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Showing posts from September, 2010

Cycling Around Mount Fuji

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Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at   https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html   and train prices at   http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at our ryokan Kozan
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Really Lazy "Claypot" Rice Obento

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you all wanted the recipe so here it is. concept is similar to lazy pineapple rice Ingredients (for 2): Rice (1 cup) Boneless chicken thigh (1) - skinned, cut into bite-sized pieces Marinate: - 1 tspn light soy sauce - 1 tspn sesame oil - 2 tspn oyster sauce - dash of pepper Frozen mixed veg (about 1/2 cup) Lap Cheong (1) 1 tspn of dark soy sauce (i use the thick type, viscosity like pi pa gao type) sesame oil Garnish: Chopped spring onion/cilantro, Fried Shallots The night before, prepare: Marinate chicken Wash and soak the rice in water Rinse frozen veg, scald w hot water to get rid of "freezer smell", rinse in water, pinch of salt, mix around Lap Cheong (1) - "condom" removed and sliced Chop spring onion/wash cilantro Wrap all in cling wrap and put in fridge In the morning: Put rice in rice cooker (i use the water it was soaked in and top up if necessary), add chicken, stir around a little, sprinkle veg and lap cheong, close, press cook. wait (go and do your make
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Restaurant Review: English High Tea at The Drawing Room, St. Regis Hotel

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My goodest bestest friend Jiahui brought me there for my birthday =) Ambience: 6* lush couches and armchairs with adequate space between tables, perfect for a girlie   tête -à- tête. Service: 5* the waiter who served us spoke very good English and recommended the popular teas to us. However, the (foreign) waitress forgot to serve us PLATES! *slap forehead* Tableware: 5.5* Very pretty fine bone china =) linen napkins and placemats. Food: 5* We enjoyed the warm and crisp scones very much =) I ordered Gyokuro Samurai tea. Gyokuro is the most priced green tea and is usually very expensive. One pot (a  la carte) at the restaurant cost a whopping $25+++ Jiahui ordered Yellow Bud Tea, highly recommended by the waiter, which tasted like Long Jing. Teas are from TWG. French pastries are very very pretty. We liked the mango tart =) Pattern more than badminton. ONE lone quiche on a foot-long plate -.- Price: $$$ At $56+++ per person with only one serving (no refills) and one choice of tea, this i
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Restaurant Review: One on the Bund at Fullerton Bay Hotel

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Ambience: 5.5* very nice view of the bay area with MBS right opposite. nice place if you want to kao chabor cos it's very lomantik. indoor seating temperature is sub-zero so unless you brought your fleece jacket, sit outdoors. for dinner, it's actually quite cool cos there's a draft of cold air from indoors. It's also a better choice outside cos the view is very nice... however, we found the place a little too dim. I don't know about you but i like to be able to SEE my food (and take photos of them). the only light we had was a candlelight. hence, all photos are underexposed -.- good if you have pimples and is on a date. Service: 5* very prompt. the waiter explained how to eat the peking duck. water was refilled promptly. plates cleared. but they forgot to serve us damp towels at the beginning *grumble grumble* Food: 4* I found the braised peanuts a little undercooked. I expect braised peanuts to be soft, roasted peanuts to be crunchy. Their braised peanuts were cru
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Handicraft in Hanoi, Vietnam (Sep 2010)

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Conical hats can be seen everywhere Embroidered paintings. On the way to Ha Long Bay, we were dropped at this souvenir shop. We requested that our guide bring us to the egg and lacquer painting workshop. Very interesting. They make a painting out of crushed egg shells Artist at work I bought some lacquerware =)
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Day Tour in Hanoi, Vietnam (Sep 2010) - Part 3

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Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum The house built for Ho Chi Minh which he declined to stay in He stayed in another small building and this hut beside the mansion instead Soldiers practising behind the Mausoleum Temple of Literature where Confucious is worshipped Vietnamese schoolgirls Vietnamese students come to this temple to pray for wisdom in the hope of getting good grades A gift from Emperor Kang Xi Scholars had their names carved in stone... kinda like our Dean's List The huge drum... bigger than the Beijing Olympics drums Water puppets These puppets are half-submerged in water and controlled using bamboo from underneath. I found it rather interesting but Chris slept through the entire performance -.- St. Joseph's Cathedral
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Day Tour in Hanoi, Vietnam (Sep 2010) - Part 2

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Hanoi is divided into 3 regions: Old Quarter, New Living Area and French Quarter. We stayed at the French Quarter. Visited the Old Quarter and New Living Area. According to the guide, the Old Quarter sells products mainly from China so they're very very cheap but the quality is not good. He says only the poorer Vietnamese shop there. Even he doesn't dare to buy the food from there because you don't know what sort of chemicals they add in the food. And if you see cheap "branded" bags or sunglasses, they fake. He said all the "branded" stuff in Old Quarters are fake. The designs are so up-to-date that within a week of it appearing in China, it'd be found there... China's fake "branded" stuff are very very up-to-date btw. Entrance to Old Quarter Chaos Chris wanted very much to eat these but I didn't let him =P Chris also wanted to eat the beef noodles here but I didn't let him Lotsa scooters in Hanoi It's amazing how they can c
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