Kit Kat & Snacks from Japan~! And a chocolate I found in Singapore

A colleague of mine just returned from Japan and brought a whole lot of snacks where they can only be found in Japan. So witness the truly unique snacks! Before that, a picture of how cute a cake wrapper from Japan looks like.


First up, Kit Kat Green Tea. Yeah it tasted a little bit like tea leaves squashed up with chocolate :)


Next, Kit Kat again but with a strawberry twist. Well I didn't really like it as it tasted a bit like really cheap strawberry flavored chocolate.


And followed by Kit Kat Minis (didn't know they have minis), in Banana flavor~! This actually tasted quite good with the aromatic smell and taste of bananas which is not too heavy.


Okay enough of Kit Kats, there was also a sweet which tasted like Ice-Cream Soda. Thing about this particular sweet is the filling actually fizzles in your mouth just like a soda would, so yeah that was definitely a surprise.


Lastly, not too exciting but I really like it, it was a Cadbury Chocolate in Lemon Cheesecake flavor which I found at a Singapore supermarket and along with it...........you guessed it Kit Kat again! Caramel flavor :-) ah the sweetness :P

Singapore Night Stroll

Was feeling boring the other night so ventured down into City Hall in Singapore to have a look at the Esplanade, pretty interesting with everything related to arts being down there. Quite a magnificent view, just too bad I had to take it with my phone's camera.


Then decided to just walk all the way down where there were noises to be heard from, and to my surprise it was where the iconic Lion of Singapore was located :)


Then just ventured adventurously down the roads and got myself at the Old Parliament House, it felt pretty nice to know that I was probably standing in the same place where prominent figures who shaped the future of Singapore worked during the 80s and early 90s. Was really nice immersing myself with the historical facts of Lee Kuan Yew, Dr. Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee and Goh Chok Tong. For those who are interested in politics, I was surprised that most of the pioneering members of the People's Action Party (PAP) of Sngapore are actually Malaysians! Well have a look at the old parliament house.

Singapore Toy Museum, Pity The Older Generation For They Had Such Ugly Toys

Last week on Sunday, I needed some peace and tranquility coupled with some amusement so I decided to just have a visit to the Singapore Mint Museum of Toys near City Hall (opposite Raffles Hotel) thinking how cool it would be to look at a 5-storey building filled with toys and just spending the whole day there. Boy was I wrong on so many counts!!! Read on to find out, this post's gonna be filled with pictures and interesting ones too! Forgive me for the picture quakity as I took it with my mobile phone.

Alright, first up the building. I was expecting a museum to be at least as big as a bungalow in Malaysia but instead I found a five-storey building 'squashed' next to a coffee-shop. Well okay I told myself maybe good collections await.


Really small building huh? Anyways, I proceeded to pay my fee of S$15 and made my way to the 5th floor as directed by the staff whom advised me to start from the top to bottom. So there I went to 5th floor themed Outerspace. Walked out expecting big area and WHAM! WTF!??? A tiny small hallway with cabinets of toys?


Okayyyyyyyyy, maybe the toys will do the hallway justice. First up, some aluminium made robot toys which were quite nostalgic (reminds me when I was a kid and I used to play with my Strepsils aluminium metal case).


Moving on, some Star Wars poster and toys, nothing special so I just snapped some Star Wars toys. Hello Yoda and Darth Vader! :)

The 4th floor was themed Characters (Batman, Superman, etc.), this should seem interesting since most of the action heroes were all good when we were young. Perhaps it won't be too bad, let's have a look. Oh oh! Cute, short and fat Batman!..................My GOD! When did Batman became like that!!! Maybe he's fit today because of the proliferation of fitness gyms or maybe it's just Christian Bale but anyways good enough, at least I am begining to see things I haven't seen before.

From here on I totally forgot about all the floor themes because everything caught my attention from here on. Let's start with the good part, just look at the nice remote control peacock....

And we have good old nice vintage cars, yeah.


Who could forget our good old spinning top :) our time had musicals not flashing lights like now.

Of course the more traditional kite, 'guli', and that onion shaped spinning thing (gasing if I am not wrong) which I used to play it in kampungs I visit during when I was a kid.


Hmmmm Hot Wheels match-box edition? :) But hey small toys with these kinda details were hand-made then!

Thereafter the horror began! You call this Mickey Mouse ? I pity the kids who were playing with them, they look so.................evil............

And this is Felix the Cat? I don't know if something is wrong with me but I felt that it really looked like voodoo dolls.


And Chinese propaganda toys? Yet they complain about Grand Theft Auto games on PS3, this toy practically had a person's head being stepped on and another being bashed, while another holds a machine gun.


Okay Donald Duck and Popeye wasn't too bad here.


Barbie wasn't that happy during hte 60s and 70s I guess due to suppression by men and having to just stay home without partying and shopping?

And why are toys from the era so creepy? Eye popper dolls and IT clown? Maybe that's why we have so many sick adults these days due to their childhood?

These teddy bears seem like they could pounce and kill anytime (not cude and cuddly at all, and why on earth of all colors are they red like stained blood???)


Didn't know racism was well present in toys too...

Okay I know so far I have been criticizing these toys a lot, but I did found a ray of hope in these other toys like Betty Boop ( a little muscular back then ), most of them are of Asian origin and they were really beautiful, especially the Cinese wooden dolls which were handcreafted meticulously.




Okay although it may seem like the S$15 wasn't worth that much of it, in fact if you have seen my blog you have seen 60-70% of the most interesting items. Nevertheless, i still recommend that you have a look at it yourself, when you see the items in person I guess you will appreciate that there have unique individual traits which signify a particular culture compared to today's mass-manufactured toys which all would probably come from China. Back then, you could most probably guess where a toy originated from based on its design cues and materials. It's easy to criticize but I keep in mind that back then they didn't have the technologies we have and if it wasn't for these pioneers, we might never have the cool toys we have today.

I'll let Mr.JFK save the day by injecting some seriousness of reading a newspaper (now I wonder why wasn't Bush and Clinton there with him too)

Nice Things in Singapore

I'm currently in Singapore and I was visiting Takashimaya Shopping Centre in Orchard Road. Singapore is just a great place for different varieties of food. In fact, I would just like to go straight to the point and show you some of the food which captured my attention.

Japanese desserts with their quirky yet meticulous designs.

Below is a cherry in Jelly
And Mochi created with such attention to detail that it looks like a work of art rather than food.
And though it may be common but it's my first time seeing an automated Teriyaki meat frying system, just look at the meat dipped into the Teriyaki sauce.