Day 2 in Yokohama starts off with a wholesome, better than expected breakfast from Family Mart. Darren is seen to fully agree with me as he selects his lunch-worthy sushi pack!
I bet every single hot item seen here tastes awesome.
I wish our local Family Marts carry the same variety and quality food and drinks.
Fully stocked up shelves every single morning.
We decided to try out their chicken ball and sausage. Turned out it was super delicious, we ordered the same every other morning of Family Mart breakfast.
Yokohama is such a relaxing place, we decided to check out their 'Garden Necklace Yokohama' event at the Harbor View Park. It was an event to promote Yokohama as a city of flowers and lush greenery.
Spring is here!
So serene with the perfect weather.
The park here is absolutely beautiful and well-kempt with the common sight of painters sketching out the surrounding sceneries , people walking their dogs, cyclists, children, nature enthusiasts and not to mention Pokemon Go hunters. Or maybe it was just me hunting,
The perfectly pruned trees located all over the park was such a beautiful sight.
Wefie with the bunch.
Afterwards, it was back to Chinatown to refuel our bellies.
What better way to treat ourselves before lunchtime was to visit this little ice cream store called Cremia.
"Ice cream oh ice cream, could you ever be any creamier and richer in flavour?"
"I sure can, when you turn me into chocolate-flavoured ice cream".
Verdict :- My fave soft-served ice cream made from 25% Hokkaido fresh cream and 12.5% high milk fat, served in a cookie cone. Comes with a price tag of 500 yen (approx. RM 20) per cone. gulp.
After packing on the calories and energy intake, we were back on track for today's main attraction - the Cup Noodles museum. And hence, throughout our journey there, we passed by various attractions such as...
...this mall called 'MARK IS' in Minatomirai. Coincidentally, someone couldn't resist not making this his next profile picture.
We also stumbled upon Snoopy Town - my first ever Peanuts flagship store!
Too cute not to grab at least a couple of Charlie Brown T-shirts.
With the Disney Store right next to it, i could literally be spending hours here, becoming a kid all over again.
Then there's this view right outside the mall of a massive Ferris wheel Cosmo Clock 21 located just beside an amusement park called CosmoWorld.
We were contemplating either to visit the Shinyokohama Ramen Museum or Cup Noodles Museum, and after a few online traveler reviews, we decided to go for the latter with crossed fingers.
With an admission fee of 500 yen/pax (approx. RM20), we were first greeted by this giant cup noodle by the main entrance.
Meet Piyoko, the cute chick mascot of Nissin.
This is Mei Yoke finally meeting with egg yolk!
The world's first instant noodles known as "Chicken Ramen' was produced by Nissin Foods in 1958. From thereon, there was no stopping the evolution of instant noodles.
There were more than 3000 different packages of instant noodles on display.
So what's the big deal about the story of instant noodles? Well i for one, enjoyed the mini tour of this museum as it brought us way back to its creator named Momofoku. After watching a 15-minute clip on his creation and achievements, it was inspiring to learn how everything started from this replica of the hut where Momofoku did his research and developmental works.
There were a number of exhibits here that allow visitors to admire, experience and submerge themselves into the world of Momofoku's creative thought processes throughout his life's work.
If i recall correctly, the first instant Chicken Ramen was invented in 1958 to serve as a convenient and fast food source for the soldiers during battles and time of war. Cup Noodles was discovered only in 1971 when Momofoku witnessed people breaking up the ramen noodles, putting them into a cup, pouring hot water and eating them with a fork. From thereon, Cup Noodles became a global sensation with more and more copycats jumping onto the bandwagon.
Momofoku's third invention surfaced in 2005, with the creation of Space Ramen. How cool is that!
It's no wonder this genius' motto was to 'Never Give Up'.
For an additional 300 yen/ cup (approx RM 12), one can make their own personalised cup noodle from designing the outer part of the cup, choosing the broth flavour and preferred toppings.
So full of concentration!
I guess Yin Peng's really trying to draw Piyoko's twin, Tweety Bird.
Kristy's getting personal indeed. LOL.
What else but a Pokemon-themed cup for the boy...
...and a Princess-themed cup for girl.
Guess this is the best part of everybody's tour here.
Packing the flash-fried noodles into the cup.
4 toppings of your choice to select from 12.
The kids chose these.
Everything's done in a breezy super hygienic way as the final step was to seal the cup with a lid and wrap the entire cup in plastic film.
Ta-dah! The noodles are ready to be brought home for keepsake or to be eaten within a month's time (no preservatives i guess)
The top floor of this museum lies Noodles Bazaar : World Noodles Road, a food court themed place boasting of stalls selling noodle dishes from 8 Asian countries such as tom yam noodles from Thailand, laksa from Malaysia, cold naengmyeon from South Korea...
and one of my favourite noodle dishes - pho from Vietnam.
Honestly, the noodles turned out to be quite a let-down in terms of taste and serving size. So, eat at your own risk.
I had totally forgotten the street name of this place we ventured to in search for Unagi rice.
But we found our rice alright as the owner who had already closed for the day, was so kind to refire-up his stove to make us some unagi rice. Sorry i forgotten to take photos of our meal here.
Wrapping up the day, we headed to this very very tiny shop right outside our hotel to try their famous gyoza.
Pan-fried to perfection and so good to eat with the different sauces.
Super sweet fresh strawberries were our ultimate palate cleansers for the night.
Along with the sweetest tomatoes-on-the-vine that i've ever tasted.
Period.
