A self proclaimed nerd living in Melbourne, Australia who enjoys a vast array of nerd activity. This includes but is not limited to travel, food, photography, jewellery making, anime, games and all things pretty and cute. Give her any of the above and there will definitely be a smile on her face.
Whenever I visit Shanghai, I always go out with my cousins. They're all around my age and know all about where to go for good food and entertainment. On one of the nights during this visit, we ate at a restaurant called Ji Hui or Yoshie Japanese Restaurant (吉惠) which is a buffet Japanese restaurant. You can order a la carte but each dish is deliberately made very expensive so that you would happily choose the buffet option. This is probably the case at most buffet Japanese restaurants in China. The store is small and requires reservation beforehand and you choose the dishes from a menu and they bring it out from the kitchen like they would a la carte.
My cousin found a discount coupon on Da Zhong Dian Ping website (a website somewhat like Urbanspoon but with coupons and a LOT more restaurants from all around China) which is unfortunately only in Chinese. The coupon was for $120Yuan per person (instead of the usual $128Yuan) and if you go in a group of four or more, they give you a live fish cut into sashimi pieces. Refer below for the cool fish. It was totally still alive when it was sliced and the head and tail twitched every now and then. :S I know it's a bit cruel but trust me, the sashimi was the freshest I've ever had and was oh so delicious. I have no idea what type of fish it is though. I was pretty excited when I filmed the fish moving so didn't check the white balance before I pressed the button and I have no idea how to post edit videos so, sorry about the colour. :(
This dish is marinated squid sashimi (I think it was raw) mixed in a kimchi type paste. Not my favourite of the night since marinated things tend to lack that freshness, especially kimchi paste which is overpowering.
Since this was buffet, we really ordered quite a few dishes - it was for four people and my cousins have big appetites. We ordered two lots of rolled beef with enoki mushrooms, it was nicely marinated with a sweet soy sauce and wasn't overcooked. I had quite a few pieces of this dish which made me a bit full.
Our next stop after a day in Brisbane was Surfers Paradise in the Gold Coast. I had booked for 3 nights at the Watermark Hotel which is supposedly 4.5 stars. Compared to my experiences at the Metro Hotel Tower Mill in Brisbane just earlier, this place was like heaven. The entrance of the lobby was huge - with a very high ceiling and friendly concierge, even a Japanese guests counter to serve the ever growing number of Japanese tourists in the area. When I asked at the reception for directions, they were very helpful and even showed me to the bus stop outside. Now that is service.
I also liked their decorations and furniture which had a modern yet comfortable feel.
The room we stayed in was a standard room with 2 queen size beds. I rolled around in both of them as soon as I put my bags down :D. The beds were really soft and I liked the pillows. The carpet and beds were really clean which is hugely important for me.
The bathroom was clean as well, although it seemed a little worn out. For some reason I didn't like the colour combination in it which may have contributed to the 'worn-out' look. The shampoo and conditioner were (eucalyptus and lemongrass) refreshing and aromatic - I like :D.
