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A Day in Japanese Restaurant

18 August 2009

Today is a perfect day. I looked at my assignment schedule and figured out that on the first day after the mid semester break, I need to hand in the Japanese Scrapbook to my sensei. I really have a lot to say about Japan and what I like most about it, but none of it is really an interesting story to begin with. I might just write down information about Japan that I already know or copy them down from the internet. However, that is not what I want to do. I prefer sharing my personal experience.

I used to watch Naruto anime, but some people do not watch it. So, they will surely lose interest at the very first page of my scrapbook. I bet I should find something else to talk about. How about Japanese food? Everyone must be very curious to know about it such as sushi and wasabi. I myself do not know much about Japanese food. That is the point! If I try some Japanese foods, it must be an exciting experience for me too. So, I decided to go find some sushi. Yeah!

Just in time two of my friends asked me to go out with them to Queensbay Mall. Queensbay Mall is opened for business since 1 December 2006. I can say it is still a new mall. It is currently the largest, longest and most modern shopping mall in Penang with a gross built up of 2.5 million sq ft and over 1 million sq ft net lettable area.

The Mall is located in Bayan Lepas, minutes away from the Penang Bridge, the heart of a prime waterfront development sprawling over a land area of 73 acres.

I agreed and asked my friends to accompany me to eat at the Japanese restaurants to experience the taste of some sushi. They said they are looking forward to it. We promised to meet tomorrow at 2.00 p.m.

19 August 2009

Today the sun is bright and shiny. I smell fresh afternoon breezes when I open my room’s door. At 2.15 p.m., I walked to the bus station with my friends, Adriana and Alif and waited for the Rapid Penang Bus. Soon, we boarded a bus to Queensbay Mall and after approximately 15 minutes, we arrived there. Just as promised, we would go to a Japanese restaurant and find the sushi. We walked around, and finally we have found a Japanese restaurant at the Ground Floor. It is called “Restoran Jepun: Nippon Yataimura”. However, when I looked at the menus, the restaurant serves non-halal foods. So, we decided to find other Japanese restaurants.

As we walked, we have found another Japanese restaurant called “Azuma Japanese Restaurant”. The Japanese restaurant was just perfect, even the authority has certified that it is a halal restaurant with the HALAL printed document in front of the restaurant. However, Alif said that he just went to this restaurant yesterday and wanted to try another restaurant. Well, I just go with the flow. So, I asked him to snap a picture and then we left to find another restaurant.

We passed by JUSCO entrance at the Ground Floor again and saw JUSCO Section called “Tako Tao” Section. There were a lot of packed sushis at the corner. However, if I buy these sushis, I could not experience the atmosphere at the Japanese restaurant because these sushis were served to be taken away.

Then, we went around walking again. We have found the next Japanese Restaurant called “Sushi King”. This is a very familiar name. As we went to the Sushi King entrance, we were greeted by a female waiter. I guess this restaurant is going to be our final choice, after all. Without asking question, we entered the restaurant and sat at a table.

As a start, I looked at the menu and ordered “Beef Yakiniku.” This reminded me of Choji, a fat character in Naruto anime (did I just say fat??), who always yelled “Yakiniku!” when he gets his treat at the restaurant. By the way, Beef Yakiniku’s main serving is a big plate of roasted beef and it is mixed with vegetables such as green cabbages and sliced carrot. There are three bowls at the side: rice, soup, and egg pasta. Then, a drink comes together with the set. It is called Yakult; a drink originally made in Japan and contained live healthy bacteria or culture milk. The price for all of them is RM18.90. Takai! However, the main reason I chose the menu is because I liked the vegetables and wanted to know what “Yakiniku” is.

Then, Alif chose “Kodomo Bento.” It is a set of seafood: fried prawns, fried fish, sliced squids, sliced taufu, some fresh vegetables and rice. All of them are placed in a sectional plate. The price is RM14.90.

Then, he ordered an orange juice originally made in Japan. The price for it is RM6.90. We only knew about the price after we re-checked the menu though. Adriana is not a sushi lover, but she did take a bite of a few sushis.

The system in Sushi King is very effective. There are two large spinning tables at the front and back side of the restaurant. We called the sushis on these spinning tables as “The Spinning Sushi.” On the tables are served sushi and other Japanese foods. Customers can choose either to sit on a long bench located alongside the large, spinning table and eat the sushi there or sit on a different table, just beside the spinning table, for a family treat. We can also choose to eat both the spinning sushi on a normal table and order a larger set of sushi from the waiter. We had so much to eat that we felt almost bloated.

The price for the order is placed at the menu while the price for the spinning sushi is based on the sticker’s color on each plate. There are five types of colors, and each color has different price. For example, sushi with a blue sticker on it is RM2.00 while the purple sticker is RM6.00. So, please take a careful look at the sticker’s color before grabbing any sushi at the spinning table!

During our time in Sushi King, we also have met a family of Japanese tourists. They are from Nagoya, Japan. Those little kawaii kids' names are Yume (oldest), Mime (middle) and Yumi (youngest). Their mother's name is Kimi Kawashima. They came with their grandmother as well, but the oba-chan was paying the bills. They were in a 15-days holiday trip in Malaysia since 6 August 2009 and soon would be back on 21st August. I did try and practice some of my Japanese dialogues with them and it was intriguing. Below is some of my conversation with them:

Me : Konichiwa. Nihon-jin desuka?
Mother : Konichiwa. Hai. Nihon-jin desu. (Japanese citizen).
Me : Watashiwa Hanafi-desu. Mareshia kara kimashita. Dozo yoroshiku. Onamaewa, nandesuka?
Mother : Kimi Kawashima. (Then she said something I did not understand, but I knew she was trying to ask me something like “Do you know Japanese?”)

Me : Sukoshi (little). I like Naruto anime. (I suddenly broke into English!).
Mother : (She explained to her daughters that I like Naruto. I heard the word “suki”).
Me : Onamaewa, nandesuka? (I pointed my finger towards the kids).
Yume : Yume-desu, Mime, Yumi. (She introduced both of her younger sisters to me).
Me : Can we take pictures together? (English again).
Mother : (She explained to her kids. Obviously the kids did not know English very well).
Me : Arigato.

I am a newbie in Japanese. A word to describe: noob. LOL. I could understand very little of what they have said. I could not think fast at the moment, but at least I could reply a few words. The longest sentence I said is "Yume-san wa Mime-san no oniichan desu ka?" which means Are you (Yume) Mime's sister? I kinda feel embarrassed even to try out that sentence. Finally, we broke into English conversation. :(((

Nagoya is located in the middle part of Japan.

After finished eating at Sushi King, we went to a few interesting places. Like, Harajuku Clothes Section. The clothes at the back are some of Harajuku's fashion.

After a few hours, we went to the food court and ate another kind of food for dinner. This time, I could not remember what type of foods they are, but usually I did not care much about them because once I've found something to eat, lantaklah!

Overall, thanks to my friends because that day I have found something to write for my Nihon Scrapbook. Arigato!

The Interview With GOD

I get this poem somewhere, I couldn't recall. This poem has made a great impact on me... Believe it or not, you will be amazed on how true it is...I would like to share this poem with everyone:

THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

So you would like to interview me? God asked.

If you have the time, I said.

God smiled. My time is eternity.
What questions do you have in mind for me?

What surprises you most about humankind?

God answered…
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again”.

“That they lose their health to make money…
and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”

“That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived”.

God touches my hand
and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked…
If you a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn

“To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved”.

“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others”.

“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness”.

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them”.

”To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least”.

“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings”.

”To learn that two people can
look at the same thing
and see it differently”.

To learn that it is not enough that they
forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves”.

“Thank you for your time,” I said humbly.

“Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?”

God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here… always”.

-author unknown

Genting Trip...

These are some pictures that I have captured in Genting Highlands... I felt more like in a "school trip" when knowing that H1N1 rumors (it was real though) were spreading crazily around Malaysia, and all of us obediently followed the instinct to wear the masks for our protection. What was so funny about this trip was that when Emma told us to go to a certain place, we had no choice but to follow her since she knew all the way... It was like... Kids, lets go this way...Then we said, okay, mum. Hahahaha...

Remembering the trip, I felt it was funny too when we wore masks in the middle of Pudu road before the trip to Genting. People in the restaurants, sidewalks and bus terminals just couldn't stop staring wildly at us, not because they felt it was strange to see a bunch of masked strangers, but they had this kind of look "ahh...they are contagious, we better get away with them..." I still remember when we entered McDonald, the people inside it instantly covered their mouths and noses with both hands. Basically, we wear the masks for our own protection, not because we were diagnosed with H1N1.

However, in the end, when we were tired of wearing the masks all the time, we simply take off our masks and put it in our bags... It was the sign when we were too absorbed with the fun in Genting. All I know is that the trip in Genting was the best trip ever in my life. Going together with my friends made the trip more exciting and meaningful. Even though the place was too crowded with people, the climate was too cold and foggy, you would forget all about them when you were in the middle of the fun. You must try a trip to Genting if you have a chance… I tell you… It was worth spending your time and money!

The Ducks Unlimited

Thrilled.. I'm so excited because my brother in K.K, Sabah just sent me photos about our ducks at home. Most of them are from Khaki Campbell species. Some of them are from Magpie and White species though... Yeah, they are getting bigger and healthier. They have developed some bright feathers and have brought up more duck shapes... My mother told me that they started producing the little quack, harsh sound usually made by an adult duck. Nice.

My family have lots of pets in the house such as cats, hamsters, birds, rabbits, fishes and so on for the past few years but I think keeping these ducks as "pet" is more beneficial. Please don't laugh at me okay... I want to be a duck towkay one day, just watch!

We also have some chickens in the cage... Well, they also get bigger. Mom, I counted there are a few chickens missing. Where are they..?? Hahaha they usually end up at the cooking pot.



Then, my brother also posted me a few pictures of my corns. They are all taller than my mum. They have sprouted grains of flowers as well as tiny little corns. It was awesome! We enjoy growing plants and I believe much of that interest ran in our blood. Waa!! I just can't wait to go back home...

Its hard to believe...

Hello...I was having trouble finding a suitable name for the blog. The name Hanafiography just popped up and I remembered well where I've got this idea. Sorry if this name has got similarities with other blogs yeah...(Haha!)

What inspired me? Well, I just found a few pals in the internet and they really inspired me a lot with their well-written ideas and experience. It's time to be inspired and inspire. Even though I'm not really good at writing but I think it might be good if I have a tool to express what's on my mind or whatever interesting stuffs I'm doing now and then and share them online (well, at least share with a few people that I know). Then, I can practice my writing as well cuz owww yeah I'm too bad at writing... As for today, it's just that I felt too overloaded cuz I had a headache the whole day...

I went to Genting Highland for the last few days. It was an awesome journey ever in my life. I didn't think that my trip to Genting Highland have something to do with my headache...basically it is because of the Penang climate here that is so so unravelling...I had a gotong royong activity in my school just now and it was raining heavily...Huh, hopefully, this is nothing to do with the H1N1 virus that people are talking too much this time. I will post any interesting pictures next time.