World Foodie Guide

I’m back briefly to let you all know about my latest project, a small 80 page photobook called a ‘traveleating’ journal: japan, based on my three Japan posts from the trip last November. It was so much fun putting this together and I relived the entire trip during the editing process. I received plenty of help from vegetarian husband Garson Byer, who also let me use some of his photos.

The book is for sale at the Blurb bookstore for £14.45 (excluding shipping) and you can preview the first 15 pages by clicking on the image above. All profits from the sale of each book (the profit for a soft cover copy is £1.50) will be sent to Beijing-based charity Crazy Bake, which is run by an old friend of mine. Mentally challenged patients are taught to bake bread for sale, and the money that they raise helps them to become more self-sufficient.

Please help by telling friends and family. I’d like to raise as much money for Crazy Bake as possible…

Thank you!

Helen Yuet Ling Pang

Tags: food, food & travel, Japan, Japanese, travel, travel tips, traveleating

I decided on my last day in Japan to retire from food blogging. I’ve been blogging intensively for over two years and have reached the point where I’m mentally very tired and would like to do something different. I have loved writing about food, sharing my eating experiences and most of all learning from readers, whether it’s a suggestion for preparing a dish or a restaurant recommendation. I’ve also immensely enjoyed meeting, both online and face to face, like-minded people who are passionate about food. If it weren’t for my fantastic readers, I would have stopped a long time ago.

Writing the final lines of the Tokyo post was difficult, and I felt a mixture of emotions – sadness that it was my last proper post and also relief that it was my last proper post. My blog has dominated my life for its entire existence and I suppose I always assumed that I would just continue with it. People have suggested writing fewer posts or only writing when I travel, but I’m an all or nothing person. I either have to blog as much as I have done or stop completely. There’s no middle road for me. However, I’ll keep World Foodie Guide live for as long as possible and try to answer as many comments as I can.

As for me, I’ll continue to learn about photography, travel (25 Food & Travel Destinations) and perhaps even write a historical novel. The husband will be able to eat food that doesn’t need to be photographed first and the cats will have more of my attention. And of course I’ll still be enjoying my food!

Thank you to each and every one of you for reading…

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: cookery, cooking, dining out, food, food & travel, recipes, restaurant review, restaurants, travel, traveleating

We spent six days in Tokyo between various trips to Kyoto (see Kyoto Tales), Numazu and visiting the Jigokudani snow monkeys in the Japan Alps (see Snow Monkeys & Soba Noodles). As this was my fifth time in Tokyo, I chose to concentrate on my favourite places, as well as visit a few areas new to me…

Trip 1: Tsukiji – breakfast – Hamarikyu Garden – Sumida River trip – Asakusa – lunch – Kappabashi-dori

This was my first visit to Tsukiji fish market, although I came very close to going on my last trip. Before the jetlag wore off, I decided on an early morning outing to this gigantic wholesale market, which has been in its current location since the 1923 earthquake. Even with jetlag, I knew it would be impossible for us to arrive for 5am, but 6.05 was a respectable enough start! Countless varieties of seafood were on sale at the hundreds and hundreds of stalls and the sheer volume was overwhelming. We also had to be alert at all times to avoid the numerous mini forklift vehicles scooting up and down the aisles at top speed. The people at Tsukiji can be brusque, but they are there to earn a living, rather than accommodate tourists. A friendly ‘ohaiyo gozaimasu‘ works wonders and one vendor even drew me a little map to direct us to the sushi bars. These are located near the other shops and stalls that sell all manner of food produce from pickles to cutlery (and divine matcha ice cream!) and which are just as interesting as the main fish market itself.

My sushi breakfast was a welcome respite from the manic hustle and bustle of the fish market. The husband went for a wander while I chose a place with no queue. I wasn’t prepared to queue for my food nor make him wait two hours for me. My opinion is that the fish is equally fresh no matter where you eat it at Tsukiji, so why follow the hordes of tourists? I sat with three Japanese people at the small counter facing my extremely friendly and entertaining sushi chef, who was most proud of his creations, and loved being photographed too. My breakfast cost ￥2600 (£18) and was worth every yen. I left my sushi bar feeling very pleased with myself, especially as there were ridiculously long queues outside certain establishments by 7.45am.

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Tags: dining out, food, food & travel, Japan, Japanese, Japanese food, restaurant review, restaurants, Tokyo, travel, travel tips, traveleating

After travelling to see the Jigokudani snow monkeys (see Snow Monkeys and Soba Noodles) in the Japan Alps, we returned to Yokohama to repack our bags before leaving early the next morning for Kyoto, Japan’s old imperial capital.

Planning the three days was harder than I thought. I had to drop many of the items on my wishlist, including day trips to nearby Osaka and Nara. It would also have been wonderful to spend the night at the Buddhist temple on Koyasan (a World Heritage site) and sample shojin-ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine). Most of all, I wanted to return to Kobe, where I had one of the most memorable meals of my entire life, a simple but spectacular dish of Kobe beef. In the end though, rather than rushing about trying to fit in multiple locations, I decided to plan a relaxing three day stay in Kyoto. It’s easy to forget how exhausting travelling can be.

Kyoto Day 1:

Arashiyama is a renowned area of natural beauty to the west of Kyoto and popular in the autumn for viewing the changing leaf colours. Best of all, it’s just a 15 minute train journey from Kyoto station. As the ryokan check-in time wasn’t until 2pm, I thought it would be a good idea to arrive at Kyoto station, leave our bags in coin lockers and head out to see the famous symbol of Arashiyama, Togetsu-kyo, the wooden (and concrete) ‘Moon Crossing Bridge’, and wander through the bamboo forest.

I had planned a shojin-ryori lunch at Tenryu-ji Temple (￥3000, ￥5000 & ￥7000 set lunch menus, plus a ￥500 admission fee to the temple grounds), however they were fully booked when my friend called to make a booking a month in advance. I then briefly considered Nishiki and their kaiseki bento lunch box as well as Sagano for their yudofu (Kitcho, with its recently awarded three Michelin stars, offered unaffordable kaiseki at ￥35-40000 /£232 – £265 (prices from a few years ago)). In the end, I decided to just turn up and see…

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Tags: dining out, food, food & travel, Japan, Japanese, Japanese food, Kyoto, restaurants, travel, traveleating, vegetarian

This short trip from Tokyo to Yamanouchi town in Nagano prefecture, the Japan Alps was the first section of the two week trip to Japan that I planned. The husband had a yearning to see the Jigokudani snow monkeys (wild Japanese macaques) that keep warm in the freezing winter months by bathing in their own outdoor onsen or natural hot spring, and this is apparently the only place in the world where they do this. I initially thought that humans and monkeys bathed together, but more research revealed that this is not the case, although it has been known that a monkey or two will occasionally join humans in a nearby outdoor onsen for humans…

Jigokudani, known as Hell Valley because of its sulphurous and volcanic activity, is not the easiest destination to reach, and our one night at the 400 year old Kokuya ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) in Shibu Onsen was expensive. The trip was, however, worth every minute and every Yen and I would highly recommend it. If you ski or snowboard, then Shiga Kogen ski resort is nearby and Jigokudani could be added on as a side destination.

Shibu Onsen is a traditional and famous onsen spa town where people in their yukata (cotton robes) stroll down the old, narrow cobbled streets after bathing at the various public bath houses to relax at a izakaya (pub) or to return to their ryokan. Dotted around the area are tiny temples and it’s most atmospheric in the evening. Also not to be missed are the onsen tamago or boiled eggs, which taste different to normal boiled eggs because of the minerals present in the onsen water.

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Tags: cookery, cooking, food, food & travel, Japan, Japanese, Japanese food, Jigokudani, kaiseki, Kokuya ryokan, snow monkeys, soba noodles, travel, traveleating, vegetarian

This is the tenth in a series of Postcards from the recent Hong Kong, Macau and Beijing traveleating trip. Rather than writing up each food experience in separate posts, which would have taken me up to Christmas, I thought it would be more fun to outline the trip in diary form, to include travel and sightseeing tips as well as food recommendations.

Day 11 highlights:

• Tuanjiehu market
• Panjiayuan Antique Market
• lunch at Hakka restaurant Kejia Yuan
• 798 Art Zone
• dinner at Noodle Bar

Tuanjiehu market:

Accompanied by our friend who drove us around everywhere and acted as our guide and chief haggler, we had a great Sunday out. Y is Swiss but has lived in Beijing for about fifteen years, so she’s an expert in everything. First stop was Tuanjiehu market. We all used to live in the lovely neighbourhood of Tuanjiehu, in Chaoyang District (yes, everything seems to be located in Chaoyang District), and the market opened daily at the crack of dawn right beneath our apartment windows.

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Tags: 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China, dining out, food, Hakka restaurant, Noodle Bar, Panjiayuan, restaurant review, restaurants, travel, traveleating, vegetarian

We were lucky to discover Creelers quite by chance while wandering down the Royal Mile, wondering where to have dinner. It was our first day in Edinburgh and for some reason, I hadn’t booked anywhere in an attempt to be spontaneous.

This is the second restaurant that the owners have opened, specialising in local seafood caught off the West Coast of Scotland and brought in on their boat. The first is located on the Isle of Arran, while smoked produce can be bought by mail order from Creelers Smoke House.

A starter of their own smoked salmon (two versions) and mackerel was delicious, as were their large fresh oysters, which required little more than a squeeze of lemon juice. Mains consisted of poached salmon for my husband and wonderfully plump, giant seared scallops for me. I usually avoid ordering scallops for a main course, as I’m always disappointed by the quantity, but I was served more than enough to sate my appetite.

Everything was simply prepared, with none of the dreaded rich, creamy sauces in which some restaurants like to drown their seafood. I’m always slightly wary of ’seafood’ restaurants, but this was a delightful exception.

In Edinburgh, try my other favourites as well – Martin Wishart and The Grain Store

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the Scotland restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact Details:
Creelers
3 Hunter Square
Edinburgh EH1 1QW
Tel: 0131 220 4447
www.creelers.co.uk

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: Creelers, dining out, Edinburgh, fish, food, restaurant review, restaurants, Scotland, seafood, travel, traveleating