Your Independent Guide to Hotels

PROLOGUE ::

So the perfect hotel has been booked.  The fun-filled itinerary has been planned.  But don’t forget a very important, if not the most crucial, component of a trip: good food!

Good food plays an important role in the enjoyment of life and makes up part of the fond memories of your travels.  Believe it or not, our palette has very powerful memory.    A very tasty, creamy gelato you had in the Duomo of Milan can never be forgotten.  And if I asked you whether you could remember the taste, you could almost feel the chocolaty, velvety taste on your tongue, right?  Are you beginning to salivate now?  And the memory of the gelato is bringing back certain happy memories of the trip, isn’t it?   So please, be kind to yourself and your palette and treat yourself to some good food while you travel!  Forget being spontaneous and experiencing the local culture by just popping into whichever restaurant that comes your way.  Some restaurants are worth making a trip to!

And that’s why we are here to help.  We want you to have a fabulous and memorable journey.  So we try to provide you with a couple of good options at some popular spots in the world so that your trip can be unforgettable.
To start off with, let us show you one of our favorite restaurants in one of our favorite cities in the world…

CHAPTER 1 ::

City: Tokyo, Japan
Restaurant: Ukai-tei (Ginza branch)
Cuisine: Western prepared in teppanyaki style
Venue: Classy Art Nouveau décor; restaurant famous for its antique collection
Price: Dinner set menus starting from 16,800 yen
Service: Attentive
Address: Various locations including Ginza, Omotesando, and Yokohama;  main branch in Hachioji
Website: http://www.ukai.co.jp/

Look at that fluffy uni fresh from the shell! When you have uni this fresh, it really doesn’t require any condiments or seasoning at all.

Bluefin tuna is becoming quite a delicacy now with reduced supply. Can’t say it’s anything to write home about, but kudos for the exquisite dinnerware!

Corn cream soup is always a crowd pleaser… well at least it pleases me immensely!

Beside Tajima beef, abalone is one of the restaurant’s most famous dishes. It’s first wrapped in seaweed and steamed under a mountain of sea salt on the teppanyaki hotplate, then served with a special sauce. The texture of the abalone is very velvety and tender. They’d even add truffle when it’s in season!

Main course is Tajima beef grilled teppanyaki style. Tajima beef is the highest quality beef one can find in Japan and the restaurant breeds its own cattle. A few grains of sea salt is all that’s needed to bring out the wonderful flavor of the juicy steak!

Last but not least: Mango compote. But let me tell you a secret: the best dessert is coffee jello which is as strong as a cup of espresso!

Why do I want to write a blog on restaurants in foreign land?  It’s because eating and travelling are my two greatest passions that I can keep talking about incessantly.  I know that deciding where to dine on a trip is a lot of work but it is part of the fun of planning a trip.  Finding a good restaurant and seeing your friends and family truly enjoy the meal is a very satisfying experience.  So I always appreciate good gastronomic suggestions from reliable foodies and I’d like to become one of your sources!

What can I NOT leave home without?  My blanket and my teddy!  Just kidding… honestly there’s really nothing I can’t live without beside my contact lenses.  Afterall I’ve lost my luggage so many times that I can survive on anything I can get from a 7/11.  But here are a few things I’d always bring for any trip that lasts more than 2 days:

1)    LeSportsac Pullman bag – You’d think that you only needed a cabin-sized trolley for a 3d/2n Taipei trip.  Surely everything you need fits snuggly in there.  And you always think that you wouldn’t shop much anyway.  So wrong!  Coz you always shop and you’d only end up hand-carrying bags of things you bought onto the plane  like any clueless tourist.  So why not pack into your luggage a fold-up bag as big as a cosmetic bag but unfolds into the size of a suitcase just in case?  Just pack all your clothes into the soft bag and check it in.  The trolley can be used for things that require more tender loving care, like cookies or the new pair of stilettos.

2)    My Macbook – Something I absolutely cannot live without for more than 48 hours.  I need it to check-in online, book restaurants, find directions… and I don’t people to miss me too much while I’m gone!

3)    The lightest and smallest cabin-sized trolly with 4 wheels – A trolley just big enough to fit my Macbook, some contact lenses, a set of underwear and a top, iPhone and Macbook chargers, a Kindle, a light shawl and some magazines.  I don’t like carrying things on my shoulders because I don’t like sore shoulders when I’m on holiday.  Sore shoulders should be from crazy shopping sprees, not from being a porter.  My favorite one is Muji’s Bellow Pocket 4-Wheel Carryon.  It’s ultra light with a pocket outside where you can easily slip magazines into.

4)    Disinfecting wipes – I like to clean my seat on the plane, the toilet, door handles, phones, and remote controls in hotel rooms very thoroughly.  Yes, I can be quite anal.  But then you know how many people like to pick their noses and not wash their hands after going to the bathroom?!

5)    Canon S90 – Compact, crystal sharp photos with vibrant colours, and large aperture for low-light conditions and shallow depth of field.  My favorite little camera!

(THAI-STYLE LEMONGRASS BISQUE WITH RIVER PRAWNS)

The most well-known Thai dish in the world. This soup entices your senses and whets your appetite. My version here is a creamier take on the traditional soup, therefore I call it a bisque. It’s quick and easy to make, and a definite crowd pleaser.

Preparation time: 10 min.
Cooking time: Approx. 20 min.
Serves: 2-3

INGREDIENTS

• 200g shrimp/prawn heads and shells
• 8 river prawns (or any other kind of prawns), remove shell keeping the tail on
• 3 cups of light chicken stock
• 30 g galangal (thai ginger, can use normal ginger root if galangal is unavailable), sliced thinly
• 3 sticks lemongrass (remove the outer skin, cut top and bottom root, use only the heart of the herb), sliced thinly on a diagonal
• 4-5 kaffir lime leaves
• 10 fresh straw mushrooms (can use canned variety), halved or quartered
• 1 sprig coriander (leaves only)
• 3 tablespoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp thai chili paste
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar (to taste)
• 2-3 tablespoons evaporated milk (depending on your desire of creaminess)

METHOD

1. Make a slit down the prawn’s back, exposing the black/green intestine. Remove intestine. Set aside.
2. Pound the galangal and lemongrass with the back of a knife, or in a mortar pestle to bring out their flavors. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan. bring chicken stock to a boil. Add the prawn heads and shells to the stock. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the prepared galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves to the simmering stock. Let the stock simmer at medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove the shells and prawn heads. Add chili paste, fish sauce, palm sugar and straw mushrooms to the stock. Simmer for 2 min. until sugar has dissolved and flavors have merry. (Can enhance seasoning if desired by adding more fish sauce, sugar, chili paste, and/or salt to taste).
6. Add in the deveined prawns. Simmer to half done. At this time, can drizzle some chili oil from the jar of chili paste for more kick.
7. Add the lime juice into the serving bowl.
8. When the prawns are just cooked, swirl-in the evaporated milk to the soup. Turn off the heat.
9. Pour soup into the serving bowl with the lime juice. Garnish with coriander leaves.

TIPS:

• The more prawn heads and shells added to cook the stock, the more intense and flavorful the soup.
• Do not add the lime juice to the cooking stock. Lime juice is not suitable for cooking.
• The soup should taste spicy (intensity depending on your preference), sour, and creamy. The hot and sour flavors should be balanced.
• You can omit the evaporated milk for a less-rich, clearer version.
• Thai chili paste is found in grocery stores. It is usually packaged in a glass jar and noted for “Tom Yum” uses on the label.

Dear Minimo advocates,

Welcome to my blog, and welcome to this great travel site! It’s an open door to a carefully filtered selection of the world’s best accommodations. In my collection of writings,  I wish to share my best experiences, and my growing knowledge with you. I write to you because I love life, and it’s many pleasurable affairs.

I hope my articles will spark an interest in you, and eventually, can be shared amongst your friends and loved ones.

Happy reading!

Natasha

My Travel Must-Haves

My enjoyment for travel is really at ease with the company of some travel must-haves. Of course, it wouldn’t be a vacation without the perfect accommodation and destination, but knowing that I have some specifics with me just makes it all that better. There are a few other products in my skincare regime (maybe more than a few) that I can’t live without, but the ones below are my absolute choices.

Creme de la Mer

My skin saviour! Whether it’s heading to Niseko for the ski season, or to heavy A/C tropical destinations, this creme acts as my saviour. Great for sensitive skin like mine, dry skin or dehydrated skin. You can thinly sweep it on or thickly pile it. It acts as a barrier to protect my skin, calm it down, and give it the moisture my skin demands.

Glysomed Hand Cream

When traveling, my hands get dry and tight, this substantially moist hand cream is great for those long flights, and dry destinations. I like the unscented version, as it is a bit smoother in texture. I slather it on before bed, and my hands remain soft throughout the night. No other hand cream has been able to take its place. Note, it may be a bit sticky for those humid destinations. So far only available in Canada.

Clarins HydraQuench Cream Mask

A quick pick me up. In just 5 min. the skin gets a dose of moisture. Can be used on eyes and lips too!

Canon S90

Definitely a digital camera for dummies, I’m a photo dummy! My S90 gives me enough control, while still easy enough for a technical incompetent like myself to use. It’s direct and user-friendly-my perfect moment capturer. Perfect for taking food and evening shots. Compact and easy to use. Say cheese!

Eno Fruit Salt Sachets

Our indigestion rescuer, as eating sprees is usually the case when we travel.