしかすると何十万以上の参拝者があるかもしれません。） Despite of the cold weather, the shrine still managed to attract the attention of a lot of visitors. (In fact, on that very night, there might be more than 100,000 visitors paying their respect at the 'Yasaka Shrine'.)

お寺に参拝してから、大部分の人がお守りを買ったり、 おみくじをひいたりしています。（僕もおみくじとひいていました。(≧∇≦)b ） After paying their respect at the shrine, most people will either buy a lucky amulet, known as 'Omamori', or paper fortune lots, known as 'Omikuji'. (I, myself have went ahead with the 'Omikuji'. O.OV)

それで、様々な料理とお菓子を食べてみました。 （お寺の周りにインド人が辛いインド料理を販売して、とてもびっくりしました！！！ でもね、寒い天気で一番幸せな行動は、辛い料理を食べます。 それはほんまに援けました。） After that, I decided to give some of the food stalls located within the shrine compound a try. (What amazed me the most, was the fact that there was this Indian selling spicy Indian food within the shrine compound. And trust me, by eating spicy food during a cold weather can really help you a lot.)

お腹がいっぱいした後、ホテルにさ早速に戻ります。それで、朝四時ごろホテルに戻りました。寝て起きてから、ビッグサプライズがありますよ。。。（つづく）
After filling up my stomach with lots of food, it's time for me to return to my hotel. By the time I reached the hotel, it's like 4am in the morning and there's a big surprise waiting for me when I woke up... to be continued.

* こちは「八坂神社」の資料です。
* Click here to find out more about 'Yasaka Shrine'.

大晦日 / New Year's Eve

ちょっと遅いでけど、しかし皆さん去年の大晦日で何をしていましたか？実はね。。。
Though this is slightly a bit too late, but how did you spend your 2013 New Year's Eve? In fact...

京都で一番大好きな蕎麦屋で蕎麦を食べに行きました。 その蕎麦屋の名前は「本家尾張屋」です。 （実はね、今は蕎麦板を食べています。ほんまに美味いです。） for a start, I went to my favourite Buckwheat Noodles restaurant in Kyoto, Japan on the New Year's Eve of 2013. The name of this restaurant would be 'Honke Owariya'. (In fact, I was eating a rectangular shaped tidbit, also known as 'Soba Ita', which is made from Buckwheat Noodles right now. I was so madly in love with it that I could easily finish a box of it within an hour. By the way, each box contains 50 pieces of 'Soba Ita'.)

「にしんそば」 さすがに蕎麦老舗です。 この店の蕎麦が柔らかいし、全然高くないです。 それで、にしんが新鮮だし、美味いです。 とにかく、この店で蕎麦を食べた後、蕎麦を熱愛になっていました。 'Nishin Soba' This is indeed an infamous Buckwheat Noodles restaurant. The Buckwheat Noodles over here are pretty soft and relatively cheap. And the ingredients are pretty fresh and deliciously good. In fact, after giving this restaurant a try, it have greatly increased my passion for Buckwheat Noodles. 何故日本人は大晦日で蕎麦を食べていましたか？ 本によると、蕎麦が細く長く伸びるため、寿命を延ばすという話があります。 However, why did the Japanese have the custom of eating Buckwheat Noodles on New Year's Eve? There's a Japanese saying that states that by eating the Buckwheat Noodles that are pretty thin and long on New Year's Eve symbolises longevity.

美味い大晦日蕎麦を食べた後、町をブラブラして、その後。。。
After having a delicious meal, I decided to
do a bit of window shopping follow up with...

寒い天気で高大寺で除夜の鐘の列に並んでいます。 the task of queueing up outside 'Kodai-Ji' temple. This queue is actually meant for the first 108 people to get a chance to strike the Night-watch bell of the temple on New Year's Eve.

午後十一時から、一人一人が高大寺の除夜の鐘を打ちます。全ては108回です。 From 11pm onwards, those that were selected one after the other will step forward and strike the Night-watch bell once. 何故108回ですか？ 仏教によると、これは人間の煩悩の数だとされます。 つまり、108回の鐘を打つことは、人間の108の煩悩を払います。 Why did they struck the Night-watch bell 108 times? According to Buddhism, 108 symbolises the number of desires that trouble the body and soul of a person. Therefore by striking the bell 108 times symbolise the process of removing all your desires and cleanse your body and soul.

真面目な僕です？ A serious looking me...?

以上は高大寺で撮った写真です。 Some other photos that were taken in 'Kodai-Ji'.

高大寺へ行った後。。。。つづく
After paying a visit to 'Kodai-ji'...to be continued

* こちは「本家尾張屋」の資料です。
^ こちは「高大寺」の資料です。
* Click here to find out more about the Buckwheat Noodles restaurant 'Honke Owariya'.
^ Click here to find out more about 'Kodai-Ji' temple.

日本で一番おいしいカレー？ / Best Curry in Japan?

僕の故郷はシンガポールです。それで、小さいから辛い料理が大好きです。だから、普通の日本カレーライスはそんなに好きじゃないです。しかし、例外があります。それは。。。
I'm a Singaporean and ever since I was a child, I had a crazy passion for spicy food. Therefore, I'm not a big fan of Japanese Curry, which is kinda sweet. However, there are exception and that would be...

「飛騨豚カツカレーライスセット」 そこの濃いカレーの味が甘いし、辛いし、超美味いです。 その上、さくさくの豚カツと野菜がとても素晴らしいです。(≧∇≦)b 'Hida Pork Cutlet Curry Rice' This plate of thick Japanese Curry is both sweet and spicy. On top of the delicious Curry, the crispy Pork Cutlet and the vegetables are amazingly good too and it can blend with the taste of the Japanese Curry pretty well.

「サラダ」 その店のカレーライスセットは涼しいサラダが付きます。 'Salad' All the Curry Rice set meal of this place comes with a bowl of refreshing salad too.

実はね、その店で様々なカレーライスセットがあります。 例えば：「'唯我独尊'の自家製ソーセージカレーライス」と 「H.S.E(Hot Spring Egg = 温泉卵)カレーライス」です。 以上は「'唯我独尊'の自家製ソーセージカレーライス」の写真です。 In fact, you can get several types of Curry Rice Set meal over here. For example: 'Home-made Sausages Curry Rice', 'Hot Spring Egg Curry Rice', etc... The photo above shows the 'Home-made Sausages Curry Rice' of this place.

それはJR高山駅から近いカレー店です。 店の名前は「弱尊」です。 This Curry Rice restaurant is located near the JR Takayama Station and name of the restaurant would be 'Jakson'.

店内の飾り物がとても可愛いです。 様々な懐かしい玩具と漫画がありますよ。 I personally find the decorations of the restaurant to be pretty cute. Besides for Japanese Comics, or more commonly known as 'Manga', the owner have also used toys as a decorative element in the restaurant.

* こちは「弱尊」というカレー店の資料です。
* Click here to find out more about the Japanese Curry restaurant, 'Jakson'.