A luxurious ride

The Hinotori line commenced commercial operation on the 14th March 2020 as luxurious line. So we decided to give it a try. The train runs between Nagoya and Osaka, stopping at Namba station.

We managed to get the premium seats located in the first carriage. The seats were just like first class seats on an airplane.

 The train provides complimentary locker services.

 The view from our seats.

Someone is feeling pampered.

We bought an eki bento for our two-hour ride and it was rather filling. I spent the rest of the time enjoying the view of the countryside and taking short naps. I felt pampered and spoilt as the seats were extremely comfortable. The ticket is cheaper than a shinkasen but not as fast. It is definitely worth a try though. More on our trip later.

One of my favourite dishes is chicken paprikash. I came across it when I was surfing on the net and it caught my attention because I have always had a thing for gravy dishes. 

I make it often, especially when I am in need of a perk-me-up. The original recipe can be found here but I will share how I make it as there are some slight variations.

First, I brown boneless chicken thigh cut into medium chunks which are seasoned with salt and pepper. Then the browned chunks are set aside.

Then, I add sliced onions and green pepper and let them steam until they are soft and the onions have gone translucent.

Then, I add paprika and stir fry the mixture for about 20 second over medium low heat to avoid the paprika powder from getting burnt.

After that, I add 250mml of water and three cubes of chicken stock.

Let simmer until chicken becomes tender.

Finally, add one tablespoon of flour to a small tub of sour cream ( the tub I bought had 200  90grams of sour cream) and temper the mixture with some of the cooking liquid.

And, voilá! Yummy chicken paprikash with rich gravy!

I personally prefer to each gravy dishes with Bario rice due to its smooth and starchy texture. But Japonica rice is also great.

Time for some early dinner noms.

For all the ladies out there

Sweet little things

The urge to bake got to me again and was hankering for some carrot cupcakes so I decided to look up a recipe online. What caught my interest was this baking website called Sugar Spun Run run by Sam. I looked at her carrot cupcake recipe and felt that it would be one that I can handle. It also has a cream cheese frosting recipe which I was very excited to try out. All in all, they looks like pretty straightforward recipes so I decided on this one. 

It did not disappoint and I was happy with the results. The cream cheese frosting was a bit on the sweet side so I'm going to reduce the amount of confectioner's sugar and thicken it with some corn starch as suggested. 

If you'd like to give the recipe a try, I wish you happy baking!

What we did last summer: Part III

We stayed at Eastin Taipei Hotel which is about a 5 minute walk from ZhongXiao Dunhua MRT station and 3 km from the iconic 101. we were satisfied with our choice as the location was convenient and the room was comfortable. The room rate comes with breakfast. You need to inform the reception the breakfast set of your choice the day before which will be delivered to your room between a certain time period in the morning. Self service laundry is available and you can work out at the gym while you wait for your laundry to be done. Or just lounge round and surf the internet in the communal area.

 

Our breakfast.

 We had a pretty easy morning and after taking our time we set out to 101 and to have lunch at Ding Tai Fung.

Here we are. We decided to have an early lunch before exploring 101 as not to spend too much time queuing up for a table.

Ding Tai Fung uses a ticketing system and the tickets issued are based on 4 group numbers. 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and groups of 7 and above.

Instructions on how to enjoy your xiao long bao.

For the 4 dishes that we ordered it came to a total of roughly 3,300 Japanese yen.

We set out to Shilin station and after getting there we took a shuttle bus to the National Palace Museum.

After our stint at the National Palace Museum we headed out to NanBeitou station to visit a hot spring pool.

 This is a mixed pool and swimsuits are available for purchase if you don't have proper ones with you. There are lockers, hair dryers and shower rooms available for you need to pay for those facilities. You can use the shower rooms as a changing room even if you are not going to use the shower.  The hot spring pools are located on three levels, with temperatures rising as you ascend. Photography is prohibited.

After our dip in the hot springs we went to a night market nearby to have something sweet and, you guessed it. A foot massage.

I had my share of mangoes during this trip. I love mangoes but hardly eat them in Japan as they are very dear.

To end the day we had dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant close to our hotel. The restaurant only accepts cash payment and there is also an additional cleaning charge at the end of your meal.

The dessert station.

I had lots of lamb! my favourite meat.

The perfect end to our scrumptious dinner.

 That concluded the third day of our trip and it's back home the next morning.

It's been a great trip but there is still so much more to do. We will be back!