Love the chicken and egg!!!
Then again, just about anything with that great Japanese egg on it is oishii! Katsudon works also.
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Just an aside, if you are traveling in Japan and the power at your hotel goes out for any reason most Japanese hotels have handy little emergency flashlights. But you might not notice them unless you look when you check in. When the power goes out it is too late! LOL!
They can be anywhere but frequently they are near the bed.
Or the refrigerator in this case.
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That seems to be the case unfortunately, what with JAL now happening. Hope everyone stays safe!
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And on a slightly different note, here are a couple dishes that I will NOT order again! LOL!
I saw this first one at a Shinto shrine food area and thought, âOh, man! It is a huge pork kebab!!!â Um, not a pork kabob at all. It is a couple pieces of ham wrapped around a Japanese version of arancini. Talk about confusion when I got the thing and realized it was not all pork and dismay when I realized it was mostly slightly sweet rice ballâish interior. It is funny now.
And I like Mr and Mrs Potato Head touting the âFrench Friesâ in the stand behind my arancini place.
But the shrine and gardens at Chion-In were well worth a visit.
Then I was wandering and saw someone enjoying a nice ale and thought, âYeah, I will try one of those with lunch!â Beef stew is not a winner in Kyoto, at least not at Yebisu. The porter was decent, though.
On a slightly more successful foray into Western food in Kyoto, I ordered a pizza at 100K Craft Beer. Not only was the IPA pretty good but the pizza was interesting in a good way. Their tomato sauce is spiced slightly differently than either Italy or the US would spice it but it worked.
I didnât check the pricing in the menu and was a bit surprised to find out that the IPAâs were 1830Y each. That is around $12.50US, each. Ouch.
I posted this on another thread, but this crab kind of creeped me out. No doubting what the cafes specialty is, though.
I also tried a funky, slightly sweet Japanese chicken curry at Sherry Curry. Nice but odd.
But all good things come to an end and my time in Japan is over for the year. So I boarded my express train to Kansai International yesterday. On the Hello Kitty Express.
Seriously.
All my worldly possessions in one shot. Well, I do have a few items at my place in Montana, but this is my travel stuff for the winter.
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Back to Montana now or are you on the road for the winter? I do hope the latter, I love your travelogues!
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I would go to McDonaldâs and try this.
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Thank you, Gretchen! I enjoy sharing photos and stories, I just hope I am not becoming a bit of a bore.
I am in Taipei, on my way to Manila, then on to Thailand. I think I will try sunrise side of Ko Tao this year, not Chiang Mai. Then probably Greece, Italy and Portugal in the spring. I came to Taipei for Braised Pork with rice and century egg and failed in my quest to find one better than I get at A&J in Annandale Virginia. I went to a highly rated place but got it to go with braised egg, not sure if that impacted the quality of the meal.
But my beef soup quest was a success at Liu Shandung. It was a bit better here. I am kind of impressed with how well A&J holds up against the real, local deal. The guys at Liu were cool, I arrived late but they saw me ogling the menu and let me in. LOL! Stone cut noodles were good but a pain with my not so young hands. Chopsticks are kind of painful to use now.
Then I hit Wen Sun Buffet for a locals curbside spot with Taiwanese noodles with seafood. Just rich, slightly sweet and delicious. Again, the owner saw me with the menu and helped me navigate the grease pencil order process. Just a great meal and almost too much food.
Graduating class at the National Museum. Looked like they were a happy lot.
Taiwan is a win!
Ipsedixit, that looks interesting! I would have tried it if I had known.
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Have you ever seen any of my travelogues?! 
Canât stand metal chopsticks. And I ate with chopsticks before a fork.
Will you get outside of Manila? I didnât enjoy my brief time there, but once we got out of Manila, we both fell in love with the Philippines.
Digga, right off the top of my head I can remember some great posts on Denmark and Copenhagen in particular! Your posts are always great!
I have been looking forward to staying in the historic Hotel Manila and to touring Corregidor and the Bataan Peninsula, so 3 nights in Manila. But most of the Philippines part of my trip will be on Palawan Island. Never been so it will be doubly interesting.
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Iâve been there and It is awesomeâcanât wait to read all about it!
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@ZivBnd you could not be boring if your next trip depended on it!! Always love your posts, photos and thoughts! Thanks so much for sharing them. I will never get to many of the places you do but feel as though I have some experience of them through you.
And I hear, see and definitely feel you on the hands thing - chopsticks painful - !!!
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Just remembered we stayed and ate in the hotel bar (itâs probably different now but it was styled like a cheesy American bar). I had the worst fettuccine Alfredo Iâve ever had.
ETA: I just looked at websiteâŚit was the Tap Room and it wasnât a cheesy American bar so Iâm not sure why I remembered it that way. More like a British pub.
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Thank you for the warning! I will avoid that dish, and that venue, at all costs! 
I am looking forward to the hotel itself. I believe MacArthur stayed there for a time and that it has a certain charm.
I really wish the crossed fingers emoji did not perch right atop a rather rude finger emoji. I live in fear that one day my aim will be less than perfectâŚ
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The hotel was a nice change, especially after roughing it for 2 weeks on the beautiful islands. Enjoy!
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