Hokkaido miso ramen

Just over the weekend, I had the chance to try out Hokkaido ramen at Gantetsu in Isetan, hailing all the way from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Their menu featured a variety of mouth-watering ramen in miso and tonkotsu broth with different toppings. After browsing and deciding which to order, I finally settled for miso ramen with butter and corn.

Miso broth has a distinct quality compared to tonkotsu broth. It is much lighter in taste while the dollop of butter adds to it a slight creamy texture. Something about the broth reminded me of beansprouts in fried kuey teow. A peculiar thing I noticed is that I could not really enjoy the full flavour of the broth when it was served piping hot. It was only after I had finished my ramen and when the broth had cooled down was I able to savour each spoonful of miso goodness.

The ramen was served with 2 slices of chasu, black fungus, cabbage, chopped spring onions, corn kernels, a spoonful of ginger paste, a dollop of butter and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. The ramen served at Gantetsu is of the curly variety with a stronger hint of kansui (alkaline mineral water); hence the stronger yellow hue to the noodles.

Gym

Last night I went to the gym with a friend after work. He is a member at the gym and so was entitled to bring a guest for a free 7-day trial. It has been 5 years since I last stepped into a gym. While packing my trainers  and zipping them up in the morning, the zipper broke. It has been THAT long!

After getting changed in the locker room which was spacious and brightly lit, my friend showed me around and got me started on the treadmill. The machine looked vaguely familiar - it operated just like the one in my previous gym. I bet it's even the same model! After a 30 minute cardio session burning about 200 calories on the treadmill, I moved on to the other equipment. I started with the shoulders, biceps & triceps, back and finished off with abdominals. While working out on the shoulders and abdominals, I couldn't help but notice a plump woman in pink staring at me...

By the time I got home, I felt my left knee aching and I had to practically drag my feet to move about. While taking a shower before going to bed (I don't trust gym showers - I'm afraid of catching ringworm from the damp shower curtains and the wet floor), I couldn't help but ogle narcissicistically at my imaginary pectorals and 6-pack in the mirror after today's workout session...

らーめん

Sometimes when I am jaded with the endless varieties of food around me, nothing seems better than a hot bowl of ramen. As the saying goes: "Do not judge a book by its cover", one should not be fooled by its plain appearance.

Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish with Chinese origins. The Japanese word 'ramen' is a close abberation of the Chinese word for this style of wheat noodles 'la mian' which literally means 'pulled noodles'. 'La mian' is a popular dish in the northern parts of China where wheat is grown in abundance. Ramen is usually served in a meat-based broth. Typical toppings and garnishings are chasu (sliced pork), nori (dried seaweed) and chopped spring onions.

Ramen noodles can vary in shape and length from the chewy thick ramen, to thin and stringy. Some are long and straight while some are curly. There are four main types of soup in which ramen is served with - shio (salt), tonkotsu (pork bone), shoyu (soy sauce), and miso (bean paste). Each type of soup has its own characteristic flavour and texture. Shio and shoyu broths are usually light and clear, while tonkotsu and miso broths are cloudy, thicker and have a stronger flavour.

I have been fortunate enough to have tried several different types of ramen, thanks to the abundance of ramen joints here and the recent flourishing of Japanese imports into the country. Although ramen is usually on the menu of most large Japanese dining establishments, it is only ramen served in ramen-ya restaurants that are of the best quality.

One of the most recent imports from Japan is Menya Musashi at Eat Paradise, Isetan 1 Utama. The broth served at Menya Musashi is a mix of pork, chicken and fish (specifically sanma). The seasoning oil used will change the flavour and appearance of the dish. Pictured below in order are shiro (white - onion oil), kuro (black - fried shallots and garlic oil), aka (red - chilli oil). Ramen is served with chasu, menma (fermented bamboo shoots), aonegi (chopped spring onions) and nita mago (seasoned egg).

What should I do with you?

What should I do with you? I've known you for so long but you never fail to disappoint. You've given the excuse that you're ill whenever we make plans to go out too frequently that I feel it is just a lie. And you never take responsibility for the words that come out from your mouth. In my opinion, you're calculative, brash and irrational. Should I ignore you from now on? Or should I totally cut you out from my life? Tell me now, what should I do with you?

Ankles

I have been very busy of late and it's none other than work. Nothing much has happened over the week, so I haven't any tales to tell, except that my favourite hamster (from a litter of six) died on Monday, and mum sprained her ankle last night when she stepped into a hole in the road. So, apart from a busy work schedule, I have also taken over most house chores since last night. I just heard from my grandmother tonight that my aunt took a fall and fractured her ankle two nights ago. Sheer coincidence? Or is May the month of foot-related accidents?

Nihon-go

It's been a pretty hectic week and I haven't had the time nor the inspiration to write something decent. I have just started self-studying Nihon-go (the Japanese language) and have been learning how to read and write one of the components of the writing system - hiragana. Next I will need to learn katakana and kanji, although I reckon my kanji will be very limited as I think it will take an eternity for me to learn every single character. It's that bad.

I might be exaggerating about how difficult kanji is, but it might surprise you that I used to study the Chinese language for almost 4 years as an additional subject a long time ago when I was in primary school. But since I did not find any use for it, my parents agreed that I stop lessons. I haven't forgotten everything yet - I think somewhere within the deep recesses of my memory, I still remember the basics of writing Chinese characters - the order and direction of strokes. This will be handy for learning kanji which are Chinese characters used in the Japanese language system. Their pronunciation may differ but the meaning is still the same.

There is a reason why I am learning Nihon-go and you will find out in my next post...

My journey to the Land of the Rising Sun - Day 6

On our final day in Japan, it wasn't much of a day as we had a plane to catch at 11am and we had to be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure time. Buffet breakfast at the hotel was nothing fancy and rather bland. I was hoping to savour my last bowl of Japanese curry in Japan.

We left the hotel at around 8.00am and arrived at Narita International Airport shortly. Prior to entering the airport compound, our bus had to pass through a security checkpoint. Our tour guide informed us that this is because land for the airport was built on land forcibly acquired from farmers and that there are still unhappy people out there who wish to blow up the airport.

Inside the terminal, I found a small Uniqlo outlet near the entrance and popped in while waiting for our tour guide to arrange our tickets. After checking-in and clearing security and immigration, we entered the restricted zone. I noticed the bubbly character of the female security officer at the X-ray machine - what a difference compared to Hong Kong and our local security staff at KLIA.

At the gates, our Cathay Pacific aircraft was being loaded. It was an Airbus A330-300 again and we were to be seated at the back of the plane again. The thing with organised tours is that you get pretty sucky seats. It was a rather bumpy flight over the airspace between Japan and Taiwan. Turbulence kept the seat-belt sign lit up most of the time. Lunch was served on board and I chose stir-fried chicken served with rice topped with black sesame seeds, cold soba and strawberry pudding. I chose white wine to go with the meal and to knock myself out to get some rest after last night's packing. Because the flight was so bumpy and I did not want to risk spilling any liquids on my clothes, I finished the salty soba sauce and alcohol quickly. The turbulence got quite bad and they had to suspend the meal service for a while.

We arrived in Hong Kong on time and only had about an hour's worth of transit time, which was ridiculously short given that Hong Kong International Airport can be a shopping destination by itself. Our flight back to Kuala Lumpur was on a Boeing B777-300. It was a relief to have a different aircraft for a change as I was getting pretty tired of the same Airbus A330-300. Although the aircraft looked a bit older on the inside, the seating arrangement was more comfortable, seating 9 abreast in a 3-3-3 configuration. The seats were roomier and even the windows were larger. This time we weren't seated right at the back of the plane, but at the back of the first section of economy class which wasn't too bad. I even got a window seat so I could see all the hustle and bustle on the tarmac.

Only after take-off did I notice that this aircraft had a video camera mounted on the underbelly which fed live visuals to our personal screens. It's a shame I missed out on the take-off process as I only managed to see blue sky and white clouds as we climbed.

Dinner was served on board and this time, it was either penne with tomato and herb sauce or fish cooked in tangy sauce served with coconut rice. I chose the fish option and it was delicious! For desserts, we had sliced fresh fruit and a flan-type cake topped with pineapple. Not wanting to be drunk any more, I chose orange juice this time.

After dinner, it was time for inflight shopping. I think Cathay must have a record of first time passengers on board their airline and invited me to complete a questionnaire. As a reward for my time, they presented me a USD5 voucher to be used for inflight shopping. After browsing through the catalogue, I chose a 1:400 die-cast aircraft model and a set of Ralph Lauren fragrances.