Having a Chinese heritage, pineapple tarts are a pretty common snack item and a must have during festive ocassions. Even though I usually shun the more commonly found factory made tarts, what was only until I was finally introduced to SunnyHill’s pineapple tarts.

After a recent affair with SunnyHill’s pineapple tarts at a road show, I decided to make a visit to their shop in Raffles Hotel to grab a few more boxes for the family.

A serving of pineapple tart and oolong tea.

The first thing that struck to me was their impeccable hospitality towards anyone who stumbled into their shop.

I walked into the shop well with an intention to purchase their pineapple tarts without needing any introductions, but instead was instructed by the polite waitress to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of their pineapple tarts before making a purchase.

A real treat.

As part of their business philosophy, SunnyHills believes in letting customers try their products first before buying. And so, at any of their shops, every guest is given a pineapple cake and tea, whether they are buying anything or not.

Enjoy the food, the atmosphere and the various books on the table.

One can relax and enjoy their snack on the communal table, filled with food and tea related reads to occupy your time with. And if you allow, the waitress will also painstakingly explain about SunnyHill’s philosophy, pineapple tarts and any additional information you may inquire.

Is there a reason not to buy a box?

What makes SunnyHills special? They differentiate themselves by using  the finest ingredients from all over the world, boasting of premium butter from New Zealand, gourmet flour from Japan and organic pineapples from Taiwan.

Halal and Health-conscious individuals will also be thrilled by the fact that their pineapple tarts are certified Halal, ovo-lacto vegetarian friendly and free from preservatives. On the downside, you’ll have to finish them within 3 weeks.

Everyone left the shop with at least a bag of tarts.

SunnyHills
Raffles Hotel Arcade
Unit #03-05
328 North Bridge Road
Singapore 188719
Telephone: +65 8522-9605

Hole-in-a-wall? Checked. Hidden between rarely traveled roads and buildings? Checked. Affordable and delicious cakes for sale? Check and checked. Room for Dessert is a curious little cake shop that I managed to stumble across while looking for another shop in the vicinity of the area. Located deep inside an old HDB estate and surrounded by old mom-and-pop shops, Room for Dessert’s shop seemed like an out of place installation from some young entrepreneurs trying to break into the scene. I was wrong.

It might have been a more recent find for this little adventurer, but Room for Dessert has been operating for quite a number of years. Despite having only a small shopfront with a number of cakes for sale, they have been maintaining a good business through good word of mouth and the alluring smell of freshly baked cakes. I was one of the lucky, unsuspecting customers to stumble in.

List of cakes for sale.

With only a handful of cakes on their menu, most customers usually call in advance to buy cakes by the whole or make custom orders, which are available with several days of advance ordering. There are always portioned and whole cakes available for walk-in customers each day but are subjected to availability.

Ring the bell to sound out to the lady.

The shop is truly a one woman show, managed by a really nice lady who is usually making cakes at the back of the store.

Most important factor in getting your cake fix.

If the shop is open, do yourself a favor and purchase a few slices of cakes that are available. Note that there’s a possibility that not all the cakes on menu will be available, so grab whatever is on hand. I can assure you that all their cakes are delicious.

This time round I managed to score myself with 3 different cakes.

Choc-Banana Mascarpone cake.

Summertime Carrot Cake.

Green Tea Tiramisu Cake.

I might readily admit that I do not have such a big sweet tooth to give a fair judgement for the above 3 cakes, but my mom and sis could. In fact I only managed to get a taste out of each of the 3 small cakes before they were readily eaten by the rest of my family members.

Directions to the shop.

Though the shop location might be a little off the beaten track, and even if the operating hours might feel a little harsh, do yourself a favor and give this little dessert shop a try. Visit their website for more information regarding custom orders.

When they announced that Nogizaka46′s 3rd single was to be released on the 22th August, I couldn’t contain the excitement as the previous 2 single releases for the AKB48 official rival group have been excellent. Though there’s still days remaining to release date, you can count on AKS to have snuck in previews into their variety shows and other media, giving fans the chance to decide for themselves if the new single is worth its value.

Following their previous singles, Hashire! Bicycle goes through the same format of utilizing the heavy use of rhythmic and piano to achieve a more old school feel. While sadly compared to Guruguru Curtain or Oide Shampoo, it is not as rhythmic as the former nor as catchy as the latte, Hashire! Bicycle is still a pretty solid song on its own right.

The Nogizaka french pop girls.

While I’ll like to be more positive regarding the other several aspects on this new single release, there’s really much to be desired. So let me start with the costumes. Given past experiences on the costume designs for Nogizaka46, I would say that it is not one of their strong points, but Hashire! Bicycle has brought it on to another level.

What makes it slightly different from the previous two singles is that, in addition to the usual single’s performing costume, this time round there’s also a french doll costume incorporated into the promotional video. While I personally find the french pop girls, with their dorky bow cut wig and pastel colored dress much favorable, their main performing costume was more of a letdown, sporting of a highly glittery one piece with matching short pants.

The alternate Hashire! Bicycle performing costume.

Anyone that has managed to take a sneak peek of the video would agree with me that the brighter pastel colors is a nice change to the previous darker settings of the last 2 singles. To top it off, there’s even laces borders embedded to the whole video to give it a more dreamy feel. What has been making headlines was the inclusion of french subtitles. To some, it was pretty novel, but I did find that the subtitles managed to block a lot of otherwise good shots of the girls.

Unfortunately, the video suffers from really bad direction. The whole thing is filmed on a static set with the girls alternating the choreography in the french pop and the glitter costumes. While I’m no film director myself, it’s pretty evident that the whole dancing part was cut up awkwardly.

What really makes the video a poor promotional video though was the fact that there’s literally only split second closeup shots of the front girls with the rest of the video being far shots. Thanks to this and the wigs, it’s difficult to make out any of the members. Geometric objects placed in the foreground obscure the girls far too often too.

Hashire! Bicycle Limited A and B cover respectively.

Following its previous type releases, there will be 3 limited CD + DVD editions and a regular one for Hashire! Bicycle. While there’s a different B-side in each type, the main means of getting fans to buy all the versions are still the Creator x Nogizaka shows where each girl is paired with a famous designer/artist/film maker to create unique shows according to the theme and this time round it will be about travel. The videos are also uploaded to Nogizaka46′s YouTube page for viewing, but confusingly access is limited to only Japan.

Hashire! Bicycle Limited C cover and regular version respectively.

Even though it’s only the 3rd single so far, I can safely say that like their previous releases, Hashire! Bicycle will go on to snag a sweet spot on the Oricon charts. With their previous 1st and 2nd singles taking second and first places on the charts respectively, one can easily foresee what the end result will be.  This is of course partly owing to the fact that Nogizaka46 positions themselves as rivals to their hugely popular cousin group.

Japanese food might be the most recognized foreign cuisine in Singapore, but its subset, Okinawan food does not have such a reputation. In fact there’s only a handful of shops in Singapore that serve Okinawan food, with most of them being located at Robertson Quey. Situated at liang court, Okinawan Diner Niran-Kanai is a good choice for one to try out some true Okinawan food at an affordable price and more convenient location.

Okinawa Cuisine is somewhat of a mix of Japanese and Chinese cuisine.

After having dined here occasionally throughout the years, I’ve seen the transformation of Nirai Kanai’s menu from a bite sized based izakaya establishment, to a more wallet friendly diner with well priced sets for those who just want to come for a meal. Set meals range from Okinawan soup based noodles, to stir-fry main dishes and even some Japanese classics for those who are not so inclined to Okinawan food.

Set noodle meal.

As mentioned, all the rice sets come with a main dish of your choice, ranging from classic okinawan stir-fry, to classic Japanese food and even Japanese influenced western food. Here I’ll include some of the main dishes I’ve tried out, one will be spoiled for choice at Nirai-Kanai.

Rice set meal with a variety of main dishes to choose from. Picture above features a cubed Japanese style steak.

Japanese style Tori karaage rice set.

Miso saba fish rice set.

Classic Okinawan stir-fry Miso tofu silk gourd rice set.

Even though Nirai-Kanai’s menu is primary dominated by set meals, there’s still a second menu with ala carte dishes to choose from. The menu carries non set orders from the set menu’s featured items as well as small bites that go down well with some beer or sake. This is of course catered to our Japanese locals who come to Nirai-Kanai to hang out with small bites and beers rather than for a full meal.

Squid ink soup.

Deep fried pork knuckles.

Fatty indulgence that melts in your mouth. Goes well with some beer.

If you like Japanese food, Okinawan food doesn’t disappoint. Even more so that the pricing of dining at Nirai-Kanai is not much different from say, dining at any other mainstream Japanese restaurant in Singapore. To me, an even better tell tale sign of a good Japanese eating place is when you see a ton of Japanese locals making merry .

Do make reservations when planning to head to Nirai-Kanai on a weekend, I’ve been refused entry on several occasions as it can get filled to the brim from the start of their opening hours. Once you get past that, I can really promise you that the food will not be a disappointment.

Lost? Just look for the signboard, for listen out for noisy conversations in Japanese.

Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai
Liang Court Shopping Centre
177 River Valley Road
#B1-01/02
Singapore 179030

We move on to the more recent winter collection of AKB48 x BLT photographs featuring their newer generation of 12th generation kenkyuusei members, of whom Tano Yuuka, Takahashi Juri and Iwata Karen, have been recently promoted to join AKB48′s Team 4. Once again, here’s the series of AKB48 U-17 photos, which have been personally hunted down and scanned for your viewing pleasure.

Takahashi Juri.

Takahashi Juri.

Tano Yuuka.

Tano Yuuka.

Tano Yuuka and Takahashi Juri.

Sasaki Yukari.

Sasaki Yukari.

Oomori Miyuu.

Oomori Miyuu.

Sasaki Yukari and Oomori Miyuu.

Iwata Karen.

Iwata Karen.

Hirata Rina.

Hirata Rina.

Iwata Karen and Hirata Rina.

Group shot.

Here’s another complete collection of AKB48 U-17 photographs scanned and uploaded for your viewing pleasure. Once again, they feature the AKB48 kenkyuusei, research students (some of whom have already been promoted to teams) in a variety of candid outdoor scenes.

Do give us a “like” to support the continual efforts of assembling and scanning these sets. Just like previous scans, the photos have also been uploaded them to the new Tumblr account here. Feel free to share them elsewhere, though a link back (to this page) would be nice.

Takahashi Juri.

Takahashi Juri.

Kato Rena.

Kato Rena.

Takahashi Juri and Kato Rena.

Kojima Natsuki.

Kojima Natsuki.

Natori Wakana.

Natori Wakana.

Kojima Natsuki and Natori Wakana.

Sasaki Yukari.

Sasaki Yukari.

Omori Miyuu.

Omori Miyuu.

Sasaki Yukari and Omori Miyuu.

Group shot.

Aside from the sparse updates from me recently, I’ve finally gotten around scanning thorough most of my U-17 collection for the sake of backup purposes and to share it with the rest of the world. As most of these pictures have come from the tedious process of procuring the photos physically over the course of several months, I sincerely hope that readers will make an effort to link back to us when putting them up elsewhere. Please enjoy the good quality scans of the 2011 U-17 Spring series.

Kawaei Rina.

Kawaei Rina.

Ichikawa Miori.

Ichikawa Miori.

Kwaei Rina and Ichikawa Miori.

Kojima Natsuki.

Kojima Natsuki.

Suzuki Shihori.

Suzuki Shihori.

Kojima Natsuki and Suzuki Shihori.

Kobayashi Marina.

Kobayashi Marina.

Morikawa Ayaka.

Morikawa Ayaka.

Kobayashi Marina and Morikawa Ayaka.

Group Shot.

Ramen and Miyamoto Musashi. While the collaboration of ramen and famous samurai might look like a fancy gimmick on the surface, I can assure you that Menya Musashi is indeed, very, very famous. It was a huge hit with the Tokyoties when it first started out during the 1990s and now, more than 10 odd shops are located within Tokyo, with the newest Menya Musashi being an overseas outlet in Singapore.

Even before the Singapore outlet was opened, Menya Musashi has always been heavily recommended, as one of the top ramen places to eat while visiting Tokyo. But alas I had never grasped the chance to try it out, so this time I had to make the extra effort to visit the Singapore outlet.

Menya Musashi Singapore.

With heavy references to the famed samurai, the whole shop is decorated with Musashi art, even right down to the bowls and spoons we were using. The decor of dark walls and dynamic lighting does make for a posh and relaxing place to have a bowl of samurai noodles.

Menya Musashi serves both the usual ramen and tsukemen, which of course features the ever popular pork bone broth which is a hit with Singaporean palettes. But one look at the menu and tsukemen was swiftly decided by the Supermerlion noodle sampling team for the challenge.

The word "FREE" caught our attention.

More than half a kilograms of noodles if you decide to challenge the 5x.

For a fixed price, one can choose the amount of noodles to chomp on. 120g being the regular portion with a max amount of 5x the regular amount. Orders were quickly placed and a few 5x was noted. The manager looks unwavered by our orders, probably a sign that the 5x amount of noodles had been a regular order.

The ramen cook in the open kitchen didn’t look as much as excited as he dumped balls after balls of noodles into the boiling pot.

Looks perfectly normal on the surface, but that bowl hid 360g of noodles.

Woah.

For comparison's sake, that's a 600g bowl vs a 360g bowl.

Staggering amount of noodles aside, every order of tsukemen came with a good amount of pork and menma (bamboo shoots), with an additional noting of the half a half-boiled egg. There’s also 3 options of dip to choose from, the chili-red spicy version, the garlic-black extra fragrant version and the default milky-white soup version.

Frankly, 600g of noodles is too much for most people. It took us 10 minutes to make a dent in the half kilo bowl of noodles. Secondly, if one doesn’t finish their noodles fast enough, both the noodles and the soup turn cold and that will not be the most ideal tsukemen experience.

Good enough for a return trip? Yes. I probably have to make another return trip to try out their ramen.

Just try not to order the 5x noodles of tsukemen if you are not confident of your stomach space.

Samurai vs samurai.

Do take note, queue lines might go crazy during lunch and dinner times with disregard to either weekdays or weekends. I had to make a revisit twice since it’s pretty silly to queue 1.5 hours for noodles. The best way to go around the problem is to visit the shop during non peak afternoon hours as Menya Musashi is open all day from 10am onwards.

According to estimates, auditions will start as early as August this year. And by December Shanghai48′s team “S” will be ready to perform just before AKB48′s 7th anniversary. Looks like it will be a really busy year for overseas 48 groups getting ready for the stage!

Mention Collon and most people will be familiar with the inch long cream filled wafer rolls. Mention these Collon sticks, though and I have gotten clueless answers from everyone questioned. As an elusive item even in Japan itself, it’s little wonder that most wouldn’t have any idea of this snack’s existence. This post will enlighten everyone as to what exactly Giant Collon Stick is.

Instead of the familiar bite-sized snacks, each cylindrical tube of Collon Sticks (コロンの棒) contains 11 monstrously long strips of cream filled wafers. To give a better idea, each single stick of Giant Collon is the equivalent of opening up a normal box of Collon and stacking all of its contents together. For those without a sweet tooth, don’t expect to finish a single stick by yourself.

Giant Choco and Cream Collon.

Contents are bubble wrapped to ensure the delicate sticks wont snap apart when shipping or handling.

Like normal Collon, the wafers and cream filling basically stay the same in the stick version. And in line with the endless number of different flavors that Glico has conjured up for their Collon series of products, one can find the same variety of different flavors in these giant stick versions.

Actual Collon stick. One is about the equivalent of a small box of Collon snacks.

This particular tube features both cream and chocolate flavored fillings.

Sadly, as mentioned earlier Giant Collon Sticks are some of the more exclusive items that is probably available only through Japan. In fact, one has to visit specific Glico specialty shops to be able to see any of the tubes appearing on shelves at all, with each prefecture’s shop offering a different flavor to represent itself in addition to the normal flavors.

For example, Tokyo’s Glico Shop (Guriko-ya) is only found in the basement of Odaiba’s Aquacity. It can be sometimes annoying to hunt down specific flavors other than the generic cream/chocolate/strawberry flavors.

Giant Collon does make for a great, surprise for friends and families when returning from a holiday in Japan.

Collect them all!

Mention the Singapore Sling and it would be a decent conversation topic with any foreigners you meet. While few Singaporeans would actually order it themselves in the bar, the Singapore Sling is a world famous cocktail and an iconic drink for visiting foreigners. It is little wonder that brilliant local minds have started marketing a pre-mix version of the cocktail to be made available to the rest of the world.

This particular bottle of concentrated pre-mixed Singapore Sling was an impulsive pickup from the airport when I came back from the recent Jakarta trip. The lone bottle of Singapore Sling was hiding quietly among other bottled liqueurs on the shelf, an indication that probably no Singaporeans from a return trip would be willing to carry her off the shelves.

I did.

Singapore Sling on the rocks.

Even if instructions on the manual state that the concentrated Singapore Sling pre-mix can be enjoyed neat on the rocks, I will strongly oppose anyone doing that since without the balance of another souring agent like pineapple juice, the mix is too sweet and bitter to be enjoyed. A friend who tasted it even stated that the taste difference was not too different from cough syrup.

For the best results, it’s still best to mix 1/4 of the concentrated mix with 3/4 pineapple juice as on the instructions, resulting in a slightly orange red foamy concoction that is the iconic Singapore Sling.

To be frank, this Singapore Sling does taste a little different from the ones I tasted from different bars in Singapore, but every of those also serves a slightly different tasting Sling.

There are perhaps a million different recipes for mixing a Singapore Sling that one can find on the internet nowadays. With the relevant spirits and ingredients available it is really not too hard to make a Singapore Sling from scratch either, even though for a lazy man like myself will probably stick to mixing it out from a concentrate. Here’s a recipe I found online to build a Singapore Sling from scratch.

For those who are interested in original recipe, one of the scribbled recipes is still on display at the Raffles Hotel Museum.

Singapore Sling

1.5 ounces Gin
0.5 once Cherry Heering
0.25 once Cointreau
0.25 ounce Benedictine
4 ounces Pineapple Juice
0.25 ounce Lime Juice
0.33 ounce Grenadine
1 dash Angostura Bitter

Garnish: Cherry and slice of pineapple.
Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled Collins glass.

Sling mixed with pineapple juice.

It is also good to know a little bit about the roots of the Singapore Sling. It is of course invented here in Singapore, by a bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon while working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore back in 1910s.

Raffles Hotel was the home away from home for Westerners stuck in the East during the colonial era. During that time gin slings were the most popular drinks ordered. It was then that the clever Mr Ngian created a tropical cocktail sling that was not only delectable but also easily recognizable. Since then, the Singapore Sling has made it onto the world stage.

Enjoy Singapore Sling your way.

With the AKB48 Kenkyuusei promotion announcement by AKB48 theater manager Togasaki at the Super Saitama Arena Concert last weekend, the final 5 members have been finally added into Team 4 and thus making it a full team. Congratulations to the 5 Kenkyuusei who have made it into the official AKB members club! Here’s a short introduction to all the girls of the completed Team 4.

Just a little bit of history. Before the formation of Team 4 in June 2011, all of the 9th generation members were already promoted as official members during the 5th anniversary theater performance back in December 2010. While were an occasional 1 or 2 members added to the team 4 subsequently, it was not until March 2012 that a full 16 girl strong team was finally assembled.

Shimazaki Haruka.

Paruru.

49. Shimazaki Haruka

Currently occupying the #0 spot in Team 4′s stage performance, Shimazaki Haruka has long been one of the favored girls of 9th gen during her research student days. In fact she placed 28th in AKB48′s 2010 election rankings, the highest ranking ever received by a kenkyuusei. Though it still remains a mystery as to why she was unranked in the following 2011 AKB48 election after attaining such a high rank previously.

Shimazaki Haruka might not have a permanent standing spot among the senbatsu performances but you’ll be sure that if any of the main girls couldn’t make it for the said media performance, Haruka is most definitely the girl replacing.

Shimazaki Haruka confessed that she has a soft spot for female idols, particularly favoring Tokyo Girls’ Style. With that in mind, it is said that she also secretly grades every member in the 48 family in terms of how “idoly” they are. Watanabe Mayu was of course given the full 100 marks in terms of idol-ness. For that reason, her nickname “Paruru” was tailored for her by Yonezawa Rumi, just like how she previously had given a similar sounding nickname to Watanabe.

Paruru is definitely one of the faces for Team 4 and has been furiously appearing in all sorts of media (sometimes even tie-ins with the Senbatsu members) for more exposure. She is one girl you won’t miss even if when new to Team 4.

Just last weekend during the final day of the Super Saitama Arena concert, it was announced that Shimazaki Haruka will join the Big Apple agency.

Oba Mina.

Minarun.

50. Oba Mina

Serving as the captain of the new Team 4, Oba Mina is one of the oldest members in the team. Since 2007, Oba Mina had tried auditioning for AKB Kenkyuusei spots without any success but after a total of 3 times, was has finally admitted into the 9th generation student. Since then “3rd time’s a charm” has been her favorite phrase.

Perhaps thanks to this same perseverance, it didn’t bring down her spirit or determination to stay in AKB48 despite being involved in a scandal last year. She was suspended in all AKB48 activities, including important ones like the AKB48 Janken Tourament and the first theater debut performance of Team 4. After begging the management (and fans) to give her a chance, theater manager Mr Togasaki Tomonobu finally allowed her comeback at the start of this year.

Prior to her suspension, Oba Mina was one of the more popular girls of 9th gen. Fans even furiously threw in votes during the AKB48 General Election to get her to #35, making her one of the only 2 Kenkyuusei Undergirls in 2011. After the scandal broke out, I would believe that she had probably also broken many fans’ hearts. Since her comeback this year, the management has been generous in featuring her in all sorts of media. Only time will tell if the fans have forgiven her.

During the final day of the Super Saitama Arena concert, it was announced that Oba Mina will join Japan Music Entertainment.

Takeuchi Miyu.

Miyumiyu.

51. Takeuchi Miyu

Before the inclusion of Tano Yuuka as an official AKB48 member, Takeuchi Miyu was the youngest fully fledged AKB48 member. Even though she has now been relieved of this “youngest” duty, Miyu still remains one of the major key girls in Team 4.

With a mother who is a veteran in show business, Takeuchi Miyu has been trained since young in all aspects of performing, including vocal training, music lessons and even classical ballet.

Due to her past experience and training, Takeuchi Miyu was given the role of backup (should they be unable to attend a performance) for the “ace members” of all 3 teams at the AKB48 theater. To perform as a substitute of the 3 aces (Maeda Atsuko, Oshima Yuko and Watanabe Mayu) would surely have to be a silent confirmation from the management as to Takeuchi being an invaluable asset both to the team, and AKB48 as a whole. Despite her age, Takeuchi is known to be one of the best singers within the 48 family, rivaling the likes of Takahashi Minami herself.

Takeuchi Miyu has been admitted into the Oh Enterprise agency during the announcement held in Super Saitama Arena last weekend.

Nagao Mariya.

Mariyagi.

52. Nagao Mariya

Another popular member of Team 4, the two most notable features of Nagao Mariya would be her duck lips and yaeba (double teeth). These two charm points alone have drawn her quite a decent following within the AKB48 fans. While yaeba is fairly common trait among Japanese people, Nagao’s stand out rather prominently. When combined with her lips, her smiles should have earned her the title of “pouting killer” rather than her catchphrase, “wink killer”.

Oddly, compared to the other popular members in Team 4, Nagao Mariya receives much less exposure. This is possibly why despite her popularity in theaters and handshakes, Nagao has yet to grow enough of a fan base to earn her a rank in the AKB48 elections.

Also strangely, is the fact that Nagao Mariya is the only among the 9th generation girl who currently does not belong to any agency. Maybe she’s focusing on her studies before finally stepping into the entertainment world?

Yamauchi Suzuran.

Ranran.

53. Yamauchi Suzuran

If AKB48 were to give out a “best fan service” award among its members it is likely that Yamauchi Suzuran would win. Tales of even non-fans walking away happily after a handshaking session with Suzuran is not unheard of. And waving and giving ample eye contact to fans during stage performances is also part of Yamauchi’s norm.  Not to mention that she constantly updates the AKB blogs with wacky and interesting stuff to keep fans wanting for more.

When combined with her good MC skills and dancing abilities, it’s little wonder why Ranran even as a research student had managed to get herself ranked at 36th in 2010 AKB48 General Elections. I even know of a fan who had casted 500 votes for Suzuran! It might sound absurd, but if a fan was willing to devote 500 votes to a “mere” kenkyuusei at that point of time, you can only imagine the drawing power of Yamauchi Suzuran.

Also known as the golf girl, with both parents as professional golfers, Yamauchi Suzuran has since her youth been trained in the sport. She even participated in a few golf competitions while off duty from AKB48 duties and even now she’s going to be have a permanently weekly part in a golf program.

An interesting side note, is that other than sharing the same birthday as Oota Aika and Yokoyama Yui. Ranran was also born on the anniversary of AKB48′s debut theater performance!

During the Super Saitama Arena concert, it was announced that Yamauchi Suzuran will join Horipro.

Shimada Haruka.

Haruu.

54. Shimada Haruka

With MC abilites not losing to veteran members like Minegishi Minani or Sashihara Rino, Shimada Haruka is one of the most vocal members in Team 4. More often than not, during theater MC segments or variety shows, Haruka usually is able to spice up the atmosphere with her witty chats and daring speeches.

Yet despite her strong and daring exterior, Shimada is known to get nervous and stressed out from her heavy duties. This is especially true during times such as when Team 4′s captain, Oba Mina was suspended from AKB48 activities and Shimada Haruka had to take up the reins as temporary captain in her place. At some occasions she could be seen in solitary meditation at the backstage before the start of a theater or concert performance.

Shimada Haruka will be joining the Office 48 family, as announced during the Super Saitama Arena Concert. Given that most of the other Office48 members are in the DiVA group, may it be that we’ll be able to see the inclusion of Haruka in the not so distant future?

Nakamura Mariko.

Komari.

55. Nakamura Mariko

Possessing a booming voice and a desire to perform, Nakamura Mariko also brings out some of the better MCs in the team with her great impersonation skills. Along with Takeuchi Miyu, Nakamura holds one of the best vocals among the 9th generation members. Also a big fan of enka music, it was said that Mariko would make a great enka duo with Iwasa Misaki after hearing her performance in AKBINGO’s karaoke special.

Despite not being the oldest of members in the team, Mariko is often regarded as the motherly figure amongst the group. Through her team members’ votes, she is also said to possess the most beautiful pair of legs. It’s little wonder that she used to be a former gravure idol before joining AKB48.

Due to the fact that she shares the same name as Shinoda Mariko, members started using the nickname “Komari” to differentiate them. This nickname has since stuck with her as both her catchphrase and nickname.

Nakamura Mariko will be joining Shinei Production as per announced recently.

Ichikawa Miori.

Fresh Lemon.

56. Ichikawa Miori

You might not be familiar with her name, but there is no way that you wouldn’t recognize Ichikawa Miori’s infamous nickname “Fresh Lemon”. Her catchphrase “I want to become a Fresh Lemon!” has been stuck in everyone’s head since her debut in AKB48, making her one of the most recognizable girls outside of the senbatsu.

Ichikawa gets her nickname of course from her ridiculous love of lemons. And apart from being able to eat them raw (without flinching), she boasts an extensive collection of lemon-themed goods. The management has been quick to catch onto this and the other traits that make up her wacky personality.

Ichikawa Miori was so outstanding in her display of caricature-like personality that she had managed to win over many fans in the shortest of time, evident from the fact that she gotten 39th place in 2011′s AKB48 elections. Making her one of the only 2 kenkyuusei ranked in the top 40 last year.

Together with Nakamata Shiori, Ichikawa Miori was one of the fastest 10 generation members to be officially promoted. Prior to that, fans often jokingly said that Ichikawa Miori belonged in the “9.5 gen” due to the amount of push and media exposure the management had given her. Ichikawa was also known to be closest to the 9th generation Oba Mina. She is also referred to as Miorin, or “Tenshi” by her fans.

Despite her youthful appearance and childlike demeanor, Ichikawa is actually one of Team 4′s older members. A trait that is sometimes pointed out during variety programs. Her tiny frame also hides the fact that she is one of the group’s stronger singers, having served as Masuda Yuka’s under as a kenkyuusei.

Prior to joining AKB48, Ichikawa Miori was part of Stardust Agency and another idol group called Power Age back when she was just 12 years old. Unfortunately, she is limited by her inability to articulate fluently due to a lisp.

During the members agency allocation during the Super Saitama Arena concert, it is announced that Ichikawa Miori will be joining Ogipro. Looks like Watariouka Hashiritai 7 will be welcoming a new member soon.

Nakamata Shiori.

Shiorin.

57. Nakamata Shiori

As a student of the prestigious Waseda University’s School of Political Science and Economics, it is said that probably no one else in the family of AKB48 members can beat Nakamata Shiori in terms of academic excellence. On the day it was announced that Shiori had been admitted into Wasada, the management had also decided to promote her. Coincidence? Maybe not. That aside, being able to cope with actively performing in the AKB48 theater and studying in a highly stressful university did earn me a high respect for her dedication.

Due to her highly busy schedule, Nakamata Shiori is usually active only in theater performance. Her appearances outside of the theater are limited to but sparse variety programs. This lack of media exposure does affect her fan base but she’s still very well received in theater shows.

The equally prestigious Watanabe Pro had spread their arms to welcome Nakamata Shiori into their agency, perhaps once she graduates from Waseda, there will be ample entertainment related opportunities waiting for her? Nakamata has in the past expressed her interest in journalism.

Abe Maria.

Maria.

58. Abe Maria

It might seem a little unusual for this un-idol-like girl to be admitted into Team 4, but Abe Maria is fast becaming one of the dark horses of the group. Even prior to her official promotion announcement, the management have been actively pushing Abe into all sorts of media coverage through the group’s full repertoire of variety programs and even stealthily with the senbatsu in product tie-ins. She was also one of the few kenkyuusei members given the chance to take part in overseas performances.

Perhaps knowing that each team needs a little diversity, Abe Maria was slowly groomed and exposed to more than just theater performance, possibly to boost her confidence as she is known to be rather shy and reserved at times. Abe is known to be closest to Iriyama and a self-declared fan of Ichikawa Miori.

As one of the taller and more athletics girls, Abe Maria is best known for her dancing skills, which she had admitted to pouring in countless hours of self practice to reach the level that she is at now. Abe has expressed her dream to become a model one day and it looks like AKS is helping to path that future for her. Aside from that, Abe is also known for her amusingly blunt nature.

Together with Oba Mina, Abe Maria will be joining Japan Music Entertainment.

Iriyama Anna.

Annin.

59. Iriyama Anna

Regarded as the member with the the highest hopes of being promoted among the kenkuusei at that time, Iriyama Anna was promoted together with Abe Maria to the newly formed Team 4 during the Seibu Dome concert back in 2011.

Despite her defined features, Iriyama is fully Japanese. She often plays upon this fact by mixing English words into her sentences and generally speaking as if she were a foreigner (with strange Japanese). Both fans and AKB48 members have pointed out her resemblance to Jaejoong from Korean boy band DBSK.

As quite the opposite to Abe Maria, the vocal Annin is rather adept at MCs, which she uses to display her endearing personality that has melted a good many fans’ hearts. Iriyama also declares her love for strawberries and has integrated this into her catchphrase.

In last week’s announcement Iriyama Anna signed up with the excellent Ohta Pro, which their lineup includes AKB48’s most popular girls, Maeda Atsuko and Oshima Yuko. Looks like she will really be going places!

Kato Rena.

Renacchi.

60. Kato Rena

A shy and reserved girl on stage, Kato Rena has since grown to be able to handle herself better during introductions and MCs. AKS has probably realized her potential after watching her performances improve dramatically in just a year since she debut and had decided to give her a larger push. The “push” a sudden influx of appearances in all manner of TV programs, magazines and other forms of media.

Interestingly, Kato Rena shares the same birthday with AKB48′s ace, Maeda Atsuko. Maybe the management had seen her to have the potential to become their next ace?

Kato Rena is one of the newly promoted kenkyuusei to Team 4.

Kawaei Rina.

Ricchan.

61. Kawaei Rina

When it comes to popularity, Kawaei Rina single handily wins hands down as the single most popular new kenkyuusei to get promoted into Team 4. Just how popular is she? During National Handshake events, Kawaei’s queue was comparable to those of the top senbatsu’s.

Part of Kawaei Rina’s charms comes from her cute boyish looks and equally boyish personality. Unlike some of the other members who were spotted early and pushed from the start, Kawaei didn’t stand out as much of a potential keeper to the management until the fans eventually made them realized what a gem they were missing out on. Since then Kawaei has been actively pushed in many of the group’s media and especially on the Ariyoshi AKB Kyowakoku program.

Ricchan is currently the only 11th generation member in Team 4, and the only other to be promoted besides former 7th generation member Suzuki Shihori. She shares the same birthday as teammate Ichikawa Miori.

Iwata Karen.

Karen.

62. Iwata Karen

Among her fellow 12th generation peers, Iwata Karen easily holds the best vocal and dance ability. She also possesses a confidence and calm that allows her to handle herself easily on the stage despite her young age (she turns 14 later this year). This is probably the reason why Iwata plays an active role in theater performances and important events.

Like Takeuchi Miyu, Karen has a mother from the entertainment industry. This would explain the plentiful formal training she had as a child. Her great dancing probably came from all the ballet, jazz and traditional Japanese dance she had picked up since then.

Hailing from Miyagi Prefecture, Iwata Karen participated actively in AKB48′s Tohoku Earthquake and was the only kenkyuusei to be interviewed for the “DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 Show must go on 少女たちは伤つきながら、梦を见る”.

Takahashi Juri.

Juri.

63. Takahashi Juri

The most popular girl among the 12th generation members would have to be Takahashi Juri. Aside from her good looks, she does also give off a very positive vibe that attracts fans. AKB48′s theater manager Togasaki once commented that when Juri is able to break off her barrier, she will shine as brightly as Maeda Atsuko. A big comment indeed.

Unfortunately, Takahashi Juri is very weak during MCs. And even though she can be quite a chatter box, she gets tongue tied quite easily. Kojima Haruna also commented that Juri has “dead fish eyes” which was a killer for her. Perhaps once all those problems are solved, Juri would be able to shine like gem.

Tano Yuuka.

Tanochan.

64. Tano Yuuka

Currently the youngest official member of the AKB48 family, Tano Yuuka is an odd choice among the kenkyussei to be promoted into Team 4. Surely in terms of seniority, experience or favoritism every fan could think of another girl who can “better” replace her as an official member. But this doesn’t mean that she is the weakest link of Team 4, for aside from Iwata Karen, Tano Yuuko would have to be the next best singer of the 12th generation.

Other than praising her vocal ability, Yuuka is also pretty adept in performances and MC’s. Only time will tell if she will be able to draw more fans to support her in the long run. Debates aside, some have pointed out that Yuuka bears a striking resemblance to Kuroki Meisa, whose marriage with Akanishi Jin has been making big news recently.

During the last weekend of February, the Supermerlion team and friends had planned a short weekend getaway to visit Jakarta for the AKB48 x JKT48 concert. While the main objective was largely accomplished, I had a secondary objective to fulfill; to actually try out some real Indonesian food. Warning: Tasty food inside this post.

Due to the factor that this was going to be a short 2 day trip in Jakarta involving attending a concert and following up with whatever events the Japan Pop Culture Festival was going to throw at us, we did not have any extra time to actually do some sightseeing. But no matter how frenzied our schedule was going to be, everyone’s got to eat something. So, we had better make this trip more enjoyable by planning for some great food to go with it.

The plan was simple. Between the several hours from getting off the plane and before the concert, we were to stuff ourselves silly with food. Then on day two, stuff more food down into our stomach right before our flight back to Singapore. With the aid of an Indonesian friend accompanying us on the trip, about anything that might had posed as a problem was solved.

First thing off the plane, Pre-lunch snack.

And a drink to go with it. Oh that's not Coca Cola by the way.

Normally, trying out food places in a new country involves some luck and gut feeling in picking out places to dine in. But this time the mum of our Indonesian friend offered to take us around to her favorite spots, eliminating our worry and saving us a good load of trouble from playing the guessing game.

First proper meal of the day, of course had to be the world famous Indonesian Padang cuisine.

Real Indonesian Padang.

Padang food is famous for having small plates of tasty dishes stacking together.

Right off the bat our “Indonesian Mum” brought us to her favorite Padang restaurant to try out what real Indonesian Padang is all about. There’s always this special feeling when having a particular cuisine in its home ground. Eating the same kind of food that the locals are accustomed to is what I have grown to love about visiting other countries.

It was definitely very different from the Padang food I have tasted in Singapore, since the authentic one is not actually tuned to suit our Singaporean taste buds (we do expect much spicier food somehow). Since Indonesian cooks are not shy with their usage of seasonings, anyone who has a low tolerance towards salt or MSG might want to give this a miss. With me feeling “mission accomplished”, off we went to our concert avenue with stuffed stomachs.

Food related. JKT fan giving out free snacks for the rest of the waiting fans before the concert.

Should had taken a piece.

On a side note, generous and friendly Indonesian fans were giving out free snacks and Pokari Sweat drinks to fans who are queuing patiently under the sweltering heat. It is hard work to wait patiently to see your idols but it takes real dedication to buy extra food and water to share with everyone else who had the same motive as you.

After the concert was over, our “Indonesian Mum” even roped in “Indonesian Dad” to bring us for a good dinner. Their dedication has to be saluted, since bringing us to sample those great foods meant traveling over an hour from one end of Jakarta to another most of the time.

Dinner.

Grilled sambal prawns.

Mussels cooked in some spicy sauce.

Fish. I'm really hungry now from seeing the pictures again.

Fresh coconut water to cool us down from both the heat of the food and AKB x JKT aftermath.

Other than Padang, the other notable stuff to sample would had been the Indonesian style grilled seafood, a.k.a. Kuring. As it was already late in the night and most shops locally don’t really open till late, much of the seafood our Indonesian hosts wanted to order were already out of stock. But that was really a minor issue when the soul of the restaurant lay in their chili spices. This one did a great job. Most of us had a second or even third serving of food, a small part due to the fact that we had drained most of our energy during the concert.

Our hosts did promise to bring us to sample one of the best seafood restaurant the very next day, partly also since our Indonesian friend wanted us to try out a particular fish that he had been raving about even before the trip. Truthfully, this was also the very best meal we had before we caught our plane back to Singapore.

Hey good looking fish. Lets go on a date?

We were brought to this restaurant to specially sample this fish my Indonesian friend was raving about.

You know you have to order the very same fish if the restaurant displays a huge painted stone version right outside their doors. And it does not disappoint when my friend claimed that he can finish one whole by himself, fins and all. Like him, I was won over by the clean, fresh and simple taste that this fish has to offer. Goes great by itself or paired with some belchean chili.

Miss fish no. 2.

Miss fish no.3 bathing in a claypot of gravy.

Fish number 2 was a clear winner for the rest of the gang, partly because this variation of Indonesian style cooking is hugely popular back in Singapore. Guess Singaporeans really can’t resist a well grilled, spiced oily fish to pair with rice. Only managed to steal a small piece of flesh before said friend took the whole fish back to his plate.

Pairs together with rice well.

Last meal of the trip. Everyone ate like a king/queen.

The only real regret, was that everyone had eaten from the hotel’s breakfast buffet an hour before we went for our actual meal at this seafood restaurant. Dining such great food at 50% fullness and not being able to sample more of the other dishes was a real pity that needs to be fixed during the next chance we get to visit Jakarta again. Recommended restaurant? Very much.

Best gifts to bring back home, fresh local fruits.

Jakarta food will be missed dearly. Perhaps they take overseas order?

To end off, a very huge thanks to both my Indonesian friend (who prefers his identity kept secret) and both his parents who had taken the precious time off their weekend to accompany us throughout the trip. Most of the plans in this trip wouldn’t had been possible if not for their intervention, right down from arranging a personal driver and car to fetch us around Jakarta to bringing us around the city with their superb knowledge of the locations and traffic. Thank you.

It has always been a struggle to find food that agrees with the rest of the crowd while not breaking the wallet, especially when one is in town over the weekends. I’m happy to announce that with the recent addition of Yomenya Goemon in town, it could really be a good option to dine at. After all, how many people can say no to both Western and Japanese food?

While a relative newcomer to the Singaporean culinary scene, Goemon is a long established restaurant in Japan. Consider them as the Pastamania of Japan. You can find them in just about area in Tokyo and major cities in Japan. With their success, they’ve managed to break into the China market in Shanghai and more recently, Singapore.

Yomeonya Goemon, 313 Somerset branch.

Before you make any wild guesses, Goemon serves up Italian spaghetti, with a Japanese touch. Well you could consider it Japanese-Western fusion food. But if it’s delicious, no one would be complaining anyway. With 34 years of experience under their belt, there should be no way that they would mess up by serving highly experimental pasta dishes that will shock the diners.

Cook on order spaghetti is the way to go.

While still on the variety topic, diners will definitely be overwhelmed by the sheer variety of flavors offered at Goemon. Aside from the usual 3 styles of tomato, cream and olive oil & garlic, there’s also the more experimental Asian and Japanese styles like butter & soy sauce and cod roe flavors. For those opting for even more unusual stuff, there are a few soup and cold pastas offerings.

Spoiled for choice.

It is also good to know that instead of serving par-cooked pastas, Goemon only start cooking individual servings after the order is place. It ensures that el dente pastas are served every time to the diners’ delight.

Another twist that goes on when dining at Goemon is that everyone is given chopsticks instead of the usual fork and spoons to eat their pastas with. A funky Japanese gimmick to remind one that they are eating fusion pasta? Maybe.

Fork and spoons can still be requested from the staff if diners find it a hassle to eat their pasta with chopsticks. But I’d stick with the interesting chopsticks way of eating.

Tomato based seafood pasta. Regular set meal.

Pastas in Goemon come in 2 sizes, regular and “oomori” size which is an extra 250g serving on top of the regular size. Unless you are really very hungry, I would recommend against ordering the larger size since most would have trouble finishing it.

I once had a few friends with me who all ordered an oomori size each, but only one managed to finish his plate. Yomenya’s regular servings are already ample and are served with a plentiful amount of sauce, filling one’s stomach quite easily.

Cream based four cheese smoked chicken pasta. Alar carte.

For those who want to try more varieties of their pasta at one go, Goemon serves up a half-half set meal, which consist of two half portions of different pasta styles of your choice. There’s also the option of a regular set meal and the oomori set meal to choose from if you desire to have your salad, drink, pasta and dessert all in one sitting.

Or plain fried with olive oil and garlic, with a Japanese twist.

Being spoiled for choice is one sin that we humans desire for, and Goemon serves that up in abundance. So if you’re up for either some great made to order pasta or trying out experimental flavors, Goemon will be the place to hit up in town. Either way, Goemon serves up affordability, fullness and variety in one good package. Just try to perfect your chopstick holding skills before visiting.

Another bubble tea post again? I have no excuse for delivering yet another drink post. But this time it’s a standalone shop located in Tanjong Pagar, yet another local entrepreneur setting up to join in the fierce bubble tea competition currently ongoing in Singapore.

Like Artease Cafe, Woobbee is another homegrown bubble tea shop that is attempting to conquer the taste buds of the working crowd here in our CBD area. What’s more, the two are located in very close vicinity of each other.

Artease, being a fierce competitor who can serve up an excellent cup of bubble tea could reasonably be called the crowd’s favorite spot. And yet, if Woobbee manages to stand firmly on its own and attract a good amount of followers that would mean that they do serve a comparable drink.

Office workers getting their daily dose of drinks.

Like my ramen adventures, sometimes I happen to pass by a new shop that I have never seen before and impulsively go ahead to try it out. Woobbee was another such find, when I was in town trying to locate Artease instead. A score for them, too bad for Artease. Lets just say that I’m sometimes still torn between which of the two shops to patronize when I’m in the vicinity.

If there's a waiting line for your drinks, you will be given this instead.

When it comes to its drinks, Woobbee will not disappoint. Since they boast of using natural raw sugar for their drinks, it’s definitely a boost for the health conscious who also can’t get enough of their bubble tea fix. Rest assured that they do use premium Taiwan tea leaves and creamer for their bubble teas too.

While their bubble teas are definitely on top of the game, what gives them the edge over the competition would be their fruity teas. Not many places serve up a lychee fruit tea now and their fruity yogurt spins are definitely the drink of choice on a sweltering hot afternoon.

Also their pudding would sure to be a bestseller if they were to start selling them by the box instead of just offering it with their bubble teas. Although I’ve tried it and it has a more chewy jelly0like texture than how I would like my pudding, they are still pretty decent.

Drink comes either in a 500cc regular or 700cc large.

Dedicated? Might have just the thing for you.

To give it a try against Artease? Please do. Both are excellent homegrown bubble tea shops that deserve your support. Woobee even has an excellent website to wow online viewers before deciding. My good friend will always say that all the new bubble tea shops are about branding and making a visual impact to attract customers, but if they can do both while still holding up a good job in making their bubble teas, I’m not one to complain.

Woobbee
1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
#01-18
Singapore 082001

Tel: 62208220
Open Monday to Saturday, 10.30 AM – 7.30 PM (Closed Sundays)

Composed with her thoughts of the Great Tohoku earthquake in mind, Green a.Live is YUI’s 20th single that was released earlier this month. It’s no surprise that a lot of music artists will use the quake as an inspiration for their songs this year and it’s YUI’s turn for her take. No complains if its good no? And with this being YUI, it’s definitely it is going to be a great song.

This time round it felt that the single took a seemingly longer time to release, which was when I heard of that YUI had been traveling around to hold live concerts in elementary and high schools in disaster stricken areas. That was where all the extra time taken went to. With this song, YUI hopes to help assist in bringing everyone forward to continue living happy lives.

Gratefully, Green a.Live managed to secure a number one spot on the Oricon charts after previous attempts had failed. Perhaps recent competition had been fierce with idols groups dominating the charts. But this time I would like to believe that more fans were touched by the song when whey listened to the preview and hence the boost in sales.

Green a.Live:

Green a.Live limited edition version.

Green a.Live normal edition version.

And here are the lyrics for Green a.Live. As always, enjoy.

愛、無力のまま噛み締めた
白く無情に嘆くより働いた

深夜のバーガーショップ
朝を待つ少女がひとり・・・
アタシが無くしたものは何?

愛しても引き裂かれるほど
oh your love
あなたの温もりを想い出すoh tell me

正義って何だろう?
憎しみは何処へゆくの? oh baby
ねぇ神様は誰の味方をするんだろう?
Come a.live

dance踊るみたいに笑ったら
ひらりスカートの裾
邪魔になった

都会をさまよって
奇麗なものに触れるたび
変われない自分に気づいてる

悲しみはいずれ優しさになる
oh get back
優しさは人を守るチカラに but for me

精一杯だよ
今を生き抜くために oh baby
ねぇ神様は誰を守ろうとしているの?

いつだって未来を信じているから
同じ時代に生まれて来た
あなたと一緒に

確かな手応えが欲しくて
No No No
Love…your love
苦しくもなるんだ

なのに正義って何だろう?
憎しみは何処へゆくの? oh baby
でも生きてゆかなくちゃ
・・・Tomorrow’s way

愛しても引き裂かれるほど
no crime 罪もなき
現実を受け止めるNo No No

十年先、灯す明かりのために oh baby
いま明日へとむかうの
あなたにも来て欲しい
Come a.live

Increasingly, many are seeking healthier food options when dining out. Cedele Cafe comes to mind when looking outside for what I consider organic, nutritious and delicious food, without having to pay an arm or an leg.

I’m pretty sure with it being in business for more than a decade in Singapore, people should be slightly familiar with the Cedele name even if you had not tried their stuff before. With a combination of several cafe, dine in restaurant and bakeries littered mainly around the town and east side area, Cedele is a mainstay homegrown brand that serves up healthy organic food.

This time round I’ll be focusing on just Cedele Cafe, to give everyone a introduction to what their cafes can offer.

Cedele Cafe, most of the information you need is well labeled on the boards.

If anything, Cedele Cafe is rather well known for their soups. The reason is clear. I know people to regularly drop by Celede Cafe and order nothing but a large bowl of their soup offering for the day. Coupled with the free flow of their tasty bread (now it cost a dollar for free blow breads) it pretty much makes for a healthy and satisfying full meal without breaking much of the wallet.

Soups, free flow of bread with a token sum.

But of course, if one has some cash to spare then their sandwiches are definitely recommended. When it comes to variety and the quality of the sandwiches,  Cedele is one tough opponent to beat. Not many places do manage to serve such a wide range of toppings from meat/seafood/vegetarian and still do it properly.

With your choice of bread, desired toppings, condiment pairings and a generous helping of lettuce and sliced tomatoes, Cedele’s sandwiches make for a really simple yet satisfying meal that you can enjoy everyday without getting sick of it. In fact, they have so many toppings to choose from that one will be able to eat a different kind for every meal in a week.

Well made sandwiches.

One has to try out to believe.

Alternatively, getting their soup & sandwich combo will be the best option since it gives you the best of both worlds of what Cedele cafe can offer. For a lighter option, they also offer a soup & salad combo for those who might find sandwiches a little heavy.

Soup & sandwich set or soup & salad set.

If a full meal is not what you’re looking for, Cedele Cafe also has a wide array of desserts to choose from. Like all their other offerings, their cakes are made to be healthy, yet do not lose any richness and flavor associated with desserts. It’s a mystery to me how the cakes be healthy and tasty at the same time.

And also, like all their other shops, one can buy their artisan breads to go instead of opting to dine in.

Desserts for the sweet tooth.

Cedele Cafe serves as an inexpensive option for a meal when one is around town, since unlike their all day dining restaurant counterparts the cafe does not have any extra taxes and surcharges to worry about. Coupled with their belief in serving great tasting, healthy food, it’s a no brainer why Cedele Cafe has been well received with the working crowds.

If you’ve had reservations about trying them out, think no further. You’d be pleased by the quality of the food served in Cedele Cafe. As quoted by the people at Cedele – Our philosophy is to eat good, live well. Healthy food that tastes great. You will be surprised!

Before you wonder why there’s another bubble tea post, it’s good to know that just like 10 odd years ago, bubble tea is all the rage in Singapore again. Bubble tea shops are sprouting like crazy in every corner of this little red dot and if you ever wandered around town, chances are you’d find a bubble tea shop every hundred steps or so. This time I’m going to introduce one of our homegrown shops, Artease Cafe.

For readers who had not realized yet, Artease Cafe is one of those bubble shops that is entirely managed by one of our own local bloods. Despite operations running shy of a year, they have been enjoying tremendous success and now have a couple branches around town.

Ice cream milk tea (large cup).

Grapefruit green tea (regular cup).

To some, Artease might just be another convenient bubble tea shop to get their fix of drinks. But on second look, their drinks are a notch pricier than those offered by other shops. So what gives them the edge over the rest of the shops?

I’d definitely say it’s the drinks themselves. Having tried out most of their offerings, I can also say that their drinks are also a small notch tastier than what the rest offers. Versus the stiff competition from popular franchises from Taiwan like Gong Cha and KOI Cafe, Artease definitely stands up on its own ground without any difficulty.

It also helps that Artease offers not only customizable drinks (like varying sugar levels and ice), even their pearls are offered in both large and small versions (hence the reason why I do see a lot of people insist to have their pearls small now). Their well trained and attractive staff likely have a impact in drawing lines to their shops too.

Who doesn’t appreciate someone who can prepare your drink on the spot skillfully and also some eye candy on the side?
But just maybe, some will just support them because it’s right to support homegrown brands? I’m leaning towards that direction.

One can rest their legs inside the cafe and enjoy a nice bubble tea and some snacks at the same time.

Fish mayo burger.

Unlike other shops that offer strictly drinks only, Artease itself is also a small cafe that offers set meals and small bites to accompany their beverages if desired. It might not be big enough to house a party, but it definitely is small and cozy enough to house a few groups of four comfortably.

I gave their burgers a try and was quite surprised that it was pretty well done and tasty. Pity that I didn’t have the chance to try out more of their snacks but I know I’ll be back for more another day. Not many places in town does offer above average food without all the prevailing taxes and surcharges now so it’s definitely a draw point.

Life without some tea, is just arse.

So why love Artease? I’ll just quote from the shop themselves. “We also think that life without tea is just plain arse… You’re a smart fella, you can figure the rest out.” Give them a try, and you might find yourself supporting this homegrown bubble tea shop too.

With the newly opened esplanade branch, Artease Cafe now has a grand total of 3 stores littered around town awaiting to be savored. For those who are interested, one can find their webpage over here.

Artease Cafe Tanjong Pagar
1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
#01-35 Singapore 082001

Artease Cafe Cineleisure
8 Grange Rd
#01-03 Singapore 239695

Artease Cafe Esplanade
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-13C Singapore 039802

The chances are that once you hang out on a place long enough, you’ll start finding more chill out options at the vicinity. Summer Frost is one such find, after numerous occasions of visiting *SCAPE for that reason. Frozen dessert, reasonably priced and a great place to hang out. What’s there not to like about having an addition spot to chill?

Signature flavors.

Other options available.

As their shop name suggests, their signature frost items are the stuff that shouldn’t be missed. In case anyone can’t really catch the idea from the pictures, the frozen desserts are basically flavored shaved ice/sorbets. If frost desserts are not to your liking, they also have a range of hot and cold beverages and small bites for order.

Playing mix and match, one can choose any single type of ice flavor and add any toppings that they fancy from the list. Thus creating their own personal flavor. But if you belong to the more laid back kind, they also offer combo frost sets with frost and toppings pre-selected. Trust me, nothing can go wrong with their suggested sets since the combinations are usually very safe options.

Grape rape. Fresh grapes, grape frost and more grape sauce.

Red velvet. Milk and strawberry is an unbeatable combo.

Red bean matcha. As the red bean toppings are unavailable, the staff gave us nata de coco instead.

Granted, I went safe mode and ordered a couple frost combo sets to try out. As most of the pairings suggests, they matched their flavors perfectly. But if in any case where the combo sets toppings are not available, the staff at summer frost are still happy to mix in other available toppings to cover up. In this case the red bean matcha combo set, the red beans that are not available was substituted with the nata de coco topping instead.

Happy customers of summer frost.

Despite changing their place of operation from the NTU campus to the current *SCAPE outlet, Summer Frost’s target audience has hardly changed. Now providing the same delectable frost desserts for the teens hanging out at SCAPE. Still finding that elusive place to chill out in town? Maybe you can give Summer Frost a try for their decent location and soothing frost desserts.

After having introduced the general concept of Ramen Champion Singapore in the previous post, I’ll slowly be covering the six different stalls one by one. Out of all 6 stalls, one particular stall stands out for being very unique among the other more commonly seen Ramen styles that have been brought over to Singapore and that is Bario Ramen.

For those who are not familiar with what kind of Ramen Bario serves, Jiro-style noodles is the only choice here. Essentially that is, a bowl of porky shoyu soup, paired with extremely thick noodles, topped with bean sprouts and chunky char siew. For added flavor, there is also one inch of suspended fats covering the whole bowl. Sounds rather overpowering? That’s because this style of Ramen is meant to be like this.

Bario Ramen, Jiro-style Ramen.

As mentioned before, the bowl Bario serves is Jiro-style noodles. This is derived from the immensely popular Jiro Ramen back in Japan. Jiro Ramen, which once was a cult phenomenon capturing the hearts and bellies of its loyal supporters had managed to catch on with the general public. From then on this style of Ramen boomed, and a numbers of imitators started appearing, each doing their best to copy Jiro’s massive bowl of goodness.

Among all of the other imitators, Bario had become rather successful in creating the Jiro-style noodles. In a few short years, they managed to open 3 chain shops to their name, spreading the love of Jiro-style noodles in Tokyo itself. Singapore is their first overseas venture.

Interestingly, the name “Bario” seems to be a word play of sorts. But one thing is certain, バリ男 with the Kanji word “men” written on is definitely warning that anyone attempting their bowl of noodles should be manly enough. Even to be as manly as the Bario staff themselves, who don on a Bario version of the superman T-shirt. Wished that I could buy one of those tees.

Expect to see the Bario beeper every time due to the large crowds trying out of curiosity.

To be frank, out of the six Ramen stalls, Bario is considered my favorite of the lot. Yet I usually don’t recommend it to due to the fact that those with a weaker stomach will suffer from its after effects the day after. The thick cut bread flour noodles can easily cause indigestion and the huge amounts of pork fats only contributes to an upset stomach. Not good.

Also, the sheer volume from a bowl of their Ramen is enough for the average person to be full for 1 or 2 meals. It is a tough bowl to tackle. In fact, some pride themselves in being able to handle this kind of Ramen with ease.

Regular sized Bario Ramen, a is Small size available.

So what constitutes a bowl of Bario Ramen?

A familiar tonkotsu based soup is used, but since there’s also huge amount of pork parts used aside from the usual bones, I’ll just call it the porkiest soup ever. See the deep brown soup with the suspended white pork fats? A specially chosen shoyu (soy sauce) gives the soup its characteristically overpowering flavor. Definitely not your usual store bought shoyu.

The noodles are made with bread flour, and sculpted into an udon sized thickness. Considering that a regular bowl of their noodles should consist of around 350g of noodles, that equates to enjoying a whole baguette in compressed noodle form. Even for those who opt for a smaller bowl of Bario Ramen, know that there should be at least 200g of noodles in there too.

To top it off, large amounts of boiled veggies (usually bean sprouts and cabbage) are piled on top of the almost overflowing bowl of Ramen and paired with some chunky Japanese char siew. I’d try not to give the veggies a miss, since they are the only stuff in the bowl that cleanses your palette while tackling this bowl of noodles.

Some say that among everything that is within the Bario bowl, the hardest thing to tackle would be the char siew itself. True? You’ll have to be the judge.

If you look closely, the thick layer of suspended pork fats should be pretty evident from the photos itself. It acts as added flavor for the already very sinful bowl of noodles and also helps keep the bowl of Ramen hot while eating. Be careful not to get scorched by the soup.

Bario Ramen 2nd attempt, with max garlic and chilies.

As recommended by boss himself, a bowl of his Bario Ramen is best enjoyed with some raw minced garlic, chilies optional.

Like the idea of fighting poison with poison, one can add copious amounts of garlic to their bowl to make the usually porky soup slightly less overpowering. Dried chili flakes are of course provided, knowing that the Singaporeans must have their fix of spiciness in everything they consume.

Interestingly, there is a scale written for the different amount of garlic and chilies added to one’s bowl. Probably a way to taunt diners to eat the way the boss feels that his noodles should meant to be eaten. To become the most manly as you can be, 3 large spoonfuls of mince garlic is required. 1 or 2 spoonful of garlic respectively dictates that one is manly or slightly manly (but all are still respected for simply attempting this feat).

In English, “For being a man, thank you”.

Bario is now the hottest bowl of Ramen to be savored by diners visiting the Ramen Champion, as it seems to draw the longest queues in each of the several times that I have visited. This is of course fueled by its novelty among of the other bowls of Ramen served, this is the most unique of the lot. Will it really win over the taste buds and stomachs of the Ramen loving Singaporean community? Only time will tell.

During each of my visits, there was no lack of brave friends trying out Bario Ramen. This allowed me a chance to gauge the consistency of the bowls they served. And to be frank, little details start to get missed out once the crowds gets insane.

One evident difference was that for the bean sprouts during my first visit, the head and the tails were picked out but that wasn’t the case in subsequent visits. Yes, the taste and other stuff mainly stays consistent but those who like to nick-pick will be able to draw out these small details without any difficulty.

For now Bario Ramen remains the top bowl to try, if only because of its sheer uniqueness and novelty. For those looking for a challenge in a bowl of Ramen, this is it. For the rest who don’t adore queue times or simply want a more familiar fix of Ramen, I’ll also be covering the other 5 stores at Ramen Champion once I have the chance, so stay tuned.

PS: For people who are manly enough to finish the bowl till the last drop (no cheating), there’s a little added surprise written on the bottom of the bowl.

Ramen lovers rejoice! Since the start of this month, Illuma Bugis has become the battlefield to the start of the Ramen Champion Singapore 2011. As far as I know, these kind of events are held regularly in Tokyo. But for the first time in Singapore, they have decided to test out if the concept works out for Singaporeans too. Looks like Singapore’s Ramen boom is not going to die down anytime soon.

Battle Royale.

So, what are the choices? Six great bowls of Ramen from various award winning and insanely famous shops in Japan. To keep the introduction simple: Jiro-style Ramen from Bario. Tonkotsu Ramen from Ikkousha. Shoyu Ramen from Menya Iroha. Miso Ramen from Gantetsu. Two different styles of Tsukemen from TETSU and Taishoken.

For one year starting this July, these 6 different Ramen names will each have a stall where they will exhibit and sell their signature Ramens among other Japanese specialties. All diners will cast their votes to determine a winner, which is based on sales takings, vote counts via SMS, Facebook and onsite voting.

Pictures says a thousand words, so I’ll just let the pictures give a more convincing overview.

From top Bario, Gantetsu, Ikkousha.

From top, Menya Iroha, Taishoken, TETSU.

Before you wonder. Yes, all the stalls are opened by the original owners from Japan who have specially flown over to oversee the first few weeks of operation. In fact, almost all the staff working on the food are Japanese, probably the disciples of the Ramen chef. So taste wise, it is a guaranteed 100% authentic Japanese Ramen flavor.

For some it might take a little effort to get accustomed to, but I rather not have it the other way. That is to have the shops alter their recipes to cater to our taste buds.

Ramen Champion Singapore 2011 is housed in the old compound of the now defunct Ebisuboshi-Shotengai restaurant. The place is rather spacious and could accommodate hundreds of people dining at the same time. A great spot for large groups to simply chill and enjoy Ramen. Like Marche, one gets a card when entering the Ramen Champion compound that will be used for ordering any food and drinks inside.

Similar to Marche, a card is used for ordering your food.

Proceed to your favorite store to make orders.

All the staff are Japanese, but there's no problem communicating in ramen-speak.

Beepers are given if there's a waiting time for your ramen.

Collect your ramen, and enjoy your food at either the counter tables or one of the numerous tables.

Having visited the place numerous times and even on the opening day itself. I could see that business is now slowly and steadily increasing. But still, I want to do my part to spread the Ramen love.

This marks the end of a simple introduction to the basis of Ramen Champion 2011. There will be upcoming follow up posts to introduce each different stall with finer details, so stay tuned!