25 April 2012

Lunch in Harajuku - Salvatore Cuomo



After a morning of shopping and wandering through a drizzly Harajuku, a lunch hunt began as we tracked down the ever swanky Omotesando Hills shopping complex, designed by renowned architect, Tadao Ando. The hunt led us up to the top floor, to Salvatore Cuomo, a gorgeous Italian restaurant that offers a daily lunch buffet between 11am and 3pm. For just 2200 yen we could each order a main dish pizza (highly recommended) or pasta, and then help ourselves to the appetizer, dessert and drinks buffet. It was an absolute pleasure meal for sure and as the sun peeped in, we felt full and refreshed, ready to head back to Harajuku’s streets for an afternoon of sightseeing.

20 April 2012

Is there a better birthday present than full blooming cherry blossoms?

The best part is I took all of these pictures on my birthday within a 15 minute walk from my apartment

Aaaand the winner is.......

Megan!! Congrats girl, I'll be mailing you shortly to get your postal address ;) xoxo

12 April 2012

Shibuya Crossing

Sitting in Starbucks on a rainy day, watching the crowds go by




Ps: Don't forget to share in the love and enter Trixie and Flo's birthday blog giveaway. Only one week left!

8 April 2012

Happy First Birthday and Happy Giveaway!



Well, it’s been a year long journey of blogging for Trixie and Flo. To be honest, when I started this blog I wasn’t sure of its direction or purpose. I may not be famous and it may not have thousands of followers, but it has become something very personal to me. It has provided a platform for some much needed self-branding and it consistently pushes me to be more creative, do more, see more, take better pictures, network and make more connections. So I’d like to say thanks to all those that check it out and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. In true first birthday celebratory style, and to say thanks to all of Trixie and Flo’s followers, I’m officially hosting this blog’s first giveaway!! The prize? A dear pair of hand painted 100% silk vintage earrings. All you have to do to enter is be a follower of the blog, either on google follow or bloglovin, and then comment on this post with your first name, email address and your favourite item from the blogstore or etsy store. Simple as that! I’ll be announcing the winner on April 22nd. xoxo


6 April 2012

Hot cross buns!!!



That just happened! I'm so excited I had to post this immediately. Yes, I'm at home at 10pm on a Friday night baking, but I'm smiling from ear to ear. My friend mentioned hot cross buns the other day and the craving got me and I just HAD to try. We can’t buy them in Japan so homemade is officially the new “Woolworths”. I used this recipe (thanks Sarah!), and have (of course) already sampled the final product…only thing I’d change is to add more spices. It may have been because I had to make my own mixed spice concoction. I used a teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkling of nutmeg and ginger but they definitely need more. I also left out the peel because peel just doesn’t rock my boat, sorry peel.  My little toaster oven is such a trooper, it’s so tiny I could only bake three at a time! If you’re in Japan and want to try baking them in a toaster oven, cover the top with tinfoil for the first 10 minutes and then let them brown for the last five…else they’ll burn ya’hear. Happy baking, and Happy Easter everyone xoxo.

5 April 2012

Seoul food

(well…Busan as well, but that would’ve ruined my play on words)


I love Korean food but why oh why was I born with such embarrassingly weak taste buds!? Some of the kimchi even had me shedding a tear or two. It makes me a little nervous for any future Asian travels because I absolutely love trying new food but I just can’t handle the spice. Living in Japan hasn’t exactly helped…with the exception of wasabi I can’t think of a single food here that packs a punch. Better start on operation taste bud spicy bootcamp. I think a couple of Durban samoosas would be a good start.

Busan fish market

 
The first thing that struck me about Busan fish market was how clean it was…until I witnessed the most horrific sight of a woman skinning live eels in one quick serial killer sort movement. I think I’m still having nightmares about it. After some recovery time and leisurely meandering we headed upstairs to the open-plan restaurant section. We were led to a table and ordered (well we weren’t really sure what we had ordered) but ended up with a table full of seafood dishes, sidedishes and beer. We left full and happy, beaming at the success of our first Korean meal.

Korean barbeque (Gogigui)


The gogigui meal we had in Seoul was possibly one of the best meals I have EVER had!! I love food that involves experience…and sitting together at a grill, with plates of meat and a multitude of sidedishes, while cooking it up ourselves and chatting about the previous night’s antics all seems a sweet memory to me now.  Our looks of apprehension had the very pushy/disguisedly sweet Korean waitress picking up our food for us and showing us how to wrap the meat, rice and sidedishes in a perilla leaf and then gesturing to eat up with our hands.  It was glorious, and I even tried one with a whole clove of garlic in it, which no doubt led me to tears again. Gogigui places are everywhere, so just ask your hostel/hotel to recommend a good one. 

 
  Bibimbap


 
 A great meal in Myeondong before a shopping marathon! We were beckoned into a restaurant, which at first I was apprehensive about entering. I assumed if they were desperate for business their food wouldn’t be so great, but  we obliged, a little out of fear (I’d be scared to ever say no to a feisty Korean woman), and ended up having a perfect bibimbap meal. It’s a rice dish mixed up mainly with seaweed, vegetables and a fried/raw egg. They served up the gochujang (chilli pepper paste) on the side so my weak taste buds and I could add it in moderation.

I wish I’d had more time to taste all that Korea had to offer! The food there is a travel experience in itself and I hope I’ll be back someday to try more. Recommendations are most welcome!

2 April 2012

I got a streetshot thrill in Harajuku


 I’m sorry it’s blurry, but I’m just relieved that I even managed to capture this moment. We arrived in Harajuku on a very rainy morning, but as the clouds rolled out, the Harajuku girls rolled in. We passed this colourful group while strolling down Omotesando dori on a chilly March Saturday afternoon and I had exactly one second to whip out the camera and snap a pic. I love that dressing up and hitting the town is a weekend hobby for these girls. Respect.