Travel Blog: Hong Kong Trip 2014 Day 2, 香港之旅第二天, 27 Jul 14

Hong Kong Trip Day 2: 27th Jul 2014, Sunday
香港之旅第二天：7月27日2014年, 星期天

Attractions for the day:
Hong Kong Disneyland 香港迪斯尼乐园 [Google Maps Link]
Ichiran Ramen 一蘭拉麵 [Google Maps Link]
Yee Shun Milk Company 義順牛奶公司 [Google Maps Link]
Sweet Tooth 甜牙牙 [Google Maps Link]
Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 [Google Maps Link]
Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars 香港漫画星光大道 [Google Maps Link]

Accommodation for the trip:
Royal Plaza Hotel 帝京酒店 [Google Maps Link]

We had breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant. We were then fetched to Hong Kong Disneyland! We always look forward to visiting the Happiest Place on Earth.

Nothing like a good breakfast buffet to start the day!

And since there are always tons of pictures taken at Disneylands, there is a separate post on our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland for this trip.

Click here for the dedicated post of our visit to the Happiest Place on Earth (Hong Kong) in 2014.

After visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, we decided to visit other parts of Hong Kong on our own since we had already visited the remaining parts of Disneyland and also saw the Disneyland fireworks before.

We left Hong Kong Disneyland slightly after 3pm, and proceeded to visit the Citygate Outlets at Tung Chung station. Didn't really find anything we wanted.

Citygate Outlets.

Next, we went all the way to Causeway Bay to Times Square, a major shopping centre and office tower complex. Saw some interesting One Piece displays. Awesome!

Looks like Takashimaya in Singapore.

Amazing display of Thousand Sunny!

Cool One Piece event happening in Hong Kong.

After the whole day of walking in Disneyland and around the area, the next item on our must-visit list was Ichiran Ramen! We fell in love with their rich tonkotsu broth and noodles when we first had it in Japan. After we realized that there was an Ichiran Ramen in Hong Kong during our research before the trip, we definitely wanted to try it once again and therefore made it a must-visit during this trip.

As expected, there was a long queue outside the restaurant the moment we arrived. The look and feel was pretty much the same as the one we had been to in Osaka in Japan. And so after almost 40 minutes of queuing, we finally got ourselves our personal booths. Yes, that's the special thing about dining at Ichiran Ramen. Everyone gets their own table or booth to totally immerse themselves in the enjoyment of their ramen. It felt like Osaka all over again for the two of us. The broth was just as good. Probably losing out just a little bit to the really authentic one we had in Japan. Nonetheless it was a really satisfying meal. Why don't they have this in Singapore!?

What a joy to be able to have Ichiran Ramen even in Hong Kong!

Long queues as usual.

Just can't wait to sink our teeth into the noodle and savour the broth!

The display showing the empty or occupied seats. It's about time they upgraded this to digital.

And now at my dedicated booth.

Dear sitting next to me. Apparently can't wait to start feasting.

Ahh here it comes!

And the next moment everything's gone!

After the dinner, we walked around Causeway Bay for some window-shopping. We came across a place called Yee Shun Milk Company. Looks very similar to the Australian Dairy Company in Jordan. They sell almost exactly the same things. Time to test it and see which one serves the best dishes.

Back to wandering around the streets full of life.

There were plenty of such short buildings containing many interesting shops.

We decided to give Yee Shun Milk Company a try.

Plenty of items to choose from.

There's a layer of hardened 'skin', hence the name "steamed double skin milk pudding".

Our luncheon meat sandwich.

Momo Dear thoroughly enjoys the sandwich.

We ordered the steamed double skin milk pudding and a luncheon meat sandwich. What? Did we not just had dinner? Yes. But... we just HAD to try their milk pudding and sandwich. How does it compare to those of Australian Dairy Company? Read on.

We ventured into the nearby Sogo at Causeway Bay. Dear wanted to get a new luggage. Got herself a new luggage with Mickey Mouse design. We window-shopped around the other floors before deciding to make our way to Tsim Sha Tsui.

So many floors of shopping.

Dear gets a Mickey Mouse design luggage.

We then took the train yet again across the sea to Tsim Sha Tsui.

铜锣湾 - That's Causeway Bay in Chinese.

After exiting the train station, we walked along Carnavon Road and chanced upon an interesting dessert place called Sweet Tooth. We were enticed by the colourful and mouth-watering desserts on the menu and decided to give this dessert place a try. After getting our seats, we found ourselves surrounded by a full-house of locals. Looks like a very popular place with the locals. There were tons of items to choose from. We ordered one item each. The desserts certainly tasted as good as they looked.

Nice quotes on their menu.

Another page of nice quotes on their menu.

And a cool mirror showing off their logo.

This looks so yummy but a bit too much for us to handle.

Looks good eh?

Dear's favourite chocolate lava cake.

Chocoholic Momo.

Look at that melted chocolate oozing out of the cake.

Certainly a nice place to visit for those with a sweet tooth.

甜牙牙 Sweet Tooth
Address: 號地下, 46 Carnarvon Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Opening hours: 12pm-12am (except Friday/Saturday till 12:30am)
Tel: +852 2721 1121

Our next target was of course Australia Dairy Company. It was our second time visiting it. And what coincidence for us to find a similar restaurant like Yee Shun Milk Company for us to make a good comparison. And the verdict? Definitely ADC for us.

We ordered their steamed milk pudding as well for the comparison. The taste was just right. Not too milky. The smooth texture of the pudding and the amazing taste was its selling points. I can probably eat it day and night.

You won't miss the huge signboard from the end of the street.
That's of course if you know how to read Chinese.

You can see the English name at the front of the shop.

Some sandwich with scrambled eggs.

Ice cold lemon tea.

And of course it wouldn't be a complete visit without the steamed milk pudding. Mmm...

Set menus for those unsure of what to order.

So many items to choose from.

Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司
47 - 49 Parkes Streets,
Jordan, Hong Kong. (Jordan MTR, exit C2)
Tel: 2730-1356
Business hours: 7.30am to 11pm daily

My own directions:
Jordan MTR Exit C2.
Cross the road.
Walk along the pavement and turn right at junction.
Walk until you see it on your left.

So... two visits to steamed milk pudding shops and a dessert shop, after dinner. That's the way to enjoy a visit to Hong Kong. Don't you agree?

With our bloated bellies, how about taking a stroll along the streets of Hong Kong? And so we did. Until we came across the Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars.

Check out the post of our visit to the Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars.

After the visit, we slowly made our back to our hotel. But not before stumbling across an ad of the beautiful Haruna Kojima of AKB48, promoting some melons.

Came across an ad of AKB48's Haruna Kojima on our way back to our hotel.

Royal Plaza Hotel

Address: 193 Prince Edward Rd W, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2928 8822
Website: https://www.royalplaza.com.hk/en/

For a list of the hotels available for booking in Hong Kong via Agoda.com, click here.
To make a hotel booking at Royal Plaza Hotel, click here.

Links to our Hong Kong Trip 2014

Day 1
Day 2 - Hong Kong Disneyland
Day 2 - Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars
Day 3
Souvenirs

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Travel Blog: Japan Trip 2013 Day 8 - Nara, 日本之旅第八天 - 奈良, 9 Jun 13

日本之旅第八天：6月9日2013年, 星期天 - 奈良
Japan Trip Day 8: 9 June 2013, Sunday - Nara
日本の旅行第八日：６月９日２０１３年（月曜日） - 奈良

It was our last day in Japan! Have to treasure every moment we had. We took the train to Shin-Imamiya Station and transferred to the JR Yamatoji Rapid Service. The whole trip was 690 yen each. We arrived at Nara in about one and a half hours. We got a local map of Nara from the train station and then proceeded to navigate our way to Todaiji. Of course I made use of my GPS on my smartphone as well. We walked along the local streets and saw some shops selling local fruits, clothing, souvenirs etc.

Tickets to Nara.

Welcome to Nara!

We were here!

Some Shika-san cookies.

We got a local map of Nara to navigate around easily.

We came across a beautiful pond along the way, before we arrived at a five-storey pagoda right outside Kofukuji, another temple worth visiting. That was where we saw the first deers of Nara. As we walked on towards Todaiji, more and more deers could be found wondering around the park. They were also many people selling deer rice crackers, called shika senbei, at 150 yen a pack. Many tourists would buy these snacks to feed the deers.

Beautiful pond in the middle of the park.

Locals praying to a statue of a god.

A majestic five-storey pagoda.

Shika senbei (deer rice crackers) can be bought from these sellers throughout the park.

The deers were really everywhere. And so were their dung lol. They were very tame and either slowly walking around grazing or lying on the ground half asleep. They were really adorable and cute! And then there was also some bazaar or festival going on in the park area near the Nara National Museum, so a lot of locals gathered there to have fun.

Look at how tame the deer is!

"Where's my shika senbei?"

Tame as they may seem, but once provoked, they could do some serious damage!

These fist-sized deer dung could be found littered around the park. Be careful!

Some bazaar going on. And a performer performing some show for the kids.

I don't think you'll get to see this very often.

Walked past the Nara National Museum.

Some deers found this good spot for resting.

We then continued marching onwards to Todaiji, and as we drew closer to this UNESCO World Heritage site, the roads became more and more crowded with tourists as well as locals. We finally reached the gate of Todaiji, which was a gigantic wooden structure so massive that it would take a minute or two to walk from one end to the other. We merely peeked through the gate to see the Great Buddha Hall which contains the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana as it was so crowded and had to pay an entrance fee just to see a bronze statue. Therefore we hung around the area for a while before turning back to go back to Nara Station for our train ride back to Osaka.

Flooded with tourists and locals alike.

Entrance gate to Todaiji. Just look at the size of this monstrosity.

The Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji.

Some tall weird-looking sculpture or structure.

Back in Osaka, we went back to Dotonbori area and found an Ichiran Ramen restaurant just right next to this iconic building belonging to the Don Quijote, a discount chain store. The structure outside the building looked almost like a roller-coaster. It was by chance we came across this Ichiran Ramen outlet as we were not really looking for it.

The strange-looking building of Don Quijote.

And Ichiran Ramen is just right next to it!

We quickly queued for our seats as soon as we found it. The queuing and dining was a totally new experience. First, we had to purchase our tickets for our ramen from the vending machine, where we could choose the various ingredients and add-ons like kaedama (additional noodles), eggs, etc. This is of course nothing new as almost all of Japanese restaurants do that. But there was also an empty (or taken) seat indicator to show which seats were available. The staff would then bring you to an empty seat once there were vacant seats. Therefore you do not get to choose where you wish to sit or to sit next to your friend. You get your own personal space or cubicle to enjoy your ramen. It seems that they do not really encourage you sitting next to a friend. Probably to hasten the customer to quickly finish their ramen to free up the seat for the next customer. But one of the reasons they have such a concept of seating a customer in his or her own personal space or cubicle is to ensure the customer is fully focused on their ramen to fully savour the goodness and flavour of their wonderful creation. What's also interesting is the way you order the food. You write on a slip of paper to indicate the levels of spiciness, the amount of spring onions, how tender your noodles are, amongst other preferences. Then you present your order chit to the front of your table and press the bell in front of you, where a staff would receive and go off to prepare your ramen. Once your ramen is ready, the staff would lift up the bamboo drapes and present you your bowl of ramen, do a little bow and say some usual Japanese phrases to tell you to enjoy your meal, let down the drapes and then you start enjoying your ramen. All these is done without the staff showing his or her face at all. There is a small tap for you to get cold water from as well so there really is not much interaction needed with the staff. A really unique dining experience only available in Ichiran Ramen restaurants.

Back to my ramen experience, I simply loved the ramen! The taste was just right and the spiciness made it really tasty. This pork bones ramen was, at that time, the best ramen I tasted. It was so good that I emptied the bowl almost immediately. Not a single drop of the gravy was left behind. I was totally satisfied and enjoyed the meal. I would definitely visit Ichiran Ramen again if I go to Japan again. Dear and Nut also enjoyed their ramen as well. We were saying we should have ate at Ichiran much earlier, instead of on our LAST day in Japan.

Can't wait to sink our teeth into their ramen!

Yes you have to get a ticket for your ramen first.

A closer look at the choices available.

An empty seat indicator. How convenient!

Your personal space for enjoying their delicious ramen.

Dear and Nut get to sit next to each other.

Looks like an ordinary tonkotsu ramen...

But it was SOOO good that I finished EVERYTHING!

ICHIRAN Dotonbori
Address: 7-18 1F Souemoncho Chuo-ku Osaka-shi Osaka-fu 542-0084
Business Hours: 24 hours
URL: http://www.ichiran.co.jp/english/html/kin_douton.html

After the satisfying meal, we walked along Dotonbori Canal, seeing tourists enjoy their cruise on the Dotonbori Cruise ship, and decided to fill our stomachs once more with some local snacks. We found a takoyaki store which had a long queue forming, so we decided to try some. It was really good as well! Wished we could stay in Japan longer...

Nice cruise along Dotonbori Canal.

Quite a long queue.

Tastes really good!

We made our way back to the underground shopping areas near our hotel and got some yakitori, and croquettes from the nearby Takashimaya shopping centre. We would finish them on our train ride to the airport.

Spoilt for choice!

Yakitori to take away and enjoy on the train ride.

Looks so yummy but we just bought one to try on our trip to the airport.

Finally, our most dreaded moment was here - checking out of our hotel. The hotel staff of Swissotel Nankai Osaka was very helpful in helping us bring our luggage through a special hotel lift direct to the train station. We were told to make our way to the station, which was just directly below the hotel situated in the same building, as we cannot use the special hotel lift. We met at the station and the staff helped us to get our tickets for the limited express Rap:t train to Kansai International Airport (KIX). The price for the train ride was 1,100 yen. Normally it wouldn't be at this price as there was some promotion going on.

The futuristic-looking train had a cool-looking head, almost like a helmet of some cyborg. The limited express Rap:t train would bring us to the airport, while stopping at a few stations along the way. In less than an hour, we arrived at the airport.

This futuristic-looking train brought us to the airport in less than an hour.

Noooo! I don't wanna go home!!

Our final ticket for our 8-day trip in Japan.

Tired but thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Goodbye Osaka! Goodbye Japan!

At the airport, we deposited the Mifi in a package that was provided when we received it into the mailbox. Thanks to the Mifi, it was a really simple, easy and convenient way to get mobile internet access for our trip in Japan.

We then settled dinner at some restaurant in the restaurants area of the airport. Ordered some soba and tempura don. Tasted really good as well. What a wonderful way to finish our last meal in Japan.

Looks really appetizing!

All Japanese food look and taste good!

After the dinner, we made some final splurge at the souvenir shops. Royce chocolates, Sakura and green tea-flavoured Kit Kats, Tokyo Banana cakes, biscuits. And that completed our tour of Japan 2013.

It was 10 June 2013 (Day 9), Monday when we arrived in Singapore. All tired but satisfied with our wonderful trip to Japan. When will we go again? Probably soon. =)

It's the end of our trip ~ Nooooo!!!

For a list of the hotels/resorts available for booking in Osaka via Agoda.com, click here.

To make a hotel booking at Swissotel Nankai Osaka Hotel, click here.

Links to our Japan Trip 2013

Day 0
Day 1 - Odaiba
Day 1 - Odaiba Trick Art Museum
Day 2 - Tokyo DisneySea
Day 3 - Shibuya
Day 4 - Tokyo Imperial Palace, Yokohama, Asakusa
Day 5 - Hakone
Day 6 - Osaka
Day 7 - Kyoto
Souvenirs

How I Planned My Japan Trip Itinerary

Japan Trip Itinerary Planning and Preparations

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