21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

This has got to be the major attraction here in this art museum. Designed by conceptual artist Leandro Erlich, an argentinian who has made it big international.

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is located opposite the kenrokuen garden - which I have yet to blog, goodness!! GAH!!! Mr. JS we better move faster~~~~~~

The entire museum is of a circular shape and form...with multiple access....so one can approach it from any way they wanted. It's an art!! hahahaha I like the idea that there is no border, no boundary and no rules!!! That's how art should be isn't it? The two architects who gave a new breathe to the city of Kanazawa by designing this art museum were Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. Both of them were recipients of Pritzker awards in 2010 for numerous designs and works created round the world. Now that I've found them, I'm gonna be chasing after their works round the world, from New York to France to Netherlands and around Japan :))) *new project for us JS!!!!*

Nope, that's not us...hahahaha....this visitor were happily posing for us to snap pics. That would be nice coz if there's no one down there, then a pic of this swimming pool would be meaningless.

and nope, it's not that he went swimming in his sweaters or that he can dive deep, it's just that there is another compartment/room on the basement.

Hello there~~~ now I could see ur face...
Where do you come from???? anyway most of the tourists who visit Kanazawa are Japanese. We hardly find anyone who speaks english or has got natural blond hair. I'm saying that coz these days u can get any hair color that u want.

Then we got down to the basement to visit the pool.
Come on readers, let's take a dive, or a quick swim in the winter months!!!

Where's the bubbles????

No one can do it better than Mr. JS!!!!
he's such a cartoon sometimes....but in reality he doesn't swim like this...kekekekeke

and we returned good deeds by doing all sorts of silly pose for visitors upstairs to have a kawaii pics...so I guessed we must have appeared on other ppl's Facebook or Instagram

>.<
hahahahahahahahaha
nope, I don't wanna see how I looked like and obviously I didn't not sprawl on the floor coz Monkey was wearing a dress :P

Nobody swims in their boots...oh well maybe except in emergency??

Come let's go up???

the sheet of water was only 10cm thick, suspended with glass. So in fact from the top, u could touch the water. I guessed the artist wanted to evoke the feeling of perception and cognition...but with humour. What u see may not be what you experience I guess? But it definitely did create a lot of interaction  among the viewers both above the pool, and those inside the pool. Now we gonna be chasing after his works next in New York :))))


the exterior of the museum is quite minimalist, with more works from other artist....Monkey got tired from running around and laid her bums on the mercury stools...notice there's a mercury speaker too? Designed by Florian Claar.

We then noticed there's many speakers being planted around the ground of the museum. U just gotta try and test which one is connected to which....and we did.

It works!!! this one was connected to another one 10 metres away...and u could really relay messages by talking to it...nope, u dun have to yell...it's just me being drama, as usual.

there were a few exhibition inside the museum, from architecture to anime :P

We really enjoyed the functional architecture especially to resolve problems caused by earthquakes. Temporary housing solutions for victims including a cathedral made from cardboard!!! So architect Shigeru Ban not only built housing solutions and hospitals for victims, he actually did build a cathedral made from cardboard in New Zealand and last week a few friends visited it in Christchurch.

There are a lot of works here in the museum but no photography allowed, including the Lights by James Turrell, which we visited in Naoshima last year.

Monkey got caged!!!
It's called "Wrapping" by Fernando Romero

But I was more intrigued by this simple work....It's called the Colour Activity House by Danish designer Olafur Eliasson....

it only consisted of 3 colored panels....of the 3 primary base colors - yellow, cyan and magenta. It's meant to be in this curved panel for a CMYK experience :))) the only cyan magenta that I know are my printers cartridges!!! *Smacks forehead*

See wat I mean??? Yellow and Cyan interlay n became green

Yellow and Magenta = Orange
while Cyan and Magenta = Purple

simple and yet clever. As we walked around, the colors change and made us glee in delights. This was what the artist wanted to produce --> Visual perceptions.
:)))))))))

this art museum is highly recommended and so near to all the nearby attractions. The other item that I like about this museum was its elevator!!!!

watch it here :)))

For more info on the museum:
https://www.kanazawa21.jp/en/

BIG Breakfast @ Beniya Mukayu Ryokan

Early morning rise and shine~~~~

Such a beautiful stunning tree outside the terrace. But it was too cold to go outside to admire this pine tree, so we just did it inside the comfort of the dining hall. I couldn't remember what was the temperature but enuff for ice to form. And if it rains, there will be snow~~~ brrrrrrRRRRrrrrr

we don't call it BIG breakfast for nothing...definitely bigger than the usual BIG BREAKFAST @ McDonald's. Anyway I'm not a fan of McD. The only consumptions were mostly done at international airports or if there's some special burger like the one I had in Switzerland *click here to read about it*

The staffs here actually took the trouble to draw this with explanation. Hahahahah. Japanese breakfast definitely beats any other big breakfast in the world that we had :))))

We were offered fresh juice for breakfast, and it's cold pressed. It has become a craze these days to only consume cold pressed juices for this process retains the vitamins instead of killing them with heat. We selected 2 shots each, of Oba Leaf with green apple, and grape fruits with oranges. Refreshing way to start the day especially we were so hungry after jumping into the hot onsen early in the morning.

Do not underestimate this tiny platter of vegetables. It was powerpacked with flavours, from the super sweet tomatoes to the delicious radish and OMG the carrots....I've never tasted carrots like this, except in Japan. The sweetness and flavours intensity were so amazing it left u wondering how? why?

and u don't eat ur vegetables without dressing....here we have the ponzu, miso and vinaigrette dressing for us to choose. All were homemade, and Beniya Mukayu only uses local ingredients, sourced from their trusted organic suppliers, and finally cooked with love of course. 

Here we have homemade pickles, served on such a beautiful plate that resembles a traditional musical instrument.

mushrooms and other roots vegetables that were so umami and delicious...just makes u wanna have a big bowl of rice with it.

Chirimen Sansho
These tiny white baits with the greenish peppercorn was JS's favourite. He lurve it so much that he got crazy and bought quite a bit back when he first saw it in Kyoto. The white baits were cooked with japanese rice wine and some soy sauce with this special green peppercorn. The end results were delicate yummy tiny fish with the strong peppercorn that leave a good length in ur mouth.

Next, a beautiful ceramic box was presented and unveiled....to a beautiful kaleidoscope colors of local vegetables!!!!Here we have locally grown broccoli, sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, leeks, pumpkins, carrots and radish. 

All were steamed accordingly and my oh my the sweetness and flavours were so different from what was expected. No sauce were needed to consume these, u just want to taste the original beautiful flavours. If only we get produce this good, I don't mind eating my vege everyday for 5 meals!!!! oh yes I do eat 5 meals a day :D:D:D 

Beautiful and yummy local koshi hikari. I like it that they boiled their rice this way, with a claypot. Somehow the rice has got a delicate sweetness to it. Now I understand how Japanese could consume rice plain on its own, bcoz it's so tasty!!!!

A wooden box with beautiful nori on top, it's heated at the bottom...so that ur nori seaweed would be crispy and warm. If u like it, u can wrap the rice with these. Anyway we have no idea and etiquettes of japanese breakfast dining....we just ate and nom nom nom as we wished :)))

Grilled fish!!!

I lurve this size...coz we can't possibly finish everything but at the same time we lurve varieties >.< Really greedy buggers. So when everything was presented in small portion, it just make it less guilty hahahahaha...especially for not finishing our food.

perfectly made japanese egg omelette and freshly grated daikon. The eggs!!! omg why are eggs here so yummy???

a piece of cured cod roe - mentaiko. Fukuoka/Hakata is famous for mentaiko and a year ago when we were there, we could almost find it everywhere.

a hearty bowl of miso soup with fresh seaweed and aromatic japanese herbs.

after Monkey has gone go-go-ga-ga over the breakfast and the not-so-brief explanation by our room attendant, JS threw me this look....LOL

like how are we gonna finish our big breakfast??? Come on, u are a man!!! This should not be a problem for you.

Monkey gave the "instructional" look....NOW EAT~~~~
and finish every piece of vegetables there!!!

but seriously it wasn't a problem bcoz at the end we mopped everything clean off all the tiny plates. Plus JS had to add more rice bcoz it was really really seriously extremely delicious. Wahhhh looks like we can skip our lunch when we headed to Kyoto *not!!!* after this.

Mr. Nakamichi the owner of the property, eppy JS, Monkey and Mrs. Nakamichi

So nice of them to send us off. Seriously Japanese take hospitality really really very seriously. As in serious SERIOUS. but it's such a novelty to us. :))))

Good bye for now Mr and Mrs Nakamichi. We will definitely return and thank you so much for everything!!! We had an amazing time at Beniya Mukayu :)))

and Happy Monday to my dear readers :)))

Kaiseki dinner at Beniya Mukayu, Yamashiro

Kobako female snow crab with jellyfied sauce and a lot of eggs :)))) Notice the pieces of flesh fr its legs all dissected and presented back nicely onto the this single shell? It was orgasmic-ly yummy, if there's such word to describe it.

Layers and layers of meat and eggs and roe were stacked beautifully here. We were so amazed by the culinary skills and freshness of the ingredients here. After all it's winter, and crabs are at its peak season and in abundance.

a cute hand drawn and hand written menu for us - since we were the only non-japanese I guess they needed to re-write a simple menu for our understanding.

When all the flesh and eggs were gladly dancing in our tummy, theres another bomb. Hahaha I didn't know female crab has got nothing else but roes in its body.

JS selected a bottle of white to pair with our crab dinner. No complains for Monkey as long as there's alcohols. :))))

Some ryokans serve dinner at your own room but having it at a common hall or dining room isn't uncommon either. Here all the guests were seen wearing the same yukata with an additional over-coat due to the winter chill.

Mischievous JS inverted the female crab shell so she's looking back at him angrily!!! You ate my legs and all my eggs!!! >.<

ohhh madam crab, u were some awesomely delectable!!!!

Next was a consommé of vegetable soup with a lotus root bun. The roots were grated finely to almost powder form before being prepared this way. The soup was so so clear. This is another style of kaga cooking focusing on their local vegetables and produce. 

Next course was served in a long and raw looking granite slab. Beautifully decadent pieces of food laid in a very zen style. Remember we feast first with our eyes? 

According to our South American room attendant, everything is edible except the pine tree sticks that's holding the ginkgo. Hahahaha

Let us bring you through pieces by pieces. Here we have the japanese green herbs, sweet aubergine/eggplant that has been slightly fried, roasted ginkgo on pine tree sticks with such beautiful nutty aromas, lotus root chips.

continuing on were sushis fr fishes of the season. all prepared in beautiful bites size. A piece of sweet japanese potato from this region.

They were too pretty to be eaten, instead both of us were admiring it. The handiwork and craftsmanship of chefs at Beniya Mukayu. :)))

This is very very localized delicacy. Karasumi sandwiched in between crunchy turnip, such a good balance of savoriness of the karasumi *mullet roe* and the sourness of the pickled turnip which give a really delightful crunch. 

Next were slices of sashimi of the season - Buri the amazing seasonal fish from Ishikawa and aka-ika also known as the red flying squid famous for its creamy texture, also from this region.

Next were 2 pieces of sushi of Maguro Tuna and Shiroebi shrimp.

Oh my...the tuna....was so fatty and juicy. Melts in the mouth effortlessly with such luscious taste. The rice complement the beautiful sea produce. While the shrimps may looked colorless, it was power packed with sweetness of the sea with a delightful flavor of crustaceans. 

Just check out the marbling of the tuna.....oh my...too good...Now where can I eat this again??? JS, we need to go back to Japan soon!!!!

Our main course arrived in a box, still steaming hot. When the lid was unveiled, the smell was so sweet. It just start our stomachs rumbling again~~~~

Oh mg gawd~~~~ the amazing Snow Crab!!!! 

The crab is named as such bcoz it's only found in northern regions and countries that have got a lot of snow. Other common names that refer to this same crabs are Spider Crab and Queen Crab.

My eyes were transfixed to its single shell fully loaded with roe.....holy shit!!!

The legs were beautifully prepared for easy consumption. This crab was lightly steamed to maintain its sweetness and texture. 

While the flesh from its body has been extracted out, presented on a separate plate. We were taught to consume it either separately or mix them up with the roe. I guess either way it has to go into our tummy hehehehehe.

Oh I can't describe in words the creaminess and richness in it. It has got a good grip on the tongue, almost like a chambertin wine :)))

how could something prepared just be steaming be this awesomely amazing good?? 

JS quickly transferred my portion of snow crab onto my plate. I guess he's afraid that he would consume my portion if it's not being separated right from the beginning. Hahahahaha.

Notice how the shell has been cut/saw out for easy consumption? Aesthetically it looked beautiful too this way. Japanese really thought of everything when it comes to way of living/eating etc.

As JS was bz doin dermarcation on the crab legs, I was more focused on this one. Wahahahaha. Don't worry no one was harm in the war of fighting for whooping share of the snow crabs. 

The beautiful vase for us to dispose the shells. Monkey was bz clipping JS's nose and lips with them instead. Yeah when I'm having so much fun, my table manners seems to be gone.

Just as we thought the snow crab was the bomb and highlights of the dinner...out came a piece of grilled Nodoguro fish. Oh my....the number one and most sought after fish in Japan, the black throat perch fish!!!! We were so lucky to have Nodoguro every meal everyday in Ishikawa :))))

a beautiful saucer of sea salt was presented on our table...and we thought dinner was already over. There's more food???

According to the Kaga cuisine kaiseki's order of servings, the last meal would be a hotpot, usually a duck hotpot but bcoz of Mr. JS the no chicken no duck rulings applied, chefs replaced with something else. Monkey actually didn't mind the duck at all but for JS I will give it a miss and play/eat along.

When it arrived.....-_-" can I change it to duck seriously?
Cod fish sperms.....why do I have to eat so many of these here? Chef was very generous and served me the portion so huge it's as big as a real monkey brain. Don't you think it looked like brains? So you just eat them with sea salt. 

Finally the last of the last were usually rice, soup and pickles. Here we have a rather delicious soup with egg yolks and japanese herbs. I gobbled down the whole bowl despite protesting that my tummy is gonna explode.

So so so delicious. :)))) comfort food :)))

Homemade pickles. Always my favorite :)))) We never seem to be able to buy good quality pickles here in Msia. 

Dessert was simple and zen - homemade ice cream served in thin rice waffle.
It looked simple but the taste was pretty complex. It has a slightly sea salt savoriness innit.

It has to be cows here that gave dairy products in Japan such fantastic quality. Anything to do with dairies are amazingly excellent. When I analyzed the size of this dessert, it's actually a huge scoop being sandwiched in here!!!

The other guests finished their dinner much earlier and headed to the hot bath...while Monkey and JS were still yakking away, discussing much on Kaga cuisine. It's so unique in its own way, seasonally and geographically. 

Dinner fit for kings!!!!
usually dinner, breakfast, room, pick-up transfer service were all incorporated into your stay. That includes taxes on bathing *hot spring*. Oh well of coz exclude any ala carte and alcohols that you order. 

When we arrived back in our room, there was a beautiful basket with more handmade sushis waiting for us. Just in case we get hungry again. Gah!!!

and Monkey dipped herself into the really hot spring bath looking up the starry sky, discussing more on Ishikawa and Kaga Cuisine while JS was happier splashing water instead. Woi!!! who's the kiddo now?

True enough, after each hot bath dip, one tends to get hungry. Hahahaha The water here are alkaline and are said to be good for rheumatism. We had a very beautiful experience here at Beniya Mukayu and would highly recommend it :)))

The focus on the local cuisine and execution of the each dish never fails to delight us. There seems to be layers of texture and flavours on every morsel of food. Though most of the creation may looked simple, trust me it's not easy to execute, instead a lot of thoughts were put in it.

For more info:
http://mukayu.com/english/