+ yokoso japan 春２０１１

- day 01: 22.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 02: 23.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 03: 24.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 04: 25.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 05: 26.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 06: 27.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 07: 28.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 08: 29.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 09: 30.04.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- day 10: 01.05.11 -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+ in fruit paradise

while deciding what’s for dinner one evening with dear at vivocity, we spotted fruit paradise at a corner~ since i have always wanted to try this, we decided to have this for our desserts later, even before deciding on dinner..

fruit paradise tart set

we ordered the tart set which comes with your choice of a slice tart and blend tea/coffee/soft drink for only $9.80. we were drooling so much as we flipped through the menu as they all look sooooo good! the way the fruits were arranged looks really magical~ after much debate we finally decided on the mango strawberry tart with a pot of cream earl grey tea~

the fruits were very fresh, the cake and cream layers were extremely soft and tasty, and the tart crust totally wins hands down. it’s thick enough, still crunchy from the freezing and cakes and cream atop it, and it’s also not overly sweetened. in my personal opinion, the most important factor to a delicious tart is the crust. you can have luxurious and extravagant toppings but if your crust is bad, it’s won’t taste good at all..

i highly recommend fruit paradise! we will probably be visiting it again soon i hope hehe~ perhaps a grapefruit orange tart or a strawberry mont blanc tart, and dear wants a chocolate strawberry ~<3

+ Pray For Japan

(cross posted from my deviantart journal)

Finally some spare time to write something here. Many thanks to orbakat for allowing me to cross post her journal here earlier. You can view her journal entry here. I been following the news since the moment it started. I was at work when I saw a news tweet of a M7.9 quake in the tohoku region, which suddenly upgrades into a M8.8 then M8.9 following a devasting 10m high tsunami sweeping in from the pacific coast wiping almost the whole of Sendai into a wasteland. The Earthquake aftermath is really heartbreaking to watch.

You probably heard of all these from the papers and TV already. But kindly bear in mind that most media are exaggerating on the situation right now. Especially on the panic and confusion currently in Tokyo as well as the incident at Fukushima Daiichi Reactor. There’s an article you can read about to understand more rather than relying on the media to feed you with exaggerated information: Fukushima Nuclear Accident – a simple and accurate explanation

Here’s a little updates I receive from some friends in Japan:
In Chiba, streets and houses are damaged. There’s a shortage of supplies in the convenience stores. Little water, no rice and they are surviving by scrimping and the little snacks they can buy from the stores.
In Tokyo, people in Tokyo are living their days almost just like any other day you will see in tokyo. There are some damages here and there but nothing very serious. Not as scarily as it was described by the media.
In Kyushu, generally safe but their people are very worried for their relatives, friends and fellow Japanese in the Honshu region.

They are all trying very hard to conserve electricity and helping each other tide through this terrible disaster. There was a twitter translation of the situation going on there for the past few days: Japan Quake as Seen from Twitter. Please spare some time to read. Will you feel guilty after reading or will be really do what they are doing right now if the same thing were to happen to you?

Also, to insensitive people out there who compares disaster severity with your own country; who worries only about your favourite celebreties, manga and anime safety; who start the spread of the rumour of the nuclear blast and radioactive rain; who make use of the disaster for your personal gain, who make fun of the Japanese and their karma and producing and using insulting pictures of them, you have my utmost disrespect. I believe I dont need to explain why.

Enough talks, what the people in Japan needs most right now is our help. We cant be there to help them, but we can spiritually and via monetary donations. Here’s a list of some of the agents currently helping out in collecting donations:

American Red Cross
Requires US Credit Card/Amazon Payments account.

Google Crisis Response
Require Google Checkout account.

Apple iTunes-based donations
For iTunes Store users.

The Nippon Foundation
Requires Credit Card.

Singapore Red Cross Society
If you are in Singapore and do not have online payment ability.

The Japanese are still trying their best effort there, but we could help make it easier for them. Please lend your helping hand, and help spread the word.

Image taken from a blogshop which is supporting Japan disaster relief efforts. Click to visit.

+ ひかり

 「く…暗いよ…」

「…」

「一人は、嫌…」
「嫌だよ！」

「…」

そして、泣いてきちゃった。

しくしく泣きながら…

「それは…？」

部屋の一角でなにかが光っている。

キラキラと光を放って、
闇を明るく照らしてくれた。

「きれいー」

この光を見ると、
なんとなく泣き止んでようやく落ち着きて、
ぐっすりと眠った。

「…」

闇の中に輝いて、
愛と温もりを与えてくれる光。

やっと…

－見つけた－

 

「ハッピーバレンタインデー」 

+ let’s sweets!

let’s sweets! one of the latest most talked about eateries in town. it’s a new japanese sweets buffet dining concept whereby it’s main attractions are sweets and desserts! all their delish dishes are claimed to be whipped up by experienced japanese chefs and patissiers. good news for the sweet tooths~

the main course

karaage + japanese curry

we were there during the lunch hour at the new branch in bishan. 60mins was all we got! we took off from our seats the moment the timer was set and helped ourselves with the extremely savory and mouthwatering salads, pastas, pizzas, から揚げ, カレー, 餃子, てんぷら, mashed potato and many more! the pastas and pizzas are highly recommended as the taste is unique and doesn’t make you feel sick from over eating. we had loads of them and still hungry for more!

time for the desserts

here comes the protagonist – the desserts! never had i tasted a jelly so smooth and refreshing; cooling green apple flavour at a perfect sweetness level. that was the best dessert i had from this buffet lunch – apple jelly. please do give it a try if you were to visit. they do offer other flavours for the jellies like mango, lemon, orange, strawberry, etc if you do not have a liking for green apple.

enough of jellies, we also had their popular crêpe topped with fresh peach slices plus a scoop of vanilla ice-cream; as well as marshmallows and fruits dipped in chocolate fondue! there were also parfaits, cakes and puffs of many flavours! this is paradise~

what are you waiting for, let’s sweets!

+ christmas is nigh

the lands are veiled in shimmering white

rustles and jingles echoing from every houses

sparkling lights of every colour fills the streets

heaven’s star shining brighter than it ever was

christmas is nigh

※.｡.:*･ﾟmerry christmas:*･ﾟ｡:.*※

+ manga origins

manga and anime lovers must not miss this exhibition! ‘manga & anime! japan’ will be showcased at the japan creative centre from 16th oct till 12th november~ jointly organised by japan creative centre, kyoto international manga museum, the japan foundation and animax.

manga & anime! japan

‘a journey from the history to modern day inspirations’ – the exhibition aims to encourage deeper understanding of the history and evolution of manga and anime since the post-world war ii period. oh, and did i mention that you will receive a japanese manga as a gift from the collection of the kyoto international manga museum from visiting this exhibit?! -while stocks last-

various series of manga on display

monthly manga/games magazines

just look at the whole range of manga on display! – well not exactly display, as you may browse through them in fact. and i proud as a manga fan myself to have already read some of the series displayed there. there are also many ‘story boards’ around the exhibit area where you can learn alot about the history and interesting facts on manga and anime.

animax's anime showcase

けいおん！

灼眼のシャナ

animax has an anime showcase of various animes and some figurines on display too~ here featuring k-on! and shakugan no shana. i highly recommend k-on! a funny and light-hearted anime. if you haven’t, watch it now! especially if you like music ♪

anime screening at the e-library

the e-library at jcc allows you to watch animes from the selections available there, as well as a whole range of japanese books ranging from anime artbooks to japanese design & culture. you may take a seat and browse through them if you have some time to spare~

full metal alchemist illustration©elvin

members of the organisation of illustrators council singapore took part in this exhibition by putting up their anime inspired illustration on display. you may participate in this too by voting on your favourite illustration and get to win cool prizes sponsored by jal and kinokuniya~

and my vote goes to the above amazing illustration, read below for an excerpt taken from animax asia website:

As Fullmetal Alchemist revolved around the power of resurrection and immortality, he found inspiration from Michelangelo’s painting ‘The Creation of Adam’ from the Sistine Chapel. But instead of Adam and God, we have Edward Elric and his own mechanical arm reaching for the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary catalyst to resurrection. Edward’s mechanical arm represents Edward’s own stubborn and independent stance as a man of science versus his own personal struggles with faith. Around him, his brother Alphonse Elric’s dual bodies unravel and gravitate towards the power of the philosopher’s stone, while in the back, the nation of Amestris awaits its ultimate fate.

there are a whole lots more to see at this showcase, don’t miss it! visit jcc website for more information.

+ kaedama!

having heard of all the hype about ippudo, i finally got to try it out! we went for dinner on a weekday. there was a queue, but the table turnover rate was pretty fast and we didn’t wait that long.

waiting for our ramen at ippudo - mandarin gallery

we were greeted with a very warm welcome and served by their very polite staffs; we sat down and promptly placed orders for our growling stomachs.

チーズスナック

一風堂オリジナル餃子

we had the ‘cheese snacks – cheese sticks with crushed peppers’ and ‘ippudo original gyoza – hakata style mini dumplings’ for starters. we were initially amused by the pocky-like tiny thin sticks but that changed when we took our first bite. it was amzingly tasty and crispy~ the gyoza however tasted pretty normal, but was good nevertheless.

赤丸かさね

here comes my main dish! ‘akamaru kasaneaji – original recipe enhanced with ippudo’s special blended miso paste and frangrant garlic oil. served with thin noodles, buta bara (pork belly), kikurage and spring onion.’ they called this the ippudo’s original refined modern-style ramen. have i made you hungry for a bowl already with just that? it tasted awesomely good, especially the soup!

白丸元味

here’s the next order: ‘shiromaru motoaji - original recipe tonkotsu soup served with thin noodles, rosu chashu (pork loin), cabbage, kikurage & spring onion.’ a smooth yet classic hakata-style ramen.

からか麺

for those who prefer something spicy: ‘karaka men – original ippudo pork broth with special spicy miso & ground pork.’  i did not try this but it must have been very tasty, for my friend who had this ordered a 替玉 to go with it. kaedama, the highlight of ippudo, is a seperate order of an extra serving of noodles for just S$2. it’s a system that originated from hakata whereby diners can request for one as long as there is enough soup left.

四季のラーメン：Oriental Cold Ramen

last by not least, dear’s order: ‘oriental cold ramen – ippudo’s specially designed seasonal ramen.’ it brings you on a sensory journey to experience the changing season in japan through this quarterly creation. the serving may look little, but it was filling and tasted really nice~

most information obtained from ippudo’s official website. visit http://www.ippudo.com.sg for more details.

+ あなた

do you remember
on that cold rainy evening
one sentence was all we spoke

strangers ’til we met again
an unfamiliar gaze
with a smile hidden within

a simple line from you
unveiled the uncanny affinity between us
more than anyone could imagine

あなたと
すでに始まっていたよ

you support me in every single thing i do
you carry me whenever i can’t walk on alone
you lend me your shoulders when i need to cry

あなたが
ずっとそばにいてくれて

you smile when i do silly things
you cuddle me when i’m scared
you accompany me through the darkest time

あなたが
いなきゃ何もなかった

you filled the emptiness in me
you mended my broken heart
your kindness put a smile to my weary face

- always -

i have hurt you with my words
you said ‘it’s alright’

i have angered you with my actions
you said ‘everything’s fine’

ごめんよ

あなたと
手を取り合ってほしい

ふたりで
最後まで歩いて行く

取り離さない
きっと

i had then smiled more
because i understood what’s love

i’m no longer alone
because you are always by my side

you are right my dear
because you too are the best thing that has ever happened to me

i will tell the whole world
proudly, that ‘i love you’

愛している
愛しき人よ

- dedicated to my love, thank you for everything -

+ fireflies

wondering aimlessly along an overgrown path
a mysterious creature by the river banks greets
as i bade goodbye to the towering weeds

an odd looking bottle in his arms
dropped onto the soft soil beneath my feet
and he dissipated before i could even notice

the tip of my nose touches the murky bottle
my eyes follows the moving lights in them
a family of fireflies struggling wearily for life i see

their pain must end with freedom regained
anticipating their cries for joy as i released the lock 
there was none but a moment of silence

i pressed my nose against the bottle once more
looking closer this time with my heart
a family of fireflies struggling— not

a family of fireflies dancing blissfully in the placid air
lighting up the entire dusky atmosphere
what is this pain that i have never felt before

no matter if you are entrapped
no matter how arduous the journey
the lustrous light of love still shines

we all have but a simple wish
a love so tender and pure

please love me
before i cant love you anymore