There was a shocking amount of culture dancing through the festival, beautiful traditional outfits and, of course, a whole lot of out of this world (or just out of this Dallas world) food.
THIS. Kang Hun Lei (pork belly and tenderloin curry) was one of the best dishes I've ever eaten in my life. And I've eaten some amazing and weird things in my lifetime. I've never had a bite of something that represented the word "savory" more than THIS.
Plastic spooning this $6 mind blowing dish out of a styrofoam cup felt like a serious contradiction. Every bite was an experience in flavor. ANYWAYS you can try it for yourself. The restaurant is called Pandan Thai Kitchen located in Crowley and Keller, and it's worth the drive for that hard to please diner.
I sampled some terrible green tea icecream from WaiWai, BUT it tasted JUST like some of the desserts I didn't like during my trip to Japan so it's probably pretty authentic if bitter desserts is your thing. Their shrimp dumplings were pretty tasty though (the dipping sauce was perfectly sweet and salty).
The festival was held at The Buddhist Center of Dallas, once you walk in the gates, it feels like you've traveled across the world. Slip off your shoes as some monks shuffle by you swathed in traditional robes and step inside the temple to see the beautiful golden, painted walls and shrines.
Once back in the hot Dallas sunlight, a cup of home-made coconut ice-cream scooped on top of a stack of jack fruit was the perfect balance of refreshing and sweet. The creamy ice-cream was from Zato Restaurant, blended with real slivers of coconut served up by the sweetest smiling lady who didn't speak much English. Perfect.
I am a bit of a festival snob, having lived in Louisiana for several years, but this festival was one of the best I've been to in Dallas. The Buddhist Center of Dallas is open to the public, go take a stroll if you're curious. I'll let you know how the coconuts and pork belly measure up to the real thing once I get back from my trip to Thailand in a few months.
The dreaded 15 hour flight was easily worth the 10 days in Japan which turned out to be a trip of a life time. I will admit that Japan wasn't even close to the top of my destination list, but I'll accept when I'm wrong about something. Put it on the top of yours:
First and foremost, watch this video I put together with all the clips we shot. As an ex-reporter, of course I had to shoot and document our crazy trip to Japan. If you want a breakdown of what you see, read below for more details.
First stop Tokyo.
Robot Restaurant: A psychedelic performance of bright lights, girls and of course, robots fighting each other. You may ask why... the answer is just: Because... Japan.
Maid Cafe: This was hilarious... and after sitting for a while... kind of weird. I think it might be the Japanese version of Hooters, but more innocent. Much more innocent... which is what makes it kind of creepier. But hey, all their food looks like little animals and the "maid" told me she respects me because I'm cute, so #worthit. Nonstop gigglefest. This was about as Japanese as it gets and we loved it.
Golden Gai: This was right around the corner from our hotel, and I would recommend staying around here. It's a collection of micro bars. Tiny little bars that seat a crammed 5 people each. It's a great way to talk to some locals.
If you try, most people in Tokyo speak English. There are tons of these little bars that don't charge cover and they are all themed (really randomly themed). We loved a little Flamenco inspired one called Nana's.
And then we wandered and ate a TON of sushi and ramen. I know my words won't do justice to how good the sushi was. Mackerel sushi was my favorite, Kevin fell in love with Uni (sea urchin), the fatty tuna was obviously amazing. Plus we ate a whole bunch of amazing sushi blindly because we had no idea what it was.
A bullet train ride away was Shibu Onsen.
This was my favorite part of the trip. We stayed at Kokuya Ryonken - a traditional Japanese Inn.
We ate 12-course breakfasts and dinners made up of small traditional Japanese dishes in the dinning room in our traditional yukata robe and slippers. You had to slip off your slippers before sliding into the table and chairs that sat about a foot off the ground. (Yes, you have to strategically arrange your robe during the sitting process or you'll make a little Japanese lady blush.)
Onsen means hot spring in Japanese. When walking down the streets in the town you could hear the hot spring water rushing underfoot. Some of it was pipped straight into our Ryoken. Our room had a large wooden tub on the balcony that was constantly being filled and overflowing with hot spring water. Imagine spending your evenings sipping on sake while sitting in a hot spring water filled tub. Side note: my hair was amazing after these dips.
Just down the road are the famous snow monkeys, basking in hot springs and intimidating giggling tourists. It was also nice to get a little bit of a hike in after all the sushi and sake.
Last stop: the picturesque Kyoto.
We stayed in the Geisha District which could easily be renamed the shopping district. It was a great place to stay with easy access to anything you could need.
KIYOMIZU-DERA TEMPLE is a must see. All the temples are beautiful, but this one adds some fun and games into the mix. You walk into a pitch-black subterranean grotto tunnel clinging to a rope to see the stone that has the power to grant any wish. Then once in the sunlight again, search out Jishu-jinja, where you’ll see people (I was one of them) trying to walk from one stone pillar to another with eyes closed. Success at this is said to ensure a lucky love life. We both succeeded, even with the hecklers trying to confuse us.
Walking to that temple was an event in itself. Streets around it are lined with fun shops and restaurants to explore. We took a rickshaw ride back back down, zipping through the packed streets full of tourists and faux-geisha.
We did manage the nearly impossible these days and spotted three real life geisha. We were in a hilarious rock and roll bar we stumbled upon, Kento's Live House Kyoto; it was one of my favorite experiences - even before the geisha showed up. While we were there the self-proclaimed 'King of Kyoto' walked in with 3 real life geisha, pointed at the two of us and with one word: COMBINE, we joined their table for drinks, dancing and impeccable service.
We spent an afternoon wandering through Maruyama Park and stopping at the many temples and beautiful Japanese gardens we stumbled across.
We then headed via taxi cab to Nishiki Market to grab some lunch. This is Kyoto’s largest traditional food market which gives you a taste of traditional Kyoto cuisine. It isn't for the faint of heart either. I snacked on cuddle fish on a stick and some BBQ eel while Kevin attempted to bite the head off a baby octopus on a stick (see video clip above). The food in Kyoto was very different than Tokyo. Overall, there is less meat involved. They call it "monk food". It's still pretty good, but even their sushi is usually just flavored rice!
Also, sparkling sake is delicious, Japanese people are insanely nice, dessert here is kind of gross and you should 100% go to Japan.
