かに道楽 本店 - Osaka, Japan *.

かに道楽 (Kani Doraku) is my all time favourite seafood restaurant in Osaka. 
I came here a while ago and recently revisited. I loveeee this placeee!

😻 We got such a nice view from our seat too - so it was perfect!! Refer to food IG @ch3riebelly 😻 

Everything has exceeded my expectations! The quality of food, service, atmosphere was amazing :) I'd highly recommend this restaurant - specifically this location because my friends mentioned there were other franchises that aren't as good.

Highlights from my meal: 

(Basically what I ordered, I liked EVERYTHING!!)

* Crab sashimi - We wanted to order more of this but it would've been wayy too much food. 

😻 Grilling session begins! 😻 

😻 Before 

😻 After!

* Grilled crab legs - Your server will set up the grill for you, a tidbit is to not grill it for too long, it becomes dry if you do!

* Boiled Alaskan King Crab legs

* Crab Nabe (Hot pot) - After boiling vegetables and crab meats in the pot, the left over soup base is used to cook congee. The congee is amazing - I usually hate eating congee but I absolutely loved it!!

Remember to make reservations beforehand, this restaurant gets booked out really quickly!

😻 This was where we were seated :)

Kani doraku honten

￥￥￥  Japanese, Seafood

中央区道頓堀1丁目6-18
大阪市, 大阪府 〒542-0071
Japan

Alcatraz E.R. アルカトラズエアール - Tokyo, Japan *.

I've been tricked by Feho to come to アルカトラズエアール during my trip to Tokyo LOL -_- 
*Shakes fists violently*

It's a tourist trap!! To be fair, Danny Ho and affiliates genuinely enjoyed his experience at Alcatraz ER but I really didn't lol.

My dad warned me about these "themed-tourist trap locations" - I should've listened hahaha!! 
The only entertainment we got during our visit was when the nurse came with our blood bag drink - we watched him pour the blood bag drink into a plastic cup. - THE END - LOL

* that's the blood bag guy ^

Our group was the only group here at 6pm. Service was alright - the server who dressed up as a nurse (blood bag guy) was definitely nicer than the guy who dressed up as a doctor, he works at the cashier near the entrance. For some reason, I think the not-as-nice doctor server had a bigger fame in the restaurant. They had posters of this guy and a full body cardboard cut out of him... Is he the owner?! LOL D:

The drinks were overpriced. Be expected to pay a cover fee on top of food/drinks. Thank god I only came here for drinks and not for the food!! We ordered the blood bag drink, Oolong tea (lol) and a herb drink. We also got "medicine", free of charge - which were snacks to nibble on.

The gimmick of this restaurant is really just the prison decor. I'd recommend that you go for a prison-themed escape the room instead haha!

* Creepy hallway before you get to the bathrooms ^

Alcatraz E.R.

￥￥￥  Bars

道玄坂2-13-5
渋谷区, 東京都 〒150-0043
Japan

喫茶室ルノアール Ginza Renoir - Tokyo, Japan *.

😻  Happy July! 😻 
Hope everyone had a great long weekend! There are a lot of events coming up (yay SUMMER!) and I'm hoping to rip through most of my Japan posts soon..!!

I came to Ginza Renoir for breakfast. We were looking for a breakfast place with comfortable seating and we chose the right place! An extra plus is that you can't smell the smoke from the smokers room (the air filtering is amazing here haha). The interior reminds me of what you would see in the 1960s - cherry wood everything.

Highlights from my breakfast session:

* BLT Sandwiches - I love their white bread!! I'm so glad we ordered the toast too because their breads are somehow extra soft!

* Hot chocolate - The hot chocolate was very creamy and smooth. Perfect way to start your day :D

Service was excellent - note that none of the servers speak in English. We asked for directions to a landmark (in Japanese) and our server went out of her way to ask almost every staff in the restaurant to verify that she's giving us the right directions. Thank you!!

Ginza Renoir Shinjuku Nishiguchi Itchome

￥￥￥￥  Cafes

西新宿1-4-1
新宿区, 東京都 〒160-0023
Japan

美々卯 - Osaka, Japan *.

Loved my lunch experience at 美々卯! 

😻  the udon cravings were finally satisfied at Mimiu - we came here for lunch after a whole morning of shopping D: 

This restaurant is one of my dad's all time favourite back in the day - we came here to see if they've kept up with their quality of food and service. It definitely did exceed our expectations! 

Both the food and service was excellent. 
Our server was very attentive and polite. She helped us cook for the whole nabe (hot pot) process.

We ordered the udon nabe. The highlights of my meal were (aside from their awesome udon noodles):

* Mochi - The mochies are stamped with a "美々卯" logo. It looks cute and it also tastes really good.

* Shrimps - They have fresh *live* shrimps for you to add with your nabe.

* Chicken - Their chicken meats are all marinated, the clear soup nabe is great to cook the meats in. No need for dipping sauce because they are yummy on its own already!

* Pumpkin/Squash - I'm biased because I love pumpkins. I'd recommend cooking them in the nabe for a longer period of time because it's yummier when it's soft!

I'll definitely revisit this restaurant :) Best udon in town!

😻 This is probably the only picture we got in the restaurant - I'm fixing my hair but this will make do hahaha

Mimiu Namba

￥￥￥￥  Udon, Sukiyaki, Hot Pot

中央区難波5丁目1-18
大阪市, 大阪府 〒542-0076
Japan

セガフレード・ザネッティ Segafredo - Tokyo, Japan *.

We came to Segafredo for a quick and small breakfast. 

We had to locate a place where we can grab a light breakfast because we had to meet 天野さん for lunch lol. 久しぶりですね~

Most of the Segafredo cafes I've been to are boutique-sized. This is a great spot to sit and chat or to read / work alone. I've noticed many locals come here to use the wifi network to do their own work / study etc. Yes, there's free wifi to connect to!

I'd recommend the Morning Set menu, particularly the panini set:

It doesn't look as appealing in photos but It's actually delish!! It is toasted and the cheese inside (if any) is all melteddd D: I'm hungry just thinking about it!

I'd recommend these two items on the Panini Morning Set Menu:

* SALMON & AVOCADO TARTAR 
(Note that I might be biased because avocados are my faveee!)

* HAM, CHEESE & BACON

Above was my snap from that day.. I realized I tagged the wrong location! haha

Here's jam & toast that we ordered too:

The coffee was roasted deliciously, I'd come back for just the coffee. The sauce they place in the panini is towards the sweeter side, I'd recommend ordering coffee with less sugar to pair with your breakfast :D

Segafredo ZANETTI

￥￥  Cafes

東京都新宿区西新宿3-20-2
新宿区, 東京都
Japan

地鶏や • ジドリヤ - Tokyo, Japan *

We came here for dinner after a long day of walking around! 

The interior is small and crowded so the air within the restaurant does not get filtered out nicely. It is common to have smokers at an izakaya place in Japan and the ventilation at this particular restaurant is done very poorly. Other than that, the food that we've ordered was delicious. Service was great as well.

I'd recommend:

* Oyako-don (So delicious! A great dish to warm your tummy :P)

* Niku Skewer set (a variety of grilled meat skewers)

* Grilled chicken wings

Side note: There are a bunch of fake foods on display outside of the restaurant (lobby area) for viewing. I'd recommend browsing the fake foods as they only offer menus in Japanese. I'd definitely recommend picking up some Japanese words if you plan on visiting this place because the menu selection is really big - the fake foods only gives you a limited amount of choices to order from.

Jidori-ya

Yakitori

八重洲2-1
中央区, 東京都
Japan

ケント - Osaka, Japan *

😻  Happy June everyone! 😻 

I've been travelling last month so I've neglected blogging for a bit! 

Posts will be updated as soon as I organize my pictures! 
I have too many.. lots of updates to be posted so stay tuned :)

Kent is a boutique sized cafe located near Shisaibashi opened by a very friendly owner. 

I came here for breakfast several times for their breakfast combo. It was delicious! The portion was perfect as well. The owner doesn't speak in English, he only speaks in Japanese so I recommend that you pick up some Japanese if you plan on visiting here! :D 

BREAKFAST COMBO (5/5)

* Bread (option of strawberry jam and butter (sweetened)) 

* Boiled egg (medium boiled) with fresh banana and salad
* Coffee / other drinks with additional price

The toasted bread is my favourite! Their coffee was smooth and rich with flavour. I'd recommend this cafe to those who are looking for a local Japanese coffee shop experience.

Kent

Cafes

島之内1丁目12-24
大阪市 中央区, 大阪府 〒542-0082
Japan