Beijing 2009

Planned this trip long ago while Xiao Juan was still in Singapore. Finally finalised and went in Oct 2009. Got this SQ promo which cost us $620 per pax.

Day 1

While waiting for the plane in Singapore, we bought the cosmetic that Xiao Juan emailed Angie. We decided to sponsor part of the cost as appreciation gift to Xiao Juan. She really very Tai Tai. Her list was super long with all the expensive stuff. I told the girls that i am the most thrifty friend that Racheal got. Heehee..

I bought the Clinque set for S$86 coz Angie mentioned that Nv Ren Wo Chui Da got introduce. Quite good. Haven't tried the Estee Lauder set though. Oh ya, i helped to buy the SKII freckles lotion as Cat's birthday present. Very cheap in DFS.

Asked the girls about their exchange rate and realised i got the best rate of 4.85 yuan per S$1. While the girls were sleeping, i did some homework on the plane again coz i was supposed to be the tour guide of this trip. They didn't have any preference on where to go so i planned the itinerary alone.

When we reached Beijing airport, it was quite confusing and troublesome while we were getting out as Racheal was sick. But come to think it, even if Racheal didn't declare, they won't be able to know too. But we were trying to be socially responsible.

When we saw Xiao Juan at the Arrival Hall, she looked more excited than us. Her mum was waiting for us at home. Xiao Juan's house was a present from her mum. The deco was also done by her mum. Her mum told us she helped to put everything up but Xiao Juan didn't seem very pleased with it. Heehee. She also told us she prepared the rooms, slippers etc for us. So sweet of her. Very hospitable. Oh ya, Xiao Juan's house was just behind Plaza Royale Hotel. Very posh looking area when you entered the gate. Xiao Juan just started to drive her mum's car recently in May i think. It was left hand drive so looked very weird when i sat beside her. Btw, she drove without me getting my whole body in, so scary. Racheal experienced this too. Heehee..

For dinner, we went to eat fish steamboat near Xiao Juan's house. But after we tried it, Racheal & myself felt that Singapore's ones were nicer. And Xiao Juan told us Beijing girls don't eat rice so they didn't order any rice at all. Think i am the strange one who cannot live without rice.

After the lunch cum dinner, we went to Walmart and bought a lot of my chips, pockys and instant noodles. The stuff there were cheaper than the Market Place. My noodle only 10 yuan and my chips and pockys all around 5 yuan. Racheal also bought the masks recommended by Xiao Juan for us to try. Couldn't tell the difference but Racheal said it was good.

Xiao Juan was very nice to us. She let Racheal and Angie slept in her room while i slept in her guest room. Of course, she was left to sleep at the living room. Xiao Juan said it was very cold in the living room. She must be suffering with us being there. But when we offered to exchange, she didn't agree. She was as hospitable as her mum. Heehee.

Day 2

Though Xiao Juan bought bread from Walmart, i suggested to go out makan. Racheal did try the bread though. She said it was very hard.

Anyway, Xiao Juan brought us to the Yong He Dou Jiang near her house. We tried a lot of stuff but i think You Tiao was the best. Very crispy.

After that breakfast, we went to Xiao Juan's parents' house to have lunch. Her house was huge. It was something like landed property condo. Her mum told us she bought it at less than S$150k and now it cost around S$600k. Her basement was given free to her. Forgot why she got it free. Xiao Juan's room was very English style - a level above the living room.

We took a walk around the area so that Xiao Juan's mum could prepare the food. Her dumplings were yummy! I must start to learn how to cook that. I like it.

While at her house, Xiao Juan's mum was very nice and helped us arranged for the Great Wall and Ming Tombs tour for 180 yuan. It was mid-range price offered by a travel agency advertised in the papers.

After that, Xiao Juan brought us to Nan Luo Gu Xiang - a place with all the Hu Tong shops selling cute stuff such as Chairman Mao souvenirs. After drinking the girls' favourite coffee at a cafe there, we took cab to Shi Za Hai to meet the travel agent. He promised Xiao Juan that 180 yuan was the maximum that we had to pay for the tour and we could opt out of the additional trip.

We walked pass all the bars at Shi Za Hai and went to eat in Hun Tun Huo but the dumplings was bland and we didn't like the side dishes too. Dunno why it was a famous traditional shop.

After that, we went to San Li Tun Village to shop at Uniqlo and Watson. Watson was interesting coz everything was cheap. The "girl's stuff" only 5 yuan so me & Racheal bought quite a bit. The Pantene Clinicare conditioner only around S$6. Cheaper than Taipei i think.

As we were still very hungry, we bought crepes to try. Mine was teriyaki chicken. Yummy but cold.

Day 3

We woke up at 5am to take the tour bus. While we were on the bus, we heard the bus driver kept quarreling with someone over the phone. The next moment, we were being chased to alight immediately. After that, we received a sms from Xiao Juan to ask us to take cab back to meet her at the hotel. Then she told us that another travel agency called her after we boarded the bus. Thats why she found out that we got onto the wrong bus.

We waited till 7.15am before the actual car came to pick us up. We woke up early for nothing and made Xiao Juan almost late for her work. Xiao Juan guessed that the first bus wanted to bring us somewhere so that we got no choice but to pay money and join their tour. China travel agencies were so unlawful.

Anyway, the tour wasn't enjoyable too. The Great Wall was crowded and the steps were steep for Angie's high heels. So scare for her. Then the Ming Tomb that the tour brought us also very boring. Think they were really trying to cheat our money.

We hated our tour guide too. She was negative and said a lot of negative stuff during the whole trip. Kept asking us not to complain coz everything was really lousy and we didn't pay a lot so she won't wait for us if we returned later than what she mentioned. She just kept frowning and asked us not to frown. Couldn't she take a mirror to see herself? The food also extremely bland and awful. Look like food for beggers.

Also, the agent told us we could opt out from Ming Huang Gong but the tour guide refused to compromise. So in the end, we got no choice but to pay 100 yuan more.

Besides cheating our money, they brought us to buy some stupid jade stuff. When we reached the jewellery shop, it was like watching a drama. While the salesgirl was giving presentation, a guy came in to say that the boss wanted to meet our tour group. Then the salesgirl pleaded us to be more responsive so that she would get into her boss's good books. When the boss came in, he told us his mistress gave birth to baby boy after trying very long so he was very happy and wanted to give us presents. He kept asking us not to buy from him coz his company cheated customers by selling in high price. But in the end, still told everyone that he would sell at cost price. Strange. He kept asking people whether they wanted to make friend with him. And everyone actually applauded and shouted good remarks whenever he asked a question. Faint.. Wasted 2 hours of our time then made us only reached town around 8 plus.

The whole trip made us realised that one must never join a tour group in China. Xiao Juan and her mum were so upset about this. Xiao Juan even went online to check on this company and realised it got the most complaints.

Anyway, coz the ending point of the tour bus was at Ping An Men, we went to eat Quan Ju De. This duck restaurant served very famous traditional Beijing Duck. I heard about it during the Olympic period. The articles wrote that the foreigners were crazy over their ducks.

A lot of people were queuing but we waited for less than 10 mins (though the front desk told us we had to wait for 30 mins). The duck was ok but the side dishes were bland.

Coz we were so tired, we took a cab back instead of taking MRT. Now, i could give direction to cab driver without thinking much. Actually should turn to the hotel entrance and turn right and right to the condo entrance. After entering the carpark, just need to turn right and turn right again to stop at the carpark lift lobby. Easy!

Oh ya, that day was Monday and it was a day that Xiao Juan's car cannot be driven out. China got this new policy that car with certain car plate number (last number) cannot be driven on certain day of the week. This new policy started during Olympic 2008 with the hope of reducing traffic jam.

Day 4

We went to eat the famous bun shop near Xiao Juan's house. Xiao Juan recommended this coz she said it was clean. I saw the advertisement on the buses too. We ordered the shrimp, beef and pork ones. The buns were 2.70 yuan for 3 buns or 2 liang. Very cheap but salty. The porridge was cheap too though it was watery.

We walked to MRT after that. Around 15 mins walk but Racheal and Angie couldn't take it so we took cab after that day. The cab flagging fee was 10 yuan and it won't jump until very far so usually we only spent less than 15 yuan to go to MRT stations around Xiao Juan's house. But the MRT was even cheaper. Only 2 yuan no matter how far the distance.

That day, we went to Forbidden City. Rented the audio guide but didn't really follow coz we couldn't match the timing correctly. Most of the areas inside the palace was blocked and it was so crowded that we couldn't really see anything clearly. As there were a lot of walking, Racheal couldn't take it and her legs were very pain. We drank coffee at the cafe to rest before walking out and proceeded to Wang Fu Jing.

Coz Xiao Juan asked us to try the Bing Tang Hu Lu at Wang Fu Jing Food Street, we bought one with orange to try. It was nice and fresh. We tried the noodles there too. So-so only. Oh ya, i saw moving worms in sticks. I wondered why they eat raw worms.

Also, I realised Quan Ju De was everywhere coz i spotted one there too. This Wang Fu Jing street looked like the Nanjing Street in Shanghai. As the bookstores were part of my itinerary, we went to 2 recommended by Xiao Juan and my guidebook. Racheal bought english novels at the Foreign Language Bookstore and I bought makeup and travel books at Wang Fu Jing Books Building.

But the information counter at Wang Fu Jing Books Building was totally not professional. I helped a Caucasian to ask whether they sell English type of Hong Kong travel books and they replied me they didn't have it. Made me asked the caucasians to go Foreign Language Bookstore. Then i actually found the books on level 4. So angry.

In the evening, we went to the Silk Market to meet Xiao Juan and luckily Xiao Juan was there to help us bargain. We bought the boots for 95 yuan when they quoted us 250 yuan. The seal's price was 150 yuan and Xiao Juan helped us bargained till 30 yuan. Though the handwriting was more awful than mine. I didn't even know i should use it or not.

For dinner, Xiao Juan brought us to Xing Guang Tian Di to eat Dim Sum. She said it was cheap and nice. But i think it really tasted different from Singapore's one. Strange taste.

After that, we bought some health drinks for Xiao Juan's parents to thank them for hosting us for lunch that day.

Day 5

We went Xing Guang Tian Di for breakfast and chose a safe choice to eat Ajisen ramen. The price was cheap. Only half of what Singapore charged.

Xiao Juan said the Ma La Guo at the food court was nice too. We didn't have the chance to try it though. The shopping centre was the high end type so we couldn't find much stuff to shop.

Coz Racheal's legs were super pain, we went to Tian Tan today - a slightly less walking itinerary.

Tian Tan got 2 options. You could choose to pay for the park only and you could also choose to pay for sightseeing to view the interior of Tian Tan. A lot of elderly just paid and mingled in the park. They were doing belly dancing, singing, playing er-hu etc.

Racheal couldn't walk very far so she waited for us at the park while we did the sightseeing.

After that, Xiao Juan brought us to the massage shop which she found online. She has been searching high and low for a massage place coz we told her we needed one especially for Racheal's legs.

The cab driver couldn't find the place so we had to wait for Xiao Juan at San Li Tun Village to pick us up. Angie bought Starbucks mug there. Very nice.

We had a hard time finding the massage place. But it was worth it. The place look posh and the massager was friendly. I tried foot massage with Xiao Juan and it cost 158 yuan for 90 mins. Racheal and Angie didn't dare to do foot massage so they did the Spa instead.

I like the massage and it got free TV, free flow drinks and food. I tried peanut toast, fruit plate, dumplings, luncheon meat and egg noodle, grilled pork burger, chicken bee hoon, etc. Racheal and Angie didn't know that there was free food but their Spa only lasted for 60mins. So when they came to look for us, i asked them to order food too. Racheal said the kitchen would be scared of me in future coz i paid so little and ate so much. Heehee. If i stayed in Beijing, I sure sign up package for this. All the noodles and fruits were so yummy. They also provided hot herb pillows for my back and neck. So comfortable!

Day 6

Went Viva at Shuang Jing to eat breakfast at the Food Republic. The chicken rice was same brand as the one in Suntec. But it somehow tasted different. Price was not cheap though, it was 22 yuan. The claypot fish special cost 13 yuan and wanton noodle cost 18 yuan. Consider expensive for Beijing people.

Oh ya, I bought a pair of purple socks at the C & A there, only cost 69 yuan. Matched perfectly with my new hand warmer from Uniqlo and my shawl from Turkey.

Coz Racheal's legs still never recover, we went for Hu Tong tour today. I proposed to try Xiao Juan's suggestion to take the trishaw so that she didn't need to walk so much.

We walked around to find Xu Bei Hong Museum. A bit lost and there was nothing much there, the exhibition at SAM (Singapore Art Museum) was better.

After that, we managed to find a trishaw that charged us for 140 yuan. We went to Song Qing Ling's home. It was quite interesting but we didn't have time to wait for the free guided tour. Managed to see the look of the Song Sisters though. I really like this family. So girl power! All the sisters managed to marry such influential men and they were all very amazing on their own too.

Btw, the trishaw rider tried to cheat our money. Asked us to visit Si He Yuan that cost 2o yuan each. But in fact nothing can be seen in that Si He Yuan. Then after that, he tried to cheat us in buying the 70 yuan Gong Wang Fu ticket. Luckily i checked my guidebook and it stated only 20 yuan. So sickening. Anyway, there wasn't anything interesting in Gong Wang Fu. Everything was locked up but the exterior was grand. Very crowded though.

After that, we took a cab down to the National Art Theatre. Got 3 shows screening there but Angie and Racheal were not interested in watching so i had to give it up. I think there was some VIPs there too coz got people stopped us from walking in when some black foreigners walked out.

After that, we walked to Xidan and passed by the residence of the President Hu Jin Tao. When we met Clarie a few day later, she also mentioned that some of the ministers such as Wen Jiabao stayed there too.

We tried the KFC at Xidan and it was quite nice. While waiting for Xiao Juan, we went to my Beijing Books Building. It was huge and when i was about to pay, a guy approached me to say that he could use his membership card and get 15% discount. So i let him made the payment. But i guessed he probably earn more than half of it. Anyway i got discount so ok for me.

When we saw Xiao Juan, she brought us to H&M which Angie mentioned ever since she reached Beijing. I heard it was an international brand but only in Europe, China, etc. I bought a recycle bag there. Quite nice and only around S$6.

Xiao Juan brought us to Olympic Park but when we reached there at 9.45pm, Shui Li Fang's lights were off. So in the end, we could only took photos with the Bird Nest.

After that, i asked Xiao Juan to bring me to Hard Rock to buy my stuff. Hard Rock was located inside Liang Ma Jiao Fan Dian and it was possible to take MRT there. Luckily, Xiao Juan could drive pass that night & i didn't need to do another separate trip.

As i was still hungry, Xiao Juan brought us to the HK cafe nearby. When we faced the Hard Rock, we just turned diagonally right and walked there. We ordered pork hao fun, carrot cake, porridge and soup. The best was my pork hao fun.

Day 7

We eat the Breadtalk Bread which we bought the night before as breakfast. The Breadtalk here was quite high class coz it had paper packaging instead of plastic bags. Looked so expensive but around the same price as Singapore's. Maybe 20 or 30 cents cheaper.

That day, we took the new line 4 which opened this year April to Bei Gong Meng and walk to Yi He Yuan. Yi He Yuan was the summer palace that Qian Long built according to what he saw in Tibet and Jiangnan.

As Racheal and Angie were tired, they stopped walking after walking the Suzhou Jie. Oh ya, i bought kite and string for 16 yuan at Suzhou Jie. Should have bought it when i saw at Tian Tan. Only 10 yuan but they didn't have the design i wanted.

At first the girls asked me to walk to the temple and they would wait for me at the Suzhou Jie. So i climbed super fast to the fourth level and ran back. The gate checker didn't allow me to walk back so i had to make a huge detour. Luckily, it was all worth it coz the scenery was the best i have seen for so many days. Wanted even to take the 10 yuan boat ride to the island in Kunming Lake but i couldn't let the girls wait too long.

When i ran out, i realised the girls went to the Mac outside to wait for me. So i had to walked all the way in again to visit the rest of the places. It was a long walk and i almost got lost a few times.

After visiting the gallery featuring the Han Dynasty stuff, I visited the opera theatre (an interesting place where Empree Dowager Cixi watched opera previously - now it offered free shows in every 30 mins). I couldn't watch the whole performance coz i didn't want the girls to wait too long.

After that, i went out by the other exit and walked to Xi Yuan MRT station to meet the girls inside the train. The auntie at the gate said that it was extremely far to walk back to the entrance where the Mac was located. Thus i got no choice but to meet the girls in the train.

Then came our shopping time again, we took MRT to Qian Men Da Jie to buy Tenfu Tea which Xiao Juan recommended. We loved the street coz of its traditional and clean look.

At first, Xiao Juan wanted to bring us to Ma Lian Dao to buy tea but her parents worried that we got cheated by the traders. They said that usually the traders would let us taste one type and give us another type. Thats why it was better to buy the branded ones. But i think the tea sachets at Tenfu Tea was cheap. Only 6 yuan per box. If my luggage got space, i sure buy more. The sales assistant was friendly too. She did a tea ceremony demonstration for us after Racheal told her she wanted to try the tea. Of course, it was one of the most expensive ones.

For dinner, we went to eat Da Dong at Dong Si Shi Tiao. The place was posh and they actually served us drinks while waiting. Very good service. I heard if you eat Hai Di Lao, they would even do manicure for you. So good.

The Da Dong duck was good and the side dish tasted a bit better than Quan Ju De. But the Yang Zhou Fried Rice was awful. Angie said the 3 free desserts were not nice too. But i like the free fruit plate. They also gave us free chewy gum after we paid. So good feeling to eat there. I like. No wonder it got no 12 in Asia Best 100 restaurants. The half duck only cost 99 yuan and ingredient plate only 8 yuan. But 1 plate of fried rice cost 16 yuan. Cannot rem how much beancurds cost though. The total cost was 252 yuan.

As the time was still early, we went back Viva to shop while waiting for Xiao Juan to reach home. When we were shopping there, I saw a collection by Stephanie Sun. But i didn't really like the design so couldn't buy anything from there.

That day, we waited outside Xiao Juan's house for a while coz she worked OT that day. We were thinking that she finally got a day for herself without worrying about us. Heehee.

Day 8

We finished the vitamins C that i brought to Beijing. We really ate a lot of vitamins, Bi Pa Gao etc coz Racheal was sick. But i still got constipation. Dunno why.

Today we went to meet Clarie at 9am coz she wanted to go Dong Wu Yuan Pi Fa Si Chang. She said actually must reached at 7am so we were late already. If too late, all the good stuff will be snatched up by others. And it would be too crowded to shop by noon so everything must be done before that.

Clarie worked in Singapore Embassy and the embassy let her stayed in the landed property beside the embassy. It was a 2-storey 3 bedrooms house. Very nice. Her house got Liu Ye's paintings which cost 650 yuan for 4 pieces. Racheal liked this so we asked where she bought. Xiao Juan said the artiste drew for Clarie at Nan Luo Gu Xiang. Clarie also said Mark helped her put up the paintings to repay her for staying at her house during his visit to Beijing. Btw, i realised the guards at all the embassies were very poor thing. They stood really straight and kept turning their heads to keep a lookout. Dunno would have stiff neck or not.

Oh ya, we passed by this CCTV building everytime we entered the town area. Xiao Juan said this new building was burnt down by a few youngsters during Chinese New Year this year. She said a firefighter died due to this incident thus one of the youngsters might be given death or life sentence. She said they were actually playing fireworks at the rooftop without approval. So serious sentence. Scary. The whole hotel beside it was burnt down entirely. Billions of dollars were lost. But i heard another news that the fireworks were actually created by the CCTV. Dunno whose story was true anyway. Oh ya, Xiao Juan & Clarie were saying that the building was well-known to look like huge underpants. So funny.

Anyway, we reached quite late and actually Clarie didn't want us to eat breakfast but Xiao Juan insisted so we had KFC breakfast in a super fast rate. I didn't really like the hot tea i bought. It was pomelo honey which was too sweet and hot for me.

The wholesales market was really cheap and not much bargain was needed. I bought a Gucci belt for 60 yuan, Agnes B cardholder for 15 yuan and a Mango clutch for i think 65 yuan. We also bought Esprit shorts for 20 yuan and dresses ranged from 20 yuan to 105 yuan. I bought a jacket at 210 yuan too. Nice necklaces at 10 yuan and lovely london looking earrings for 35 yuan. Top only cost 45 yuan. We also bought recycle bags for 10 to 15 yuan.

After this exciting shopping trip, we went to eat lunch at a Thai Restaurant in San Li Tun. Coz it was very late, that was the only restaurant that was opened. There was a lot of photos of HK artistes. Maybe it was quite well-known. But Clarie was not impressed by the food. She commented that it was the worst Thai food she has eaten in Beijing.

After lunch, we went to 798 art area, it was very interesting with free exhibits and interesting art shops. I bought my favourite artistes' products there. So happy to see these products. But my Feng Zheng Jie only left with magnet which cost 12 yuan, and the laughing man bookmark cost 10 yuan. So lovely. The girls bought a lot of Gong Chan Tang pigs too. Only 15 yuan.

There was also this postcard shop that sold postcards and helped you to send them. They would help you send the postcard for a flat rate at 5 or 8 yuan within a year with the date you wanted. If more than a year, they only charged 5 to 10 yuan more per year. So interesting. Can send love notes. The art exhibits also very interesting and pretty. Moreover, it was free for visitors. But the area was too huge for us to cover before all shops were closed.

After that, we went to meet Xiao Juan's mum at Shi Mao Tian Jie. She cooked vegetarian steamed dumplings for us. It was nice.

We realised the Mango and Zara were around the same price as Singapore's so we didn't buy much stuff. But we went out to watch the huge LED TV at the ceiling of The Place before 9pm. It was interesting. I like!

For dinner, we went to a cheap 20 yuan japanese restaurant opposite Silk Market 2. It was recommended by Clarie's colleague. The ramen was so so but i like their eggs. While waiting for dinner, Clarie brought us to buy sweet potato chips at Di Gwa Fang. It was only 5 yuan per packet. But my mum didn't like it coz it was too hard for her to bite.

Clarie also mentioned that she bought walnuts at Gong Ren Ti Yu Guan market at very cheap price. But we didn't have time for marketing. So sad.

Day 9

We ate dumplings cooked by Xiao Juan's mum for breakfast. She even came to cook tomato mushroom soup for us but we were rushing out to supermarket at Xing Guang Tian Di so didn't have the chance to let her cook. Angie was relieved though coz she hated mushrooms.

I bought my Quan Ju De duck in supermarket for 73.90 yuan only and the sauce was 5.20 yuan. In Beijing, plastic bags had to be paid which cost 30cents per bag. Recycle bag was a must to bring when you went grocery shopping. The Market Place was expensive compared to Walmart. I asked Xiao Juan to drive me to buy roasted chestnuts at Li Zi Ye for 10 yuan per jin which was 500g.

Xiao Juan was really worried for our countless luggage. Our luggage without hand carry already 30kg per pax. So heavy. Luckily they didn't check whether my hand carry was 7kg or not.

Felt very sad to leave Xiao Juan. I was not good with farewell sessions.

We were super early at the airport and got a lot of time to shop. Bought my clinque moisturiser again coz only cost S$70 and Singapore sold at S$80 per bottle.

Racheal opened the blueberry pocky on plane. Tasted like bubblegum and i didn't like it.

Oh ya, i like the air steward. He asked me whether my boots was from Adidas and commented that it was very nice. So friendly.

One sad stuff on the plane though. I dropped my lip balm so got to buy it again. Sian.

Btw, SQ very updated. I watched My Sister's Keeper on the flight before it was screened in Singapore. So happy. Watched a lot of nice shows on the plane.

Conclusion

I like Beijing and will come back again if got chance. I like the massage, Da Dong, shopping at the zoo and Qian Men Da Jie. I could explore more at Nan Luo Gu Xiang and 798 etc. Then i could visit my Yuan Ming Yuan, Universities and maybe can take boat at Summer Palace.

Haven't went clubbing too. Saw the Mix (in Gong Ti) opposite the Massage place but Clarie said she got headache after drinking there. Xiao Juan said 80% of the pubs there sells fake alcohol. So scary. Xiao Juan recommended us to go Xiu at Grand Hyatt Hotel. She said the age range more suitable for us. Not too young. Oh ya, Xiao Juan also said next time can go during Single Day on 11 Nov coz all the singles will go out together and pubs will have promo. Heehee. Beijing celebrates weird festival.

Then maybe i can visit the wet market too.

Go other less crowded parts of Great Wall.

Oh ya, next time take SQ must buy 215ml SKII facial essence for $152. Very cheap.

House of Steamboat

Coz Royston was going into the Army, he suggested to go for steamboat on 8 Sept 2009. We met at Bugis Junction and went over to House of Steamboat for dinner. It was a shop located opposite of Bugis Junction.

The steamboat buffet cost $17.90 per person with free drinks. They served 6 different types of soup based with no MSG. The dancers recommended the Pork Belly soup and Tom Yam soup. The pork belly one was quite nice but i didn't try the tom yam one coz i don't like spicy and sour stuff.

After we sat down, man tuo were immediately served to us. It was crispy and yummy. But when we ordered again, they gave us spicy one which was not as nice. They also served us the fried chicken wings which was so-so and a bit dry. Luckily i like all kinds of chicken wings.

The vegetables was at the general table for us to self-service. As for the meat, we had to order. The sliced meat was nice and thin. I think we almost eaten 10 plates of chicken. Also, I realised youngsters nowadays don't really like to eat pork. The fish was not as fresh though.

Cannot remember whether it was Andy or Royston who kept recommending the meatballs to me. But I really think the meatballs really very yummy. I like!

Conclusion, it was the best steamboat that i have eaten at that area. I tried a few there and almost wanted to give up trying coz all tasted a bit weird to me. Luckily the dancers brought me to this restaurant.

Goodwood Park - Durian Products

Coz TPSA organised a durian festival in TP, so all TP staff has this 20% discount for all the Goodwood Park Hotel's durian products. 

This made me bought the durian puff and hazelnuts durian tarts for my parents though i dun eat durian at all. 

Tried the famous puff and it was nice.  Tasted like real durian and the puff was full of durian.  

But I like the tarts especially since i am not a durian person, the crunchiness of the hazelnuts and tarts made the durian tasted even better.  A must try if you are not a durian fan and even a super must try if you are one.  :)

Orchard Central - Japanese Restaurants

Went Orchard Central a few weeks ago.  I realised there was nothing much there. Except for the highest indoor rockwall in the world that cost $30 for each person who intends to try.  

There were also a lot of resting areas in the complex.  Not sure what was the reason but pretty sofas were everywhere.  It was separated into 2 major blocks with a 12-storey height.

Ootoya

That day, I tried the japanese restaurant - Ootoya.  A lot of people were queuing outside so i took the queue number and waited for around 10 mins.  There were counter seats and table seats for you to choose.  The counter seats were those japanese type of seats where the table and your legs were actually in a hole.  U will know what i meant if you've been to a semi-traditional japanese restaurant before.  Anyway, Ivan preferred a normal table seat so we didn't choose that one.

I ordered the special set which included fried chicken, katsu, egg, meaty potato, cabbage, rice, miso soup and preserved vege.  It was the set recommended by the magazine.  The fried chicken was quite nice.  The rice and green tea were free flow but i really dunno why green tea always have a kind of fishy taste.  I rather pay money for other drinks.

I also ordered the tofu chicken soup which didn't taste as nice as what the magazine stated.   

Ivan tried the grilled fish set which he thinks was super bland but i think it was nice.  Japanese fish always taste like this.  I like!

OCBC card has discount in Ootoya so in the end, the whole meal cost us around $50 only.

Tonkichi

Last friday, to celebrate Angie's birthday, she suggested eating Japanese restaurant at Orchard Central.  As i tried Ootoya, i asked them to try the Tonkichi instead.  

We ordered most of their popular dishes marked in the menu.  All of us ordered the chawanmuchi which tasted very ordinary.  There were prawns, meat, mushroom inside.  We also ordered sashimi (i dunno how is the taste coz i dun eat raw stuff) and simmered pork (quite nice but the girls think that it was too fatty).

 

Besides those dishes, we also ordered our favourite fried squids (crispy and nice).  Angie ordered the cold ramen (seafood ingredients and it tasted ok) and i ordered the hot pork based ramen (i like the soup though Racheal thinks that there was too much MSG inside but both of us think that the ramen tasted quite nice).

As the restaurant is famous for katsu, we ordered the chicken and pork set.  I think the pork one tasted better but it still cannot match with the one that i ate in Ginza.  And i wonder why they want the costomers to grind the sesame seeds on our own.  Is it because it will be more fragrant?  Anyway sauce was added in after grinding and it has a strong sesame seed taste.

The whole meal cost us around $120.  So expensive.  Racheal warned us not to order so much carbo food in future.  I think that is so difficult coz i like carbo food.  Heehee..

Kluang & Batu Bahat

Coz Yuean Huei suggested going Kluang & Batu Bahat to makan. We took leave and went on 2 separate days.


Kluang

Kluang is a small town where all the destinations that we want to go can be walked there.

When we reached there, we went straight to the railway station to take the famous coffee. Actually I don't take coffee so the rest tried it instead :p

I tried the kaya toast there which i think was a bit sweet for me but Sheena loved it. The kaya was cheap too but it was not ready so we couldn't buy it that time.

After that, we tried the wanton mee, Old Town coffee, zhi cha, nonya snacks, etc. Nothing really super fantastic but they tasted good.

We also bought the famous TV brand coffee powder that Mark Lee promoted in a TV show. But my parents didn't really like it. They think that it was too sweet.

Batu Bahat

We took SS bus from Larkin Terminal in JB. The bus fare cost us RM10.70 but when we bought the return trip from Batu Bahat, it only cost us RM8.20. I think the JB station cheated us.

Coz the bus was at 9.30am, we had around 45mins to spare in Larkin. We had our breakfast there though not many shops were open due to pausa period. The rotia prata that i ate was so-so only. But i think the lontong that Darren ate was quite nice.

When we reached Batu Bahat, we tried the famous wanton mee at Chop See Kee. The small portion is RM3.20 and the big one is RM3.50. Very cheap and the wanton was delicious. But i think the the colour of cha siew was not nice, very pinkish and not burnt at all.

After that, recommended by the kind auntie at Chop See Kee, we went to try the famous traditional Kway Chap. Yummy and only cost us RM16 for 4-person share. The texture of the kway tasted thicker than Singapore one. But dunno why, i like the kway more than the small dishes that we ordered.

As the kway chap stall is next to the chicken rice stall (Swee Bee Hainanese Chicken Rice) which one of the Batu Bahat bloggers recommended online. So i went to try that too. Unlike Singapore chicken rice, it has a lot of beansprouts. Tasted almost similar to ours and the soup was nice too.

Oh ya, the kind auntie from Chop See Kee also recommended us a famous local shop that sells local products. I bought the Ipoh white coffee powder that my dad wanted from there. Hei Wang brand and only cost RM12.50. Dunno whether Singapore sells or not.

After that, we had our super cheap haircut and hair wash at RM5 each. The salon is very near the bus terminal. They took an hour just to wash and blow my hair. So worth it.

Actually for this trip, I also wanted to try the famous duck noodle near the terminal but most of the eateries there doesn't open after meal hours. Strange right? So i didn't manage to try it. But we accidentally passed by a soup shop that was recommended by Ah Xian (Ah Xian Ren Qing Wei show). The boss told us that his shop was the only shop in Batu Bahat that was being recommended. But i dunno whether it is true coz i never watch that show before. I tried the black chicken herbal soup with yam rice that cost RM6. Cheap too. But i think the soup can be a bit hotter.

Lastly, before we went back, we had the claypot chicken rice outside Xin Xin. The claypot was cooked pot by pot. Very traditional way and only cost RM3.80 per pot!

Hokkaido

Trying to complete all my backdated travel blog again...

Hokkaido trip was a birthday present for my mum at the end of 2007, during end of Autumn.

Day 1

We took ANA there and reached very early in the morning. Btw, I love ANA coz they served Haagen Dazs ice cream on plane. Heehee..

Japan was a strange country that only allow 3G phone so i bought my 1st 3G phone before that trip.

When we reached, we went to Odori Park but I dunno why it was so famous. Nothing much to see there. Though it was Autumn, it was very cold and i was shivering there. Felt like buying all the winter wear that i saw.

After that, we went to Salmon Aquarium to see how Salmon produced babies and how they swam back to the same place again. This place was not very interesting too.

Next, we visited Hokkaido Jingu, one of the largest shrines. Before we went into the temple, there was a place for us to wash our hands and face. Japanese would send their new car here to

pray for safety and children have to wear kimono etc to pray when

they reached a certain age (age is diff for boys & girls). My favourite corner of this shrine was the resting hut where they served free cakes and green tea. The japanese rice cake was yummy!

After religious temple tour, we visited Otaru Canal where i think looked like Singapore River. Warehouses at one side and the other side of the canal was people setting up small stalls selling souvenirs and draw

ings of the site. Rickshaw services were provided here too.

Oh ya, i dun like the japanese food served during this tour. Everytime got sashimi. I hate raw food. Anyway, I tried steamboat and teppanyaki that day. Nothing fantastic. Maybe coz i dun like seafood and beef too.

After that, we went to my favourite street in Hokkaido. This street had a lot of stores selling all kinds of chocolate and cookies. Packaging were pretty and chocolates were yummy. Everyone on the street carried a paper bag from various different stores. But the famous butter cream biscuits from liu hua ting was not nice at all. I dun like.

Here, we also visited the Otaru Music Box Museum where they displayed all kinds of pretty music boxes and you could even customised ur own one. But the price was not cheap. One lovely part of the tour was that when we drank coffee at the music box cafe opposite the museum, we were given a cup that contained our drink. There were several designs for us to choose and all were so cute!

That night, we went to view the night scene of Hokkaido at Mt Moiwa but the camera couldn't take such a nice view. I should have tried the video mode that time.

After that, we stayed at APA Hotel and Resort. All the hotels in Japan were quite good. Toilets were impressive and my mum really like the features of those toilet bowls. Can wash, heat etc. Heehee..

Day 2

The next day, we visited Farm Tomita. This was a famous farm in Hokkaido. A lot of tourists would go there to see lavender etc. We tried the lavender ice cream there though the weather was super cold.

After that, we went to take photo at Shooting Star Falls and Silver River Falls. Not very impressive waterfall and the weather was cold until i kept shivering.

That day, we stayed at a hot spring hotel. It was a tatami room and i really dun like it. I had to sit there, drink the free tea and wait till after dinner then they would make my bed for me. So troublesome and usually tatami room was much smaller in size even though u pay the same amount of money. But i tried the body scrub there. Very nice. I felt so clean after that. Pain but worth it. Heehee..

Day 3

The next day, we went to Mt Daisetsu-zan. The place where they shoot Winter Sonata. It was snowing the day before we went, so snow was seen everywhere. But the snow was not thick enough thus the skiing area was not opened yet.

After that, we went to see how sake was being made at Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum. The sake was made by the spring water there and i refilled my bottle with the water. The staff there was super polite. When we left, they still refused to go inside. Kept waving, smiling and bowing to us.

We visited the Sapporo Beer Factory too. I heard Sapporo Beer can only be found in Hokkaido.

Anyway the most interesting part of this beer trip was that they served beer and juices at the end of the tour and i bought my favourite french fries crackers there. I heard only that store sell this and each person only allowed to buy 1 box. Very yummy! Intro by another Singaporean.

Also, that day, i finally tried a nice udon. It was free flow somemore.

While on the bus, i played with Donny's phone. Donny was my tour guide there. He was the best tour guide i had. Very interesting and nice guy. He was a Singaporean and moved over to stay in Japan. He told me his room was those super small kind but very expensive. Oh ya,

i like his phone, sleek looking and could watch TV too.

When we reached the hot spring hotel that night, we went out to a hot spring at a nearby park to soak our feet. But ices suddenly dropped from the sky and we had to run back to the hotel. So scary. If we didn't have the umbrella, the ices would hit our head. But i am glad that we went out, the path to the nearby park looked so much like the scenery that you would see on a postcard.

That night was tatami room again and we had frozen crabs as

dinner. I didn't like it at all. Ice was everywhere on the crabs. Dun think cold food was suitable for me. I had to eat so much rice during this trip to prevent myself from getting hungry. Dunno why i so old already but still always in constant hungry mode. Need to eat every hour. No wonder my colleague commented that i am baby. Coz only baby needs to makan so frequently. Moreover, the weather was so cold that made me wanted to eat even more.

Day 4

On the next day, we went to Ainu village to watch their performance. This tribe claimed that they were not japanese and japanese cheated them by exchanging cheap bowls for the bear hunted by the tribe. They were led to think that the bowls were some expensive stuff compared to their bear skins. So poor thing.

Anyway, that day when i was there, i saw many japanese children were having excursion there and they were so cute. Very cooperative when i asked them to pose for my camera.

In that village, there was this lovely peaceful looking lake. Though the weather was cold, i still cannot stop taking photos of this beautiful lake.

After visiting the village, we had our lunch at a restaurant near the expressway and sea. The salmon steamboat was salty but the sea beside it was beautiful.

Though it was raining soon, we still went to the apple farm and plucked apples to eat. I dunno why the apples were not sweet at all. I thought Japan apples supposed to be good right? But i saw an interesting gadget there. A knife that allowed you to cut the apples into slices (without seeds) with just one cut. But i heard from Cynthia that Ikea got sell this too. Never seen before though.

Day 5

On the next day, we went Jigokudani. Sulphur smell was strong. It was also called the Hell Valley. Smoke was everywhere. There was a saying that if you wash your eyes with the water here, your eyes' sickness will be cured. But i dunno how true was that. The water was so hot.

After that, Donny brought us to seafood market so that we can buy scallops. But i hated it. Luckily i could still took photos with those enormous crabs and interesting fishes.

Donny also brought us to buy chocolates at Li Xiao Lu (Tanoki Koji Shopping Arcade). They were very nice and helped us packed our chocolates into boxes. Got 5% discount too. I bought the honey-melon kit kat there. I heard it can be found only in Hokkaido. I found a store that sold yummy ramen and the pork just melt in your mouth. The friendly waiter even taught me what to put inside my ramen. Must be i was the only young girl there so he only taught me. Heehee.

That day, we reached Sapporo City. Donny brought us to Susukino Ramen Alley to try the top 10 ramen in Hokkaido. But i didn't find it as nice as the one that i ate for lunch. These just tasted like Chinese Ramen.

That day was free & easy so i went to buy my fancl and also shopped around at the 100 yen shops and all those interesting pharmacies. The 100 yen shop in Hokkaido was so much more interesting than the Tokyo ones. Went to the one in Robinson.

My travel partner very cute. She was very persistence in wanting to watch roadside performance. We were lucky that there was a guy singing at the roadside. So carefree and interesting.

We also tried Mac seafood burger for supper. So delicious! Think that was a new flavour.

Oh ya, that day was Halloween Day and many japanese dressed in weird costumes. They were friendly but i didn't dare to ask whether they could take photos with me :(

Day 6

Before we went to the airport, Donny couldn't stand our pestering, he brought us to the factory outlet near the airport. It was huge and i bought a lot of stuff there. I couldn't finish my shopping even though i was late and made the whole bus waited for me.

When we were at the airport, i bought the famous cheesecake that people introduced. There was chocolate and normal flavour. Not very impressive for the chocolate one.

Conclusion

The trip was very interesting, except that i didn't manage to visit the White Chocolate Factory coz it was closed for a month due to selling some overdue chocolates. Sad. I heard it was a very interesting factory.

Oh ya, when i was at Hokkaido. The exchange rate was around 80 yen per dollar. When i went to Tokyo this year, it became 60 yen per dollar. Yen keeps inflating. Sad.

Oops.. Forgot to mention they had vending machines that sold french fries and fried chicken.. So interesting!

Tokyo 2009

Decided to blog about my trips so that can benefit those people who intend to go these countries in future. To start off, i shall do Tokyo which i went on 4th May this year.


Day 1

Took a late night SQ flight there which cost me $620. It was after my work and i had events that day till 9 plus. I haven't even packed my luggage that day. It was so rush that i forgot to bring backpack for the Mt Fuji Trip. Sian..


Day 2

Reached Tokyo early in the morning and checked into Shinjuku Sunlite. The hotel staff was very kind and offered to let us check in at 1pm. Thus we surfed net for a while and went out for a meal before we went back to check in. We tried the ramen recommended by Hwee Hoon's guidebook. You can order the noodle from this machine. Choose the soup base, noodle and ingredients. Put money into this vending machine and they will serve you when ready. The ramen was so called to be one of the more famous one but i think it was not the best that i have eaten. Normal only.

Anyway, the shinjuku sunlite room cost us 11550 yen per night. After checking in, we went to Shinjuku area to shop at Franc Franc (i love the household products here), Tokyo Hand (you can find almost everything here), Muji (a bit cheaper than Singapore), Uniqlo, Kinokuniya (very rundown store in tokyo) etc. We also went to Takashimaya 9th Floor Disney Store to purchase Disney tickets. If you purchase ticket here, you dun need to queue with everyone at Disneyland, which was a better option for us. After these shopping trips, we went to purchase our advance ticket to Mt Fuji Kawakuchi Station. This was really very ulu. See the photo (2nd level, building opposite camera shops).

For dinner, we went to this fast food restaurant - first kitchen. The sauce was free flow. There were mayo, BBQ sauce, Ming Tai sauce, cheese sauce etc. So interesting. The burger and spaggetti were not bad too.

Day 3

Tried MacDonald breakfast today. The sausage macmuffin set cost me 380 yen. After that, went to take the long bus ride to kawakuchi station. K House was very nice coz their staff came to pick us 10mins after we called them. K House was clean, lovely and they offered free internet access. A lot of backpackers stayed there and we even saw a singaporean family with elderly and kids.

It was raining that day and the weather was freezing cold. Around 8 degrees when we were walking at the area. Wanted to climb the mountain but it was too dark to see mt fuji so we went kawakuchi lake instead. My shoes were super wet and my feet were soaked in water since yesterday. But i left my luggage in tokyo so couldn't change my shoes.

For lunch, we went to a traditional jap restaurant which was indicated inside the K House area map. I think the map was not drawn to scale so we walked very very far before reaching the restaurant. We almost wanted to leave immediately when we reached coz the restaurant looked too posh for our budget. But we realised really got a lot of japanese drove all the way there to eat so we have convinced ourself to pamper us a bit. My boar hotto noodle cost 2000 yen and Hon Choo's tempura set is cheaper but i cant rem the price.

Oh ya.. Coz it was raining so heavily, we decided to buy dinner from nearby supermarket. On ur way back, Hon Choo almost knocked down by a car. I think the street was too dark so the driver didn't realised it was red light. So scary.. It brushed over her hand lor. So shocked...


Day 4

Wanted to wake up early to climb the mountain but it was still raining so we gave up on the Mt Fuji view and went back to sleep. After that, we took the free transport from K House to kawakuchi station. I bought a postcard (105 yen) at the station gift shop and sent to my Singapore address. The stamp there was pretty with 4 seasons designs which cost 80 yen each.

From the station, we took a bus to Gotemba station. The bus fare was the same as the express bus rate that we took to kawaguchi but this round, the bus just stopped at almost every bus stops. Dun understand why the bus fare was still around the same price. When we reached Gotemba station, we boarded the free shuttle bus (will have direction signage at train station) that brought us to Gotemba Premium Outlet. The bus timing was quite regular. Almost every 20 mins will have one. I bought my adidas boots for 3360 yen to replace my super wet shoes. Such a good buy!

Also, the Swatch shop service was really good there. They asked Hon Choo whether she wanted to redeem her GST but my Coach shop didn't even ask me when my spending was triple of Hon Choo's amount. So "loogee".. Oh ya, we bought a cute teaspoon at Franc Franc for Sheena. So pretty and only cost 240 yen. We were so excited when it came to shopping so we shopped till we forgot about lunch so lunch was around 4pm. I ate curry cutlet rice for 890 yen. Tasted normal. Almost like the curry sauce we ate in Macdonald.

Went Disney Store (super cheap stuff there) while waiting for the bus back to Shinjuku. The info desk was very helpful when we asked about the bus info. The bus ride cost us 1600 yen. Btw, the jap there really shopaholics. When we boarded the bus, everyone was carrying huge paper bags.

Coz we travelled almost for the whole day, we were so tired that we settled our super late dinner at the family mart near our hotel. The omelette noodle was salty and it cost me 480 yen. Bought my favourite bowl noodle for 284 yen. super nice! The noodle texture tasted like the ramen which i ate in restaurant.


Day 5

Today we took keiyo line to go DisneySea. Couldn't afford more days to go both DisneyLand and DisneySea so chosen DisneySea coz it is the only one in the world.

The staff there were super "professional". Kept waving and smiling when nobody was really looking at them. Imagine a monorail driver kept smiling and waving to all the people who walked pass the monorail. Then they also just kept repeating info to a small group of people with their smiling face even though people queuing behind could hear everything they said and the need for repeat info was actually zero. Moreover, when we dropped a tiny paper on the floor, the cleaner immediately swept it. When the baby in front of me dropped crackers, the cleaner also came to sweep immediately. Think they standby everywhere. Scary. Coz it was raining, the staff just kept wiping our seats. Since it was still raining, i really don't see the point why they should kept wiping.

But the food there were really expensive and awful. A lot of people were queuing up for gyoza hotdog bun that cost 420 yen but i really dun fancy this. Luckily we managed to find a cheap hotdog stall that sell 380 yen hotdog. Super nice! Oh ya, that day i lost one side of the minnie clip which i bought there. So sad. That one got minnie wordings behind. But not only me lost stuff. I found a black jap handphone when i took one of the rides there. Hopefully the person would check with the info counter there.

Also, we saw rainbow that day. Very pretty. The fireworks show at 7.30pm was amazing too though it could not fight with the fireworks at our National Day.

That night i tried a different brand of bowl noodle at family mart. Still very nice and only cost me 218 yen but the noodle texture tasted like maggi type. The fried meat in family mart didn't tasted as nice though but it was cheap, only 160 yen.


Day 6

Bought Hakone ticket from Odayu Sightseeing centre which is located inside the train station. The girl there sounded like international student coz her english accent was strong. Anyway they asked us to do a survey for her so we got a free romance car postcard with frame. The Hakone Free Pass cost us 5000 yen but we could take all kinds of transport there for free (except for romance car which we topped up money for it).

For breakfast, we found a jap small restaurant near Yoshinoya and "Pin Min Lane", where we bought the tickets. The udon was nice and cheap. The friendly auntie kept teaching Hon Choo how to eat Soba correctly.

After we alighted from romance car, we crossed the road to take a bus toHakone Ropeway. Oh ya. There were some souvenir shops near the romance car station. Bought a Stitch handphone chain for 420 yen and a wooden jap doll handphone chain for 367 yen.

We took Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani and saw Mt Fuji almost everywhere.
On the ropeway, carpark, mountain side, hilltop. We were lucky.. A lot of people did not get to see Mt Fuji but we saw a clear view of it. We also tried the black egg which was said to be longevity egg. It cost us 500 yen for 5 eggs. Hon Choo tried to sell the remaining 4 to other tourists but was not successful. Looks like everyone keen to eat a lot of eggs. Heehee.. In the end, we had to eat 2 eggs each for dinner that day. For lunch, I had the black noodle at Ji Le Cha Wu which cost me 800 yen. Tasted a bit strange but the soup base was nice.

We also took the pirate boat ride and saw Mt Fuji here again. After that, we went to try the onsens. So interesting.. Sake, Green Tea, Tea, Coffee, Red Wine, all kinds of special onsens..



Day 7

We went Harajuku and Shibuya this day. It was very easy to walk from Harajuku to Shibuya. Just walk straight from UT Store and u will reach eventually.

We deliberately went Harajuku on Sunday so that we could see the cosplay japanese. The shopping street at Harajuku sell cheap and interesting stuff. Bought a hat there for 1260 yen. After that, we went Meiji Shrine where i saw a Japanese wedding ceremony.

That day, we ate crepe for breakfast. It was everywhere and my Chocolate cream cheese crepe was ok except that the cream cheese was really a lot and too cheesy for me. Ate a tempura set at Shibuya but the service was super lousy so i decided not to feature that photo.

The yoyogi park fleamarket was having Jamaico Festival that day. Everyone dressed according to theme even though the location was carpark and roadside. Girls wearing short skirts just sat on the floor to eat and chat with their friends. We tried 8 takopochi for 500 yen. So expensive and it was not as nice as Singapore ones.

When we were at the park, a lot of people were having picnic. They just sat around on the grass and play games such as badminton, skipping rope etc..

This night coz Hon Choo not feeling well, we ate our dinner near our hotel. The famous chicken wings cost us 400 yen for 5 midwings. The fried noodle cost 520 yen but tasted like normal fried mee. Another discovery that night, we realised there is a First Kitchen branch at the basement of a shopping centre somewhere along the route to our hotel from Shinjuku station.


Day 8

Discovered a shortcut to MRT from our hotel.. Then we met a friendly auntie there who was trying very hard to explain to me what i saw wasn't a police post coz i made a comment to Hon Choo saying that the office near the station might be a police post.

Today the itinerary was to go Ginza to buy incense for Eng Khim. The building was 3 buildings after Xinyue. When reached a police post, we had to walked along the front side of the police post to the end of the building. The shop only open from 11.30am to 5.30pm so we had to wait quite a while for it to open. So difficult to find lor. High class incense..

I went to the 10-storey high Fancl after that, to buy my cleansers. 2 bottles cost me 3360 yen. Oh ya.. Decided to pamper ouselves so I ate a yummy high class cheese katsu for 1950 yen. The restaurant was a very ulu one. I had difficulties finding it. Located at 3rd level of a small building. The plain katsu might taste even better. But i tried the cheese one instead.  It was made of many layers of quality pork.  Super yummy.  Best that i ever tasted.  The set came with a whole tub of rice and a huge plate of raw cabbage. Wonder how the japanese can finish it..
Went Asakusa after this. The fried Tong Luo Shao there was delicious.. Hot, crispy & sweet.. Tried the green tea flavour one. After that, we went to pray at the temple. I managed to draw a better lot. Dunno why Jap call shang shang qian as better lot. Heehee.. A jap uncle kept laughing at our blurness coz we were trying to follow the steps indicated in the guidebook. He told us he got a bad lot. So sad for him so i advised him to tie his lot outside to chase away the bad luck.

Wanted to buy magnets for Serene after my temple trip. 3 for 650 yen at the shopping street but i forgot all about it and went to one of the side lane to buy handkerchief which only cost me 399 yen for 3 pieces.

After that, we went to Ueno. The supermarket sells cheap tibits. 8 maple leaf shape tong luo shao cost only 240 yen. The round one only cost 320 yen for 10. But my parents didn't like the round one coz the filling very small. Hon Choo said the 2litres mineral water only cost 100 yen and we bought it at family mart for 178 yen.. Thus she bought one for her daily consumption. The big nutty meiji "pocky" look alike also only cost me 250 yen. The limited edition banana pocky was the cheapest. Only 105 yen. Kiwi pocky (tasted like chewing gum flavour) was 133 yen. Cheesecake chocolate was 145 yen. Apricot flavour high class pocky was 148 yen. Singapore only sell those chocolate and strawberry ones so this supermarket trip was quite exciting for me. Oh ya, I bought a skirt with belt at 1900 yen in Ueno too.

Btw, i realised Japanese were all very friendly. On our way to meet Zhanpeng, we met an uncle at the MRT lift and he kept asking us whether Japan was nice and how many days we were staying.

That night, Zhenpeng off work at 6pm so he met us at Isetan around 6.45pm. We were 15mins late but i realised Isetan basement was very happening. A lot of pretty food there. Wanted to try Pierre Herme Paris but no time. Anyway, we went for a curry rice at a fast food restaurant. Tasted normal so might not eat it again.

After that, Zhanpeng brought us to see Shinjuku view but both towers were closed. No chance to enjoy the free view so he brought us to Tokyo Tower instead. To save money, we didn’t go up to the tower. After that, Zhanpeng suggested that we walked to Roponggi. Zhanpeng showed me to Hard Rock Café along the way there. Coz I insisted to view the 18 sculptures located at Roppongi, Zhanpeng brought us to a few that he knew. We saw the huge spider, rose, bird cage, music notes etc.. It had a super pretty view of Tokyo Tower from the rose and bird cage location. Oh ya.. Today we had to top up our suica card. Only allow 1000 yen min top up but we can take back 500 deposit if we cannot finish using it.


Day 9

Today we found another nice chinese restaurant and they sell ramen too. It was near the place where we had our cheap udon. Near MRT exit.. My tasty ramen only cost 510 yen. When i took the shop pic, i realised that the cinema above the shop screened those RA shows.

After that, we went Odaiba which was at Tokyo Teleport Station. We lost our way coz the train signage indicated the line that we wanted to take but it just kept going to Ikeburoko and not the station that we wanted to go. After an hour of back and fro in the train, we gave up trying and Hon Choo approached a jap girl who didn't understand English. Luckily, a guy walked up to help us. He was super friendly and went all the way up to the office to help us ask for direction. Then he asked us whether we were Singaporeans coz he stayed in United States for a few years so we guessed he probably had Singaporean friends. Anyway, we found out that the train got to be taken from Platform 2. When we reached Odaiba, we went to Fuji TV. So interesting.. They let us see the filming sites. And also, there was a media conference for a Richard Gere movie that day so I managed to get a free movie poster.

After that, we went to see the statue of liberty and rainbow bridge. Rainbow bridge might be prettier at night coz it will have different lightings. But the shopping centre there was boring.

Ok, our trip almost came to an end. Taking Narita Express back was difficult. We got to buy tickets at ticket office early but we refunded our Suica there too. So at least kill 2 birds with 1 stone. We were late (coz spent some time at family mart buying rice rolls for Hwee Hoon which cost me 215 yen for 2. The expiry date was 2pm on the next date so i had to rush to work on the next day) and in the end we got to take cab to the station coz from our hotel, it was really far to walk. Especially with our heavy luggages.. The cab considered quite cheap. The meter didnt jump at all. All the way only 710 yen flagging fee. When we reached the station, it was still super long walk to platform 5 & 6. We thought we would miss the train. But we reached just on the dot at 4.10pm! The train left immediately after we stepped in. So lucky!

When we reached the airport, we went to shop at departure hall airport mall & found this kimono that Zhanpeng told me. Selling at Uniqlo and only cost 2990 yen. But i didn't have time to try so i shall buy it when i go Japan next time. I think i must buy when i touch down so that i can wear in Japan. heehee..

Oh ya.. I bought foodstuff there. Should have buy everything after i checked in coz the stuff was cheaper inside than the mall outside. The famous banana cake sold at 1000 yen outside and only 953 yen inside. But i bought my cute bookmarks at 300 yen at the other end of the departure gates coz our boarding time was delayed for an hour so we went to shop around. I couldn’t remember how much I paid at Asakusa though. During the waiting time, I also bought the red bean and green tea kit kat for 130 yen. Hon Choo said the green tea one was too sweet but I like the red bean one. Really tasted like red bean. Very happy to see Bai Sei Lian Ren too. 18 pieces selling at 1058 yen. But they didn't sell the black chocolate one. Sad.. Bought expensive Mauchi and Ramen to give away but i think i should buy more happening stuff next time. Oh ya, i bought 18 Royce bars for my students at 1100 yen too.


Day 10

SQ air stewardess were quite helpful. They offered to help me carry my bags when they saw me carrying it with difficulties. When I told one air steward that I was hungry, he gave me chips, tong luo shao, banana and mushroom bun. So sweet of him. But the air stewardess who served food at our aisle was not as friendly. Hon Choo said she looked piss off when I requested newspaper from her and her tone of helping me with my luggage was in a sarcastic manner.

Btw, our seats were good. Not many people so I can made use of the empty seats in front of me to go toilet without disturbing Hon Choo’s sleep.

When i reached Singapore airport, I bought JC sparkling rose wine for mum at $9 each (max 5). Mum likes it. Then I bought the limited edition of black label for $40.40. But I think I super long didn’t buy tiger beer. Now cost me $5.90 for 3 when I thought was $5..


Conclusion, i hope to go Tokyo again coz i haven't go to other traditional onsens, TV stations, climb Mt Fuji, watch fireworks, wear kimono to temple etc.. Heehee..