Japanese pasta restaurant in Fukuoka

This Japanese pasta restaurant let you have 2 main course meals in a set for the price of one. An example was the last picture which showed the spaghetti carbonara (right) and ham and egg spaghetti. The Japanese cook their pasta in such a way that it's as tasty as the Italian. The set is reasonably priced at S$15 each.

A cheap and good meal in Kitakyushu

We visited Volks Restaurant which serves mainly western food in a place called Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Japan. I had the lunch menu which featured the 150 gm Angus Steak and eat-all-you-can salad, bread and soup.
The meal was excellent and it cost a reasonable S$24. My wife had the Japanese Hamburg Steak with free flow of salad etc for only $13. If we ever visit Yahatanishi-ku, we will definitely patronise Volks again. In fact, I understand that there are Volks Restaurants all over Japan but not all serve that all-you-can-eat menu.

We flew back from Japan today on SQ

My wife and I came home on SQ today. We spent a few days in Kyushu, Southern Japan. It was our vacation trip. The weather was beautiful with lots of sunshine. Average daily temperature was a cool 17C. Night time was a chilly 10C. Hotels are inexpensive as compared to Singapore or other major cities. The hotel we stayed in was called the Crown Palace Hotel. We paid an average of S$175 a night (for 2). Many things, including food were inexpensive.
The SQ lunch menu on the way back was either International or Japanese (pictures above)

Having sushi in Japan

My simple lunch for today

This was my Bar Chor Mee Pok lunch,the veggies and fried egg were from home. The stall is at 447A, Jalan Kayu (same place as the Superman Nasi Lemak). The mee is one of the best in this area.

Lunch = claypot rice and fish/cuttlefish porridge and dinner was....

The claypot rice and sliced fish/cuttlefish porridge from A-One were mouth-watering. Of course they are more expensive than the ones at the hawker center or coffee shops. For the 2 dishes we paid about $22. The ones from the hawker stalls would probably cost $8.

Dinner was Superman Nasi Lemak, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream and Kopi

Superman Nasi Lemak stall is situated at Block 447A, Jalan Kayu (next to the Buddhist temple). It is a newcomer to the neighbourhood. The nasi lemak is delightful with a slightly strong coconut flavour. The ikan billis and the fried chicken wings are crispy and the sambal is tasty. The Superman set is $2.60 and comprises of rice, chicken wing, fried egg and fried peanuts. If you ask for extra toppings like ikan billis or vegetables etc you will have to pay an extra 80 cents for each item.
The Hagaan-Dazs Vanilla Caramel Almond ice-cream and a cup of strong kopi completes our simple and yet delicious dinner.

My lunch and dinner for today

Top picture is the masala dosai. It is a Southern Indian snack which looks like a thin pancake. Inside is stuffing made of mashed potatoes, onions, green chilli and spices. It is eaten with curry gravy and grated coconut milk.
The other picture is the waffle with cream and a scoop of caramel ice cream.


Home cooked Japanese hamburg steak

The Hamburg steak was cooked by my wife. It tasted great and am really grateful for having a wife who is also a fantastic cook.

Brunch,afternoon cake set and dinner

Japanese Hambagu (Hamburg) Steak

Cakes and Cappuccino from McCafe

The Japanese Hamburg steak was home made. It comprised of minced beef with eggs,minced parsley etc etc. We did not use much sauce so it was a little bland but healthy. We had the fried egg, potatoes and fried sliced brinjal as accompaniments. The dish wasn't superb but satisfying.
The cakes set was from McDonald's McCafe. There were 2 types, one was the cheese cake and the other, the chocolate cake. The set came with a cup of cappuccino. Yummy but high in calories.

Nasi Lemak and Ice-cream

The nasi lemak was from a newly opened stall at a coffee shop near our place. For the price ($3.20) it was really worth it. If you minus the ikan billis, the set is only $2.60 which is reasonable.
It gives the famous Punggol Nasik Lemak a run for their money.
The ice-cream was from Magnum. A box of 6 cost $10.90 but if you buy 2 boxes, it is at a reasonable $16.90. The special offer is only available at Fairprice. At the 7-11 stores there is no special offer so one would have to pay $10.90 for a box or $21.80 for 2 boxes.

Hang Ten Men's T-Shirts price comparison

I bought these 2 T-shirts at a shopping mall. Each cost S$5 whereas the ones sold at E-Bay was US$4.74 each. The shipping cost is US$19.90 and will take 2 weeks to arrive. If you add up, the cost of one shirt is US$24.64 which is S$35 (rate of exchange = US$1 is S$1.42). With S$35, one is able to buy 7 pieces in Singapore.


Screenshot from E-Bay (click on image for larger version)

Visited Sushiro again

We couldn't resist going back to Sushiro for the Japanese food again. This time we deliberately went a bit late, thinking the lunch crowd would have left the restaurant. We were sadly mistaken as there was a long queue outside the restaurant. However, not to be deterred, we joined the queue and managed to get our seats after 25 minutes.
My wife had the Premium Charasi don and myself the Unagi don. At $24.80 the Premium Charasi don was quite expensive. The Unagi don was at a reasonable $15.80. For all Charasi don the base was sushi rice whereas for Unagi don, California rice was the base.
Taste wise, the Premium Charasi don was good but the Unagi don was not up to my expectation.

Chirashi don@ Sushiro for lunch

The Chirashi don at Sushiro Restaurant (Thomson Plaza) is one of the finest and cheapest in Singapore. The Q is usually long even before opening time. Besides the above, you may also find other types of Japanese food like Unagi don, donburi, sushi, sashimi etc.

We had the above for lunch today. The Chirashi don lunch set with miso soup and salad is $15.80 each. If you do not want the lunch set but just the bowl of Chirashi don, it will cost you $12.80. There is no ++. Besides being inexpensive, the taste and quality of the food is first class.
The small restaurant can only sit 20 people at any one time so be prepared to wait in the queue.

After lunch, we proceeded to nearby Yakun Kaya for our kopi O. The place is deserted and quiet during lunch time.

My childhood neighbours Ali and Fatimah

It was a big relief when Uncle Lim  and family moved out. The next tenants were Abang Ali and Fatimah. This Malay couple was in their forties without children. They were nice and friendly.
My late grandma and I became quite close to Abang and his wife. They would invite us over to their house for tea and chat with us. They were always at home as they were unemployed.
The best thing I liked about them was when they organized card games. They would invite a few more neighbours and we would spend the night playing card games. I really enjoyed my time with this couple. It wasn't just the card games only but the fun, jokes and laughter we had together.
After a few years, Abang and Fatimah moved out to another place. The whole neighbourhood missed them dearly.