Night Noodle Markets and Art & About 2014

Night Noodle Markets

Just when I thought we'd skip this year's Night Noodle Markets, the Hubby suddenly surprised me on Friday afternoon by meeting up with me in the city after work. The plan was I'd do a bit of errands in the city and we'd just meet up at a train station near his workplace. But instead, he called and he was already in the city and suggested to check out the Night Noodle Markets.

We were there for only a while but we enjoyed the festive vibe of the event starting with this giant Maneki-neko (Japanese for "beckoning cat"). It's huge but it's one of the cutest thing ever.

The Husband's Birthday Celebration

The Husband turned 35 two weeks ago and I made sure he's had a fun September. He's not fond of making a fuss about his birthday but I made a bit of effort in making his month festive by doing little things here and there. I like seeing his face lit up whenever I surprise him with the things he love and enjoy.

Cordillera Blend on International Coffee Day

It's International Coffee Day so I shared this photo I took from The Grounds of Alexandria in my FB and instagram.

It's such a cute coffee quote, no? I love quotes of coffee. A coffee blog I follow once shared a couple of coffee quotes...check "10 Coffee Quotes To Help You Through Monday" if you have time. From now on, I think I will take photographs of coffee quotes I see and make it part of my several photograph collections.

We often have Nespresso coffee at home because it's just easier to prepare. So the coffee beans/grounds I buy or ones gifted to me, I bring them to work and that's where I enjoy them. My current brew at work is one brought by my Mom from the Philippines.

Kape Maria's Cordillera Blend has a sweet and light taste. It's made from Arabica Beans from the Cordillera region of the Philippines. You can get this coffee at Human Nature shops and thru their website.

The Yam Omocchi Mooncake

Discovered a new mooncake flavour from Casahana for this year's Mooncake Festival...the Yam Omocchi Mooncake. It came in dainty box which holds two mooncakes, the Yam Omocchi and Hazelnut Toffee. We like buying Casahana Mooncakes because of the creative flavours they offer. A cute bonus would be the pretty packaging they're kept in. Their boxes can be used as a storage box or a gift box.

We savoured the deliciousness of the Yam Omocchi on the eve of Mooncake Festival, paired it up with coffee and tea. The Yam Omocchi is a brilliant creation as the mooncake is made of Purple Yam (I love Purple Yam!) while the innards are made of mochi. This mooncake was filling (had to share with the Hubby) and not too sweet. 

I hope Casahana continues making this flavour every year.

Have you encountered any interesting Mooncake flavour this year?

Stra Heajanggug (Strathfield, NSW)

Stra Heajanggug is one of those Korean restaurants that we like to frequent. It's just a few minutes walk from Strathfield train station so it's very convenient whenever we are in Koreatown. They consider themselves a traditional Korean restaurant as they offer dishes that remind you of home-cooked meals in Korea.

We've dined here a few times and here are some of the dishes we've tried:

Steamed Jokbal or steamed pig's feet. Lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and spices, topped with salad. Jokbal is one of Korea's famous appetizers, street food and accompaniment to alcoholic drinks such as Soju. The pig's feet were sliced thinly and very tender. We've only had this once in order to experience the taste of Jokbal and wouldn't mind eating it once in a while.

Kimchi, Tofu & Pork Soup. Not for the faint-hearted. Very spicy; the kind of hot I like. The kind of hot that's comforting during cold nights.

Beef Ribs Soup. The beef was so tender that it almost fell off the bone! The soup had a balanced flavour of sweet and salty. This is my favourite Beef Ribs Soup to date. Some nights, we only come back just to have a bowl of this. 

Stra Heajanggug feels like home to us. From the simple but cozy ambience of the restaurant, the Korean Dramas they play on TV, the promptness of the staff and of course, the delicious food they serve.

Stra Heajanggug

Shop 28/45-47, The Boulevard 

Strathfield NSW 2135

Phone: 02 9746 7500

Tenkomori Ramen House (Sydney, Australia)

Here's another discovery in that little Japantown at Regent Place: a ramen house!

Tenkomori Ramen House gets very busy during peak hours because of their affordable food choices. The food tastes average and plentiful. I think they've got the cheapest ramen in Sydney which starts from about $8.00.

Karaage Tonkotsu Ramen

Chasu Tonkotsu Ramen

On a cool night, the Husband and I decided to hang out at Regent Place and have some ramen for dinner. The place was already packed and it was only 6pm. We each had a bowl of ramen with tonkotsu broth; his topped with karaage (chicken) and mine with chasu (thin-sliced pork belly).

The noodles were firm while the taste of milky broth had a subtle pork flavour. It was a bit bland and had less oil compared to other ramens we've tried. However, the karaage and chasu made up for the lack of flavour from the broth. So in way, I found balance in it (pwede na rin!). Plus, they've got condiments on the table to help you (salt, pepper and chili). For the price, I didn't really complain. It was good food that was simple, filling and very affordable. It gave us warmth and satisfied our craving for ramen.

Tenkomori Ramen House

Ground Floor, Regent Place

501 Georgt Street, Sydney

Open from 11:30am-11pm, 7 days a week

Bon Bon Fine Chocolates

There's so many things we have yet to explore and eat in Sydney and the whole of Australia. I've lived here for years but like any normal migrant, there are several things I take for granted simply because I live here. 

That includes chocolates. Australia is chocolate country. We have great chocolates made here but seldom do we buy from specialty chocolate stores. So during the previous Easter celebration, the Husband and I decided to finally try Bon Bon Fine Chocolates. 

Bon Bon has a lot of chocolates in their QVB store and we were a bit overwhelmed with the many choices at hand. For a start, we decided to get an 8-piece box set. We asked what was in the box set and we were assured that it's all their best sellers. They looked pretty! I believe this was a special box made for Easter as half of the chocolates where egg-shaped.

Each piece was a luxurious experience. Each piece was made from Belgian chocolate, in dark, milk and white. A bite into each one turned out as a surprise too as we don't know the flavours of the chocolates. One had hazelnut, another had orange filling. Whatever flavour or filling though, their chocolates were decadent and satiates the call for great tasting chocolate.

We enjoyed these chocolates on Easter Monday and it went so well with tea. 

I checked Bon Bon's website and I saw that they have a cafe in Strand Arcade and they also sell stuff like spreads, nougat, chocolate bars and bags of nuts in chocolate coating. I hope the Husband and I can visit the cafe soon. 

Bon Bon Fine Chocolate

Store & Cafe: 

412-414 George St.

Shop 33 The Strand Arcade

Phone: 02 9232 2992

Store in QVB:

455 George St.

Queen Victoria Building

Phone: 02 9268 0675

Coffee Date at Coco Cubano

It's been a long time since I've caught up with one of my dear friends and thankfully Meds and I found time to sit down and have a meal a few weeks after I came back from Japan. 

We both love drinking coffee and so I invited her to visit my area so we can have good coffee at Coco Cubano.

We met up in the middle of the afternoon and I haven't had my lunch so we ordered food as well. I got the Classic Burger made up of Wagyu Beef sandwiched in between cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. It's huge and very filling. I enjoyed eating this juicy burger with Coco Cubano's chunky chips. 

Meds, on the other hand, got Garlic Pizza. We both love this simple pizza. Very cheesy just the way we like it.

After our coffee date, Meds shared a photo of her artwork on IG. I love it! She made an art diary of our coffee date. She's amazing! She's captured our meal, coffee and even our Japan photobooks which I shared with her, all thru an artwork.

It was a great catch-up that lasted til dinner time. Meds and I are the kind of friends where we could talk for hours and still have something to talk about. It's the kind of friendship I'm grateful for.

Coco Cubano
Level 4, Westpoint Blacktown
Phone: 02 9676 4444

Breakfast At Baroque Bistro (The Rocks, Sydney)

A french restaurant that serves delicious breakfast was a great choice during my morning walk with Mom at The Rocks last year. I'm glad that I got to try dining in this restaurant with her.

"Bienvenue!" means "welcome", the sign on a bike at the entrance of Baroque Bistro. 

The rustic interiors of Baroque Bistro were dark and sexy, in hues of black and red. The huge windows gave great light to anyone taking a photograph.

My Mom had hot chocolate which she enjoyed and I had a cup of long black coffee which was comfortingly strong on a Friday morning. Just what I needed!

Raw sugar in cube form = love.

Eggs and Bacon Cocotte. Smoked speck, mushroom, tomato, garlic, hollandaise, served with grilled Sonoma sourdough. It smelled wonderful and tasted more beautiful than this photograph. 

Eggs Benedict in Baroque Style. Serrano ham, tomato, basil, hollandaise, toasted brioche bun. Eggs were perfectly poached, Serrano ham was divine and the hollandaise sauce was light and tasty. 

Baroque Bistro is also known for their pastries, bread and macarons. Our breakfast was very filling, hence, we had no room for dessert. Maybe next time, I'll come back for afternoon tea or dessert.

Baroque Bistro

88 George Street (corner Hickson Road)

The Rocks, Sydney

Phone: 02 9241 4811

Food Find: Haagen-Dazs' Sakura Ice Cream

I'm seeing a couple of photos of friends having a great time in Japan under lovely Cherry Blossom Trees. And because of that, I just want to give friends a heads up about Haagen-Daz's Sakura Ice Cream.

Based on an article from Japan Daily Press, Haagen-Daz Japan has gone pink this year and in celebration of their 30th anniversary in Japan, they came out with two floral ice creams: Sakura (Cherry Blossom) and Rose.

We were fortunate that we visited Japan towards the end of Winter, hence, we encountered a couple of food and drinks in relation to Spring. In one of the many nights we passed by a convenient store on the way back home, I found the Sakura Ice Cream. 

The ice cream consisted of a jelly-like layer on top which tasted like cherry. The base ice cream was vanilla and it had swirls of raspberry and Sakura powder. It tasted more fruity than floral to me. The Sakura flavour was subtle. 

Over-all, it was a good tasting ice cream. I'm quite fond of cherry and vanilla so this was something that was worth a try for me.

If you're in Japan and love Haagen-Daz ice cream, have a try of their Sakura flavour.

February on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I'll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.

February was amazing! It was a month of getting things done and preparing for the best travel of our lives. The first half of the month was spent getting advanced work done at the office, seeing loved ones and preparing for travel.  The second half was spent in Japan! The Husband's childhood dream came true in just a plane ride that brought him to see the things he's loved in Japan from afar. This travel took years to happen and we' re very happy that it finally came true.

Here are a few highlights of our happiest February:

The best coconut drink I've tried so far. I love that it's made of 100% water from green coconuts and that it has no sugar. 

Sweet Surprise! While studying maps and bus routes, the Husband gave me a surprise: the new Kit Kat Cookies & Cream.

Pink Roses towering above our book shelf. It brings a lot of life and cheer in this space of our home.

The festival program for Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival. I love this artwork created by Hu Ming. The program holds a lot of information regarding CNY celebrations in the metro, new year markets, boat races, lunar feasts and more.

It's raining flowers on my desk! A workmate gave me yellow flowers yesterday. The boss gave me pink roses today. They're lovely! Cheered me up amidst these busy times at work. 

Meat galore at our lunch party with Sydney Tweehearts! Crispy Pata, Roast Pork, Buffalo Wings and Kare-Kare.

Lay-over in Incheon International Airport because we flew Korean Air. The Sunset in South Korea welcomed us. It was a beautiful sight. We had coffee at Caffe Bene where we ate the MakMak macarons we bought in Sydney Airport. Had fun taking photos with Hello Kitty, Charlie Brown and Snoopy to pass the time.

Magical time in Kyoto. Our first adventure in Japan started in Kyoto where we got charmed by our traditional home, a  ryokan. Saw thousands of torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine, an amazing bamboo forest in Arashiyama and the stunning Kinkakuji Temple. 

Morning walk at Nara Park and exploration of the Todai-ji Temple. To wall alongside deers was a fun experience. They're quite aggressive if they see you with anything brown, they always think that you're holding deer biscuit. We saw a huge Buddha inside Todai-ji Temple, such an astounding structure to behold.

Food tripping and a little shopping in Osaka. A day in Osaka where we filled our tummies with delicious Japanese street food. From Takoyakis, Gyozas and Okonomiyakis. We also tried Starbucks' Sakura Frappuccino and Sakura Chiffon Cake for afternoon tea.  

Ten glorious days in Tokyo! Such an amazing city. We went to see Gundam and Sanrio characters. We saw Andy Warhol's exhibition and chased sunsets in the afternoon. One evening, we watched the Tokyo Tower lit up and just spent a long time looking down at Tokyo's night view.

All around Tokyo. Felt like kids inside a store filled with more than 500 gachapons (toy vending machines) in Akihabara, had the best tempura dinner in Shinjuku, witnessed a Japanese wedding ceremony in Senso-ji Temple and got mesmerized by the thousands of people crossing Shibuya's famous intersection.

Fun times at Tokyo Disneyland and J-World.  Photographing Tokyo Dome.

Snow Day in Gala Yuzawa. Lovely winter scenery, creating a small snowman and having ramen with a view of snow-filled mountains. Ramen and snow? I think this can only happen in Japan. :)

Japan has the tastiest food on earth. Sushi breakfast in Tsukiji Market. Strong coffee in Almond Cafe. The best Strawberry Chiffon Cake at Henri Charpentier's Cafe. Tender and juicy Kuroge Wagyu Beef grilled on the teppan.

Last days of Winter in Tokyo. Freshly-baked Melonpan bread in Asakusa. Coffee klatch with IGmate and now friend, Agatha (with her cute baby Keito). Finding white, pink and fuchsia Plum Blossoms in the nearby park. Crossing Shibuya's famous intersection for the last time. 

And now we're back home. It's always bittersweet when an almost perfect travel ends. However, the keepsakes and our experiences will keep all our memories of Japan alive in our hearts. Most of all, we just feel very blessed and grateful that it has been a safe and wonderful journey.

If you want more photos of our Japan adventure, check out my instagram (@ibyang) and my Husband's (@keemps17). 

I will be writing about our Japan travel in the coming weeks. I hope you tune in to this blog. If you have any questions about travelling to Japan, please leave them in the comments and I'll try to answer them thru my blog posts as best as I could.

Hope you're having a great day!

Found At The MD Ranking Store: Goodies From Japan

As I was walking along George Street in Sydney, I chanced upon a little store called "MD Ranking" (infront of World Square Building). The place sells numerous products from Japan such as food, cosmetics and toiletries. I was able to snap photos of Royce (they sell only limited stocks), Tokyo Banana (they come in different flavours) and Hello Kitty lollies. They have a lot more brands in the store so check it out if you want to find some goodies from Japan.

I bought us a box of Royce Popcorn Chocolate and a small bag of Calpis Marshmallows to try out.

At $15.00 a box, the Royce Popcorn Chocolate wasn't as delicious as we hoped it to be. The popcorn didn't have that crunchy texture and there was no hint of butter taste (maybe that was their aim). The chocolate coating was still good though.

I think this was my first time to try marshmallows made in Japan, or at least these kind of marshmallows that were super soft, silky and fluffy--it's like eating clouds (not that I've eaten clouds before hehe). Quite different from the runny-textured marshmallows that I'm used to (which I love). The Calpis Marshmallows had a citrus filling (we think it's Orange) that adds a little zing to the sweet taste of the marshmallows. I liked these marmallows and wouldn't mind snacking on them once in a while. 

It's great that there are more Asian shops opening up in Sydney and ones that have specialties like MD Ranking. It's a great chance for all of us to try what other countries have to offer without have to travel far.

Food Find: Matcha-Flavoured Kit Kat Chocolates

I've read about matcha-flavoured Kit Kat chocolates from Filipino bloggers before and it was something that I hoped I'll get to taste. The idea of green tea chocolate interests me because I love drinking green tea. 

I'm aware that there are stores in Manila that sells these matcha-flavoured Kit Kats but I never pursued to encounter them during my vacations there. I figured that maybe one day, it will come to me unexpectedly.

And it did happen in an unexpected time. While my Mom and I were hanging out at Market City in Chinatown last November, we chanced upon a little candy shop called Sweet Spells. It caught my eye because I saw chocolates from America. Plus, it was such an attractive store that we can't resist going in. 

It's a small store and yet it was filled to the brim. It had chocolates and lollies from countries such the US, UK and Japan.

As we were looked for anything we might like, I was lucky to spot the matcha-flavour Kit Kats. The store was so colourful and the counters look quite cluttered so if I didn't look closely, I would've missed it. I saw that there were two kinds of matchas available: the Uji Matcha (Green Tea) and the Sakura Matcha (Green Tea with Cherry Blossoms). I got myself a box each so we can try them both. A warning though, these didn't came cheap. Each box, which contains three small packs of Kit Kat, were priced at AUD$9.99. 

Fun part located at the back of the box: a place where you can write a note. If you are giving this as a gift, you can write your greeting at the back. I wrote a note for the Husband on the Uji Matcha on while he wrote a note for me on the Sakura Matcha.

We kept these chocolates for awhile and waited until the new year. Yesterday, we had them for dessert while sipping tea. 

The Uji Matcha (Green Tea) has a very strong matcha flavour. It had the bitterness of green tea with a hint of sweetness. The Sakura Matcha (Green Tea with Cherry Blossoms) was very milky and creamy. It was sweeter and only had a faint flavour of green tea.

Between the two flavours, I liked the Sakura Matcha better than the Uji Matcha. The next time I chance upon these matcha-flavoured Kit Kats, I will surely buy a box of the Sakura Matcha again.

Sweet Spells

R1.20A, Market City

9-13 Hay Street, Sydney

Phone: (02) 9281 1919

Ramen Burgers, The Hightlight Of Our Night Noodle Markets Adventure

I have a thousand food and travel experiences in 2013 that I'd like to share and this month, I plan to do just that. So here's what I planned to do. I will publish these 2013 experiences in real time but in a few days, I will archive the posts in its correct month. If you'd like to find a certain topic, you can always type in what you're looking for via the search engine on the top left of this blog. 

October is Good Food Month in Sydney and one of the foodie events we always visit is the Night Noodle Markets. The Husband and I saw this as an opportunity for my Mom to also experience this event. 

The highlight of our Night Noodle Markets experience is trying out the Ramen Burger. I've read about this kind of burger which came out in America (a link was sent to me by a tweetheart) and has piqued the interest of us here in Australia. A Ramen Burger is basically a burger with noodles as the bun.

I found the queue to getting the Ramen Burger at On Ramen. The line was long. And the wait longer. At one time, all of us waited in silence as the staff announced that they're not taking orders because of too much demand but we can still wait in line. So we waited. My expectations were low but since I was there and I had time to spare, I stayed in line. 

I ordered two kinds of Ramen Burger: Pork Belly Burger and Beef Burger. Both came with salad and a few slices of watermelon. Beef and pork belly were good! It was juicy and flavourful. The pork belly has a bit of spice so I immensely enjoyed it. The noodles as bun was messy and a bit oily, which was not a surprise. The Husband, my Mom and I shared these two burgers.

The beauty of food festivals is getting to try other dishes from different vendors. We usually get dimsums and spring rolls.

And then we bought Ippudo's Pork Belly Pork Buns so my Mom can try it. These pork buns are love. A must try when you encounter Ippudo.

The lanterns they set up on the entrance to Night Noodle Markets served as an attraction to everyone. Lots of people taking photos of and with the lanterns. 

The Night Noodle Markets 2013 turned out to to be one of our memorable ones because we got to share it with my Mom. 

October on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I'll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.

My Ibyangrams are back!!! You probably thought I'd forget about my Ibyangrams for the month of October but I just won't let that happen. The first week of November have quickly zoomed in BUT better late than never is what I say.

My October was hectic, challenging, fun and very happy. 

The start of October had me sick with tonsilitis and flu. Not a great combination, I tell you. It was a terrible time as I panicked that I won't be well enough to prepare for my Mom's arrival. But thankfully, the antibiotics kicked in soon enough. I got my affairs in order and our home ready for my Mom's vacation.

Work has grown incredibly busy and it seems I will be running training programs until Christmas (!!!). I'm under a lot of pressure in getting all tasks accomplished but I've embraced the "hectic-ness" of it all and have decided to let go of things that irritate me and just focus on getting work done. 

Exciting times at the family front as my Mom arrived from Manila to vacation in Sydney for six weeks. She's the first one to arrive from overseas as our clan will have a little reunion of sorts this month.

For the rest of how my October was like, here are some Ibyangrams which I hope you enjoy...