Welcoming The Pig In Advance

        When I made the switch from SculptFitness to Ipoh Swimming Club, what I missed the most was my gym buddy. I had always looked forward to working out and chatting with Patsy. Thankfully, we can still continue our chats over WhatsApp.
        Patsy is knowledgeable in many aspects and I learn a lot from her. As she goes to KL often, she knows many good eateries there. She had much earlier raved about The Butcher's Table and when she found that it had spread its wings (or should I say, knuckles?) to Ipoh, she excitedly urged me to give it a try.

Head to 18, Tingkat Taman Ipoh 6, Ipoh Garden South for some oink oink

        Despite Chinese New Year being more than a week away, hubby and I decided to welcome the Year of the Pig in advance by dining at The Butcher's Table this evening. As we arrived just slightly after six in the evening, we were the first customers. But a steady stream of customers started coming in soon after.
        Upon Patsy's recommendation, I ordered their homemade sausages, which are nitrate and preservative-free  and made with a mix of 80% topside lean meat and 20% fat. From a tempting array of 11 flavours, I decided to have a Farmer's Bratwurst (RM9 for about 100gms) and a Deluxe Cheese Ring (RM25 for about 300gms). I also ordered a side dish of mashed potatoes (RM5). Hubby went for their Smoked Pork Knuckle set (RM69), which came with one side dish. It was an enormous portion, probably ideal to be shared.

My dish of sausages

Loved this mashed potatoes, which had real chunks of potatoes in it

Derrick's Smoked Pork Knuckle

Let's pig in!

        Hubby's Smoked Pork Knuckle took a while to be prepared, and in the meantime, he happily dug into my sausages, which were served with a delicious mustard sauce. Hubby preferred the Farmer's Bratwurst, which was flavoured with parsley. I, on the other hand, delighted in the Cheddar cheese that oozed out from the Deluxe Cheese Ring.
        Hubby enjoyed his Smoked Pork Knuckle, which had been tenderly cured for 10 days, slow-cooked for 2 hours and hot smoked using natural wood chips for 30 minutes. I did not particularly fancy the smoky smell and thought the usual German Pork Knuckle's way better.
        Poor hubby finally conceded that it was too big a portion for him to finish, especially since I was not much of a help. We asked for it to be packed and taken home.
        Although The Butcher's Table may be new to us in Ipoh, KL folks have been enjoying its porkylicious goodness since 1992. Mr. Ho Kim Loon, the owner, had once been a butcher and then started serving the porcine dishes at Bangsar Shopping Centre. That restaurant has closed down and KL folks now go to the heart of PJ's SS2 for The Butcher's Table. As for hubby and I, we welcome the pig and all its goodness to Ipoh.

The menu

More porcine goodness!

Being Allured By Honshu - Day 3

            Dragging myself out of bed at 4.30 a.m. and wrapping myself up warmly, I accompanied Derrick to catch the 5.17 a.m. train to Fushimi Inari Shrine. I usually do not leave my warm bed to follow him on his sunrise pursuits but I do not trust him to navigate his way to the right destination using public transport. Despite it being so early in the morning, there were already commuters making their way around Kyoto Station for their respective trains. And when we arrived at Fushimi Inari Shrine, we were not the only crazy photographers.
        The way in and up were lit up, which was handy so as to not stumble and fall. However, Mr. Photographer grumbled that it interfered with the natural light that he was seeking. Hence, his photos did not turn out the way he desired. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable early morning outing.

Mr. Photographer hard at work

        After the sun had come up, we returned to our hotel for some warm coffee and a snooze. Later, we crossed over to Kyoto Station to catch bus no. 17 to Ginkakuji Temple (The Silver Pavilion), alighting at the Ginkakuji-michi bus stop. We must have missed the turning to the temple as we entered the Philospher's Path instead.  This stone path by the canal earned its name when Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, used this path to commute daily to Kyoto University and practised meditation whilst doing so. Feeling slightly peckish, we popped into Coffeeten Sagan, one of the many eateries along the Philosopher's Path.  Adorned with antiques and paintings, this cafe seems to be run by an old couple. We had some sandwiches and coffee, which were quite nice.

Queuing up orderly for the bus outside Kyoto Station

Requesting to stop at Ginkakuji-michi

Meeting bears on the way

And befriending the bears

Philosopher's Path

Brunch along the Philosopher's Path

        We later paid a visit to Honen-in Temple (法然院), a quieter yet charming Buddhist temple. It's unique because of its moss-covered gate and sand mounds. We did not linger long because we wanted to move on to the more famous Ginkakuji or Silver Temple (銀閣寺), a Zen temple built by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in 1482. It was his retirement villa but was converted into a temple after his death. There was an admission fee of ¥500. It was a small price to pay for such a delightful place, with stunning fall foliage.

Lovely autumn colours outside Honen-in Temple

Iconic moss-covered gate of Honen-in Temple

Stunning autumn colours at Ginkakuji

Tranquil spot at Ginkakuji in spite of the throngs of tourists

        Leaving the temple, we found many shops and food stalls along the streets to cater to the visitors. We shared some yummy custard puffs ( ¥500 for 6) as well as the most exquisite steamed premium Kyoto beef buns (¥450 each). The steamed buns or pau were so soft and the well-marinated beef slices were tender and juicy.

These custard puffs really melt in the mouth!

Got the custard puffs from this stall just outside the entrance of Ginkakuji

Nikuman or steamed beef buns

Keep your eyes peeled for this menu or you'll miss the tiny shop

        We caught the bus (no. 100) to Gion, Kyoto's most famous geisha district. We got down at a stop just outside the Yasaka Shrine but we did not venture in as we were in Gion for another famous landmark - the Yasaka Pagoda. There were several food stalls outside Yasaka Shrine and we were allured by the aroma of grilled beef. So we got ourselves a skewer of grilled beef with lemon sauce and another skewer with barbecue sauce (¥500 each). Yum!

It's all about beef!

Indulging in beef skewers at Yasaka Shrine

        It took some wrong turns but we finally located the beautiful five-storey Yasaka Pagoda, nestled protectively amongst many narrow streets. The entire area has been capitalising on tourism as many of the old houses had been transformed into shops, eateries and machiyas (traditional Kyoto townhouse-turned guesthouse). Wandering around the area, trying to survey for the best spot to capture Yasaka Pagoda, I really love this ancient area and the nostalgic feeling it lent. We also got ourselves burger boiled pork (stewed pork sandwiched between a steamed mantou) - ¥450 each. It was so hot that I had to juggle it from one palm to another to avoid burning myself, but it was incredibly tasty.

Look out for this street sign and turn left. 

After meandering around some small streets, Yasaka Pagoda comes into sight.

Stumbled upon this yummy burger boiled pork along one of the streets

Malaysian lovebirds and the Yasaka Pagoda

        After getting enough of the 49-meter-high pagoda and marking in our minds the spot to return to for the next day's sunrise photos, Derrick and I returned to Kyoto Station via bus no. 206. With that, we had almost fully exhausted the amount that was pre-loaded in our ICOCA cards, leaving behind a mere ¥10. We could, of course, top up the amount and continue using our ICOCA cards. But after some deliberation, we decided we were better off purchasing a one-day bus pass (¥600 each) for the subsequent day's use. We also bade sayonara to our Hello Kitty and Thunder Gods as we returned our ICOCA cards at the JR-West ticket office at Kyoto Station to redeem our ¥500 deposit. Whilst at the JR-West ticket office, we bought the Limited Express Thunderbird train ticket to Kanazawa for 30 November (¥6900 each). Reviews had said that the trains to Kanazawa were usually not full and it would be all right to buy on the day of departure, but we decided to play it safe by purchasing in advance.
        For dinner that night, we headed for Kyoto Ramen Koji (Kyoto Ramen Street) on the 10th floor of Isetan, Kyoto Station. Kyoto Ramen Koji is like a ramen theme park with different ramen varieties to delight even the most finicky eater. Everything looked good to us, but we finally settled for Bannai Shokudo, which served the Kitakita ramen, ranked 2nd of the 3 top ramen varieties in Japan. Their noodles are thick, chewy and curly, and their tonkotsu pork soup is flavoured with sardines and soy sauce. Derrick's choice (¥1420) was a large bowl of chashu ramen, broiled chashu pork rice and an ajitsuke tamago (soft-boiled egg marinated in a sweet and salty soy-based sauce) while choosing the Lady's Set (¥800) freed me from the hassle of deciding between goodness and more goodness. My Lady's Set consisted of a smaller bowl of Kitakita ramen with chashu and crunchy bamboo shoots, a tiny bowl of absolutely flavourful broiled chashu rice, an ajitsuke tamago and 3 pieces of tasty gyozas. Upon leaving the shop, I took note of the name of the shop as I was keen to give it a good review in TripAdvisor.

Derrick was in porky heaven!

My very tasty Lady's Set