Many locations in Asia are famed for its nightlife, including perennial entertainment favorites such as Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, and Macau, which offer virtually any experience under the sun depending on your tastes. Whether you’re looking to play casino games, dance into the wee hours at popular clubs, or spend a more refined evening at the ballet or opera, you’ll be able to find something to enjoy among the diverse and sprawling continent that is Asia.

Gamblers in Asia used to be hard pressed to find their favorite casino games but that’s completely changed over the last decade, with Macau long ago passing Las Vegas as the world’s top gambling destination based on revenue and stories the same true as Singapore finds casino success in its own right. Both Macau and Singapore now offer mega resorts and casinos such as Vegas does, with not only some of the largest casinos in the world but also luxurious hotels and entertainment complexes that include top clubs, bars, and concert venues.

Kabukicho sleeps in the day and comes alive at night.

Tokyo may not offer up an casinos but it has one of the most vibrant club scenes in all of Asia, with the city’s entertainment districts such as Ginza, Kabuki-cho, and Roppongi filled to the brim nearly every night. World famous clubs such as ageHa (which plays host to up to 5,000 clubbers on four different dance floors) Womb, and Club Asia draw visitors from around the globe, with some of the top DJs on the planet dropping in from time to time to show off their stuff in Tokyo.

Bangkok has a reputation for a more loud and rowdy nightlife scene, with the sprawling city catering to nearly every taste and delight. Whether you’re after a tour of its famed go-go bars, a ladyboy show, gay clubs, or a more sedate night out on a dinner cruise, Bangkok offers it all, and at a fraction of the price that you’ll find at many other cities. Bangkok is also an excellent jumping off point for visitors who go on to explore the rest of Thailand, which offers a wide range of nightlife and entertainment opportunities.

The next installment of the popular Diablo franchise will be returning soon to wreck havoc on our social lives. We were fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to get a sneak peak of this most anticipated game. Within you’ll find a detailed but spoiler free run through of what Diablo III has to offer.

Again, it’s quite rare of me to be writing about video games on this site but I do recognize that there must be a certain crossover of video game fans with our site’s audience. In truth though, the first two Diablo games stood as testaments to certain points of my own life. So engrossed over them that I spent countless hours each day re-exploring the dungeons and (later on) locales that the games had to offer.

World of Warcraft inspired login screen.

As a rough guideline to my obsession for those familiar with the series, in time I had accumulated two accounts full worth of high level characters on Battle.net servers while introducing various feasible and novelty skill builds to the Diablo community. Note that I am not bragging, for the release of both games coincided accurately with both my grade and high school examinations. Regrettably, as a teen I lacked the foresight not to return home from examinations each day and continue my battles against the minions of hell.

Alas, after a long absence, Diablo III will return again early next year to finally claim its stake on my social life. Somehow I suspect that the technological limitations of the first two games, prevented the lords of hell from fully destroying my life. Regrettably, between the new internet speeds and pre-emptive network principals that were introduced in Warcraft 3 and later refined in World of Warcraft, there is nothing holding Diablo III back now.

All of the basic archtypes are present. The monk will please Naruto fans.

Asiasoft Corporation has teamed up with Blizzard Entertainment to distribute the Diablo III experience throughout Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. With their servers set up here, Asian players will no longer need to endure the 200ms odd pings that plagued the previous title.

Thanks to Asiasoft, the folk at Supermerlion were given access to Diablo III’s beta some time ago and had the opportunity to play through the first parts of the game. The beta boasts most of the full features, but limits the access to just the initial story arc of the first campaign. Character growth is also capped at level 13.

A constant connection is now necessary. But the interface and infrastructure makes joining games pain free.

I can foresee the game being quite the life engulfing force that the first two games were. For despite the limitations, I have witnessed hundreds of other testers playing through the short scenario repeatedly, if only for a taste of some of the character’s later skills, or the driving force of the game, loot.

Players familiar with past games will find many familiar concepts that they will enjoy. While I was initially worried about the sparsity of monsters in gameplay videos, that fear is now gone. At its core, Diablo III is still the same hack and slash adventure game that fans have come to love, and there are indeed ample monsters to fall.

A rich but suitable presentation.

While not something that I took issue to, others complained about the new art direction that threatened the gothic style of the series. I can attest that the graphics in the game, while not groundbreaking, are beautiful.

In this built, dungeons in the game are sufficiently dark, while outdoor areas shine with the impressive amount of polish that fans have come to expect of the company. Perhaps everyone was simply overreacting based on nostalgic false memories, since Diablo 2 boasted its fair share of bright outdoor areas, though I suspect that Blizzard did indeed take into consideration fan feedback.

You can see how the atmosphere varies with each area.

Diablo III draws more than just artistic parallels to recent Blizzard ventures. Many usability breakthroughs that had been tried and proven by World of Warcraft find their way into this new product. You can see the similarities between their user interfaces and players are now eased comfortably into game mechanics. Though veterans shouldn’t have much of a problem jumping in.

Achievements and crafting systems find their way into the new product. Forming a party and jumping into the heat of battle becomes instantaneous, with the ability to “port” over to any other player in the game from town. Players tend to work a lot more cooperatively as a result.

But the single biggest gameplay change comes from the way skills are handled now. Gone are skill trees, as are talent are stat points. Instead, Diablo III opts for a more forgiving means of customizing the characters. Players learn all skills now and at the base, all players hold identical characters. A limited number of skills can be “equipped” at any point, players can change these freely from special pillars located in towns and at the start of prominent dungeons.

ew skills and slots to equip these skills are automatically unlocked as you level.

However, this wouldn’t be Diablo without abundant opportunities to personalize one’s characters. Skills are now customized by players acquiring one of 5 types of Runestones that can be “inserted” into skills. The effects of these runes add special properties to the player’s skills or in many cases, completely alter the skill itself. So while each character learns only 20 odd skills, the actual variety is far more.

Also interesting to note, is that all skills scale better and much more transparently now. Even for casters, skills are now all based off a percentage of the character’s weapon damage. To counter a glaring problem, almost all classes now get “free” skills that basically replace their normal attacks, with caster skills scaling better with weapon damage.

The much improved stash.

Because individual character classes no longer fit a particular mold, it seems players are having a hard time choosing one to play. My suspicion is that many players will rotate between playing all of the characters. Though this is only is supported by the behavior of the beta players. The low level cap does help this model and as does the inclusion of a global stash that is shared among all characters across a player’s account.

This stash can be upgraded repeatedly through the game to expand to become quite the virtual warehouse. Players can now easily pass that shiny new weapon they found to another classed character and experience the short novelty that it brings, rinse and repeat for maximum addictability.

Diablo is a series that is already heavily dependent on equipment but it’s apparent that the third game places even greater emphasis. It’s no surprise with Blizzard’s decision to provide players an online auction system where they can trade and deal with items that they have found in game.

Players can merchant their findings through the auction house in the main menu.

As you would have no doubt heard by now, players will be able to sell their spoils in all of their randomly generated forms, for not just in-game currency but real money as well thanks to Blizzard’s partnership with internet banking giant PayPal.

While completely skippable, hidden behind the game is still the rich lore of the Diablo universe. Storytelling has generally been improved, with an impressive amount of meta events scattered throughout the short beta experience, which I am told is less than 1/16th of the overall plot. Based on this, it would seem that the overall length of Diablo III will outdo that of the previous game and its expansion combined. Though I suspect we will be seeing more than one add on to the series this time.

Diablo III is currently schedule for a first quarter launch in 2012. Before you take on the end of days though, you’ll want to prepare yourself, hardware-wise that is. So far my attempts to run the game have showed that you will probably need a computer that was made within the past two years in the least.

For now, I’ve never been quite as eager to go to hell.

Along with the staging of Anime Festival Asia, an event named the Cool Japan Forum was held as well. Cited as an event that brings the top minds from various industries under one roof, we visited the Forum to hear them speak.

Ever since ‘Gross National Cool’ was brought into the fray by Douglas McGray, many have looked at Japan’s culture products and how they affect Japan’s standing and influence in the world. Cool Japan Forum, with its presentation format, represented an opportunity to rub shoulders and speak with people who head the businesses and make these products possible.

The first to appear was Danny Choo. He spoke of the various companies he worked with, along with his site Culture Japan. Danny also introduced his mascot Suenaga Mirai, and the upcoming anime, Mirai Millenium. As his presentation came to a close, he called on the festival manager from Dentsu, Haruhiko Miyano.

Haruhiko Miyano introducing the invited speakers

Mr Miyano introduced the theme of this year’s Cool Japan Forum: Examining Japanese content and its creation. While speaking, there was more than one occasion where the noise from the bands rehearsing for the I Love Anisong concerts (held in the hall next door) bled into the hall and no one could hear anything. After a while though, the problems were sorted out and he went on introducing the guests, who would go on to present in order:

Yoshihiko Hasegawa is a Chief Consultant for Dentsu. With a presentation on the application of contents, he spoke of the ways Dentsu shapes its advertising, and the growth of new social advertising platforms. He introduced the visitors to the Freedom project, Dentsu’s animated advertising campaign for Nissin’s famous cup noodles. The Dokusha Model (readers who are also models) was another concept he touched on, referring to indicators that suggested celebrities do not entice people to a product as much as one would think.

Yoshihiko Hasegawa with charts from Dentsu's research team

Dr. Nissim Otmazgin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was up next. A professor in the Department of East Asian Studies, he has published several papers on Japanese soft power. He has done fieldwork in various parts of Asia (including China, Thailand and Korea), to examine whether soft power (formerly only used in the context of the United States) really does exist in Japanese cultural products.

Dr. Nissim shows photos from his research fieldwork

Tow Ubukata is a light novelist turned anime and manga creator. The man behind the anime Soukyuu no Fafner and Mardock Scramble amongst others, the author offered his views on creating the perfect storyline. Given his background as a novelist, his approach differs from those in the business, with much of the timeline of creation devoted to a script and continually revising its continuity.

A short intermission followed, as Takaaki Kidani, Yoshiyuki Matsunaga, Takanori Aki stepped on stage. The heads of Bushiroad, COSPA and Good Smile respectively, the 3 along with Danny Choo as moderator had a panel discussion on the monetization of anime content. All 3 companies were in attendance in Anime Festival Asia itself, and the men spoke of content expansion to the rest of Asia. One interesting point brought up was that of piracy; while all agreed it was deplorable, Takanori also said it signaled discontentment in consumers and a lack on the part of the company, as well.

Panel with COSPA, Bushiroad and Good Smile Company

This was followed by another discussion, this time with Sony Music’s Ken Isayama and Aniplex’s Masaharu Yamanouchi. With a short history of Japanese music in other countries by Isayama, he examined the trends in Japanese pop music, and noted how anisong (music specifically for anime) has overtaken other Japanese pop music overseas. They also discussed the increasing ties between anime and music in Japan.

Ken Isayama and Masaharu Yamanouchi

Haruhiko Mikimoto and Hideaki Kobayashi then took over the stage for a presentation on manga production and character design. Haruhiko Mikimoto is a name not unfamiliar to many who follow anime. A character designer, he built his name doing designs for a number of anime including Macross and Gunbuster. The pair spoke of the role of a character designer, as well as the many obstacles someone working as a character designer faces. Hideaki, from Kadokawa Publishing, also shed some light on the contributions of a publisher and editor in the manga industry.

Hideaki Kobayashi speaks about his experiences publishing manga in Kadokawa

Keiichiro Hirano, the last speaker of the day, is an Akutagawa Prize winner. He introduced his philosophy of what he terms the ‘dividual’, the many facets of one individual that they show to different people in different situations. He employs this philosophy in all his writing as well, having written 2 novels since his first in 1998.

The event ended with Danny Choo thanking the guests for their attendance and rounding the whole affair up. At that point, some guests were anxious to leave; they were given only 10 minutes intermission over a span of 5 hours. While the start of the event was plagued with problems with the rehearsals going on, it was nevertheless an eye-opening experience.  Those who are put off by the language barrier need not worry, as receivers would be provided for on-the-fly translation as well.

While the entry price of SGD$85 might put some people off, in the opinion of this writer, it is a small price to pay to be able to associate with some of the big names in Japanese popular culture. The event comes highly recommended for anyone who has an academic or business interest in Japan.

Thousands braved the strong rains and made their way down to the Marina Promenade last Saturday for what was perhaps the largest outdoor concert in Singapore this year, Sundown Festival 2011. Despite the rain, approximately 10,000 turned up (3,000 more than expected) with many arriving hours in advance.

The heavy downpour this afternoon came as little surprise, what with the recent weather. Visitors came decked out in ponchos, while others readied their umbrellas as the storm clouds continued to loam above. The impressive queue stretched across the entire F1 track but lines moved surprisingly quickly. Such that we found ourselves inside in just a matter of moments after the gates opened.

Longest queue I've seen in a while.

A security check at the entrance hinted towards what would become perhaps my only qualm this afternoon. There’s an increasingly prevalent trend among such events to confiscate any water bottles upon entry. The security were really nice about it though and apologized for having to follow orders, likely from the sponsors Pepsi and 7-Up.

Again, this wouldn’t be so much of a problem though if they actually sold plain water inside. However, the only drinks available inside were either alcoholic or sugared. Probably not the best options to stay hydrated during high energy concerts. If the Pepsi company had sponsored the event with the intention of promoting their image, they have obviously failed.

Between heavy downpours.

Rain aside, the Marina Promenade made for an excellent concert venue reminiscent of the Odaiba Gashuukoku concerts held each year. Even with the throngs of people gathered here today, moving around was not a problem with the ample space.

Concert goods shop.

A string of tents selling merchandise and snacks were lined up at the back along the coast, while the stage was positioned up front. You could see it from just about any part of the venue though and the stage was high enough that you needn’t worry about getting a clear view.

Autographed posters for $20.

Concert goods and merchandise were generally sold at affordable prices. For example, ViViD fans were able to grab autographed posters of the group at just $20 a piece. The only other tent, sold Show Luo goods such as a collaborative Manhattan Portage bags by Stage Hyaline of World. The other artists were unrepresented though, marking a missed profit opportunity.

Taiyaki stand.

In line with the performing artists, Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean themed street snacks were represented by different tents here. There was also one selling Doner Kebabs.

Korean snacks.

As advertised, the stores resisted the urge to mark up their prices as typical of other festival, instead opting to sell their snacks at normal affordable prices.

Bubble tea.

The Taiwanese and Korean ones sold meat snacks that were especially well received among the locals, drawing huge crowds. Share Tea were also here serving up some bubble tea and instantly became the drink of choice for most. Unsurprisingly, the Doner Kebab and Japanese stand that sold taiyaki and edame did not fare as well.

More street food.

We arrived early, with ample time to spare and decided to grab some snacks ourselves. I wouldn’t recommend the strawberry tea from Share Tea. It resembled neither tea nor strawberry and instead tasted like the diluted, yet terribly sweet fruit punch that comes with catered food.

Strawberry tea.

Chicken doner kebab.

In a stroke of good luck, the skies cleared up just in time for the concerts later that evening which was great, since many were starting to get tired between the rain and sugar crash. With the change of weather lifting up everyone’s spirits, the concert opened up with ViViD, a visual-kei group from Japan with many anime links. They were dressed surprisingly un-visual-like though, perhaps toned down for today’s audience.

Rained disappeared in time for the concerts.

This was broken up by an appearance by Zhang Yun Jing. Appropriately, it was the Mandopop stars that met the most fanfare from the local visitors this evening. But this didn’t mean that the other two acts weren’t appreciated.

Fans for all artists turned up and many supported the interesting mix of artists too. Those in the VIP pit brandished glowsticks and boards with the performers names decorated on it. It would had been nice if the MCs were in more than just Mandarin though.

Killer lighting.

The evening continued with performances by relatively new K-pop group Teen Top as well as Hebe and Show Luo, who were undeniably the main stars of the show. Their appearances got even the older audiences excited.

Spirits of the fans in the VIP sections were high.

Overall, Sundown Festival 2011 was a tiring but interesting experience that deserves major props for being able to function even with the weather. With each Sundown Festival absorbing new Asian influences, we look forward to seeing what next year’s event brings.

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.

In the past couple of years, the Sundown Festival have brought an assortment of popular Korean and Japanese artists over to Singapore. Acts primarily consisted of Korean boy and girl bands such as Brown Eyed Girl, Afterschool and FT Island, growing in 2010 to encompass Japanese visual-kei bands SuG and L.M.C..

The Sundown Festival 2011 returns this Saturday at Marina Promenade’s F-1 Pit, with similar performances from fast rising K-pop group Teen Top and visual-kei band ViViD. But the outdoor concert extravaganza also expands to Taiwan’s Mandopop scene with guests Show Luo, Zhang Yun Jing and Hebe Tien (of S.H.E. fame) being featured as this year’s top acts.

Promo Poster.

Details are available at the Sundown Festival 2011 website and tickets are available online through Sistic.

Interestingly, fans who had subscribed to the festival’s Facebook page were actually given the chance to vote for their favorite songs for the performing artists. The top voted song for each artist will be performed at the upcoming concert. It’s a novel and actually nice social campaign that we would love to see implemented elsewhere too.

To complete the festive atmosphere, the Sundown Festival venue will be littered with food stalls serving up street food from Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The organizers mention that the food will be sold at affordable prices. We can already see how this year’s event will likely be a big hit.

Sundown Festival 2011
26 November 2011
Saturday, 5.30 PM

Tickets:
VIP – S$148 (Limited Available)
Super Early Bird – S$78 (Sold Out)
Early Bird – S$118 (Sold Out)
Standard – S$138 (Available)

The Gundam Expo World Tour is here in Singapore. Held in Compass Point for the third year in a row, the expo serves to showcase the wonder of Gundam plastic modelling, or gunpla, as it is known in model enthusiast circles.

The Expo is held at Compass Point Atrium

Exhibits of collections range from Gundam Unicorn and BB Senshi to Gunpla Builders’ Beargguys. Visitors can also see the intricacies that go into making high-level plamos with the PG (Perfect Grade) models that were on display.

A PG Strike Freedom Gundam

Also exhibited were entries from the GBWC (Gunpla Builders World Cup). With entries being split into categories of Junior and Open, as well as a best MG (Master Grade) category, many kits were on display. The competition is judged on the quality of painting, technical building skills as well as creativity in posing and presentation. You can clearly see how much effort the contestants put in, with many contestants using props to properly simulate a battle, or an in-fight pose.

Visitors checking out the GBWC exhibits

An entry in the Open category

G-AGING Battle Base machines were also placed to let visitors try the game out. This arcade game is similar to many card-based games, where it is a modified rock-paper-scissors concept. However, what sets this one apart is you have your own models (of the AG and GB series) which you can scan and use in the game.

A demonstration of G-AGING Battle Base

Inquisitive minds will also be sated with exhibits that showcase the process of making gunpla. The molds that are used to make the different body parts of Gundam are shown, as are the different colored plastics in their raw form, before they are turned into the pre-shaped parts that you see in gunpla boxes. Those interested in taking up building as a hobby can also join the Gundam Workshop, where one will be given a kit for assembly under the guidance of instructors. Visitors will also be able to meet and have a session with the ‘Gunpla Man’ Kawaguchi Katsumi himself.

Gunpla moulds

The various colored plastics that go into gunpla

Of course, the event is not complete without the opportunity to obtain model kits for yourself. Kits of all grades are on sale at the event itself, with queues forming at the start of the event for the more sought-after models. These included the Limited Edition Pink Beargguy and the 1/144 Gundam AGE-01, which is being sold outside of Japan for the first time.

Many model kits at the store in the Expo

Of course, don't forget the girls

The Gundam Expo will run from 15th to 27th November at Compass Point in Singapore.

Over the weekend, I had the chance to visit AFA11, the Anime Festival Asia 2011 held at the Suntec Convention Center. This is the fourth year running for Singapore and South East Asia’s largest anime related convention. Once again it attracted quite a crowd over the two days, some of whom had come down from neighboring countries specifically for the event. Impressions inside.

Met up with Geraldine over the Suntec on Sunday. She was initially supposed to come as Black Gold Saw but it fell through at the last moment. Instead, she was here as Shikibu Seiju from the manga Dolls so I was shown around the place by this cute Nazi boy. It’s supposed to be a police uniform but only a rare few managed to identify the obscure character (much to her delight).

It definitely helped to have someone knowledgeable about anime stuff when exploring the festival.

Geri as Shikibu Seiju from DOLLS.

Last year was my first time visiting the event in Singapore and admittedly walked away with a rather unfavorable experience, especially with regard to the unruly crowds. And judging from the vocal feedback, I wasn’t the only one.

Thankfully, the organizers have been keen to react to public feedback and have taken direct steps to remedy the situation, along with a number of improvements to this year’s Anime Festival Asia.

Anime Festival Asia 2011.

We took issue to the poor distribution of tickets last year and the ridiculous crowds that resulted. Thankfully, tickets were made available online directly from the Anime Festival Asia website this year, finally addressing the need to queue up physically on the day for entry.

One of the other main gripes among other visitors last year were the ticket prices (that started at $15/day). This is a fair price to pay as far as overseas conventions go but locally, most are spoiled by the free entry offered by the other fairs here. It doesn’t help that most of Anime Festival Asia’s young audience tend to survive off a allowance. But in response, ticket prices have been reduced to $8.

Booths were spaced further apart this year.

As if taking a nod out from the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention (STGCC), booths and experience zones at AFA11 have been spread more efficiently around the hall too. I found that there now should had been ample room to move around the hall.

Yet moving around wasn’t pain free. Because with all that extra space, it reached a point where people were just standing in the middle of the halls chatting and obstructing traffic. The organizers have done their part, but it is now ultimately left up to the visitors to learn some navigational skills.

This is probably a cultural issue. But back in Japan, visitors tend to gravitate towards the corners of halls where they can squat or sit out of sight when not actively scouring conventions. It could be that the Japanese just don’t like people very much. But it does have the side effect of easing the congestion.

Saturday crowd.

Instead, any sitting on the attendees part were done in the most disruptive way possible. This year’s I Love Ani-Song Concerts were held at the adjacent hall in  the late afternoon on both days. Despite most tickets being numbered, many concert-goers felt the compulsion to start queuing hours in advance. The only free standing areas were at the extreme back of the hall where it wouldn’t matter anyway.

Thankfully, the queue took up most of the area outside of the exit of the main hall, rather than the entrance. But it still resulted in most being unable to navigate the fourth level of Suntec Convention Center.

Queue to enter the adjacent concert hall.

The other problem were of course the numerous cosplayers directly outside of the entrance and the many more sitting around the rest of Suntec City. Many more seem to pop up each year and aren’t a problem alone. But when combined with the camera wielding mobs, lead to a rather unsightly situation.

I can’t really blame the management for not providing them a place to flaunt their craft this year, as I was told that many of the cosplayers here weren’t even Anime Festival Asia patrons. Judging from the lack of ticketing bands, this ended up being most most of the cosplayers we would come across today.

On a side note, the standard of cosplay does seem to be improving, with many sporting impressive or intriguing costumes. But I highly doubt that the $8 makes much of a difference to their costumes.

One of the interesting cosplays.

One might argue that the cosplayers would be more inclined to pay if if there were proper amenities to facilitate their cosplay. But this is arguable. The dim halls here don’t exactly make the best places for photography to begin with.

Between the concert queue and the cosplayers, moving around outside the was actually more difficult a task. Comparatively, once you got into the convention hall moving around was a breeze.

Strength from Black Rock Shooter

Squeezing through the crowds, we found Strength, the only surviving character from Geraldine’s cosplay group. The adorably tiny character became an instant fave with the cameras. The impressive costume was assembled with the help of her brother. Amazingly the fingers on the arms actually move.

Hopefully we’ll be able to drop in for a proper shoot when the rest of the team assemble their costumes next month.

Free to vandalize. Provided you stick to post-its and copy paper.

Inside, similar booths were organized in a more understandable manner this year.

On the right, there was the Artist Alley where local talents and aspiring fan artists could display their works. Beside, Canon had set up a promotional Cosplay Zone which provided printed backdrops for visitors to use for free, granted you didn’t mind enduring the hard selling that came with it.

Artist showcase.

One of the Canon Experience Zone booths.

On the opposite side of the hall were large play areas dedicated to Bushiroad’s anime card games. They’d probably make a good place to rest too, but most were contempt with standing in the middle of the hall.

Large area for TCG players.

Hasbro made an appearance this year, in the form of a introduction area for their card game Magic: The Gathering as well. Though small, there’s a surprisingly long-lived community of players over here. Their presence compliments Bushiroad’s nicely.

And the Western equivalent.

Toy companies and retailers took up the center area of the hall. Many were returning stores from last year, most of whom also own retail outlets down in Chinatown. There were fewer overall retailers this year but more directly represented companies.

Both Western and anime toys for sale.

Bandai had set up a booth at the entrance displaying collectible figures from their anime licenses made by the Banpresto subsidiary and Gundam models. Most of the figures on display were from the One Piece anime/manga, some of which are yet to be sold in Singapore. Definitely a popular spot among camera enthusiasts, or just people with cameras in general (everyone).

Visitors can enjoy snapping away.

The girl with pink hair popped up in numerous occasions before. I was told that it was the main character from an anime Madoka and is currently the most popular anime here. Based on her lovely pink dress, I guessed it was a magical girl anime. I was right.

This year's most popular character.

Sure enough, we’d come across many cosplayers dressed up in this pink outfit. There was a surprising lack of Hatsune Mikus that used to plague previous conventions but at least a dozen Madokas today.

BJD display.

The shops from Shanghai were back too, their goods a hit among the visitors each year. They sold plastic swords to increase your posing stats as well as quick and easy fixes to cosp-ise your outfit, such as cat ears and paws. Kind of like the anime equivalent of Mickey Mouse ears in Disneyland. I found Eri playing around with one of the cat paws, seems she had bought a couple as gifts for the AKB48 guests too.

Plastic swords for sale.

Trade and business booths were sparse this year. But those that remained tended to tie in better with the whole anime fair theme. Long time partners like Animax and Good Smile were back of course. But the more unique came from the Cool Japan Showcase.

Really ripped cosplayer at the Animax booth.

The Nico Nico Douga booth by Dwango attracted the most attention from passersby.

More than just being located at the center of the hall, a live streaming feed was set up and the staff went around the hall actively pulling visitors on camera.

Viewers from Japan offered their real-time comments, overlaid over the video in typical Nico Nico fashion. It’s a good thing the comments were in Japanese. Many were less than flattering.

Nico Nico Douga was one of this year's new additions.

Plushies of the mascot were available for sale albeit at a cut-throat price. The largest ones went for $100 a piece. There were some autographed by notable AFA11 guests but those weren’t for sale.

Plushies for sale.

Not For Sale also happened to be the name of a fortune telling talent agency straight from Shibuya that had set up booth nearby. The group is made up of four Japanese studs specializing in different types of predictions.

I’m quite surprised that there wasn’t an extensive queue, since the opportunity to have your had caressed by one of the Japanese ikemen for an entire session would seem more appealing than a butler cafe.

Fortune tellers from different disciplines.

But the butler and maid cafes did draw a remarkable crowd. Like last year, the makeshift Moe Moe Kyun and Atelier Royale Butler Cafes made their appearance at the Anime Festival Asia. Many took this once a year chance to stop by the cafes.

There’s something about being in a convention that makes visiting such a cafe more of a social norm, something the organizers understand and use to their advantage.

Attracted a large crowd.

Inside the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe.

Visitors got the chance to meet some of their old favorites, as well as new butlers and maids. Some of the others, of the maids at least, have moved on to join the AKB48 Singapore Cafe and Shop.

AKB48 Singapore made a presence at AFA11. A booth was set up where merchandise, some of which exclusive to the festival was sold. The girls from the AKB48 Cafe also appeared at the AFA11 mini-stage to perform a couple of songs each day. Some fans turned up to support the local performers.

Performance by the Singaporean girls.

The local wota (idol otaku) cheering.

Girls from the AKB48 Singapore Cafe.

Two members from AKB48 also visited Anime Festival Asia on Sunday, Team A’s Nakaya Sayaka and Team B’s Miku Tanabe, both of whom are self-confessed anime otaku. They appeared on stage in the afternoon for a short talk session after the performances by the cafe staff.

Short question and answer sessions with fans.

Fans of AKB48 also had the chance to interact with the members in a more personal manner later on at the AKB48 Official Singapore Shop booth. The two members held a number of greet and meet sessions here over the course of the day. Visitors were entitled to a handshake ticket to meet the girls with a minimum purchase of $20 at the shop booth.

AKB48's Nakaya Sayaka and Tanabe Miku visit the shop booth.

Greeting fans at the AKB48 booth.

Overall, Anime Festival Asia 2011 was a stark improvement, particularly logistically over last year’s festival. As mentioned before, SOZO Pte Ltd, the company running the show have announced plans to hold similar events around the rest of South East Asia soon.

Hopefully with the experience from these additional runs, the organizers continue to learn and iron out the problems faced. And in time the Anime Festival Asia will be able to grow to a world class level more fitting of this self-proclaimed global hub.

Supermerlion attended the launch event for Pop Rock Love. In an event attended by friends and family (with a performance by a local band), we caught up with author Raine Koh. She spoke of her background as a writer, the book and future aspirations.

A number of people were in attendance.

One More Stop with Glamorous Sky

While this may the first time many have encountered Raine Koh, she is no stranger to publishing. Pop Rock Love is actually her third title; she is also a writer for Teen’s Magazine. Raine also has a number of screenplays under her belt, having gotten into writing 5 years ago.

She counts authors like Murakami, Coelho and Wilde amongst her favorites, drawing her inspiration from them. While some aspects of her book might be similar, she feels that authors should seek their own style and go ahead with that, giving each writer his own individuality.

Raine with her book.

Signing books for fans.

Pop Rock Love blends the worlds of Japanese rock and pop together, its narrative involving two people of wildly different backgrounds. When asked about the setting, Raine expounded on her belief that J-rock was not just a fad and (given the longevity of the local scene) was here to stay.

The book was written in a year, from 2009 and Raine confessed a desire for it to be turned into an idol drama. Given the target audience of female 15 to 22 year olds, this does not seem to be all that far-fetched. Raine also has plans to get her name out overseas, with a translation into Mandarin on the cards, to take advantage of the burgeoning Chinese market.

The A5-sized book.

Raine is looking into collaboration with local schools, where she would be able to hit a majority of her target audience. The book, which is of a relatively short length and small-sized, is perfect for reading on the commute. It will available in all major bookstores in mid-December, and Select Books will also sell it online.

If you’ve been with us for a while, you would know about the discount offers available when traveling around Japan. I always wondered why there weren’t any similar free and easy plans for when Singapore. But there is now. With the new See Singapore Pass by iVenture, you’ll an immediate discount of over 40%. Best of all, it’s not limited to tourists.

The See Singapore Pass covers many of the country’s main tourist attractions such as entry to the Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, Underwater World and Singapore Flyer. As well as guided programs such as the Singapore River Cruise, Tekka Market Breakfast Tour or Singapore Walks.

Some of the Attractions covered by the Passes
Night Safari
Singapore Zoo
Jurong Bird Park
Underwater World & Dolphin Lagoon
Singapore Flyer
Singapore River Cruise
Snow City
The Original Singapore Walks

Ordinarily, these would cost quite a bit (anywhere from $20-$40 each, with most leaning toward the higher end). To counter this, iVenture provides two different types of passes. The See Singapore Unlimited Pass and the See Singapore Flexi Pack.

The See Singapore Unlimited Pass operates almost identically to the Osaka Unlimited Pass at least in the attractions aspect. It doesn’t cover transport, but it does allow you free access to any of the valid attractions for the respective number of days.

Unlimited 1-day – Adult: S$79 – Child: S$49
Unlimited 2-day – Adult: S$99 – Child: S$59
Unlimited 3-day – Adult: S$139 – Child: S$89
Unlimited 5-day – Adult: S$179 – Child: S$119

For the Unlimited Pass, the two day pass looks like a good option. If you were to say, hit up the Singapore Zoo/Night Safari on the first day. Then visit the Jurong Bird Park on the second. You’d still have enough time for a leisurely evening at the Singapore Riverside and Singapore Flyer. This would amount to savings of almost $30. Of course, you could end up saving more if you did a tour style excursion to more areas in each day.

iVenture's See Singapore Pass.

The new Flexi Pack is also particularly attractive. It comes in two versions, a 3 ticket or 5 ticket type. With this pass, you will be able to gain entry to the respective number of attractions over the stretch of a month.

Flexi Pack (3 tickets) – Adult: S$69 – Child: S$49
Flexi Pack (5 tickets) – Adult: S$109 – Child: S$69

This is a low commitment package, that lets you save a bit less in exchange for greater flexibility and the freedom to visit the attractions at a leisurely pace. It’s a great option for those who are spending more than a couple of days in Singapore. This will be the pass of choice for locals too.

For more details and to purchase your pass online, visit the official See Singapore Pass website. You can collect your pass at the Singapore Flyer and at 313@Somerset Orchard.

SEA☆A (pronounced Sea A) is a four girl idol group that debut in Japan earlier this year. It is notable for consisting mostly of members from Singapore. The group was born out of maids from the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe, an annual makeshift cafe that operates out of the Anime Festival Asia.

Sea A consists of (from left to right) Beryl, Valerie, Wynnie and Estelle. The members are touted as four anime-loving girls from South-East Asia. I am told that Wynnie, the only member hailing from Malaysia used to be a fervent cosplayer under the alias Sakana Sashimi.

It is apparent the direction Sea A is taking and it is no surprise, especially with their affiliation to the Maid Cafe. Their official website writes about all the girls’ love of Ramen, Anime, Sushi and everything else “Japanese”. We’re also told how much they want to visit Akihabara, Tokyo’s geek paradise. Honestly, I can’t help but find it cliched and the extent somewhat insulting. How the local populace will take to it remains unknown.

Unsurprisingly, Sea A’s first forway into the music industry is a theme for an anime. They are being produced by Lantis, which manages a generous number of successful ani-artists as well as the Nagoya based AKB48 spin-off SKE48.

What is surprising though is that their first single, Dream Shooter is actually pretty good (at least by idol standards).

Sure, the girls being new to their entertainment scene still tend to over compensate with over exaggerated expressions and it definitely unnerves me to hear Singaporean English being spoken in their video. But these are nuances that might possibly attract a niche audience.

Ignore the visuals of the blatantly poppy music video though and you’d realize that Dream Shooter sounds more than decent for a first attempt. The sound is a clean, no-frills pop song that follows a pretty standard structure.

It’s not revolutionary by any means, but it definitely holds its ground with other idol pop songs being released in Japan. In fact, I might even go so far as to say Dream Shooter sounds better than songs released by some of the other Lantis artists.

Sea A will release their second single next month on the 23rd of November. Unfortunately, while their new single will be featured as the ending theme for the popular Torigo anime, Deli-Deli Delicious is a significant downgrade from their debut single when it comes to listenability.

Deli Deli Delicious is everything wrong with idol and ani-songs compressed into one sickly sweet package. The already disorienting tune is merged with heavily synthesized versions of the members voices. It doesn’t help that it is presented in a tacky blue screen music video reminiscent of the 90s.

While Sea A as a group does show great promise. Their niche market that provides them a purpose will ultimately be their greatest limitation. Unless they manage to break out of this mold, this will be about as much as we can expect from Singapore’s first foray into the idol market. Let’s hope that isn’t the case.

As part of our ongoing efforts to write about attractions in Singapore, today we feature the Singapore Flyer. Built in 2008 and standing at 165 meters tall (approximately 42 floors high), the Singapore Flyer is currently the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. The wonder is located at Marina Promenade, reshaping the Central Business District skyline. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the most immediately noticeable landmarks for those traveling to Singapore.

The Singapore Flyer from afar.

The Singapore Flyer is nearly identical appearance to the London Eye (previously another one of the tallest Ferris Wheels in the world) but is taller by 30 meters. The Flyer also ousted the Star of Nanchang, the previous record holder by 5 meters to remain the tallest wheel in the world since it went live in 2008.

Conveniently located beside other popular destinations.

Ample dining options for all budgets downstairs.

Promenade MRT on the new Circle Line, is the nearest station to the flyer. There’s an underground passage connecting the station to the wheel. There’s also a free shuttle bus from City Hall MRT station that operates every 30 minutes. The flyer is located just a short distance away from other popular local attractions like the Marina Bay Sands, Double Helix Bridge and the Esplanade.

You can get your tickets from the entrance, though at regular price.

A warning, you will have to go through airport level security to get on the wheel.

Unlike regular Ferris wheels which make for a popular date spots, you will need to share a capsule with a crowd. Each regular capsule holds 28 people. Tickets start at $29.50. There are special dining at $249 (before taxes) which let you have a meal with 9 other strangers.

Small gallery before the ride.

One of the exhibits.

Privacy is expensive here. Especially when you consider that a single revolution only lasts 30 minutes. Private capsules only start at $1500 and with a price like that, would be reserved only for cases where a particular partner gets the sudden urge to “buy a hdb flat” (Singlish for popping the question) or to hold actual weddings. Cheesy? Yes. I’m sure you could do better.

A capsule.

Inside.

Instead, to avoid disappointment it’s best to take the Singapore Flyer as a moving observatory of sorts. And for this purpose, it excels, providing the most scenic panoramic views of postcard Singapore.

Unlike most other Ferris wheels and like the London Eye, capsules of the Singapore Flyer rotate as they move along the wheel, ensuring that they remain exterior to the wheel itself. This means that the view from the capsules remain obscured by the wheel throughout the journey.

Sunset view from the flyer.

While tall buildings with wide cityscape views may be common in some other Metropolitan cities, they were a rare find in Singapore up until recent years.

Even today, the only other two publicly accessible options remain the Sky Park at Marina Bay Sands and the Pinnacle@Duxton, the former being another popular choice for those traveling to Singapore.

Another view, looking out to the straits.

As such, the Singapore Flyer functions as a great alternative to the usual skyscrapers for a bird’s eye view of the city. Perhaps, our only qualm is how short the ride lasts.

A normal ticket for one revolution of the wheel, lasts only 30 minutes. A fairly steep price as far as observatories go. Still, trying out what is the world’s tallest wheel is not something you’d want to miss when visiting Singapore.

Lighted up in the evening.

The Singapore Flyer is open daily from 8.30AM to 10.30PM. Tickets start at SGD$29.50.

If you intend to visit the Singapore Flyer, we recommend booking in advance through their official site. There are discounts and free vouchers for online bookings as well as other special promotions from time to time.

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)

Singaporean writer Raine Koh talks about her upcoming first book, titled Pop Rock Love. The book tells the story of a typically angsty young Singaporean girl, Mimi who finds herself in an affair with a mysterious Japanese dancer. Their romance takes on Murakami-esque tones, when she pursues him to Japan and discovers that he is part of a boy band.

The official synopsis
“Twenty-two year old Mimi was contented with belting out angst-ridden, rock tunes every week at a pub on the island city of Singapore. That is until, she has a whirlwind one-month affair with a mysterious Japanese breakdancer named Yuki. He suddenly disappears and Mimi goes to Tokyo in search of him. She then discovers, with the aid of one of those plasma screens in Shibuya, that Yuki belongs to a boy band. They belong to two different worlds, can their love withstand the pressure?”

The cover for Pop Rock Love.

Pop Rock Love combines two things rarely seen in Singapore, the literary arts and the exploration of Japanese pop culture beyond the usual otaku fare.

As always we’re keen to lend our help in spreading word of this work. Pop Rock Love will appear in Singaporean bookstores starting this month. It is supported locally by the National Arts Council. More information can be found at at its Facebook page here.

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

Once again AFA, the Anime Festival Asia will return to Singapore later this year. This afternoon the organizers continued to tease fans with more previews of expected guests and event highlights. Yan dropped by *SCAPE this afternoon, when the next round of previews were revealed at the AKB48 Cafe.

Information for this year’s I Love Anisong concert has been finalized, with the popular Hatsune Miku, Kalafina, Itou Kanako, Milky Holmes and new Singapore born idol group Sea A joining the list of previously announced anime singers.

One of the artistes, LiSA (of Angel Beats fame) was in attendance today to promote her performance during AFA.

LiSA.

I Love Anisong will span across 3 days again this year. Beginning with Friday 11th November when Singapore will play host to the first ever Hatsune Miku concert in South East Asia. Anime fans will then get to see the physical anime singers in the flesh over the weekend.

VIP Concerts will go for $148 per day, while a 3 day VIP ticket will cost $368. Regular tickets for each day will sell at $48. All concert tickets will include access to the actual Anime Festival Asia halls.

AFA 2011 will continue to run beside the Cool Japan Forum, with talks by panelists targeted at professional visitors.

Invited guests this year include former Director of Takara and current President of Bushiroad Inc Mr Kidani Takaaki whose company creates popular anime themed collectible card games, character designer and mangaka Mr Mikimoto Haruhiko (of Macross fame, Senior Vice President of Sony Music Artists Mr Yamaguchi Sampei as well as the previously announced novelist Hirano Keiichiro.

The maid and butler cafes that were a hit in previous years have become a staple of Anime Festival Asia. They will be setting up booths again this year to to serve all attending otaku and fujoshi respectively. A few of them paid a visit to the preview as well today.

The butlers of Artelier Royale and Moe Moe Kyun maids.

AFA 2011 will take place from the 11th to 13th of November this year. Prices will start from $8 onwards for a basic one day ticket. Tickets will go on sale online starting October from Anime Festival Asia’s official website.

Last Sunday, the Singapore Indoor Stadium played host to the World Runway Premiere. The event, the first of its kind in here, was helmed by none other than the creator of the world famous Tokyo Girls Collection. Stylists from around the world were invited to take part in a fashion battle, with Singapore as their arena. We were there to cover this historic moment.

We had previously covered the concept of the World Runway Premiere and were very supportive of the idea. But public response to this foreign idea seemed to be generally lackluster. So we were pretty surprised that quite a number of people (approximately 4,500) did turn up for this debut event, if only for the artists appearing.

World Runway Premiere at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Crowd starting to make their way in.

We met up with some acquaintances in the crowd and a big thanks to JPH!P’s Maliciel who contributed to this collection of photographs.

While I was familiar with the sister event of Tokyo Girls Collection, the World Runway promised to be something quite different. So like most of the guests here today, we weren’t quite sure what to expect.

The show began with a surprise appearance by Ren Kido, a relatively unknown Japanese artist and a preview of local stylist Jen Su’s own collection, modeled by what I was told were two local celebrities.

A local celebrity?

Introducing the contestants.

The contestants from the 8 participating countries were brought out and introduced in turn. Leading the teams were Marcia Amaral (Brazil), Amina Abadala (France), Morena (Italy), Kawasaki Takafumi (Japan), Alexey Pantykin (Russia), Jen Su (Singapore), Mike Adler (UK) and Rachel Keesecker (USA).

Unfortunately, Evan Czar (Vogue Brazil’s International Correspondent for Asia) who had contributed greatly to the concept of the show still could not clear up his visa problems and was stuck in Japan, leaving a spot in the judging panel empty.

Judges for today.

Japan's styles.

The looks were generally toned down in comparison to other runway shows. But perhaps it was because of Evan’s absence that the execution of the styles ended up still leaning toward high concept, alienating many of the show’s general audience.

This was most apparent by the awkward silences by the crowd. The only cheers were prompted not by the looks themselves, but the crowd felt it appropriate to cheer at silly moments such as whenever a model lost her balance or when they wielded props. Unsurprisingly, the loudest roars came when the models for Japan unfolded their large paper fans and parasols.

Culture inspired looks.

France.

Whether intentional or not, all of the looks assembled today reflected the stylist’s own cultural influences greatly. While many of the looks could still be appreciated at the concept level, France and Brazil had some of the more pragmatic designs.

Also from France.

Brazil had some of the most pragmatic looks.

Another by Brazil.

The models for Brazil were great at inciting the crowd.

Not sure if everyone got the memo.

From Singapore.

Also by Singapore.

Singapore’s collection was reflective of Jen Su’s own personal style, with lots of loud colors reminiscent of the 80s. It ended up being one of the better showcases today too. But still not something that would resound with the public like the wearable street fashion and department store brands of the Tokyo Girls Collection.

Lots of loud colors.

An interlude saw NARE, an upcoming female artist from Korea wowing the crowd with her impressive vocals. She performed an original new song on this occasion.

NARE.

A vocal powerhouse.

After, the teams gathered as the World Runway director Mr Sugar emerged to deliver the judges decisions. Four teams would make it through for this first round, which ended up being Japan, Singapore, France and the UK.

Mr Sugar, announcing the first round winners.

For the next round, the winners each picked one of the eliminated countries to collaborate with. By fusing the other team’s previous styles with theirs, they created new showcases for the second, final round.

France's designs were cautiously simple.

This unconventional approach lead to new interesting looks for the second half of the show. While many unveiled creative or new arrangements for this new round, France’s showing did not differ much, which would ultimately lead to their demise.

One of Japan's more street styles.

UK brought out some of their more elaborate looks.

The second round ended with an elaborate parade by the UK, with pieces that looked suspiciously like those from a Vivienne Westwood collection. It was revealed later during the interviews, that they indeed were, as she had decided to provide some last minute help through the local outlet here.

Suspiciously familiar.

While awaiting the final results, Korean pop star SE7EN took to the stage to perform. The singer’s energetic dance moves and vocals seemed to be the main highlight for many of today’s visitors. Excited squeals filled the air, with even some of the invited media being reduced to preppy fan girls. Still it was kind of disappointing that a large number of the crowd started leaving as soon as his performance ended.

Appearance by Korean pop star SE7EN.

Many of the guests going wild.

The highlight for most of the audience.

The judging for the second round was broken down into a clear score sheet, with the results of each country displayed in turn on screen. Singapore and France did not fare well. It was the UK that eventually walked away victorious, beating the other teams by a sizable margin.

The results.

The UK walking away victorious.

Celebrating on stage.

The winning team got to walk away with a SGD$100,000 prize. In the spirit of the show, half of it was to be donated to a social cause. This year, the prize would go to the relief efforts in Japan but subsequent recipients would be chosen by the winning team.

End of the show.

After the show, we took to the backstage for some afterwords with the winning team. They were incredibly thankful for the opportunity and accredited their victory to a combined team effort. They were particularly grateful for Italy’s help in the finals, describing the other team’s willingness to jump in to help them create the new styles during the 20 minute break.

Leader Mike Adler mentioned that they managed to build links with the other teams during the pass week, laughing that it was surprising that no one had been hurt, despite all of them staying at the same hotel in the past week.

Interview with the winners.

We were also graced by the two organizers from Japan, Jake F.R and Mr Sugar. The former informally urging the later to do most of the talking on account of his lack of sleep and his nervousness. They mirrored positive sentiments about the show, considering that this was still a trial and acknowledging that it would take time to grow. Still they were hopeful of better things to come and intend to expand the scope of World Runway next year.

Words from the organizers.

When asked why they had decided to go with the World Runway instead of bringing the Tokyo Girls Collection per se to Singapore. Jake explained that it was the wishes of the Singapore Tourism Board, the sponsor for the event and doing so would not help Singapore find its own identity.

Regarding the issue of presenting real clothes, they did acknowledge that it was their initial goal but felt that the event was overall a success, due to the stylists being able to pull it off solely with clothing found in Singapore. Mike Adler added that he was surprised to find that Singapore has more European brands available than even London.

That's it for this year.

Well, that’s it for this year’s event. The World Runway is still working out some of its kinks as it sees what works and what doesn’t in this different market. But we will be looking forward to see where it will go and what role it will play in the Singapore fashion scene in the future.

Good news. We have a pair of tickets to the World Runway Premiere in Singapore to give away to one lucky winner! Don’t you hate when other so called “freebies” as of late look more like popularity contests to see who can get more Facebook likes? Well we do. To be eligible for our giveaway, simply leave a comment below this article expressing why you’d like the tickets.

The most honest/amusing answer will walk away with a pair of tickets to the World Runway Premiere (worth $170). Simple! But well, in the case where we can’t decide a winner, the tickets will be given out randomly, so just leave a simple comment stating your interest to participate even if you’re not that witty.

But do hurry! The World Runway Premiere will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Sunday. The battle begins at 5 PM, with entry to the stadium opening from 4.

The winner of the pair of tickets will be announced here and notified via e-mail on Saturday, so be sure to provide a valid contact when posting your comment (alternatively, we now have the option to comment on our site using your Facebook or Twitter accounts too). We’ll let you know how to get them on Sunday then.

It has been in the whispers for almost 3 years that Tokyo Girl’s Collection (TGC), one of the world’s most acclaimed fashion events would be making its way to local shores.

After a long wait, the first ever World Runway, an original new festival created by TGC founder Jake F.R will be launched in Singapore this weekend. The folks at Supermerlion were invited yesterday for a sneak peak of what to expect for this premiere event, details inside.

Looking back, before the perpetual flood of idol related updates, this site once covered other pop culture and fashion related articles too. I hadn’t had the time to support those interests as much but we will continue to move toward a more varied approach.

The Tokyo Girls Collection is held in some of the largest stadiums in the country.

For those less familiar, the Tokyo Girls Collection is a one of a kind series of events in Japan that blurs the line between a fashion show and concert. While runway shows alienate the average person, TGC showcases popular brands among Japanese youths that are both affordable and immediately available for purchase at departmental stores. It is touted as a festival for real clothes.

Visitors can get up close with models from popular teen magazines.

All the clothes are modeled by some of the most popular teen models. With appearances by entertainers, actresses or other pop-culture icons and live performances by the most popular music artists.

Angelababy, Kinoshita Yukina, YUI, Nishino Kana and of course members from AKB48 and SKE48 are just some of the many examples. Unsurprisingly, the combination of factors attracts hordes of teenagers to all of the Tokyo Girls Collection shows each year.

Concert-like atmosphere.

It’s hard not to be a fan of the TGC festivities (and the resultant effects it has on the overall standard of fashion) so it was of great interest to learn of its foray into Singapore.

Attending today was of none other than Jake F.R. himself. He was joined by World Runway director Mr Sugar. Evan Czar, the Vogue Brazil’s International Correspondent for Asia was the one to have handpicked the stylists taking part in the World Runway debut. He joined this day through a webcam but will be coming down for the actual event on Sunday.

Like the Tokyo Girls Collection before it, the new project will introduce a novel new take on the typical fashion show. The organizers dubbed it a World Cup for Fashion.

Jake F.R aka King of Runway (left) together with the director of World Runway (right).

Representing different countries were 8 stylists and their teams. The teams from Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, Singapore, UK and the USA will compete to assemble 10 looks each.

Once again the focus is on real clothes. The stylists will be given a budget of just $500 per look and just 2 days to purchase pieces from shops in Singapore with which they will create their showcase. To further up the ante, they will be provided themes (which are still a secret at this date) to work around.

Explaining the concept and passions of the show.

There is certainly a reality tv show vibe going on with this competition. Stylists will also have to make do with a team of just one make-up artist and hair stylist. 40 models will be provided which the organizes have pointed out, might not be the sort that the stylists were used to.

Evan Czar, joining us today by webcam.

The winning team will walk away with a prize of SGD$100,000 this Sunday. Like the Tokyo Girls Collection, another key point of World Runway Premiere is the promotion of social good. Which is why a portion of all profits as well as half of the prize money will be donated to natural disaster relief causes around the world.

The organizers believe that the best way to support the rebuilding efforts of the March 11th Tsunami is to spread a positive message and social awareness for such natural disasters.

The stylists chosen for this competition.

They noted that as a premiere event, the World Runway is still at an experimental stage and will not be as large an event as the Tokyo Girls Collection as of yet. But we look forward to where it goes from here. The organizers have worked closely together with the Singapore Tourism Board to make sense of the event for a Singapore audience.

For example, while eager to continue to provide live music performances at the World Runway too they learned that Japanese artistes were not popular in Singapore. Which is why Korean pop star Se7en has been invited to perform at the event this Sunday’s show.

Introducing themselves.

But beyond everything else, Singapore has much to gain culturally from such a show. While high fashion shows are rather common in Singapore, the average youths are not involved in fashion as much as in other Asian metropolises like Tokyo or Taipei.

As much of a mixing pool the port city is for all the latest trends, disappointingly fashion in Singapore is often thought of as something impractical and better left up to the socialites or to be read in magazines.

Overseas, events like the Tokyo Girls Collection have helped improve fashion consciousness among the general public. At the same time, brands have learned that there is important bigger market out there. Should an event such as the World Runway take root in Singapore, we could see good fashion becoming a bigger part of everyday life.

By introducing this new type of fashion show, a “fashion festival”, the World Runway hopes to empathize and inspire Singaporean youths.

Kawasaki Takafumi from Japan.

With the World Runway, the focus on practical, real clothes is definitely a step toward resounding with the local youths. Both Jake and Evan repeatedly drilled the stylists the direction for this event. And it will be interesting to see how some most experienced stylists from around the globe interpret it.

The experiment is to see how these 8 stylists will be able to absorb Singaporean culture (and probably all the fussiness and limitations that comes along with the tropical weather).

Like tourists, they will need to navigate through this foreign land and (in the words of Evan), penny pinch their way through the fierce retail scene to create fashion that is comfortable and usable above all things. The measure of their success, will no doubt be how practical their styles will be for local audiences.

Singapore's Jen Su.

The World Runway Premiere will be held this Sunday on the 18th of September 2011 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets are available for sale through Sistic outlets. For more information, check out the World Runway Official Site or their Facebook Page.

Look forward to the World Runway Premier on Sunday!