Uniqlo Airism mask

The UNIQLO airism mask which was sold out the moment it was released in Japan previously was finally available in Singapore yesterday on 24th Aug 2020.

Each person was only allowed to buy 1 packet of it. Was given a ticket with the colour and size preference stated and then go to cashier to pay for it. Each packet was $14.90 and comes with 3 masks inside.

Colour available was either black or white and sizes were S, M or L.

In the end, I chose M size, black.

On the left was the UNIQLO mask and on the right was the govt issued mask. Among all the govt issued masks, my fave was the Temasek mask as it was the most comfortable.

Comparison between these 2 masks: the ear loops for the govt mask are better as it’s longer and are adjustable. Less painful for prolong wearing. 

Sizewise, the UNIQLO mask is longer and more close fitting to the face. The govt issued mask has more pockets of space between the face.
The UNIQLO mask has some space between the nose and mask so there are some breathing space. Material wise, the UNIQLO mask feels smooth and cooling but bit thick coz I do feel some difficulty in breathing hard when I wear it. Maybe the material is not so porous as compared to the govt issued mask.

Overall, in terms of efficiency of protection, I feel that UNIQLO mask are better as it fits more tightly to the face and the material less breathable. For comfort, the govt issued mask is better. 

For me, I prefer the govt issued mask....haha....coz comfort is more important to me in hot and humid Singapore. I do hope Temasek will give another round of this mask but in black colour. 

Trying Xin Mei Xiang lor mee at Old Airport Food Center

I finally get to try the Xin Mei Xiang lor mee located a old airport road food center. In order to eat this, you will need to check after 10pm on their Facebook 

 to see whether they will be open the next day as they tend to be closed most of the time and also they are closed every Thur. Upon reaching Dakota Station, exit B and crossed the small zebra crossing. Follow the path on your right towards the main road and walk till u come to a junction. Old airport food center is located across the junction. It’s hard to miss the lor mee stall as the first thing I saw when reaching was the long queue of people. Was there on a Tuesday at 11am and the line was stretched across 5 stalls and turned around a corner. Waited in line for 45mins in total....

The red arrow pointing at the red stall was the Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee. Finally saw the stall after 15mins waiting.

They have $4, $5 and $6 portion. Takeaway at extra $0.30. You can also bring your own container to save money. Notice the uncle putting the closed sign after taking my order at around 11.45am. There are still a long queue of people behind me, guess they are too late. 

Taste review: it was flavorful and delicious. They also gave quite a lot of fish meat for $5. The broth was not as thick and starchy as some other lor mee. It was more fluid and soupy texture. The noodle was al dente and chewy. Actually it was good lor mee but to queue 45mins for this, I probably don’t think it’s worth it as I can find similar tasting lor mee at Seah Im food center which I find was good enough. To me, I still feel the best lor mee I ever eaten was the one that used to be in Bukit Purmei and it had this crunchy bits ingredients. Sadly, it’s no longer around....😭 

Conclusions: Good food don’t stay for long, better eat them before they are gone.
 

National Gallery Promotion & Yanmi Yogurt Drink

Today, Hubby and I went down to activate our free 1 year National Gallery Insider membership at the National Gallery.

There was a long queue at the ticketing area, mostly Singaporeans & PR who are redeeming their free membership. U need to download the national gallery app on your phone, log in and then activate the pass at the counter in order to get the free 1 year membership. Usually, I don’t see much ppl at the National Gallery, having been there a few times before covid. However, there was nothing for Singaporeans to do during this long weekend since we can’t travel out of the country. For me, I just wana go somewhere air con as the weather was insanely hot these few days.

Saw this new installation on the roof top. Looks quite nice and was supposed to move every 25mins but there was a notice saying it was under maintenance? Anyway, all the interactive displays were off, the theatre screening and all other multimedia shows were off, and even the museum cafe and store was closed. 

The best part of this museum visit was the scenery on the roof top. It was shaded and there was a nice breeze. There were some chairs around to sit down since the rooftop restaurants were all closed. Anyway, was there for about 30mins before we decide to move to another place, Funan which was located just behind the National Gallery.

Saw this place selling purple rice yogurt drink on the second floor of Funan. There was a long queue for it. Decide to give it a try and it was worth the wait.

Not sure where it comes from but saw some good reviews on it from social media. I got their recommended basic drink which was the Yanmi’s purple rice yogurt drink. 

The packaging was so cute! Looks like a Dino egg, haha...

Taste review: surprising good for someone like me who don’t like yogurt drink. It’s not too sour and had a light milky taste. The best part was the purple rice which acts like tapioca pearls. Similar to pearls, the purple rice has a chewy sticky texture. Definitely a much healthier option to BBT but sadly there was only 1 outlet at Funan. Considering getting a few bottles to stock up at home. Can’t do that for BBT as the pearls will get hard over time but not the purple rice. Also, I notice myself burping a few times after drinking, and I don’t have bloatiness problem from it which is good as I often suffer from indigestion and bloatiness. For $4.30, the price was reasonable so I will definitely get it again. 

Pokémon Go Fest 2020

This is my first Pokémon Go Fest that I attended and first time playing it virtually. 

Yup, 2020 had been a bummer year where covid-19 had turned everybody’s lives upside down. Due to the global pandemic, a lot of Pokémon go events were cancelled. Was actually planning to go Japan or Taiwan for Pokémon go Safari event this year but now it looks like it can only be a dream....😭😭

Tickets are sold at $14.99 USD each and can be used for 2 days from 10am to 8pm local time.

Pokémon Go fest events were usually organized in the US or Europe so I don’t have the chance to go so far just to play. Also, it’s not a free event as you need to buy tickets for them. I usually atttend Pogo Safari event which are free and close to where I lived such as in Japan or Taiwan.  Now I realize, there is really a great difference between paying $$ and free to attend. There are much more shiny Pokémons to catch in go fest events as compared to Pogo Safari events. Also, more freebies are given in go fest. For the first time, this virtual go fest 2020 was held online so you can play in the comfort of your home instead of sweating it out under the sun, grinding like mad for your shinies.

On day 1, when I opened the game at 10am, it started with water hour followed by grass, battle, friendship and fire. Different countries have different sequence.

Then I received 3 remote raid pass for free and got a surprise rotom Pokémon when I took a snapshot.

I also able to catch starter Pokémon wearing the pikachu visor hat which non tickets holders don’t have. In addition, there were free stickers given out every hour too 👍🏻  Yeah, I finally got some variety of stickers to send as gifts now.

However, the shiny rate was not v high on the first day as I only got 5 shinies. Noticed that many ppl also complained about the low shiny rate on the internet.

For Day 1, this was the special research we had to complete. It’s quite easy since you can easily catch the 20 fire Pokémon during the fire hour, and the 20 water type Pokémon in the water hour...etc. if you missed the first water hour, there will be a second water hour later. 

It’s funny to watch all the fire Pokémon suddenly disappear on the stroke of the clock at the hour and replace by water type etc.

Actually I was expecting day 2 to be more exciting as Niantic did not want to reveal much details and want to keep it as a surprise. However, I feel Day 1 was more fun and exciting as there was a rush against the clock to catch the type of Pokémon that can only appear at that particular hour. I completed day 2 special research quest in 1.5 hrs and spent the rest of the day shiny hunting.

Above are all my shinies caught during day 2. A total of 18 shinies. Managed to get shiny Gible and shiny unown but no sign of shiny snorlax!  Haven’t seen anyone post pics of shiny snorlax yet. Wonder if it’s even released??!! Shiny snorlax is the one I wanted the most! 😭 Hey Niantic, did u even release it??

Overall, it had been quite worth getting the ticket as I got tons of shiny Pokémons and freebies from it. Definitely would buy the ticket again next year if it is holding it online again. Although, it’s missing the fun part such as exploring new places and meeting new ppl and things, the pros are that I can enjoy catching shinies from the comfort and safety of my home and also save lots of money by not traveling. 

Was a bit sad when this event was over....it’s been a fun and fruitful 2 days for me.

As the saying goes ‘As life gives u lemons, make lemonade’ thus this year (& possibly next year) since I won’t be able to go traveling to other countries, I shall aim to save as much money as possible and motivate myself with this travel fund once this pandemic thing is over! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

New Ippudo Summer menu

Ippudo was having a new item on its menu when I visited last week at Mandarin Gallery. It’s called Tori Ton ramen consisting of 2 slices of chicken char siew, 2 slices of pork char siew and topped with onions, spring onion tempura bits and cabbage.The price was pretty reasonable at around $16-17 that also comes with mini salad and mentai butter at the side.

When it came, I was told to taste the soup first before adding the mentai butter. The soup taste like chicken broth which was not too heavy or oily. In fact, it was light enough to drink all by itself yet having a distinct chicken taste. Once I added the mentai butter, the taste changed totally. No wonder the waitress told us to taste the soup first before adding it. 

Now the soup had a slight spiciness to it with a stronger flavor which totally masked the light chicken flavor. It was so delicious that I used up all my mentai butter. The soup also had a bit of crunch due to the mentaiko from the mentai butter and also adding a seafood taste to it. Anyway, the flavor is just too complex to describe and best way was to just try it yourself.

The only thing I don’t really like was the noodle which was made from whole wheat soba. It had a v smooth texture but I still prefer the straight hakata style noodle.

Cantonese delight at Hong Lim Food Center

Managed to go downtown today and eat my fave hawker food at Hong Lim Food Center today. Due to the current work schedule, I’m unable to go out for lunch....it was v sad for me to be working in a area full of good, cheap hawker food but unable to go out and eat them. It was also sad to see these hawkers struggling with their business coz the usual lunch crowd are no longer there since most ppl are working from home or have this stupid work schedule which prevents them from eating out. 

Located on the second floor and at one end of the food center is this Cantonese Delight stall which was always long 30mins queue during lunch hour. However, today there were only a few people in line and I only waited about 5-10mins which was the shortest I ever waited for this stall. 

I initially wanted to order the curry fried chicken cutlet noodle and laksa yong tau foo. However, the laksa yong tau foo were sold out before 12.30pm. So, I just get the curry fried chicken cutlet noodle.

The lady boss was v friendly and nice with good customer service skills.  I mean, I don’t expect restaurant service or anything but at least she does not bark or snap at me and gave me a black sour face unlike some other hawkers who may have long queue of people buying from them but their altitude sucks. I don’t care how good your food taste but if your altitude sucks, I’m not buying from them. Period.

Tada~! Here is my curry fried cutlet chicken noodle. I love how creamy and flavorful their curry taste. The best part of this dish is the crispy chicken cutlet. It’s so crispy on the outside but still soft on the insides and it goes so well with the curry. My hubby said it’s har cheong gai type of chicken Secondly, I forgot how good it feels to buy food, sit down and eat it immediately while it’s hot at a hawker center. 😭

These are the little things we used to take for granted before the covid days. Now, it’s like this simple act of eating in a hawker center had brought such joy to my heart which had been devoid of all joys and happiness for the past 3-4 months. I can feel tears of happiness swelling in my eyes as I took down my mask to start eating. And I was grateful for the food and for being able to sit down and enjoy it......sighz.....the simple pleasure of life.

Next, we went the Diaso located in the basement of Chinatown point. They have a high end selection called Threepy. It’s also one of my happy place.

After getting some junks, we went to People’s Park Food Centre located across the street. There was this famous yong tau foo stall in the market. They dun sell noodles, rice or anything except yong tau foo. So basically, the only thing to go with the YTF was the soup. Daddy wana get some for dinner. I’m juz fine, whatever. The uncles manning the stall look scary and impatient. Not the kind of stall I would visit. 

However, there is a long queue there forever, just like Han Kee fish soup at Amoy food center.

To me, Yong tau foo pieces are nice but bit too oily.

And no noodles or any carbs at all....it’s drinking soup. 

Actually wanted to walk around more but daddy need to go back and work from home liao..

Guess what, I did not sweat at all eating in hawker center today coz the weather been crazy raining and cold. Nice weather to sleep in, which is why I’m on MC and not at work today🤫

When we finally reached home by taking the train from Chinatown to Buangkok MRT, it’s still drizzling and cold. Suddenly, daddy said PM Lee is making a speech at 4pm now. We see like 😱😱😰🤯

Another CCB again? Anyway, I left my house and went NEX immediately to get my yuan chai but so sad they dun have my fave TGY latte with qq rainbow.😩

I did not buy in the end. So I rush out to Nex and back home with empty hands.....at least I got a good workout....hahaha

Basically the next polling day which is public holiday will be on 10July Friday. Yeah! It’s my workday so I dun need to work. Haha!

Bad news: there will be no mid year bonus for govt employees. Now I wonder whether I can get 13th month at the end of this year. Best not to put any hopes high. This year has been braced urself!

Ring of fire solar eclipse-21 June 2020

The first solar eclipse of 2020 also known as ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse occurred today 21 June 2020.

The last time I saw this was on 27 Dec 2019, just before covid-19 begins....however unlike last year, Singapore was not able to view it.

I don’t know if this is a bad omen coz immediately after that, covid-19 began to spread in China where it originated and spread to the rest of the world. It felt like a different world before and after covid. 

Maybe I was just being paranoid but I don’t feel good about this and maybe it could be start of something else coming?? Btw, there will be another ring of fire solar eclipse coming Dec 2020. 

For now, I just wish 2020 will be over soon. We are all halfway through now and hopefully we can all survive through this year.