A Putia - A Rustic Sicilian Restaurant in Ortigia, Italy

If you’re looking for warm weather, nice beaches, and some incredible ruins, look no further than Sicily. We visited the city of Ortigia in the southeast corner of Sicily. Ortigia was a once occupied by the Greeks, so everything there has a lot of Greek mythology influence.

The first night we arrived, we ate at a rustic Sicilian restaurant called “A Putia”. This charming eatery is right near the Fountain of Diana, in the center of the city, so it is easy to get to by foot from most places in town.

We started our meal with some authentic bruschetta. The tomatoes were a crisp and delicious complement to the bread. It was bright and flavorful, matching the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Next, we had pasta. I ate a pasta with tomato sauce, basil, garlic, fried eggplant, olive oil, and salted ricotta on top. It was a delicious combination of flavors. My boyfriend ate a pasta in a pistachio cream sauce with tomato and more pistachio crumbles on top. These dishes were absolutely incredible. While we ate, of course, I had to drink a chinotto, a type of Italian citrus soda.

As we ate our food, traditional Sicilian performers sang and played instruments in front of the restaurant. It was quite an impressive show and great dinner entertainment.

A Putia is definitely a must-eat restaurant on any trip to Ortigia. I definitely recommend checking it out the next time you’re heading to Sicily in southern Italy.

Teppen Shibuya - Grilled Meats and Vegetables

A new year and a new post! Let’s talk about food. One of the foods we wanted to try in Japan was Yakitori. Yakitori is typically different types of grilled chicken on a stick with some sort of sauce on it. We went to a restaurant that served yakitori and other types of meat and vegetable skewers, called Teppen Shibuya Onnadojo. This place was delicious and the staff was very welcoming and friendly to tourists. The reason we went inside was because one of the workers flagged us down and asked if we were hungry as we walked by. The answer is always, “Yes!”

This place had a very wide variety of dishes. We were interested in their grilled meat and vegetable skewers, as well as their yakitori. First, they brought us a small plate as a type of appetizer. This was really similar to a chawanmushi, a savory egg custard dish, with some green onion, fish roe, and little fish called Shirasu on top. There was dashi poured over the top that brought the whole dish together. Delicious!

Next, we started with a few kinds of yakitori. This one was my favorite. It was a chicken meatloaf. The restaurant has a house recipe for their chicken meatloaf that is then marinated and grilled.

Then, we moved on to some other grilled skewers. I was interested in their grilled mushrooms. These were incredible. They were marinated and grilled with a nice smoky flavor from the grill. Then, they finished these off with some extra sauce in the mushroom cap folds. YUM!

They also have some interesting pork dishes. First, we tried these pork wrapped peppers stuffed with cheese. The cheese was hot and bubbly inside of the pepper, and the pork was crispy and delicious.

Next, we tried the pork stuffed with green onions. This was another really flavorful one. The onion pork combination was perfect!

At the end, the shop even gave us a really cute thank you message plate with two brownies for dessert. That really showed their hospitality! What a nice gesture!

We loved this place so much that we went back again on our second trip to Japan. Teppen Shibuya Onnadojo is on a little side street just a few minutes from the main shopping area. It’s the perfect place to relax and enjoy good conversation after a long day of site seeing. I definitely recommend you check them out on your next trip!

Cup Noodles Museum - Create Your Own!

If you love cup noodles or instant ramen, I’ve got the perfect experience for you. Did you know there is an entire museum dedicated to Cup Noodles? Did you know that you can even make your own custom cup noodles to take home as a souvenir?

There are two cup noodle museums in Japan, one in Yokohama and the other in Osaka. I’ve been to both, but the Yokohama location is bigger and has more to see and do. I recommend checking it out while you’re staying in Tokyo.

When you enter, you will learn about the evolution of Cup noodles and see a really colorful display of the noodle development. They have packaging from all of the eras of cup noodles so that you can see how it has changed over time. It also makes an excellent backdrop for photos.

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Then, you’ll learn more about the origins. They have an exhibit about the founding of cup noodles for you to explore.

Let’s get to the fun stuff. One really cool element of the Yokohama location is a tasting room. It’s an old fashioned city scape with ramen shops surrounding a food court. This is very similar to the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, which you can read about in my other post here.

My favorite part was actually creating my own custom cup noodle. You enter a large room where you get an empty cup noodle cup. Then, you sit down and decorate it however you like with markers. This is a great activity for kids or adults. Each time I’ve done this, it was with other adults, and we all had a great time. Next, you take it up to the noodle station. You move your cup through a noodle-filling machine by turning a lever. Then, a cup noodle staff member will add whatever dehydrated toppings you want as well as the soup base flavor of your choice. There are so many options to choose from! I chose seafood base with shrimp, crab, green onions, and corn. My friend picked curry base with shrimp, corn, kimchi, and green onion. You can really customize it however you like! At the end, you package it up in a nice little protective bubble for your cup noodles and take it home.

We ended our museum tour with an excellent view. They have a balcony where you can look out over the harbor in Yokohama and take in the beautiful sights.

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This was a wonderful experience. At the Yokohama location, be prepared to spend several hours and come hungry and ready to eat. The Osaka location can be toured in about an hour, as it is smaller and does not have the tasting room. It does still have the create-your-own cup noodles, though. If you’re planning your trip to Japan, I definitely recommend checking this place out!