Ky Y Japanese Restaurant

After a boring 2 weeks' stay at home recuperating from my flu, M decided to cheer me up by yesterday having lunch at one of my favourite Japanese restaurants, Ky Y.

Located along the food street of Trieu Viet Vuong, Ky Y is an unassuming restaurant with neither fantastic nor impressive interior decor. Instead, it focuses on creating a warm atmosphere and providing affordable good food for its customers.

How does it appeal to you?

The restaurant was quite crowded when we arrived and we were shown to the third floor, where we got a room big enough to accommodate 6 people. The room was slightly warm but I guess it was good for me since I was still having a slight cold.

Our room with nice little decoration pieces

M quickly decided on a soba tempura set as he said it had been a while since he ate buckwheat noodles. After much pondering, I finally settled on my somen sushi set. My lunch set arrived pretty soon with the food items nicely displayed in a bento style.

My somen sushi set.. appetizing..

Unfortunately, M's set turned out to be udon instead of soba. The waitress was apologetic but she said M had pointed to the udon instead of soba set (which I thought was quite unlikely because M doesn't like udon). Well, there was nothing much we could do about it so M told her he would take the udon. Luckily, it wasn't too bad.

M's udon tempura set

After we finished our main course, we had the dessert i.e. coconut raisin ice cream, compliments from the restaurant. I am a coconut fan so I enjoyed it quite a bit! But M took half of my ice cream because he said I was still recovering and shouldn't eat too much. Well.. I guess that's true.

Except for the error made on our soba, I think we had a pretty satisfying lunch today.

Ky Y Japanese Restaurant
166 Trieu Viet Vuong
Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem District
Hanoi
Open daily except Sundays for lunch and dinner

Real Life Ratatouille

Last Sunday, M and I watched the DVD "Ratatouille" since it was one of our "nuah-at-home" days. It was quite a funny show, about a mouse called Remy that wanted to be a chef. At first, Remy did it through a cute "partnership" with a chef wannabe called Linguini. But Linguini eventually gave Remy the recognition that it deserved, affirming the notion that "Anyone can Cook".

That very night, I had a strange dream that there was a rat in my house. It wasn't hilarious because I was chased around by the rat and screamed like mad. I woke up in the middle of the night in cold sweat! Here comes the best part... When I went down to my kitchen yesterday morning, it was in a mess! My dried herbs packets were gnawed open and the herbs spilled around the floor, coupled with a few tea boxes! I immediately suspected the presence of a rat and asked my maid to call for pest control service.

The guy came in the late afternoon and finished the "surveillance" in less than one minute. Basically, he took a scanty glance around the living room and knocked around the cupboards and refrigerator. Then he shook his head vigorously to signal to me that there was no sign of a rat (of course I can see that!) and there was nothing he could do. As a form of reassurance, he told my maid that I could come down at night to try to find the rat and if I did, to call his office number and alert him. I nearly fainted! Firstly, as a client, I must be mad to try to "search" for the rat! Did he think I work in a pest control company too?? Secondly, his office closes at 5pm daily. So how was I suppose to reach him???

Anyway, I was spooked the whole of yesterday and frustrated at the non-service delivery. But there was nothing much I could do! This morning, I gingerly went down to my kitchen and was relieved to find that there was no sign of a rat invasion. But before I could say "Thank Goodness", I just heard a piece of bad news from my helper, H. She spotted tiny footsteps in our bathtub on the third floor, which meant that the rat was still around! I immediately asked her to call the pest control company to insist on a rat trap. I just cannot live with the idea of having a rat as my "room mate" - or more appropriately, "roof mate"!

Now I am still waiting for the rat trap to come... Meanwhile, I have closed all my doors and windows. I know this sounds paranoid but I am VERY scared of rats! And the rats in Hanoi are quite BIG - I have seen them on the streets, so I know. EEEeeeekkkksss!

Did the rat really think that I can live with it like Remy and Linguini in Ratatouille and therefore, moved into my house prior to "seeking my consent"? FAT HOPE!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I woke up early today at 8am and felt lots better after a few days' of endless sleep + herbal tea + lozenges. After a wholesome meal of bread and oats, I had a sudden craving for cookies and recalled a fairly simple recipe found via the internet. So I decided to make my own oatmeal raisin cookies. :) I modified the recipe slightly because I didn't want my cookies to be too sweet nor oily.

My first batch of oatmeal raisins cookies turned out quite well. I liked the "coarse" texture though they were still slightly sweet for me. M commented that they were good which made me very pleased. I would reduce the amount of sugar added in my next attempt (i.e. 75 g) and perhaps use pear puree as a partial substitute for sugar.

My first tray of 6 cookies

A closer look...

The modified recipe that I used is as follows:

Ingredients
- 150 g plain flour
- 150g rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 90 g of raw sugar (which I would reduce to 75g in my next attempt)
- 50 g raisins
- 1 egg
- 50 ml of olive oil (Unsalted butter could be used too)
- 4 tbsp soya bean milk

Method
1. Preheat the oven t 200 degrees Celsius. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Sieve the flour and mix together with oats, baking powder, sugar and raisins in a mixing bowl.
3. Whisk the egg, milk and oil in another bowl.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and slowly add in the egg mixture. Mix well.
5. Place spoonfuls of the dough on a baking sheet and press lightly with a fork.
6. Bake for 15 mins or until the cookies turn brown.
7. Let the cookies cool for around 10 minutes and they are ready to serve!

Weather Changes

The weather in Hanoi has been changing drastically these few days. Just last week, we were experiencing winter-like temperature of around 13-18 degrees Celsius. But the sun is out and blazing this week. Temperatures are expected to rise to around 30 degrees over the weekend. I reluctantly kept my winter coat. Winter has come and gone.

The change in weather has resulted in many people falling sick, including myself. Have been sleeping a lot these days. So much that I feel 2/3 of my day is spent on sleep instead of 1/3 for a normal person. I have been downing all kinds of medicine in a frenzied attempt to get well. So far, they seemed to be working because I am feeling better today. I miss my morning workouts at the gym and afternoon gatherings with friends. L is leaving for Singapore today for a 5 days holiday so I won't get to see her till next week. *Sulks*

Yucks. I hate falling sick.

Welcome to Taipei (Part 2) - Chiang Kai Shek Memorial and Taipei 101

Our second day in Taipei began with a highly recommended lunch at the original 鼎泰丰 (the restaurant that left Singaporeans in a craze for 小笼包) in Taipei City. It's located 2-3 bus stops aways from the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, where L and I planned to visit after lunch. Mousie suggested that we have an early lunch, at around 10.30am, to avoid having to wait, and so we did.

When we arrived at 鼎泰丰 (a three-storeyed shop house), we were shown to our seats immediately. The menu in Taipei was pretty much the same as the one in Singapore, though we caught a few special dishes here and there. We ordered a serving of 小笼包, 卤豆腐, 海藻小菜 to share and I had a 蛋花汤 while L tried the 酸辣汤. I quite liked my egg soup though L's soup was not spicy at all! In fact, it should be more aptly named the "sour" soup as I tasted nothing but vinegar. The 小笼包 was quite "juicy" and delicious but my favourite was the braised beancurd (卤豆腐). It was very well done! The seaweed salad was alright though not fantastic.

Top left: Braised beancurd; Top right: The famous dumplings
Bottom left: Seaweed salad; Bottom right: The snaking queue formed outside

We noticed quite a number of Japanese tourists in the restaurant, in fact, more than the locals. Perhaps the fame of 鼎泰丰 is more attractive to foreigners. When we came out after a sumptuous meal, I was shocked to find a long queue formed outside the restaurant. It was so crowded that we could hardly move! Mousie really wasn't kidding...

On our way to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, we browsed through a few shops to satisfy our shopping craze. Because of our "shopping anxiety syndrome", we forgot to dry the mango ice (芒果冰) nearby which was apparently quite famous. Well, girls will always be girls...

As the name goes, the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall serves as a monument to the First President of Taiwan. The exhibits detailed the journey of his life: including his army days and life with his wife, Song Meiling. We took our time to browse through the artefacts before rushing out to catch the "changing guards" ceremony. Unfortunately for us, it had started raining and the ceremony was cancelled! What a disappointment!

The miniature version of CKS Memorial Hall...

And the real thing!

Snapshots of other pics taken around the memorial hall

Entrance of the CKS Memorial Hall train station

Inside the train station.. Along the walls..

Very impressive decor huh?

Our next destination was to 台北车站. You might be thinking now what was so interesting about a train station right? Actually, our objective was to shop at the numerous underground shopping malls at the vicinity of the train station! Alas.. things didn't go as we planned.. because what happened was that we ended up spending close to 4 hours at the underground malls instead, and emerged on the surface only in the late evening! By then, the rain was quite heavy due to the typhoon so Mousie's mother, who was afraid that we would be trapped in the rain, invited us home for dinner. Thus our Friday evening was fairly quiet.

The rain raged ferociously the following day, spoiling all our plans. We had to stay indoors at Mousie's house and ended up playing Wii as well as watched "The Day After Tomorrow". Was a little disappointed at having to stay indoors as we were on holiday! But well, there was nothing much we could do since Mother Nature was against us.

By evening, the rain had subsided slightly so Mousie, L and I decided to brave the intense drizzle to 台北101, where we would see the tallest building in Taipei. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant and it was there that I had my first taste of Mister Donut, a Japanese donut franchise. The donut was yummy! We shopped at a few shopping malls around 台北101 and of course, I made victory purchases again! It was really hard to resist the draw of fashion in Taipei.

On our way back home, Mousie suggested we make a day trip to the outskirts of Taipei City since the rain was still pouring. We tossed around a few possible destinations and eventually decided on one. So where did we head off next? Keep reading to find out! :)

Coming up.. A mystery drive in the outskirts of Taipei City

Ha Hoi Restaurant @ Ha Hoi

Tucked away in a small quiet corner is an exquisite Vietnamese restaurant that L and I went to try yesterday. When we arrived, the restaurant was pretty quiet and we got a corner seat on the first floor. The interior decor of the restaurant was nicely done, and even the plates and cutlery used were beautiful. I was fairly impressed.

A welcoming atmosphere

A snapshot of the interior decor

Since there were only two of us, we ordered 3 dishes: stir-fried chicken in lemongrass (which turned out to be deep fried), grilled eggplant and clam soup.

From left: Clam and vegetables soup
Top right: Fried chicken with lemon grass
Bottom right: Grilled eggplant - Yummy!

The eggplant was my favourite! Grilled till slightly soft, it was coated with a layer of stir fried garlic, chilli and herbs like basil leaves. It was a little bit oily though. The soup was clear broth of clam soup with vegetables. Tasted so-so to me. The chicken was a disappointment. I don't fancy fried stuff and the chicken meat was a tad too hard - perhaps due to over-frying. The fragrant taste of lemon grass didn't save the dish too.

Overall, I would rate the food as average but the ambience is nice. Perfect for friends who want to catch up over long conversations while enjoying local Vietnamese food. The service of the staff was excellent. Our waitress was friendly and even spoke to us in Mandarin when she realised that we could speak the language. Thumbs up for her effort!

Ha Hoi Restaurant
4 Ha Hoi, Hoan Kiem District
Open for lunch and dinner only

A Cup of Drip Hanoi Coffee at Cafe 48

I have always been a tea lover so coffee does not appeal to me as much as a cup of warm teh-c. Although M has constantly raved about the fragrance of Hanoi "drip" coffee, it never really crossed my mind to try until yesterday.

Well, my friend, H, is helping out in her friend's cafe so I thought I should show her some support by dropping by. L was nice to accompany me there and we both ordered the highly recommended coffee with milk ("ka-fe sua"). It's basically warm "drip" coffee with condensed milk. H shared that the coffee powder is from another province and not found within Hanoi, which makes it so special. The aroma was really very fragrant and the taste was not as overwhelming as I thought. In fact, the coffee left a sweet (not bitter) after taste in my tongue, much to my delight.

From left: H waiting for me at Cafe 48
Top right: Let's start brewing!
Bottom right: My first cup of coffee in Hanoi

A cup of coffee there costs VND 7,000 (or around SGD 0.70). Definitely value for $. The only drawback is the cafe is very small and Vietnamese men tend to smoke while enjoying coffee, so I was pretty choked by the "fumes" while being there. Other than that, it was a nice cozy little cafe serving fragrant coffee.

Cafe 48
48 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem District
Opening Hours: 7am to 4pm

Welcome to Taipei (Part 1) - 十分瀑布和九份

Yes, it's another travel blog again! This is long outstanding as I went to Taipei in August this year but well, better late than never. It was mainly a shopping cum relaxation tour and also to catch up with my old friend, Mousie. It would have been a fantastic trip, if not for the typhoon, as we had to cancel our trip to 阿里山and 太鲁阁. But all was made up by the wonderful snacks and shopping that I enjoyed thoroughly. :)

夜市初体验
L and I arrived in Taipei on a Wednesday evening and Mousie came to pick us up from the airport. It was great seeing her again and she actually claimed to have dressed up to meet me! Ha! Anyway, she looked as sweet as ever. It was a 40 mins' drive from the Chiang Kai Shek International Airport to 板桥, where Mousie suggested that we dine at 南雅夜市, one of the many famous night markets in Taipei. Being a foodie lover, I was naturally excited. We tried the 麻油鸡(chicken in sesame broth) which was one of the popular items in 南雅夜市. I found it too oily for my liking though.

南雅夜市的麻油鸡-很有名哦！

看起来很不错吧。

The next dish that we tried was 麻婆臭豆腐. It was a spicy hot pot with fried "smelly beancurd", pig's blood and assorted vegetables. This was more to my liking, unlike those really smelly ones in Hong Kong, and I ate quite a lot.

好吃的臭豆腐

We walked around the 夜市after dinner and I continued to indulge myself in various snacks like red bean mochi, honeyed sweet potatoes and sour plums. It seemed as though I had been starved for years! As we were a little tired after our flight, we decided to go back to Mousie's house early to rest before "cheonging" around Taipei the next day.

十分瀑布-惊险时刻
Actually I was really thankful to have gone on the trip with L because she practically planned everything! I was literally "travel-loafing". We wanted to go somewhere further the next day so 十分and 九份 were on our radar screens. From 永宁车站, we took a 4o mins' ride to 瑞芳, before changing another train to 十分 to see the biggest waterfall in Taipei. A little hitch occurred along the way as we misread the map shown at the train station and alighted one stop earlier, at the deserted 大华车站.

Since the next train was a 1.5 hours wait (believe it or not!), we decided to walk to 十分瀑布 to save time. It was a 30 mins trek along the railway and across a dark tunnel. I was worried as I walked and it didn't help that a small snake came crawling out halfway and scared me out of my wits! But we had to brave through the journey (as shown in the picture on the left). When we finally reached 十分瀑布, I decided it was well-worth the "danger" that we risked. Of course it was not comparable to a scale of the Niagara Falls but it had a unique charm of its own. We took the opportunity to sit there and chat, take a few pictures, before trotting our way back to the correct train station aka 十分车站 to complete the second part of our planned journey to 九份.

You should have seen how my eyes lit up when I saw this sign!

This is the prelude to the fall...

Now you see it!

The "aftermath" of the fall... Serenity...

Doesn't this waterfall look like a pair of spectacles? It's called 眼镜瀑布.

The famous hanging bridge or "吊桥"at 十分.

On our way back to 十分车站, we saw an interesting sight. There was a team building exercise going on and the employees wrote their wishes on 天灯 or "sky lanterns" before letting go of the lanterns into the sky. It is said that if your lantern is launched successfully, your wish will come true. We also walked through the old streets of 十分 where we saw a few old handicrafts stalls and a "mama" shop selling ice cream and sweets.

Top row: Launch of the sky lantern
Bottom row: Shop selling sky lantern, the old "mama" shop and handicraft stall

Top row: The pretty 十分车站
Bottom row: The platform where we waited for our train

九份老街-又吃又买
Due to the unexpected delay in trekking towards the waterfall, we reached 九份 in the late afternoon. For those who are not aware, 九份 is a famous tourist attraction in Taipei because it is an old town so you get the nostalgic feeling as you roam along the small streets and enjoy the busting atmosphere. It was one of the highlights of my trip, especially since the food there was really yummy. Well, the pictures tell it all!

It was late evening when we arrived at 九份, located on top of a hill...

Left: The scene where the movie "悲情城市" was taken
Middle: A teahouse where you can sit down and relax after a long walk
Right: Rows and rows of unique shophouses selling snacks and soveniors

Assorted fish cum meat ball soup (top right).
Braised beancurd. (bottom left)

芋头粉圆汤-超好吃！

It was quite late after we had our dessert and time to head back to Taipei City. We bought a lot of things at 九份, almost 2 bags each and had a hard time lugging everything back to Mousie's house. I took a picture of 瑞芳车站 before we boarded the train. Really enjoyed the trip here lots and would definitely recommend this place to anyone who's visiting Taipei. Trust me, you will have lots of fun and food here. :)

Coming up next... Visit to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

Romancing Italy 5 - Ravishing Rome (Finale)

Rome is the final destination of my Italy trip and I arrived with mixed feelings. On one hand, I was eager to explore the various ancient sites mentioned in the guide books. On the other, it signalled the end of my Europe vacation which made me wistful.

Day 1: A Long Walk

Colosseum and the Palatine
The weather in Rome was very sunny when we arrived. After checking in to our hotel, we walked to our first visit site: The Colosseum. Built in AD 80, this was where gladiators used to fight. The stadium was fairly run down, unlike the grand image pictured in movies. I later learnt that this was a result of numerous earthquakes and pilage by builders of stone and marble resources. A huge pity...

The exterior view of Colosseum

The grand stand...

The remains of the stage where gladiators used to fight.

On the western side of the Colosseum was the Arco di Costantino, built to honour Constantine following a victorious battle against Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.

The victorious arc

Just across the Colosseum was the Palatine. According to the guide book, this was where Romulus (the first ruler of Rome) killed his brother, Remus and founded Rome. We spent only a short time here as it did not appeal to us plus there were other exciting sites waiting for us!

The ruins at Palentine

The Pantheon
Our next destination was the Pantheon, a place of worship for various gods. This was an unique architecture that exuded man's intelligence in ancient times. Known as Rome's best preserved building, it has been standing around for close to 2000 years.

The exterior view of the Pantheon

The dome which was a perfect semisphere

One of the numerous paintings

A statue worshipped by followers

Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Steps)
I was told that the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain were sights not to be missed in Rome so naturally, both attractions were on our "to-visit-list" before night fell.

The piazza was named after the Spanish Embassy while the staircase, which led to a French church, was built with a legacy from the French. At the foot of the steps was the fountain of a sinking ship believed to be by Pietro Bernini. The Spanish Steps is now a gathering place for Italian teenagers.

The Steps and Church (under renovation)

The Sinking Ship

The Trevi Fountain
Known as Rome's most famous fountain, this place become popular due to a show "La Dolce Vita", which showed the female lead dancing around the fountain. Word had it that if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, you will return to Rome one day. If you toss a second coin, you will fall in love with an Italian and with the third coin, the marriage will be secured. So how many coins did I toss? Well, with my husband next to me, the answer was pretty obvious. :)

Coin toss 1, 2, 3!

By now, we were both rather tired and decided to call it a day by catching a quick dinner and heading back to our hotel for a rest. After all, there's more to see the next day at Vatican City.

Day 2: A Long Queue

On the second day, we woke up early and headed off to the Vatican City, the world's smallest country, to visit two great sights: The St. Peter's Basilica and The Sistine Chapel.

St. Peter's Basilica
The St. Peter's Basilica was built by Rome's Christian Emperior, Constantine. Subsequently, the basilica fell into disrepair and was rebuilt, through the efforts of various artists, including the famous Michelangelo.

Outside the basilica, all peace and quiet on an early morning (but this won't last long)

The spectacular interior of the basilica contained various works of art, with the most famous being the dome, which was Michelangelo's masterpiece.

The impressive dome

This is what I consider a grand sight...

Vatican Museums and The Sistine Chapel
Frankly, I have never seen so many fantastic art pieces at one place in my entire life. The Vatican Museums, with a huge collection of art pieces, left me giddy and lost. The giddiness could be partly attributed to the 2.5 hours we spent queuing under the sun (from 9.45am to 12.15pm) before we reached the entrance of the museum! I almost got heatstroke, if not for my sturdy little umbrella.

Entrance to the museum.. much anticipation

Sights along the way...

Leaves your neck in pain... as you keep staring at the ceiling

More "strains" to come...

There were just too many wonderful pictures that I couldn't put them all up on my blog. But I guess you would know what I mean by now. :)

The famous circular steps

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel so I can't show the magnificient fresco on my blog. But it was awesome! We spent close to half an hour in the chapel just staring at the fresco. Despite it being a drawing on the ceiling, it seemed to come "alive" in 3D and the figures were "falling" down towards us. Truly amazing.

We had a quick lunch near the Sistine Chapel before heading to Museo e Galleria Borghese, one of the finest art galleries in Rome. Unfortunately, we were unable to call to reserve tickets earlier (this is a MUST) and was turned away in disappointment. Nevertheless, there were plenty of other sights to see so we headed off to the Capitoline Hill where we visited a museum there, which was a slight disappointment after the Vatican Museums.

The entrance of the museum

The Forum
We also took some pictures of the Forum opposite the hill. The Roman Forum was a shopping mall cum civic centre during the ancient times. The original forum became too small (it was probably as popular as Takashimaya) and expansion sites were created. Sadly, all that remained today of the Forum were ruins.

The structure of the forum was still visible...

Probably the main entrance?

Counting down to Home
We decided to buy ourselves a good dinner since it was our last night and even treated ourselves to huge slices of delicious pizza at one of the roadside stores. It was really yummy except the portions were too huge! The girl over the counter looked absolutely flabbergasted when I requested for only a small piece of the mushroom pizza (as I had my dinner already). M greedily tried two different flavours and both were good!

Food for Thought

Our Italy tour ended very much on a high note before we headed on a 12 hour flight journey back home. I must say I enjoyed myself very much in Italy. Transport was efficient, both subway and trains, sights were grand and the people were friendly. However, the only drawback was the food. I have never been a fan of pizza and cheese so sadly, my meals were often piled with salads, soups and bread. After 8 days, I began to crave for my rice and steamed vegetables. I didn't enjoy the long queues at the museums too! It was terrible, having to waste 2-3 hours of our previous travel time just queuing. It would be quite a while before I ever return to Italy but if I do, I would want to visit the Tuscany next as I heard a lot about the stunning views. Till then!