Summer 2013 - Hokkaido, Korea and HK

July 4 - July 14 2013

Our second international trip together - this time to Korea (Seoul & Jeonju), Hokkaido (Sapporo, Asahikawa and Furano) and HK.

It's Dan's second trip to Korea and I'm so excited to bring him around. Our itinerary is packed - visiting relatives, eating, shopping, sightseeing, etc. Of course the first thing we do is eat. I don't usually take much pictures when I'm in Korea just because I go back so often.

 Cheese Dokbokki with oden, sweet potato noodles, mandoo and ramen

청계천 (cheonggyecheon)

Dan and his relatives

Dan & his relatives

bacon wrapped hotdog

Jeonju

Hokkaido

 Dan's first time playing pachinko - we're not even sure how to play exactly but he won us some snacks. It was probably beginners luck because when he tried playing again he lost :(

 Shoyu Ramen in Asahikawa - it was simple yet good

We went to a wine Sake brewery in Asahikawa - NOT recommended at all. Nothing to see

 Beer tastings in a random restaurant

There wasn't much to do in Asahikawa, the town is really small and we did a lot of the things on our itinerary already. So Dan and I decided to head to the Asahiyama Zoo which is a little further away from town. It was pretty worth it - It's not a big zoo but it was pretty fun to see all the different animals especially the raccoon fox.. so adorable!

 

 

 We wanted to eat sushi but the place we went to was full so opted for Mongolian BBQ instead. It was really good. The meat was so tender.

Furano - Lavender Field

It's lavender season in Hokkaido - all the lavender bloom from the end of June to Mid August. I did a lot of research - the best time to see all the flowers bloom is third week of July but that's when there are way too many tourists around. So Dan and I decided to go around the second week of July and it was perfect. The lavenders were blooming and so fragrant once you walk pass time. Although there are many different farms to view the lavenders and other flowers I felt the best place to see them is Farm Tomito.

 

 

 Special train to Farm Tomito just during the lavender season

 This is another farm - forgot the name but highly recommended

melon ice cream

Dan petting a Llama

The last day we decided to go on the Ferris Wheel

Sayonara Japan

Hong Kong - Met up with one of my good friend from HK - Ada and we went to Din Tai Fung to eat some Xiao Long Baos. The next day Dan and I went to Tim Ho Wan and he finally tried the dim sum there. Our favorite is the pineapple pork buns.

Weekend in Milano

Here I am in Milan- the city of fashion. I have to honestly say that I prefer Rome and Florence more than Milan. There's not much culture here or much to see other than "The Last Supper" painting by Leonardo Di Vinci (tickets were sold out - u really need to get them in advance or join a tour) or Duomo. Milan is truly a City of shopping. I felt the pressure of buying a nice designer bag but held back because I didn't NEED one. The food was meh - I think I enjoyed food in the South better. I did do a lot of research of places of eat and some things I ate I could've easily found a better place in NYC but that's just my opinion.

Pictures -

Santa Maria della Grazie holds "The Last Supper" painting by Leonardo Di Vinci. I got here at 11AM and tickets were already sold out. Like I stated previously - join a tour or buy tickets days in advance.

Santa Maria della Grazie church

The streets are so quaint .. I love it! This is how I imagined how Italy would look like instead of a big shopping center filled with lots of stores and malls

Sforza Castle -

 Duomo

 Inside the church

 Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Now onto the good stuff .. FOOD!

Luini - It's like a calzone. fried dough with sweet or savory goodness inside.

 

Spinach and Ricotta Cheese

Tomato and Mozzarella - Recommended

Croquette - good but cold

 

  Across the street from Luini there's a gelato place. I got the Pistachio & Vanilla with Chocolate Chips. Not bad

Dinner - Piazza Repubblica

 Stuffed Calamari (left) - REALLY GOOD!

 Mash Potatoes with egg yolk in the middle and white truffle shavings on top (apparently October is white truffle season so they have a whole menu dedicated to white truffles)

Milanese Risotto - I felt the risotto was not really cooked (it was still hard)

Random -

Pretty Awesome - fresh squeezed orange juice vending machine in the train stations

Random restaurant for lunch. Fried Sea bass with Mediterranean Sauce - meh

 Breakfast - Random cafe - shrimp with lettuce and tomatoes on squid ink bread

Breakfast - panini YUM

Dinner near the Canal -El Brellin

 Fried Zucchini with Prosciutto

 Small bottle of white wine (they don't serve glass) 11 euros

Homemade squid ink pasta

A far walk to the "best" gelato place in Milan - La Gelateria della Musica. They offer lots of different and unique flavors. It's a very far walk from the train but I'm sure you can take the bus (I just didn't know how to).

Flavors - Pistachio (non salted), Yogurt, Hazelnut with rice crackers (kinda reminded me of rice crispy) and pear with chocolate chips. All flavors were really good- pretty much the best gelato place I've ate.

Lunch - Nerino Dieci Trattoria - Everything tasted meh and to think the ratings on tripadvisor was really high.

Tuna Tartare - I had better
Lobster Spaghetti - NOT homemade. I can make this at home

Pasticceria Marchesi

I tried random stuff from this place and it was pretty good

Shopping - Marni Outlet - Contrary to other blogs this place opens at 11AM. It's not near the city center. It's easy to miss because it's near an apartment complex. Gated - kind of confusing to get to. I would take the bus or the tram here.

arrivederci milano - until next time!