Miffa, Tometaro and Cafemiffy

We have been in Chiba prefecture, that is close to Narita airport. Our friends, Cafemiffy, has brought us to a traditional and very special Soba restaurant.

As you know Soba is Japanese noodle that is made from buckwheat (trigo sarraceno).

We had Soba Soshu (liquor) and a lot of delicatessen, including the best Tempura, we have ever had.

An illustrated guide about travel rip-offs. Chapter One. Introduction to Modern Live (in DUAL)

Dear friends and readers,

I watched on TV so many stupid travel series about places I have been a lot of time as a tourist that I decided to share with you some of my “bad experiences” in order to avoid some unpleasant experiences.

Danger is everywhere and hawkers can smell stupidity as dogs do with fear.

Apart from that, walking with sandals and dark socks hanging a camera over your neck and wearing a safari hat – all together but in any combination- could be the recipe for disaster.

First things first, lets define “rip-off” and scam:

Rip-off is a “bad financial transaction” , in other way, “an incident in which a person overpays for something” The term overpays may refer from some extra $, to some hundred times the market fair value.

Scam is roughly the same, but it involves wrongdoing, cheating, and in some cases fraud.

Let’s take a clear example of this two:

While a rip-off is visiting Venetia (Italy) and paying for a Coke 3 euros while clearly and visible marked in big post in the entrance, and whilst other honest barmen applying some or similar prices (they both are robbing you), a scam will be guys yelling you and offering real brick oven pizza menu for 6 euros.

Where is the scam in the second one? That the offer was real but it was the price for the 8 centimetres diameter pizza and the standard 12 cm. is 12 euros plus a beer is 10 euros and additional set up table plus service charge is not included.

How to avoid scams is not the scope of this series but we will say some general rules

-Say no to everyone, and then say not again.

-Read everything and ask for prices (they doubt about it, get the hell out of that place).

-if something is so cheap, probably it’s not true

- HCT is not the same than HTC as Pear is not Apple, and Panascanic is not Panasonic

- Even when the real thing is properly spelled, a Rolex does not cost less than a Swatch watch. Even if the offer you a stolen one (buying stolen stuff is delective) they don’t sell it for pocket money.

And looking for some Rip-off inspiring images I have founded this amazing post about The Ultimate Kings of Rip-off : Low Cost (the so called) airplane companies

Check that “Off Track Planet Tip: Checking in online doesn’t mean you get to skip the lines. So get your ass there early. With budget flights, you’re more likely to get a Blow Job from the clerk than a seat on the next flight out.” Sorry but I have expanded the BJ

 

 Amsterdam airport, but we used KLM (organized criminals too)

 So you think singapore is scam free?

 This is what we never get!

Nice drinks, nice food, prepare a kidney to pay for that Tometaro

We discover Causeway Bay with 9J

9j's mother is a well known shoe collector from Hong Kong. Unofficial talks about several HK$ millions worth of her collection.

We met again with 9J, who was coming from a flamenco show and we went to a great Korean Barbaque restaurant in Causeway Bay area. The area was full of people ready for friday's night party but unfortunately Father Bunny said let's go to bed early.

Anyways if you have cash or credit HK is an easy city to scape from ultra protective fathers and me and Tometaro grab a taxi and we have just arrived from what i will call " Tometaro induction in Asias's world city".

Fernando's at Macau

One of the most popular restaurants in Macau is Fernando’s. Simple but good Portuguese food at affordable prices in Coloane (about half an hour taxi ride from Macau center).

No credits cards, no reservation and no air conditioning are on the other side but the atmosphere is unique, with home made bread and a quite good Portuguese wine cellar.

We had the Codfish but I would recommend the roasted piglet or the “gallina” (chicken).

Rbt – Rabbit- The Restaurant

© 9j Media Partners Ltd.

In my first outing experience in my city, just some hours after my parents did all the red tape that you need to adopt a bunny child in HK, I saw a nice sign…

Unfortunately, I was so young that I had no writing skills and my Father is such an idiot that he forgot to write down the name.

But after extensive and intensive research we founded their website * and we manage to be there several years after our first attempt.

May be I am going to disappoint my friend 9J, but they have a great corporate image for bunny lovers but quite a disappointing offer for humans. Besides their name stand for REAL BREWED TEA, and they're from Taiwan.

* This was not an easy job, and we need to use the "search for rbt into .hk domains option"

Ramiro is cooking – volume 1

You know my Father and specially Miffo are excellent cookers (well this is something that applies to Miffo only).

In the past I used to have a luxury restaurant where we mixed the best from the East and the West but this damn crisis has ruined my – quite expensive restaurant- and I have been forced to convert it in an inexpensive closed menu restaurant that offers traditional Spanish dishes.

Do no tell anyone but we refill the wine bottles and other things that you always suspected but never think restaurants did.

Swiss cheese fondue

I am not a little bunny anymore but Father Bunny loves
to treat me as her little bunny every time.

ENG: Today it was raining in Zurich, actually since we got up till now (6 pm) it has been the same. The mist was covering all the sky and on these days the best option is to find a nice restaurant.

They recommended us Swiss Chuchi (below Hotel Adler) which speciality is Swiss fondue. And we have an excellent one who rivalled the one we had at The Peninsula in Hong Kong.

--·--
DE: Seitdem wir aufgestanden sind , hat es den ganzen Tag in Zürich geregnet . Der Himmel war voll bewölkt und die beste Option war ein schönes gemütliches Restaurant in der alten Stadt zu finden.

Es wurde uns ein schweizerisches Restaurant -Swiss Chuchi- ( beim Hotel Adler ) empholen, welches Speziälitat die Fondues sind. Wir haben eins gegessen une es war so lecker , dass dies mit der Fondue von “ The Peninsula Hotel “ in Hong Kong ganz im konkurrenz steht.

--·--
FR: Depuis que nous nous sommes levés, il pleut tout le temps à Zürich . Il y avait tellemnt des nuages tout le jour que la meilleure option a été de chercher un restaurant

On nous a recommendé un resto -le Swiss Chuchi- à côté du Hotel Adler, qui est tres reconnu par ses fondues. Vraiment il faut dire que la fondue que nous avons mangé est à l´hauteur ou même meilleur de celle que nous avions mangé chez The Peninsula Hong Kong.

--·--
IT: Dopo che ci siamo alzati, piove a Zurigo. Tutto il giorno è stato coperto e abbiamo deciso di cercare in ristorante per pranzo

Nel albergo ci hanno deto che c´è un ristorante - il Swiss Chuchi- afianco all´albergo Adler, dove si possono mangiare delle fondues. Ci siamo andati et dobbiamo dire che abbiamo mangiato una fondue cosi buona o megliore di quella che avevamo mangiato nel albertgo The Peninsula Hong Kong.

--·--

Think twice before going to a place were people speaks so many languages

Shooting day

Umeko with the Camera. She was the Camera Assistant
From Palamos to Illes Medes, very close to the coastline

After re-fueling in Sant Feliu de Guixols we headed south to Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar, we got closer as we could to shoot "damn tourist" on the beach

Father bunny is producing a short video that will show some of the best places in Costa Brava. Of course I am the executive producer and the original idea and all the shooting plan has be done by me.

I planned to shoot the coast from the air with an helicopter first and them from the sea. Unfortunately that will add 4.500,00 € an hour and I prefer to use my budget for other
expenses.

I sent Mem and Umeko with him and the Camera to shoot some of the most beautiful spots from the sea with a speed boat. Unfortunately for them the wind was blowing North with an intensity of 5 and some nasty waves that like to splash people when trying to go the same direction.

I placed a GPS logger in his equipment and It seems that they did their work despite the conditions. But I will need to clarify the over 100 € restaurant bill he gave me for a three person dinner in Sa Tuna.

First attempt, a great disaster (ok, may be just a disaster)

Mother Bunny is on a business travel (or at least that is what he just told Father Bunny) and my sisters were so excited about the new gift that our friends from Japan sent us last week that the atmosphere at home was getting really thick.

I must say Father Bunny is quite good cooker but he has a great defect – he does not like sweets – and even worse he has no idea about how to make cookies.

He and Ookina download a recipe from the Internet – Butter cookies- They taste good but they’re extremely hard to mould and de-mould with a 36 Celsius environment.

I knew it would happen, but I swear you they were there almost an hour dealing with the butter cookies.

Please do not check the original Miffy cookies here.

Be an hamburger, my friend!

More chat about food. While is quite difficult to convince my father to enter any fast food restaurant, anywhere in the world, anytime, even if we are terrible hungry he is always curious about new fast food brands.

I must say that I share his point of view about too many Mcdonalds and KFC’s among others opening in China during those past years. The food is the same crap as in Europe and the price is much cheaper but quite more expensive than a good Chinese restaurant.

Thank god some local fast food brands have appeared and some of them with a lot of energy, sense of humour and quite good food (this last statement according to other testimonies)

a good example can be found here and a review there.

The picture is mine and it was taken by myself so stop whims about copyright and other crap

Rice

Miffo is trying to share some Basic japanese sushi techniques with me. I’ve done some improvements and cutting and rolling stuff is not a problem anymore.

But, still It’s hard to make a good rice if you don’t use Japanese rice. I’ve tried different rice and rice vinegars combinations but still I am unable to get the proper texture and flavour.

May be as Father Bunny says:

- “You need to learn from a real Japanese chef”.

Let’s see. In the other hand he has been training secretly with Draculina to en a 10 km under 48 minutes.

PS: I still have to write one of my recipes for Katanga's blog.

Eastern Holidays at home.

Past eastern we visited Japan for the first time and we discovered our favourite city – Tokyo- this eastern in exchange we have had no vacations and we have been at home.

It had been really hard because we planned to go sailing two days but strong winds and heavy rain from the North could made it a very unpleasant experience.

Anyways we will go to Hong Kong in less than a month. Yes!!! We will fly directly this time from BCN to HKG (via CDG that tells u no one is perfect) and I will be able to take Miffo and some of my sisters to my hometown. That’s great.

I said that Tokyo is my favourite city, but home is home so I dying to come back to my Hotel. To celebrate it Miffo cooked “Soba” for us and her delicious Miso Soup.

Note from Father bunny: Miffa doesn’t admit it but she prefers Tokyo right now. ;)

Miffo’s cooking lessons.

Miffo masters fish cut, her master will be proud

As many of you know Miffo spent almost nine months in Tokyo at Cafemiffy’s. There she discovered about Japanese culture and she cultivated her great hobby: cooking.

Now Miffa’s restaurant has three Chief Cookers - Me, Miffo and Laia – who master Cantonese, Japanese and Mediterranean cuisines respectively.

Past February during four consecutive weekends we showed our abilities with help from some guest cookers from China and Catalonia. Finally we have convinced Father Bunny (who helps us in the kitchen every time) , and we will start a three posts series with pictures and recipes we cooked.

We will include a video edited by ourselves using professional editing software (it was bundled with the video camera we bought in Tokyo past Eastern) and finally our lazy dad had time to read and install it.

Madrid me mata, Madrid kills me

Past 12th Father Bunny and Miffo went to Madrid. That was Miffo’s first time at the new T4 terminal that we visited with Chairoko and Kiiroko a year ago.

Today me and Miffo have taken a plane and we will be there for four days in a Spa resort while Father Bunny is working at Ifema.

Tonight we went to one of my father’s favourite restaurants: Goizeko Wellington.

We will keep you informed about our moves in “The Capital”

This post refers to an event dated 01/05/2008

Sometimes life and events repeat as if they were following a secret tempo, sometimes we experience or we live something that we have lived previously.

Scientist and researches, in fact a French gentleman whose name was Émile Boirac called it Déjà vu. Furthermore now we know that there are different types of Déjà vu.
(Déjà vécu, Déjà senti and Déjà visité).

Repetition and cycles are very common in nature, economical cycles, climatic cycles…There are a lot of cyclical phenomena in our universe. Actually a cycle has a starting point and an ending one. You must close the loop to properly talk about a perfect cycle.

And today a very particular cycle ends. Sometime ago, exactly when spring started last year Chairoko and Kiiroko arrived from Japan and Father Bunny picked up them. That day Father Bunny had a business dinner at Carme Ruscalleda’s restaurant and he took them with him. They met Carme, they met a Japanease cooker who works there and they enjoyed one of their first pictures in Spain with Carme.

Today we have gone again there to close the loop, tomorrow they will go back to Japan and Miffo will stay here in our new house after being in Japan for several months.

I will miss my friends a lot, but my sister Miffo has returned. Should I be sad or happy?
It’s very difficult to say it. Meanwhile I will try to taste Carme’s dishes. After all this is my first time and I’am sure I am the first one to taste the new winter menu.

Merce 2008 with our new friends

As I have told you many times I have been travelling around the world quite a bit with my parents but I have been visiting my new city only in a few occasions. When Chairoko and Kiiroko arrived to my home things got a little better but still almost every month we were travelling out of the town.

Today it’s a Major festivity in Barcelona “La Merce”

From the official website

“Every year, around the 24th September, Barcelona bids farewell
to the summer with its Festival celebrations. This year’s
programme includes more than 600 events, which will take place
in just four days.

An explosive programme where tradition – giants, dragons,
human castles – lives side by side with the most
contemporary artistic offerings: independent music, street
theatre, all kinds of public participation.”

Unfortunately I am very busy with a new business I have decided to create with Chairoko and Kiiroko but our new friend from Japan, Melanie has just arrived and we were impatient to show her Barcelona

Draculina , who never regrets to go out and to party, proposed to take her friends - Chairoko and Kiiroko as well as her new friend, Melanie – to taste the Merce 2008.

Mother Bunny accepted that Draculina takes out her friends , but not overnight. So, they got up quite early today and they took the bikes to have a look at the different events in the city. They went to “ Parc Ciutadella “, where a few events for small kids were going on, and then directly to the beach. They had a stop in front of the Hotel Arts, Draculina´ s recommendation for Chairoko and Kiiroko´s parents. Then, they went to beach. Draculina wants to get suntanned, actually, she wants to be as dark as her new friend Melanie.

They also had a look at a huge paella, which was being cooked on the street.

Chairoko and Kiiroko said “what a pity that our parents were not here to taste Paella too”

Draculina had a short bath and then they all ate paella while me –at home- was thinking about how to solve the Paella problem.

Sapporo 199

This is the old Sapporo beer factory, a nice red brick building

Of course the first attraction in Hokkaido is Sapporo. It is Japan’s fifth largest city with around 1.8 million people living there. Until nineteenth century Sapporo was just a small hunter and fishermen spot but after that it was designed as Hokkaido capital and its development was planned carefully.

One good thing about the last statement is that Sapporo centre observes the same pattern than many occidental cities. A grid with a central point close to their TV tower and then blocks are named East, West, South and North, great for occidental tourist.

The TV tower is a Eiffel alike red painted tower who designates somehow the city center. You can climb to the observatory for about 800 yens and there you will have a 360 panorama. More interesting is the “Bier Garten” around the tower. Expect to experience the same scenes you would experience in Munich.

Munich and Paris in the same pack and not as expensive as going there.

Mr. Kihachiro Okura visited Germany and he was shocked about the art of brewing beer. He decided to establish the first Japanese brewery here, in Sapporo around 1876.

You can visit Sapporo Beer-en, the old brewery located at N7E9 Higashi-ku. A museum where you can also taste different beer at a reasonable price. Note than the new brewery moved from here to another state of the art production plant.

I took the picture, Father Bunny had the beers

But the Bunny advice is having Jingus Kan – a traditional BBQ lamb dish very famous there- at the restaurant. For 3850 yen you can order all the lamb, vegetables and beer !!!

That’s great value, and great taste!

Thank good my father was not there with his friends or things had ended badly with great embarrassment by my side.

---------------- SPANISH ---------------

Por supuesto la primera atracción de Hokkaido es Sapporo. Es la quinta ciudad, por tamaño, de Japón con unos 1.8 millones de habitantes. Hasta el siglo 19 fue un asentamiento de cazadores y pescadores pero después se convirtió en la capital y su desarrollo se planifico de forma cuidadosa.

Lo bueno que tiene lo anterior es que la estructura de la ciudad se parece a muchas ciudades occidentales, una cuadricula con un punto central – cercano a la torre de la TV- a partir del cual se distribuyen y nombran las manzanas Norte, Sur, Este y Oeste.

La torre de la TV es una versión mini de la Torre Eiffel pintada de rojo que marca el centro de la ciudad. Puedes subir por unos 800 yens y disfrutar de una panorámica de la ciudad. Pero es más interesante el “Bier Garten” que esta en la plaza. Es increíble ver escenas que esperarías contemplar en Munich pero con Japoneses, claro.

Munich y Paris al mismo tiempo y sin necesidad de grandes gastos.

Kihachiro Okura visitó Alemania y quedo muy impresionado por su cerveza, tanto que estudio allí una temporada y se hizo maestro cervecero. A su vuelta construyo la primera fábrica de cerveza en Japón en Sapporo.

Sapporo Beer –en (N7E9 Higashi-ku) es la Antigua fábrica hoy reconvertida en museo y restaurante. La fabrica actual ya no esta allí sino a unos 40 minutos en tren en una nueva planta de producción.

Nuestro conejo consejo es que pruebes el Jingus Kan, un plato de barbacoa de cordero muy famoso en Sapporo. Por 3850 yens puedes comer tanto como quieras, aparte de beber toda la cerveza que puedas. No sólo es un buen precio, esta realmente bueno.

Por suerte para mi no estaba Draculina y los amigos de mi padre junto con él, porque sino la hubiesen liado.

Exploring Cape Cod

Google Earth track From Boston to Orleans

While in New York we asked Father Bunny to visit another places close to the Big Apple. Too many days in such a busy city were stressing us and I really wanted to visit Boston.

I must admit that we were very lucky. We arrived NY during their Memorials Day and many people went out off the city (mainly to the beach) to celebrate the three days weekend. Walking along NYC center (what they call Midtown) was great. Just only a few impenitent tourists who woke up early to defy the high temperatures.

And wait a moment if we were going to visit Boston what about a nice stop in that Peninsula were old wealthy families has built nice houses I private islands. One of them the Forbes family used the money they got trading with Opium and built and nice house…

Yes I am talking to one of east coast favourite’s tourist attraction: Cape Cod (Apart from Miami, of course)

Getting there from Boston or New York is easy but expect big jams during Fridays and Sundays (back home).It will take you about three and a half hours to get Princetown (the most remote city on the Peninsula’s tip). But if you are not in a hurry our advice will be that it will be a good idea to visit some of the little and no so little places that are in your way to Princetown.

As the great planner that my Father is we departed from Boston at 7:00 pm and we ended reading free tourist guides that we found in a gas station. Chairoko, Kiiroko and I were not very happy about sleeping inside the car or going back to NYC.

But finally in a town called Orleans we found a nice place, actually a beautiful place called Orleans Inn. Its owner Ed, whose family bought and restored the building, is one of the nicer persons we have found in our travels. He gave us very useful information to maximize our travel experience in such a few time and gave us a book with all the building history though time.

Beautiful sandy beaches, nice green fields, nice lighthouses that are still in use, great food, nice wooden houses painted in nice colours… Definitely this is a place to visit and to stay some days if you suffer from any kind of stress.

we spent a great time visiting Orleans Inn

Here you can find a book to do some planning
And there you can download the Google Earth track

Cooking with Miffa and her sisters Part 2

In the first post we told you about how we have joined to Miffa’s restaurant. We were cooking a special menu for Mother Bunny that included a Ochazuke (Nozawana one) that we made. Next time we'll made the Miso soup. (Miffa did a little mistake and... we will tell you about that in other ocassion).

In this one you can see the results of our effort and of course dining the good stuff together.

Bon appetite!

Cooking with Miffa and her sisters Part 1

Miffa Chan with secret ingredient from Japan

The team (from left to right): Chairoko, Miffu, Ninjin, Draculina and Kiiroko

Chairoko checking if everthing was going right.

Final Check by Japanese cookers

Now let's go for the second course.

As Miffa has told you sometimes we are in Barcelona and her sister Miffo is in our house in Tokyo. We don’t meet Miffo, we were flying from Japan and she was flying from Spain at the same time. But Miffa went to Tokyo and she met some of my sister and my parents.

They gave a lot of Japanese food as a gift for them. We love to cook and we have learnt a lot of recipes from our Parents. Unfortunately Miffa is not a good Japanese cooker and neither they are good on it.

On the other hand Miffa’s parents know quite a few Spanish dishes, Miffa has her own restaurant with her sister Miffu and Father Bunny.

After some days training hard with Miffa, she opened her restaurant again and we did a special menu for Mother Bunny. In this link you will find a pdf document with the menu. We actually think that Miffa charged her mother a lot for the menu but Miffu told us that previously the bills were even higher.

We prepared a Japanese miso soup, to which we added our secret ingredients. Then we had some shellfish (Oysters and big shrimps).

- We didn’t find complicate to prepare seafood.

We asked Miffa where the difficult thing was on doing it.

- The great amount of experience that you need to select the good stuff in the market

She replied

May be she is right but we think that she was pulling our leg.