Lover of Japan

FMC Membership Confirmation on 20th Dec 2009

2009-12-25T04:50:00.000-08:00

Faith Methodist Membership Confirmation on 20th Dec 2009

My family with Dr Rev Kow Shih Ming

Nick's mum, my family, Parish leader: Peter Foo and Nick's Shepherd: Yoon Hee

We feel very blessed to be part of FMC's family. I hope that we can continue to grow more like God each day through our participation in ministry and church activites/programmes. So that, in future, our faith that may be as small as a mustard seed in impossible situations can be increased and we can proclaim that nothing is impossible for us.

"For truly I say to you if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there', and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 17:20

One Day Malacca Tour on 1st May 09

2009-05-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

One Day Malacca Tour on 1st May 09 (Fri) with Transglobe Travel Service Pte Ltd.

One of the shops along Jonker's street that sell Nonya Kebaya

Before Jonker's Street

St Francis Xavier Church, Malacca

Nick eating the Gui Ling Gao

We wanted to have a short getaway on Labour Day so I searched through many travel agencies and managed to find Transglobe Travel Service which offers a variety of 1 day trips to Malaysia on Labour Day. Initially, we were quite hesistant on signing up with Transglobe as we have not heard of them before but we decided to take a gamble and signed up for the 1 day Malacca trip.

We set off from Balestier at 6.30am to Malacca via the North-South highway. The trip took about 3 hours. The new Sultan Iskandar Complex is very spacious and modern, it feels like you are at the airport terminal.

About 9.30am, we reached at a convenience stop near Yong Peng and had Yong Tau Fu noodle soup. That stop is near Lucky Garden Resturant.

At about 9.50am, we set off to Malacca and reached at about 11am. The tour guide, Christina, brought us to the Bee farm and then to Jonker's street for shopping. We bought handmade noodles, wife's biscuits and some souvenirs (handphone and hair accessories, coin pouches, and fridge mangnets) for our family. The wife's biscuits from Poh Keong Enterprise is a must-buy!

Along the way, we passed by Uncle Keong Resturant and was tempeted to eat Gui Ling Gao. There were different types of Gui Ling Gao like pearl powder Gui Ling Gao, bird nest's Gui Ling Gao, etc. The bird nest's Gui Ling Gao costs 19 ringgit which we find too expensive so we settled for pearl powder Gui Ling Gao which costs 8 ringgit. The taste is not bad but can't be compared to the one we had in HK and Dian Xiao Er.

We had Nonya lunch, it was delicious. We sat together with 2 families (7 people). We had Assam fish, sambal prawns, tao kua, omelette, vege and the famous chendol. I would give a rating of 3 out of 5.

After lunch, we head to the Cheng Ho Cultural Musuem. We were lead to watch a video on Cheng Ho's voyage to Asia, and then a puppet show. It was very educational.

After visiting the museum, we headed back to SIN. Along the way home, we stopped at Yoyo Enterprise at Yong Peng, Johor to buy some local products like steamed fish sauce and snacks.

We have to travel for another hour before reaching Kulai for dinner. We had steamed fish, vege, stir-fry pork, etc. Nothing special though.

In conclusion, we enjoyed ourselves a lot!

Kranji Marsh on 31st Jan 09 (Sat)

2009-01-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

Kin Yan Agrotech Pte Ltd-they grow wheatgrass, mushrooms, cactus, aloe vera organically. It is a paradise. I love it! Nick and I even tried the wheatgrass ice-cream, very natural!Apple snail eggs, I like the pink color. The eggs grow on dry areas and the snails are found among the Hydrilla.

African Tulip's seeds in a pod

Beginning of the Kranji walk

An Evening @ Dempsey (27th Jan 09)

2009-01-28T06:01:00.000-08:00

My sis asked us to look natural when she helped us to take photos but we failed...my sis said that we looked more like singing national anthem =(

My lovely sister and mum @ Ben & Jerry's

The Rabbit Hole-place for chilling out

St George's Church-very traditional settings

Nicholas's Baptism @ Faith Methodist Church

2008-12-24T01:19:00.001-08:00

Nicholas's Baptism @ Faith Methodist Church on 20th Dec 2008

Nicholas, Nicholas's mum, Nicholas's auntie and Me! Beautiful yellow roses right?

Baptism via sprinkling

Nicholas, Nicholas's mum and Nicholas's auntie

I feel our best shot!

Church Friend's Wedding @ Perak on 6th Dec 2008

2008-12-15T04:51:00.000-08:00

My first time on a motorbike!

Ferry from Pangkor island back to Sitiwan on Sunday (7th Dec 2008)

Sumptuous lunch with "flower" crabs, tofu, vege, oyster omelette, etc

Dutch fort

(6th Dec 08-Sat evening: 9-course Dinner @ Ku Tian Hall, my favourite is the dessert-sea coconut and white fungus.

A grand wedding of 100 tables!

Sat afternoon: Wesley Church

We stayed @ Hotel Flamingo

The food stall opp. the hotel

Learning from Trees

2008-11-05T23:53:00.000-08:00

Learning from Trees, by Alan Smith

The following (edited) ideas are entitled "All I Need To Know About
Life I Learned From Trees." The author is not known to me.

It's important to have roots.

In today's complex world, it pays to branch out.

If you really believe in something, don't be afraid to go out on a
limb.

Be flexible so you don't break when a harsh wind blows.

Sometimes you have to shed your old bark in order to grow.

Grow where you're planted.

It's perfectly okay to be a late bloomer.

Avoid people who would like to cut you down.

Get all spruced up when you have a hot date.

If the party gets boring, just leaf.

You can't hide your true colors as you approach the autumn of your
life.

You can't hide your true colors!

It's more important to be honest than poplar.

Those are some good lessons. They remind me of some other lessons
taught in the very first Psalm:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the
scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law
he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose
leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper (Psalm
1:1-3 NKJV).

The Psalmist says that a godly person is like a tree in three very
important ways.

First, he is planted -- he's got his roots put down deep, he's
fortified, stable.

Second, he bears fruit -- he develops godlike qualities in his
character and life.

Third, he doesn't wither -- he is able to survive under all
circumstances, even days of difficulty.

May your spiritual life take on the qualities of a tree planted by the
rivers of water.

Room-o-rental

2008-11-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

An alternative to hotels

1. www.spareroom.co.uk
2. www.flatmateclick.co.uk-visit this website to look for a British host that shares your preferences. rental for a 2-room flat in Greater London costs £650 per month.
3. www.rent-holiday-homes.com-this website lists the amenities of the homes, so users will know at a glance whether they are good for honeymooners, friends or families. user can contact owners directly. A 7 bedroom villa in Taranto, Italy starts from 450 euros a week.
4. www.vrbo.com-vrbo stands for vacation rentals by owners. read about the best homes to stay in around the world. A 2 bedroom beach front flat in the Gold Coast costs about $192 per night.

Execution-the discipline of getting things done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

2008-11-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Title: Execution-the discipline of getting things done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

1. The people process
2. The strategy process
• Corporate level strategy is a vehicle for allocating resources among all of the business units
• It must add value to strategies created at the business unit level
• It defines the walls of a company-the business it wants to be in and the general arena of play
• It analyzes the mix of businesses and makes decisions about whether the mix should change in order to earn the best sustainable return on the company’s capital.

Building the strategic plan:
• Where it is now?
• Where it will be going in future?
• And how it will get there?
• What is the assessment of the external environment economic and demographic trends and regulatory shifts to new technologies, alliances between competitors, the drivers of increasing and decreasing demand for its products
• How well do you understand the existing customers and markets? If you have a new product? Who buys this product? Who specifies this product should be purchased? Understand the specific people who make the purchasing decisions and their buying behavior
• What is the best way to grow the business profitably, and what are the obstacles to growth? Market segment mapping
• Who is the competition?
• Can the business execute the strategy?
• Are the short and long term balanced? Anything, from customer preferences to cash flows, can change in mere moments. Balancing short run with the long run is a critical part of a strategic plan.
• What are the important milestones for executing the plan? A good strategic plan is adaptable
• What are the critical issues facing the business? Why can’t we achieve higher productivity? Why can’t we grow more rapidly? Why do we continue to have quality problem? How can we continue to grow our market?
• How will the business make money on a sustainable basis? Pricing at different levels of demand. Will the customer pay a premium for what you claim is a differentiation? Cost and cost structure now and in the future. Cash required for working capital. Actions required to ramp up revenue growth. The investment required to market the product. Continued investments in technologies to prepare for the next generation of product. Competitors’ pricing reactions.

Questions to raise at a strategy review:
• Is the plan plausible and realistic?
• Are people committed to it?
• How well versed is each business unit team about the competition?
o What are our competitors planning to do to serve their customer segments and prevent us from serving them?
o How good are their sales forces?
o What are our competitors doing to increase market share?
o How will they respond to our product offerings?
o What do we know about the background of our competition’s leadership?
o What do we know about the leader of a fierce competitor and his motivations, and what does that mean for us? ( if a competitor has heavy incentives to gain market share, his motivation could well be to prevent us from moving into that segment even if his profitability goes down. He may not sustain falling profitability for long, but it will block our entry)
o What acquisitions will our key competitors make that will affect us?
o Could a competitor form an alliance and attack our segment
o What new people have competitors added that could alter the competitive landscape?
• How strong is the organizational capability to execute the strategy?
o Do we have the sales force and sales engineers to win in the new market segments, or are they yesterday’s people?
o Do we know the technology and have a roadmap of how it will change over time?
o Do we have a cost structure that will allow us to compete profitably?
• Is the plan scattered or sharply focused?
o Is the plan too ambitious? What are our priorities to avoid fragmentation of effort?
o Is our leadership team taking on too many market segments simultaneously? Will it dilute our focus on our original market segment, to the extent that we could lose the golden goose that is to fund the new segments?
• Are we choosing the right ideas?
o Is this idea consistent with the realities of the market-place?
o Does it mesh with our organization’s capabilities?
o Are we pursuing more ideas than we can handle?
o Will the idea make money?
• Are the linkages with people and operations clear?
o If a new organizational structure is required, what new sales management skills will be needed?
o Are financial resources assigned in the next year’s budget to build whatever is required to launch entry into the new segment?
o What are the programs for each quarter? How will the programs be funded quarter by quarter? Will the need for quarterly profits squeeze out these programs?
o Do you have the right kinds and numbers of people to do these things?
o Have you allotted enough lead time for the required actions?

3. The operations process
• Create an operating plan that has quarter –by-quarter action steps
• Debate on assumptions. People bring their assumptions to negotiations through the lenses of their functions and their position. For example, a production man wants to have the lowest possible costs, so he wants to build the maximum amount of product and have a stable production level. The sales leader likes the idea of having lots of product too; the more she has on the shelf, the better chance she has of making a sale. The finance officer is saying “wait a min, I don’t see thins kind of growth in the economy. We’ll wind up with a ton of inventory, which will cut into our cash. Then we’ll have to discount it and spend a lot of extra promotion money to get rid of it.”
• Who is the customer? How does he buy it and why? What’s the need? How long will the need last? What is the competition doing? Is your value proposition good enough? How will your competitors react to your moves? Will they change their pricing? What do you know about their company product introductions? Will one of them launch a marketing campaign to muscle deeper into your territory? Your suppliers: will they be able to deliver enough, just in time at the right prices? If they’re in other countries, what will currency fluctuations do to your costs?

Hong Kong & Shenzhen Trip from the 12-15 September 2008

2008-09-28T05:36:00.001-07:00

The most memorable trip I ever have! thanx nick (bf) for leaving sweet memories during this trip!

Lao Jie

Lo Wu Commercial Centre

Ticket for Metro ride

Metro-route guide

Windows of the World

MTR to Lo Wu

Shenzhen

Best Wanton Noodles @ Wan Chai

My love: Gui Ling Gao

Mongkok's night life

IFC Mall

Lam Kwai Fong

AVENUE of STARS

Aberdeen Fishing Village

Largos Hotel

Leon Lai's Jet @ Jumbo Kingdom

Repulse Bay Beach

Expo Promenade (Bauhinia Square):The Golden Bauhinia is a gift from China for Hong Kong's returning to China in 1997. The flower became an official symbol of Hong Kong after 1 July, 1997. Bauhinia appears on the official Hong Kong Seal and the Hong Kong flag.

Victoria Harbour in the day View @ Mid Peak during the half-day tour

The Peak Tram-brings you to the peak to enjoy the best night scenery

Best night scenery @ the Peak

HK Convention & Exhibition Centre-flag raising ceremony

Inside MTR- route guide

Night @ Victoria HabourSymphony of Lights @ 8pm

Dinner @ one of the restaurants @ Happy Valley

Nick's Dinner-one of the dish that appear in Stephen Chow's show

HK Convention and Exhibition Centre

Causeway Bay MTR

Tram

SOGO @ Causeway Bay

Times Square @ Causeway Bay

Hk International Airport

Tsing Ma Bridge-world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge
The bridge was named after two of the islands in Hong Kong, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan

3-in-1 Getaway Malaysia Trip

2008-06-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Chocolate Factory

Desaru Fruit Farm

"Bread fruit"

Soursop

World Gourmet Summit (WGS)

2008-04-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

WGS is a 12-year-old event that brings gastronomic greats and the population together to experiment with and experience fine food from around the globe. This year, it takes place from April 7 to April 26.

Truffle-it is 'the diamond of the kitchen', but it is really a type of fungi found in the soil beneath the roots of certain trees (mainly oaks). they have a musky scent and are unglamorously rooted out by hogs, dogs or flies that can smell them from above ground. there are 4 main species-summer truffles, Chinese truffles, black truffles and white truffles.

Summer truffle:

Foie Gras-it means 'fatty liver' from a duck or goose to be precise. the French are now the world's largest producers and consumers of this delicacy, but the first people to eat it were actually ancient Egyptians.

Apulian Cuisine: Apulia ia a region in southern Italy whose food is known for its ingenuity and freshness. because it's also the cuisine of the poverty, the emphasis is on grains and vegetables rather than meat-think fava beans and cornaletti(deep-fried Italian peppers).

Sous Vide:it means 'under vacuum', it is a method of vacuum cooking where foods are cooked in their own juices at reduced pressure and temperature over an extended period of time. vacuum cooking is said to retain the food's succulence and flavor as well as preserve its appearance.

Anger by Patrick Morley

2008-04-04T00:24:00.000-07:00

7 reasons why we are angry:

Violation of rights. everyone believes they have certain rights and 'space' rights. one reaction to the invasion of this space is to fester in anger. when our rights are violated, we become angry. Proverbs 19:11-'A man's wisdom gives him patience, it is to his glory to overlook an offense.'
Disappointment with station in life.many people become bitter with anger when they begin to suspect that their 'oyster' does not have the pearl they wanted.many of us need to accept our lot in life as from the Lord, provided we have been faithful with our abilities.
Blocked goals. when we are blocked from achieving our goals, for good cause or not, we frequently respond in anger.
Irritations. Life's little irritations often seem to weigh more heavily on us than our true dilemmas. Ecc 7:9-'do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.'
Feeling misunderstood.we often think people don't understand us: our feelings, our attitudes, our abilities, our potential. they probably don't. but holding a 'pity party' and becoming angry does not help us resolve the misunderstanding
Unrealistic expectations.
Pathological/psychological.

The 7 reasons for anger have 2 common characteristics: selfishness and impatience.
The things that usually don't make us angry but should are racial prejudice, abortion, declining moral values and other injustices.

How to respond to anger:

Keep control. Proverbs 29:11-'a fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control.'
Overlook offenses. Proverbs 19:11-'a man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.'
Avoid angry man. Proverbs 22:24-25-'do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.'
Appease anger. Proverbs 15:1-'a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.'

The Squeeze by Tim Stafford

2008-04-02T02:42:00.000-07:00

How to resist temptations?

Know what you're getting into. Think about the long-term results of how you act. If you can see the attraction of the kind of life God wants to place in you, you will be less tempted to choose some other short-term pleasure.
Replace tempting thoughts with something better. You can't ignore temptation, but you can fill your thoughts with something else.
Your mind tends to follow patterns. Change the patterns and you change your mind.
Break the pattern of failure by confession. When you go over your mistakes with another person, it changes your attitude. For one thing, you receive forgiveness and your mind is put at rest.
Above all, remember who you are: a child of God, loved by Him. When tempting thoughts come, recall that fact to your mind: "I could act that way, but does that really bring honor to God? I want to be loyal and loving to Him the way He is to me."

Each of us has at least one area of special weakness. We may find temptation too strong there and experience repeated failures. Often we become discouraged and are tempted by a much worse sin: hopelessness
At these times it is more important than ever to realize the limitless nature of God's forgiveness. It is limitless, which is hard for us to understand. But if you cling to it, someday the are you are weakest in will be transformed into a special strength.

Feeding on the Word of God by Jack Hayford

2008-04-01T02:07:00.000-07:00

Values in Bible reading habit:

God's Word ensures certainty about your path. Psalm 119:6-"Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all your commandments"

God's Word gives direction about your path. Psalm 119:105-'"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Lamp-flashlight (details for today) and light-giant spotlight (discernment for tmr) Proverbs 3:6-"In all your ways acknowledge Him, & He shall direct your paths
God's Word gives wisdom about your path. Psalm 19:7-"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."
God's Word ensures our victory in our pathway. Joshua 1:8-"This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall mediate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.
God's Word keep us pure in our path. Psalm 119:11-"Your word I've hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." God's word is a searchlight which shines inward, prompting, correcting, adjusting and instructing us.
God's Word keeps us alert to the times. The word is key to keeping us sensitive, keeping us from falling asleep as the darkening hour and spirit of our age could call us into carnal sleepiness/sensual indulgence. The word will keep us walking a pure path and maintaining an alert stance, strong and ready to do battle in the name of the Lord.
God's Word is our shield of faith. Romans 10:17-"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Hear means to feed on it as a steadfast practice and to heed it as a sensitive "hearer"

Do u understand the meaning of Holy Week?

2008-03-26T03:41:00.000-07:00

Holy week is the week before Easter Sunday, it direct us to the horror and magnitude of sin, the suffering, humiliation and death of Christ, and the joyful celebrations of Palm Sunday and Easter. It is to help us truly understand the hope of Easter Sunday

Palm/Passion(to suffer in Latin) Sunday
This Sunday recalls the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the crowds waved palm branches and proclaimed him as the messianic king

Shrove Tuesday
"Shrove" is a term associated with confession of sins. Traditionally, in Western culture, Shrove Tuesday is a time of feasting. People feast before the fast!

Ash Wednesday
Ash is marked on the person's face usually rhe forehead in the form of a cross as a sign of penance. This is like wearing "sackcloth and ashes" in the Old Testament practice of repentance and penance. Ash is also a reminder of our mortality.

Maundy(command in Latin) Thursday
This is the day on which the Last Supper is remembered. On this day, disciples received the new commandment to love and serve one another. It is traditional for the pastor or priest to wash the feet of members of the congregation as part of the service.

Good Friday
It is the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is to remember the pain and humiliation of Jesus.

Holy Saturday
The day that Jesus rested in the tomb. There is no communion served on this day. It is a day of quiet meditation as Christians contemplate the darkness of a world without a future and without hope apart from God and his grace. It is also a time to remember family and the faithful who have died as we await the resurrection, or to honour the martyrs who have given their lives for the cause of Christ in the world.

My female role model-the visionary

2008-03-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

My female role model: Melinda French

Melinda Gates is the wife of the richest man in the world, which makes her one of the most powerful women in the world according to the Forbes business magazine (ranked 12th in 2006). Along with her husband she founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and continues to spend much of her time working in the organization.

She was born in Dallas Texas(1964) and grew up in a hardworking middle class family. Ray French, Melinda's dad stretched their budget to pay for all 4 children to go to college. An engineer, he started a family business on the side, operating rental properties. "That meant scrubbing floors and cleaning ovens and mowing the lawns," Melinda recalls.

Melinda received her bachelors degree in economics and computer science at the Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She then went on to receive an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

In the same year she also started working at Microsoft where she would meet her future husband. Melinda worked her way into the position of General Manager of Information Products. Bill and Melinda also met that year and were married on the 1st of January, 1994.

The couple started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 with $106 million. It has now grown to become one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has assets of US$37.6 billion ($52 billion), making it the world's largest. In that total is US$3.4 billion that Warren Buffet has already given. Melinda is very active in the foundation as a co-chairperson with her husband.

Melinda's responsibilities at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation involves working on strategies to pursue, promoting the issues that they seek to solve, and reviewing the results that they achieve. Bill Gates still works with Microsoft, but plans to leave the software company soon to devote all of his time to the foundation. He plans to spend more than 40 hrs a week on philanthropy, leaving 15 or so for his duties as chairman of Microsoft.

What impacts me most:
Friends of the couple say that he wouldn't be shifting gears if it weren't for Melinda. Moreover, they say, she has helped Bill become more open, patient and compassionate. "Bullshit!" he bellows. Nicer, perhaps? "No way!" he shouts, grinning because he knows it's true. One thing he admits readily: Thanks to Melinda, he is easing comfortably into his new role. About the philanthropic work, he says: "I don't think it would be fun to do on my own and I don't think I'd do as much of it." Melinda also understands people better than he does, Bill admits. In fact, he he uses her as a sounding board sometimes for personnel matters at Microsoft. In 2008, when Steve Ballmer, with whom Bill has worked for 28 years, replaced him as CEO, Melinda helped ease the awkward transition. "Melinda and I would brainstorm about it," Bill says. "You always benefit from your key confidante telling you, "You think so-and-so stepped on your toes? Well, maybe he didn't mean to. Maybe you're wrong." Warren Buffet who has known then since 1991: "Bill really needs her." Buffet also believes that Melinda makes Bill a better decision-maker. "He's smart as hell, obviously," Buffet says. "But in terms of seeing the whole picture, she's smarter."

Life was a test, and Melinda believed she had to ace it. Susan Bauer, her math and computer science teacher at Ursuline Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Dallas, recalls: "Everyday she had a goal." " The goals were run a mile, learn a new word, that sort of thing."

Melinda's valedictory speech, Ursuline Academy:
If you're successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.

Her ambition, insists Bauer, "was never abrasive. Never. She was always lovely and charming and she would win people over by being persuasive."

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to improve health condition worldwide, eliminate poverty in some of the world's poorest regions, to promote education, and to provide technology to libraries.

In 2005 Time magazine chose Bill and Melinda Gates (along with U2's Bono) as Person of the Year. The magazine celebrated the charitable works that the trio were giving to the world.

Bill and Melinda Gates have three children together; Jennifer Katharine Gates born in 1996, Rory John Gates born in 1999, and Phoebe Adele Gates born in 2002.

Valentine's day!

2008-02-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

For the celebration on Valentine's day,

My bf (nick) and I went to Shukodo and have dinner. I find the food just average, not very fantastic, maybe it is because my standards are very high.hehe

SHOKUDO JAPANESE FOOD BAZAAR
Raffles City Shopping Centre B1-44E

Tel: 6837-3793
Open 11.30am - 10 pm daily

I tried the bamboo salmon rice and only like the salmon not the rice. The salmon was steamed, very healthy. hehe. Nick tried the salmon rice bowl. I guess both of us feel like eating salmon that day bah, if not I can try other types of fish like eel. As the portion was not very big, I went to order another bowl of char siew ramen (original flavour), I only like the soup, the noodles can be improved. As for dessert, we ate the red bean and chestnut crepes, the crepe skin was fantastic but the red bean kinda of sweet. *must learn how to make the crepe skin. After that, we went for a walk along Esplanade, then to the rooftop, after talking for a while, he secretly placed my Valentine's Day present besides me. When we wanted to leave, he said that there was something weird besides me. Initially, I did not believe him and thought that he wanted to play a trick on me. So I said "let's go, dun play already". After much persuasion, I turned around and saw the light green Tiffany & Co. paperbag, inside was a heart-shaped necklace. I was really surprised and shocked cos I had not expected it. I love the necklace a lot!
I gave him a backpack-Mountain Dax Equipment that can be used for his business trip. It can put laptop as well. In addition, i bought the pocket holder where he can compact his business shirts into a small compartment.

My Valentine Day this year is very memorable for me! Thanx to Nicholas.

Ken Hirai (close my eyes lyrics)

2008-02-14T04:40:00.001-08:00

KEN HIRAI HITOMI WO TOJITE (CLOSE YOUR EYES) LYRICS

Asa mezameru tabi ni kimi no nuke kara ga yoko nii ru
Nukumori wo kanjita itsumono senaka ga tsumetai

Nigawarai wo yamete omoi KAATEN wo ake you
Mabushi sugiru asahi boku to mainichi no oikakekkoda

Ano hi miseta nakigao namida terasu yuuhi kata no nukumori
Keshi sarouto negau tabi ni kokoro ga karada ga kimi wo oboeteiru

Your love forever
Hitomi wo tojite kimi wo egaku yo sore dakede ii
Tatoe kisetsu ga boku no kokoro wo okizari ni shitemo

Itsuka wa kimi no koto nani mo kanji naku naru no kana
Ima no itami daite nemuru houga mada ii kana

Ano hi miteta hoshizora negai kakete futari sagashita hikari wa
Matatakuma ni kieteku no ni kokoro wa karada wa kimi de kagayaiteru

I wish forever
Hitomi wo tojite kimi wo egaku yo soreshika deki nai
Tatoe sekai ga boku wo nokoshite sugi sarou toshite mo

Your love forever
Hitomi wo tojite kimi wo egaku yo sore dakede ii
Tatoe kisetsu ga boku wo nokoshite iro wo kaeyou tomo

Kioku no naka ni kimi wo sagasu yo sore dakede ii
Nakushita mono wo koeru tsuyosa wo kimi ga kuretakara
Kimi ga kuretakara

I love this song so much that i memorize one line of it first:
'Hitomi wo tojite kimi wo egaku yo sore dakede ii'

It will take me some time to memorize the whole song but i know it is possible. hehe.

Dream trip-Osaka

2008-02-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

My dream is to be able to visit Osaka in 2009.

The reason being cos

Ken Hirai is from there.

Osaka is Japan's third largest and second most important city. It has been the economic powerhouse of the Kansai region for many centuries.

Orientation
Osaka has two major city centers and four major train stations. The two city centers are nicknamed Kita ("North") around Osaka/Umeda Station and Minami ("South") around Namba Station. While Kita is a large shopping and business area, Minami is Osaka's most famous entertainment district.
JR Osaka Station is located in the center of the Kita district. Two other railway companies and three subway lines have their own stations in the vicinity of JR Osaka Station, however, these stations are named Umeda Station rather than Osaka Station. The shinkansen trains stop not at Osaka Station, but at Shin-Osaka Station. Shin-Osaka Station is located one station north of Osaka Station by JR train.
In the Namba area (Minami), three railway companies (JR, Nankai and Kintetsu) and three subway lines have their separate stations, all named Namba Station. The fourth of Osaka's major railway stations is Tennoji Station in the southeast of central Osaka. It is served by JR, Kintetsu Railways, the Hankai Tramway and two subway lines.

Ken Hirai-hitomi wo tojite

2008-02-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

My favourite singer: Ken Hirai born on January 17, 1972. He is a Japanese R&B and pop singer.
He was born in Osaka but grew up in Nabari, Mie Prefecture.

His list of songs:

"Kiss of Life", used as the theme for the popular "Love Revolution" TV drama series in 2001
"Hitomi o Tojite" (瞳をとじて, Close my eyes) in May 2004-My favourite