I got new skin problems when I'm going 30, and this is how I treat it (Part 2 : Pimples and Freckles)

The best exfoliating toner to get rid of pimples

Hi all,
Welcome to the part 2 of this topic. This time I'll write about the skin problems which really confusing me - pimples and freckles. Why is it so confusing? It's because of 2 reasons :

1. I never have any problems with pimples in my whole life, so I have no idea how to treat it wisely. I only had some pimples when it's my "period time" or when I tried new skincare which not suitable on my skin. But those pimples, will be gone soon - unlike the new pimples that never gone for more than 2 months.

2. Freckles (dark spot) always be my problem since I was a kid. I got my first freckles at 10 years old, and I still haven't found any products that could get rid of them. All I know the only way to get rid of this dark spot by doing a laser treatment, and I'm not brave enough to do it. Now, suddenly, these freckles appear a lot, on my cheek bones. Well, it's not as "dark" as my previous freckles, so I only can see these freckles at the very bright place. Even though these freckles still could be covered with foundation and concealer, but I feel very inconvenient to have it. Because my goal is having a clear - glass skin.

How do I treat pimples and freckles???

Pimples
This is the most confusing problems because I'm not friendly with skincare for acne prone. Besides, I also afraid if I change my skin care into products for acne prone, it will make my dry skin getting worse - because usually acne prone identic with oily skin. I've found a great skin care - a toner precisely- which really effective to get rid of pimples. It's Some By Mi 30 Days Miracle Toner. I've used this exfoliating toner since last year, and it makes my pimple gone at the very short time. However, I just found out this toner has ingredients which not supposed to be used under the sunlight. The usage of this toner under the sunlight will cause appearance of dark spots. Therefore, I just use it at my night skin care routine.

At this moment, I need a toner for morning use and I have no idea what to use. I've tried the bestseller toner - Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Toner, but after use this, pimples kept appear on my face so I stopped it. At the end I heard about a toner with many good reviews, and I directly go to Sephora when I was having holiday in Malaysia to find out about this toner. I'm pretty sure you're all very familiar with this toner - Pixi Glow Tonic. There are 3 versions of Pixi Glow Tonic : the original (with orange color liquid), Rose, and Lavender. I asked the differences between them both, and I was surprised with the answer. She told me the original one contains Glycolic Acid which works to get rid of acne scars. It's totally perfect with what I need right now. The other good thing about this toner is even though it's an exfoliating toner, but it also can hydrate your skin. I have use it for more than a month on my morning skin care routine, and it shows a good progress to get rid of my acne scars.

Freckles
When I say "how to treat it", it doesn't mean I get rid of it all clearly. I just try to find out how to reduce the appearance, because freckles can't be gone easily. You need to do a special treatment, within a long period of time. This treatment also not cheap so I'd think twice to do it. While some serum (such as Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum) could be used to reduce dark spots, but it takes a very long time and you need to use it regularly - literally everyday. Meanwhile, at this time I'm using other serum that can get rid of fine lines - which is the main problem on my skin right now.

So, how do I treat this freckles? I tried to prevent the appearance of other new dark spots, by protecting my skin with sunscreen. I know and everybody know that sunlight is the main reason for the appearance of dark spots, and we need to protect our skin from this harmful light. However, I don't like - precisely hate - to using sunscreen because they have a greasy and oily texture. They can be absorbed on skin perfectly and will ruin my make up look. For this reason, I live for 27 years without using any sunscreen, even though I live at the tropical country - Indonesia.

The best Japanese sunscreen : Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence

Lately, I heard some good reviews about a sunscreen from Japanese drugstore - Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence. It's nominated as the best sunscreen because it has a very light texture and won't leave any greasy feeling after using it. Well, I didn't trust it easily because I'm not familiar with Japan Cosme and I didn't want to waste my money to buy another sunscreen which I'm not gonna use, and it just ended at the rubish bin like the other sunscreen. However, looking at my skin condition with many freckles makes me sad and I decided to give it a try. Actually I've been looking for this sunscreen since last March, when I was having holiday in Japan. But with many things to buy in Japan, I was forgot to buy this sunscreen, and start to remember it again when I was in Kuala Lumpur. At that moment, I found it at Watsons Malaysia where you can found any kind of the popular Japanese products. I've tried the sunscreen, and it has a texture like other people said. It's very light and not leave any greasy feeling like I found at other sunscreen. Ever since then, I never forget to use sunscreen every morning and I also told Aurelia to use this sunscreen, to prevent the appearance of dark spots on the face.


That's all about what I've done to treat appearance of pimples and freckles. Stay tune on my blog and don't forget to follow, so you won't missed the third part (which is the last part) of this topic. See ya beauties...

I got new skin problems when I'm going 30, and this is how I treat it (Part 1 : Wrinkles)

My new skincare products

Have you read my previous blogpost?? Well, at that post I wrote that I have a lot of beauty content that I'd write on my blog. I had this because of one reason : Lately I got so much problem on my skin, and I need to change (almost all) my skincare. It's been few months for me to try those new skincare, and I'm ready to review all of them. For the next few days, I'll write some posts about reviews of those products, based on the problems that I had. This topic will be divided into 3 parts, where each parts will discuss about 1 problem. First, I'll write about the main problems that I really worry about, and I didn't expect to get it when I'm going 30.

Fine lines, smile lines, wrinkles
OK, I start with the worst skin problem, which I shouldn't get on my age (I just 27). But these things are real!! I had fine lines before (precisely few years ago), and I could get rid of them by using SK II Facial Treatment Essence. Ever since then, I never forget to put this product into my skincare routine.

A few months ago, I started to see a smile line appearance on my face, and it's really disturbing. It always make a crack after few hours I wear make up and its horrible. Not just that, I also spot some fine lines under my eyes, which also disturbing as well. Since I saw these lines, I changed my skincare from brightening products into anti aging products. At this point I realized one thing,

"Step into 30 years old, you need skincare with anti aging effects more than brightening effects. Because you can use make up to make your face looks brighten instantly, but it's really hard to cover wrinkle and any fine lines on your face."

Therefore, I changed my serum and also my eye cream. For the serum, I use Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior 2-in-1 Plumping Moisturizer + Serum in the morning and Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair for at night. These products known as the best anti aging skincare with medium range price (not cheap but also not too expensive), compared to other brand such as SK II. These serums work really well, and they reduce the appearance of smile lines. I love Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior - because as you can read on its name, it contains moisturizer and serum in 1 bottle. So it's perfect to be used at the morning rush. However, this product is not really hydrating. Therefore, I use other product for at night, which more hydrating - Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair.

Best serum for at night : Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair

To be honest, I've been eyeing on this product for a long time. Almost everyone put this serum on their night skincare routine. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair promising to treat any skin problems, while you're sleeping at night. Smoother, more radiant, and younger look, those sounds amazing and I really need it. As people said, this serum is really works. I wake up every morning with smooth and bright skin, and it also helps to reduce the fine lines. However, there's one thing that I don't like from this serum, it's the smell. There's no any fragrance added on this serum, so the smell comes from the main ingredients and it's not good. It smells like rubber or plastic, and sometimes it makes me almost throw up. But since this product really works to treat my skin problems, I'll keep using it and put it on my night skincare routine.

The jar size of Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream is so "mini". Easy to bring for traveling.

Besides serum, I also change my eye cream. As you know, my very first eye cream was SK II Stempower Eye Cream - which really can be used to reduce wrinkle around my eyes, and then I changed into Caudalie Premier Cru The Eye Cream - which known as an eyecream that helps to loose dark circle. Well, this time I try new eye cream which promising could get rid of any problems around your eyes such as dark circle, wrinkle, and even puffy eyes. It's Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Creme. At the first time I was really surprised to see the "Before - After" picture of this eye cream. I have these problems for years and I still couldn't find any eye cream that could fix it. Therefore, when I found out about this eye cream, I have feelings it can help me out. And it's true! Even though still there's some fine lines, but the dark circle under my eyes start to disappeared. I've use this eye cream for a month, and it shows a good progress. So far this is the best eye cream I ever tried, and I think it's gonna be my favorite eye cream.

Before - After Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Creme. Source : www.google.com

My skincare to get rid of wrinkles and any fine lines on my face

Well, that's all the new products that I use to treat the appearance of wrinkles on my face. I really satisfied with the result and would recommend this anti aging products for all of you who's just going to 30 years old.

... to be continued  to the next part...

[Review] Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior 2-in-1 Plumping Moisturizer + Serum

Hi ladiess...
Seems like it's been for a few months I didn't write any new posts in "beauty" section. I was focusing to finish writing about my travel journey and food-venture. But don't worry, because currently I have a lot of new beauty content that I gonna write on my blog. So make sure you follow my blog, twitter, and also instagram, to get new updates from me.

Quote at the packaging of Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior 2-in-1 Plumping Moisturizer + Serum

This time, I'll write a review about the new skincare that surprisingly works on me. I never knew about this product before, and even I never heard of any promotion about this brand. I just found it randomly at Mecca when I was on vacation in Sydney. Mecca is a beauty store (like Sephora) that can be found in Australia. As a skincare junkie, visiting a place like this will be very exciting and I could spend for hours to find a good products (read : new skincare and make up to tried). At that moment, I found a new product that sounds really good and worth to try - Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior 2-in-1 Plumping Moisturizer + Serum.

The ingredients of Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior 

As you read on its name, this product contains moisturizer and serum in 1 bottle, which is a good idea for a "lazy" woman like me. It will reduce the time when you're layering your face with skincare. The other good points is this product promising to reduce wrinkles. If you ever read my previous post, you'll know that wrinkle is my biggest problem at this moment. Suddenly a smiling line has appeared and it really disturbing especially when I was using make up. This smiling line is not really deep, and I still can cover it with foundation. However, after few hours, this line "cracked" my make up and it looks horrible. Therefore, found this moisturizer and serum is liked a treasure for me.

It has a pump bottle style

Let's talk about the product. It has a very eyecatching - hot pink color for its bottle, and the size also quite big - compared to other serum. However if I read on the description, it only contains 50ml which is a normal size for serum and moisturizer. If you're wondering how's the texture, you can see at the picture below.

Very thick gel but not greasy at all

It's not as light as serum, and it also not as thick as moisturizer. It has a very unique texture that I never seen before. It has a transparant color like a gel, but it's "thicker" and easy to "freeze". Once you pumped it out on to your hand, you need to spread it on your face immediately before it "freeze" and "gone....". Why did I say gone? Because no matter how much you use this serum + moisturizer, once it spreaded on your face, it won't leave any greasy feelings like when you use other moisturizing cream. Your skin will become very smooth and feels like there's no skincare that you use previously because Kate Somerville Plumping Moisturizer + Serum create a layer that feels like a plastic covering your face. This product has a very great texture and perfect to be used as a day cream.

At the first month of usage, I have felt the effect of this product. My smiling line start to disappeared and for me it's very quick. Even though it's not completely gone, but at least it showing a progress only in 1 month. Totally recommended for whoever that looking for anti aging product, especially who likes a simple skincare.

The best anti aging serum + moisturizer

For this product, I bought it at AUD $145 (equals to IDR 1.450K) and it's quite expensive, in my opinion. This product is the most expensive skincare I ever used, after SK II Facial Treatment Essence. But, if we're looking at its function which works as anti aging product, I think it's normal price because almost every anti aging product sold at high price. Besides, this product is very legit and really has an effect. So it's worth it with the price. Will I repurchase?? For sure!!! At my age which stepping to 30 years old, I need to use some anti aging products to avoid any appearance of wrinkle. Because once a wrinkle appeared, a simple skincare routinity will be useless and you need a special treatment which costs expensive as hell to loose it.

Hunting Musang King at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Durian at Jalan Alor, Kuala lumpur

At this summer holiday, I didn't travel far with my family. We just went to a country which just located 2 hours away (by flight) from the place where we live. Well, it's Malaysia - and precisely we just visited its capital city, Kuala Lumpur. We've been in Kuala Lumpur before, but it's just for flight transfer. We never explored this city even though it's very close with Indonesia. So, what makes us want to visit this country??

All of you know that we're the foodies. We like to have a culinary trip, and try the authentic food of the new place that we visit. Malaysia offers many kind of food that looks delicious for us. But among them all, there's one food that we really love, and want to try it at its origin country - durian. Durian a.k.a King of Fruit is our favorite fruit. We love the creamy texture and sweetness of this fruit. We have durian in Indonesia. However, Malaysia is very popular with its durian, especially in June - which is durian season. At this month, you'll find many variant of durian, and all of them are the best one. Among all, there's 1 type of durian that everybody knows as the best durian. Yes, it's Musang King.

Musang King is different with other durian. It has small seeds - more "meat" of course. It also has a "deep" yellow color - not the pale one. Musang King has a small size which only around 1,5kg - 2kg each. For you who don't like a strong smells of durian, you still can try Musang King because it doesn't have strong fragrant like other durian has. However, the price is quite expensive. Usually it costs RM60 - 70 per kg. If you want to get it at cheaper price, you should come at durian season at June - July. At this months, Musang King's price will drop into half price, around RM 30 per kg. That's a very good deal.

As usual, I always do research before doing a trip. Based on my research, the best place to eat durian in Kuala Lumpur is at Durian SS2 which also very recommended by a Grab driver and other locals. At this place they offer good quality of durian with cheap price and even you can also have "All you can eat" durian. However, it's located at Petaling Jaya which needs 1 hour car ride from the city center of Kuala Lumpur - Bukit Bintang. Since we stayed at Bukit Bintang and thought it's too far only for eat durian, we decided to just find a good place for eat durian around Bukit Bintang. We stayed for 4 nights in Kuala Lumpur, and spent 3 nights for durian hunting. Here it is, 3 places at Bukit Bintang area where you can find durian -Musang King-, based on my experiences :

Aurelia doesn't like to eat durian but since we're in Malaysia, she decided to give it a try

1. Jalan Alor
Jalan Alor (Alor Street) is a very popular street among tourists. It's located right at Bukit Bintang area, and it makes this place become easy to be visited. Seems like every people that visit Kuala Lumpur will go to this place to have dinner or just snacking at night. At this street market, there are plenty of street food, including durian. We visited this place at the first night and found some stalls selling durian. We chose 1 stall which looks promising and they wrote the price for Musang King only RM38 per kg. It sounds cheap for us so we decided to take it.

A tourist bought a lot of durian at Jalan Alor and asked the seller to pack it with aluminium foil

Since we like durian with sweet flavour - without any bitter taste in it, we asked the seller to choose the sweet one with the medium texture. Not too dry and not too creamy. Well, it's our first durian and its very disappointed. First, it's very bitter. Second, it's too dry. Third, it has big seeds when usually musang king has a very small seeds. After eat, I asked her about this durian.

Me : What type of durian is it? (As I know there are many types of durian such as D24, D13, Red Prawn, Black Thorn, and many more)
She : (no answer. Just be quiet.)
Me : Is it D24 or what?
She : No. It's durian from Pahang. We don't have D24 in here. Durian from Pahang is cheaper. Musang King expensive.

Well, it explained that it's not Musang King. Just like Ivan first thought - Alor Street is tourist trap area. At the end, we paid RM60 and it's too pricey for this durian.

Address : Jalan Alor, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Open : daily 24 hours but mostly at night.

2. Imbi
Imbi is not a popular area, and if you're a tourist, maybe you'll not recognize this place. Imbi is a local area which located next to Bukit Bintang, around 1km away. We found this place while we having dinner at Sun Fong Bak Kut Teh, a popular restaurant for having bak kut teh in Kuala Lumpur.   In front of this restaurant, there's a durian stall and it also written "Musang King". They sell Musang King for RM40 per kg, not much different with the one we had at Jalan Alor. This time I asked the seller to choose the sweet one (without any bitter taste) and little bit creamy.

Well, this time we got the real and a good Musang King. It sweets and the seed was also very small. They gave us exactly the same with what we wanted. It also not too dry and we enjoyed it very much. However, there were some parts which has a little bit bitter taste and the seed was also big - just like the one we had in Alor. Overall, it's not as disappointed as the one in Alor. At this place, we also paid RM60 for the whole durian.

Address : 37, Medan Imbi, Imbi, Kuala Lumpur. Open : Mon - Sat 7AM - 11PM, Sun 8AM - 11PM

3. Cendol Durian Runtuh
It was the last place that we visited for durian hunting. Not because we got bored, but because this place gave the best durian for us. Actually this place is not a durian stall like we had before. As you can read, this place sell "Ice Cendol" with durian. To satisfied their customer, they used many variety of durian. Starts from the "regular", D13, D24, Red Prawn, and even Musang King. This place is very famous and very recommended among durian lovers. However, to reach this place you need a car ride because it's quite far from Bukit Bintang. It's located at Chow Kit which is around 2-3 km from KLCC.

We took a Grab ride to go to this place and the driver stopped at the end of the street. He told us to continue our way by walk because the traffic at this street will never end. At the time we walked, we realized that this area is a traditional night market. We came at 10PM and seems like they just opened. It was very crowded and it's quite hard for us to walk at this situation with stroller. We hope it's worth it with the food.

You can see Petronas - The Twin Tower from Cendol Durian Runtuh

Once we arrived, we were welcomed by a long queue. All the tables were full. I took a line immediately and Ivan found an empty table. That place was really hectic and we felt uncomfortable. When it's my turn to order, I looked at the menu and knowing they have 3 kinds of menu for Es Cendol durian.
1. Ice Cendol with Regular Durian - where they just put a low grade durian at the top of es cendol
2. Ice Cendol with Durian Kawin - where they use a high grade durian but not Musang King. At this menu, they serve durian separately with Es Cendol
3. Ice Cendol with Musang King - yes, they use Musang King which also served separately

These are not musang king. He said it was D13 but look at that beauty "deep" yellow color

We chose the 2nd option because their Musang King wasn't look good at that time. It has a yellow pale color and only have 1 plate to choose. I was hesitated with it so I just go with Durian Kawin which looks more promising with a deep yellow color. I asked him the type of that durian but he didn't really know. Well, I just trust my instinct and chose the one that has deep yellow color with creamy texture. After that, I brought them to the cashier and pay RM20 for a portion of es cendol and durian kawin. (Notes : If you use musang king, it gonna be RM40)

The ice cendol was just so so. It's not sweet, like the one we had in Indonesia. However for the durian, I gave all my thumbs up for it. It was the sweetest and the best durian I ever had in my life. The texture was also very wet and creamy, it's our favorite. Not forgetting the seed that was very small, only around half size of my finger. Since one portion is not enough, we asked them whether we could just buy the durian. And the answer is yes!! It only costs RM17 for a portion of this high grade durian. At this time we fulfill our desire for durian by eating as much as possible. By found this place, our durian hunting has over - because we've found the best place for eat durian at the downtown area of Kuala Lumpur.

Address : 57, Lorong Raja Bot, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. Open : Sun - Fri 12PM - 3AM, Sat 12.30PM - 3AM


Those are our first experiences for durian hunting in Kuala Lumpur. Next time I'll try go to local place and eat musang king not at the tourist place. Durian SS2 gonna be our first option for the next trip because it was strongly recommended by locals. I just remember when I was on another Grab ride in Kuala Lumpur. While we're passing Alor street, I told him the story about durian that we had there. He just laugh and said "You will not get the real musang king at Alor street. It's a tourist trap area. If you want to eat musang king, you should go to Durian SS2. It's the best place to eat durian in Kuala Lumpur." Well, I gonna visit this place next time, for sure.

Eat Japanese Beef at Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M (Hozenji Yokocho), Osaka - Japan

Unlike me who likes to eat beef since I was a kid, my husband (Ivan) never like to eat beef. But it changed since we were going to Japan, and had a dinner at Mouriya. Actually, at the first time he didn't want to eat beef in Kobe. However since I was insisting him and told him that Kobe beef has different taste with other beef, he decided to give it a try. Ever since then, every time we're having trip to Japan, he always asked me to find a good place to eat Kobe beef.

We've tried Kobe beef that cooked in teppanyaki style twice, and both of them gave us a great experience. However, at our last trip, Ivan requested to find a restaurant that served Kobe beef in yakiniku style. Since we only stayed in Osaka and Kyoto, I was looking for a great restaurant at these cities. At the end, I found a popular restaurant in Osaka who serve a good quality beef. It's Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M.

Before I write about our dinner at this restaurant, let me explain about beef in Japan. As you know, a good quality beef in Japan has marbles on its meat. This kind of beef has a very tender texture and a good taste. Generally, people will recognize this beef as Kobe beef. But not all of them is Kobe beef. Kobe beef is just a name for a "special" beef that comes from cow raised in Kobe. If it's raised in Hida, then it called Hida beef. All of these cows have been specially treated and fed to produce a good quality meat.

At Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M, they serve Matsuzaka beef, which comes from cows that raised between Izumi and Miyagawa river in Matsuzaka city. At this place, every cows are fed beer to create a healthy appetite and given a body massage with a mixture of shochu. This treatment creates a smooth blood circulation throughout the body of our cows. So even it's not Kobe beef, this restaurant also serve a great quality beef with a lot of marbles on its meat.

Since we know this restaurant is very popular, we made reservation in advance at their website. They have several branches in Osaka, but we chose to have dinner at Hozenji - Yokocho branch which is more famous and also close with our BnB. We booked a table for dinner at 5PM, and came around 10 minutes earlier. At this hour, we saw many people wait at the small alley for the restaurant to be opened. Well, it's typical Japanese restaurant which has discipline in time. They'll only allow guests get in when it's exactly 5PM - which is their opening hours for dinner. I heard some people who haven't make reservation was rejected because all tables full for that hours, so I advice you to make reservation in advance.

After we got our table ready, the restaurant staff gave us the menu and told us about it. So they have 2 kind of menu. First, an ala carte menu where we can order a beef platter which consists many kind of meat and we can share it. Second, it's a full course menu where we should pay for each person, and they'll serve starts from appetizer, main course (with some parts of beef), and also dessert for each person. Since the second option sounds too much for us, we chose the first option where we could share this beef platter for all of us. We ordered Matsusaka Beef DX Platter which consists of 6 different parts of Matsuzaka Beef, and also some vegetables.

Matsusaka Beef DX Platter for 2 peoples ¥13.800

Not long after that, the waitress came again and served this plate of beef on the table. He put a "beef fat" at the cooking place so it won't be sticky. I thought he also gonna cook for us, but he's not. At this place, we need to grill the beef by ourselves. The staff only teach us how to grill the beef and how it should be cooked. It's kinda hassle for us who have toddler, but we tried to enjoy it. For seasoning, they just gave us salt and soy sauce - which more than enough to season their beef. Beyond our expectation, the beef was really great. The meat was really tender and it also tasty.

Garlic Rice in Hot Pot ¥780

To complete this beef dishes, we also ordered the side menu such as Garlic Rice in Hot Pot and also Matsusaka Beef Miso Soup. While their Miso Soup was quite tasteless, their Garlic Rice taste amazing!! Basically, this garlic rice is just a portion of rice, with some small beef cuts and also fried garlic - which put at the small hot pot (personal size). When they serve it, they'll pour a special sauce, and we need to mix it immediately. I'd said this dish was really delicious, and even Winston (a fussy eater) kept looking for this food after finished a portion.

Matsusaka Beef Miso Soup ¥680 - contains tofu, beef, ....

... and sweet potato

Well, our dinner at Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M wasn't disappointed at all. We love their dishes where the beef has a great quality as well. Besides, their price also not too pricey for Japanese beef dishes. Must try when you're in Osaka.






Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M (Hozenji Yokocho)
Address : 1-1-19 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka-city, JAPAN 542-0076 (click here for the location at Google Maps)
Phone : +81 662112917
Opening hours : Mon - Sun 5PM - 12AM (Last order 11PM) & Weekend lunch (Sat, Sun, Holiday) 12PM - 3PM (Last order 2.30PM)
Website : http://www.matsusaka-projects.com/english/

Iroha North - Sukiyaki Restaurant at Pontocho Alley, Kyoto

Dinner with kids at traditional Japanese restaurant, Iroha North - Kyoto

Still talking about food in Kyoto, this time I gonna write about a new dishes that I found when I was visiting Kyoto. Everybody knows that restaurants in Kyoto mostly serve traditional Japanese food, which different with other food that found in Tokyo and Osaka. When we were in Kyoto, we went to Pontocho Alley at Gion area. Pontocho Alley is a popular place in Kyoto where you can find rows of restaurant. At that time we're just randomly chose a restaurant which looks promising for a dinner. Based on my experience, even though it's just a random restaurant, but every food in Japan are delicious and won't disappointing. Well, the restaurant that we chose is Iroha North.

We chose Iroha North as a dinner place because they serve "soup dishes" which perfect to be eaten at the chilly night. As we stepped in to the restaurant, and old lady told us the price ¥6000 per person (kids are free) and asked whether it's ok. We thought it's a reasonable price because they also serve beef and beef in Japan is expensive. After we agreed, she told us to open our shoes and led us to the second floor. The place itself was a traditional Japanese building. They have private dining rooms which separated by a sliding wooden door. We felt excited to have a dinner at this unique place and wished they also serve a great food.

They only have a few options for the menu, and we chose sukiyaki because it's the popular dish at Iroha North. Before the food served, an old woman came into our room and served an appetizer. Seems like every peoples who works here are old women, and they are wearing kimono. Not long after that, she came again and brought her equipment to start cooking. Yup, at this place they cook it from the beginning at our table, so we could see the cooking process.

At the first step, she started by put a couple spoon of sugar, and also a soy sauce at the hotpot. When the soup start to boiled, she put some slices of beef, followed by other ingredients such as onions, spring onions, tofu, enoki mushrooms, yam noodles. She told us to wait just for a while until the beef slices cooked, and dip it into the beaten raw egg before we eat it.

While she was cooking for us, we began to smell fragrant from this delicious sukiyaki. It smells really good and we're thinking it's gonna taste good as well. And our prediction was right. This sukiyaki taste amazing. The beef slices was really tender. We tried to eat the beef with her advice (dip it at the "egg sauce"), and it's taste really good. There's no weird and fishy smell of the raw egg at all. Above all, my favorite was the soup. The soup at sukiyaki dish has sweet flavour, and their soup taste very perfect. Not forgetting their good quality Japanese rice which makes our tummy full and we're ready to explore Kyoto again.

Sukiyaki at Iroha North, Pontocho Alley - Kyoto

Orange for "dessert"

At the end, I just wanna said that I was really satisfied with all the food they served. The taste and the food quality is worth it with the price. However, I just don't like their service. It's not at the moment when they served the food, but it's from the person who welcoming us at the "front door". Since the first time we came, she kept rushing us. We have toddler which is hard to manage and we also used shoes with laces. With this condition, she should be understand that we need more time than other guests to take off our shoes and take our belongings with us. It also happened when we're going out. We need to do a lot of preparation before going out such as open our stroller, hang our shopping bags, wear our jacket, use our shoes, but she wouldn't understand. She didn't let us to sit and do all this things at the restaurant. Even she repeatedly told us to get out of the restaurant in "angry tone". To be honest, it's the first time we were treated like that by a restaurant staff. It's something that they shouldn't do with guests. Will I come back?? Maybe. I love their food and I'll come back when the kids growing up, so they won't be that annoying.

Iroha North
Address : Japan, 〒604-8015 Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku, 先斗町通四条上る鍋屋町215
Phone : +81 752210403
Opening hours : Mon - Sun 5PM - 10PM
Website : http://www.sukiyaki-iroha.com/en/sheet/