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..

Best of 2007

2007 has been one of the most memorable year for me. It was the year where I laughed alot, CRIED alot and experienced quite a no. of "first times". XD

I started off the year with a Chinese New Year Cosplay shoot, with the four of us (Reiko, Ka, Kaika and myself) cosplaying characters from Bleach. We wanted our photoshoot to be held at the Japanese Garden, unfortunately it wasn't open and so we settled for the Chinese Garden.

Featuring..

The Captains
Reiko as Toushirou Hitsugaya (10th Division)
Ka as Byakuya Kuchiki (6th Division)

The Vice Captains
Kaika as Rangiku Matsumoto (10th Division)
Myself as Abarai Renji (6th Division)

A few of us were then called to attend this event at Zouk called Eazy Peezy Very Japaneezy for the Onitsuka Tiger Launch. The theme was well as you can see anything Japanese and so I guess they needed cosplayers like us to just mingle about. Although I think the only reason why they called us was because of free labour. But nonetheless, the sushi was good. haha. So here we are, camwhoring outside zouk before going in.

Reiko as Bunta
Myself as Niou
from
Prince of Tennis

Before B1 (reiko) left for Japan in April, the bananas, B1 (reiko), B2 (myself), B4 (Sammy) and Michies went to Sentosa for our last outing together. We had a blast, doing nothing and just lazying around at Cafe Del Mar.

Red Bull

Being a mobile energiser for the Red Bull Wings Team is still one of the best job ever.

Left column:
Together with Becks at NUS beach Fiesta,
Pearl and myself in the office,
Michelle and myself at Pasta de Waraku

Second Column:
Myself with the Japanese racing girls @ Shenton Way,
Michelle and myself at Pasta de Waraku,
Redbull unite at the WCG 2007 @ Suntec

Picture of Tannessa and myself with the old Red Bull Beetle

The Muttons from Perfect 10!
I had to tag along to give out redbull to the hardworking students preparing for their exams

Swissotel's Vertical Marathon 2007
Alaina and I at the roof of Swissotel. BEAUTIFUL view from up there!

BUNGY BAR

This was one of the "first times" for me. It was my first time working at a bar. Despite the disapprovals from my parents, I still ended up working at Bungy Bar from June - November. In this case, it wasn't the job that made it so memorable, but the people. The amount of fun that we had during work and after work made all the long tiring days of work worthwhile.

Clockwise (from top left)
Myself, Eddy, Doranne, Suresh and Ayid
Eddy by the bar
Vanessa
Doranne

Not forgetting our crazy and well-missed Monday Movie Nights.

We got along so well that all of us went for a trip to Tioman in July together! Sun , sand and sea!

Another "first time" - Fishing!

The next major event of the year was my 21st Birthday! The theme was Film Noir and it was held at NSRCC.

The day before the party, Eddy busy setting up the DJ table.

The party day!

On my actual birthday, 6th August, the bungy peeps gave me a suprise birthday celebration at Bungy Bar! The cake was HUGE

Made new friends with a whole bunch of arty farty peeps.
Wan, Ayid and Sarah!
Superb photos using the Nikon D40x and Canon 400D

Haha and the closest I got to being a DJ was appearing as a guest for the Muttons @ Midnight's Catch of the Week. It was an unforgettable experience! Justin and Vernon were great hosts and are really wonderful people.

Yet another "first time", going visiting on Hari Raya in a kebaya!
It was super rush after that because we had to change for the Halloween party at Zouk!

AND! THE BEST AND UNFORGETTABLE CONCERT OF THE YEAR..... LINKIN PARK!!!!
I am soooo glad rice and I managed to see them live at the indoor stadium only about 8-10 rows from the stage! Now how close is that! It was great despite all the moshing and smelling of sweat after. Unforgettable!

This date was very memorable and it was also my first time up the hot air balloon!

And last but not least, ending my Year 2007, was a 24 days trip to Japan! (Photos of which I will post them at a later date). I hope my 2008 will be as good as 2007! XD

I think this post must have been my longest post ever in my blogging life. ha

Superstar Virgo adventrues!

Superstar Virgo adventures!

(09/11/05-11/11/05)

Starring:

CLARICE as Ms Virgo

Socialites:

AMANDA as Ms Decadence

HOIMAN as Ms Mantou

LEOK SI as Ms Alldressedup

Setting:

Superstar Virgo

Written by AMANDA

Illustrated by CLARICE (illustrations still pending)

-Nov 2005-

One lovely Wednesday evening, Ms Virgo and 3 most famous socialites, Ms Decadence, Ms Alldressedup and Ms Mantou embarked on their ever first adventure together on Ms Virgo's cruise, the one and only biggest cruise - SUPERSTAR VIRGO!!

Personally escorted by the owner Ms Virgo herself, the 3 VIPs headed to the ship. Along the way, however, they were stopped by a strange looking life-sized bird! Well, due to the four's popularity, it was the bird's dream to take a picture together with them. Despite the many protests made by the 3 socialites and even Ms Virgo herself, they were forced into taking a picture with him. (He had a vice-like grip).

Phew, after that disturbing encounter, they finally checked in into their wonderful suite 9569. In order not to have a repeat of what happened earlier, the 3 girls decided to keep a low profile and disguised themselves as commoners with the help of Ms Virgo.

“Aha! The first step in becoming a commoner is to dine at our Mediterranean Buffet,” said Ms Virgo.

Although the Mediterranean Buffet was a commoner’s place, it was well known that the standard of food was still high as Ms Virgo is a lady of high standards and cares for the welfare of her passengers. A highly respected woman.

When they arrived, the three girls were shocked to see so many darker-skinned foreigners. Not accustomed to finding a table by themselves, they still managed to do so with the help of Ms Virgo. To make matters worse, the uncivilised darker-skinned friends were a turn off.

It was time for the tour around the cruise. The three girls were greatly amazed by the construction of the ship and listened intently to Ms Virgo’s explanation. In all their excitement, the four girls took many pictures.

Enough with the commoners’ pretense, they decided to head to the Galaxy of the Stars for a drink and a night of Cuban music.

Thankfully, the girls were able to relax and enjoy their evening with no disturbance. Ms Virgo, the bravest among all four, ordered her flaming Lamborghini while Ms Decadence and Ms Alldressed up had their cocktails. Ms Mantou, not particularly fond of alcohol, ordered a smoothie.

“Cheers!” all cried out in unison to celebrate their first night on board Superstar Vigo.

At exactly midnight, the ship’s horn sounded. With much awaited eagerness, Ms Virgo and her guests made their way to the top deck to wave good bye to Singapore.

After saying their sad goodbyes, Ms Virgo announced that she had a welcoming party prepared just for the 3 famous socialites and the whole Celebrity Disco had been reserved just for them! Their moods immediately lightened and all headed down to Celebrity Disco for a night of fun and partying!

As the three girls were still very shy, Ms Virgo started the party going by showing some of her suave dance moves. Ms Decadence started getting the rhythm and was soon dancing along with Ms Virgo. Ms Alldressedup and Ms Mantou were still very reluctant to step onto the dance floor. Ms Virgo and Ms Decadence concluded that it was due to the music and requested for a change. The DJ, with this expertise, chose the right song and Ms Alldressedup finally got the groove and was the next one to join them! Not feeling high enough, Ms Virgo and Ms Decadence downed a Tequila Pop each while Ms Alldressedup ordered a glass of Gin tonic. Ms Mantou was then pulled to the dance floor by all three and was soon dancing the night away!

They were having the time of their life until a group of Indians entered the disco, choosing to ignore the “RESERVED FOR MS VIRGO AND HER GUESTS” sign at the entrance.

On top of that, they forced their way onto the dance floor and infested the whole place. Furthermore, they dampened the party mood with their rowdy behaviour. Not knowing their place (they were on board Ms Virgo’s ship after all...), they even dared to push Ms Virgo and the three girls to a corner. Ms Virgo, sticking to her righteous principles regarding the welfare of her passengers decided not to pursue the matter and all four left for their next destination. (All not wanting this incident to spoil their fun.)

Much to their horror and surprise, a swarm of flashlights blinded the four girls as soon as they stepped out of Celebrity Disco.

It seemed that word had spread around that the three famous socialites and Ms Virgo was on board the ship. Their secret identities as commoners were now exposed!

Being totally surrounded, they had nowhere to run or hide. Thus leaving them with no choice but to succumb to their fate. From socialites to commoners and now camera whores.

After an hour of posing, the girls were exhausted and were let off to retire in their rooms.

“Phew, that was tiring!” exclaimed Ms Mantou.

“But it was kinda fun too. Hee” Ms Alldressedup giggled.

A few rounds of “Ninety-nine” and “Bridge” wee played before all girls hit the sack.

Later that morning, the girls headed for Brunch as they had missed the early breakfast. Fortunately, they were early and were thus able to escape the paparazzi as well as the Indians. They had a pleasant and sumptuous meal.

Having some time before their awaited arrival at Port Klang, Ms Virgo brought the three girls to the Captain’s room for a brief introduction.

“What lovely and pretty friends you have Ms Virgo! I hope you girls will enjoy your stay on Superstar Virgo!” with that, the handsome and charming captain flashed his heartwarming smile and kissed each girl’s hand.

Slightly after 2pm, Star Virgo docked at Port Klang and the girls were pleasantly surprised to see a huge crowd welcoming them! Each girl received a garland of flowers.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, the pesky paparazzi appeared again! This time, the girls were prepared and made their getaway on a personally hired cab. Driving along KL highway at a speed of 130km/h, the paparazzi continued to hound after them.

With the fast reflexes and skills of Shawari, our driver otherwise known as “killer proton” the ex-champion of Proton annual racer competition, they managed to lose them.

After and hour of chasing, the girls were dropped off at “SUNWAY PYRAMID”. Each girl, being an investor of “SUNWAY PYRAMID”, decided to check out the shopping mall. Furthermore, Ms Alldressedup was the shopping queen of the group and she would never miss any chance to go on a shopping spree!

After rounds of shopping, they took a rest at Dunkin Donuts. Immediately recognized by the staff at the counter, they had complimentary donuts and coffee. =)

It was close to 7pm (time of pickup) and so the girls rushed off to do their final lat minute shopping. Ms Virgo ended up buying 2 shirts and a cap, Ms Mantou and Ms Alldressedup a shirt each and Ms Decadence, an earring.

Just before boarding the ship, the four girls purchased a bottle of Martini Rosso from a duty free alcohol shop.

Next, they prepared themselves for a night of fine dining and pleasure. They started off with a 4-coursed western meal at Bella Vista, followed by a special performance “SOPRESA” (which in Italian means “surprise!”) at Lido. The show was spectacular, with balancing and acrobatic acts, cabaret dancing, singing and appearance of “Joey”, the world’s smallest midget who is 26 years old.

Next, the girls revisited Celebrity Disco. Not feeling as high as before, Ms Virgo, Ms Alldressedup and Ms Decadence ordered a flaming Lamborghini each. This time however, Ms Mantou and Ms Alldressedup were more reluctant to dance than the night before. With much more persuasion and pulling, all finally joined in.

This time, they were spared the company of the rowdy Indians but there was an “ang moh” couple dirty dancing. They were grinding against each other as if they were the only two present in the disco. The guy then got too caught up in his own desires and started roaming his hands all over his girlfriend’s body. And the next thing he did, he pulled her top down her body! *gasp* and yes, talk about modesty! After several more incidents and acts displayed by these two (the guy touched an Indian lady’s butt), Ms Virgo and her girls were disgusted and decided to return to their room for their own fun.

The girls finished off the Hoegaarden from the night before and opened the new bottle of Martini Rosso! Having the time of their life, they even invited the two staff who delivered the ice to join them. Rounds of “Bridge” were played and it was drinking, eating and playing the whole night.

The night ended with Ms Alldressedup being drunk, constantly repeating “I’m drunk! I’m drunk!” and Ms Virgo complaining that her soul was leaving her body, leaving it behind. Ms Decadence, being a glutton, continued stuffing her face with Lays potato chips and offering everyone peanuts. Ms Mantou, although being the most sober (she did not have any alcohol), played her cards as if she was drunk!

The next morning, the girls surprisingly woke up in time for morning breakfast. They returned to Bella Vista for their International buffet. They were treated like royalty once they stepped inside (well they were socialites and the owner after all) and had their fill.

Sadly it was time to go. The girls packed their stuff and said their goodbyes to the dashing captain and his staff. Before leaving the ship, they went to The Lido and bid their farewells to their fans.

At exactly 2 pm, the socialites hugged their wonderful host Ms Virgo goodbye and each boarded their limousine and went home.

The End

The adventures of Ms Virgo, Ms Decadence, Ms Alldressedup and Ms Mantou have come to a temporary end, till their next new adventure, STAY TUNED and GOODBYE! (For now)