Autumn in Japan #4

(To continue on with the account of my trip to Japan last year after a little hiatus. Gosh, the year end just came and went didn't it?! Can't believe it's nearing the end of January already!)

Day 4

I must say that we were so blessed with such INCREDIBLY good weather in Kyushu! Just, wherever we went, there was a fantastic cool temperature of about 15 deg C and clear, glorious blue skies. It was the perfect day for our drive down to Kumamoto. Along the way, we stopped by a town called Akizuki (literally, Autumn Moon) which was really soooo lovely! :) It's quite a touristy place, known for its beautiful Autumn colors but it was also not exceedingly crowded which has become quite an important factor in allowing one to really enjoy a place.

We stopped by only for an hour or so but I would definitely dedicate maybe an afternoon for a proper exploration of the town and its scenic spots. Some of the photos were taken with iPhone and I decided to include them in to let you guys see a little more of the town.

To start this off…some beautiful Autumn foliage! :D





Left: Yakimochi. Pretty much the BEST Autumn/cold-weather/I-need-a-hot-chocolate-now snack but beware of the immense heat that's wrapped up in that innocuous looking little thing because I stuffed in a big portion into my mouth and in about 2s I realised if I didn't take it out the roof of my mouth was gonna get burnt. Sure adds to that awesome kick though.

Right: Ok it's not just me right? This guy was totally modelling for the shot. ;)



Beautiful round mochi!! Sigh.



I still have no idea what these fruits are! Are they seasonal or something? They certainly were present in quite a lot of the places we went to.



Tri-coloured cooking pastes! Well, the yellow one was definitely yuzu but I'm not too sure what the other two were…



Cutie obasan at her vegetable stall. :D



Left: I just love how quaint her stall was!

Right: We sat down to the perfect afternoon refresher of a bowl of hot matcha accompanied by the lightest almond cookies. It was a little stall outside the shrine run by a group of very enterprising ladies who would make the matcha inside a makeshift kitchen area and deliver it to waiting customers outside.



Hi there cutie. ;)



We also happened to meet this really cute Obasan called Baba Yoshiko who happens to be a veritable Jack of All Trades! I happened to strike up a halting conversation with her when I was snapping a photo of her beautiful fruits and veggies when she asked, "What are you taking a photo of?" I tried telling her that everything was so beautiful when she gestured to a basket of baby chilies, saying 'THESE are beautiful!". I couldn't help but agree. XD



THE baby chillies.

She was totally a born saleswoman! After introducing us to some hand made pastes (yuzu paste seemed to be something that Kyushu was famous for as well) which we fell for and bought, she showed us the ceramic bowls and plates at the back of the stall which she apparently made herself as well. What a talent. I love how they are usually so multi-talented in so many things in the rural area because they pretty much have to do everything themselves there eh?






This beautiful beautiful tiny little brook. :) Bathed in that really gorgeous Japanese golden light (i swear it has to do with their immense clear blue cloudless skies).

So after that we headed on to Kumamoto, which really is quite a small city. At least the major city center area was extremely walkable. We went to one of the famous ramen restaurants called Daikoku Ramen which is known for its garlic tonkotsu broth but while it definitely had a strong garlicky taste which I liked… it lacked the punch of a really good broth. (I definitely prefer Nantsutei which we have in SG) It's easy to get around Kumamoto using their tram system because it's so small and the names of the stops flash by on an electronic board in the tram. But then again if you miss a stop they're probably so close to each other you could just walk. Didn't seem to have particularly a lot going on at night so one night was more than enough in my opinion.

One great thing though? A mega Tsutaya (huge bookstore with outlets in pretty much every major city) which opened late! If you ask me, every city should have a 24 hour bookstore/library. What better place for sleepless souls to wander? Sure beats a 24 hour arcade/internet cafe/casino though there are so many more of those around. 

More real soon! Only halfway through. 
----

On a side note, Happy New Year everyone! Did the new year just sort of roll on by or what? I think I did give some thought to my new year's resolutions but then again, I always comfort myself with the thought that there's Chinese New Year coming up eventually as well so maybe I can have a little more time to reflect on the past year while moving forward. All the CNY decorations are already being sold in grocery stores and soon there will be the incessant blasting of those familiar CNY tunes every dang where. Ahh so comforting (then it turns annoying). ;p

Hope you're having a great weekend!
xoxo 

Autumn in Japan #3

Day 3.

I remember when we first got off the plane and arrived at the airport in Fukuoka, it was the surprising cacophony of car honking that greeted us when we stepped out of the building to head towards the subway station. Perhaps it had come from cab drivers but WOAH there was some really aggressive honking that I didn't think was possible from Japanese drivers! ;) On hindsight, it definitely fits in with my impression now of Fukuoka-ians (if they can be called that) as being friendly, straightforward and extremely warm. Everyone we came across happened to be really friendly and of course, openly inquisitive about where we'd come from.

On our first night, we arrived at sometime past 9pm, kinda tired out from a whole day of walking around in Tokyo and mainly just hoping to come across some ramen place to fill our bellies but the options at the airport were limited. But as we walked from the station to the hotel, there weren't any restaurants we passed by and I remember thinking, oh man this is going to be a night of Lawson's random bento/onigiri takeaways (which wouldn't be a bad thing, really; given how yummy their convenience store food can be). BUT then, as luck would have it, 2 minutes into our search for food around the hotel, we came across a warm, cozy, busy Izakaya that was OPEN! I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Fukuoka. It's called Ten Sui An and is actually about a 5-10 minute walk away from the Hakata Station, unobtrusively tucked away in a quiet alleyway (as most great restaurants in Japan are, it seems). The staff were really friendly, the restaurant was brimming with that boisterous (maybe drunken), festive ambience and best of all, it was open till late at night.



Every dish we had was SO GOOD. Of course if helped that we were starving but seriously, the dishes were so super tasty. I loved the thin, crispy pieces of vegetable tempura. And since it was autumn, they included sweet potato which was delish!

Looking at the trip advisor photos, looks like the restaurant could be famous for its chicken mizutaki which is a famous dish in Kyushu.



I'm not too sure if that was one of the Mizutaki dishes because initially I had wanted something vegetables, so I ordered something in the menu that looked like it said Veggie Stew. Only I didn't notice the word Chicken right at the front. -_- Tasty broth nonetheless!



THIS. WAS. SO. GOOD. If you don't think much about what it really is and just eat it based on the taste, you'll definitely want to have more of it. I loved how crispy it was on the outside yet soft, mushy, rich on the inside. Of course, it's none other than Shirako (or fish *cough* sperm…) done tempura style. Moar please.

The next day, we went to this island that apparently is not even really known to locals, called Ainoshima. The reason we went there? It's known to be a Cat Island. And Donald has this insane fetish with cats. -_- So, yeah. For me it's dogs > cats all the way (esp cute Lab retrievers and French Bulldogs!!) but hey, what's a girl gotta do? It was definitely an adventure though. ;)

BUT before that, we had an insanely delicious lunch of Chazuke at a random restaurant on one of the upper floors of the Hakata train station.



It was definitely one of the most memorable lunches I had on the entire trip because everything about it was fantastic. From the calm, elegant interiors of the restaurant, to the attentive service, to the sheer deliciousness of the dishes, to the speed at which the dishes came out to alleviate our hunger… Do try it. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it should be easy enough to find once you reach the restaurant floor of the shopping mall above the train station. X) TEN OUT OF TEN, this place.



Beautiful. Deep fried Kakiage.



Heaaaavennnnnly.

After that, we started on our journey to Ainoshima. It really wasn't that long; maybe 1.5 hours in total to get to the island from Hakata train station. I would definitely recommend checking out this guy's blog post for a detailed explanation of how to get to the island. It definitely helped us loads and I'm amazed at the sheer amount of research he did along with the attention to detail.

BUT, we happened to discover an even shorter route on our way back.

In essence:

Using JR line,

Hakata Station - Fukkodaimae Station

There is actually a bus from Fukkodaimae Station that will take you directly to the ferry terminal.

But I have no idea what the bus number was. I'm sure it's possible to ask the staff at the station for advice though. It would be faster than going by this route which is the one given in his blog:

Using JR line,

Hakata Station - Chihaya Station

At Chihaya Station, walk to the other end of the station to take another line to go to -> Nishitetsu Shingu Station.

Bus from Nishitetsu Shingu Station will bring you to the ferry terminal.

If you are seriously considering going to this island and are confused about the directions, feel free to drop a line and I'll definitely do my best to help! ;) If you're a cat person, it's definitely an experience to have.

It just so happened that we missed the bus that would have taken us to the ferry terminal at Shingu. We were going to hop into a cab but as luck would have it, some random dude apparated out of nowhere and beat us to it. So we were thinking, dang, should we try to wait around for 1. the next bus 2. another cab to come along 3. walk to the ferry terminal based on the rather undetailed sketchy map of the island by the bus terminal? Guess which one we intrepid explorers picked. I suppose it's not so much intrepid as desperate. When you're whole day is about going to ONE place for ONE thing only... you do what it takes. So based on Donald's insanely accurate internal GPS, we started walking/running. And believe it or not, we made it to the port where the ferry happened to be waiting! It's about a 20 minute ride to Ainoshima and you can pay for your 2 way trip on the ride back (after buying your tickets from a machine in the tiny unmanned tourist information centre on the island).

        

It's a very quiet island but I think it's not to the extent that cats outnumber people.



The cats were rather cute, I must admit, especially this Charlie Chaplin one that didn't always cooperate when I wanted to take his photo.



Gotcha!



Monday afternoon chillin' on Ainoshima.



Of course, I guess EVERY cat island would have to have its resident Old Cat-Granny who feeds them daily. This was definitely her. And guess what they ate? Bread.





While Donald busied himself with all those cats, I decided to take a walk along the pier. It was nice to see kids around though there were only a few of them.





Heh. Cute little boy.



At night? Another random Izakaya near Hakata Station after a trip to Yodobashi Camera, which is a huge-ass store full of well, EVERYTHING. If you haven't been into one, you should. Because while it has Camera in its name, it's not just a camera store. It's your electronics haven + cosmetics + cameras + phones + home appliances +....clothing maybe? I wouldn't be surprised if there was a level of clothing that I missed out on because it's huge. And there are outlets in every major city it seems, so do go check out your nearest one in Japan. And yeah, more chazuke for dinner. I love it so much. This one had nice salty salmon flakes. MMM.

Can't believe it's been a month since coming back! Feels like the trip was a longgg time ago. For anyone who's still wanderlusting after Japan, I would definitely recommend watching some Begin Japanology on youtube for all things Japanese. ;)

xoxo

Autumn in Japan #2

Day 2 of our travels. 

One thing we had on our list that we really wanted to check out were some good ol’ Japanese flea markets. There are apparently a ton of them happening throughout the year and often at open spaces at shrines. We went to the one at the Yasukuni Shrine and though I didn’t manage to get anything, it was still a fun way to spend a weekend afternoon strolling through the market, checking out a really incredible array of goodies.



Before that, we happened to pass by some really quaint stretches of road near the Imperial Palace.



What a way to spend a sunday afternoon.





Travel Tip #2: If you see something you like at a flea market… GET IT. NOW. Instead of thinking that there’ll be a chance later on. I had seen a beautiful blue tea pot that reminded me of a Dansk tea pot, strong and sturdy and in a great shade of deep blue, but since it was at the start of the trip, I was hesistant about getting something heavy to lug around. So I thought I’d think it over and return back after if I still wanted it. Well turns out I still did but by the time I got there… Ah, well. You snooze, you lose.



After awhile it was getting awfully cold so we decided to stop at the cafeteria within the shrine grounds for a snack.



Okonomiyaki in the making!



MMM. I'm probably a bigger fan of Yakisoba but they both have that similar salty, filling taste.

Next, we headed off to Omotesando to try out some legendary coffee. Tucked away off the main streets of Omotesando is Omotesando Koffee , a teeny tiny coffee shop that’s actually housed in a traditional Japanese house with just enough space for a the owner to pull all his coffee shots comfortably in what’s literally a cube. There’s a little space in the small outside courtyard to sit down to sip your coffee but that space is usually filled up by the long line of eager coffee goers. I suppose we went at a peak time – Sunday afternoon, when everyone would be out enjoying some sunshine and shopping at Omotesando. Hence when we got there there was a long line up of at least 15-20 people. It was maybe a 10-15 minute wait? No biggie. Gave us the chance to take turns strolling around the neighbourhood to see what else was around.



I must admit it’s an impressive sight seeing someone so focused on creating good coffee. It’s almost like a performance, seeing him go swiftly from customer to coffee machine, to pouring hot milk, tapping chocolate powder over a drink with speed and efficiency… I’m pretty sure everyone there took about 20 shots (EACH) of him. And this guy works HARD. There was literally a 15-20 people queue in front of us and when we left, another 15-20 people had joined the line. It was non-stop coffee making for him. Can’t imagine him doing it the entire day as a one man show.

The verdict? Well, I’m not a coffee connoisseur at all and I ordered mocha. But you know it’s a place that’s serious about it’s coffee when there isn’t anything non-coffee related (no cider, for example, which I was secretly and lamely hoping for ;p) Donald, who drinks his fair share of coffee back home says that it could compare with Nylon Coffee Roasters which is one of his favorites. But whether or not we would wait so long again for the coffee? Well, maybe one not. But if there isn’t a queue and there’s space out in the courtyard on maybe a weekday afternoon, it would be a great place to go back to, if only to watch the coffee maestro at work.

Omotesando Koffee 


4-15-3 Jingumae


Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
 

Tel: +81 03 5413 9422
 

Daily: 10am – 7pm
 

Nearest Station: Omotesando Exit A2/Meiji-Jingumae 

After walking around a little more in Omotesando, it was time to head back to Haneda Airport to get to Fukuoka. :) More in the next post.

xoxo Have a great week ahead!

Autumn in Japan #1

Hi everyone!! How's it hanging? :)

Just came back from one of the BEST trips I've been on yet!! Went to Japan with Donald (who just happens to be the best vacation planner ever...plus has some wicked internal GPS thing going on inside his brain) and it was such awesome fun. Of course, I think there were occasional tiring bits but isn't it often the case that when you look back on things... they're often better with the benefit of hindsight?

I don't think I've done an actual travelogue of one of my trips in a long time but since everything's still fresh in my mind... why not? :D

Day 1

This time we spent most of our trip traveling around Kyushu with an additional 1.5 days at the beginning in Tokyo. Flying via Japan Airlines, we decided to get a flight to Haneda Airport rather than Narita Airport in Tokyo.



I must say that Haneda Airport is DA BOMB. Seriously. Everyone knows about Narita Airport but its lesser known cousin should totally be forced into the limelight that it deserves. It's one of the best airports I've been to. Ever!! It's definitely a lot smaller than Narita Airport but it's got everything. And we only found this out on the way back but it has an AMAZING selection of food INSIDE the departure area! Most places reserve their best restaurants for the public spaces before going through the departure gate so that it'll be accessible to the general public but Haneda Airport has a really great variety of food in the food halls near the gates. Just so you know. No need to rush to eat your food before going through the departure gates. We had gone for some incredible Udon at a restaurant called Tsurutontan (highly recommended) then after checking in and heading towards the gate, we came across an awesome food hall which featured things like... Ryokurinsha ramen, another very famous ramen restaurant in Tokyo. So there is good food everyone in Haneda Airport.



MMMM. The smell of freshly baked bread.

Travel Tip #1 : (Or maybe I should label it as Donald's Travel Tip because it really was his idea ;p He'll always give me grief for having doubted that in the first place): If you're going to be staying in Tokyo for a short period of time (like maybe 1-2 days) before traveling off to someplace else, consider stowing away your main luggage at the storage lockers in the airport. They come in either small/large sizes but for the large one that we took, it was about 500 yen per day. The benefit of using that is that you can then take a smaller travel bag with your overnight items to bring along to wherever you're staying so at least you won't have to struggle with carrying along some ginormously heavy luggage through the Tokyo subway system which, while extremely fast and convenient, also has a serious LACK OF LIFTS. It's quite tiring climbing up all those stairs and honestly, I didn't really spot many lifts at all. So just imagine the absolute pain of carrying major luggage up and down stairs...unless you're a masochist or budding body builder.

On the first day, we were a little ambitious in trying to squeeze in a ton of things since we had only allocated ourselves 1.5 days in Tokyo. Immediately after touching down, we headed straight to for a flea market at Oi-Kebajo (at a race course area). It was definitely interesting in terms of how there were lots of second hand items ranging from more practical things such as cutlery/electronics/games/toys/clothing to...rather rare objects such antiques/handicraft tools/parts of equipment that I can't imagine anyone without some form of specialized knowledge getting from there. That said... I did get a second hand Olympus Pen film camera and managed to bargain it down with my half baked Japanese to 2000 yen! X) (ok only down from 2500 but... it was a moment of pride for me). Didn't manage to use up the roll of film yet so will share it hopefully in a few weeks after I finally finish it.



Nice. Hat. Yoz.



All those knick-knacks!

Next, we headed over to Daimon which just happened to be on the way to the place we would be staying at.



Had some really decent Kaizen sushi don. I love how even if you don't make any plans/reservations, chances are that 9/10 of the restaurants you walk into in Japan will have a really decent standard of food.



I had no idea that the Tokyo Tower was in the Daimon area! So we headed over there just to take a long and along the way, stopped by the Zojoji Temple.



I think there could've been some ceremony or celebration going on because there were quite a few families dressed up in traditional wear. Aren't the kiddies cute in their beautiful mini kimonos? :)







Next, we headed to one place I deliberately put on the list because it is simply...sublime.



Ori Higashiya a one of the most gorgeous shops I've been into. It's a traditional confectioner selling seasonal wagashi sweets and also provide set meals and tea specials. It's got a fantastic ambience - genteel, quiet, refined... just the sort of place I'd love to go to every weekend to meet up with my girl friends for tea or even to just relax with a book in hand. It’s part of a group of house brands that are the brainchild of the brilliant design studio, Simplicity, who come up with the most incredible interiors for their shops which seem to exude timeless elegance with Japanese roots. The one I’ve gone to is the Ori Higashiya restaurant/teahouse in Ginza but apparently there is also Higashiya Man, selling Manju which I’m dying to visit one day. The photo doesn't do it justice at all! Still trying to take better film shots in low lighting but I would highly recommend checking it out for EVERYTHING. Even their toilets. I’ve just discovered their portfolio online and am going to be spending awhile going through those gorgeous photos. 





Ginza on a weekend evening is so pleasant to walk around at.



Moments of quiet in a crowd are always within reach.

So, those were the highlights for Day One. More to come soon! I need to keep at this while I still have some steam and a relatively good work schedule for the month. 

Xoxo

#1: Inspired by

Hi all. How's it going?

I must say, life is so much better now, what without 4-5 calls a month (which left me feeling sooo tired and constantly in a semi-zombified state) and finishing work at a really decent time (with the sun still up! Trust me, once you've been deprived of such things, they matter so much once you've given them back ;p) to squeeze in exercise, an episode or two of Castle/Modern Family/Elementary (my 3 favorite TV series at the moment) and even some studying.

I felt like writing this post because it's something that's been brewing on my mind for quite awhile now. I figured when I come across inspiring figures, there's no better way to pay tribute to them that to pass it on and spread the word.

This particular one all started a month or two ago at a memorable sleepover with my dearest secondary school friends. It was one of our most successful sleepovers in a long time because we only dropped off to sleep at about...3am? We've been sleeping much earlier these past few years due to *ahem* old age so it was amazing how we managed to stay up the latest in a long time. That was in no small part related to our entertainment for the night - episodes of Masterchef Season 4! I got totally hooked after that. But not on Season 4 though. At the side of the youtube page there were other recommended video links and there was one that caught my eye about 'Blind Masterchef' and that's when I started watching season 3 to find out more. Have you heard of Christine Ha, the season 3 Masterchef winner? She's also the first blind contestant and masterchef to have emerged victorious so far. :) And she is AMAZING.

Her story is one that's incredibly inspiring. She started losing her vision gradually in her early 20s while she was at university and just starting her foray in the culinary arts due to an autoimmune condition called Neuromyelitis Optica. Over the years as her vision deteriorated, she had to relearn everything from scratch - navigating her way round the kitchen, the use of cooking utensils and the actual cooking of dishes.

I love watching her audition segment because it's such a good introduction to her story. It's amazing how at the end she (almost prophetically) declares, "I'm going to be the next Masterchef" and it does come true. :)

After watching the entire season 3 and thoroughly enjoying it, I started trawling through youtube for other videos/interviews of hers to find out more about her story. Season 3 was a lot of fun because there were so many memorable characters (my favs include Frank - such a decent guy who always made the best Italian dishes!, Monti - just about the coolest mama I've seen on tv + she has the most wicked tortoise-shell glasses, Felix - super feisty character who said the craziest things lol) and crazy challenges that really got my heart racing along with excitement. Anyway, I spent loads of time just watching and listening to her interviews, in which she shares her experiences of rebuilding her life after learning to accept her disability. What never fails to inspire me is her sheer willpower and strength to keep at it and to always look on the bright side of things.

One of my favorite quotes from her - " Everyone in this world is dealt a different hand—some better, some worse than others—but what's more important is how you play that hand. This is what builds character. And with great character comes great reward."

And that couldn't be more true. At the end of the day, with all the challenges we go through, while we might complain about the frustrations that come along with it, at least we're growing in character and fortitude and always learning and changing. There were many days on the way to work when I would just play an interview of hers on my phone while driving and her words just gave me that lift to look on the bright side of things and to work harder at overcoming challenges instead of being afraid. Am pretty sure she said it a couple times that she's always been competitive by nature and the harder the challenge, the harder she works at something to overcome it. That couldn't be more obvious from the way she went through all those challenges in the competition and emerged stronger each time and eventually...the winner.

I know some people aren't the sort who are easily swayed by words/quotes but for me, I lap it all up because those inspiring words really can make a difference to one's mindset and attitude towards life.

Plus, how awesome is it to not just be able to accept a disability, adjust to life with it, but also move beyond it to become an inspiration to others? She's also got a youtube channel with her own series called The Blind Life in which she talks about various topics related to her visual impairment, cooking, life in general. There was one in which she shares her methods for making use of technology - tweeting/facebooking/emailing, which was really eye-opening in sharing various means that the visually impaired have to communicate.

She shares her story and other bits and bobs of life on her blog HERE.

Along the same lines of being inspired, I just HAVE to share this other video that I just watched today. ;) After being introduced to the series, Begin Japanology, by my boyfriend (who is also a huge fan of all things Japanese), it's something I turn to whenever I fell like relaxing AND learning (so I don't feel tooo guilty about the slothing heh) and there are sooo many interesting episodes. This one is about Japanese Juku or cram-schools but towards the end of the episode (definitely start watching the segment from about 8:30 in Part 2!!), they talk about special schools that cater to teaching mainly adults who might not have had the chance for a formal education. The lady featured is, Fusako Ito, and her story is another really inspirational one. After having contracted polio at a young age, she was not able to receive a formal education and was illiterate for most of her life until she started going to the special juku. After 8 years of studying, she was able to write an entire 53 page essay about her life, entitled, "I'm Glad that I'm Alive". I just feel that it's amazing how lives can be changed...enriched, with learning.


PART 1

PART 2

I dare you to watch that portion when she reads her essay out loud to her class and not at least tear up a little. ;') Because I certainly did. It's often the older generation who treasure things like education because a lot of them might not have had the opportunity when they were younger. Reminds me of my Ahpo (my grandma who is my absolute favorite person in the world) who never fails to ask each time I visit her, whether I'm studying hard or not. And if I make even the slightest complaint about how work is tough or studying is annoying, she'll start launching into her memoirs of how her primary school education was cut short due to WWII. And of course, I'll be reminded of just how lucky I am. 

I suppose at the end of the day, I'm always being reminded of how all that I have is a blessing. Work may be tedious, (overly) challenging with so much studying/learning involved but...these are things that will always enrich me and make me grow as a person no matter how annoying/frustrated it might make me at the beginning. Yet sometimes, these are things that others crave for and wish for themselves. So I guess, instead of facing each day thinking, "oh man so much work to do", I should be telling myself, "ok, there are so many people to help today. Leshhhgo!" There have been many times when I've thought that maybe this isn't the right career for me, but after watching things like this and being reminded of how a little help/volunteerism can go such a long way to making a positive change in someone's life, I just end up thinking that no matter what, I would've eventually wanted to go into a profession which involves helping others in a direct way. If not, I'd probably get quarter-life crisis hitting a lot harder if I were in some other more financially driven line. That said... time to think about volunteering eventually. ;) 

Wow, that was quite a long post. But I couldn't help share those thoughts. I'm often filled with gratitude by things like these (who would've thought a video would have triggered all these musings eh?) and yet at the same time...I'm grateful for these daily reminders.

Anything that you've been inspired by? I'd love to hear about it. :)

In the meantime, have a great rest of the week! Saturday's coming in ... 3 days time.

xoxo

Home-Cooked: Wolfberry-Logan Tea

So. Incredibly. Thankful. For this long weekend. X)) 

And by long weekend, I mean finally being able to get a day off on the Hari Raya Haji holiday on Monday. It's the first time in agessss since I've been able to get a day off from work on a public holiday. I think the last few public holidays I've just always been on call or post call so I've always envied people who observe regular working days and get their public holidays off by default. Well, the stars have aligned and tomorrow, I'll be able to completely ignore my phone/alarm and savour those incredible moments in that place somewhere between sleep and waking, comforted by the thought that I'll be able to snuggle in deeper beneath the comforters until I'm fully rested. < br/> It's been so long (as always, I know ><) since I've last updated. Somehow it seems that when life gets busy, there are just too many things to think about doing and taking the time out to blog feels like a luxury that I can enjoy when I'm completely at ease and feel like I have the time to carve out and savour. So I'm making use of the opportunity now. 

I've been reading and listening to talks about mindfulness and its benefits towards health and one thing that's stuck with me, is how so many simple things in one's life can add up to make it richer, fuller, healthier. One of the most basic things would have to be food. If we pay attention to what we put inside ourselves, we can ensure that we're nourishing ourselves with the foods that will make us healthier and happier. Because being healthy is the foundation for living the best life we can live. :) I truly believe that. 

One of the drinks I've recently learned to make is Wolfberry-logan tea. I used to order this at Cedele when after awhile I realized that all the ingredients are things that I've seen in supermarkets so, in the spirit of Ahpo (my adorable grandma who always believes that anything in the restaurant can be made at home. Which is true most of the time in her case because she's a domestic goddess), I figured I should try to brew it myself and take that bit of wellness back home to be enjoyed. And boy, was it easier than I thought! 



The key ingredients in this drink are - dried red logans, wolfberries (or goji berries), white lotus seeds, and dried logans. They're often used in all sorts of chinese dishes and desserts and are each supposed to have tons of health benefits (if you believe in Traditional Chinese Medicine and how foods all have 'hot'/'cold' properties to balance out your yin and yang. I would love to learn more about it just to understand it as a part of culture but I can't say that I completely espouse it since I would need to have some hard core scientific evidence to back it up eh? But I do believe that even if something can't be explained by western science...doesn't mean it ain't true. :) To each his own and...everything in moderation. 

A little more information about the ingredients:

1. Wolfberries/Goji Berries 

These are incredibly nutritionally dense. Not only are they loaded with vitamin C, they contain iron, calcium, zinc and other trace minerals as well as beta-carotene which promotes healthy skin. Plus, they're rich in anti-oxidants, help boost the immune system and improve your eyesight as well. That bit about the eyesight seems to be something that's popular in the TCM world because it's something I've heard about from my grandma since I was a young girl (wondering what those funny little red seed-like things were in those soups she'd make for me). 

Fun fact - Goji berries can be eaten in their dried form by adding them to trail mix, oatmeal or muesli mixes and can be mixed into your smoothies too. Mmm I'm thinking banana/blueberry and goji berries smoothie. (The colour might turn out funky though because of the orange shade of the berries. But it's worth a try ;)) 

2. Red Dates 

These seem to be a real powerhouse in the TCM world. Apparently it aids in the digestion and absorption of food plus helps with insomnia and menstrual cramps.

Other ways of cooking red dates - in porridges (red date and lotus seed porridge actually sounds really decent) 

3. Logans 

Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Improves skin tone! 

4. White lotus seeds 

Good source of protein, Magnesium, potassium. Traditionally thought to have calming properties which can help with insomnia or restlessness. 





So here goes. 

Ingredients: 
(From left to right in a clockwise manner on the plate)
10 White Lotus Seeds 
30 Seedless dried red dates 
15 Dried longans (in the centre of the plate there)
10 - 15 Wolfberries 

You'll soon realize that actually, the beauty of this drink is that every is up to you to decide. The quantities of the individual ingredients can be varied according to your preference. The best part is, you don't even need to add in any additional sugar because the dried logans already have their natural sweetness. So if you like it more sweet, just throw in a few more of them! Or if you want, add honey instead of refined sugar for a natural sweetener. 




Method:
1. Bring about 1 litre of water to a boil. 
2. Cut the red dates in half to allow for the nutrients to seep into the water a little easier. 
3. Toss in all the ingredients. 
4. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat. 
5. It's ready when the taste is to your liking. :)

And if you let it simmer longer, the flavors become more concentrated so you end up with a smaller amount of liquid at the end (mine served about 2 small cups) but you can always re-use the ingredients a second or third time until the flavors finally get boiled out. 



Hope you enjoy this drink! Trust me, it's super easy to make and you'll immediately feel a sense of calm wash over you. Drink it anytime of the day but I think it's best taken in the evening with that glorious dusky sunlight. 

Ok, time to rest my eyes now. ZZZ. Have a great weekend. 

xoxo