Choking smoky sticks

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I had a pretty good first experience at Torikaze (鳥かぜ) - the local outpost of famed Tokyo joint Torishiki (鳥しき). That was, of course, by invitation from B Bestie. After that meal, I thought maybe, just maybe, there is finally a yakitori (焼き鳥) joint that Foursheets could enjoy. In addition to the 3 sticks of veggies - which were watched over by Chef Matsui Ryo (松井亮) himself - there were another 9 different vegetables offered as add-ons. It wouldn't have to be an all-chicken evening.

We managed to rope the Zhongmeister and Winnie the Chew, as they have been a few times and are fans. As our friends have always sat in the private rooms, I thought they should get a different experience by sitting at the counter - like a proper yakitori joint. This would turn out very badly for me tonight...

Appetizer : edamame egg tofu with shiso sauce (前菜：枝豆玉子豆腐、しそソース) - the perilla sauce was not bad, but it wasn't as strong and fragrant as hoped.

Detour to Hangzhou day 2: shrimp and tea leaves

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It's a new day and I need some breakfast. I had originally thought about grabbing some noodles like the Hangzhou specialty pian er chuan (片儿川), but the place Nicemo recommended would take 20 minutes by taxi - or 40 minutes round trip. That seemed like too much effort just to get breakfast on a workday, so I decided to walk around the hotel and see what I would come across.

Unfortunately, there were no shops nearby offering the noodles I wanted. Most were places offering simple takeout stuff and bakeries, which didn't offer any interesting local stuff. I actually considered getting brekkie at McDonald's... but eventually came across Longquan Shaobing (龙泉烧饼) which offered simple shaobing with preserved leafy mustard (梅干菜烧饼) - something I tasted for the first time two days ago. Actually, these also came with little bits of pork fat. So... totally up my alley! Happiness.

Visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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Since early 2007, I have been wanting to gear my future travels towards visiting more locations which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are so many amazing places around the world to see!

Here is the list that I have already visited so far. Click on the links to see pictures from my Google albums.

Total count: 80 sites in 21 countries

Australia
Greater Blue Mountains Area - 1976
Sydney Opera House - 1976

Belgium
The Architectural Works of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement - 2018
Belfries of Belgium and France - 2018
Historic Centre of Brugge - 2018
La Grand-Place, Brussels - 2018
Major Townhouses of the Architect Victor Horta - 2018
Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex - 2018
Stoclet House - 2018

Cambodia 
Angkor - 2001

Detour to Hangzhou day 1: dinner by the lake

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On my trip to Hangzhou last month, I kept telling people that the first (and previous) time I was in Hangzhou had been in 1998. At that time, the only international hotel in existence was Shangri-La, and what was then Hyatt Regency Hangzhou hadn’t even opened. Well, tonight I’m staying on the shores of West Lake (西湖) for the first time, and using this opportunity to dine at what has become a Hangzhou institution - 28 Hubin Road (湖滨28).

Chef Fu Yueliang (傅月良) – who now helms the kitchen at the amazng Ruyuan (如院) - had been the executive chef here when this restaurant opened. He had modernized and made the pagoda-shaped braised pork belly into an iconic dish. Since he didn’t serve us the dish when we were at Ruyuan last month, I was determined to have it here.

The restaurant offered us two small dishes to nibble on: broad beans (蠶豆) and Chinese napa cabbage (白菜).

Detour to Hangzhou day 1: Liangzhu culture

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I’ve been spending time around Anji (安吉) over the last 2 days for our company offsite, and it was time to go home. Since Nicemo offered to drive a few of us back to Hangzhou, I requested a detour to Liangzhu (良渚) so that we could tour the ruins of the ancient city, which are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The trip from Banyan Tree Anji to Liangzhu National Archeological Site Park (良渚国家考古遺址公园) took a little more than an hour. We rented a golf cart and Nicemo drove us around the park for our tour.