Shoyu Ramen

Different parts of Japan is famous of different kinds of ramen.

Hokkaido Region: Miso Ramen

Kyushu Region: Tonkotsu Ramen

Tokyo City: Shoyu Ramen

and I have no idea where shio (salt) ramen is famous in.

So, I tried Shoyu Ramen at Sapporo Ramen Miharu today. It was nice, however, I prefered the miso-tonkotsu ramen I had the other time... Anyway, I found out the secrets to making the flavoured TAMAGO they add into ramens.

Prepare the sauce. Mix shoyu, sake and mirin together and microwave the sauce for 30 seconds.

Boil eggs for 4 minutes.

Remove the eggs after 4 minutes and dunk them into ice cold water. Crack eggs in the bowl and peel the shells in the water.

Put eggs with sauce into a bag and leave it overnight in a fridge.

Rah rah rah rah ramen!

Gallery Hotel, Level 1, Sapporo Ramen Miharu

Tucked away in a corner of Singapore and in a corner of a hotel is a quaint little ramen house. During my trip to Japan, the tour guide told us that we could find relatively 'cheap' (considering this is Japanese cuisine and that the ingredients are all imported from JAPAN!) authentic Japanese ramen in the restaurant.

So I went there along with 13 others (the Japan trip convoy) to try out what is said to be one of the best ramen in Singapore. I had a steaming bowl of Miso-Tonkotsu ramen. The funny thing is that Miso ramen is famous in the Hokkaido region (all the way up North) and Tonkotsu ramen is famous in the Kyushu region (all the way down South), so combine the 2 and you get quite an interesting tasting broth. I tasted sesame oil (I could even see the seeds) in the broth along with salty miso paste. The noodles were rather tangy and springy so to speak and there was this milky feeling that you get whilst slurping the noodles down with the broth. The smell of the broth was just oishii and the spring onions tasted fresh. I liked the fact that they used the lower stem of the spring onion more as compared to the upper portion where the leaves are because the lower stem gives this crunchy texture and it gives the soup a nice fragrant smell to it. Nothing much can be said about the Tamago/egg because it wasn't runny in the centre like it is supposed to be. Overall a good bowl of ramen and I'd recommend it to those seeking for something better than the cliched ramen chain, Ajisen.

Sandalous.

"Lanvin Macrame' Embroidered Scandals"

Enough shoes, I think it is time to try on scandals. Lanvin has done it again. Another season with something to lust for. Though I was a little skeptical with next season's wear when I first saw it, I notice tiny details that stood out and make Lanvin the creative house that it is known to be. Those interested can check out the range of Lanvin products on Luisaviaroma.com or just wait for Lanvin at Hilton to open. By the way, Balenciaga has a new location at the Hilton.

image:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kR3Y9wCFiWYfPNvOVA1h-QpY8KVzEWxx4D8g8vG4BwZ7HLZA6hYUDxCNN8Muj7M8-L5tr7ScjjTuX8gDa-wn9tVfZq9ChsKLn3_hNEaPQus7qhuwiOJwUEZB3fmRo4NUFRUGRKMaGYfE/s1600-h/Picture+9.png

Hello!

Okay, ever since my return from Japan. I have crazy over Japanese food and the Japanese culture. MUJI is like wonderland for me now and I am always on the prowl for Japanese Designer labels.

In fact, I bought 2 pieces from Comme Des Garcon. What is CDG? Well, it is french for 'like boys' and the pieces are designed by Rei Kawakubo (the sensei of Junya Watanabe, a popular rather Japanese designer in Europe according to Vogue).

The Comme Des Garcon label has so many diffusion labels that labeling them would be a daunting albeit necessary task, so I'd just name a few.

Comme Des Garcon (the Japanese pronounces Garcon, Gar-soh-n, as Gar-roo-soh-n)

the mainline

PLAY CDG and BLACK CDG.

(I bought the long sleeved striped tee and the tee with a gigantic heart, the only difference is that my heart had blue eyes!)

PLAY (the famed heart) is a more accessible range. The clothes are less loud (imagine boys in skirts, yeah that is the mainline) and kinder on the wallet. It's funny how in Japan, one cannot try on the tees at the shop but one can try on other apparels. While I was in the CDG in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, there was a cube whereby PLAY was 'housed' in. I could not enter the cube and only the workers get to enter the cube. CDG is truly a quirky little brand.

BLACK is the cheapest range. It is a Guerilla shop. As the name suggests, it exists outside the mainline and is only temporal. CDG has this habit of setting up Guerilla shops that last for a couple of months to 1 year and then it closes down. BLACK will only exist for as long as this recession exists. It therefore aims to help people spend to save the economy. What an idea Rei!

image: http://thisislavie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/comme-des-garcons-play-1.jpg

Konbanwa!

Hello! I know that my correspondence has been rather inconsistent and I can explain this.

1) Too tired from a day of traveling

2) No internet access

3) Requires me to pay

Okay, so I have the pictures from day 2 and 3 of my trip. As I am very tired, I shall not say too much today. I'll let the pictures (shyashin) tell a 1000 words.

"Nagoya Castle"

"Mount. Fuji"

"Only the best toilet you'd ever find, it cleans your behind*"

"Mizuki, my school guide"

"Samurai! Ah!!!"

"Acting cool?"

Konnichiwa!

"the clouds from the plane (A380, largest airbus)"

"Alfie at the car-park of the airport"

Hello people! I am currently blogging from a hot spring hotel next to Mount. Fuji. Yes! It is freaking Mt. Fuji! So it was a 7 hour journey from Singapore to Narita Airport (by the way, it only operates from 7am to 11pm GMT+9 because the farmers that live nearby refuse to move!) Oh yar, thanks Hannan, Edna and Nicky for sending me off and posing as my parents (except for Nicky, he was supposedly my 'wife').

So after a long ride from Narita airport, we finally arrived at the National Art Centre where we were given tickets to view the European pieces loaned to the NAC (bought some kind of Jelly about this time. the Jelly drink was in a cool packet and it tastes great. I think the brand M is like Yeo's in Singapore and Coca Cola to the world).

"Golden leaves outside NAC"

"The jelly drink!"

Had Nabe for lunch and Stuart's pot had a cockroach in it! Yucks

"mmmm Nabe"

We then proceeded to Mt Fuji! There are about 10 stations along the mountain all the way to the pinnacle! However, due to the snow, we can only reach the 4th station. But! Low and behold! We got to play with snow!!! (Those from the tropics will find this very very very very amusing, especially the mist that comes with every breath you take!)

"Station 4 of Mt. Fuji"

"Snow!"

"Elephante frolicking in the snow"

Down the mountain is the hot spring (onsen) hotel that I am currently residing in now. MMMmmm the dinner was great (great chawanmushi and all the grilled fishes that I have tried today were just perfecto!) and I'll be heading over to the ONSEN pretty soon! Yes, it is communal so I'd be looking at my friend's shlongs and them, mine. 0.0

Hours left.

"the Yen, can you believe that 1000 Yen is SGD$15"

Clothes: checked

Charger: checked

Passport: checked

Socks: checked

and the list goes on...

It is only a matter of hours till I board A380 (one of the largest Airbuses around and it is said that Singapore Airlines have 'stocked' the plane with GOOD LOOKING air stewards and air stewardesses). I can't wait to reach Japan (GMT +9, so add an hour to Singapore's time)! I can barely contain my excitement. In fact, it reminds me of the night before I flew off to Melbourne. I just would not fall asleep!

Whilst packing my bag, I realised that I needed a new duffel. So I decided to check out Bottega Veneta. My oh my! Bottega's prices are cut-throat! But, it is indisputable that they produce the most intricate leather-ware. The bags do remind me of the Malay Ketupat.

"Bottega Veneta"

"Ketupat"

images:

http://un2kmu.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/ketupat-digantung.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgresimgurl=http://www.japanorama.com/images/1000yen.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.japanorama.com/1000yen.html&usg=__1kNzbkXYGT0QqVRvCxjYE1cjYF8=&h=470&w=453&sz=87&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=B8zXmRYcm5Nc2M:&tbnh=129&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dyen%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIbjVo4qVZJE_wiW0d3L6N-X3NReLzv5DaKyFKmUFfRfS1ahRAwrk4up4w8AogSKqD0p6S9vf6LJA1P2u79wIvgTrw9a-JiXQoiL-tUVVr53vELq7twFMlS-6G5hEHHAS5oNTU38Kh64/s320/BottegaWovenTote2.jpg

I saw it!

I was scouring YouTube (the video Heaven) for some cool new songs when I stumbled upon this video. It's done by the staff of a medical centre in America (USA) to raise the awareness of BREAST CANCER.

A friend of mine also showed me this other video

during my internship. Now this is a way

cool wedding!

Marie Digby.

"Can we pull through this avalanche?"

Marie Digby

Of Irish decent and Japanese blood in her veins, Marie Digby. The girl was discovered via YouTube after she posted several videos of her singing songs with her guitar. It was her rendition of Umbrella that garnered some much attention that record labels came knocking on her door. However, her first album was a failure and much so, was the second. I do not get why people did not give her another try on her second album that has improved by leaps and bounds if you compare it to her first. I just pray that she does not get dropped by her current label. It will be rather depressing... So here is to Marie Digby, hope she pulls through this avalanche.

L is back.

LANVIN

Yes, it has disappeared from it's little corner in Wisma Atria. However, fret not, there is a new store in Hilton Hotel Shopping Gallery and this time, it is under the Club 21 umbrella of brands. That means, it is way easier for me to get the card! I am way excited about the opening. I am not sure when but I really am looking forward to the opening of Lanvin! Okay, let's turn back the clock a little and see how I stumbled upon this...

"Proof that LANVIN is and will be OPENING SOON"

You see, I was in the vicinity getting a pair of Paul Smith socks (which are by the way, very comfy and when I when to the level below (1st floor), LOW AND BEHOLD LANVIN!

"socks"

Ask Edna about how excited I am seeing LANVIN... Okay, so after getting the pair of socks, I brought Edna to meet Benjamin (JC2 Scholar... YES HE IS A SCHOLAR) and we had dinner at Xin Wang Restaurant. MMmmm mmm I had some congee and I must say, it is most palatable! After dinner, Benja went clubbing and E and I left for home (well, I went to my Granny's but that isn't very important).

At 1am, I woke up and prepared myself for my job as a volunteer providing welfare to the runners for the Standard Charted Marathon. Such as little hours in the morning to present time, the evening, was I awake (did catch a little wink here and there but hey, that doesn't count :)). I am beat and dead. Goodnight!

Fonts.

Fonts do play an important role. Have a nice font, people get drawn to reading what you have to say. Have a terrible font, your message might just fail.

I was reading my friend's blog a few minutes ago and realised that he made a mistake in naming a restaurant. Well, I don't blame him because the font the restaurant uses for their logo confuses people. The 'L' in the restaurant, Lerk Thai, looks like a 'J'. My friend hence thought it as 'Jerk Thai'. So the moral of the story is, USE A PROPER FONT.

City.

The rain pours down on the city. It washes the grit away. All the dust that has settled on the pavements drift down the drains. It washes the people away too. All the workers that scuttle above ground, all seek shelter in the complex underground passages.

I chose to defy the elements and walked under the rain without an umbrella. I looked at the weary faces of the crowd. They had the money, they have a job. They do not have a heart. As I continue to walk in the rain, those with umbrellas seemed to snicker. They were dry.

What ever happened to kindness? Are we only kind for a week and bam it's back to reality. Well, there are kindred souls roaming this Earth. On my way back from the foodcentre to the office, I stood close to a man with an umbrella hoping that his 'dryness' can magically transfer to me. It seemed that it did because he looked at me and used his umbrella to shelter the 2 of us. :)

Persona Non Grata.

I can be in a sea of people but still feel lonely.

die einsamen Tage unter der Sonne. die einsamen Nächte dauernden Kälte.

der einsam Mal unter dem Schatten der Obergrenzen der großen Einkaufszentren.

ich bin Daniel der kliene mann. einsamen... mein freudin? mein beste freudin? I can now see why 'Mein Kampf' was written. Perhaps a 'mein freundin'? Why am I sulking?

Video.

This clip kinda left a mark on me.

Piping hot.

The soup spoon rules! Though this might sound a little odd, the soup spoon serves delicious sandwiches!

Sentosa.

Shangri-La |ˈ sh a ng gri ˈlä|

a Tibetan utopia in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon (1933).• [as n. ] ( a Shangri-La) a place regarded as an earthly paradise,esp. when involving a retreat from the pressures of moderncivilization.

(New Oxford American Dictionary)

I'm currently in a hotel on Sentosa (a tiny offshore island that is part of Singapore). The view here is divine! In fact, I'm staying at the Shangri-La Hotel and it is beautiful. I guess the hotel lives up to her name as 'Shangri-La'.

I'll be adjourning to the restaurants in a while for breakfast but before I do, here are 2 images of what view I get from the hotel room's balcony.

"The balconies"

"The pool"

Chocolate!!!

"Food glorious food..."

After a day of work at Rajah and Tann (a law firm), I brought Demas, this PJC student councillor, to Ichiban Boshi and Max Brenner. Skip the Ichiban Boshi thing because 'everyone knows Japanese food rules'. We had our desserts at Max. It is literally a chocolate haven. It's like I've died and came back to life on some chocolate land. The smell was tantalising. It's like there were tendrils of chocolate reaching out of the shop for our noses. Now for those who have read 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and mouth-watered over it, then this place is for you.

"The extraordinary Suckao"

They have something called Suckao which is like a shot of chocolate. It's a cup of melted chocolate (pure milky chocolate) heated by a flame and sucked through a metal straw. In fact, all the drinks here seem to come with a metal straw to suck from. Now that's environmentally conscious. Well, Demas had a vase (the shape of the cup is really like a vase) of banana chocolate latte. It is really good!!! Trust me. This coming from a person who does not fancy bananas, it has got to be divine if I say it's good.

images: https://shop.maxbrenner.com/Data/Images/suckao_right_size.png

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/03/24/souffle_wideweb__430x285.jpg

Greed.

I asked a friend to give me something to talk about, he said greed. I asked him why. He told me he used it for his O level examinations.

Examinations. It is the impetus of our being as Singaporeans. We do well, get a good job, a good life. I beg to differ. A good life?

What constitutes life is, to me, the enjoyment of living. Our education system has literally squeezed every drop of youthful exuberance out of me. Singapore breeds highly skilled conformists and does not nurture sufficient creativity.

Ladies and gentlemen, I now present the top 5 paying jobs in 2008:

Coming up at number 5 we have the General Manager, followed closely by the Commodities Futures Broker at number 4. Clinching 3rd place is the General Surgeon and 2^nd place, the Managing Director. Now for our top earners; the Specialised Surgeons aka Plastic Surgeons.[1]. Now what does that tell us? It tells us that those jobs viewed most worthy, most beneficial to society are ones which are lodged in the world of logic, rules and business. The ones that require a person to stick rigidly to a set of rules and to conform to instructions. Therefore, in Singapore, creativity is not as well nurtured as these businesses. Sadly, creativity is precisely what this ailing world needs to help solve global problems. A factory that churns out workers that have a carbon copy knowledge about a subject can continue to manufacture goods indefinitely, but it cannot solve the environmental problems it has also created? Does it even care? We have more than 5,000 doctors in Singapore, our healthcare system is considered the best in Asia, one of the best in the world, but we have a negligible number of environmentalists and conservationists. Not forgetting that we are the 9^th most polluting country per capita in the world in terms of carbon footprint². Why don’t we have any of the latter – because we don’t value jobs that do not rake in the millions. Because we gear our education system to the knowledge that is required for revenue generating industries.[2]

---

[1] Available at URL:

URL: http://www.salary.sg/2008/best-paying-jobs-in-singapore-2008/

http://www.salary.sg/2008/best-paying-jobs-in-singapore-2008/

[2] Available at URL:

http://www.photius.com/rankings/carbon_footprint_of_countries_per_capita_1980_2005.html

Law Firm.

I'm sitting in a cubicle in Rajah & Tann now and watching news bloopers.

Off With Her Head.

A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.

H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

I have been, over the past few days, attending some law programme for JC students. Yes, that does explain my absence from school and an excuse for not handing in my homework (snickers). Well, it is really interesting to hear and see for one's self the legal profession. I have got to tell you, the pay is really really good. The pricing for 1 hour consultations for some firms may well be in the thousands. $.$ However, the work you have to put in is definitely, if not more, than what one is paid. I'm currently attached to Rajah and Tann LLP (one for the largest and best law firms there is in Singapore *fanfare in the distance). I guess this firm really does take the staffs' welfare into consideration. There are gaming consoles, foosball, pool tables and a cafe made available for the lawyers to enjoy. In fact, there is free breakfast and lunch available for the lawyers at the cafe (interns get only a free breakfast and the menus change daily, by the way :(. But hey! The food is free anyway! :)). These are supposedly tools to help the rather busy lawyers socialise in a less formal setting. Well, we interns use these amenities to satisfy our needs for constant entertainment.

My friends in the other firms, who got to accompany their mentors to court, told me that some times when a lawyer has so many things to carry to court, he would take a cab to court despite the court being just a across the Singapore river. Well, I for one, did get to see the Supreme Court for myself too! The flying saucer is really just a viewing gallery and the courtrooms are not like what you'd see on the telly. The lawyers practically speak with this unfazed, tranquil tone into the microphones. You do not get the expected yelling and tension. The tension one experiences is those really scary sort of tension due to that cold calm tone of the lawyers.

All in all, the programme is really an eye-opener. It's really so cool and exciting that words cannot convey it. By the way, I made new friends through the programme! There are really cool people from all sorts of schools all over Singapore! Shaun of Hwa Chong Institution and his friend Margaux (french name!!!) thought that Zafran and I were RJCians! Well, Z and I are, however, from SRJC (super raffles junior college), some private school somewhere near Pedra Branca (it's one of those places you can use to get that 'timbuktu' feeling). In the practice group (aka department)that Z and I were posted to was a PJC guy named Demas. Interesting dude with rather cool braces. Yes, I have something for braces, fingers, hairstyles and colours. Truth be known, the fingers are the sexiest body part to me. :P

Moleskine.

"Watercolour Art"

Not too long ago, I was in Kinokuniya looking for some good reads when I stumbled upon a couple of notebooks. The back-cover had 'Moleskine' embossed on it. Moleskines are notebooks that look rather classy. There is even a Moleskine website. The website was where I came across the above image. Don't you think it looks beautiful? It's amazing what the human hand can produce. So, this inspired me to pick up watercolouring (trying out soon)! Oh yes, the image also got me thinking. If others are blessed with the ability to create such materials, well, I should write stories then. To draw and paint is an art, to craft stories is also art, to make a pact with myself that I'll stay true to my words is also an art. (I have no idea why I typed the sentence preceding this)

The point is that I bought 2 Moleskines at the price of $30. That's right. Notebooks for that sum. I do not know what is the reason that propelled me to buy the books for that sum but trust me I will use it. Especially for my trips to Japan and Sarawak. In fact, I'll try to make it a point to bring Japan to your screens by blogging every night when I'll be there. This reminds me of the vaccination I had to take in school today. I had a seasonal flu jab (costs $15). The irony is that I am currently having flu! Surprisingly, injections do not hurt as much as blood tests, in fact, injections barely hurt.

Some time back when I was in Hougang Mall with Edna and Charine, a nice lady approached us. Now, she was those nice older ladies with genial smiles and wrinkles that make their faces look like extensions of the rays of the sun. But, be fooled not by their seemingly docile appearance! She asked my friends and I to test our blood to determine if we could be possible bone marrow donors. "It's just a prick and you'll be on your way." Just a prick. Well, the experience was more like you were being stapled on your finger and to literally rub your bleeding (bloody) finger over some rather coarse paper to blot your blood out. The paper was the slightly larger than a 50c coin and the blood that was blotted onto the paper would be sent for tests. In retrospect, I'd rather get a jab than get pricked.

image:http://www.moleskine.com/mymoleskine/community/090919_04.jpg

Love Lockdown.

T-Pain and Kanye West have tapped on the ability to tweak you tune. Think about how Lil' Wayne sounds so funny in the song Down. All this is done using machines and software created by the company Antares. T-pain was, in fact, credited for popularising the brain child of Antares. Well Auto Tune, so it's called, has fixed the vocals of so many. Is it right? Are we embracing the coming a technology that provides a chance for those not blessed with the best larynx but the best face, to make it big in the music industry? Or, this technology really going to revolutionise our music scene. Perhaps, newer genres? Well, for the unacquainted, here is Ellen Degeneres to clear the air.

Talent.

Talents are born not bred. Talent is innate.

I have had friends who attained grade 8 in music yet, they play with little conviction. They do not love their art. They are coerced to take it up. Yet there are those who can let their fingers do the walking. People who can let music flow right out of their hands. People like Brendon Urie. He truly is a talent and great musician. Panic! at the Disco has apparently had quite a rough time. The 2 frontmen, Ryan Ross and Brendon Urie are now in 2 different bands. The former in a new band called The Young Veins whilst the latter, still in Panic! at the Disco.

The Young Veins sounds rather old school to me. In fact, they seem to remind me of The Kooks and The Beatles. Well, judge it for yourself.

Faces.

It's funny how people claim to be skin deep. Do we really ignore how others look? Is it fair to say that we are guilty for find beauty amongst others and try to match up? Striving to attain a certain look. Never comfortable or happy with one's current looks. It fuels the multi-million dollar beauty industry. Keep this up and the plastic surgeons may never have the word 'recession' found in their dictionaries.

Self-esteem then comes into play. Will we ever feel good enough?

Man, do I have issues.

Eyes.

"Fields of Gold"

Sclera, ciliary muscles, pupil, cornea, retina, vitreous fluid... The eye is truly an extremely complex organ. So many components functioning together to give you vision. The window. The bridge between the world and our person. Each individual, a unique vision. A different colour. Different hues colouring our lives in different perspectives.

Is it not a wonderment to actually see! Everyday, as the going gets tough and I forget about what really matters in life, I turn myopic. I cease to accept and begin to impose. For that, I must apologise.

I personally feel that the greatest vision anyone can have is that of children. Children look upon the world in bemusement. They look at everything in awe. I was on the train today when I saw a child staring at me. He stared at me for minutes! It's so beautiful to see people just looking in amazement and smiling. It shows the thoughts of a person. It is signs of reflection. Every twitch of my facial muscle was scrutinised by the child. Details meant something when you were young. Everything else that did not matter fades into the backdrop. It's like the aperture of a camera set to only concentrate with a small area.

However, as we grow up, we look at the world as a really big mess. We develop tendencies to look at all the negativities. Have we lost the child-like bemusement?

image: http://tostandalone.deviantart.com/art/Fields-Of-Gold-85264814