Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ice Bar Tokyo

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On my third day in Tokyo, which fell on a Monday, it was a public holiday (Health and Sports Day) in Japan to commemorate the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. We had a few places in our plan and the first on our list was Ice Bar Tokyo in Ginza, Tokyo.
Although Japan is a four-seasonal country, it does not snow in Tokyo. Even if it does, it will never be a heavy snowfall. Hence, Ice Bar Tokyo is one of the major spots for people living in Tokyo to experience the Arctic throughout the year. The novelty experience of stepping into the Ice Bar is just like when you enter Ice Hotel, known as the world famous hotel made up entirely of snow and sculptured blocks of ice.
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Details about Ice Bar.

09-10-10 Tokyo
Ice Bars in other parts of the world.

Similar Ice Bars are available in major cities around the world like in Stockholm, London, and Copenhagen; all using the same concept like the original one in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden.
Ice Bar Tokyo is open throughout the year, except during seasonal renovating and when there are any events held there. We made our reservation on the night before just in case it is full. However, we went there on day time, and that is the time when there will be not many people. Unless you are going at night, reservation isn't that necessary. Entrance fee is 3,500 yen, which includes a pair of cape and glove to keep you warm inside the bar, personal ice glass, and choice of a cocktail (or non-alcoholic drink).
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We were given a pair each of these capes upon entering the Ice Bar.
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The wide ranges of cocktails available for selection.
We were there a little earlier than its opening time of one in the afternoon. So we took the time to camwhore in front of the Ice Bar. When it was opened, we realised that we were the first and only customer there. But it was a good thing too because it felt like we have the whole bar to ourselves haha. The temperature took an absolute swift when we stepped into the Ice Bar as it is negative five degree Celsius inside the Ice Bar.
The walls, bar, tables, the ice sculptures and art inside the Ice Bar are made of natural and pure ice from the pristine Torne River in northern Sweden and Finland. The interior design of the Ice Bar is done beautifully, besides some exotic elements. The Ice Bar is usually closed for about a week each year for renovation and redecoration works.
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Even this board is made of ice.
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The interior of the Ice Bar.
The ice in the bar is part of the natural eco-cycle of water. Ice will evaporate even in an extremely cold climate. Hence, the shapes and details of the works of ice art and interior design will change over time. The ice is also affected by the guests, who wish to touch and feel the ice and they are encouraged to do so, since this is a necessary part of the experience and the concept.
When people are encouraging you to do something, you ought to do it as a form of courtesy.
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I know this picture might suggest something else, but well...
The water of the free flowing Torne River is dubbed as among the purest in Europe. During the Arctic winter, the frozen water forms the foundation for a fairy world of ice. The seasonal changes of the Torne River provide the yearly rhythm for people living nearby.
10,000 years ago the ice of the Ice Age carved its way through the landscape, creating the path of the Torne River. The water travels 600 kilometers through Lapland before reaching the coast in the southeast. Since the Torne River is the artery of Jukkasjarvi, Ice Hotel dreams of one day being able to return its generosity. By making the Torne River a World Heritage Site her future life as a wild and free flowing river would be secured (taken from here).

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We placed our camera on the bar and we saw this just after a few minutes haha.
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Algae inside the frozen block of ice.
I went for Viking, while WinD chose Tokyo Bar for our cocktail.
It was cool to see the bartender mixing the alcohol and fruit juice together when she was preparing our drinks. We actually took some time to chat and flirt with her as we saw her standing there alone so lonely in such a cold room.
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The bartender preparing my Viking, consisting of Vodka, peach liqueur and grape juice.

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Viking (left) and Tokyo Bar (right).
The interesting part is that our drinks were poured into ice glaces that resembles ice blocks. The feeling of drinking our cocktail from that kind of glass is quite an exciting experience.
The year was 1995. Ake Larsson, Ice Hotel architect, was standing in the Ice Bar together with creative director Arne Bergh. They were drinking whisky from plastic mugs. Suddenly, the thought stroke them: "Why are we drinking whisky from plastic mugs?" They went out into the winter cold, each found a piece of ice, and they carved two glasses. Back inside the Ice Bar, more whisky was served, but this time, in the newly created ices glasses. The ice stayed intact and the expression 'in the rocks' was born.
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The ice glasses used for the drinks.
It did not take long before they abandoned the knife-carving method and came up with a more efficient means of producing the ice glasses. That first winter, 1,000 glasses were made, and the development process continues. Though the shape of the ice glasses has evolved, it was designed to resemble the ice blocks that are taken from Torne River each year. With nearly a million produced each year, the ice glasses are now their single largest export product. The Ice Bars are the largest customers. The original design, intended to be reminiscent of clear blocks of Torne River ice, remains essentially unchanged, despite all of the changes in production methods (taken from here).
Finally, a group picture we took with the bartender inside the Ice Bar.
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I was standing on a platform, that is why I look so much taller than both of them.
Actually, it was just an excuse to avoid people from questioning about my height haha.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Ippudo's Ramen

Short note: I did one of the stupidest thing ever today. I was out for some shopping and when I was in the town already, ready to make the first purchase of the day, I realised that I left my wallet in my room. Cycling all the way back to my hostel is not an option because it is more than ten kilometers one way. I was like wtf to myself a million times but luckily, I brought my bank book out with me today. So, the bank book saved my day haha.
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The busiest crossroad in Japan, located just next to the Shibuya Station.
After a fully packed first day touring around Tokyo, we had our own plans on the next day. I attended the Merdeka & Raya celebration at the Embassy of Malaysia in Shibuya, Tokyo; while WinD had to attend to his part-time job. I had blogged on the event at the embassy here, so you can have a look if you are interested.
After spending more time than I had planned at the embassy, I went to look for some shops to charge my phone because the battery had totally died. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to make arrangements for our dinner that night. It could have been avoided if I have checked on the battery level of the phone the previous night. Served me right for being over-confident haha.
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Walking through the streets in Shibuya in search for something.
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Guess what is this box for? Collection bin for used and unwanted mobile phones.
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Found the thing I was looking for.
I came to this phone shop and told the guy that I wanted to charge my phone. He showed me the way and it cost ¥100 to charge my phone for twenty minutes. It is neither cheap or too pricey, but certainly it is very convenient especially when we are in an emergency situation. I am unsure if this is possible in Malaysia, but this is the first time I saw this in Japan.
It is either I am too jakun, or I am living in an ulu area all this while haha.
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Ippudo, which serves ramen.
We arrived at Chiba Station almost at the same time and WinD took me to a ramen restaurant, just like what he told me before I got down to Tokyo. Both of us shares a special liking for ramen, and I was curious to see how good the ramen would be. Ippudo is located within walking distance from Chiba Station.
Unlike other ramen restaurant, there are two kinds of side dishes where we get to take for free - some green vegetables (which looked like kacang botol) and bean sprouts marinated in chilly powder and perhaps some vinegar. It doesn't look as appetising but WinD insisted me to try it.
I tried taking a bite and the next thing I knew was I asked for refill no fewer than two times haha.
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I am not sure what secret spices they added into these, but they are really nice.
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The rest of the ingredients to be added into the ramen.
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The workers use a weighing machine to measure the weight of the noodles for each bowls.
It has been some time since I had gyoza, so we ordered a plate of gyoza as well. The gyoza here are comparatively smaller than other places, just like Hakata's style. When we took a bite on the gyoza, we could feel the juicy fillings melting inside our mouth. The skin was crispy, but the minced meat inside were as soft as cotton haha. Even thinking about it makes me hungry now lol.
The name itself - hitokuchi gyoza (一口餃子) suggests that we can eat each piece of the gyoza with just one mouthful.
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博多一口餃子 (Hakata hitokuchi gyoza) - ¥420.
We ordered the two most popular ramen from that restaurant - Akamarukasaneaji and Shiromarumotoaji.
The former uses pork bone as the main ingredient for its soup. Umamidama is added as the topping to enhance its taste and balm is added to make it the signature menu of this restaurant. As for the latter, the fine noodle used distinguishes itself from the other kinds of ramen. As the taste of the ramen is the top priority of Ippudo, they try to make sure that the fine noodles are not over boiled. The soup made of pork bone mixed with the chewy fine noodles, making it another main menu of this restaurant (modified from here).
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赤丸かさね味 (Akamarukasaneaji) - ¥850.
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白丸元味 (Shiromarumotoaji) - ¥750.
One thing which I like about Japan is no matter where you go (excluding those high class restaurants of course), the price of the food hardly differ a lot. For someone who loves ramen a lot, I will certainly try to make another trip to this restaurant to have their ramen.
I think the first meal I will have when I pay a visit to Chiba the next time will be Ippudo's ramen lol.