A Bit Of Travel

When I travel, my bag is packed with happiness. 私は幸せいっぱいのバッグを持って出発します。

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The Future of Travel. Monocle Magazine finds out how the world of mobility is changing.

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Café Kitsuné One of the key things I forgot to check out when I was last in Tokyo was Cafe Kitsune. For some reason I think I missed out the whole area of Minato-Ku district. So when the opportunity arised I had to go. It's very Japanese with that hint of French inspiration. The coffee was excellent. And that ham and cheese sandwich that they called the Parisien was actually one of the best that I've had. The bread was really crisp and underneath that crust was the fluffiest bread with ham that tasted so good and melted cheese. The ambience was nice. The staff were really very attentive and very patient with English speaking patrons like myself. I'm glad I tried it. It's also in a bit of a fashion district with shops like Bathing Ape, Dolce & Gabbana, Dover Street Market, Prada, etc. Go chill for a bit when you're in Tokyo. Café Kitsuné 3 Chome-17-1 Minamiaoyama, 港区, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan.

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Cafe Hoot Hoot. An interesting experience in Tokyo, Japan, would be to their various cafes with a twist. You get to play and photograph animals that are often difficult to spot or find in the wild. Nestled not far from Shibuya train station in Japan is this owl cafe. The owner is really nice and he loves he owls very much. Being very protective, if any of them are not feeling too good like the white one, he will keep it in a cage and isolated. He sensed my love for them and allowed me to snap a few pics. He often let's them to fly for a bit and the café does have a fair amount of space for these tame beasts. Relatively inexpensive, the owner even gave me a feather from one of the owls to keep as a memento. If you're ever in the area, you should check them out. For more, visit: https://shinsen1554.jimdo.com/

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Tokyo Trains. The Tokyo Train system is one that still gets to me a little. It is quite a logical yet complex mode of transport. Partially due to the language but I don't know if I could ever get used to it. I spent a lot of time running in and out of trains before getting on the right one. Google Maps not 100% accurate though it gets close when it comes to the train times. But a ometimes if you're lucky, you'll get a really nice train operator whom you could simply ask like "Shibuya?" And they would usually nod and say yes if you're on the right track. I was lucky!

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Noodles Taught Me A Valuable Lesson

Recently, I saw a friend post up a photo of noodles that he ate. They looked simply delicious. Sounds familiar? We go through that every day, be it on Facebook or Instagram and the likes.

Like any other person, I made it a point to go to the cafe. It has been called many things and I soon found out that it’s proper name is 新記車仔麵 which is like push cart noodles and it goes by the other name of Carson noodles.

The challenge. I do pride myself on knowing Cantonese, verbal and a little written. But due to lack of application when I’m not in Hong Kong, it’s hard to maintain a good command of it. Anyways, this place wasn’t easy. They only had local menus, without photos in Traditional Mandarin.

I’ve learnt the importance of photos. Not just photos but clear, well taken photos. The lady in the cafe struggled to figure out what was in the noodles my friend posted as they have multiple options. But soon enough we figured it out via the photo reference and what I’d like to eat.

You had to order the noodles via a few steps. Choose the ingredients you want. 5 spice beef brisket, beef balls, bean curd skin and yellow egg noodles. Eventually, we got the order and it was pretty quick. Now, I was feeling a little down in the dumps at that point but after having that bowl of goodness, not only did I feel I was ready for the cool weather, but my tummy felt good and my mood was altered.

So always make sure you're prepared, Google in advance, check out Instagram for tagged photos, maybe use the new save feature, so you are well prepared to order your meal even if you don't know the language well.

Now if you want to be a happy camper like me, go GR you some of this goodness in a bowl that only cost me HKD$40.

Carson Noodles or 新記車仔麵 Address: Shop B, 49, Tung Lung Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Phone: [phone] Web: https://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/r-%E6%96%B0%E8%A8%98%E8%BB%8A%E4%BB%94%E9%BA%B5-causeway-bay-hong-kong-style-food-stall-noodles-r12797

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Elephant Grounds At long last, I managed to try the coffee at Elephant Grounds. I was told they made a mean Vanilla Latte, but I had to try it for myself. It definitely didn't disappoint. Nice aroma and smooth texture with a hint of Vanilla aftertaste. I decided to sample their food as well. My weakness is corned beef anything. So corned beef hash it was. Served with a poached egg and topped with some rocket salad or arugala which happens to be one of my favorite. The place was small and we were lucky to get a table for two in a tiny little corner. A minute too late and we would have to join a pretty sizeable queue it would seem. Definitely worth a try if you're near one. I tried the one at Wan Chai which was beautiful. For more about Elephant Grounds, please visit: http://elephantgrounds.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=7 * All photos taken with the new Sharp Z2.

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Planning for travel. When you're going away, especially to a place you've not been before, planning for travel can be rather stressful. Understanding have so many other responsibilities like work bogging us down. As a person who tries to stay organized, I cannot stress this enough. In the last year, I've been to Perth and Tokyo. Both trips, the first time around was planned poorly. As a consequence I didn't get to finish everything. There is this unsettling feeling when that happens. The solution to that problem was to go again. I went back to Perth. I did achieve all that I wanted to do and maybe a bit more. I feel a bit more settled and it's not closing the chapter in that sense. I will still go again, just that, the urgency isn't there and even if I don't get to go again, I'll be okay (scary thought). So, this time around for Tokyo, I'm planning it properly, with my travel guide from Monocle as well as searching online for all the things I want to see or missed in the last trip, plotting out my custom Google maps and stuff. And it certainly does help when you take the time over the weekend to do it with a nice cup of coffee in a chilled out environment like the Monocle Cafe. How do you prepare for a trip? What are the apps, resources and sites you use to be prepared?

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Learning about Tsujiki market, I now fully regret not having gone there earlier this year. Understood that the plans to relocate in November 2016 have been pushed back. Let's see if I can visit before they move.

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First Class Free Upgrade. Man. One day I'll get that. Hopefully someday soon. How amazing.

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Top 10 Crazy Expensive Places To Travel To As usual, Singapore had an honourable mention but geez, some of these places are really nice. I hope I can get to travel to some of these places in my lifetime. Which place would you go to?

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Sodam Chicken One thing that Korean cuisine is known for is fried chicken. Now, that's really freaking awesome. And I accidentally found a really good one here in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. The one that drew my attention was the fried chicken with cheese sauce. 3 different types of cheese. Oh, so heavenly. And recently I tried the honey mustard one too, which makes me very conflicted. I love them both. The cold buckwheat soba noodles was rather plain, but the way I like it. It really went well with the flavourful fried chicken. The seafood pancake was a bit of a letdown. Didn't really like it very much. But if you haven't tried the fried chicken, you should. You should go there post-haste! Sodam Chicken Address: 7/F, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Bartlock Centre, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Phone: [phone]

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Porter Yoshida from Japan. One of my absolute fav brands for travel, work and the everyday. Though not commonly found outside of Japan, it's one of the best in quality, simple luxury products that's relatively affordable. Would love to visit their factory some day.

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Clothes & Laundry While Traveling.

When traveling, there’s always the problem of clothes and laundry. As I’ve been traveling to Hong Kong, here are some tips to manage this.

#1 Laundry is not expensive. Getting your clothes washed and dried, often within the same day is not expensive at all. It costs maybe USD$4 for a week’s worth of clothes. Even if it is a heavy week, it shouldn’t cost more than USD$10 or thereabouts. Don’t do it with the hotel, often they bring it to the same place and charge you a premium. But I’d definitely suggest searching online for a laundry shop near your hotel prior to your flight.

#2 Pack to throw. Whether you’re on a business trip or leisurely holiday, you might do a bit of shopping. Whether it’s for yourself or for family, friends back home. Pack clothes that you intended to throw. That way, you don’t even need to do laundry. However, if the clothes are in good condition, you might want to donate your clothes to a charity nearby. But please get them washed prior to donating and you can do that the day before you leave.

#3 Pack to replace. Same theory as the above. But to Ensure you’re not adding to the clutter you already have, pack things you intend to replace. Be it that dress shoe you’ve worn until there’s a hidden hole, or that tee shirt that has more holes than your lace ups, bring them and only allow yourself to purchase replacements if you indeed throw the old ones away. That way, you also know how much space you have in your bag.

#4 Wash your new clothes before wearing them. This is important. As you can imagine as you try on that perfect tee or jeans you’ve been meaning to get, chances are, hundreds of people may have tried on the exact same thing you’re trying now. Even if it is a ‘new’ piece, there’s no guarantee no one tried it before you bought it. Not to mention the chemicals in the item that was shipped to the store you’re at. Make sure you wash them before you wear them. The last guy may have gone hiking before shopping and may not have had a chance to shower. Also, avoid getting unnecessary rash.

#5 Pack only what you truly need. Traveling light assures that you don’t throw your back out just by taking a trip. Do remember to pack only what you absolutely need. With a couple of items you can reuse depending on the situation. Personal hygiene is still the most important. But don’t overpack.

#6 Spare laundry bag. Always keep a packing cube or extra laundry bag for the last minute laundry, you know you’re going to have to do when home. Never swim the day of departure or the night before. Wet clothes in your check in luggage just can’t be good news. But the laundry bag will come in handy when you’re chucking last minute dirty laundry in the bag.

#7 Shoes. Usually hotels provide you shower caps. They are really useful. Grab them to wrap your shoes in them. Even if you use shoe bags. This helps keep the dirt away from the rest of your bag.

#8 Smell Fresh. Want to smell fresh all the time? The answer is simple. Either take an air freshener that has a unique scent, so it doesn't smell like air freshener like those from Bath & Bodyworks, and leave them in your suitcase. It keeps your things smelling fresh and if you forget to put on cologne, no one would be any wiser.

Do you have any tips of your own? Please share them with me!

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Bride's Pool & the Plover Cove Country Park. Tucked away in the New Territories in Hong Kong, up north, is this really amazing place. The hike is really easy but the payoff is truly breathtaking. I think the pictures kinda paints more than a thousand word per piece. One of the more unexpected places that's so well hidden. Definitely worth a visit. Take note that one should either go on a Sunday where a bus is in operation or leave early if the intention is to get a cab. Use the Hong Kong Taxi App or something. Uber is almost near impossible to get. For more information about Bride's Pool and its surroundings, please visit: http://hiking.gov.hk/eng/trail_list/nature_Trail/BridesPool_Nature_Trail/introduction.htm

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Monocle’s second annual Restaurant Awards honours fifty places that have been consistently good and up-and-comers that have the ingredients to be great restaurants for decades to come. Monocle Films sits down for breakfast in Toronto, lunch in Liguria and dinner in Tokyo. Beautiful film. Gorgeous food. I'm now hungry.

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南記粉麵 or Nam Kee Spring Roll Noodles.

This is one of those traditional chain of noodle stores that’s so classic of Hong Kong. Filled with tons of options, my favorite is the Beef Brisket with Meet Medallion and Beef Ball Noodles in traditional soup. The soup contains some preserved vegetables so it does give you a little of that hot, sour and spicy taste and undertones.

It’s great comfort food for when you’re feeling a little under the weather and in my case when my tummy isn’t at its best. It warms you up fast and makes you feel oh so awesome inside.

It’s conveniently located all over Hong Kong (as I soon found out) so you can quite easily get your fix. Click the link below to find one closest to you: http://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/restaurants?chainId=10000194&chainName=Nam%20Kee%20Spring%20Roll%20Noodle%20Co.%20Ltd

I went to the one at North Point and the close at 11pm. Plenty of time, even after some overtime at he office!

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Frites - Belgium On Tap.

Yes. Finally got to try Frites at Quarry Bay. Can I just say that you can hardly go wrong with Steak & Fries?

Well, I must say this place is a little on the pricey side, but they do have set lunches and that’s really the best time to go. The set I chose was with a soup (or salad - LOL), the ribeye with fries (and some salad - okay), and a coffee.

The soup - Mint Pea Soup. I’m definitely one of those who prefer a regular sort of soup. This was breaking the mould a little too much for me, but I didn’t want the salad. It turned out to be rather interesting. I’m not in love with it but it was good.

The highlight of my day, the Steak & Fries. I asked for Medium Rare (my preferred choice). It wasn’t exactly Medium Rare, more Medium Well. But I’ve always been told to go a bit lower to end up with what you’ll deem palatable. Few establishments get it right. Nonetheless, it was awesome. Great texture and that herby butter thing just really gave it that extra flavor. The fries were pretty good, don’t know if I was thinking about Truffle Fries a bit too much but it did seem to have a dash of the flavor. The salad was well, salad.

My boss ordered Laksa Mussels to share. It was a big portion. Even though there were 6 of us, we couldn’t really finish it. Now, it’s funny how they say Laksa, and though it smelled a little like it, it tasted more like green curry. A little peeved about the difference in taste but I love green curry so it was good nonetheless. I don’t know about you but I prefer to have mussels without dangly bits of seaweed or whatevs, I like them clean like mussels without any extra bits. So though overall it was nice, it could have been even better.

Coffee was well, coffee. I liked the packaging for their lumps of sugar. Individually packed (sorry environment) cane sugar was pretty good. And one lump was more than enough. I placed a bit of milk on it.

The ultimate verdict is, this isn’t quite the touristy spot, but if you want a break from regular Chinese or Japanese food which Hong Kong does so well, this is a good place for lunch! Good for business meetings too.

They have quite a few locations, so check out the one closest to you: http://www.frites.hk/location/

P.S. Thanks Boss for an awesome lunch!