A taste of Japan at Koma

Manage to get a reservation at Koma restaurant at MBS on 21 Feb @5.30pm which I booked 2 months in advance. 

The entrance intro the restaurant was this impressive set of red torii gates, which reminds me of the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto which I went a few years ago....so nostalgic memories....and sad since I don’t know when I can go Japan ever again...

The interior of the restaurant was just as impressive with the high ceiling, hanging lanterns, the district red Japanese styled curved bridge and the giant bell.

Dress code was smart casual. Service was polite and friendly. Ambience was excellent.

We got the round sofa booth all to ourselves. Safe distancing was not a problem as seats were well spaced apart.

One of the most Instagramable spot in the restaurant.

Posing on the bridge and imagining myself in Japan...haha....

For starters, we ordered the oysters on the half shell $24 consisting of 6 pieces of oysters and crispy chicken $12 with flat rice, truffle salt and tomato ponzu dipping sauce.

The oysters were just so so and not as fresh as we expected. However, we quite like the fried chicken as it was tender and flavorful.

For the mains, we ordered the scallion fried rice $32 consisting of shrimps, chicken and scallops. The server would pour the gravy sauce over the rice on the hot plate. It was delicious as you can taste the wok hei taste in the rice. However, I find the portion to be bit too little for 2 person. 

Also ordered this spicy tofu hotpot $25 to go with the rice. It was not spicy at all....

For drinks, I ordered the tiger mint ice tea $15 on the left and Hubby chose Pinkku $15 on the right. Both were non-alcoholic drinks. 

To end it off, we ordered lemon yuzu $16 and the Japanese cheese cake $16. The Japanese cheesecake tasted just normal and can get bit jelak after a few bites. I preferred the lemon yuzu not just because it looked good but taste good as well. 

The outer casing of the lemon was made of chocolate with lemon mousse enclosing a core of lemon syrup in the center. Below the lemon was lemon sorbet and surrounded by dark chocolate crumbs which complement well with the sourness of the lemon. Must try!

Overall, it was a nice place to eat, more for finger food and drinks. There was free complimentary parking if you spent more than $150 during dinner time. 

Figurines collection and package from Japan

Splurge $400+ on three figurines bought from Goodsmiles company Japan, my biggest spend on toys so far. As the amount exceeded SGD $400, there is a GST tax added which amounts to $28 but Singpost added an extra $10 for handling fee (what the hell) and the total amounts to $38...

By the way, I collected the package from popstation and can use credit card to pay for the GST at the machine. Just scan the collection slip and then enter the sms pin. Then, it will prompt for GST payment. After payment is completed, the door to the package will opened.

From the left: Figma Hyakkimaru (8500 yen before tax), Nendoroid Zenitsu  Agatsuma (5364 yen before tax) and Kenshin Himura (14 630 yen before tax). Comes with bonus additional accessories for Hyakkimaru and a poster signed by manga artist of Kenshin.



Check out my unboxing video of Kenshin:



Also finally managed to unbox and assembled my Keroro figurine ($6), one of my favorite character from a long time ago. It was selling cheaply at Toymana, so decide to get it and add to my collection. 

Another item from Toymana was this Gengar Figurine ($15). Both Keroro and Gengar were made in Japan by Bandai Spirits. It was a steal getting them at such prices.

Goodbye 2020

What a year to remember! Not just for me but for everyone on this planet earth. I’m glad I survived 2020, and as the saying goes, what doesn’t kill u makes u stronger. Life is harsh for almost everyone in 2020. But no matter what shit life throws at u, u just have to take it and move on. It sucks but it does not kill. It’s like the world suddenly changed. I remember rushing to supermarket to stock up on food and toilet paper. There was a time during phase 1 where there were no Macdonald or bubble tea and the only place I can shop for things outside is the supermarket. I remember how I yearned to be able to sit down and eat in the hawker center when no outside dinning was allowed. I realize all the simple little things we took for granted, like being able to eat outside, enjoy a freshly cooked pipping hot meal, eating cakes and desserts...etc. It’s only when such simple little joys are taken away then we realize how important they are. Work had been tough since I don’t have the privilege of working from home. I remember having to work 12 hrs shift for 2 consecutive day with half hr lunch and concuss out the next day. But then, times flies really fast during those times since I’m not working 5 days a week. I keep telling myself that no matter how shitty work is, I’m considered lucky since I got a job and it’s recession and even COVID-19 proof.

What I really missed most is to be able to travel again....those days of being able to just buy an air ticket suddenly and jet off on a budget is now like a dream....I missed the freedom of going anywhere in this world anytime I want as easily as snapping my fingers. Those were the pre-covid days....which we can never go back 😞

First time playing ichiban kuji

Actually I heard about Ichiban kuji before but had never tried playing it till now. In Japan, kimetsu no yaiba’s merchandise are selling like hot cakes and they even had a restriction of maximum 5 tickets per person for this kuji thing. To celebrate the movie, there is this Ichiban kuji Mugen train collection and we decided to try our luck buying this. 

In total, we bought 12 tickets each costing $13 SGD, a total of $156 which I split with Hubby. Hubby bought the kuji tickets online and the draw was shown live on Facebook. It was so exciting....haha...the person will call out the name of the buyer and then he will draw the tickets and open them on the spot. 

We bought the tickets from this website 

qishan which Hubby frequently bought his games from.

This particular kuji was quite popular maybe because the chance of getting a good prize is better (less rubbish) I was hoping for Prize C but ended up getting prize A instead. Not bad not bad....at least still manage to get figurines. I also managed to get 3 prize I which are the super cute mini figurines. 

In addition, I also got 2 cups, 5 rubber straps and 1 prize H which consist of 2 mini notebooks which can be chosen...but sadly dun have Tomioka design liao...

It’s ok, at least I manage to have a Tomioka’s rubber strap. Think we have a lot of Rengoku’s luck since most of it are his stuff, like Prize A, 2 Rengoku’s rubber straps and 1 Rengoku’s cup.

Overall, it’s really fun and addictive. The next time I went Japan, I definitely wana buy kuji there! Much cheaper in Japan compared to Singapore. Sighz.....wonder when can I ever go again....😞

Winter Solstice & the Great Conjecture 21 Dec 2020

Today, 21 Dec 2020 is the winter solstice which marks the longest night and shortest day in the norther hemisphere. To me, winter solstice simply means 冬至 which means it’s time to eat dumplings, 汤圆! Coincidentally, today also marks the day where the Great Conjecture happens tonight where Jupiter and Saturn overlaps in the night sky.

Jupiter and Saturn typically aligned in the sky once every 20 years. What makes this year event so rare is that, it’s been 400 years since the planets passed this close (0.1 degree apart) and 800 years since this alignment occurred at night, meaning the last time humans saw Jupiter and Saturn being 0.1 degree apart was 800 years ago.

This event can be seen by everyone on Earth. 

The two planets will seem to appear as an elongated star or also known as the Xmas Star in the sky. 

Sadly, I don’t see anything from my window due to light pollution and clouds....🙁

Cafe de Nicole’s flower

Happened to chance upon this cafe while bringing my dog to the vet and what a gem in a hole it was!

It’s a pet friendly and v instagramable cafe.

Currently they are having this Xmas theme decorations.

Guess Poochi also likes this place too. He kept flashing his 5 stars smile the whole time.

Lucky we are able to get a corner seat so it’s easier with a dog. 

The food they served are all so instagramable! Well, they taste pretty good as well. The waffles are soft and chewy. We ordered the charcoal waffles with chocolate ice cream. I saved some blueberries and strawberries for Poochi....haha...

We also ordered the matcha soufflé pancake. It’s so jigglery and tastewise, it’s definitely comparable to places like Tamago-en or fluff stacks which I tried before. Price wise it’s also pretty reasonable at $16.90. 

To round it off, we ordered this pink lady drink which was lychee and rose. It’s made of lychee purée with some dried rose petals on top. Taste mainly lychee with a light rose aftertaste. Nice drink, not too sweet.

Overall, would definitely come again next time to try some other dishes.

Omakase Burger & Tarte by Cheryl Koh

Omakase Burger recently opened a new joint at level 4 of Orchard Central. U can order food from both Omakase Burger menu and Super Greek menu since they are both under the same company.

I ordered the off peak special, express cheeseburger set since it’s only available during the weekday and top up extra for garlic fries and a soft drink. 

Ta-da~! I was expecting garlic powder on my fries but instead they came with real fried pieces of garlic. I chose well done for my beef patty and it was juicy and tender. The beef patty was v flavorful, maybe slightly on the salty side but I quite like it.

Hubby ordered something from Super Greek, lamb gyro which is basically a lamb kebab but sliced pieces of lamb, it was a minced lamb patty.

The pita bread was chewy and crispy and the white sourish yogurt dressing just made it taste more appetizing and yummy.

There was someone going around offering $15 off your total bill by installing this app from NTUC income called snacks. It’s quite troublesome but heck, it’s $15 off so that’s quite worth the effort. In the end, we only pay $20+ for our meals.

I have heard from Tarte by Cheryl Koh but had never tried it. So, we went to Shaw Center to check out the place. Located on the second floor in an obscure corner of Shaw Center, it was a cozy little cafe where u can sit down and enjoy a drink. Tried the melon and rose cold brew tea. It was so good! It did not have those artificial melon taste, instead it had a light mellow taste of melon followed by the rose taste. It simply taste and smell so natural, the only cons is it’s so little and expensive. 

Anyway, we bought 3 tarts to try:

Starting from the left- dark chocolate $8, Korean shine muscat $13 and blackberry $13.

Conclusion: the dark chocolate tart was normal. The Korean shine muscat grapes was sweet and juicy. The blackberries imported from France was normal, not as sweet as I expected. Overall, I think their tarts are not bad, except the prices are on the steep side. Currently they only have a few variety of tarts for sale, they did not have lemon meringue tart which is my fave. Maybe it’s seasonal? Would I get it again? Hmmm....I’m not sure since I can get much cheaper and equally delicious tarts elsewhere...but I would love to get that melon and rose cold brew drink again...haha...