japanese.shopping

we came back to this street again after our breakfast at the hotel... the first discovery is a small bakery that selling freshly made daifuku

i was so tempted to try some but my stomach was completely full then... so i give it a miss...

then we saw this shop that selling japanese arts and crafts, there were already quite a lot of foreigners browsing through the items when we arrived...

there is also a wide selection of japanese ceramic and lacquer ware, of various quality and price...

then we crossed the street to a kind of bookshop but besides japanese magazines and comic, it also sells a full range of groceries

japanese soft drinks such as bottled tea, sake, hello kitty and snacks...

a full range of comic and a few machines for self shot photo and transform them into little stickers...

we walked further to the side street, here is another japanese bakery with a rather fancy name

bakery my heart

they have soft buns made of matcha or azuki red bean paste, they also sell the mentaiko baguette and the typical so called japanese style western sandwich such as one that wrap with port cutlet (tonkasu)...

although i was not hungry, but i couldn't further resist this... I can't recall the name anymore but basically is a typical summer snack made of flour, dust with matcha powder (green) or sesame powder (brown) and you dip it into the syrup before you eat it... a very common and refreshing summer snack that i ate everyday when i was in kyoto last year around the same time...

then we walked across the street to the two big koreans/japanese groceries stores...

a full range of japanese curry paste, we bought two pack so that we could have japanese curry at home soon...

a cold section from one of the grocery stores, displaying full range of konyaku, fish rolls, fish balls and even kimchi...

a full range of miso (white, red) from korea or japan, also a comprehensive selections of japanese pickles that can imagine ....

another full range of curry paste, from mild to hot, from paste to cube, from various cities in japan...

we both were thrilled to see onigri on sales here in another shop, it is really so so japanese as you can buy all sort of onigri from seven-eleven, family mart and different 24 hour convienient stores that exist on every streets and corners.... we both had a konbu onigri to munch on...

muij is not located in japanese town but at the famous shopping street called k�ningsalle... though muji has stores operate internationally but it is good to browse in one here, we both got a top from muji, just like the simplicity and the concept of this brand....

so what do you think of the japanese shopping experience here in dusseldorf, impressive?

another.day.at.kushi-tei

we were here for supper on friday night upon our arrival... we came back again tonight for dinner. this place is an izaka-ya style restaurant with dishes mainly complementing beers and sake...

kushi-tei of tokyo dusseldorf

chicken liver yakitori - very nicely done

grilled saba - super fatty, juicy and fresh! i had this almost all for myself...

curry katsuo-don, according to johannes the pork cutlet is re-fried, so it is not as good. i had a sample of the curry sauce, the taste is not too bad though... so it was a disappointment for him...

assorted sushi - jolly good

we come to conclusion that kushi-tei is definitely specializing in yakitori, sushi and any side dishes that could wash down easily by beers and sake but main meal is not their strength...

nonetheless i cherished this eatery to bits!!

japan.or.germany

after two and a half hour drive, i wonder if i am really at a city called dusseldorf in germany or i am in any city in japan? it is deceiving... we arrived to this particular part of the city, hungry for supper, we enter this restaurant and these are the decorations that welcomed us....

well, it is typical japanese restaurant decoration and motifs, i know...

but how can you explain this... a menu board that full of japanese characters and no sign of western alphabets

with japanese waiter/waitress at the bar, johannes and his asahi beer

and another japanese waitress

a portion of assorted sashimi - maguro (blue fin tuna), sake (salmon) and saba (mackerel) - super fresh and yummy...

karagae - deep fried chicken cubes, was okay but i prefer the one from next door....

delicious and super yummy 6 sticks of assorted yakitor

different types of sake wine that you could imagine - they can be found here....

although there are westerner customers in the restaurant but this place is really frequented by real japanese only... the workers of the restaurant exchange conversation in japanese and even among the japanese customer the japanese language prevails....

the freshness of the sashimi is of japan standard likewise the yakitori are also as tasty as those you can find in any yakitori restaurant in japan.. the choice of sakes are endless to my knowledge...

it makes me really believe that i am in japan but the fact is i am in japan dusseldorf, we walk out the restaurant with complete satisfaction.

from.matisse.to.malevich

from zaandam to amsterdam. i finally got the chance to visit hermitage museum again, this time not for the russian galore but for the masterpiece of matisse and a few others as the theme suggests 'from mattise to malevich'.

the main entrance of hermitage museum, just along the amstel. the museum is a lot quieter today thanks to the sunny day...

the main exhibition this time round... there is no queue for ticket at all, the admission is as smooth as silk...

inside the museum, photo taking are not allowed but i still manage to take a few, technically two prohibited snapshots, the other two are common area ...

the next few photos are not taken by me, i just re-use some of the images from de hermitage amsterdam website.

my love so far, love the deep red. love the pattern of the table cloth and the wall paper. love the contrast of the painting hanging on the wall against the red. this red room in fact is not red originally but the painter decided to repaint it again at a later stage, to red!!

some other portraits, all using simple and almost geometry rough stroke and good use of color. sometime i wonder if painting is just so simple and doesn't need to be perfect or exact. i love this style...

this painting by picasso portrays a very melancholic mood...

my other favorite by van dongen, an elegant lady in green with a hat

and among other paintings by kandinsky, matisse and others...

there are not too many paintings, perhaps 70 or so in total which make browsing through them a pleasure. the right air conditioning and no crowd also made this visit exceptionally pleasant.

the backdoor of de hermitage museum and a court yard with terrace at the side

we just take the opportunity like many others lying and sitting on the green field, resting the tired feet really and an apple to recoup my energy...

zaanse.schans

you decide to start your weekend properly as you haven't been out from the house the last few days....

you decide on a village which is just about an hour drive north bound from home. off you go.

you arrive. cotton and puffy clouds, blue sky welcome your arrival. you look forward, you are surrounded by nothing but blue sky, green field, cotton clouds, canal and windmills.

you enjoy the reflection on the water too, every thing seems so clean and clear to you.

you walk on. here you encounter the tourist trap a cheese making farmhouse. you smell the stench of cheese making, you browse through and move on.

you walk out the farmhouse and three dutch windmills welcome you. deep in your heart you think how typical dutch could this ever be. you are a tourist in your adopted land. but you are in the mood of photography and the weather blesses you with all the elements for outdoor photography.

you look to the right, an open field with nothing but three cows sunbathing themselves... you walk on and you end up at a very small village with a few shops and a restaurant

you learn that albert heijn started as a small shop in this village before it becomes a nationwide supermarket.

you spot a nice wall and you ask him to pose a shot for you at this awesome wall....

by now you are hungry. there is not much choice for food here, you settle at the one and only cafe and sit under the mid summer sun. you order salmon cream cheese bagel. it is delicious. you finished in no time. you are still hungry. you decided to share a apple tart with him.

from where you sit, your outlook is great another country style scene with puffy clouds.

you walk further after you rest your feet and feed your stomach. you think this is a wonderful photo to depict this trip to zaanse schans. beautiful dutch summer (not hot). windmill. village. you and your new dslr camera.

you look up to the sky. life may be as simple as this but it is a real summer bliss.

you leave this place with a content heart because you are blessed with good weather and the bliss of being a tourist in your own country.