Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My Drama Christmas Eve 2010

I heard a piece of good news from the Chinese radio station today:

SPF Media Releases
28 Dec 2010
Yishun Housebreaker Nabbed
Police have arrested a 21-year-old man who is believed to be involved in a series of break-ins in the Yishun housing estate.

Since 22 December 2010 , a spate of break-ins was reported in the Yishun housing estate where flats along the common corridor were targeted. The suspect was believed to have reached in through unsecured windows or used a bamboo pole to “fish” out cash and valuables such as wallets and mobile phones.

Following the reports, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division conducted extensive enquiries and follow-up investigations to establish the identity of the suspect. The breakthrough came on 28 December 2010 at about 2.45 am, when a public tip-off led officers to arrest the suspect after he was sighted behaving suspiciously outside a unit in Yishun Central.

The suspect will be charged in Court on 29 December 2010 for the offence of Housebreaking and Theft by Night under Section 457 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a maximum imprisonment term of 14 years.

Acting Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Superintendent of Police Manimaran Pushpanatan, commended his officers for their swift response and good investigative work.  He also advised residents to secure their units, common corridor windows and valuable items before leaving the house or going to bed.


PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENTSINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 December 2010 @ 7pm 


Well done!! The police did a great job!!

Yes, I was one of his Christmas Eve victims. It was a blessing that he only got away with my iPhone earpiece, 1 inexpensive pen and a EZ-Link card with about $10. He got all these items by fishing out my Burberry handbag with 2 poles. My sister found my discarded bag by the staircase and brought it home.

I'm thankful that the loss was minimal and it's a small price to pay for ensuring that I won't take safety for granted even here in Sunny & Safe island of Singapore. He was caught while loitering around 2.45am in the middle of the night!

And for consolation, I got my iPhone replaced with a brand new one the next day when the silver volume button dropped off. Even Singtel gave me a present this Christmas! ;)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

4th IPL Session at Musee Platinum (Full Brazilian Treatment)

In case you girls haven't hard, the Unlimited Underarm IPL Treatment from Musee Platinum in Singapore is running a promotion at $138 now! You heard it from here and please quote my membership no. (member no.: 81005130) to enjoy a FREE upper lip IPL session.


I was there a few days back and found out that they'll minus off $50 for new treatments for those who signed up at $188.

Yes, I was back for my underarms and full brazilian IPL session this time. In case you're wondering what is full brazilian, you can take a look at the image below.


It consists of a total of 5 small parts, namely:
  1. Bikini Line
  2. Upper V Triangle
  3. Lower V Triangle
  4. Inner Thigh
  5. Inner Butt Crack
This time around, I didn't feel so awkward. Maybe it's because the treatment started with me lying on my front for the inner butt crack IPL preparation. Lying on the massage/treatment chair with a hole for my face, I placed my iPhone on the stool to surf while the therapist, Joanne went with the treatment.

Or maybe it was because Joanna is rather friendly and her chatting put me at ease.

In any case, I was spread-eagle chatting and entertained by my iPhone until.... I was asked to turn over and lie on my back. That's when the slight awkwardness set in. Once again, the protective glasses and towels over my eyes helped as I couldn't really see what was going on. 

But the feeling is almost like below but more exposed and less relaxed, hehe.. And whenever I hear noise coming from outside of the room, I had the tendency to close up. Hahaha... Felt so exposed.... 


For those curious cats out there, these are the steps that the therapist will do:
  1. Clean your skin
  2. Shave
  3. Use a sticky tape to pick up loose and fine hair
  4. Apply cold gel
  5. Perform IPL
  6. Wipe off cold gel
  7. Apply cold towel
  8. Apply soothing cream


It was a little more painful for me this time. About 5 out of 10 for the pain level. The pain felt like a light electric shock or a rubber band shooting onto the skin. I asked for the intensity to be lowered and it was bearable thereafter. About 2 out of 10 of the pain level.

I was told that by reducing the IPL intensity, the thicker hair can still be removed  but the finer ones may be missed by the IPL. Oh well, my threshold of pain is lower than my threshold of being hairy... :|

I also found out that IPL actually picks up the pigment of the hair, hence Caucasians with light blonde hair respond better to other hair removal treatments instead of IPL. And the therapists should keep away from any tattoos near the treated areas as it'll be very painful if the the IPL falls on it due to the tattoo colour. 

2 sessions won't be enough for my *ahem* region so I'll be going for more.


By the way, if you decide to sign up at the Millenia Walk outlet like I did. Do take this opportunity to shop around PARCO. there's a Christmas promo for all Citibank credit cards holder!! And PARCO has lotsa local designers and interesting outlets. It's a joy to avoid the crowd this Christmas by shopping there! The promotion last until 26 Dec 2010.
  
If you enjoy this post, do quote my membership no. (member no.: 81005130) to enjoy a FREE upper lip IPL session.

And do drop me a message if you wanna share your experiences or ask me any questions. I'll try my best to answer to the best of my knowledge! ;)

Read more (member no.: 81005130):

Friday, November 26, 2010

Interesting Shots From Japan

Some random shots and moments that bring a smile to my face...

Sumo Wrestlers We Met At A Tokyo Subway 

Pretty Manhole in Osaka

Food Displays That Look So Real

Fan Shop in Kyoto

Outside A Restaurant in Kyoto 

Froggie Road Barrier

Tourist Stamp

You can bring a book along to stamp when you visit the different tourist attractions.

Incredible Claims for Sportsbra

Just Some of The Many Kit Kat Flavours


Sayonara!


**Read more about my Japan trip here.**


Thursday, November 25, 2010

My Foodie Tokyo Hotel Stay - Nishi Shinjuku Hotel Tokyo

I was more impressed by the eateries around my Tokyo hotel than by the shopping in Tokyo. Maybe I had raised my expectations a little too high. Oh well...


Anyway, for the 3 nights in Tokyo, we stayed in Nishi Shinjuku Tokyo Hotel. It is really value for money at 315000JPY/504SGD for 3 nights. It worked out to be only $84 per person per night only.


This is the entrance to the hotel and you can see it on the road level when approaching it. There's a lift to the reception level, so don't worry just by looking at this pic. ;)




The room is spacious, clean and neat. It's much bigger than Dotonori Hotel we stayed in in Osaka but the service staff are not as warm. At least we didn't have to squeeze when bathing and pack our luggages.

And this time round, no free toiletries samples were given but the hotel uses Kose toiletries.


To get there from the big Shinjuku Station, you'll need to exit from the West exit, passing by the departmental store, Odakyu. It takes about 10 mins to walk there rather than 5 mins as stated on its website.

Initially, I was a little apprehensive about this location as web users were recommending other hotels and not many mentioned Nishi Shinjuku Tokyo Hotel. 

But there was a foodie surprise awaiting us....


Every night, we will deliberate what to have for dinner. Little did we know that there's a lot of good eateries situated right at our hotel's door step.


Best Meal In Tokyo: Sashimi, Oyster, Potato Salad, Fish, Bi-ru

The meal above which was enough to feed 3 people cost us a mere 60SGD. We had 3 bottles of beers, 1 raw mackerel, a cooked fish dish, potato salad and 6 humongous fried oysters. It was so filling that I could only finish 1 oyster. I don't know how bf managed 5!!!

And the food was very fresh and succulent. There's even a staff that can speak English to help recommend what's fresh and good for the day.


You see, in the day time, the store looks like a usual fresh fish store supplying to customers nearby.


By noon, it'll be crowded with the office crowd. And when night falls, the place gets even more crowded and bustling throughout the night. We thought the food won't go wrong if it can draw so many customers and we were right! 

It was my best meal in Tokyo!


Just about 50m away lies another cozy hideout; A friendly Yakitori restaurant. 


It's a plus point that the lady boss can speak English and she is very warm and friendly, making sure we feel welcomed and happily recommending a nice sake for us. This restaurant has a family run cozy feel to it.


We spent our last night in Tokyo enjoying beer, warm sake, claypot and Yakitori yet again.


The lady boss was so obliging that she even made onion Yakitori when I asked for spring onion ones. She got confused and looked confused since I suppose they don't usually make that. It tasted sweet and nice though.


On our last day in Japan, we decided to head back to our hotel area and try out the Udon restaurant that seems to perpetually have customers inside.


It offers about 20 kinds of Udon. After collecting your selected Udon, you'll need to head to the Tempura counter (inside left of restaurant) and pick your Tempuras.


We were real greedy and picked a total of 5 side dishes when most people only pick 1 per person. My Udon at the bottom of the pic was supposed to be a dry one but bf assume that all Udons come with soup. 

This eating place is filled with the working crowd mid-day. Don't be deceived by the boring signboard on the outside. A wide selection of tasty food awaits if you step in.

And now you know, if you don't mind the 10 mins walk from Shinjuku station, do check out the 1st Sashimi stall I mentioned. It's worth the walk!

I have still yet to try Robotayaki in Japan. Any recommendations for good Robotayaki for my next trip?


**Read more about my Japan trip here.**



Wednesday, November 24, 2010

4 Days Trip to Tokyo Japan: Things To Do And Food Eat

 love Japan and what it has to offer. Tokyo has always been on a must visit destination for me and it does indeed has lots of interesting stuff!

The day we arrived at Tokyo from Osaka, it was chilly and wet. The rain brought by Typhoon 14 made the night temperature dropped to single digit! It would have been nice if it wasn't so wet.

So, we decided to visit Akihabara, the Electric City many has mentioned and raved about.

Wet & Cold at Akihabara Station

Sadly, we were not that impressed. Not being the most tech savvy people around, we just had a brief look. Annoyingly, many of the shops employ Chinese Nationals and Indians as sales staff. A big bulk of the tourist are from China too. It makes the area seems very un-Japanese. Not the kind of ambiance I was expecting out of Tokyo.

If you're not a techno-geek, this place is worth only a short visit.

Maybe we would have explored more if it wasn't so inconvenient shopping around with a miserable umbrella in the gloomy late afternoon that seemed like night. 

Ans so we left within half an hour. Feeling aimless, we stopped by Tokyo Station on our way back to Shinjuku.


Making use of our JR pass validity, we entered the bullet trains platform and found many duck bills trains resting and went shutter crazy!


If you're looking for Shinkansen souvenirs, you can purchase them on the small shops on these platforms. If not, they're also available in gift shops in the city.


Since we were staying in Shinjuku, we ended the night with a slow night stroll around the area. 


The pics are taken along the street and alley in Kabukicho, a major red light district in Tokyo Shinjuku.

The next day, we went to Ameyoko Market, stopping at Okachimachi Station. The rain has passed and the weather was lovely for being outdoors. This place has a lot of cheap fashion, food and gift items and is worth a visit. 


We took a leisure walk down the streets running along Ueno Station and Okachimachi Station. The gift items we found here were much cheaper than those in the other areas. Look hard and you'll be able to find nice stuff!


There's a lot of eateries along the alleys at Ameyoko Market too. We passed by a store with yummy looking food and sat down. Not being able to communicate in Japanese, we just pointed out what other were eating. Aat least we could order "bi-ru' and "shishamo". And look at the other customer enjoying life behind me!


The inerts is a popular dish with almost every table having a bowl of it. since it was a Sunday, the customers would sit there for a long time chatting, drinking, smoking and eating with plates piling up on their tables. It's nice to soak in the ambiance that lazy Sunday afternoon.


Bf couldn't resist taking a pic of the fashionably chic rather and son sitting next to us.

Our next stop for the day was Harajuku


We've planned to visit Harajuku on Halloween and even the dogs were dressed for it.


We paid a visit to the famous Meiji Shrine first and was pleasantly surprised to catch a celebration going on.


We were told it is the anniversary, hence the colourful display.


It takes about 10 mins to walk from Harajuku station exit to Meiji Shrine.


The walk in is a nice forested walk. Meiji Shrine is nested amongst many trees donated by people from all parts of Japan. It is dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.


It makes one feel like a green oasis amidst a bustling city.

Vegetable Boat Display

Here some pics of Meiji Shrine Anniversary Ceremony:






We were lucky to visit the shrine on the same day and experience a Japanese shrine celebration ceremony.




By the time we left, it was evening and the display outside looked even more beautiful.


Across the entrance of Meiji Shrine was one end of Takeshita-Don, the main street of Harajuku. Frankly, I didn't enjoy it much. There were many shops selling cosplay costumes and the occasional cosplayers walking around. 

The shops mainly cater to the young. Maybe this is why they didn't appeal to me, heh!

The biggest 100 yen shop, Daiso was also a disappointment. It carries about the same items as Singapore's Daiso with the exception of more things being made in Japan.

The Cute Harajuku Station

It was all shopping at Harajuku and more shopping the next day for us.

The next day was Shibuya and more Shinjuku shopping.

Hachiko Statue Outside Shibuya Hachiko Exit

Famous Shibuya Crossing

Diagonal Crossing at Shibuya

One of the shops I did enjoy shopping in Japan was Tokyu Hands. It has practically everything you need for household, beauty, health, hobby and gift items. 

Smart Ice Blended Coffee Machine in Tokyo Hands

One Tokyu Hands is so big it has at least 7-8 levels. We were so exhausted midway that we had to rest in Tokyu Hands' coffee corner.

Comparing to Osaka, I found Tokyo shopping not as interesting as there's a lot of international brands like H&M, Zara etc that can be easily found in a lot of countries. Also, people in Tokyo rush about more and are not as warm.

The departmental stores are really quite different from Singapore's and offer more unique items in my opinion.

I'll write more about Nishi Shinjuku Hotel area in my next post. It's a great place to chomp! Stay tuned!


**Read more about my Japan trip here.**