Soul Food in Seoul (Arrival) : Korean chicken Soup for the weary soul!

I decided to start this even though I have not finished my Japan entry. This time I had the foresight to bring my MacBook Air.

After so much difficulty in scheduling the trip, Paul and I finally found ourselves at the Cebu Pacific Area at NAIA 3.Apparently this was the maiden flight of their new Airbus 330 Manila-Incheon and they were handing some freebies. Initially we thought it was to make up for the one hour delay of the flight.

with our cebu pac freebie shades. akala namin pang 3-D.

Four hours later we found ourselves at Gate 13 of Incheon Airport looking for car number 2717. The travel agency told us to look for the car. Eh wala......grrrr.... we were tired and hungry by this time and after several texts and calls to their local counterpart we finally made our way to Hotel Manu after an hour.
On the way to the hotel , we passed by the red light district in Seoul on the way to Boolim Hotel where other 8 pinoys were booked by the travel agent. The scantily clad girls were displaying themselves in see through glass walled stalls that looked like an aquarium.




Our hotel is located in Myeong-dong. The rooms are small but clean. It seems to be a fairly new hotel.

What fascinated us was the push button console at the bathroom. Talk about high tech bottom washing! My only gripe is that there is no complimentary toothbrush.

No english translation available

It was past 1pm and we have not eaten dinner! We asked the guys at the lobby where can we eat and they told us that most places are closed. He pointed us to the 7-11 two blocks away but we decided to take our chances at the small alley at the side of the hotel going to Namdaemun street. We struck gold here. We saw traditional korean restaurants with the typical stove in the middle of the table. We decided on the one with the western style chairs. Somehow we were not to keen to  sit on the floor.

cook it yourself chicken noodle oup

Chicken Soup for the Seoul

We found ourselves in a resto frequented mostly by locals. Language was definitely an issue as the lone waitress could not even speak an iota of english. There were no menu with english translation nor menu with pictures! As it was a mildly cold and post rain weather, we craved for some soup and we saw a wall picture of what seemed to be chicken noodle. Ok, she seemed to understand the word noodle! Finally we were making headway. Next determining how much to order. We looked around and there were other three occupied tables and we saw big pots on their table top stoves. This made us realize that one order would be good enough for two.

kimchi appetizers

In less than 5 minutes, a battered aluminum pot with leeks, chilies, chicken, chicken broth was placed on the tabletop stove in front of us. There were potato slices to thicken the broth as well as thick finger like stuff which was like gnocchi. The fresh noodles were placed on a separate plate to be placed in the broth when it boils. The ever present kimchi was there as pica-pica while we wait for our food to cook. In less than ten minutes it was ready. I forget to fish out the chilies and the broth was spicy. But whats interesting is that as we eat the spicy dish it became less spicy to us and it started to taste really great! More so when the potato started to thicken the broth. The broth and noodles filled our happy stomachs and our taste buds were satisfied with our first authentic Korean dish in Seoul. The chicken bits tasted like our local free range chicken and I guess that was the secret of the great tasting broth. The big pot of chicken noodle costed 6,000 Won (php 240). Great price for a great meal!

Korean ice cream

Walking back we passed by a small convenience store. We browsed and saw some ice cream. Paul chose the melon popsicle while I chose a chocolate covered green tea treat. Both cold treats for 2,400 Won (php94)

We went back to the hotel tired but happy. Looking forward to what hopefully is a great day of sight seeing and eating!

Eating my way through Japan on a budget! (Day 2)

For Day 2, we started the day riding the JR train to Kyoto. Travel time was approx 30 mins and we found ourselves in Kyoto JR station. The Ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) we booked in was a 5-minute walk away. We passed by a McDonald's store. Compared to what we have back home, this store is small and has no customers. You will see more people in noodle stalls at the train station! Since yours truly was in need of a serious caffeine fix, we hopped in and ordered. I got the usual Sausage Mcmuffin and coffee. Then I saw Bacon and Potato pie. Hmmm....wala nyan sa atin! It was the regular Mcdo pie crust with mashed potato with bacon bits inside. I wish they offer this back home. This will be a hit for us Bacon lovers!  Approximate breakfast cost: JPY 500 (php 225).
 

After checking in at Ryokan Kyoraku, we headed of for our first stop: Kiyomizu-dera. Being newbies, we got off at the wrong stop and went down in front of Myo-hin Temple.

ano daw?

We took a quick peek, took some pictures and foolishly decided to walk to Kyomizu-dera. We did not know that going to the temple would involve more than a kilometer of walking uphill!


















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Finally, we have reached the temple. The place was packed with people. It's a Buddhist temple built in 798AD but has undergone lot of reconstructions and restorations.  Judging by the throngs of people it is indeed one of the most visited sights in Kyoto.

On the way down we decided on some snacks to sustain us in our sight seeing. We passed by a place that sells green tea drinks and green tea cream puffs. Talk about green tea overload! The drink was JPY 150 and the cream puff JPY 300. Quite expensive by peso standards.

Out of curiosity, I tried on pickled cucumber (JPY 100). Unlike our pickles, this one was just immersed in brine, with no sour taste. No bad, but you won't exactly find me craving for this!

window kitty cat display

expensive chestnuts

Next stop was the nearby temple and pagoda. There were some chestnuts on sale for snacking. It was a bit expensive and we were still full from the green tea snack and skipped it.

 

We were hoping to see some geishas as it was already afternoon and we were near the Gion district. We were not disappointed  as we saw two geishas praying in a nearby shrine. We took pictures discreetly and never asked them to pose. In fact it is reputed that some of these geishas even have body guards to prevent people from taking their pictures!

entrance to Ninomaru Palace

After this we proceeded to the next itinerary: Nijo castle. Initially built in 1601 and completed in 1626, it is just like most of the castle in Japan, under went reconstructions as fire , typhoons and wars have typically caused destruction to parts of the castle. It was home to Tokugawa Shoguns as it is the place of the imperial court. It is surrounded by a moat and beautiful gardens. Ninomaru Palace is at the center of this massive area.

Ninomaru gardens

Ninomaru Palace

Honmaru Palace inside Nijo-jo (castle)

  









 Honamaru Palace was constructed at the late Edo era and was the enthronement banquet place of Emperor Hirohito in 1928.

ringer hut sign in Japanese

Its the end of the day and our poor tired and aching feet demanded some rest and our stomach called for dinner. We have skipped lunch . That green tea snack made us really full!. We passed by this place  along the route of bus 205 called Ringer hut. Again, we resorted to pointing at pictures in the menu and crossing our fingers we have ordered well.

 We ordered this noodle dish not knowing what it was. It was a delightful surprise to find out it was cold soba noodles. It was pretty funny at first easting a cold savory dish but the taste kind of grows on you.

 The usual tasty Ramen.

 Yummy gyoza. We ordered two of this.

The only reason why I knew the place is called Ringer Hut : a wall mural. Total cost of the food for three people appox JPY 2500 (php 1100).










So after this meal we decided to do some shopping and called a day. We needed our rest for another hectic japan day!

Eating my way through Japan on a budget! (Arrival and Day1)

Tired but relieved to get our visas at the last minute

I have always wanted to see the land of the rising sun. The discipline and culture of this country has always fascinated me. The start of the trip was so stressful. The flight is at 3:20pm and still our passports and visa was still not with me that day. Lesson: There are only 4 accredited travel agencies that can submit visa application! We made the mistake of giving our visa application to Ark Travel who gave it to Reli tours (one of the accredited agencies)It was released at 12nn and the moment i got it, there was a mad dash to the airport. It made me feel like a contestant in the amazing race contest.




Fast forward to a two hour flight delay ( thanks to Cebu Pacific) we arrived at Kansai at 10 pm.

At train ride to Osaka (approx 1 hr)

Made it to the JR rail office to have our jr rail pass activated and it was midnight when we checked in Hotel Taiyo- a budget hotel in Shin-immamiya. After bringing our bags up, we headed to a nearby family mart for a very late dinner.

Bento Boxes at Family mart

Its my first time to see bento boxes delightfully presented, a full dinner in a convenience store. It was difficult making a decision and I went for rice with something breaded. I also got peach flavored kirin to wash it down. Price: 395 yen for the bento and 201 yen for the beer. The breaded fish and breaded mashed potato was tasty and the rice was simply terrific. I wish there are equally tasty bento boxes like this available back home in convenience stores. The peach flavored beer came in a big 500ml can that was a bit difficult to finish off after the meal. It was light and refreshing!

First dinner in Osaka: Tonkatsu and breaded mashed potato and peach flavored beer

Day 1 of Osaka sight seeing

Point and serve?

Promptly at 8am we set off for the Osaka station where we are supposed to take the JR rapid service to Himeji. It was later that we found that there is a bullet train (Shinkansen) going from Osaka and Himeji. At the train station, we passed by this ramen stall. Our stomachs called for breakfast and we got udon noodles with egg. The broth was tasty and when you add the ever present pepper and sesame seed condiment, it tasted really good. Breakfast of champions! The bowl each of us ordered costed JPY 320 ( approx 144 php).

inside the Noodle resto at JR train station Osaka

Noodles for breakfast JPY 320

At Himeji JR station

 Himeji castle is of course located in himeji and is one of the largest and most visited castles in Japan. Most of the existing structures however are reconstructions and such renovations were on going when we made the trip. Upon reaching the JR station we headed for the Himeji castle loop. This bus ride is not part of the JR rail pass. And in less than 10 minutes we were at the gates of Himeji Castle.

Open the gates!

Himeji castle (under renovation)

Original sachi (roof ornaments)

Samurai outfits

roof designs with different family crests

We decided not to take the Bus back to the station and walked even though it was raining. We passed by a covered shopping center with delightful wall and floor art. It was one of those moments that getting lost was a blessing.

 

That afternoon, we took a quick peek at a temple Sumiyoshi Taisha which is a bus ride from our Osaka hostel. Its an active shinto shrine and there were a few people praying at the gates when we arrived.


Dinner called to our grumbling stomachs and we headed to Shinsaibashi which is the longest covered shopping street in Osaka. We decided on Sushi...well, why not?  There was a conveyor belt sushi place that we do not know the name. There was no english translation of the place's name. It is located right smack in the middle of the shopping area. The food as expected is good. It took a while before we figured out that the green container is a powdered green tea dispenser!.We noticed people in Japan rarely drink sodas with their meals. Each of us spent approximately JYP 1000.

ano ito?

ay, green tea dispenser pala...just add hot water

Sushi!

We got frustrated as shops close by 9 pm and we were not able to do some shopping. O, well, we headed tired but with full stomachs and turned in early to start another hectic day in Japan!