Comfort Food Search: Din Tai Fung

One of the best findings for me so far in Japan is the discovery of a Din Tai Fung in a department store at Hakata Station. Good Chinese food is rare in this country, so I'm glad that my favorite siao long bao is only 20mins bus ride away...!

Din Tai Fung at the Hankyu Department Store in Hakata.

Siao long bao and dan dan mien lunch set for 1490円. The set came with 4 siao long baos; unfortunately one was consumed before this picture was taken. I guess it's still pretty expensive.. ^^"

I am quite happy that the siao long bao is quite close to the ones I had in Taipei and in Hong Kong Din Tai Fung. However, I'm kind of disappointed that they can't be bothered with putting the right type of noodles in their dan dan mien! I mean, the soup base was pretty good, if they used 陽春麵 for the noodles, then it would be perfect... it will taste just like the real stuff!! Now, it just tastes like Japanese style Chinese noodles... (-_-")

Dan dan mien, but not with the correct noodles. (T_T)

I also thought that they would have a menu for dinner, but it looked like the only thing they serve are siao long bao, steamed buns, noodles, and spring rolls... I was hoping to get my Chinese food fix there... I guess I have to resort to my own cooking (however good or bad that might be). ^_^"

Oh well, I am just happy that I FOUND REAL SIAO LONG BAO in Fukuoka...!! Maybe I won't need to come home afterall... (at least not yet)!! YAY SUPER HAPPY!!! o(^v^)o

OMG Hot Pot Revelation!!

Everyone who knows me knows that I am absolutely fond of hot pot. I know a few friends who love hot pot just as much as I do, but I don't really know if I know anyone who likes hot pot MORE than I (we) do. So, it has caught me by surprised that after 20+ years I have not discovered this until now. This is EPIC! I present to you: zousui 雑炊!!

Ingredients:

- Left over hot pot broth

- Rice enough for everyone

- 1 egg (per 2-3 people)

- green onions

Here is how you make it:

Leave enough hot pot broth in the pot to cover the amount of rice you have. Add rice. Bring to a boil.

Beat eggs. Pour it on top of the rice evenly. Stirring not necessary (just let it cook at the top).

Just before the egg is fully cooked, add green onions.

And then it's totally ready to serve! I know that usually at all-you-can-eat hot pots, we usually stuff our faces with beef, pork, chikuwa, and all the other good stuff. But, you've got to save some room for 雑炊! I think with Cantonese-style hot pots, this method is good for clear soup bases (chicken or something); it might be too salty for satay. None-of-the-less, it is definitely worth a try!

And that marks my official 2 months in Fukuoka. Nom nom nom... しゃぶしゃぶ が大好きです!! ^_^

離家出走兩個月

在福岡的時間過得很快... 真想不到我離開溫哥華快兩個月了! 我真的很喜歡這裡生活 - 我喜愛我的工作, 也愛我的自由。我最開心的是好像所有的東西都有一個新的開始... 在溫哥華的我是怎樣都不重要, 我可以將所有東西 reset 了﹐ 再試一次。沒有人因為我以往的不對而討厭我。是的, 其實我是一個很沒有自信的人。很多身邊的人覺得我很堅強, 很硬朗, 不理會別人的批評。其實內心的我比任何人脆弱... 我的外殼只是為了不讓人看小而已... 我不理會別人的批評, 是因為我不想理會自己對自己的 批評。 我真的是一個很自私的人。 我知道我不多不小都因我的自私而傷害了身邊的朋友... 所以我也覺得自己很討厭, 是一個不稱身的朋友...我又怎會有勇氣去接受別人對我的評價呢?

所以﹐ 爸爸媽媽﹐ 對不起。 容許我再任性一次﹐ 我離家出走了。雖然我不一夜之間不見了﹐ 但我也是一走了之。在這裡我真的覺得整個人輕鬆了,每天都可以努力做一個新的我! 其實我都很想念溫哥話的人; 也許當我玩夠了, 長大了以後 , 我會有勇氣回來面對以前的我吧...!!

温泉の旅 I - 別府 Onsen Tour Part 1 - Beppu!

Damnit, I'm terrible at this blogging thing...!

So a couple of weeks ago, my friend and I headed off to Beppu for the weekend. Beppu is located in Oita Prefecture, on the northwest side of Kyushuu. A town filled with pachinko machines and an extensive sex industry, this place also happens to be the one of the largest hotspring by volume in the world, 2nd only to Yellowstone National Park. With this in mind, I am off to a wonderfully relaxing weekend (in the onsens, of course!!)

JR Beppu Station, with the founder of Beppu

This city is pretty much gushing hot water from everywhere. There are pipes in the ground specifically used to re-direct the hot water elsewhere. As my friend MP puts it, the city is going to boil itself over one day...! So, when you come here, don't forget to bring a hand towel. You will need it when you see all the hand onsen around the city ^_^

Hand bath outside JR Beppu Station

One of the most famous tourist attractions in Beppu are the Jigoku Hostprings 地獄温泉. Literally translated in English as the Hells Hotsprings, these hotsprings include a steaming mountain, boiling mud ponds, and hotspring ponds that are of different colours. My favorite one is the red 血の池地獄 (Blood's Pond Hell), where the bottom of the pond turned bright red from the iron oxidizing and settling. There is also a foot hotspring for you to dip your feet if you get tired. The other hotsprings with the boiling mud at 鬼石坊主地獄 (Shaven Monk's Head Hell) and the steaming mountains of 山地獄 (Mountain Hell) are also quite impressive.

山地獄 Yama-Jigoku

血の池地獄 Chinoike-Jigoku. It got dark as the sun was setting on the other side of the mountain.

After a day of serious walking, it was totally time to head back to the ryokan. We had a Japanese-style tatami room for 4000yen per person. Included was free access to the private onsen in the ryokan; we just had to book the room in the lobby! Of course, I took advantage of that and booked in some private time for like 2 hours.... afterall, that's what I came to Beppu for..!!!

Private onsen, tehehehehee... ^_^

And that, my friends, was pretty much how I spent my first long weekend in Japan. ^_^ I'm looking forward to more onsen adventures in the near future, and of course, I'll try to remember to post more! A shout out to all my friends in Vancouver... I miss you all lots!!

Ta ta for now ^__~

Happpy One Month, Fukuoka!

I've been here officially for 1 month!! Time really does go by fast...!! I'm really liking it here... work is actually going pretty well ^_^ My co-workers have been very nice, helping me with work and with everyday things outside of work. As well, I feel like I'm getting a hang of this job already... so no complaints there~~

In general, I really like my students. I feel like I am able to motivate them to learn, in which motivates me to try harder to give a good lesson. However, I just can't seem to figure out how to teach those 11 to 12-year-olds... They are very bright kids, that don't seem to be challenged enough in class. As a result the participation in class is terrible...! It seems like I am dreading these classes, but I do want to help them improve. For the sake of my sanity, and the sanity of my students, if anyone has any ideas about how to improve classroom moral and would like to pass it along, I will be so grateful ^^".

Now that work is settling nicely, I want start picking up my Japanese again!! I haven't studied my Japanese at all since I've gotten here, so there has been little or no improvement LOL. I'm still debating whether I should take Japanese lessons - maybe I'll review my textbook first and see how it goes hahaha. Also, I'm going to start going sightseeing around Kyushuu soon! I've got a trip planned to Beppu next weekend, I'm super excited!!! Stay tuned for photos ^_^

Sorry for the short blog post today, for some reason I'm super tired... going to peace out to bed... お休みなさい!

Settling into my new home

First post in February!!

Wow... it's been over 2 weeks since I last blogged... I must apologize - ever since I moved to my new home I have been deprived of internet access...!! Now that I finally got tethering figured out on my new phone, I am connected again!! ^_^

The past 2 weeks were kind of crazy. I finished my initial training, and moved into my apartment! It might kind of surprise some of you, but actually I'm kind of OCD when it comes to cleaning things and putting things away. I only tend to give up when it gets overly messy and I can't deal with it... in which case I just leave it and ignore it =.=". Anyways, I spend 1 whole weekend scrubbing my apartment, going to the local 100yen shop to buy storage compartments, obtaining kitchenware and things I need around the house... I was FINALLY ready to unpack my suitcase and move in!! That was such a happy happy day!!! And now.... ladies and gentlemen.... I present to you.... pictures of my tiny apartment!!

My kitchenette! You can't see it, but it's complete with a happy face sponge ^.^

My bathroom! The toilet is in a separate room, lol. It's also across the hall from my kitchenette. ^^"

My living space. I sleep on the futon next to my couch ^_^. Yes, the futon is on hardwood floor...

The view from my living room to the doorway. Bathroom on the left, kitchenette and laundry closet on the right.

I really enjoyed cleaning and organizing my apartment! Even though my there isn't a lot of space, it's a lot of fun thinking of innovative ways to store things. A hook here, and a rack there, an viola! Everything in the right place. I think I've been guilty of abusing my living space in Vancouver... my room is probably bigger than my current apartment, filled with crap I don't need. I also didn't use my space very efficiently. I can't believe I used to tell my parents that there is "no room" to store all my stuff. Argh... I feel so ashamed... lol. I'm proud to say that I'm keeping my apartment in good shape everyday, since if I don't there's literally no space to walk around lol.

The area around my apartment is awesome. I live 5mins walking distance from work and the train station (the two are next to each other). Inside the train station there is a small shopping arcade for clothes and such, as well as a supermarket and plenty of places to eat. Next to my apartment building there's a 24hr supermarket, where I've been wasting tonnes of money (I use the fact that I just moved in as an excuse, and buy things like soy sauce, cooking oil, sugar, salt.... it apparently all adds up!!!), and I am within walking distance to things like banks, post offices, gym, pool etc. I'm so happy that the location is so convenient!

I hereby officially declare that I've settled into my new home! Yay!!! ^_^

今日は太宰府にいってしました！(I went to Dazaifu today!)

After one week of hectic training, finally it's my day off!! My friend and I went to Dazaifu (太宰府) today to check out the local shrine scene. It took about ~20mins or so on the express train from Tenjin, so it was not bad for a Sunday afternoon stroll... ^_^

The street on the way to the Tenmangu Shrine

The place was filled with people getting their blessings for the new year... I'll let my pictures do the talking..!

Tenmango Shrine

Washing my hands before entering the shrine

Priest blessing over people

My fortunes this year..! I'm assuming “吉” is a good sign...! ^_^

People getting their cars blessed

Local specialty at Dazaifu: umegaimochi! (Toasted rice cake with plum and red bean filling) nom nom nom...

I'm going to be at my hotel for a couple more days, then I move into my apartment on Wednesday. I was talking to my friend (who is training with me right now), and we agree that it still seems like this is temporary because we are staying in a hotel and not actually working at our own schools yet. This is all going to change this week, so hopefully I will adjust well... Looking forward to (finally) settling in Japan...! I'm super excited!!!

Chat with you all soon =)