Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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).

Thursday, September 24, 2009

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.

Apologies from Strawberry Moments

Due to an unexpected error, we were unable to post photos and blog online on Blogger for the last 2 months. We wish to extend our apologies to everyone. But we are back now! We cant wait to share with you our adventures over the last months that we missed posting ...