Bearded Clam

We are so spoilt with burger options in Auckland, it’s honestly a crime to have anything but the best. Food snobs foodies unite. These Bearded Clam burgers will help you maintain that diet. The Buffalo Chicken burger ($16) was my favourite, chicken incredibly tender and perfectly balanced out with the blue cheese sauce. The Cheeseburger ($12) is simple done right. It’s the traditional maccas ordeal but 100x less greasier, 100x tastier, and 100x better for you. Their brioche buns are super soft and pillowy, basically what every burger fiend dreams of. Here are some photos of the beautiful beings basking in the winter light, you’re welcome.

Bearded Clam
Locations change

Japan – Osaka Castle

We’ve finally entered autumn – after a scorching and humid Auckland summer that saw every kiwi panic. Every type of fan sold out (yes-there is a first time for everything) and opportunists were reselling them for 50% above retail price on Trademe. Oh, New Zealand. This soft rain and cloudy afternoon weather takes me back to winter in Japan. Trawling through the 5,000 or so photos we took, I found these Osaka Castle gems that I was supposed to post but never did. One can never get enough of the beauty of Japan. Though if you are sick of me and my embarrassing four-month long holiday withdrawals and would rather see some burgers and brunching, deal with it please let me know.

Tip 9: Entry into Osaka Castle is 600yen. As with all other hotspots there is queueing involved, so take the stairs instead of waiting for lift.

First Impressions: Hello Friends + Allies

A quick Instagram stalk of Hello Friends + Allies will tick all the boxes – latte art, avocado, eggs bene, cake cabinet. The breakfast bruschetta ($19) is 100% on looks. It comes with an overwhelming load of feta cheese, and added saltiness with the smoked prosciutto leaving me incredibly thirsty. Unfortunately the beautiful fig and awkward puddle of honeycomb did little to help balance things out. The cafe has an enticing baked goods cabinet. The passionfruit cake ($6) is fluffy but the filling sandwiched in between is heavy and bland. I just wish there was more of that delicious tangy sauce. While the staff are friendly, the service can be slow. It’s spacious with an extra private room out back.

Hello Friends + Allies
93 Great South Road, Epsom, Auckland 

Fish Fish

The simplest things are forever the hardest to get right. Like the eggs bene and the mushrooms on toast. Or the humble burger and the fish and chips. Burger Burger and Fish Fish have hit the sweet spot on the latter two respectively. According to our Instagram grid, we are well rehearsed in the BB game and thanks to the panko-crumbed gurnard with tartare sauce last Thursday night we will soon be FF frequent grammers too. The seafood is fresh, the chips thick cut. It’s the fish and chips you actually wanted need for the beach. Not the slimy, thick battered ordeal from the corner dairy.  A slaw is good to throw in the mix, and so is something from the specials menu. The prawn and sweet potato fritter is incredibly tasty with its spicy vinegar sauce. Not as enjoyable if you are the type of person that believes whitebait fritters stare into your soul, the prawns here are also. There aren’t many seats but you can order online and takeaway – good for that horrendous Ponsonby parking.

For those on the shore, watch out for the BB and FF powerhouse opening soon!

Fish Fish (menu here)
Ponsonby Central, Auckland

Japan – Nara Park

If you thought you’ve had your fair share of wild animal encounters with stray cats and dogs and the trip to the zoo, you are horribly wrong because there are wild deer in Japan! Bambi, as we imagine is gentle and undeniably cute. So naturally we had zero precautions when meeting the real deal at their home in Nara Park. We came across a sign that said beware of head-butts, kicking, and keep your children safe but we laughed and thought nothing of it. Surely enough 10 minutes in we witnessed the headbutting, the pushing, the food snatching. We saw screaming children running away with food in their hand and the deer pounding after them (okay maybe not pounding but definitely following the tears). We also witnessed a near deer-car-crash and were shellshocked but traffic resumed as if it happens on a day-to-day basis. It was of course an amazing sight, seeing hundreds of deer roam around and pick on people. It’s worth the short trip out from Kyoto and an easy pitstop for a night on the way to Osaka. Enjoy!

Tip 8: If you are unsure about the train fare, purchase the cheapest ticket and pay the difference at your final stop with a fare adjustment machine. This will save a lot of time spent staring at the JR map and money too.

Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavillion)

Taiwan – Taipei

Elephant Mountain…

Japan – Fushimi Inari-taisha

Holidays are defined as no-alarm-clock-days unless you have a million shrines to get to. Fushimi Inari was the only shrine that we woke early for (we are embarrassing 12pm risers) and you can see it was quite worth it. The gates line the path up to the mountain and back down. It’s almost the same view all the way, so if you are on a tight Kyoto shrine schedule like us it’s best to not make the commitment.

Tip 7: General etiquette in Japan is that you don’t eat or drink while walking. You will therefore notice that there are no rubbish bins on the street. (If you are in a dire and desperate situation there are recycling bins next to vending machines.)

Japan – Ghibli Museum

There are an insane amount of museums in Japan, not just the art and science type but cup noodles, beer, and animations museums galore. The Ghibli Museum (pronounced Jee-blee) essentially showcases the life of Miyazki and beautiful presentations of his and his team’s work. Photography is not allowed inside, which makes it even more fun and magical as you’re not preoccupied with getting snaps and also would not have seen the exhibits online anywhere prior.

The tickets are only available 3 months ahead of time. They sell out very quickly so try your best to book them with your local reseller early. We bought ours via a friend in Japan and picked up at a Lawsons with the Loppi machine (Loppi doesn’t have an English menu so make sure you read through these instructions first). They are around 12NZD each, so well worth it. As always we were late, but rest assured the entry period is 30 minutes from your start time. In total we spent 2-3 hours at the museum.

Tip 4: There is a shuttle that runs from Mitaka station to Ghibli Museum but we wouldn’t recommend it. By foot it takes the same amount of time (15 minutes) with cute Totoro signs guiding you and beautiful parks to walk through on the way there.

Tip 5: If you miss the gift shop at Ghibli Museum because of the crowd or you forgot, but in hindsight really want a cat bus or mini Totoro to take home, there is an excellent store on the street to Kiyomizu Temple (make sure you watch out for the Studio Ghibli sign as the shop is hidden at the back). They also have a very small selection of Totoro soft toys at the Metropolitan Government Office.

Tip 6: A number of different types of trains go through the same platform in Japan. Try to recognise, memorise, or save these categories to your phone to ensure you don’t hop on the wrong one. Here’s a good explanation from http://www.japan-guide.com:

	Local (kakueki-teisha or futsu-densha) Local trains stop at every station.
	Rapid (kaisoku) Rapid trains skip some stations. There is no difference in the ticket price between local and rapid trains.
	Express (kyuko) Express trains stop at even fewer stations than rapid trains. Japan Railways (JR) charges an express fee in addition to the base fare.
	Limited Express (tokkyu) Limited express trains stop only at major stations. A limited express fee usually has to be paid in addition to the base fare. It is typically between 500 and 4000 yen. JR railway companies always charge this fee, but some other private railway companies do not.
	Super Express (shinkansen) Shinkansen are only operated by JR. Shinkansen run along separate tracks and platforms. A limited express fee has to be paid in addition to the base fare. It is typically between 800 and 8000 yen.

Japan – Harajuku & Meiji Shrine

It’s been a while hasn’t it. We swapped your Ponsonby hipster cafes and cursing Auckland traffic for some sashimi, zen inducing shrines and 24-7 mosh pit train situations. Over five weeks we travelled to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Seeing it was our first time in Japan we got overly happy and shutter crazy (you really can’t blame us in such a picturesque country), so expect to see a gazillion more photo diaries whenever I get round to it (disclaimer: it could be never). I can’t say we are now expert travellers of Japan nor can we recite you the JR railway map but we can impart some what-not-to-do knowledge on in hope that you won’t make the same stupid mistakes (though who are we kidding, those poor decisions often become hilarious memories).

Tip 1: Try not to get on the train in the wrong direction (particularly if you are only travelling to the next stop, we were obviously too excited on our first day and hopped on any train we saw). Make sure you take note of the colour line your destination is on and the next station from your starting point. More train tips to come.

Tip 2: Do not over plan your days. You should consider the season you are travelling as it can get dark very quickly during winter i.e. 4pm. Also there is a lot to see so allow time for exploring and checking out cute little stores. Most places close at 9-9:30pm.

Tip 3: If this is a shopping trip, make sure you have your passport handy. Japan is jam-packed with tax-free shops (look out for the red n white logo and the minimum spend, typically 5,000yen).
Pro-tip: don’t purchase anything tax-free if you intend on using it during your stay as they seal your products up.

Places worth visiting:

• Omotesandō is hands down our favourite place in Tokyo so far. It is full of boutiques, a galore of secondhand shops – stocked with clothes so well looked after they could be selling as new, many small cafes and restaurants like the popular Omotesandō Koffee and numerous other branded stores that all fit into the trendy street character (see last photograph above).
• Meiji Shrine is a typical tourist attraction. The shrine is beautiful though and worth a little relaxing walk through. It is big enough so that it doesn’t feel crowded with a lot of people.
• Takeshita Street, also a staple crowd gatherer, is where you can purchase some delicious fresh fruit crepes and check out Japan’s crazy fashion. Good for the first time only.

That’s it for now, till next time!