2012!!

For all my friends back home, hope everyone has a fun and safe time ringing in the new year!

I had a great time with friends and free flow rosé champagne ;)

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!!

xo

Japanese Christmas

Starting in November, Japan's streets have been decked out with Christmas decorations. Some pictures I've snapped with  my phone:

I can't believe Christmas is in 2 days!!

Cafe Mamehico

One of our new favorite cafes to go to, to get away from the noise of Shibuya is Cafe Mamehico.

すごくこだわりが多くて、季節によってメニューもコーヒーの豆も変わるの。

Love the long communal table in the middle.

They always have a different tree/flower arrangement too.

Ice Coffee comes in these retro tin cups.

They always have a few selections for hot coffee.

My brother told us about this cafe and he recommended this.

煮豆が入った食パンで、手前のクリームをつけて食べるの。シンプルで美味！

These two were seasonal menus for the fall:

Baked Apple with homemade Ice Cream.

HEAVEN! 

Grape Muffins.

葡萄も皮を一粒一粒むいて、すごく手がかかってるんだよ！（リンク）

Les enfants gâtés (レザンファン ギャテ)

On my mom's last visit, we went out for a fancy dinner at Les enfants gâtés in Daikanyama. They specialize in Terrine and Pâté. I knew it would be good, but it far exceeded my expectations, everything was SO delicious and elegant. I just saw their website and found out that they have a Michelin star. Regardless, it was a very pleasant dining experience.

Exterior.

I really like the lighting of the bar area at the entrance.

Fancy setting.

We each ordered the Terrine course (choice of 2) and shared everything:

Even the dessert is Terrine!

They served this platter of cream puffs (eclairs) along with our coffee.

The cream from top: cream with herb liqueur, passion fruit and green tea.

Isn't this a great idea?! The pastry was buttery and the cream was light.

Will definitely be going back here!

Sapi Island

On our second day, we took a day trip to Sapi Island. It was the "rainy" season so I was worried if we would be able to make it out to the beach, but luckily we were blessed with gorgeous weather!

We took these boats from the harbor, which was right next to our hotel.

That's the whole island! It's about a 15 minute boat ride.

Can you see the fish?

The "entrance" to the island.

Clear water.

We got there pretty early in the morning (we left around 9AM) and were one of the first to get there. We snorkeled...

and took naps with this view.

Roaming around were residents of this island, the Monitor Lizard. They were huge!

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park

Saw lots of exotic animals and birds at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. It's a huge zoo and was our alternative to see Orangutans when our plan to visit the Orangutan Reserve failed. It was worth the visit though because they have so many different kinds of animals and most of the larger ones were SO close with no fence.

When we went to see the elephants, it was their feeding time. Yay! They open their mouths and anxiously wait for you to throw the carrots (that orange thing in the middle).

We also watched the Orangutan Show.

Night Markets

There are many night markets going on every night in downtown KK. It's always interesting to check out markets in the countries you visit.