Yu-chan no Megane

I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese drinks and sweets, quite likely due to my attraction to gorgeous packaging. Nonetheless, some Japanese do have funky taste buds (e.g. dango, natto) and I wanted to try something different from the typical Singaporean diet.

So this time, I tried a natural flavoured yohurt drink, aptly named OHAYO オハヨー, literally meaning “good morning”. That’s probably not terribly adventurous, but believe me, when you’ve had nothing but sweet yoghurt drinks in chocolate/strawberry your entire life, it’s pretty far fetched.

OHAYO just makes you want to wake up in the morning, for the amazing price of S$4.20!

The first thing about OHAYO that struck me was the sourness that is typical of yoghurt, which is even more pronounced when it’s not flavoured. The next was the semi-creamy texture. I thought it was pretty tasty and filled me up reasonably. Which, for the whopping price of S$4.20, it bloody well should. That’s pretty expensive for a quick breakfast! I’m guessing it goes for ¥180 or thereabouts without export costs.

The next thing I purchased at the supermarket at Isetan Scotts was this package of caramel which looks fairly dubious. It looks like a pack of cigarettes or else a condom package, especially with the word “milk” emblazoned on it and a tiny shy angel in the bottom left corner.

Enjoy the creamy taste of milk in this dubious little package of caramel

I think I was drawn to the caramel since I’ve watched too many anime that reference it. So I thought I’d pick up a package. There was another one that appeared a little too… oriental… and I skipped that.

The taste is typical of caramel, creamy and very tasty. It’s remniscent of Werther’s Original butterscotch candies, except soft like a chewy candy, not at all unpleasant. Quite on the contrary, really. Grab your pack today!

Well, it seems that my flat has been sold and we’re moving to another part of the same housing estate. It’s both good and bad. I don’t mind the new environment and the convenience of the local hawker centre in the vicinity where we’re looking to get a new place. However, I do mind the packing and clearing of years of accumulated sentimental crap.

I suppose that’s a good thing though. It’s time to zen-ify my life. It’s fascinating how humans manage to collect so many things. Honestly, I don’t know how the Japanese manage storing everything neatly in cupboards. Sometimes I wish I was that organised.

At any rate, time to seize the chance for some major overhauls.

In other news, I had the chance to try out the latest Japanese fast food place at Far East Plaza by Scotts Road called Mogu Mogu 『もぐもぐ』. I ordered a Curry Katsudon, if I remember correctly, along with miso soup, chawanmushi and a cup of iced green tea. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the presence of mind to eat in, so I did takeaway, which, after some time in a taxi, wasn’t entirely fantastic, but nonetheless quite palatable. It’s been there for a while and I’ve always wanted to try it, except I haven’t had the chance to do so.

What’s cool about the place is the order system where you key in your order via a touch screen and pay through the coin/dollar slots. Take a queue number and wait for your order. It was pretty nice. Very hi-tech and Japanese-y as far as ordering technology goes. There’s even a cute girl in maid costume ready to assist you. For the guys I imagine this must be a great perk.

Mogu Mogu 『もぐもぐ』 at Far East Plaza is worth a shot if you’re into the maid assistant and are interested in reasonably priced Japanese fast-food.

Try it if you haven’t.

There is nothing I love more than my gorgeous shiny white mac, but I’ve been off it for more than a month (maybe even two, horrors!) since my hard drive failed some time ago. Obviously, I’ve been lazy or else I could’ve gotten it back within a week if I’d bothered to troop down to the service centre.

Nonetheless, it’s back with a new hard disk and logic board and I’m blogging on it once again.

That’s not all though. Apart from the craploads of work I’m straining under, I’ve managed to wheedle some new anime into my schedule.

I haven’t had time to screenshot anything so the titles will have to do.

• Code Geass is back with a vengeance in its second season. I loved it from the very first episode but haven’t really caught up with the latest releases. The version I’ve got is a very large .mkv file which makes watching on my Windows Vista machine a real pain. I’m not sure how it’ll fare on Macbook here, but we’ll see. It’s on my “must watch eventually” list.
• xxxHolic is back as well, this time, named xxxHolic kei, whatever that means (like I said, no time to check it out). I’ve got the first two episodes but have yet to watch them. Really loved the hilarity of the first season so this should really be a good watch.
• Itazura na Kiss is a shoujo anime about a girl from the F class who comes to live with her crush after a series of mishaps. Unfortunately for her, her crush is a cold, handsome young chap from the A class in her high school who hates stupid girls.
• Special A. is a fun shoujo anime that reminds me a little of Ouran High School Host Club in terms of its character style and overall art. It’s about two eternal rivals in wrestling, both in high school, who have been at loggerheads since they were young. She thinks about beating him in every sphere while he goads her on. He loves her, though she is unaware of it. It’s pretty slapstick and I really enjoy what I’ve seen of it so far.

The slapstick (and adorable) cast of Special A スペシャル・エ. If you enjoyed Ouran, you’d probably love this too.

… was completely and utterly brilliant!

I watched In the Shadow of Beethoven by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, featuring conductor Claus Peter Flor, Zhang Manchin on the viola and Ma Yue on the clarinet.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Wagner’s Tannhauser: Overture and Bacchanale (Paris version) and Bruch’s Concerto for Clarinet and Viola in E minor, Op. 88, the icing on the cake had to be Brahms. The majestic start and the crescendos and decrescendos were just mouth-watering. I haven’t been moved by classical music for a long time. There’s a huge difference listening to it performed live and on mp3. There are just some things that are impossible to capture on recording.

I wish I could’ve taken a photo but sadly photo-taking and video recording were not allowed. I did have my camera and was sorely tempted but I didn’t want to be rude. My first orchestra experience was just wonderful and I wish there was some way of commemorating it.

For now, violin lessons would have to do. (-_<)

Chiaki of Nodame Cantabile, played by Tamaki Hiroshi 玉木 宏. My first love for classical music developed from this very dorama. Behold the power of JCulture.