Value for money

I had a dinner yesterday at a Japanese restaurant called Aki along Gray's Inn Road in Clerkenwell that is part of the London Borough of Islington. The restaurant is cozy and it has a feeling of a small alley restaurant in Kyoto. They serve a variety of Japanese dishes and have menus that give best value for one's money. We tried Aki Special Course Menu that offered surprisingly wide variety of dishes at only £46.50 for two. That is really a bargain when compared to YoSushi's prices. Another plus is the friendly and attentive service. The place is perfect just the way it is. I hope they will not change a thing.

Perfect travel companion

I have a new favorite product for traveling and every day too. It is Gatsby Powdered Oil Clear Paper kit. As the name says, the product removes unwanted oil and leaves skin bright and matte.

These wonder papers are going for their ultimate test soon, since I am having a 10 hour flight from Singapore to Auckland starting this evening. I am sure I can count on Gatsby to make me look fresh after a long flight.

I will be the next two weeks in New Zealand. I will be on the road most of the time and I hope I will have time to make quick updates to my blog, so keep checking it. After I have come back I will post pictures and more experiences of my first trip to the Southern Hemisphere.

OMG!! It is HUGE!

There are two magazines I buy regularly: Monocle and HUGE. The first one I can understand as it is written in English, but HUGE is in Japanese and therefore the text parts remain a mystery for me. I do not care. HUGE provides excellent editorials and picture reports what is hot in hi-end fashion in Japan at the moment. Good thing is that the magazine does not only concentrate the most fashionable matters, but also puts old and new together in an original way. I love it. Issue 1/2010 is in stores now. In Singapore it can be found at in Kinokuniya Takashimaya.

PS. HUGE and Monocle should be bought from their origin countries (Japan and England), because they cost twice as much in Singapore compared to the original price. Same thing happens with many non-Singaporean hi-end fashion labels.

Perfect snack

Before ending up reading the latest edition of Monocle by the pool yesterday, I went to Japanese food store called Yamakawa Super in the basement of The Central shopping mall.

I have been searching for Japanese jelly drinks from Singaporean supermarkets for a long time without any luck. Until yesterday, Shoku-do food courts have been my only hope, but their take-away Asahi red grape jelly drinks are quite expensive.

Yamakawa Super turned out to be a jelly drink heaven. I found the pictured Sangaria tsubumi grape drink from their shelves. It tastes extremely good and is reasonably priced. I also found Meiji's Pucca salty and sweet fish shaped crackers. They make perfect snack accompanied by the Sangaria drink.

Another good news is that I just found out that there is a whole Japanese supermarket at Liang Court shopping mall, called Meidi-Ya. I MUST GO!

Trick or treat?

Treat, please! And in the form of Japanese candy. I found delicious and mouth watering Jap milk candy while doing groceries at FairPrice in Bishan. I also bought some sake, mainly because of the nice bottle. Maybe I will taste it later today.

PLY

Pictures from iida.jp

While skimming the current issue of my favorite Japanese magazine HUGE, I fell in love. There was an ad of new mobile phone called PLY. I rushed to the manufacturer's website and my love got even deeper. Designer Hideo Kambara has made excellent job by designing PLY to be very clean and fresh, but at the same time PLY is classic and in touch with the traditional Japanese design. PLY gets it's name from layered plywood.

The only downside is that this phone is designed for Japanese CDMA network and it will not work - as far as I know - in GSM network without a Japanese SIM card.

Feeling peckish or thirsty?

No problem! There is a vending machine in every street corner of Tokyo. One of the best part of Japanese vending machines is the fact that they give back even notes, not only annoying small coins.

The best airline snack award goes to...

...ANA! On my recent trip to Tokyo I flew with All Nippon Airways, ANA. Their plane was not the most modern one, but the snacks they served with drinks were the best I have tasted in economy class - Japanese rice crackers.

I like their old-fashioned logo and style too, minimalistic and stylish.

Tokyo moments, part II

Tokyo moments, part I

Hello Kitty 35th anniversary

Picture from kitty35.com

Later this autumn Japanese cartoon figure Hello Kitty will have her 35th birthday. I was not a fan earlier, but now in Asia I have started to like Hello Kitty. Maybe the reason for my liking is the fact that Hello Kitty is Japanese. For me she represents all the best qualities of being Japanese: simple design, irresistible cuteness, eye for even the tiniest detail and brilliant branding.

Last weekend I was visiting Tokyo and stayed at a friend's place in Aoyama. On Sunday evening I noticed something familiar in the horizon. It was our birthday girl in huge size. Sanrio had put Hello Kitty lights on one Ferris wheel in Tokyo bay area, see below.

Happy birthday Hello Kitty!

Cuteness

Last week I did my usual grocery shopping at Carrefour at Suntec City shopping mall. When my eyes catched there cute Japanese erasers I could not help myself. I had to save these little fellas from some cruel school girl, who would actually use them as erasers. Now they stand on my table and bring a smile on my face every time I see them. I love Japan and their eye for even the tiniest detail!

A man with a fan

The August 2009 issue of GQ Japan has an article about the traditional Japanese men's accessories. This proves that Karl Lagerfeld is not the only man using fans.

I like especially the wooden sandals. Sadly the Japanese footwear runs so small that it has been really difficult to find my size (EUR44/UK10) even in Tokyo. Maybe better luck on my next visit...

Somehow the pictured below Kris van Assche sandals from the SS10 men's collection remind me of the Japanese sandals, at least the soles are bit similar. A bit bulky, but beautiful.

Image: www.krisvanassche.com

Lost in translation

Being sick is never fun. When you're just lying fragile on the couch unable to do anything sensible, it is time to watch long lost DVDs. That is what I did yesterday.

I watched Lost in Translation. I have seen it when it first came out in 2003. It is a funny film. Actually nothing noteworthy happens in it, but still it is a very enjoyable film. Maybe because of Sofia Coppola's direction. A former movie star comes to Tokyo to make a scotch commercial and is totally lost in the strange language and culture. I had the exactly same feeling yesterday, lost in my own home. Fortunately feeling better today.

Another thing I like about Lost in Translation is Tokyo. It is one of my favorite cities. It is huge, crazy, organized, polite, clean and absolutely charming. I can not wait my next visit.