Ginza Bairin Tonkatsu

Ginza Bairin Tonkatsu (since 1927) restaurant is located at the recently opened ION Orchard Singapore Shopping Mall, Basement 4 beside the Food Court.

Understand the head chef and founder hails from Japan and was in Singapore when the restaurant opened then. This place offers a selection of good quality Japanese tonkatsu (pork cutlet), torikatsu (chicken cutlet) and their famous katsu-curry dishes. The cashier counter had plastic replicas of the food offerings and we could easily pick what we want to eat. Being new to the restaurant, we tried the usual beginners course - tonkatsu and katsu-curry set at about $13 each.

After trying the food, I found the tonkatsu here pales in comparison to some of the Japanese restaurants we tried, in terms of its crispiness. I think it might be worthwhile to try the hire-katsu fillets next time as fillets are generally more juicy and tender though smaller piece in sizes. The salad dressing was a little too vinegary sour for my liking. We thought the katsu-curry was better.  The katsu-curry sauce was very tasy and delicious and goes very well with the katsu.  We would give this a thumbs up! The food also came served with an icy cold green tea which was very refreshing indeed. One thing to note is that this is probably one of the rare places in Singapore to offer those little boxed katsu-sandwiches at the cashier counter - just like those you always find in Japan for take-away.

I would say this place is worth a try if you are nearby the place. Ginza Bairin Tonkatsu is at 2 Orchard Turn, Basement 4-39/40/41/42, ION Orchard, Singapore 238801 Tel: 65-6509 8101.

Lee Min Ho First Fan Meeting - First Love... with Singapore

I am so excited!! My favourite Korean Kimchii star, Lee Min Ho famous for his role as the F4 leader of the Boys Over Flowers drama serial -  is coming to Singapore again.. for his first fan meeting on 21 Dec 2009! The event is part of Lee's first ever Asian Fan Meeting tour, which includes stops in Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Tickets are on sale from $98 at SISTIC outlets. More details can be found in Star-Waltz blog.
[ Credits to Star-Waltz ]

Paddy's from Australia

After some whirlwind Korean excitement of seeing Korean star, Lee Min Ho over the last week of October 2009 while he was in Singapore (see previous posts on Korean star Lee Min Ho), my stomach is hungry for some nice fresh delicacies again! Not yet ready to try out any Korean delicacies yet after my starry encounters, I caught a nice find at the Tanglin Mall Basement Food Mall though. Fresh seafood and fishes - like that straight from Australia! Paddy's from Australia at Tanglin Mall Basement Food Mall. Located prominently just at the front corner of the Basement Food Mall, you wont miss it. Plenty of good seafood variety for you to choose from (barramundi, sole, ling, salmon), both crumbed and battered, with accompanying thick cut potato wedges (more like roasted potatoes).

And no surprises for guessing what we ordered. Yes, it is the Fish and Chips! Very fresh and price is reasonable too. At S$5.50. The meal served was simply great! The potato wedges were big, fat and crunchy. Fresh and delicious served with tartar sauce. No need to say more.

Go try Paddy's from Australia at 163 Tanglin Road, Tanglin Mall Basement 1 Food Mall, Singapore.

Lee Min Ho in Singapore 24 Oct 09

Lee Min Ho is here in Singapore finally! Actor of the crazy hit Boys Over Flowers Drama Serial - F4 Leader, Gu Ju-Pyo. The dashing actor spent about an intimate hour from 530pm-630pm this evening at Movida, St James Power Station for a Private Party with about a hundred fifty of his fans chatting, signing autographs and taking photos. As usual, he looks real cool and good despite his busy tight schedule. He had touched down at Singapore Changi Airport in the afternoon from Taipei, Taiwan and had attended a press conference in the afternoon at 230pm at Raffles Hotel (East India Room). He was mobbed by fans at all the places he went in Singapore. The earlier event (4pm) at Plaza Singapura had to be cancelled as there was too big a crowd causing security problems. He revealed he has good impression of Singapore and of the fans here and hopes he come back to see us again! Lets hope he does come back to Singapore again real soon! Glimpses of him below at Movida, St James Power Station, Singapore.

Check out more news, photos and videoclips of Lee Min Ho's arrival to Singapore Changi Airport and his crazy Singapore visit at http://www.xin.sg/article.php?article=32872

Just to share with you:

F4 Boys Over Flowers Craze

If you are following the hit Korean drama serial "Boys Over Flowers" which is being now shown on Singapore Channel U every Saturday from 930pm-11pm, you will probably end up being the fan of hearthrob Lee Min-Ho (playing the role of the rich flamboyant F4 "Gu Jun Pyo" from Shinhwa High School) !

Just for fans out there, as I have also been converted to one - he will be visiting Singapore on 24 October 2009. Details can be found at Etude House, Ion Singapore and Plaza Singapura. You can make some $15 purchase and get a chance to join Lee Min-Ho at a House Party at St James Power Station. Plus you get a free pink file folder of him with every purchase, while stocks last! Lucky me have just gotten one ticket for the House Party!! I think I will be having a change and getting a taste of tempting Korean food soon for my tastebuds ...

Mister Donut Japan

You cant miss this when you are in Japan! I fell in love with these lovely and cute donuts from Mister Donut during my recent trip to Tokyo! And they are cheap too, costing about 100-300 yen (SGD$1.50-$4.50) per piece. For your information, getting a meal cheaper than 300 yen in Japan is rare so getting these munchy great tasty donuts at such prices in Tokyo is a real great deal indeed! Besides, the donuts are not only nice to look at, they are really good to eat too!!

I especially like the chocolatey ones! Look at them. My photo may not be so well taken but they are really lovely and great to munch. Tastes fantastically chocolate, crunchy, soft and sugar sweet. Crispy crunchy on the outside and inside, its soft and chewy. My goodness, I thought its heavenly and probably the best I've tasted so far... Most people order at least 2 donuts as they are of quite a mini size. I managed to pop 2 in too!

Mister Donut is everywhere in Japan. It is a global franchise chain that is extremely popular in Japan and probably has more than a thousand outlets all over Japan. It has outlets at Shinjuku, Akihabara, Shimo-Kitazawa etc. The one we visited was at Ueno, Tokyo.

Negishi Shinjuku Tokyo

Away for a quick short getaway in Tokyo for a week from 9 Sep-14 Sep. Boy, what a great break we had! Took a fantastic hotel + airfare package and off we went. Ted and me. We were lured by the real great deal package! Imagine flying by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and we were also wonderfully accomodated at the luxury 5-star Keio Plaza Intercontinental Hotel at busy Shinjuku! All at a reasonable price below S$1,000 per pax with all taxes included! It was an unbelievable package that we had no reason to resist ...

Japan, Tokyo is a place that you will never get tired off. There will always be interesting things, events or people that will amaze you there. And we were right. Right till the very last minute of our trip back to Singapore, we were consistently delighted by the thoughtful, polite and impeccable services of the people there. From the gift packaging of the souvenirs that you bring home to the food you eat, people you meet, things that you see, everything is a fresh and interesting experience!

I have to share a wonderful meal I had after taking an approx 7 hour flight from Singapore to Tokyo and with a terrible stomach/gastric again! The great experience was found at this little restaurant we happened to stumble upon while hunting for dinner at busy Shinjuku. At the back of those little quaint street, we found this sign that read some great Yakitori and Japanese food served at the restaurant on the Second Floor so up we went! Yakitori we did not find there on the Second Floor but we found a little restaurant called Negishi filled with Japanese natives and businessmen after work chatting and having dinner there. We asked and realised they serve pork and beef teishoku (set meals). Prices seem reasonable so we stepped in.

It was a casual ambience with the people chatting away. Thankfully there was an English menu for us and we read that the meals there were cooked with health in mind. I terribly needed it for my painful gastric problem. We both ordered the Grilled Pork Set which came served with barley rice, a plate of well-grilled tanned Pork slices (tan-toro), some specially made vegetable appetisers, a bowl of wonderfully grated yam and a bowl of Ox-Tail soup. All for 880 yen per set. Ice green tea was free flow.

The meal was a great cure for my gastric for it went away straight after! The barley rice was soft and well-cooked. We could get free refills and according to the menu, this bowl of rice is especially effective in curing fatigue and stomach problems. The tasty pork slices were nicely marinated and well-grilled. The specially made vegetable appetisers were designed to tempt your tastebuds and to supplement your daily dosage of foliage. The best part was the grated yam specialty which was sticky and slimy. It was to be eaten quickly with the barley rice which I understood if consumed together will nicely blend for a great cure for fatigue and for your stomach! I simply love it! The taste of this grated yam was not too sweet, not sour and it just nicely glued itself to the rice or pork so well that it softens the food so much so that it melts away in your mouth. Wonderful. I havent tried anything like that before and definitely crave for it now that I am thinking about it.

Please visit this restaurant to try this special set meal when you happen to be in Tokyo, Japan. Negishi has many branches over Tokyo. The one that we visited was at Kikumizu Building 2F, 1-16-5 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan (東京都新宿区西新宿1-16-5　菊水ビル2F).

Tea Lounge Regent Hotel

End July 09, Ted and me got a weekend getaway package at Regent Singapore. Badly affected by the H1N1 flu virus worldwide, we thought we will stay inbound in our country least we catch the bug while travelling overseas. And so we did catch ... the travel bug, that is!

Regent Singapore is a pleasant place to be. Like a piece of art everywhere around the hotel. You will know what I mean from the photos I captured below.


I also like the Tea Lounge High Tea Buffet @ S$45 per pax where cute little delicacies, freshly baked pastries, scones, finger sandwiches, elegant tea and sweet desserts await. But do not hold too high expectation! I was not exceptionally amused by the food served there, though the presentation of the food spread does delight. If you like a lovely getaway or a cosy place to chat and spend your weekend with some elegant tea delights, you can try this place.

Tea Lounge is at Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249715 Tel: 65 6725 3245 / 65 6725 3245.