A Wish (for some people)

Ikura Sushi Restaurant

"A good relaxing Japanese restaurant to dine in"

If you are a Japanese food lover in Brunei, and you wanted a nice beautiful restaurant to dine in (Not Noisy), then you should visit Ikura Sushi restaurant. Newly open this year (2013), Ikura Sushi Restaurant offers a great dine in feel, good service and good taste Japanese food with reasonable price. After dining in there for several times in a month, here is our reviews & recommendation.

1.) Restaurant Atmosphere

There is this nice comfortable feel to Ikura Sushi Restaurant when you dine in, maybe it’s because of the beautiful interior design. It’s a good place for hanging out with friends, dinner with family or time with your love one. Good place to have a conversation as it is not a noisy environment.

Long table good for big group of people

Private Room 1

Private Room 2

Private Room 3, good for meetings.

2.) Recommended dishes by us

Ikura Sushi Restaurant offers a variety of Japanese cuisine in their menu, some dishes are different from other Japanese restaurant in Brunei, and it’s worth to try. We are not judging the food taste here, as different people have different preference when it comes to food taste. When we dine in Ikura Sushi Restaurant we didn't really go for the typical Japanese cuisine dishes. Instead we try on something different, and this is our recommended dishes. 

One of the best "Chawan Mushi" in town.

Chicken Koroke, the Salmon Koroke is good too.

One of the best :"Ebi Gyoza" in town. The Gyoza skin is very nice to eat.

Kani Cheese Maki

Unagi Cheese Maki

Can't remember what this dish is called, but it's very nice.

For you cheese lover, Cheesy Oyster.

Agedashi Tofu

Cold Tofu

Something we did for fun, grilling the Teriyaki Chicken, turns out to be nice.

I guess at this point you must be wondering what about the taste of other dishes, or you didn't see your favourite Japanese dishes here, Well.... dine in Ikura Sushi Restaurant to find out yourself. But wait, there is more dishes we want to recommend you below.

Kinoko Itami Teppan

Chicken Katsu Omulet Rice

Chicken Teriyaki Omulet Rice

Salmon Don

Unagi Don

This is what we had tried so far, and it's all good :-) Will be visiting Ikura Sushi Restaurant again to try their other Japanese dishes.

3.) Ice-Cream Dessert

One of the reasons we like to dine in Ikura Sushi Restaurant is because of their unique home-made Ice-cream dessert. Trust us, the taste is so good you will go back to have it again. All the Ice-cream are freshly home-made by the lady boss herself, and sometimes certain flavours are sold out in a day.

For Durian Lover

Delicious Mango Ice-Cream

Tasty Strawberry Ice-Cream

Of course, the Matcha Ice-Cream (No photo shown here) are very nice too, very different from most Japanese restaurant in Brunei, you should try that too.


4.) Location
So you want to know where is Ikura Sushi Restaurant? Here is the restaurant information.

Address: Unit 36 & 37, Block C, 1st floor, Gadong Central Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.

Phone No: 242 2020 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/IkuraSushiRestaruant

Opening Time:
Monday-Thursday, Saturday 
10.30 a.m to 2.00 p.m, 5.00 p.m to 10.30 p.m
Friday 
10.30 a.m to 12.00 p.m, 5.00 p.m to 10.30 p.m

"Look for the Ikura Sushi Restaurant Cute logo"

Well..... dine in there and you may receive your own VIP card (as shown below) to enjoy discount every time you dine in there. So if you have not dine in there, give it a try. It is a good relaxing Japanese Restaurant to dine in :-)

"Out of Topic"

This is their Tea pot & Tea cup

Japanese Soba Noodles

Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) are available everywhere in Japan. It is eaten either steeped in a hot broth with various ingredients or cold with a soy-based dipping sauce. Soba noodles are very popular and inexpensive in Japan, especially during summer season. 

Unlike pasta or other type of noodles around the world, most Japanese noodles, including soba, are rinsed in cold running water. This not only cools them down but gets rid of excess starch, which adversely affects the flavor of the noodles. 

The most popular Soba noodles is serve cold. You eat Soba noodles by dipping into a properly made sauce or Soba Tsuyu, with plenty of spicy condiments or Yakumi. The Tsuyu is made of a strong mixture of Dashi, sweetened soy sauce (also called "Satōjōyu") and Mirin. Wasabi and Spring onions, and sometime raw Quail egg are often mixed into the Tsuyu. 

It is typically eaten with chopsticks, you picks up a small amount of Soba noodles from the tray and swirls it in the cold Tsuyu before eating it. and in Japan, it is considered acceptable to slurp the noodles noisily. This is especially common with hot noodles, as drawing up the noodles quickly into the mouth helps cool them. 

On New Year's Eve there is a custom to eat "Toshikoshi-soba” (Year-crossing noodles). Because soba is fine and long, people eat them to wish for a long life. Another interesting fact about Soba is it also means "Next to". There is a Japanese custom called "Hikkoshi-soba” (Moving-in noodles). People, who have just moved into a new neighbourhood, give their new neighbours Soba noodles while introducing themselves.

Soba Noodles differ in different part of Japan and shops. There are different types of Soba noodles and it is serve with different kind of ingredients. You have to try it out yourself to know which Soba noodles you would prefer to eat. Next time you are in Japan or any Japanese restaurants, give it a try, but if you are already a Soba noodles lover, then Enjoy :-)

Have a cup of Flavoured Ice in Japan

Feeling hot during Summer time in Japan? Get yourself a cup of flavoured Ice to cool yourself down. In Japan this is called "Kakigori", the Japanese version of a Snow Cone except in a cup and you eat it with a spoon. Kakigori comes in different flavoured such as Green Tea, Grape, Blueberry, Peach, Lemon, Cherry and so on. It is also popular to add sweetened condensed milk to it or sometimes red beans, fruits or Mochi to enhance the taste.

Kakigori can be found almost anywhere in Japan during the summer time. Street vendors selling it are usually around especially during a festivals, at the train stations, a street fairs and other popular places where a lot of people gather or visit. So if you are visiting Japan in the Summer time make sure you try one Kakigori, it's cool & delicious :-)

Taxi in Japan

Taxi can be found everywhere in Japan. It is one of the common transportation use there. It may be expensive to ride one if you are going on a long journey, but to go around fast in the city it can be convenience especially late at night when all the other public transportation shut down. 

In Japan smaller cities, Taxi are more often use than the other public transportation and it can help you save time instead of waiting for a bus. Taxi fares typically start around 600-700 YEN for the first two kilometers and increase about 100 yen for every additional 500 meters traveled. The cost is also counted when the taxi is not moving for a prolonged time. Late in the evening the rates are raised by around 20 percent. I'm sure this is the same with other countries. Traveling in a group of four is advise to reduce the fare when it's break down to a person. Oh ya, you can pay the Taxi fare with a credit card, just ask the Taxi driver before you enter.

In Japan the Taxi's left rear door is opened and closed remotely by the Taxi driver. You do not need to open or close the door. For a foreigner who can't speak Japanese well, communication with the Taxi driver can be a problem. Taxi drivers there don't really know how to speak English. So it is advice to give your driver the address of your destination on a piece of paper or point it out on a map, or have the telephone no. of the place you are going for the Taxi driver. Sometimes places in Japan can be confusing even for a Japanese.   

Visit here to learn some  Japanese language for calling a Taxi

 http://japanese-phrases.sakura.ne.jp/page11j.html

A typical Japanese Taxi GPS Device

Japan Postcards

Want to get a souvenir in Japan for your friends? Get them a nice Japan postcard. 

You can collect the entire postcards from places you visit in Japan. It can be fun and interesting searching and browsing for a nice Japanese postcard. You can get Japanese Postcards at almost anywhere in Japan. In souvenir shops, book shops, department store, temples, shrines, subways and even on some shops on the streets of Japan. There are also free postcards you can collect from hotels and sometimes from restaurants. 

Japanese postcards can be a good collection from your trip to Japan. For example in Kyoto you can buy unique postcards of Maiko & Geisha for collection (you can see some above). Japanese postcards are not that expensive, and the photo printing quality is very good. One thing you can do when you are in Japan is you can buy a nice Japanese postcard, and then mail it to your friends or even to yourself for fun. Try it :-)

Japanese Green Tea Kit Kat

Have a Break, Have a Japanese Green Tea Kit Kat........ 

Japanese Green Tea Kit Kat or Matcha Kit Kat can be found in most convenience store in Japan. This green tea flavour Kit Kat is very delicious and it's nice to buy back as gift for your friends and family, a unique souvenir from Japan. Can't say much about it, try it yourself. It taste like eating a Kit Kat and drinking Japanese green tea at the same time.

Daruma Doll

Daruma Doll is named after an ancient Zen Master, Bodidharma, who lost the use of his arms and legs after sitting nine years meditating in a cave (according to Japan story). The Daruma Doll is a symbol of his self-discipline and positive outlook in Japan.

Daruma Doll comes with both eyes blank. When you buy one or received one as a gift, you should paint one eye and make a wish or determine to do something. Then paint the other eye when your wish comes true or something you set out to do is completed. Daruma Doll have a weighted bottom and rounded shape that  forces it balance itself back after being knocked over. The lesson here is to never give up and get up from any misfortune. Daruma Doll can also be use for bringing in luck.

Daruma Doll is a great gift for friends and family from Japan. It is also good for decoration and you can buy it from any Temple or any Japanese gift shop all over Japan. It comes in different sizes, design and colours. Make sure you get the right one for yourself or your friends. I'm not sure what's the meaning, but you can always ask before you buy one.

Karate

Karate or Karate-Do is one of the most popular Martial Art from Japan which was originally developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa. A Karate practitioner is called a Karate-Ka. 

Karate is the art of punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and vital point strikes are also taught in some styles. Some people learn Karate as a form of self-defense, while others practice it as a competitive sport. Well there are those who practice it as a Traditional Martial Art.

The most common style of Karate found around the world is:

-Gojo Ryu

-Shotokan

-Wado Ryu 

-Shito Ryu

-Kyokushinkai

(Did i not list other styles in here? Yes, because there are too many others, and like i said this are the most common style found around the world)

Shihan Sabri leading the Karate Training

Questions: What's the different in the styles? or you want to know more ? 

Answer: Google it up yourself :-)

Fukamizu Sensei from Universal Shotokan Karate Union (USKU), Japan

A Karate-Ka wears a White Karate Gi (Uniform) & a Obi (Belt) for training. The levels of the Karate-Ka are determined by the colours of their Obi. White (Shiro Obi) for beginner, and Black (Kuro Obi) for Advance or Master. This is the same in all style of Karate style except for the other colours Obi which are different or in a different order.

For a Kuro Obi (Black Belt) there are also different ranks in it which are:

-Sho Dan 

-Ni Dan

-San Dan

-Yon Dan

-Go Dan

-Roku Dan

-Nana Dan

-Hachi Dan

(This means 1st Degree Black Belt to 8th Degree Black Belt)

Usually in Karate training, the Karate-Ka train Kihon (Basic), Kata (Pattern) and Kumite (Sparring). Other forms of training like self-defense are usually taught along with the training. Karate is not just for Men, Ladies also take up this Martial Art around the world as a good form of practice both for Self-Defense and competition.

Karate is one of the most popular cultures from Japan. It can be found in almost all countries especially in school clubs to a University club, even in a private club. It is also one of the most popular competitive sports in many Games events around the world and it's also practiced by young children all the way to people at an old age. Karate is not just a form of Martial Arts; It's also a good form of fitness and health.

Photos from Brunei Shotokan Karate training.
Photos courtesy of Forest Han
More photos can be found at Online Tomodachi Facebook page