Japanese Etiquette in Singapore

Taken from HERE

What i am going to blog today may not sit too well for most people.

With due respect to all Japanese, i do have the deepest admiration for their culture, especially their consideration for the society. This admiration was further impressed by the various variety shows hosted by Mark Lee; namely It's A Small World (国记交易所) and Gracious Planet (放心出去看).

I remember vividly one episode of Gracious Planet, on a train in Japan; one where everyone was quiet and even answering a phone call was frowned upon.

But that's Japan. What about the Japanese in Singapore?

I am not too sure about the others but since working in NUS (National University of Singapore) for over two years, my bus journey from Clementi on 189 involves stopping opposite Waseda Shibuya Senior High School. This means that there are always Japanese students taking the bus in the morning and evening.

A few appalling observations:

Some (i wouldn't say all) Japanese students will put their bags at the empty seats beside them. Even with the passengers packed as sardines in the bus, they will just continue talking to their friends seated in front of them (yes, in front) or reading their books.

Granted it can be a matter of overlook, but the number of times i saw it happened does not justify this.

And if you are thinking about the volume they emit, they were super noisy! Where is the consideration for the society? Or does that apply only to Japan? Could it be a tourist syndrome, where one behaves at home but misbehaves overseas?

It was raining heavily in Clementi a few hours ago and a Japanese student, the first to board the bendy-bus at the bus stop, proceeded to swing round and round the pole at the middle of the bus. It was marvellous as he swung for like, 5 times around the pole.

I almost felt like applauding but i also noticed that he was effectively creating a backlog of passengers who wished to move to the back of the bus.

He must be feeling damn proud of the attention he was getting; positive and negative.

My purpose of this post is not to say that the Japanese is no longer as socially considerate as before since the sample size was too small to begin with.

Like all things, nothing's perfect and we cannot assume that everyone behaves the same, no matter how strong a culture is.

There's only one thing i can confirm; the above-mentioned students were all male and thankfully, the Japanese girls are still like their counterparts back in their home country.....

No biased prejudice, whatsoever, is involved in these observations!

Tian Men Shan (天门山) @ Hunan (湖南), China

One of the optional tours available at RMB 500, this trip to Heaven's Door (or Sky's Gate) Mountain was the most memorable for our Hunan's expedition!

The highlight of this tour was to climb up the 999 heavenly steps (collectively known as heaven's stairs) to this big hole in the mountain, termed mystically as the doorway to heaven (hence the mountain's name).

In order to reach the start of this almost 1,000 steps at an elevation of 1,300 metres, difficulties abound.

First, it's important that you take the cableway! Spanning a long distance of over 7 kilometers, you will be thankful for both its convenience and the spectacular scenary surrounding you!

Second, stop at the mid-station and take an eco-friendly bus up the winding road to your FINAL DESTINATION! With 99 turns, this ride was boring and did not offer much.

C'mon, it's just a bus ride that goes up and up..

Luckily, the magnificent heaven's stairs leading to the "door" made it all so worth it! Words and pictures cannot describe how beautiful it is; you have to be there to experience it.

Now the third difficulty (yes, it ain't over). When you reach the base of the stairs, please take your time to climb up. It may not seem like it's strenuous, but it is!! 

We (dad, mom and son) had such a hard time scaling the stairs, we literally crawled for the last hundred!! My cousin gave up halfway through the climb! It was thoughtful of the constructor to build platforms every few hundred steps for us to rest and breathe in the fresh, unpolluted air.

If you need motivation, you can pay RMB20 for a lady from the minorities to sing a tribal mountain song for you. Her voice was really good!

Like mountain climbing, you experience an exhilarating achievement when you reached the top!! However, our family just wanna, wanna rest. It was such a tiring ordeal!! And while we looked down at those pitiful souls slowly making their way up, we started to ponder the options of going down to the base.

Two were available, one of which was to slowly walk down the stairs, one step at a time. Being acrophobic, i had to walk down sideways.... one step at a time. The other way, much faster, was to roll down.

Guess which one i choose?

Anyway, you remember the road with 99 turns? It might be boring if you are on the road but from the cable car, it does look stunning!

A helpful tip if you are not travelling on a package tour, the ticket to Tian Men Shan only costs 258 RMB for a two-days pass. And this mountain is not only limited to the "doorway". It has multiple scenic spots that will marvel you.

I found out only after my trip.

=(

Bejeweled Blitz

Long Long time ago, i was super hooked on Bejeweled, a free online game offered by MSN.com! I weaned myself out of it since i was not very good in the game and had wasted far too much time on it; could have used the time to explore food in Singapore instead!

Unfortunately, the addiction came back when Facebook.com launched an application called Bejeweled Blitz!

At a minute for one game, this app was really addictive since psychologically it gave an impression that the time spent will be much lesser than games which can last hours!

But it added a very competitive streak amongst the players!!!! When i managed to score a higher score than my friends, a notification will be sent immediately to those i overtake; the message was "neh neh neh neh, i win you! wahahahaha".

Some sort to that effect.

In the past, when i got this notification, i will log in and fight to increase my score! Since the score board was cleared every week, it became a daily affair to log in and play!

I used to score at most about 240,000 and pretty much thought it should be the best in my friends' list. It was, initially, until Karen kept pushing me down to No 2!!!

Number 2 was okay for me. I am fine with being number 2. Until one day, in the morning of a fresh new week, i saw Alex scored the following.

528,200!!! That's it!

I quit Bejeweled Blitz and concentrate on MyZoo and Restaurant City. 

Economical Italian Fare @ Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe, Liang Court

Visited twice within 3 months, this Italian family-style eatery from Japan serves delicious (at least to me, Hannah finds it okay) food at very economical prices for its prime location at Liang Court.

Strongly recommended by our circle's food connoisseur, Mr Kon, for its food and price, i would like to add that the customer service was also commendable; prompt, cheerful, friendly and willing to accept feedback.

The food:

Shrimp Cocktail Salad

Salad has always been a no-no when i dine. Because it filled up my stomach pretty fast and I can bloody hell have a tasty, fresh salad with the type of dressing i like at a FRACTION of the cost at home!!

The one here was not bad though since there were a lot of prawns shrimps for only $5.90! And since i am sharing it with friends, the amount was just right.

Oven-Baked Escargot

Before year 2008, you will never see me eating this. NEVER! I am never adventurous with meat that is not a common feature on the dining table.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you are), eating escargot is an acquired taste. And i find myself loving the lands snails when they are immersed in rich butter!

In the case of Saiseriya, rich GARLIC butter! 

SLurp!!!!

Price: S$5.58 for 6 snails

Pineapple and Bacon Pizza

As the description in the menu suggests, it is the PERFECT combination of pineapple and bacon!!! And the cheese was well.... so so cheesy!!!

The pork bacon in the pizza was really a rarity in Singapore's pizza industry since most pizza parlours in Singapore are Halal certified.

Price: S$6.98

Seafood Risotto

Like mui fan (a Chinese rice dish covered with thick sauce), this Italian version was soaked in a sauce made from tomatoes. It had a strong seafood taste that bordered on fishiness and the sauce had a rather "thin" feel.

It was just not palatable enough.

Price: S$???? (i could not remember)

Squid Ink Spaghetti

I have had better ones (for example, Ma Maison).

A beautiful jet-black color, this dish from Saizeriya was just too dry, including the squid and the strands of black pasta were too hard.

Note that for this dish, what goes in, comes out the same color. Go figure what i mean. Wahahahaha.

Price: S$5.98

Pork and Hamburger Steak

A word of caution, don't expect to find a piece of pork cutlet! The pork refers to strips of bacon!!

Both the pork and hamburger must be marinated really well in order to make them so tasty! Served in a sizzling plate with a sunny side up, another ingredient worth noting was the kernels of creamy corn!!!

Price: S$7.98

Drinks

I like it when restaurants have free flow of soft drinks for a comfortable fee and LOVE it when they have free flow of drinks (besides soft drinks, espresso, latte, teh tarik, satchets of tea, lime juice) for only $2.58 (in the case of Saiseriya)!! 

The conditions:

You must order any food item to enjoy the a/m price.

Or pay $3.88 if you prefer to drink ONLY.

Kids enjoy the free flow at only $1.38!

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Remember, the above review is based on my personal experience(s) and you might agree/disagree with what i wrote. The only way to prove it? Get your butt down to Saizeriya and try it!!!

Location: 177, River Valley Road, #02-22, Liang Court Shopping Centre. Please visit the super fabulous www.streetdirectory.com and search for Liang Court for its precise location.

Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm.

Usually crowded with queues forming outside the restaurant during the lunching and dining hours, it is strongly recommended to go during the off peak hours.

Oh, almost forgot; hot/cold plain water is available for free!

Strawberry Popsicle @ Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

The one thing i really really love in Cameron Highlands, in addition to the freaky nice and cool weather, is the strawberry popsicle!!

Unlike the one we have in Singapore, which is full of artificial coloring that will 100% stain your tongue, THIS ONE in Cameron Highlands has no such powers to win your bet on who has the best colored tongue!

Those borned in the 1970s and 1980s will know what i mean (i hope).

Besides the lack of coloring, the "natural" content can also be attested when you feel the taste of fresh strawberries. PLUS! There are strawberry seeds scattered in the popsicle!!

At the moment, this type of popsicle is ONLY available in Cameron Highlands.

SAD RIGHT?

T-Cafe @ Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

On one hand, with non-matching furniture and a decor that was messily unique on the second floor of a shophouse, T-cafe was nowhere near my fantasized imagination. On the other hand, it gave the impression of a very homely place with friendly staff members.

Famously known for its home-made scones, it was a good place to relax and had our tea break while waiting for our coach to Kuala Lumpur. There was even a book section for you to spend your time slowly.

The latter option was not applicable since we only had an hour!!! The time should be and MUST BE better utilised on eating the home specialties!!

Strawberry Fruity Scone

I didn't like this.

Though visually appealing, i cannot understand why people like this dry yet very filling british quickbread! Besides the sourish fruitty bits, the only other sensation i got was a damn solid bread taste (NORMAL).

Maybe i am just not cut out to eat scones; tried once long time ago and hated it then, for the exact same reason above!

Or maybe i should have ordered the cream scone first for a more normal and at least comparable taste.

Life is full of maybe(s).

Apple Pie with Ice Cream

To my surprise, i didn't like this too!!!

What's happening to me?!?!?!?!!? I remembered thinking then that Macdonald's Apple Pie was so much better!!!

Made with whole slices of apple(s) instead of the mashed up version, the least i expected was a pie that was too full of cinnamon!!

It was not sugar laden; good or bad depending on your preferences. My preferred standard of apple pie has always leaned to the more sweetened form.

The ice cream added made the devouring a bit more bearable.

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Overall, i was not satisfied with the two dishes! With more time, i might have given a different review. Well, that will require another trip (hopefully not in the near future)!

I AM BROKE!!

Additional Information

First thing, T-Cafe will soon be known as Lord's Cafe!

T-cafe allowed internet surfing at RM0.50 for 10 minutes! For suckers like me who hate to pay for a full hour when i need just a few minutes to water my plants in Restaurant City and moving the baby animals from the Breeding Section, it was a blessing!

Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm. Closed on Sunday!

Steps leading to the cafe on second floor

Location: It's at Tanah Rata and next to the only Marrybrown fast-food in Cameron Highlands! It is also opposite the half-completed but operating "official" bus terminal in Cameron Highlands (i know it sounds weird but it's true). No map available since the details are rather fuzzy!  

The half completed yet operational bus terminal from T-cafe

Oldies & Goodies Roasted Restaurant (老字号) @ Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

If not for the word "roasted", the name does give an impression of a really traditional shop selling biscuits and sweets from my grandparents' era. Again, this place was recommended by a few bloggers and being a lover for char siew, i HAD to try it.

Wanton Noodles

Alex ordered this. When i saw this plate of noodles with a few pathetic slices of mushroom, i thought it was seriously not worth the cost of RM5. THAT was my initial impression before i even tried it.

Looks can REALLY be deceiving.

The noodles were springy but it was the sauce that made it so desirable! Unlike the wanton noodles sauce (for Cantonese style) we have in Singapore; the one here was a lighter version of char siew sauce but with a drawing power that made you yearn for more!!

Also, the wantons were not the pathetic minced pork filled dumplings we have in Singapore! When you teared the wantons apart, it was not pork but prawns okay!

Char Siew Rice

Though fragrant, i guess the rice was soaked in a broth that placed ginger as the highest weightage; resulting in a rice that was too ginger flavoured. For ginger lovers, this should be a plus.

The char siew did not disappoint; with crystalized charred bits, it was not that fatty (compared to most Malaysian char siew) yet retained the delicious flavour of well made char siew.

The only complaint? Too little char siew!!!!

RM5.00 per plate.

Char Siew Noodles

Since the noodles and char siew were so good, they had to be the perfect partners in crime food right? With this craving in mind, we returned to the shop a mere 4 hours later.

The verdict? Perfect!

I probed the cashier for more information on the noodles sauce and he secretly let out that this sauce was not bought in the market but made in the shop. Besides a mixture of oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, there was also char siew sauce.

I KNEW IT!!! Wahahahahah.

RM5.50 per plate.

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You will see a big sign opposite this restaurant with the words "Cactus Valley". Definitely worth a visit! In addition, the Big Red Strawberry Farm with its strawberry dessert cafe is right beside it!

Opening hours: 9.30am to 10pm.

Please refer to the map above for the location (red star)! The restaurant is beside Kavy Hotel! Yes!! Kavy Hotel is in between Oldies & Goodies and Strawberry Moment Dessert Cafe!