GOING TO OSAKA JUST FOR A BOWL OF [HALAL] RAMEN

   20th JULY 2024    ~ After the trip to Nara, my ex-student, Mr. Iqbal and I, made a short stopover at Osaka. The main reason was to embark on a gastronomic adventure - to get a bowl of halal ramen in the city.

The place was manned [or womanned?] by three young ladies who could be either Indonesian or Malaysian.

I seldom had Japanese food back home and that would be the food bought from one of the supermarkets. To savour Japanese food in Japan would not be the same with I had back home.

That was a gastronomic adventure worth doing despite the distance we had to travel. And more gastronomic adventure would be awaiting the next day.

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HUNTING FOR MOCHI IN NARA CITY

   20th JULY 2024    ~ Before leaving Nara, my ex-student cum tour guide took me on a Mochi hunting trip in the city. We walked from the bust station to look for this shop named Nakatanido.

As we were approaching the shop, people were already crowding in front of the glass window, trying to watch the showcase of the traditional method of Mochi making. I could only see between the heads and hands of the strangers holding their phones but I could see the voices of the people making the Mochi, as if they were shouting or having an argument.

Fortunately, Mr. Iqbal managed to record the video of the process of making the traditional Japanese cake on his phone.

We got a box containing six pieces of Mochi each.

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made from a sweet glutinous rice called mochigome that is steamed, pounded into a smooth rice dough and then molded into different shapes.

SOURCE: foodnetwork.com

The dough of Mochi is chewy but soft so it could be bitten easily. The red bean paste filling was not too sweet and had a fine texture. It tasted a bit similar to our local "kuih" called "Tepung Gomak".

I ate three pieces of Mochi in the city, while the other three pieces were finished in my hotel room that evening. This was somewhat a different kind of gastronomic adventure.

The Mochi hunting expedition should conclude my day trip to Nara, and it was definitely an enjoyable one.

Here is the video of Mochi making in the restaurant/cafe.

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VISITING NARA NATIONAL MUSEUM

20TH JULY 2024 ~ Another tourist spot nearby was Nara National Museum, which was much bigger than Todaiji Museum.

Generally, the museum housed more religious pieces, artifacts, articles and statues which varied in sizes.

Visitors were only allowed to use their cameras in certain parts of the museum.

The museum illustrated the roles and influences of Buddhism to Nara and to Japan in general. I guess people in Japan were more religious in the past if compared to the present, by looking at the collections in the museum.

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SPOT THE ERROR 202

Excellence - Noun

Excellent - Adjective

THE CORRECTED VERSION:

EXCELLENT TASTE

Thanks to my UPM TESL friend, Puan Suriana Ali, for sending me the photo.

STOPPING BY AT TODAIJI TEMPLE IN NARA PARK

   20th JULY 2024    ~ After visiting Todaiji Museum in Nara Park, it was time to stop by at Todaiji Temple. It was such a huge and gigantic building that you could not miss it from afar.

It was a hot and sunny summer afternoon and there were many people who walked in and out of the huge arch. People who went to see the deer in the park seemed to visit Todaiji Temple as well.

Some interesting facts about Todaiji Temple:

• It is one of Japan's most famous and historically temples of Nara.
• Todaiji Temple was constructed in 752 and became the head Buddhist temple .
• In 784, the capital was moved from Nara so as the prevent the great influence it had on government affairs.
• Todaiji's main hall, Daibutsuden, held the record as the world's largest wooden building, even though the present structure is only two-third of the original hall.
• The temple accommodated one of Japan's largest bronze Buddha statues.

The hole in the pillar was also another attraction of the temple. It is believed people who could squeeze through the opening would be granted enlightenment in the after life.

A place worth visiting when you are in Nara, besides seeing the deer in the park.

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