Gastro Monkey // 美食家

I had heard about Ozumo before; from a coworker and from online blogs. When I had a chance to go while in the city for work, I jumped at the opportunity. Upon entry, the bar area is dimly lit with pretty sake bottles floating just above it. The area looked like a nice place to just hang out on a random night after work. Past the bar was the dining area. The dining area was well lit and spacious. Even though it was a Monday night around 6:30pm, the dining area was not completely empty.  Honestly, we didn't look at the menu. We just went with the omakase. Before I closed the menu though, I did notice that the o makase is only available before 8:30pm, so if you want to order omakase, don't forget to keep track of the time! While we waited for the rest of our party to arrive, we decided to start with a sake sampler. We figured all of the samplers would all taste fine and went with the suggestion of the server. The Kokuryu sampler came with sample of junmai ginjo, kuzuryu,...

One of my favorite places in Taiwan is Tea Mountain (茶山). Since my aunt lives in Chiayi, she is relatively close and makes a lot of random trips up the mountains. So, while everyone is rushing up Alishan, she is  out exploring the neighboring mountains. While I do feel that everyone visiting Taiwan should see Alishan at least once, there are other places that are worth visiting too, such as Tea Mountain. There are a few homestays available, and they are primarily in Chinese. If you have someone who can read/write/speak Chinese, life will be much easier if you wish to come here. Of course, you won't be denied if you only speak English, it just makes it easier to communicate with everyone.  If you can get past that first hurdle of booking a weekend at one of the homestays on Tea Mountain, the rest is just relaxation and a fun weekend. Food is included, along with being brought around to partake in some fun outdoor activities. One of the lunches we had - under that bamb...

I have been to Japantown countless times, and each time I pass On the Bridge I think, I'm going to try that place one of these days. I am proud to say that I finally did make that stop! In fact, I have gone twice now. They serve a wide range of items from loco moco to curry to spaghetti. It's all done Japanese style, do don't go in expecting it to be like Olive Garden but with comics. My favorite so far, has been the nameko spaghetti.  The location is exactly as the name is, on the bridge. There are two main buildings (plus a few smaller ones) in San Francisco's Japantown. This is the bridge that you can take to get from one to another. For example, if you want Belly Good Crepes but also want some Sophie's Crepes, this would be the bridge to go over.  Katsu curry don. The breading is crispy, and the curry is not overwhelming like some curries can be. Nameko Spaghetti  - Japanese style spaghetti made from a soy and garlic based sauce rather than tomato. ...