DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Wine & Bike

As most of my regular readers would know, I love the outdoors and on weekends I usually go hiking either on Saturday or Sunday, and sometimes on both days. Last Saturday, though, I did something different. I went cycling with this meetup group called 'Tao of Wines'. Usually this meetup group goes for a hike, and at the end of it, finds a spot to sample a few bottles of wine that they take along on the hike. Last Saturday it was 'Wine & Bike' instead of 'Wine & Hike'. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather for a picnic last Saturday - sunny blue skies with temperatures in the low 20s.

We met at Tai Wai (大圍) MTR station and rented bikes from a shop opposite the station.

I'm all set to go with a bottle of Riesling stashed in my backpack. Heehee. Other members in the group had goodies stashed in their backpacks as well.

The Tolo Harbour cycling track has proper cycling lanes that run from Tai Wai all the way to Tai Po, passing through Sha Tin and the Tolo Harbour. There are many cyclists on the track with both leisure and serious cyclists sharing it.

In Sha Tin, you'll see the scullers practising in the canal. There were also dragonboaters having a training session.

The Hong Kong Science & Technology Park was our rest-stop after cycling for about 11km. The Science & Technology Park sits in a lovely spot that has great views of the harbour and the hills in the New Territories.

It was such a gorgeous day to dine al fresco!

As you cycle, you'll be able to enjoy the view of the hills that unfold before you. In this photo, you can see the Pat Sin Leng (八仙嶺) ridge.

After cycling about 21km, we reached our end point cum picnic spot in Tai Mei Duk （大美督）. This particular picnic spot is called Chung Pui (涌背). Out comes the wine, cheese, grapes, and bread.

What a great way to end the bike ride! The first wine we sampled was an Australian Logan Pinot Gris 2008. It was really nice and refreshing and I liked it.

The spread.

A view from our picnic spot. It's a lovely way to spend the afternoon fishing or reading a book. I saw people fishing and even managed to see a man net a fish!

You can also cycle to the dam where you'll get gorgeous views of the mountains that surround the area. Here you see Pat Sin Leng (八仙嶺) again with its eight peaks. Pat Sin Leng literally translates to 'Eight Immortal Ridge' and each individual peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology. The highest of the eight stands at 591m and the lowest ones are at 510m. I've hiked this ridge before but unfortunately on the day I hiked it, the day was so foggy that I couldn't see a thing below the fog. My fellow hikers and I could only use our imagination. It'd have been an amazing view that greeted us had it not been rainy and foggy that train. The Pat Sin Leng Country Trail is a hike I'd recommend for anyone who hasn't done it yet.

If you're keener on cycling, definitely try out this route for a start. It's a great route for beginners as it's very flat. And of course, ending the bike ride with a picnic is the cherry on the icing for a perfect day spent outdoors!

Dazaifu 太宰府

While in Fukuoka, my mum and I also took a day-trip to Dazaifu (太宰府) which is famous for the Tenman-gu Shrine. People like to go to this shrine to pray for academic success as it enshrines Sugawara Michizane (845-903), the god of academic achievement.

The street leading to the shrine is lined with teahouses selling freshly made umegae-mochi, a specialty of Dazaifu that's a rice cake filled with red bean paste. Ume is the name for plum in Japanese - you'll see that there is a plum flower motif on the rice cake. The temple is supposedly famous for its plum trees.

Me performing Temizu (手水), a cleansing ritual to be performed in Shinto shrines before approaching the deity - a symbolic gesture to show you're free from impurities. You first rinse your left hand, then your right, and then the mouth is rinsed with water from the left hand. Not many people rinse their mouth these days, but if you do, don't spit the water back in!

You can also buy a wooden plaque and write your wishes on it. I didn't bother.

A couple in traditional Japanese wedding costume having their wedding photos taken.

Umegae-mochi and matcha - if you get the one-day Dazaifu pass which is specially for tourists, this set is included in the ticket that costs 1000 yen per person. The day pass includes a return ticket from Fukuoka, this set and it entitles you to discounts if you visit the different museums in Dazaifu.

Japan's fourth national museum, the Kyushu National Museum is nestled in a quiet spot near the shrine.

Dazaifu City used to be where the regional government was situated for the whole of Kyushu about 1,300 years ago. A two-kilometre walk from the shrine will take you to these government building ruins. The trees in the background are the sakura trees in all their blooming glory.

Getting there:
From Tenjin subway station, walk to Nishitetsu Fukuoka Station (2 min). From there, take a local train to Nishitetsu Dazaifu Station (43 min).

Some Scorn For You?

When visiting a non-English speaking country, one usually comes across some interesting English translations and spelling mistakes in signs, menus, notices etc. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this one.

Strawberry-flavoured scorn???

Alas, they're just scones in Delifrance, which by the way, had confectionary that looked better than the ones in Singapore and Hong Kong. There was also a bigger variety of bread and pastries sold. This Delifrance outlet is located at Hakata Station, Fukuoka.

Ichiran

Nothing gets more impersonal than eating at Ichiran, a ramen eatery in Fukuoka. Ramen is one of Fukuoka's specialties, so it goes without saying that I had to have it at least once.

There's a system guide to teach you how to order. Don't worry, it's in English!

First you go to the vending machine to select what you want to order. Each bowl of pork ramen costs 790 yen, but you have to pay more if you want to add more green onions, or more pork etc.

Take that voucher(s) to one of these booths.

Also take this order form and circle your choices.

These booths are so self-contained. There's a button to push to call one of the staff to your booth where you then hand over the voucher(s) and the form. You never see the staff member's face though. All you see are their hands. Chopsticks and spoons are tucked neatly at the side of the booth.

You can hang your coat at the back and there are even tissues provided.

Within a few minutes, this cute rectangular bowl arrives in front of you. After it's served to you, the waiter or waitress lowers the bamboo blind so that you can concentrate on your food and not be distracted.

Lift the lid and you get a steaming hot bowl of ramen. I liked their noodles and the broth was rich and tasty. They were also not too stingy with their pork slices.

The Japanese think of everything - there's a small sink for you to wash your hands as you leave.

Ichiran can be found at the basement of Canal City, Fukuoka. See how to get there from here.

Yanagibashi Market 柳橋連合市場

Yanagibashi Market in Fukuoka is no Tokyo's Tsukiji Market in its scale and the variety of fish available, but it's still interesting to have a look if you've never been to a market in Japan before.

Unlike Tsukiji Market which is more known for its fish, Yanagibashi Market sells other produce as well.

Fresh wasabi on the left

One of many shops selling seafood

We put a small box of uni (sea urchin) to eat - I love eating it and couldn't walk away without buying some.

Dried fish and bonito flakes

There were a few shops selling different sorts of fried fish cakes.

We had a bite at a small shop that had a sushi counter and a small seating space upstairs. This plate of maguro (tuna) sushi was delicious!

We also had this plate of assorted sushi which wasn't as good as the tuna unfortunately! Nonetheless, it was the first of many sushi meals we were to have in the next 11 days around Kyushu island.

Yanagibashi Market is a 15-minute walk from JR Hakata station (博多駅) which is the main train station in Fukuoka. Alternatively you can also hop on the Green City Loop bus and its one of the stops along the route that it plies.

Sakuras

One of the items on my life's to-do list is to see sakuras (aka cherry blossoms) bloom in Japan. Hanami is the Japanese term for referring to the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. This flower is usually the sakura. In my recent trip to Kyushu (九洲), I had timed it in the hope of catching the blossoms. There also happened to be a five-day weekend in Hong Kong over Easter and the Ching Ming festival, so I decided many months ago to make this trip despite the exorbitant price of air tickets and the fact that the Japanese yen is so strong. But I decided that this was something I had to do at least once in my life time and thus decided to splurge on it. Thankfully, the weather and the blossoms played their part and were there to welcome me on my second visit to Japan.

Fukuoka

A darker pink variety of sakura which I saw less often than the pale pink variety

Every year hanami is a huge thing with the Japanese. There are predictions on when the blossoms will appear and when they do, there's huge news coverage on it every day. You also see the Japanese people having hanami parties by going to the parks and having picnics under the sakura trees.

Beppu

A white variety which is lesser seen

These delicate blossoms have been written about by Japanese poets for centuries, and were used as a metaphor for life - beautiful but transient in its beauty. Indeed, it's not hard to see why when you see the sakuras for yourself. When the wind blows through the trees, the petals fall like soft snow, fluttering down as they let the gentle breeze take them along. The trees are in bloom for only a short time and the flowers' petals are so fragile that a slight breeze will have some drizzling down - its subtle glory is so ephemeral. I've been lucky to be able to catch them in Kyushu and it's one of the most beautiful sights I've beheld. I'm glad I can now tick an item off my life's to-do list!