Tokyo May 2011 - Part II

Continued from here.

The next day, we woke up at 9+. We were supposed to go to Meiji Shrine at 2+ to attend the Shinto Wedding and thereafter the wedding reception. I decided to head out for some final shopping since we were taking the early flight home the next morning.

So I headed to Loft across the street which opens at 10am, shopped there for an hour before popping to Uniqlo for clothes, and finally Tokyu Food Show for some pastries and also packed lunch. Then rushed back to the hotel, took my lunch and dressed up for the wedding ceremony. Ladies typically wear a black day dress and accessorize with pearls or kimono whereas men in dark suit and white tie. After making ourselves presentable, we took the JR on the Yamanote Line to Harajuku which is the station nearest to Meiji Shrine.

Entrance of the Meiji Shrine. It has been a long time (probably 8 years) since we last visited. After a long walk on gravel and stones into the shrine, we finally reached the hall. Phew! It was tough walking in heels!

The couple were taking photos in the grounds. I must say the photographer and staff took a lot of effort to ensure that each and every photo was perfect, from adjusting the standing and sitting positions, the clothes and all. Truly professional!

After their photo-taking, we were ushered to the waiting room where we met N's relatives and friends. Not sure if it is a custom/tradition, N's father made introductions of everyone present, including us. The couple as well as guests were also given instructions by the staff of the shrine on what to expect and observe during the ceremony later. Soon it was time to enter the shrine, all of us lined up in a procession and walked towards the shrine, just like what we saw when we visited Japan shrines. This time round, we were the ones in the procession :) It felt surreal and also a little funny as we were the ones being filmed/photographed this time.

The ceremony was around 30 mins, done in a very sacred and solemn manner. We wished we knew more of the Japanese language to understand the meaning of the rituals.

After the ceremony, we were ushered back to the waiting room to wait for cabs which would take us to the wedding reception, held at adding: blue restaurant at Omotesando. This is an intimate French kitchen attached to the Blue Note jazz club next door.

Look at the extensive menu planned by the restaurant specially for this wedding reception! The restaurant took a lot of effort to source for the best and freshest ingredients from all over Japan. The Japanese really took pride in whatever they do.

The restaurant was cozy and elegant, with beautifully decorated florals and glasswares. Throughout the reception, the staff were very attentive and topped up our glasses whenever they were half full, and cleared dishes very promptly.

The reception started with R giving a speech in Japanese. The couple was very thoughtful and gave us a translated script in English so that we could understand. Followed by N's father, who also gave a speech in Japanese. Once again, translated script were given to us. Thereafter, the couple proposed a toast to start off the dinner.

First course - Raw Ham taste Blan-Manger prepare in it Cocktail with YUBARI-Melon Paste. This was a sweet beginning to the dinner. I loved the melon paste which was juicy and sweet and paired with the raw ham very well.

Second Course - Baked French Foie Gras and Apricot Terrine, Honey flavour of the Orange. This was the first time I ate baked foie gras, previously was always grilled. It was very rich and creamy but a tad too overwhelming after eating half a piece. Luckily the slight sourness and sweetness of the apricot and honey balanced the taste. I think I still prefer grilled foie gras.

Third course - Freshwater prawn rolled up with Kadaif served with saute of the Spinach, Balsamico and Lemon taste Vinegar sauce. Ohhh, I loved this dish. The Kadaif was very crispy and prawn very juicy and crunchy, excellent paired with the Spinach as well as the sauce.

Fourth course - Pan-fried Red Snapper with Gnocchi a style of Paris and Green Pea, Beaten White Wine sauce. I loved this fish too, the red snapper was very very fresh and tasted so sweet. The sauce was very special and complemented the gnocchi and fish very well.

Fifth course - Grilled Sirloin of the Japanese Beef served with Red Wine sauce, Stuffed Truffle taste small potato and Rape Blossoms. Although we were already very full, we just had to finish this beef! The beef was sooo juicy and tender!

Sixth course - Mango Pudding and Aloe Marinade with Almond Tile. The mango pudding was so light it almost melted in the mouth, paired well with the aloe vera.

Seventh and final course - The Wedding Cake! Of course we had to eat the wedding cake which was Berries and Vanilla flavoured. Fluffy and tender crumbs topped with chantilly cream and fresh berries. Such a sweet and perfect ending to the course.

Towards the end of the reception, R's father made a speech in English, and N's brother helped to translate into Japanese so that the relatives could understand. One of N's uncle who stayed in Hokkaido (he was ex-Mayor of a town) also made a speech and invited us to Hokkaido next time. In fact, throughout the reception, many of N's relatives came forward to chat with us, made us feel at home as we were the only foreign guests present. They were ever so gracious, despite speaking limited English and I limited Japanese. They kept thanking us for attending the wedding even though it was a trying period for Tokyo, and saying that they were very appreciative and grateful. N's parents even gave us a gift. We were truly very touched by their graciousness and hospitality! This was really one of the best and most cozy wedding reception I have ever attended.

Thereafter, we took a cab back to the hotel. Although we were still high from the reception, we decided to just pack our luggage and rest for the night as we were catching an early flight the next day.

The next day after checking out, we still had 30 mins before the airport limousine bus scheduled arrival. So we quickly went to a nearby ramen shop for breakfast.

It was still very early (6am local time, 7am Sin time), there weren't any others in the shop.

We ordered a set meal which came with a bowl of ramen, half portion fried rice and gyoza. It was nice to warm the tummy with a hot bowl of soupy ramen.

The fried rice was excellent! Not too oily, and very fragrant with the addition of spring onions.

The skin of the gyoza was pan-fried to a crisp and the innards of pork filling oozing with juice. Nice!

Well, with the sumptuous breakfast, we rushed back to the hotel to board the airport limousine bus, off to the airport and back to SG.

This was indeed one of my most memorable trip to Japan, due to the fact that it was after a 2-year hiatus and most significantly, attended a Shinto Wedding followed by a special and cozy reception.

I missed Japan already :(

Stay tuned for the final part, some sharing of my shopping!!!

Tokyo May 2011 - Part I

Even though we did not make it to Tokyo back in March due to the earthquake, we did eventually in May!!! Yippeee!!! Big thanks to hubby's colleague who graciously invited us to attend his wedding - a Shinto Wedding at Meiji Shrine followed by reception at a jazzy restaurant at Omotesando. We were really lucky. To us it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be able to witness a Shinto Wedding, not as a tourist or bystander but a guest!

As it was just a 4D3N short trip, we took the red-eye flight to maximise my shopping time, and reached Tokyo in the early hours of the morning. As we touched down and stepped foot onto Narita Airport, I whispered silently, "I'm back!". Haha, think I was crazy? The weather was a cool 22-24 degree celsius, nice! Even though it was already May. Over the next few days, the weather even dropped to 18-20 degree celsius =D We like!

There was literally no queue at the immigration counters, I guess most tourists chose to avoid the country due to the nuclear crisis and supposedly uncertainties due to more earthquakes, power outages, food shortages etc. In fact, an immigrations officer was quite surprised to hear that I was there on holiday when he asked me for purpose of visit. Anyway, lots of news reported were actually over-sensationalised. It is safe to go (except the tsunami hit areas) and I didn't notice much difference in Tokyo. In fact, the Japanese are ever more gracious, friendly and polite, to them they are grateful that tourists/visitors show support for them.

As usual, we took the Airport Limousine Bus into Tokyo; usually the journey would take about 80-90 mins but this time it took only an hour. I guess due to the lesser number of visitors as well as traffic. The bus dropped us directly at Shibuya Excel Tokyo which is right next to the Shibuya JR station and Shibuya Mark City. Even though it was slightly more pricey, we decided to stay there due to its excellent location and convenience.

It was about 10+am, too early to check into the room; the gracious front desk staff proceeded with the check-in procedures and told us that we could collect the room key from 1pm onwards and luggage would also be delivered directly to the room.

We decided to go for a super early lunch nearby, none other than 松屋 Matsuya Foods, the cheap cheap good good "fast food" chain. I remembered a long long time ago, our first meal in Tokyo was also Matsuya Foods :) It's a little like Yoshinoya in Singapore. My set was the beef rice bowl, with salad, egg and miso soup.

With our stomach filled, we were all ready to go. I set off to Jiyugaoka whereas hubby went fishing for his favourite fishing tackle shops.

Oh my, I was so happy to be back in Jiyugaoka after a 2-year hiatus! As usual, I went around to all my favourite zakka shops here and here and walked/shopped to my heart's content :p Not many changes in Jiyugaoka, probably addition of new shops and oh, Afternoon Tea shifted to a new building near to Hotch Potch. And boohoo, the Mont-Blanc pastry shop no longer sells my favourite financier!

A new shop, Apivita near the train station, selling beauty products like body wash, shampoo, facial and stuff. I bought some lipgloss and bath gel there.

I heard that this 自由が丘swiss roll house sells very nice swiss roll, so went searching for it. It was a little far from the train station and main district but sure is popular. Several people were queueing inside the shop which is really tiny, with only a cold display counter featuring different flavours of swiss roll and two small open displays of cookies. As the swiss roll is best eaten fresh, I was hoping that they have tables for dining in but nope. Regardless, I still bought the signature swiss roll and asked for an ice pack which could last for 2hr, enough time for me to return back to hotel.

Just outside the train station, there's a new Danish Bar that sells this yummy danish pastry. Smells heavenly!Couldn't resist one :p It was crispy on the outside and soft chewy sweet inside.

By late afternoon I was dead beat from the lack of sleep and all the walking and shopping so decided to bade farewell to my beloved Jiyugaoka and headed back to the hotel.

Hubby was already in the room and sleeping so soundly that I knocked at the door for several minutes before he finally heard me.

Anyway, here's our room at Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu. Very spacious for a Tokyo Hotel.

Comfortable king-size bed with 2-seater sofa at the side.

Work desk, dressing table and TV console.

Spacious wardrobe.

Ensuite bathroom with bathtub and separate shower.

I washed up a bit and then we proceeded to Tokyu Hands, one of my must-go store for more shopping. By the time we were done, it was late in the evening and we were famished. Decided on ramen for dinner and found this ramen shop which seemed quite good.

Like most eateries, we have to buy meal tickets from the vending machine before handing them over to the staff.

This was my char siew ramen with sides of seaweed and beansprouts. The broth was very light and fragrant and noodles very chewy. Yummy!

After dinner, we roamed around for a while before retiring to the hotel.

The next day, we were supposed to meet hubby's colleague R, his wife N and R's parents D & S for lunch at 12 noon. We woke up late since shops won't be open till 10-11ish. Around 10.30am, I decided to pop over to Shibuya Mark City to take a look while hubby lazed in the room. To my pleasant surprise, there are a few zakka shops within Shibuya Mark City too! Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to buy anything and had to go back to the room to freshen up before the lunch.

We met R, N, D and S at the Shibuya Station and then proceeded to Shinjuku for tempura. N who is a Japanese, recommended this traditional tempura shop.

Different flavoured salt for dipping - seaweed, ume, couldn't remember the other two.

This was mine, a typical set lunch with two prawns, three veg, miso soup, pickles and rice. The tempura was fried to a perfect crisp, oiishi!!!

We also tried tempura ice-cream, which was not bad.

After lunch, we separated our ways and hubby and I went to Isetan Shinjuku. I wanted to see the food hall there, apparently one of the best in Tokyo. Yes indeed I was overwhelmed by the variety of food sold, especially pastries and dessert! It was a feast for the eyes and I wished I could buy everything. But most pastries and dessert have short shelf-life so I could only buy a few. Then we went up to the children's department to get some clothes and toys for dear son.

After shopping at Isetan, I wanted to go back to Shibuya Mark City for my zakka shops, while hubby continued to hang out in Shinjuku. We agreed to meet at the Shinjuku Kani Doraku for dinner.

With that, I rushed back to Shibuya Mark City and had two hours to complete all my shopping.

There are Natural Kitchen, Afternoon Tea, Timeless Comfort to name a few... I was happy!

After the shopping at Mark City, I went back to the room to drop my bags. Still had 30 minutes more, decided to hop over to francfranc across the street before going to Shinjuku to meet hubby.

And finally, met hubby at 7.30pm for our crab feast! It was expensive but thought we should give it a try at least once.

Very cozy and traditional interior.

Our booth seat.

Japanese zither entertainment.

Cold crab. The meat was very sweet and refined.

Crab sashimi. We didn't like the sashimi, thought the texture was too mushy for our liking.

Crab chawanmushi. Yummy!

Grilled crab. The meat was very juicy with tinge of smokey flavour, I like!

Crab tempura. It was good!!! Crispy on the outside and chewy juicy meat inside.

Crab kamameshi. The rice absorbed the juice of the crab meat and was very fragrant.

And finally sherbet for dessert. The only dish without crab. Haha. Well, we sure had a luxurious but cholesterol-laden meal. Just for once :p

After the sumptuous dinner, we strolled around and went back for a good night's rest.

To be continued...

Travel resources:

•  松屋 Matsuya Foods http://www.matsuyafoods.co.jp/
• 自由が丘swiss roll house http://www.jiyugaoka-rollya.jp/index.html
• Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu http://www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/en/TE/TE_SHIBU/index.html
• Shibuya Mark City http://www.s-markcity.co.jp/
• Kani Doraku http://douraku.co.jp/

Cheddar Cheese Muffins

My toddler has started half day childcare and he eats his lunch in school now. Not sure if it's due to growth spurt, but he still wants to eat when he reaches home (about an hour after his lunch). So every day I try to prepare a small snack for him, be it cookies/crackers/biscuits with yogurt or muffins or pancakes, sometimes storebought, or I try to bake small batches and freeze them.

Came across a Cheddar Cheese Muffin recipe by The Little Teochew and it was just what I needed, quick and easy! Moreover, I had a quarter pack of cheddar cheese block lying in the fridge and was trying to use it up. As The Little Teochew mentioned that the cheese taste was not strong enough in her case, so I decided to go all out and used up all the cheese that I had, which was double the amount of the original recipe.

The steps were really easy, only thing I wasn't used to metric calculations since I relied on my electric weighing scale all the time. Nevertheless, I was glad that the muffins turned out great! The cheese taste was not very strong when the muffins were still warm, but somehow intensified after the muffins cooled down. Dear son loved them too!

If interested, pls hop over to The Little Teochew for the recipe :)