Macdonalds breakfast in Japan IS THE BEST. PORK sausage McMuffin with egg and PORK BACON
Kara-age with Rice
More Kara-age and another Highball
Hot Stove
Meat.
Not Meat
Day 5: 17 Oct 2017
The queue stretched over the bridge (towards ichiran if you know the area), down the escalator at shinjuku station, past tower records, down the lane, almost to biclo. That was a looooong line.
It was Tuesday morning. Some people lost their shoes.
24hours? Nope. Closed
I love Tokyo during Halloween.
Looks the same, tastes the same... Almost.
Day 1: Boots on the ground, Massages all around
It's been 2 years since we last had a SAS mission, and with all the hours I've been putting into the project, I had to rally the troops for a big hurrah (and get some R&R time for myself).
What started as a 3 day mission (Fri/Sat/Sun), soon turned into a 4 day mission to get in some proper Redneck time.
First stop, rent a car. Get to the hotel, check in. Get a massage.
Dinner was my request, to go back to that Night-outdoor-makan-place. My first dish was a Tomato Kuey Teow (I'm not a fan of tomato based gravy/dishes, but Marty recommended it, so I had to try), which I didn't much enjoy. I didn't finish my plate, and was soon on the hunt for something else. Marty and Rickey had bought a plate of Grilled Pork Belly Noodles, which looked amazing, so I got myself a plate.
After Dinner, since Jack was around and we had enticed him with stories of the amazing Redneck Olympic Events,we headed to the mall to get in some warm-ups before the main event.
Jack got his own kid bow and he did relatively well. He was pretty good at Daytona as well. I foresee that we would have a serious contender in a few years. He needs to up his bowling game while cutting down on the whining.
What started as a 3 day mission (Fri/Sat/Sun), soon turned into a 4 day mission to get in some proper Redneck time.
First stop, rent a car. Get to the hotel, check in. Get a massage.
Dinner was my request, to go back to that Night-outdoor-makan-place. My first dish was a Tomato Kuey Teow (I'm not a fan of tomato based gravy/dishes, but Marty recommended it, so I had to try), which I didn't much enjoy. I didn't finish my plate, and was soon on the hunt for something else. Marty and Rickey had bought a plate of Grilled Pork Belly Noodles, which looked amazing, so I got myself a plate.
After Dinner, since Jack was around and we had enticed him with stories of the amazing Redneck Olympic Events,we headed to the mall to get in some warm-ups before the main event.
Jack got his own kid bow and he did relatively well. He was pretty good at Daytona as well. I foresee that we would have a serious contender in a few years. He needs to up his bowling game while cutting down on the whining.
The Daly Family, looking for food without meat.
Tomato Kuah Tiaw. I did not like it.
Grilled Pork Belly Noodles. I very much liked it.
Robin Hood and Little John?
I did not need to warm up to beat these chumps.
Green Arrow he is not.
I am often amazed at how Pat is actually a Dad among all of us/
A little Daytona warm up before Tomorrow's main event.
Day 2: Watching Blade Runner is a new Event
I woke up bright and early, hoping to catch my first bowl of Kolo Mee.
It was not to be.
Breakfast was at the White Rajah Cafe, so that Pat/Rickey and Marty could sip their tea and eat their scones and cucumber sandwiches while watching the natives paddle up and down the river.
I grabbed a bowl of "Kuching Laksa" to tide me over. It was actually pretty good, except that the put coriander on top of it. Damn that coriander. This "Kuching Laksa" did not taste like any other kuching laksa I've had before. It was rich and coconuty. The soup was quite thick and very flavourful. The ingredients were also quite generous. (This is where Mikul will step in and say "That is not kuching laksa").
Still hungry, I begged for kolo mee. 2nd breakfast. We went back to the kolo mee that I fell in love with in 2015. I found out the coffee shop is called 'Good Taste Cafe'. The kolo mee came, I ate, I stopped. This wasn't it. Something's changed. I knew it from the first bite. It was the same shop, the noodles looked the same, but it was not the noodles I was looking for. Marty concurred. He went to check. Two young whippersnappers was running the shop. The old guy wasn't there. I left, disappointed.
First event of the Semi-Annual Redneck Olympics. Bowling. Pat is the undisputed champion of Bowling. No contest. We can only fight for second (me) place.
After Bowling, we went looking for the next Event (darts). Little did we know, we stumbled on a new event that will be part of the next Redneck Olympics, "Staying Awake for 3 hours while watching the most boring movie on earth). No one won this event. We all were all losers. We lost 3 hours of our lives.
Dinner was to be at "The Heritage", a fancy chinese restaurant that Marty has been talking-up for the last few years. His contact came through with reservations (the restaurant is always fully booked, and you cannot get a seat without a reservation). The food was as good as Marty promised, if not better. I didn't get any good pictures, but the roast duck was amazing. One of the best roast ducks I've tasted. And the fried prawns was a step above most of the ones in SG. And the icing on the cake was Rickey paying for dinner (he lost our Fantasy Baseball bet)
It was not to be.
Breakfast was at the White Rajah Cafe, so that Pat/Rickey and Marty could sip their tea and eat their scones and cucumber sandwiches while watching the natives paddle up and down the river.
I grabbed a bowl of "Kuching Laksa" to tide me over. It was actually pretty good, except that the put coriander on top of it. Damn that coriander. This "Kuching Laksa" did not taste like any other kuching laksa I've had before. It was rich and coconuty. The soup was quite thick and very flavourful. The ingredients were also quite generous. (This is where Mikul will step in and say "That is not kuching laksa").
Still hungry, I begged for kolo mee. 2nd breakfast. We went back to the kolo mee that I fell in love with in 2015. I found out the coffee shop is called 'Good Taste Cafe'. The kolo mee came, I ate, I stopped. This wasn't it. Something's changed. I knew it from the first bite. It was the same shop, the noodles looked the same, but it was not the noodles I was looking for. Marty concurred. He went to check. Two young whippersnappers was running the shop. The old guy wasn't there. I left, disappointed.
First event of the Semi-Annual Redneck Olympics. Bowling. Pat is the undisputed champion of Bowling. No contest. We can only fight for second (me) place.
After Bowling, we went looking for the next Event (darts). Little did we know, we stumbled on a new event that will be part of the next Redneck Olympics, "Staying Awake for 3 hours while watching the most boring movie on earth). No one won this event. We all were all losers. We lost 3 hours of our lives.
Dinner was to be at "The Heritage", a fancy chinese restaurant that Marty has been talking-up for the last few years. His contact came through with reservations (the restaurant is always fully booked, and you cannot get a seat without a reservation). The food was as good as Marty promised, if not better. I didn't get any good pictures, but the roast duck was amazing. One of the best roast ducks I've tasted. And the fried prawns was a step above most of the ones in SG. And the icing on the cake was Rickey paying for dinner (he lost our Fantasy Baseball bet)
Kuching @ James Brooke @ Kuching
Kuching @ James Brooke @ Kuching
White Rajahs @ the White Rajah Cafe
"Kuching Laksa" @ James Brooke Cafe
Meepoh kolo mee @ Good Taste Cafe
238 Katong Laksa in Geylang @ Kuching?
Probably the best bowling alley any of us have rolled in. Individual sofas for the bowlers to rest between frames.
Rickey giving guidance to Pat.
Strike!
Sunset over Kuching
The view from my bathroom. I completely enjoyed sitting in a nice bath while overlooking the city.
Fried Prawns @ The Heritage
Day 3 : Who says we don't exercise
Day 2 of the Semi-Annual Redneck Olympics was a tough day. Most of the physical events were going to be taking place today.
Before anything else starts, I needed my kolo mee. Tried the one right below Marty's apartment. It was ok. Not bad, not great. Nothing memorable.
First event, Archery. No pictures as I was too busy winning.
Next event, Daytona. Marty won by collusion. The shake and bake duo put in a winning strategy to take the racing line.
Next event, Arcade Basketball. Good grief my arms are sore.
Break for lunch. We moved over to the new mall to look for food and darts.
My lunch was pretty crap. Didn't want to take a picture nor remember it.
First event post-lunch, darts. Obviously I won (I won last time too).
New event into the mix, Table Hockey. The Contrary Canadian took that prize. He was undefeated on the table. If we played "King of the Table", he would never get knocked off.
Dinner. My request, back to 101 for more chicken wings, Grilled Pork Belly Noodles and I discovered a fantastic little dim sum store at 101.
We called an early night to rest up after the physically exhausting day.
Before anything else starts, I needed my kolo mee. Tried the one right below Marty's apartment. It was ok. Not bad, not great. Nothing memorable.
First event, Archery. No pictures as I was too busy winning.
Next event, Daytona. Marty won by collusion. The shake and bake duo put in a winning strategy to take the racing line.
Next event, Arcade Basketball. Good grief my arms are sore.
Break for lunch. We moved over to the new mall to look for food and darts.
My lunch was pretty crap. Didn't want to take a picture nor remember it.
First event post-lunch, darts. Obviously I won (I won last time too).
New event into the mix, Table Hockey. The Contrary Canadian took that prize. He was undefeated on the table. If we played "King of the Table", he would never get knocked off.
Dinner. My request, back to 101 for more chicken wings, Grilled Pork Belly Noodles and I discovered a fantastic little dim sum store at 101.
We called an early night to rest up after the physically exhausting day.
2nd attempt. New kolo mee place
There was baseball on TV. They needed to see Joe Giradi fail.
We had Professional Scorers.
Dragon Slayer
Semi-Final
Winner
Not Winner
Not Winners
Winner
101
Day 4: Medals and Glory
Last chance for kolo mee.
Tried the other kolo mee place at Marty's downstairs coffeeshop. It was not bad. Good, but not great. Also not memorable, but it was sadly, the best kolo mee of the trip. (I'm so disappointed)
Grabbed a quick walk up chinatown for last minute souvenir shopping, then back to the white rajah cafe for a cold coffee (Kuching is much hotter than SG).
Tried the other kolo mee place at Marty's downstairs coffeeshop. It was not bad. Good, but not great. Also not memorable, but it was sadly, the best kolo mee of the trip. (I'm so disappointed)
Grabbed a quick walk up chinatown for last minute souvenir shopping, then back to the white rajah cafe for a cold coffee (Kuching is much hotter than SG).
Last Kolo Mee on this trip.
Goodbye Kuching
Old Chinese martial arts place
Kuching @ Kuching
There is a new walking bridge that may replace these old boats. Sad, because I really enjoyed taking them to cross the river. It's part of the slow and easy pace of life that is now forgotten.
Last meal in Kuching. Hand-pulled noodles @ Life Cafe
Final Medal Tally
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