Breakfast at Eggs n Things -
After the husband was done with setting up the GoPro, we headed out for a more western-like breakfast at Eggs n Things just walking distance from our hotel. The cafe is delightful and cosy. The menu is so pretty! It contains drawings of how the food will look like.
We ordered a steak, a today's special (smoked salmon, spinach, cheese) omelette and a new year's pancake. There is a choice of roasted potatoes, rice or toast. The roasted potatoes came in quite a huge portion and it is so delicious! The crisp on the outside is paired with right saltiness of the potato inside. The steak is yummy too.
On the other hand, the omelette is a bit weird. It looks like a flat sheet of egg wrapping the ingredient, with the egg being kind of bland. The filling in the omelette seems so saucy, and taste very different from the usual omelet.
On the other hand, the omelette is a bit weird. It looks like a flat sheet of egg wrapping the ingredient, with the egg being kind of bland. The filling in the omelette seems so saucy, and taste very different from the usual omelet.
They offered to take a photo of us when our new year's pancake was served. Maybe it does have a special meaning to have that specific dish for the celebration of a brand new year.
Look at that huge chunk of whip cream! The pancake is so moist and chewy. While we mostly ignore the azuki, the pancake goes so well with the whip cream and pink guava sauce. Yes pink guava sauce! It is so unique, and the light sourness balances the overall sweetness. They also have coconut sauce. This is an interesting combination but it will make the whole dessert even sweeter. It comes with two nice ice cream mochi, sweet strawberries and crunchy chestnut too.
The total cost here was 5486 yen. The pancake is pretty expensive here but totally worth the try.
New year new start!
Cup Noodle Museum Ikeda -
We took the subway to Umeda station and walked towards the Hankyu line area for the Takarazuka Hankyu line. One thing I only learned there is to identify which stations does the different train types stop at. They have the normal service which stops at every station to the special rapid service which stops at certain main stations only. The platform would have the line map for your reference.
Since there are different trains available, the interval for express service will be longer. Google maps direction will help you with the planning if you check in advance. That is something I relied solely on my husband's instructions on when to chiong for the train.
20 minutes later, we arrived at Ikeda station. Just a short distance walk, we would reach the Cup Noodle Museum. Do note that they close on Tuesdays. Entry is free here but the museum is quite small. I think the words were written in Japanese too so there is nothing much to see other than pictures and cup noodles samples over the years.
The thing worth the experience is of course the make-your-own-ramen process! For 300 yen, you buy a cup from the vending machine. They are quite particular about hygiene, so you should sanitize your hands and they will give you a lid to cover the cup. Next, we waited for a seat to start our decoration on the cup surface. The husband was so troubled! Art and customization stuff stresses him. We drew on the individual cups secretly and presented it as a gift for each other. It is definitely quite a fun couple activity.
Once we were done, we followed the long queue to choose your flavour and ingredients. That probably took a 30 mins wait? We chose a seafood flavour and curry flavour. First, we turn the knob to drop the noodles in. After we select the necessary, and the noodles will be sealed. It will then be covered in plastic and placed in a machine which will suck out the air. It came out as a hot cup.
We were given plastic holder and strings (to be taken at the end). Placing the cup into the plastic holder, we were to pump air to make it fat fat. Mine was a bit lao hong because I did not put in enough air. This serves as a holder for us to carry our cup noodles around.
As we walked back to the train station, we passed by a store which sells this chicken brand ramen. We thought it was a good idea to a have a hot bowl of noodles sitting in the open cool weather. The basic ramen turned out quite different from expectation. To me it tasted like the Chinese ee mian. On the other hand, the husband proclaimed it as the worse instant noodle he has ever eaten. The potato croquette with cripsy ramen on the outer surface is just a fun idea, but nothing great. The potato is quite powdery and instant tasting.
Minoo Park Exploring -
Via the same Tankarazuka Hankyu line, we went back to Ishibashi station and changed to the Hankyu Mino line to Minoo station. We were here for the Minoo Park, even though we did not walk the full distance because the sun was setting already. I strongly recommend going all the way to see the Minoo falls. The pathway is quite easy to walk and you will be surrounded by serenity.
Something interesting to try at Minoo is the fried maple leaf. Seems like all the stores sell them. I did not really taste the leaf, but the batter is rather tasty. It is similar to ham chee peng's friend, the butterfly dough pastry. Do not be deceived. The taste is better than its appearance.
We passed by an insect museum on the way up. But we did not go in because we were cheapo and did not want to pay the entrance fee. We just enjoyed our lovely couple stroll with relatively strong wind blowing at our faces. It is necessary to have the face mask and gloves. Here, we saw our first crow which is 1.5 times bigger than those in SG. They sound different too, kind of like humans pretending to make bird noises. Hahaha.
Try a hoji latte from the convenience store. It is quite refreshing and not too sweet.
Shinsaibashi; Dinner at Genrokuzuchi -
We walked a bit around Umeda but there was nothing much that I fancy. We decided to head back to our area for Anello flagship store at Shinsaibashi. I spent quite some time there getting 3 bags. Upon spending 5000 yen, we get to turn the gachapon on certain days. I thought we would get some lame stuff, but I was so surprised to receive another Anello stuff.
My husband decided to buy a backpack later on, and we had another chance at the gachapon. I was delighted that we got a different alphabet, and this time we exchanged for an Anello wallet! What a fun experience. Though we figured that they might be clearing off the old stocks.
We had dinner at the conveyor belt sushi place - Genrokuzuchi. I always feel so distracted with the many food moving around that I cannot savour the food in front of me properly. We really should have eaten at this chain for a second time! The rice is relatively smaller size than the main ingredient, which is really good for a food marathon.
I think the dishes are quite affordable and delicious. You can either take from the conveyor belt or request specific items from the waiter. Twice, as we were discussing our options, the waiter thought we were requesting to order and that was awkward. Service is really quick here. The soup & fried items are all decent as well. The total cost was 3520 yen, which is so worth it.
We ended the meal with a mango soft serve which I highly recommend. I absolutely enjoyed the sweet and citrusy conclusion.
