the wacky wombat weblog

I’ve lived on this wee bit island for close to 7 years now. I’ve not always loved it, especially in the beginning. But if there’s one thing I like about Singapore, it’s how ‘walkable’ it is.

It’s pedestrian friendly. Like the city streets of Tokyo and NYC, except without the pesky cyclists (Tokyo) and filthy sidewalks (NYC). It’s safe to walk around on your own, train stations are near everything, so you can just basically take the train somewhere and spend the entire afternoon walking around doing nothing — which is something that I can’t do when I’m back in KL unless I’m hoping to get mugged or leered at by weird sleazy people and pollute my lungs with exhaust fumes. yuck.

So yes, despite the stiffling weather, random walks around the city is something I enjoy doing on some weekends. Once in a while, I’ll bring my lil’ camera around and take random photos of things. Kinda like a tourist. Except I don’t do those stand-in-front-of-merlion-and-do-the-peace-sign shit. That’s for real tourists.

My favourite building is the Gateway, near Bugis. It’s just awesomely sharp. It’s like, you can cut yourself by just looking at it.

Sometimes the best views are just outside my window. Being on the 16th floor has its perks (besides being mosquito-free).

I think it’s the practice for national day or something.

For more snapshots of my random walks, just go to Photo Gallery, and look for the album “Look Up”.  Click and view!

Okay, this is something from like over 2 weeks ago: I was back in Malaysia and my mom was driving me and my sisters to 1 Utama. We were headed there for shopping and dinner. And while on the road we spotted a tow truck towing a very odd-looking car.

Not sure what kind of car (vehicle? can we call it a car?) that was. So since I had my camera with me, why not snap a shot. My mom happily obliged by following behind the tow truck so that I can get a decent shot of the strange car. She even pulled up right alongside it so that I can get this shot:

Those seats look like some kind of race-car seats? Check out the seat belts, and the old-school stick shift heh. But hey, it’s still a pretty cool car — or whatever it is. :p

There was a lot of shopping during my last trip to Tokyo and I came back hauling a bunch of stuff. Including things I bought on a whim. Which I’ve decided to sell it off since I haven’t worn them yet.

Here’re some items from United Colors of Benetton. They’re all brand new (price tags still attached). Some are still wrapped in plastic. lol. All items are in XS size and I only have 1 unit for each item.

If anyone is interested in purchasing and plumping up their wardrobe, please contact me on this blog or e-mail to tsewei [AT] wackywombat [DOT] net.

Here goes!

#1. Long-sleeved collared shirt in eggplant purple

• Original price: 4,900 yen (~S$68)
• Now selling for S$50

Click to see details.

#2. Sweater jacket in white cotton

• Original price: 8,900 yen (~S$123)
• Now selling for S$90

Click to see in detail.

#3. Cardigan in deep forest green

• Original price: 4,900 yen (~S$68)
• Now selling for S$50

#4. Pink wool turtleneck sweater

• Original price: 2,900 yen (S$40)
• Now selling for S$23
• Wool, 3/4 sleeves

#5. Knee-length skirt in navy blue

• Original price: 5,800 yen (~S$82)
• Now selling for S$60
• Front zip with button, slit on the front, pockets on the back and front.

Click to see in detail.
#6. Handbag

• Original price: 6,900 yen (~S$96)
• Now selling for S$80
• Canvas with leather trimming, zip-top closure.12″ (L) x 6″ (H) x 5″ (W).

Click to see in detail.

* 100 yen = 1.39 SGD

As much as I enjoyed the shopping and sight-seeing, the majority of my Tokyo experience also revolves around food.

I pretty much love japanese food (ok, except for natto, which is fermented soy beans, and most things fermented taste/smell foul and should be ample warning for people to NOT eat them). But Japanese food in Japan tastes way better than japanese restaurants at home. It’s kinda like when you’re in US and chinese food taste nothing like the chinese food you have at home. (e.g. WTF is General Tso’s chicken?!)

A piece of Japanese food knowledge that I picked up in Japan was about wasabi. Behold - fresh wasabi!

Yes, this is the real deal, the root. To eat, you have to finely grate it first. The flavour is a little lighter and more fragrant than processed wasabi paste (which may not even contain wasabi at all according to this wiki article!), and the hotness does not rush up to your nose and threaten to destroy your nasal passage. It’s all very subtle and pleasant to eat.

Another big surprise about Japanese food (in Japan) is pork. Contrary to the popular belief that seafood and raw fish is all the Japanese people ever eat, pork actually does figure quite heavily in their cuisine. Not only do they eat pork quite often, but they can cook it darn well too! The kind where the pork literally melts in your mouth. It is that good.

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of their yummilicious pork to show you, because well, pork + soupy ramen = instant respite against winter chills and palatte satisfaction, so we basically attacked the food right when it reaches the table. There is no time for nilly-willy things like posing and selecting shutter speed on cameras. This is my 3rd trip and I still don’t really have pork-y pictures for you.

Besides the fine art of roast pork, there is also the very cute fast food pork: McPork burger (100yen only!). McDonald’s in Japan is Makudonaludo, and McPork is makupoku. And when Mario wins a challenge in Super Mario Galaxy (Japanese version), it is “star get”. English is a whole new language to me in Japan.

Anyway, I’ve posted some photos of my makan adventure in Tokyo. These are the few moments when we actually stopped ourselves from devouring the food just as it’s served and behaved all civilised and snapped away with our camera. Just go to our Photo Gallery and check out the album titled Eating Marathon.

Other food-related thoughts:

• Japanese people eat a lot of radish. I seem to get radish everywhere. I like it in oden (an assortment of boiled stuff in light broth soup), but not so much as a condiment. While shopping in the supermarket on new year’s eve, I see at least 1 big radish in almost everyone’s shopping basket.
• They also eat a lot of rice. I cannot understand how, in between slurping down a whole big bowl of noodles, typical salarymen can wolf down mouthfuls of plain white rice as well. Lunch sets with noodles + rice + condiment are pretty common.
• They eat horse meat too. I’ve seen places sell horse sashimi, but I cannot bring myself to eat horse meat. However it’s not really a common thing, unlike fish.
• I love how restaurants always serve water for free. Some even leave you with a whole big pitcher. Some restaurants in Malaysia should learn: We should not need to pay for plain water, especially when your food is salty.
• They eat innards too! Yay! I’ve eaten chicken heart, chicken gizzard, chicken butt, pork belly, bbq-ed (yakitori) and deep fried, and they taste great! I believe bak kut teh will do extremely well if sold in Japan.

Now that I’ve procrastinated for 2 weeks after my return from Tokyo, the time is ripe for me to upload some pictures and write about the trip.

One of the common thing I hear people say about Tokyo is that everything is expensive and you can’t holiday there without a ton of cash.

That’s only true to some extent. Yes — hotels are expensive, public transport isn’t cheap like in Singapore, and forget taxis if you value your money.

When it comes to shopping during sale time, it is fantastic. I’m talking about 10 bucks a piece and up to 70% for clothes, and for brands that are normally considered a little pricey back home, like GAP, Zara, Benetton, etc. And finding an XS isn’t like searching a needle in a haystack of XLs like the sales back home either.

This largely explains why I went there with one luggage and came back with two. LOL.

Also, it isn’t too costly to dine at a nice restaurant, where service is always top-notch. Ok, even the neighbourhood aunty shops have good service. And beer is cheap, and good. I will have a follow-up post solely dedicated to all that is fooood.

This post is all about my favourite place to shop: Harajuku, and adjacent to it, Shibuya. Trendy, with wide array of shops from quirky to classic, streetwear to couture, and cheap to expensive, it’s a nice place to just walk around even if you’re not out for shopping.

It is an interesting place to people-watch. But turns out it’s also a nice hang out for fashionable doggies out for a little sun-tanning on a warm winter day.

And beyond the glitzy main street of Omotesando are the little back lanes and quirky shops, which houses possibly the thinnest (yes, thinnest) building I’ve ever seen.

This is not an optical illusion. And I’m not sure if I can fit into the corner of that shop.

As you walk deeper into the network of criss-crossing alleys, you’ll find a few little houses squashed in between boutiques and designer shops. And that’s where we also found our favourite burger joint - Freshness Burger.

I like the concept of this particular outlet. It’s like going into someone’s little house and dining in their kitchen or in their courtyard (depending which table you get). But the whole look and feel is of a very homey and comfortable setting.

The front of the house is non-descript: small signage, a low black grill gate, and a cobble-stone walkway. Inside it’s warmly lit, with wooden furniture and kitchen utensils. And burgers grilled to order. We’ve eaten at other outlets of theirs, but this one’s the cutest.

For more pictures of Harajuku / Shibuya, just head on to our photo gallery. Check out the album titled: A day around Harajuku & Shibuya on page 2. Mouse over photos to read the captions.

I’m neither religious nor an atheist, but Christmas is always fun.

It’s a public holiday (auyongtc: not for me, Jesus is not that popular here ), and everything’s sparkly everywhere. That’s what I like most about Christmas. Not Santa Claus, Jesus in the manger, or turkey, but the trees and the lights. I guess I’m like a magpie that cannot resist anything that’s tinsly and shinny, especially the baubles.

Everything is prettier, and the atmosphere’s a little lighter than normal. Maybe because everyone’s looking forward to the drinking and partying, or maybe the end of the year is in sight, but it always feels a little more carefree.

Well, for whatever reason you celebrate this festive season, here’s a little wish from us:

And lets hope it’s going to be a better year ahead.

postscript: yay, will be in Tokyo on New Year’s day. But will definitely avoid the crowd going to the shrines. I prefer my shrines quiet and serene, not packed like a shopping mall.

This is a little overdue, but yes, I have officially graduated.

Convocation was last Wednesday in NTU’s Auditorium. Ceremony was, well, long-winded, especially when I thought it’d be quick with our cohort of only 160+, but turns out there were as many masters fellas as there were mere degree folks like us. 0_o

My whole family travelled all the way to Singapore just for this, so haha, what an honour. :p We were probably one of the largest family to attend, but thankfully plenty of extra tickets were available so I don’t feel so bad taking so many extras, and my sisters didn’t have to sit outside and drink coffee for 90 minutes.

Nice seeing everyone again after my 3-month-long holiday. Took me a few seconds to recognise some people. Must be the gowns, made us all look like some harry potter congregation hehe. Took lots of photos too, so thanks to friends, friends of friends, family of friends, who helped with the photo-taking.

My sis Tse Mei and me (with the mortarboard that gives me extra height). She’s leaving soon for her final year studies in the US, so all the best (with the snow)!

me and some of my choir friends who arrived after the ceremony for our lil’ photo-taking get-together.

After convo (and some touristy activity around Singapore with my family), I went back to PJ with them, spent the weekend there fooding around, and now I’m back in the little island, hoping someone will hear my plea for a job (and money to pay my rent). lol. On with more job sites browsing.

Just flew back from Tokyo to Singapore. First thing I noticed when I got off the plane? Travelators and escalators that don’t ’speak’. haha. *In Japan, all travelators and escalators play a recorded female voice telling you to please watch your step and don’t fall on your face, or something, over and over and over.

Took United Airlines, flight was alright, not too bumpy even though weather was cloudy. Food was meh (my butter was not melted into oil this time, but the bread was stone-cold). In-flight entertainment didn’t leave me very entertained with its combination of bad movies, crappy audio and puny screen. Oh well, business as usual on UA.

Nevertheless, the view of the sunset from above the clouds was quite nice (or at least to me it is). :p Plus the seat next to mine was vacant, so, yay!

Flight landed 20 minutes early, so I thought hurray, the faster I get out of Changi, the more I can avoid cab surcharge going overboard. Unfortunately, with the uncanny luck of always ending up on the queue that is the slowest no matter what I do, I only left the airport at 1.10am no thanks to idiots who seem to not have proper travel papers in my queue and cab lines extending to the front of arrival gates.

Anyhoo, I’m back, fatter from all the food in Japan, and sneezing non-stop now after cleaning up the dust in my room. Convocation’s happening in 3 days, and my family will be coming down to Singapore for that, so lots to look forward to (besides more dusting up of my room).

p/s: time for char kuay teow tomorrow. w00t!

Besides my mer-dragon encounter, I also had a nice time strolling around the gardens at the Imperial Palace. I always like how fresh everything looks and smells right after a short misty shower.

Took some photos, but not all turned out as nice as I had hoped. This time I decided to skip the editing like fine-tuning the colours and all, and stuck with the original, although I cropped some slightly to give the picture more balance. But all the same, I had fun playing with Au Yong’s digital camera (Casio Exilim EX-Z850).

My favourite is the spiderweb and the suspended water drops trapped in it. Here’s more of the rest. Alternatively, go to the navigation bar at the top of this page, and hit <photo gallery>.

Tried to take some photos of the Tokyo city scape, but I just can’t seem to capture concrete and steel structures nicely. Looks drab most of the time. But gotta shift from the flowers and greenery, and change my focus to city scenes.

Singapore has the merlion. Guess what I found in Tokyo.

Mer-dragon? haha.

Found this at the entrance to the Imperial Palace Garden on Wednesday. The ferocity of the dragon seems kinda diminished with that nice fish tail that he’s got.

But after looking at a notice stuck next to it, seems like he isn’t really a dragon.

Er, stylized dolphin?! (ok maybe a dolphin styled after a dragon?) 0_o

Well at least it looks more dignified than the merlion that zaps laser lights out of its eyes on Sentosa Island. And I suppose being 350 years old helps too. :p