food

Riding continued…

Posted on by helenhmk

On Saturday the riding continued with our friends after the Brompton in Palace event. We went to a place which did handmade udon noodles. Ah the taste was fantastic….

We then continued down the Tama river (same route we did on Tuesday)… which is a high embankment which enables you to see great views along the river (flood plain) and into the distance. Along the way we stopped for some coffee and doughnuts.

The little shop was in between a bunch of residential houses (planning laws in SA would never allow it – but it’s 🥰). It certainly was a good way to warm up.

We did around another 10km, said goodbye to our friends who went home… and continued for another 10km or so until they left us at Futako – Tamagawa station… and we continued onto the airport.

It was interesting to see a local ignore the signs we spent time attempting to translate… thankfully we managed to walk down the embankment despite the lack path or steps.

The path to the airport was similar after the train station… however it’s a little like there path is done by one council on one side and a different on the other. In some places it was just crushed rock… and maybe the dirt bike would have been better for that couple of KM’s.

As we were cycling along we passed usual Saturday activities such as baseball, soccer, and golf practice. Baseball seemed more popular… while you can’t see it from the photos there were a lot of dog walkers, and kids on bikes.

The final destination was the airport as we had an early flight the next day.. we ended the ride having done 46km. while long it certainly was very satisfying!

Great food continues…

Posted on by helenhmk

It’s great to catch up with individuals you have not seen in a while… last night we did this at a famous Kichijoji iseya koenten. It has a high reputation in the area due to its longevity. If you are vegetarian/vegan you may want to look away.

… and after we went to another famous local for a coffee and cake… which also did not disappoint. Ah… it’s great to be able to enjoy the variety of Japanese food.

The tall drink was coffee jelly with sweet cream on the top… the other two cups were coffee… and nuts. ❤️

Sushi Harumi

Posted on by kymdt

I’ll start with an apology – no food photos from us for this post. Sushi is something that should be enjoyed directly when placed in front of you by the skilled chef. Where the skilled knife strokes can form tough squid can be rendered milky by a thousand tiny cuts or herring can be transformed into a delicate balanced melody in your mouth.

I know ‘Australian’ style sushi is taking New York but storm, but I have to say I am of Tokyo style!

There is one photo to share and that is of the building directory…

Those who can read Japanese characters will quickly pick it… But otherwise you’ll be playing match the image with your phone. This was a multi-storey (10 or so building) and that is just a list of the tenants on the 4th floor. You certainly get a peak behind the curtain of Tokyo when you walk past the “Member’s Only” club towards the space that is transformed into a peaceful oasis with 10 seats!

If you’re going to Tokyo or want to peak inside – check out their website – http://www.sushiharumi.jphttps://pocket-concierge.jp/en/. They use Pocket Concierge to book for English speaking guests – which really makes experiencing great food in Japan a lot easier.

Food

Posted on by helenhmk

After getting to the hotel.. we went on a short walk around the area. We wanted to see what had changed.. and what was no longer there. We decided to go to the local cheap bar near the hotel – thankfully it was still there and consistent as ever.

Beer was $2 (yes you read that correctly)… and food was tasty as always. Thankfully- short walk to the hotel.

… on the walk earlier we found a pudding shop open, so we bought a couple for dessert. So tasty!

Catching up – SYD style…

Posted on by helenhmk

Ah.. one of the benefits of having to go via SYD is catching up with friends. Last night we caught up with one of Kym’s oldest friends Peter at restaurant Kiln.

The views were impressive… and so was the food… I got personal satisfaction getting all the meat off the bone (apologies to non-meat eaters).

Definitely enjoyable experience… the environment is full of hard surfaces, and when the weather is finer the roof can open. But if you are not keen on restaurant loud talking and music maybe it’s not for you… but the food is fabulous!

It was also great to see the updates to central train station in Sydney… the vibes were so much like Tokyo station… ah… can’t wait!!!

… good to catch up Peter – hopefully see you at Christmas.

Third day on the bike is always the hardest…

Posted on by helenhmk

After years of bike touring I know this to be true. You realise you are on the seat for a number of hours.. and you haven’t quite adjusted to the pace. This is how I felt today – but the weather certainly made me feel better.

Just look at the road.. it was like this for the majority of the day

But despite the corrugated roads… of which there were many (seemed never ending) it was good. I made it up this hill without stopping… not that you expected anything less from me.

As you can see there certainly was not many people around. But on the ride we did manage to meet another cyclist on the road who was in an ebike. Brian was cycling from Edithburgh to the lighthouse and return. He stayed with us for a bit and we chatted about bikes and past rides. always good to meet a fellow cyclist on the road!

The cyclist route separated from the walking route… and rejoined for shelter, and it was where we ate lunch early afternoon…

Thankfully.. after this we had about 8+km to go… but it felt longer with all the corrugations! Apologies to my ride companions for the complaints today – here’s to a better ride tomorrow!

Bakery review…

Posted on by helenhmk

Bakeries in Australia are fabulous. I may be a world traveller – but based on experience they certainly are at the top of my list.

So far we have visited two… the Ardrossan Bakery and the Maitland Bakery.

The Ardrossan Bakery is easy to locate – as it is I in the Main Street. There are a few seats outside, and over the road there are a couple of park benches under the Norfolk pines which are down the Main Street.

We had pasties, sausage rolls, chocolate doughnut and apricot turnover and sat outside given the weather was delightful. While I generally prefer tomatoe sauce put in the centre of the pastie with a squeezey bottle the usual presentation is the sauce in the takeaway packet you squeeze together and put over your food. Pastie was great, as was the apricot turnover. For me the doughnut was a little more cake-y than I prefer. I’m generally not a fan of large amounts of cream – but the apricot turnover was fabulous – and a real highlight. Not too sweet… just perfect. If you are in the neighbourhood – I recommend it!

The second bakery we visited was in Maitland.

It was late afternoon… and they were about to close for the day. We had just completed a cycle from Port Vincent to Point Pearce and back. The wind had taken a lot of energy out of us – what there was nothing better than a bakery product Again, I tried the apricot turn over and it was pretty good as it was eaten very quickly. You do have the option to eat inside as there are the usual few tables and you can also get a tea or a coffee

Both places are worth visiting if you are on the road and searching for a quick hunger fix.

Great stop in Oxford – Hamblin bread

Posted on by helenhmk

Cycling on holiday enables you to find interesting places which are not necessarily in the guide books. Our approach to bromptoneering is exactly that find a route and cycle it… if there is a major tourist attraction, we might stop to take a photo, if I’m lucky. But this approach also enables us to stop the moment we see something interesting. In Oxford it was the below sign which stopped us in our tracks.

It had all the right elements to attract Kym – “bakes here daily”, and good font. Kym managed to snaffle the last apple and custard buns (yeah us!) and they had filtered coffee (rare to find).

We later learnt the bread was made from stone ground flour milled locally. They make their own jams, as well as sourcing items they use from local producers. The taste was fabulous. We enjoyed the buns and had a great chat with the owner Hugo who was passionate about using local sources and their products. He suggested we return the next day for breakfast.. to try their bread as we would not regret it.

The next day… yes we returned..! Ah the smell of a bakery is fabulous in a morning.

We enjoyed a shared breakfast and a cardamon bun, and a cinnamon bun – delightful! We even bought a jar of their jam (let’s hope it makes it home). If we lived here we would be regulars.

If you find yourself in Oxford (thurs-sun) do your stomach a favour hop on bus (if you don’t have a bike) and go there… you will be happy!