Singapore Trip Day 4 Part 2 - Ikea and Akashi

Related posts in series:

Singapore Trip Day 4 Part 1 - A haven called Chinatown


Ikea chicken wings. Yotsuba with edamame.
Being the last day of the trip, it's about spending it on our own personal business. For me and Ji, it's about visiting the local toy stores in Chinatown and so did we as we were accompanied by Paui on the morning of 26 July 2009. By afternoon, we decided to get to Ikea in order to meet the rest of our friends. In this post, we feature more food. :9


Great day for taking photos outdoor because the sky is clear. UV rays are merciless though.
This branch is located at 317 Alexandra Road
Not sure if Ikea stores normally have a restaurant since the one we go to at Hong Kong only has a few selections such as hotdogs and popcorn. Like a cafeteria, you go around to check on the selection and point out what you want and they serve it to you.

Counters placed at the center to collect payments.
Just across the street is the Anchorpoint shopping center. Aware of another Charles & Keith retail outlet, Ji and a few others dashed there right after having our fill. I also checked the stores but didn't find anything particularly interesting for me to try on, we ended up waiting at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.


We left the area with Che and Mon towards Vivo City and bought some items at Daiso. The highlight here however was the dinner. Che and Mon knowing very well that Ji and I are fans of Japanese food treated us to this awesome place called Akashi ^^. "Yum!" indeed, all the dishes were very tasty, check out the photos modeled by Yotsuba.


Carl's Jr is still available in SG. Yotsuba on a kiosk.









Itadakimasu~! nom nom nom nom


Domo arigatou Che and Mon ^^

Related posts in series:

Singapore Trip Day 4 Part 1 - A haven called Chinatown

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Our Song

This isn't a post about me and Rai's song.

Rather, it's just me sharing this Taylor Swift video which I just saw (I know, I know this came ages ago :p) where she looks reeeeaaaaally gorgeous.

Taylor Swift Our Song
Uploaded by rioalia. - Explore more music videos.

Don't you agree?

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Simple Reasons That Make Me Happy

- a clean, well-lighted dining place with good company


- filling, yummy, and affordable food


- and, winning just by tweeting


*photo courtesy of Chuvaness' post

Pepper Lunch + Twitter = Simple Pleasures

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Red Is In

... in Starbucks coffee branches, that is.


It's that time of the year when everywhere you look, you see red (i.e. from tumblers to mugs to paper cups to (overhead) menus to barista shirts). I'm not too keen with this year's paper cups design and I can't help but miss last year's design. But I digress. This also means that the promo cards to be used to collect stickers for the Starbucks Limited Edition Planner are out. This year, one has to purchase 9 featured holiday beverages and 8 other beverages of your choice. The three featured holiday drinks (Dark Cherry Mocha, Toffee Nut Latte, and Peppermint Mocha) aren't really new and are just making a comeback.

As for the planner... We've had a look and feel of the planner and have come to say this: I like it that I cannot decide which cover design to choose. If last year, we were given 3 colors (red, blue, and black) to choose from. This year, we are given 3 cover designs (coffee bean plant, coffee beans roasting, and an espresso shot) to decide on. In addition, each cover has it's own texture as well (rough, knotted surface for the coffee beans roasting shot, sanded leather-like for the coffee bean shot, and velvety sking for the espresso shot). The planner comes with coupons (6 of these), very much like that of 2006's. It's light and handy, so there's no problem with me carrying it around. Checking the insides, it looks as if it's based on a business-type planner. It's not a good thing for me because I like a journal-type since I like listing down my things-to-do and writing down thoughts here and there. Other than that, I'd say this planner passes my taste.

Red... Peppermint Mocha... Planner closeup look. Hmm.. Could be why I am on a high today?

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Chocolate Love

LG has been kicking up the marketing hype for their new phone models dubbed Chocolate series. I'm not particularly interested in the phone, but the promoters LG got ♥.


LG Chocolate BL40 Advertisement


Apparently, LG is going all out and got no less than SNSD to market their new baby with their new song Chocolate Love. The name was derived from the sleek black design this series is known for and the BL40 is probably the best one in the line so far. That's a 4.0 inch screen and it's equipped with 5 megapixel camera utilizing Schneider-Kreuznach lens!



Not convinced? Here's another one of their ads.


Other Chocolate phones usually have slide functions to reveal their keypads. Newer models also have a glowing touch sensitive touchpad used for navigation, similar to iPod. Might be a bit tad too sensitive based on some phone reviews. Aside from black, they also come in strawberry, cherry, mint and white flavors colors.


Here's the full MV for SNSD's Chocolate Love. Enjoy ^^.

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A Couple of Years After

See this item here?

It's one of my bag must-haves - along with my wallet, keys, mobile phone, kikay kit, and planner. If you haven't figured out what it is, it's my 2 years and 4 months old Nintendo DS Lite. Since it is it's 2nd year, I'm giving you two reasons why this here is special to me: (1) it was given to me by Rai as a birthday gift and (2) the cover artwork is me (back when I was still sporting a semi-curly hair), drawn and colored by none other than Rai (yep, he draws and is good at it :) now that's a Rai trivia for you).

Two years ago, I was still bent on purchasing a PSP. I remember chatting with him about this when he suggested NDS Lite instead. He thought it matched my personality better. I had to research and check out the difference between those two as well as the games available for each one. I later found out that some people think that DS is for kids while the other is not. If that's what Ken meant when he suggested DS for me, I can only guess. :p

Honestly, I'm not much of a gamer. As a kid, I didn't spend much time playing family computer or what-have-you's and was more into reading. The end result is that now, I can't relate to most people when they discuss 80's games. Being a late bloomer that I am, I am discovering some classic and/or famous games because of this handheld game console.

In two years, this handy gadget became a reminder of some sort of how Rai has influenced me to nurture that kid in me. It kept me company during long MRT rides. It had been a tool to inculcate fun bonding moments with our close office-friends. I'd say it has served its purpose... and still continues to do so. :)

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Giving Filipino Food a Chance

If there's something one needs to know about me, it's that there is no way one can consider me a Filipino food lover.

Seriously.

I prefer Italian or Japanese or Chinese (in that order) cuisine more than anything in this world. My parents, in stark contrast, would always choose a Filipino restaurant whenever we dine together if given a chance. In fact, yesterday's Sunday lunch was no different. Only this time, it was my sister who decided which Filipino resto we'd go to.


It was also her first time to try what this place has to offer since their first branch is located at Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna. Yes, you read that right. That far. According to her, food here is so good that others would really go out of their way for a visit. Good thing the owners decided to put up a branch near us at UP-Ayala Land Technohub - some place more accessible to us who live in the north.

Since it was my sister who knew more about this, we gave her the liberty to decide what to order.

1. Crispy Beef Salad (Php246) - strings of crispy beef with tomatoes, onions and cilantro drenched in vinaigrette instantly became a hit even to me (except I had to take out the cilantro as I am not a fan).

2. Itsi Bitsi (Php224) - the name is actually a derivation of the 3 green vegetables included in this dish: itsi(taw) bit(suelas)si(garilyas). The veggies were sauteed and mixed with beef strips. I was partial to this because I'm eating more veggies lately plus I love sigarilyas. :)


3. Sinangag na Sinigang (Php224) - recommended by many is this fried rice that is sinigang-flavored. True enough, you'd find the staple ingredients found in a sinigang and taste that sour flavor, too. A single order was good enough for us 5 (maybe because we also ordered brown rice).

4. Seafood Kare-Kare (Php298) - mussels, squid, and prawns in peanut sauce with bagoong on the side. A little too oily for my taste.


5. Crispy Dinuguan (Php261) - another must-try according to most people is this diniguan (or stewed pork blood) with the pork being crispy. I may be the only person in our family who doesn't like dinuguan, but hearing of a crispy dinuguan made me curious and made me eat more than I thought I would. [I thought of Rai while eating this and how he might like this too, because I know how much he likes dinuguan (partnered with puto)].

After being impressed by the Filipino dishes with a twist served to us here, I think I just might give this cuisine a chance. (If you didn't get it yet, I'm saying Kanin Club is indeed worth visiting).

Kanin Club
Ground Level, U.P. Ayala Land Technohub
Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, Quezon City
332-5978

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Red Cups in About 3 Days

Only a few more days before we see those red cups (for hot drinks) and taste those featured holiday drinks once again. Also, I hear there will be new food offerings starting November 4, too.

Most importantly, it's only a matter of 3 days before we see Starbucks' 2010 Planner. (By the way, that, there on the image above is one of the covers we will be seeing for this coming year's planner. It seems it's going to be a notebook-type the 3rd time around. *yey for me*).

So while I wait, let me enjoy some of what are available for now... :)

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Food in Singapore

Since Rai has been writing our day-to-day entries for our Singapore trip last July. I will make this small contribution of showing the few food shots we had.

1. McDo Double Wasabi Fillet-o-Fish Meal, includes Seaweed Shaker Fries and Jasmine Green Tea - I know that one would not normally check first what McDonald's has to offer when you get to go to another country. But we do. *LOL* We were particular to this meal because it offered what we liked: wasabi, seaweed and green tea. :)




2. Flavored Yakult - We were surprised to see Green Mango, Orange, and Grape flavored Yakults in Singapore. We were able to take a picture of this in the supermarket but wasn't able to grab even a pack to taste :p


3. Movenpick Crepe - We were treated of this yummy dessert when we met up with Rai's former colleagues at Marche in Vivo City.


4. Hainanese Chicken Rice - Rai's mother, brother and sister ordered this award-winning dish from Chatterbox at Meritus Mandarin Hotel where we had dinner on our 3rd day.


5. Seafood Laksa - a seafood spicy noodle dish that Rai ordered in Chatterbox (and a good choice at that).


6. Bak Kut Teh - My cough was really acting up that time we were in Chatterbox that's why I decided to order this soup that has meaty pork ribs and a few spices. It kinda reminded me of what my mom sometimes prepares for us: native chicken in four-herb soup. :)


7. Sushi Platter - Mon and Che, being the most gracious host I know brought us and treated us to this Japanese Resto in Vivo City, named Akashi.


8. Chicken Terriyaki - We liked that the Akashi meals came with generous helping of side dishes (i.e. there was miso soup and a couple of slices of watermelon as you can see).


9. Tempura and Rice with Salmon Toppings (I'm not so sure if this is the right name of the dish and I can't recall what the greens here were) - If they look deliciously good, it's because they are deliciously good.



Wondering if these are all? Yes, these are all we have. We weren't really able to experience authentic Singaporean food at that time much to our dismay. Maybe next time... :)

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