Just a brief update.

Just a short update..

Iā€™ve just gotten back from Pulau Perhentian. The break was greatly welcomed, all I did was swim, read, take photos and eat. Met a really nice blog reader too, *waves* to Melvin, thanks for saying Hi to me! I got really tanned too and my tan is damn uneven cause I was wearing 2 different swimwears. Oh and my eczema decided to pop up so I was itching for 2 days, Iā€™m actually still itching now =(.

Was looking forward to go home, but the boat ride back to Kuala Besut took a turn for the worse when the sea turned terrifyingly choppy. Our boat was slamming onto the waves like a discarded cork, I was on the verge of tears but my boo was my rock and I held back tears cause I didnā€™t want to panic him. But when I saw him lifted up during one of the bigger waves, my heart shrunk like burst balloon cause it seemed like he would fall overboard but it turned out my smart boo was just bracing himself as to not to hurt his arse when the boat slam back onto the water. It was crazy and scary and I all I could think about was ā€œIt this it?ā€.

Luckily our captain decided to turn back to the island to wait out the storm. Of course, the storm never subsided and we were technically strandedā€¦.

More stories when the pictures are ready.

Tsentsen, Karaoke, JB, Muar and stubby digits.

Tsentsen was in town recently and we hit the karaoke joint. The last time we sang together heā€™d got a bad sore throat so I had no one to duet with. Glad he could indulge me this time!

The duet.

We had so much fun! I wish I could karaoke every night. Tsen is an amazing singer, heā€™s performed in Carnegie Hall, ok!

After that, we adjourned to Williamā€™s for some supper. I had my favourite mushroom soup while Tsen got his dose of delicious cheese naan.

Camhoring at Williams.

The next dayā€¦.

Went to Kulai to attend a friendā€™s wedding. It was lovely! One of those weddings that is done the way the couple wants it and not because itā€™s ā€œsupposedā€ to be like that.

Boo and me at the wedding.

We stayed overnight in Kulai. Had dimsum for supper at 3am. It was one of the best dimsum Iā€™ve had. Big fresh juicy prawn dumplings and wholesome porridge. Errrā€¦obviously forgotten to take pictures again because I was too into the food =P

I did however, captured the mesmerising dollop of chilli sauce.

Next morning, we decided to stop in Johor Bahru. It was a disappointing trip. The traffic jam was worse than KLā€™s and the food wasnā€™t even good. We ate at this place because we saw some pictures of Singaporeā€™s quasi-celebrities dining at the restaurant. I should have known not to trust the taste buds of Singaporeansā€™. No offence really, but Iā€™ve had my fair share of Singaporean food and they are quite frankly, really bad. So, I really wouldnā€™t blame our neighbours for actually enjoying the less than fantastic fare weā€™ve got to offer.

We wanted to go to Danga Bay after lunch but a massive downpour hit us and the traffic jam got even worse. Didnā€™t help matter that Danga Bay signboards also went missing after several turns. We decided to abandon JB and head up to Muar.

When boredom struckā€¦

On our way to Muar, we called the Suan to ask for directions to the infamous otak-otak. But girl told me sheā€™s in the Land of Smiles so I quickly cut short the conversation (Iā€™m such a considerate friend, ok) and decided to hunt the place down ourselves. After asking a few people from different petrol stations, we got to Bentayan Food Court.

Had 40 sticks of otak-otak. They were AWESOME. I forgot to take any picture because I was too busy eating, obviously. After otak-otak, we drove around somemore to look for soto. We failed in our quest though, so no soto =(

And here are completely random pictures of my digits because I really love my nail colours. I bought the nail polish eons ago but never used it because the colour didnā€™t look good from the bottle. Glad I tried it on and Iā€™m loving it now.

My nails

My toes

Kimberlycun Does Tokyo Part One.

Japan is one of my favourite countries to visit. Everything is immensely interesting, from the sceneries down to the convenience store. I could browse their 7-11 for hours and still be hesitant to leave the shop.

Iā€™ve finally achieved my dreams of going to Tokyo. I was put up at Hilton in Shinjuku area. It was dinner time when I reached the city. I had no idea where to go for dinner, so I decided to just explore the vicinity of the hotel. I found a place that was packed with people and went in without second thought. I ordered this set meal that consisted of rice, some stir-fried pork with miso soup and salad. It was so-so.

There are a lot of restaurants similar to Yoshinoya but they are way better than the latter. I didnā€™t check out Yoshinoya in Japan but Iā€™m absolutely sure itā€™s better than the Yoshitloya we get in Malaysia.

The dinner set that was so-so.

Later that night, a friend gave me authentic dorayaki (Doraemonā€™s favourite snack, w00t) for supper and it was gooood. Apparently the dorayaki was imported from some faraway place in Japan that produces the best dorayaki and I wouldnā€™t be able to find anything like it in Tokyo. They came in 2 flavours, green tea (macha) and red beans (azuki). First night in Japan and already I was starting to look like a beached whale.

Best dorayaki ever.

I was rather skeptical about making my way around Tokyo on my own as I donā€™t speak the language and I donā€™t understand any chinese character (they are similar to the Japanese characters). Anyway, I woke up really early in the morning, hit the gym and with my mind refreshed, I plotted my tour around Tokyo.

I managed to nick several tourist brochures from the hotel lobby, on which I circled several locations that I wanted to go. I gave the brochures to the hotel receptionist and asked her to direct me to the nearest train station for each location. My goodness, the lady was so patient with me, I must had taken about half and hour of her time when there were so many hotel guests around. She spoke only passable English and at times I had trouble understanding her but she made sure that I understood what she was trying to tell me. Finally, I was convinced that I could get around without getting lost and left her to serve other guests. Props to staff of Hilton Tokyo.

My first stop was Tsukiji Wholesale Market. Itā€™s a 20 minutes journey from Tochomae Station (3 minute walk from Hilton). I alighted at Tsukijishijo Station, the market is just right next to the station. Tsukiji Wholesale Market is famous for its seafood auction early in the morning, but I missed it because I reach there around 10.30am.

Inside the train. Itā€™s got english announcement for n00bs like me.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, commonly known as Tsukiji fish market (Japanese: ēƉ地åø‚å “, Tsukiji shijō) is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind.

The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors (few Japanese casually visit the market), especially for visitors with jet lag who have arrived from Narita International Airport; the best times to visit are between 5:00AM and 9:00AM.

Source: Wikipedia

When I reached there, the place was still being visited by tourists. The auction area was quiet but thereā€™s a section of the market where you could get delicious and fresh seafood meals.

Preparing the fish.

One of the rows of restaurants.

I decided to have lunch at one of the restaurants. I came across this place which had the longest queue compared to others, so I joined the hungry folks. The long wait was certainly worth it as I had the best Japanese meal Iā€™ve ever eaten (I know Iā€™ve said the same for the katsudon I had in Osaka but this definitely superseded it).

The meal was very simple, just a bowl of rice topped with fresh sea urchin, tuna tartar, salmon roe and salmon sashimi with miso soup on the side. I had no idea what it was called and after searching high and low on Google, I found out the name of the meal, itā€™s called Chirashizushi.

Chirashizushi is a form of sushi, a food well-known in the west and often mistaken for raw fish or raw seafood. Raw, slightly cooked or vinegared seafood is properly called sashimi. There are many types of sushi in Japan and rice is the common ingredient to all types. Nigiri, handmade sushi served in pairs, and maki (rolls) served as six slices, are the most commonly known in the west. Oshi is pressed rice cut into squares.

Chirashizushi, an uncaked sushi or scattered sushi, is rice spread in a box or bowl with nine kinds of fish and vegetables scattered on top or mixed in. Because it does not require pressing or rolling, it is an excellent dish to make in a classroom.

Source: Yale

It was so delicious, both light and sinful at the same time, I canā€™t possibly describe it in words. You just have to find it out for yourself. Unfortunately the owner of the restaurant didnā€™t allow photography in the restaurant so I couldnā€™t capture any picture but it was an impressive looking meal, I can assure you.

Look at the queue!

This is the end of Kimberlycun Does Tokyo Part One. Will post the next part when Iā€™m less lazy.

Arigato gozaimas!