founder of this website; Jamie is in her final year of university and is very passionate about Japan and Korea.

[HK: Central] Sushi Saito

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tempted by my foodie friend’s instagram, I finally got to try Sushi Saito last summer. Sushi Saito is a world renowned Sushi restaurant from Tokyo, where they used to have 3 Michelin stars. until they stopped accepting bookings, just like Jiro’s, and is now only bookable via special connections. Chef Takashi Saito has two overseas branches, one here in Hong Kong under the same name; Sushi Saito and another one in Kuala Lumpur called Taka. their style of sushi is Edo-mae, and according to my Japanese friend, each sushi master have their sort of “signature style,” where Saito’s most significant one is their al-dente sour rice.

the one in Hong Kong has 2 Michelin stars and although it can be booked without connections, it is still very, I mean very very difficult to book. my foodie friend knew the chef so you can say that I booked through connections, but even him, he books his spot several months in advance usually. because dinner is even more difficult to book (and I am cheap anyways), I booked for lunch. it costs 1680HKD for their sushi lunch and a hefty 3600HKD for their kaiseki dinner. of course, it’s all omakase, and one price. the time slots are fixed hence try not to arrive late. additionally, what makes it so expensive is probably also because the ingredients are handpicked by Chef Saito and flown in daily. freshness guaranteed. Continue reading “[HK: Central] Sushi Saito”

[Bangkok] PS: Overrated Restaurants

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Okay, so out of the long list of restaurant recommended by Mark Weins and some other blogs, I’ve filtered it down to a few that looks absolutely legit. but… to my disappointment, some was far from what I was expecting. like Thai food that’s even worse than what I can get in HK and Malaysia. maybe even Korea. well either the vlogger/blogger doesn’t have too high standards on food, or the restaurants dropped in quality. or perhaps it’s just me. I’ve written dedicated posts for those which I think is absolutely worth a try, but to save your time and to remind myself not to go there in the future, here’s 3 restaurants which I felt had absolutely wasted my belly space/the detour for.

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[Tokyo] Shibuya Sky

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if you follow me on instagram, you would’ve probably seen a similar picture like the one above with a lot of likes — not for me but for the view. and that’s Shibuya’s latest attraction: Shibuya SKY @ Shibuya Scramble Square; a new shopping mall in the heart of Shibuya.

I’ve never really understood why you should pay so much for a view; Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Skytree… etc. they all costs so much, yet you can go to some free buildings in Ebisu or Shinjuku. but this place, it’s so good that I’d pay to go there again if I were to stop by Tokyo. this was probably the most spectacular observatory deck I’ve ever been to, not to mention it’s also has a lot of picture spots which are so scenic, sofas for resting and even floor hammocks for you to chill at. shame that I forgot to take pictures of it but you just got to go there to experience it. 

Continue reading “[Tokyo] Shibuya Sky”

2020

I’m not sure how many of you do this, but I’ve always low key believed in feng shui. At the end of every year, I check how the following year is going to be like for me – to be exact, for a water monkey; because that’s what I am.

Before 2020 came, I thought 2019 was one of the worst years. Well one because feng shui said so, and for reasons that I cannot even remember anymore as I’m writing, I just remembered feeling like I had a very difficult time, and that 2020 is where my “bad luck” will turn, also because feng shui said that it will.

Trying to think back on what happened in 2019, I spent the first half of the year studying like I had no friends and no social life for a difficult financial exam, which I fortunately passed. The process was excruciating because I felt tired after work, and I still had to fit in 2-3 hours of study time. Not to mention I studied for 6-8 hours on weekends. On the exam day itself is where Hong Kong saw one of the largest protests in history, shutting down most transportation.

Continue reading “2020”

[Amsterdam] Day 1 in Europe

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I’ve never been out of Asia, and that’s the reason why I planned 2-3 months in advance for my… short less than 2 weeks trip. as my partner have lived in Amsterdam before, it actually does make things a little bit easier for me. 

I made it just in time for early fall, where the trees were all starting to turn yellow and red. and that was… mmm.

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[Bangkok: Silom] Som Tam Jay So

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I’ve heard so much about how amazing food in Bangkok is. no doubt as Thai food makes it to my top 3 favourite types of cuisine. but to be very honest with you, I was a teeny weeny bit disappointed. because really, not all food are good. even those that are popular. I was expecting a majority of the food to be good because I hadn’t had much bad Thai food before.

For this trip, I’ve done a weeks worth of research mainly with Thailand’s most popular food youtuber– Mark Wiens. I used to watch his videos back when I was in Sophomore year of university. his videos are creepily addictive, but after a while after I noticed that he enjoys all food and heard that he has really low standards on food, (finds everything delicious) I kind of stopped. but interesting enough, there aren’t much food blogs/vlogs around in English that reports as well as he does. so for my first ever trip to Bangkok, I decided to try out some of the restaurants he recommended highly of.

so here’s one of the ones that I loved. I’ll also of course tell you which are the restaurants that are completely over rated. at the next post! (depends on how much you really need it!) Continue reading “[Bangkok: Silom] Som Tam Jay So”

[Seoul: Dongdaemun] Spicy Chicken Feet

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oh glorious dakbal/chicken feet. I know I give off the vibe that I do not eat anything “disgusting.” truth is, i have an “ajae ibmat or 아재 입맛” (which stands for an older man like an ajosshi/uncle) tastebud. I love all food which appeal usually in particular to older men. example: sundae/blood sausage, gopchang/intestine, yukhoe/raw beef… and chicken feet of course. I never understood how some younger Koreans don’t like these food, because to me, they are the food which I REALLY crave for when I am away.

and a little funfact on dakbal: there are really two ways to eat chicken feet in Korea. one’s like this one, where they cook the chicken feet for you and put it on a grill or a steamed pot; another is the great soup dakbal which is usually in a thick spicy soup. I can’t really say which I like better as they both taste really good and as spicy.

Continue reading “[Seoul: Dongdaemun] Spicy Chicken Feet”

[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul

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although I now live in Hong Kong, I still keep up to the up and coming restaurants in Seoul. 뭐랄까.. it’s always been my hobby looking at amazing restaurants and I’ve always been very open to try new things. so this trip back, I made it clear that I want to make the most of it by visiting all these restaurants that I’ve been drooling on my computer for so long. truth it, it’s impossible to go to all.  but for a great after exam celebratory brunch with my best friend, this quaint little restaurant in Ikseon-dong was it! (and because it was really good, I am so excited to share my findings with you!) not to mention my current obsession with the Scandinavian style small plates obsession I currently have (for people in HK I recommend Okra! blog post for that soon..!!!)

I was intrigued by this new restaurant mainly because it is somehow opened by a restaurant owner whom owns another successful (and beautiful) restaurant around the corner and how the ingredients are so colourful and attractive in the pictures I saw online. also one of the chefs an adoptee whom’s not afraid of expressing his own version of modified Korean food which makes everything a whole lot more interesting.

NOTE: this place do not sell authentic Korean food, but instead a creative twist (the style here might come across odd for people whom are not as adventurous) on Korean ingredients therefore if you are looking for the traditional and local Korean experience, I recommend you to read my other food posts as I have a lot of them! 

Continue reading “[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul”

[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul

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while I was in Seoul last autumn, I finally got to go to this new hipster-ish area near Bukchon Hanok Village; Ikseon-dong. unlike Bukchon, this place isn’t situated on the hill but all the homes here, like Bukchon are the only few areas in Seoul where people actually still live in Hanoks. while I have an obsession with Hanoks, I also love Hanok cafes because they seem to be Hanoks at its best.

I guess I was always very fascinated with these Korean traditional buildings because they are sturdy although built without nails, look absolutely phenomenal, normally have a 마루 (Maru; a flat elevated deck) in their yard where people can chill at and great great heating systems; the 온돌 (Ondol).

Continue reading “[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul”