Madonna's 'Hard Candy' Album Launch Party @ Zouk

Many thanks to Ripplevox, I was able to snag an invite for 2 to Madonna's 'Hard Candy' album launch party held at Zouk yesterday! Having thought the event was at 7pm, my sis and I rushed all the way down in a cab, only to find out it was going to start at 8pm after we reached!

Following the theme of the event, the organisers had set up a cotton candy floss booth outside the entrance of Zouk and we were delighted to find out that it was free for all!! ♥

After queuing up for quite a while in the heat (yes it was still so hot even though it was night), we finally got inside! Hallelujah for air-conditioning! Upon entering, we were welcomed by 4 hot and saucy candy girls who offered us snacks and candies of all sorts! Now how could we refuse candy? Let alone candy given away by beautiful women? XD Other freebies included a Live Earth DVD+CD compilation and cocktail coupons!

Wondering what was going to happen for the evening, we were surprised to find a huge boxing ring right in the middle of the dance floor! There was going to be a Muay Thai, all girls only, kick-boxing match! I know most people must be wondering what has Muay Thai got to do with Madonna? Well, Madonna was trained in Muay Thai before and so I guess the organisers felt that this tiny link between Muay Thai and Madonna was sufficient to make it the main highlight of the evening. Beats me either. I thought a dance off competition or a look-alike competition would be more appropriate.

Nonetheless, we quickly got our drinks and stationed ourselves right next to the ring where we would be able to view the match up close. The lights dimmed, the music softened and we spotted MTV VJ Taya entering the ring! As our emcee for the night, she introduced the fighters for the night and the fight began! As we know, its always more exciting to see 2 chicks fighting, especially chicks who look great and have fantastic bods,therefore it wasn't surprising to find the audience (mainly the male audience) cheering and clapping for their favourite girl. Now what is an event without eye candy for the ladies as well? It was the ladies turn to cheer and clap when bare chested male models graced the stage holding "ROUND 1", "ROUND 2" and "ROUND 3" signboards during the intervals! Haha now everyone could be happy. =)

There were 2 matches altogether and both matches ended up in a draw, thus the audience ended up helping decide who was going to walk away with a Samsung mp3 player as the prize. In between the matches, there were also mini quiz and games where contestants had to compete against each other to win prizes. They were quizzed, of course, on Madonna related stuff.

The night ended with the lucky draw which both my sis and I were not that lucky to win anything. =( A great event after all and thanks once again to Ripplevox for inviting us!

The Invite!

My sis and I

Mei Mei with the huge lolipop that we managed to get from the bar!

Extremely happy that we got our lolipops!

The 1st round of Muay Thai match between the 2 girls

My fav girl resting by the corner! I forgot her name but she was pwn-ing the other girl even though she had only 4 months of training prior to this.

Front view of her

The hot candy girls with myself and my sis in the middle

The freebies!
Live earth DVD+CD compilation, huge lolipop and complimentary picture taken by one of the official photographers.

Related Links:

• Madonna ft Justin and Timbaland- 4 minutes

Last Friends - Episodes 1,2,3

LAST FRIENDS
ラスト・フレンズ
(chinese subtitles)

Here are the episodes for all those who want to watch!

Episode 01


Episode 02


Episode 03

Related Links:

• ラスト・フレンズ Last Friends
• Last Friends - Episodes 4 & 5
• Last Friends - Episodes 6 & 7
  
  
  

ラスト・フレンズ Last Friends

ラスト・フレンズ Last Friends is a must watch! Ueno Juri, famous for her role in Swing Girls and Nodame, is AWESOME and is total love! I swear she is one of the best actress around and to think she's only my age!! She is amazingly versatile in her acting and character portrayal! すごいい！！！！ The opening to the show is BEAUTIFUL and to top it off, Utada Hikaru's Prisoner of Love complimented it so well!! Amazing cast, song and theme!!!! oh and have I mentioned how cute Nishikido Ryo looks? ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru's mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru's in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life. --jade_frost

source: DramaWiki

Check out the opening!!! LOVE IT!



AND OMG my favourite scene of all!!!! (spoilers for those who have not started watching the show)



Also, because Utada Hikaru is a brilliant and powerful singer, I've specially uploaded her fantastic song Prisoner of Love. Download it HERE

Related Links:

• Last Friends - Episodes 1,2,3
• Last Friends - Episodes 4 & 5
• Last Friends - Episodes 6 & 7
  
  
  

Lord of the Flies

LORD OF THE FLIES

Lord of the Flies by William Golding has got to be one of my favourite novel of all time. I remembered being introduced to this amazing novel when I had to perform a scene (as Simon! XD) from this book for my LAMDA group recital exam piece back in 2000 and later as my O level literature text in 2002. Basing much of his plot and some characters on the book, The Coral Island by Robert M. Ballantyne, William Golding writes this allegoric novel (a literary work in which characters, events, objects, and ideas have secondary or symbolic meanings) about a group of British school boys stuck on a deserted island after surviving a plane crash during a world war. The boys later try to govern themselves with disastrous end results. A fantastic story with its theme reflecting the dark side of human beings that can cause the breakdown of society if it overpowers reason and right thinking.

As William Golding explained,

"The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable. The whole book is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears, dignified and capable, but in reality enmeshed in the same evil as the symbolic life of the children on the island. The officer, having interrupted a man-hunt, prepares to take the children off the island in a cruiser which will presently be hunting its enemy in the same implacable way. And who will rescue the adult and his cruiser? (E.L. Epstein. "Notes on Lord of the Flies." The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1954, Page 204)."

Not only is this novel exciting, it has many hidden meanings and it tells us about us, about our culture and the world we live in. A highly recommended read for all and for those who have read it, play the Lord of the Flies Game over at Nobelprize.org.

And here is the film adaption of Lord of the Flies. Do watch it!!


FULLSCREEN

Redbull cocktail recipes

Bull Breeze
Red Bull
Vodka
Cranberry Juice
Crushed Ice

Flaming Bull
Red Bull
Amaretto
Rum 151
Fire

Dropclock - Awesome Japanese Screensaver

Are you bored with the normal screensavers? Now get a screensaver that is difffernt! Check out 2 really cool and awesome screensavers done by Tha Ltd below!

DROPCLOCK
“DROPCLOCK” is an aesthetically intriguing motion clock screensaver. Every minute of real time is numerically expressed with heavy Helvetica dropping into water in super slow-motion. Be captivated as the contrasting elements of organic water and solid typography infinitely morph and mix.

Love it? Get your own copy HERE


KAZE TO DESKTOP
“Kaze to Desktop” is a screensaver which moves according to the current wind (kaze) conditions in your city.

Want one for your desktop? Grab yours HERE

Mission: Singapore - Singapore's Improv Everywhere

You've seen New York's Grand Central Freeze and I'm sure many Singaporeans are dying to replicate one like that, just like how the other countries did. Now you can take part in The REAL Singapore Freeze organized by Mission: Singapore and it is happening on the 17th of May 2008!! You can check out their website to join in their upcoming missions.

Here are some projects that they have done

Mission: Singapore - Calling Aliens


Mission: Singapore - Sleepy Day


Mission: Singapore - A True Artist
This was really done so much better, everything fell nicely into place and I loved how those uncle and aunties would walk back and forth to look at the picture again. Hilarious!

I am really glad that we are going to have our own Singapore Freeze! Its about time! Its really good to know that creativity in Singapore is not dead and that the restrictive laws in Singapore have not stopped anyone from showcasing them!However, one thing about Singapore is that it is kinda small and the people who are involved in the missions would be recognized sooner or later and the effect and impact of the missions might slowly fade away. (well that's what I think anyway) Nonetheless, I'm sure many of us will be looking forward to their missions in the future especially the Singapore Freeze since its such a big thing over the internet and all. So pass the word around and get your friends to join in too! =)




Related Links:

• Frozen Grand Central
• Singapore Freeze on 17 May 2008
  

Cyril Takayama in Room 401

If you have not heard of Cyril Takayama, you must be one of the very few who have not. This amazing street magician whose famous tricks were the Cheeseburger, Lacoste and head falling off his shoulders trick, is extremely popular in Japan! He is said to be as good as or even better than David Blaine! Not only is he rather good looking (to me XD), he is very talented and funny!

Ok so anyways, I recently started watching this TV series called Room 401 recommended by Clarice. Room 401 is horror prank show hosted by Jared Padalecki from Supernatural and produced by Ashton Kutcher so I guess you can think of it as a scary version of Punk'd. In each episode, there are four scary situations where illusionists around the world come together to scare the living lights of unsuspecting victims! XD

In the following video, we have Cyril Takayama as our guest illusionist! Performing his signature "head dropping" trick, he scares other bus riders on the bus with this trick!

Lose Your Head

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

I think guys who know how to do magic tricks can score really well with the ladies. Its really the best pick up method! First of all, its something different and secondly, she'll be entertained and she'll definitely remember you! Watching magic tricks done on videos is really different from seeing it live and I'm fortunate enough to have experienced "magic" in real life thanks to Daryl who I feel is one of the best. Daryl is amazing and he has never failed to entertain us with his card tricks whenever we meet up. No matter how many times we've seen him do his magic, we are never tired of it! Check out some of his videos that he has uploaded on youtube!

Oil and Water


Shrink



Awesome ain't it?


Last but not least, I would like to share one Cyril trick that I've surprisingly not seen until today.

Milk magically appearing in cup of coffee!

Cute Commercials done by Kids

Because I've always loved the commercials shown by my lecturer for my marketing class in school last year, I just thought I would like to share some memorable ones that I found online.

This one was for a 'protected sex' campaign.
Hilarious and totally brilliant!

Best Commercial Ever
Uploaded by wehotink

The sweetest advert I've ever seen! You can't help but go "awwwww" at this! Loved it!


Another cute one!
Spinach/Spanish

WE WILL ROCK YOU - Queen Musical!

We will rock you, a musical by Queen and Ben Elton blew my mind away today! The costumes, set and most importantly, the Queen songs were awesome!! Queen fans or not would enjoy and love the show to the max! Having seated 11 rows from the front, it was by far the best seat I've sat in for any musicals at the esplanade! To top it off, Vane and I only got our tickets for $50 at student price! We were actually willing to pay $140 for the best seats since we both loved Queen so much therefore it was a steal when we got them at such a cheap price!! I LOVE being a student!

The show was spectacular with fantastic music played by the live band. I particularly loved the costumes, dance and the use of the LCD screen that cost $2 million or so I heard. Most of the female dancers were really hot with great bods too! XD

The story takes place in the future where rock is dead and all music instruments are destroyed. Galileo Figaro played by Miguel Ayesa, plays a young rebel who refuses/fails to conform with the majority who wear the same fashion and think the same thoughts. In a world where music is generated and downloaded through computers, Galileo, together with some other 'Bohemians' work together to fight against Globalsoft, a company who runs the world.

Miguel Ayesa, who starred as Galileo was a little disappointing though. He wasn't bad, just not spectacular. I thought he wasn't powerful enough and that I didn't feel the "oomph" in his performance. He was actually a little bit annoying. I figured it could be because he was supposed to be some kid. Oh well I think it was probably because I had a higher expectation before watching. I think the only cast worth mentioning was Pop, the old bohemian guy. He was natural, engaging and funny! Vane is in love with him. haha!

Anyway, the familiar Queen songs got both Vane and I moving and singing along with them in our seats. We were itching to stand up to actually dance along therefore when the cast on stage invited the audience to stand for 'We will rock you', both of us jumped up and started clapping, singing and dancing! It was great seeing the whole theatre singing and dancing along with the cast! The energy level was amazing and we were still high even after the show ended!

I also loved how they made references to Singapore such as Bugis street and Dick Lee! haha! A fun and entertaining production that I recommend to all. Do grab the student tickets if you are one because its really value for money!! It was also so good that Vane and I are going to watch it again in London this summer since the London cast would be even better!





From The Straits Times online,

"Rockin' it with Queen, well almost... Having rocked over six million people since its West End debut in 2002, the multi-million dollar jukebox musical 'We Will Rock You' hits the shores for a one month run at the Esplanade.

Thunderous tunes from rock n' roll legends Queen infused with a tickling script from comedian Ben Elton, the three hour musical tells of the age-old quest for freedom, raked with interspersed romance and the enduring vigour of rock music.

Dong Tianzhao discovers a kind of magic called Queen.

Duration: 3 min 5 secs"

Here's a VIDEO REPORT done by Dong Tianzhao.


Haven't grabbed your tickets? Hurry do so now at SISTIC before the show ends on the 27th of April 2008!

Watch the following Queen videos to see how awesome they are!

Bohemian Rhapsody


I Want to Break Free
I abosolutely LOVE this vid!

The world's first pregnant man!

If anyone of you remembered watching the movie Junior (1994) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a man who becomes pregnant for a science fertility project, this fiction has become reality!!!

Lee Mingwei, a Taiwanese American artist who has exhibited at The Whitney Museum of American Art, is said to be the world's first male in history to gestate a fetus within his own body.

Just like me, you must be wondering how is that even possible? Well according to RYT Hospital, Mr Lee was administered oral does of female hormones to make him receptive to pregnancy. An embryo and placenta was then implanted into the abdominal cavity using IVF techniques. This was done to induce a ectopic pregnancy. Mr Lee stopped taking the hormones once the implantation was done and the pregnancy itself took over.

Still cannot believe? Then head over to Pop!The First Human Male Pregnancy to see it for yourself. And if you are still not convinced, check out the following video which documents his pregnancy!

[edit]Ok I guess I did not do my research properly, this is apparently a hoax. It was done back in 1999. You can find it over at Gallery of Birth Hoaxes. oh well what a disappointment! It was very well done though don't you think?

Daryl's Welcome Back Dinner

Today was a great day because I finally got to meet up with the other Bananas that had gone MIA for soo long! Goreng Pisang had just returned from London for the study break holidays and Michies and I grabbed this opportunity to organise a mini Bananas reunion (although B1 is still in Japan)!

I started the day heading down to STA travels to settle my air tickets for my upcoming Europe + LSE summer school trip this summer which I'm totally psyched about! I also managed to get my International Student Identification Card made which will be super useful when I go over. I strongly recommend that every student out there get one (it costs $15) because of its major discounts that you will get when you buy tickets for entrances or rail passes, etc. In fact, I already used it on a Lonely Planet travel guidebook purchased at STA travels. Not only was the 'Europe on a shoestring' sold at cost price, I was given an additional 20% off because I was a ISIC card holder!

So anyways, after meeting up with Michies at Paradiz Center, we went down to Selegie Center to have our eyebrows threaded. Menaka Bridal Service shop at Selegie Center does very good eyebrow threading services for only $5 and I highly recommended it. Come to think of it, I've been going to them for the past 2 and a half years!

We were still an hrs away from meeting time after we were done and so we decided to roam about city hall to kill time. You know what happens when 2 girls with nothing to do, holds a camera right..

haha yep here are some pictures that we took outside the Singapore Museum!

Michies and me!

cheeky ang moh who helped us to take our photos

We wanted to get the whole background of the Museum

It was close to 8pm and so we made our way down to Cafe Cartel to wait for the boys.

free flow of bread!

empty chairs - boys still had not arrived after 45 mins past meeting time!

Random photo shots after dinner


Lesson no. 1 - Never take a picture with a green backdrop! See how awful I look

Now this looks better, not fantastic but better

Banana Republic Family Potrait!!
(which btw we all look like shit here. sighs)

"i feel fat looking at your donut" is the quote of the day!
Michies who is on a diet commented on Sammy's donut when she saw cream oozing out of the donut. This sent Daryl into a laughing fit which got the whole group laughing as well because Daryl's laughter was so contagious. I really don't blame her you know, imagine the calories in one single donut. *shudders* and to think I used to eat like half a dozen in a day!

Cosplay + Japan Purikuras!

2005 Singapore Street Festival
FFX team!
Strife as Yuna
Kie as Riku
Myself as Lulu
Benita as Wedding Lulu

2006 Singapore Street Festival
Alice Nine team!
Zeph as Tora
Strife as Saga
Myself as Shou (Blondie!)
Calista as Hiroto
Reiko as Nao

Purikuras taken in Japan where the purikura machines were soooo much cheaper and nicer!!

May 2006 - Harajuku
Elaine, Reiko and Myself took this right after our hair job at Bridge Salon! XD

Dec 2007 - Shibuya
Reiko and myself in winter wear!! XD

I really do miss taking purikuras like how we used to back then during our primary and secondary school days. It was really cheap compared to nowadays, costing less than 5 bucks for one. I remember we used to stick out purikuras (otherwise known as neoprints) on used phone cards or neoprint books (if you are richer) to collect them and to show them off to our friends! Haha there were no such things as writing names or drawing stuff on the neoprints. It was pretty much standard and limited but we still took so long to decide on our backdrop! XD
Anyways, if you really do wanna take a really nice purikura shot, go to Japan! I don't know why but my purikura shots from Japan all look so much nicer than those that I took in Singapore! Oh wells, I'm most probably biased anyway. XD

Frozen Grand Central

Some of you may have seen this already but for those who haven't, the following video shows 200 over people freeze in place on cue in Grand Central Station in New York. This was done by Improv Everywhere, which is a New York based prank collective.

I just think this is just soo cool!!

Frozen Grand Central




And because it was so well done, it inspired many other groups from other countries to copy them! Here are some from Akihabara, Ginza, Zurich and Stockholm!

Frozen Akihabara




Frozen Ginza


Frozen Zurich



Frozen Stockholm

Improv Everywhere was also the one who brought about the ORIGINAL no pants subway ride in New York back in 2002. Do check it out! And since then, it has become a yearly event where participants ride the subway pantless!

No Pants Subway Ride (2002)

It is amazing what these people can do! haha I think Singapore should start one as well ya know. Check out WorldFreeze.Org for more details!

The world's most expensive food!

Have you ever wondered what are the world's most expensive food/drinks/desserts? Well you are going to find out today!

The World's Most Expensive...



DESSERT

Located at Serendipity III, a popular restaurant in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, this dessert called "Frrozen Haute Chocolate" is a a US$25,000 chocolate sundae.

It is made from a blend of 28 cocoas from all around the world and is infused with five grams of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. It is topped with whipped cream, more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle (see world's most expensive chocolate) from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound. It even comes with souvenirs, an 18K gold bracelet with a carat's worth of diamonds that rests at the base of the goblet and a gold spoon set with white and chocolate-colored diamonds. [source: luxist]

Looks super good right! Would you spend this much though? Perhaps if I was rich, I could very well afford this everyday! Oh well, at least it won't be a complete waste of money because you canat least keep the gold bracelet!XD



CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE

Chocopologie by Knipschildt is apparently not only the most expensive chocolate in the world, but also the tastiest! Knipschildt's La Madeline au Truffe was recognized by Forbes Magazine as the most expensive chocolate in the world.

"La Madeline au Truffe starts with a decadent 70% Valrhona dark chocolate, heavy cream, sugar, truffle oil and vanilla as the base for the rich decadent ganache. A rare French Perigord truffle (a rare mushroom) is then surrounded by this rich decadent ganache; it is enrobed in Valrhona dark chocolate and then rolled in fine cocoa powder. The result is pure extravagance! Lying on a bed of sugar pearls in a silver box tied with a ribbon."

Price: US$2,600 a pound!!

I loveeee chocolate truffles and I would definitely want to try this at least once in my lifetime. A nibble will also do! XD I've been trying to make some homemade truffles lately and maybe someday (in my dreams), I may be the next one to come up with the world's most expensive truffle!! haha!



WATER

Kona Nigari is a seawater mineral concentrate mixed with regular water and it is said to be high in minerals and believed free of modern contaminents. It comes from 2,000 feet down off the coast of Hawaii, and it's bottled by Hawaii Deep Marine.

Price: US$33.50 For 2 Ounces


Seriously, no way am I going to pay this much for water! Apparently, the Japanese are going crazy over this and have been importing it to Japan. As much as I love Japan and its people, they are really too extreme most of the times. Well then, let's have a look at the world's most expensive water!


CAVIAR

Caviar, as we all know has been an expensive delicacy for the rich and famous, but did you know that the black caviar isn't the most expensive? The most expensive caviar is the Almas (Russian for diamond) Iranian Caviar.

This beluga caviar is white in appearance and comes from a fish which is over 100 years old. The beluga is believed to have remained unchanged for the last 120 million years. It is one of the oldest and most amazing survivors of the Dinosaur Era. It is the largest and only predator in the sturgeon family. It is so rare a fish that the annual catch does not exceed 100 units.

Price: $23,308 per 32oz

I bet this tastes heavenly! ~~ oh and btw I forgot to mention that the tin is made out of gold as well.




SANDWICH

The "von Essen Platinum Club Sandwich" can be found at the Cliveden House hotel in Taplow, Berkshire.

The most expensive club sandwich is proudly made of Iberico ham, poulet de Bresse, white truffles, quail eggs, semi-dried Italian tomatoes and 24-hour fermented sour dough bread, and weighs 530 grams.


Price: £100

Haven't seen enough? well then head on over to wackyarchives to see more of the world's most expensive food items, including the world's most expensive pizza, omelette, tea and more!

NSFW: Man chopping off his Dick

Presenting the final round of BME Pain Olympics where a man cuts off his balls and penis.

Total insanity and by far the sickest video I've seen in my entire life!




WARNING!
Extremely disturbing video below. Contains nudity, gore and blood. Not for the faint-hearted!

Japanese Gadgets - Bubble Wrap & Soybean Simulator

I have always loved popping the bubbles on the bubble wrap and so I was super excited when I heard Bandai had released a new simulator toy that could imitate it. When I went to Japan last year, I searched the shops immediately upon arrival, hoping to get it quick, but guess what! There was none anywhere!! I was very disappointed but by a stroke of luck, I found it at at a UFO catcher at Umeda in Osaka. So after the 3rd try I managed to get it!

So here it is, Bandai's very own bubble wrap simulator toy, Puchi Puchi!
(I got the white version)

That's not all! Good news for those who love popping the beans out of Edamame (those green soybeans)! Bandai is releasing another new simulator toy called Mugen Edamame. Watch the video below to see how it works!

JP-PRBE-post
by pocarisweater

Trust the Japanese to come up with gadgets and toys such as these! Interesting and innovative bunch of people I must say! I don't think I would ever get tired of anything Japanese!

So anyway, because I am super terrible at UFO catchers, I've decided to try out methods used in the following video on the secret of UFO catcher machines. And I'm going to be so kind to share with everyone out there who is equally as bad as me when it comes to playing with the UFO catchers.



Source: http://www.japanprobe.com

Sugoiiiiiii!!!!! Really amazing isn't it! Now I know why some people can actually earn a living just by playing with these. Yes, believe it or not, there ARE people in Japan whose full time job is to get the dolls/toys from these machines!

So just a summary of the techniques involved:

1. Soft toys that are at the side of the drop hole, use the "Sweep" method to sweep the toy in with one claw.
2. Soft toys that are at the top of the drop hole, use the "Slide" method to flip the toy in.
3. For bigger toys, aim the claws at the neck (see elmo example)
4. For boxes, aim for the indents of the box so that the claw can grab hold of it. [ I still think this step is the most amazing of all!!]

I hope that helps! If it really does work, please let me know!!

DeathSponge NotePants

Presenting a spoof from Death Note and Spongebob Squarepants, here's Spongbob being the New Kira of the waterworld!!!

DeathSponge NotePants

"idk, my bff Jill.."

Since this commercial was such a huge hit in the States, most of you should have watched this commercial before last year when it was aired and released on youtube. For the benefit of those who haven't, watch it for yourself!

Cingular Commercial - 'bff jill'



and its sequel!
Cingular Commercial - 'bff rose'



OMG, tli,du?
[translation: oh my gawd, totally loved it, did you?]

Japan 2007 - Food Report I (Osaka)

Having spent my holidays in Japan for close to a month, I've decided to break my trip into a few parts, starting from the food section first! ^__^ This post would be about all the food that I've tried and are worth trying out if anyone is going to Osaka.

OSAKA - FOOD Report Part 1

The first and No. 1 recommended place to go if anyone is going to Japan would be this sushi shop (stupid me forgot to take a picture of the shop's name!) at Tenmanbashi-me.
Although the shop is quite small, it is REALLY popular! Its always best to go either before lunch or after lunch, so that you can get at least a seat.
They sell delicious sushi at really low prices!! Basic sushi such as tamago and maguro only costs 100 yen per plate (2 pieces), salmon etc for 200 yen and the really good ones such as Jo-unagi for only 300 yen! It is really worth the money. Check out the pics for yourself!

Curry Cheese Instant Noodles
This has got to be the best instant noodles EVER! I would be willing to eat this everyday without complaints if they sold it here in Singapore!

Delicious
Reiko and I walked past this confectionery around 4am one morning (they were still not opened) and the smell of freshly baked pastries was enough to make us salivate immediately! The next day we managed to buy a box back to the dorm and finally had a taste of their well known orange cheese cake, apple strudel and strawberry shortcake! DELICIOUS indeed!
HIGHLY recommended! Its around Onohara.

Osaka Castle
If you do go to Osaka, you CANNOT NOT try their tako yaki because tako yaki is Osaka's specialty! However, do not get them at Osaka Castle or any other touristy areas because they are very expensive and not as nice as those you find at the road sides. Nonetheless, it was still good, beats tako pachi back here in Singapore ANYTIME!

Yodobashi @ Umeda
Highest Level of the building - The crepes were really really good. The whole floor was lined with dessert shops and we were spoilt for choice, but we ended up with these irresistable ice-cream crepes!

MacDonalds @ Carrefour
McPork was sooooooo good! The last time I went to Japan, I tried the black pepper McChicken and it was super yummy, thus when I saw the McPork version, I HAD TO GET IT! Macs in Japan is really quite expensive and they don't provide you with chilli or any other condiments, if you want them, you gotta pay! My meal cost me about 450yen!!

It was dessert at Baskin Robbins after that. OMG the ice cream was heavenly!!! yum yum!

Osaka University of Foreign Studies
Canteen Food - good and cheap!
Curry rice made by Reiko!! I couldn't afford to eat out everyday since I still had a few more weeks in Japan! XD

Mister Donut & KFC Buffet @ Onohara
Mister Donut was having a promotion in conjunction with the Simpsons Movie and I bought myself a tray of Mini Donuts! With all the donut craze in Singapore, I was thrilled to find a donut shop! ^_^
I bet none of you have heard of a KFC buffet right? I was surprised too when Reiko told me about this KFC buffet at the outlet near her school. The buffet wasn't exactly very cheap so thank goodness for YJ's parents who treated us to the buffet lunch! ^_^ The buffet was nothing spectacular but it was worth the experience, plus it was my first time trying a KFC buffet! And no, we did not just eat chicken, we actually had spaghetti, soup salad and wedges. (second pic)
Apparently there are only 2 outlets in the whole of Japan that serves this buffet, one of them being Osaka of course. I'm not too sure where is the outlet but if anyone knows, do let me know!
I think the buffet was around 1500yen. Only worth it if you are either a KFC fan or a HUGE eater!

Umeda

Lets call this Panda Panda because the black and white reminds me of a Panda. haha anyway, its a white and dark chocolate coated puff with custard filling inside! The shop is at the Umeda train station itself.

Albar Pasta restaurant
I LOVE Japanese fusion pasta. I can never get enough of it! Ever since Pasta de Waraku was set up in Singapore, I could never get enough of it. I always thought the pasta at Pasta de Waraku was the best I have ever eaten, but boy was I wrong! The ones in Japan were even BETTER!!
I ordered the seafood pasta that cost me only 830yen and dessert was only 380yen! And as you can see from the many dessert pics that I've put up, Japan is like the land of desserts! Taste, quality and appearance is never disappointing!

Some ramen shop around the area at Onohara too.
House specialy and gyoza! Cheap, good and huge servings! Ramen costs about 700-800yen and Gyoza was 300yen I think.

Shindax Plaza
Shindax Plaza is actually a karaoke place but if you do have a chance to go singing here, please make sure you order their fries! It is by far the best fries I've eaten in my entire life! I swear! Its at the foot of the hill where Mister Donut is.

AND make sure you try their strawberries from the supermarket! Its fresh and super super sweet! I heard that the reason why their strawberries are so expensive is because the Japanese throw away all the ugly looking strawberries and only display the good looking ones!
I bought a box of about 6-8 for about 450yen. Slightly more expensive than those in Singapore but worth buying it to try!

Délices du palais
A high end shop that sells freshly made tarts on the spot!
Beautiful and quaint! Tarts are affordable too ranging from 600-1000 yen.
Great place to hang out for high teas with alot of rich Japanese housewives. XD
Its near Osaka Muse, so just walk around the area and streets. There are alot of other confectionary cafes as well that are worth going in!
Highly recommended!

Universal Studios Japan
Lunch at Snoopy land!
Sun/moon/star fries with Prawn patty burger and Snoopy pastry for desert!
And a santa bun for dinner! XD SUPER CUTE! o>_

to be continued..