I Survived J-Card Members' Day

Hahaha... Glad to inform you I survived the two days without too much of a damage to my purse or Zaini's wallet for that matter.

Unlike in previous years, MidValley's J-Card Members' day was held for two days this year (on Feb 24th & 25th) and they only opened from 10.00am - 11.00pm. I like it better when they opened at 7.00 am because I can spend my mornings choosing things before going in to work.

Bought packs of Twister Orange Juice at RM9.99 at the supermarket, and got this kodomo bento for lunch. No need to waste my lunch break looking for other place to eat! Time should be used for shopping! LOL

Instead of clothes and bed sheets & comforters; which were usually the normal items we spent much of our $$$ on, both Zaini and I went looking around on the toys & children's floor.

Keroro Gunso figures went for 50% discount. Woooo

Ultraman action figures on the other hand, was only 20% cheaper. No Ultraman figurs for Raimie this time

Hello Kitty pillows were 50% off

Thomas & Friends train sets also went for 50% off

Kamen Rider Hibiki and Power Rangers sold at a bargain price after 70% discount

A very restraint moi only got this for herself and Raimie. Perfumes and a pair of Hush Puppies shoes for me and a new B-Daman figure for Raimie to have a battle with the Cobalt Saber Fire that we bought earlier and a body wash. For Zaini? I was way too busy to think about his stuff. :Evil laugh: (But no lah, he had nothing to buy that day)

Gimbap For Dinner

OK, gimbap is actually a Korean dish but I think from now on, I'll lump anything Korean here too. Bear with me, people.

Gimbap is similar to to the Japanese futomaki style makisushi in preparation but with different ingredients. It is generally served cold.

Its primary ingredients are bap (rice) and kim/gim (sheets of dried seaweed/nori) with the addition of items such as sauteed beef, sausage, ham, fish cake and vegetables such as spinach, cucumbers, carrots and pickled daikon and lightly seasoned with salt and sesame oil.

On Monday, Zaini and I (sans Raimie who was at home) went to Food Gardens at the Gardens Mall for dinner. We had no plans in eating Korean that day (Korean food is equally expensive as Japanese food here), having decided to eat chicken rice instead.

We were happily chowing down our dinner when the lady Korean Food Stall owner with one of her staff came to our table with a plate of gimbap and two bowls of Dengjang Chigae (Korean miso soup). She said it was because she felt bad having mixed up punching my order the Friday before and had been waiting for me to drop by since then!

As we're already almost full, she enquired whether we'd like to packed the gimbap for "Baby". ("Baby" was her nickname for Raimie which pisses him to no end when hearing it. LOL) I kind of felt guilty accepting the complimentary gimbap.

So, here's the free gimbap for Raimie's dinner on Monday that we "tapau-ed" (packed to-go). He shared it with one of his friends who happened to be at home, playing his Nintendo DS game.

Now I have to add one more thing to my to-do list. Learn Korean! The nice Korean lady wasn't exactly conversant in English. I can't really understand what she was saying and I doubt if she understands me! At least I want to learn to say Yes, Thank you and You're Welcome. Jim, can help or not?

Awards and Tags

I've been tagged. I'm sorry that sometimes I kind of ignore tags and awards, but this time I'm going to do it.

Well, here goes (and I'm going to do a bit of translation here):

The rules of this award are:-

1. Copy Badge untuk diletakkan di blog anda (to put in your blog).

The badge:






2. Link atau ceritakan kembali siapa yg memberikan award ini kepada anda. (link or tell us about the person who gave you the award):

I got this award from Nash and Ummi, both are Malaysians living in Tokyo with their families. Nash and his wife are doing their phD and will be returning to Malaysia this year. Ummi had finished her Masters and are currently taking time off to take care of her boy (IQ) and her baby girl (IIQ). I met them both for the first time in Tokyo during our vacation to Japan last year.

3.Setiap blogger hendaklah menyatakan 10 fakta/hobi diri sendiri sebelum memilih pemenang seterusnya (each blogger have to state 10 facts or hobbies before choosing the next recipients):

a. like both of them, I have been away from home since I was 12. First to boarding school then onwards to college. The longest time I was at home was 2 months but that stay made me realise that I can't stay long in my parents' home, ever.

b. my favourite colour is green. 70% of my wardrobe comprises of this colour. The other 30% are black, brown and pink.

c. people's first impression of me : snooty and snobbish. Maybe I should smile more and try to look less like a crabby "aunty". :D

d. hates household chores especially ironing but I don't like to get other people to do it for me. Even though it is quite cheap to send our clothes to the laundry for ironing, I'd still want to do it myself because I'm fussy.

e. I used to have an extensive collection of Mills & Boons books. Can't stand any of them now or any romance books for that matter.

f. addicted to sugar. I can't live without at least a glass of sweet drink each day.

g. even though I love to read, I'll most probably nod off to sleep right away if I try to study. I have never been able to sit and concentrate all my life and it is a miracle I pass any test all these years!

h. I like to do a few things at the same time - while writing this, I am also watching TV and checking on Raimie's homework and EC dropping. I drive both Zaini and Raimie nuts with my constant channel hopping because I can't even concentrate watching a show without checking other channels.

i. I don't wear any make-up. All my spots and zits are for all to see.

j. Would love nothing better than planning and going to Japan. If I get to stay there, that would be even better, but unlike Zaini who wants to be there permanently, I give myself 2 years tops. I don't think I have the Japanese temperament.

Anyone up for this award?

Lunch At Ninja Jones Izakaya, Northpoint

I do feel that this blog is turning into a food blog. Well, one way to immerse oneself in a different culture is by enjoying the food, right? :D

The three of us went to Ninja Jones Izakaya at Northpoint on Feb 14. I had initially wanted to go to Xenri, but as I wrote earlier, Zaini doesn't like all that hassle of going to a new place in search of food. :(

I might have issues with the food served, but the ambiance here was definitely tops. The decor was quite nice even if it was a tad too dark but it makes for great romantic place to have dinner for two, I guess. Especially nice to see (for both kids and adults) the novelty of having servers coming in full ninja attire. No photo of them because Raimie simply refused to take photo with them.

Service was prompt and fast but I do wish that the waitress be more knowledgeable of the menu instead of having to verify anything we asked to someone more senior (which seems to be a common occurrence in quite a few restaurants here).

The atmosphere here was lively despite the dark decor with the staff hollering and "onegai-shimasu'ing" and orders to each other - for an izakaya atmosphere, I presume?

Raimie enjoying his chawan mushi

My sashimi and tempura set (I forgot the actual name). The beef wasn't as nice and tender as Yuzu's

Close-up on the sashimi. It was't that fresh either

Zaini with his usual choice: unagi set

Raimie's caterpillar maki

Raimie enjoying his dessert

All smiles after a lunch

Xenri's Buffet Launch Promotion

Who's going? Can I join too? :D Zaini won't take me there because he said it's too much of a hassle to got there. Even the one at Jalan Klang Lama also he doesn't want to go.

Pasta Zanmai at Mid Valley

This was our second visit to Pasta Zanmai. The first one was to Pasta Zanmai in One Utama. A second visit was inevitable as we got a RM20 voucher from our earlier visit and the voucher is expiring soon.

Mid Valley's outlet felt more spacious than One Utama, although I think both are about the same size. I think it's due to the mirror wall on one side of the outlet that made it look more spacious.

Current promotion at Pasta Zanmai - Rice Set. I had Niku Onsen Tamago rice set and Zaini had Unagi Onsen Tamago Rice Set, both at RM19 per set. No photo of our sets, though. My bad. :P

My Niku set was nice, but I think Sushi Zen's was much nicer than this one. A word of caution for anyone going to Pasta Zanmai and want to order Unagi. After two visits, unagi was the last item to come to our table. Both Raimie and I had almost finished our food by the time Zaini's unagi set was brought to him.

Raimie went for the Hamburg (RM18). Yummy!

Our drinks - Today Fresher at RM12 per jug.

Zaini enjoying his Unagi Onsen Tamago Rice Set. Sets came with a bowl of miso soup and salad.

Raimie enjoying his miso soup. This is one boy who loves his miso soup.

Service was fast and friendly. No complains here, especially as I only paid RM58.20 for the meal (with RM20 voucher that we got during our previous visit).

A Belated Valentine's News From Japan

Baby bull is a perfect Valentine gift?

An appeal has been made in Japan to save a baby "Valentine" bull born with a heart-shaped pattern on his forehead from the butcher's shop. The two-week-old calf, named "Ha-chan" after the word "heart," was born at a dairy farm 40 kilometres from Tokyo. The farmer noticed the clear, love-heart-shaped pattern on the forehead the morning after he was born. He's now a local celebrity but if no-one can give him a home he will have to be sold for meat.

Battle B Daman Figure - Cobalt Saber Fire #84

I promised Jim to put a photo of the finished B Daman figure. So, here they are. :-)

Proud to say the shooting marbles (two of them) are still around and have not resided in my vacuum yet. LOL. Raimie's been pretty careful of his latest toy, he doesn't even allow his friend to play with it!

Talking about friends, he seems to be quite popular at his school. A few of his Religious School mates popped by everyday to play his Ultraman Cards. Luckily, they are all nice kids, but seems like I do need to stock up on snacks for them too!

Some geeky info on Cobalt Saber Fire #84:

Series: Battle Zero 2 System
Type: Rubber Center Type Drive Core

It carries a marble with a rubber center stripe down the middle that improves its Speed and Attack Range. The attack data for this Drive Core based on a 5 star scale:

Power Data
• Weight :: 1 Star
• Speed :: 4 Stars
Power :: 2 Stars
• Attack Distance :: 4 Stars
• Attack Range :: 2 Stars

Parts Compatability Checklist
• Zero 2 System B-Daman (from #67 and after) Armor Parts.
• Other than the ones listed below, Zero System B-Daman (#25-64) Armor Parts
• 27, 44 DHB Armor
• 28 Proto One Armor :: 43 General One Barrel
• 31 Explosive Blue Dragon :: 58 Shadow Buster Armor Barrel
• 32 Yoku e Maru Chest Armor Parts
• 34 Blood Kaiser :: 51 Wing Kaiser Buckle
• 47 Helio Breaker Powerarm
• 50 Ho o Maru Foot Guard
• 57 Shield Giga Barrel
• 64 Dragon Gale Barrel
• 59, 60 Super DHB Armor
• Battle B-Daman Series Parts
• Super B-Daman Series Parts

Raimie's New Obession: B-Daman Toys

Raimie had been bugging us to buy one of those B-Daman toys for him for ages.

We told him to wait and save up but as luck would have it, he got some ang pow during the Chinese New Year so he insisted on buying one even though one cost RM39.90. Why are all these toys so expensive (and why do we keep buying them??!!!)

This photo happened to be the first few photos taken with my new SE K770i.

But of course, he wasn't the one assembling it; Zaini had the honors of doing that job!

I give him about a week before he lose the shooting marble.

Here, Battle B-Daman is shown on NTV7, every Saturday at noon and B-Daman Fire Spirits on Astro Ceria (channel 611) every Monday to Thursday at 3.00pm. Unfortunately, both are dubbed in Malay. (If you ever read my posts, you should know that I hate dubbed TV shows)

Synopsis:
Yamato Delgato is a special 11-year old boy who only dreams of playing the official sport of the B-DaWorld - B-Daman! B-DaWorld is a place where its inhabitants are humans, anthropomorphic animals, and robots. This is a story of Yamato and his friends' journey to learn about the sport of B-Daman, the value of friendship, and have fun along the way and to save B-DaWorld from the evil Shadow Alliance!

Japanese Launch Job Hunt Rallies

Cheerleaders are being used to drum up enthusiasm among students poised to enter the jobs market in Tokyo. Such pep rallies are more traditionally held to drum up enthusiasm and support for political causes and sports teams but several colleges and vocational schools in Tokyo are using them to build up job hunting momentum among their students.

Job hunters in a sea of black & white suits. Good luck on your job hunts!

Food For The Weekend

It's been quite sometime since we last eat anything Japanese inspired home-cooked meal. Part of it was due to the laziness of the cook! Hahaha

Of course there's nothing Japanese about cocktail sausages and celery stick for breakfast (talk about combining healthy and not so healthy together. Hehe) But there's shichimi in that mayonnaise mix. Shichimi is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Both Zaini and I love this spice and we still have a packet bought in Japan for our use. Other Japanese thing in the photo - a Rilakkuma plate. All food were served on a Japanese table that we got as a wedding gift yonks ago.

Snack for the day - Nori or seaweed. Raimie loves munching these. Unfortunately, we don't buy this often because it is quite expensive. Which one do you like better - the Korean ones or the Japanese ones?

Raimie enjoying his nori as an after-dinner snack.

Dinner - Ikabatayaki (butter squid) and rice. Simple, right? Everyone enjoyed the dinner! Don't forget to put some shichimi on rice for an extra zing.

Raimie got reminiscent of Japan after the onslaught of Japanese inspired food yesterday, so he got out our photo albums and looked at our photos vacationing in Japan. He told me that he wanted to visit Disneyland again.

Not too sure when we'll be coming to Japan again, what with the exchange being so high. It's now 100yen = RM4! Gasp!

All of the above photos were taken with my SE 770i handphone and I'm not that happy with the outcome. Maybe I'm not good using the phone yet but I'm sorely wishing for a new camera now.

Discount Bentos At Jusco

We went for a a bit of bowling a few weeks ago and didn't notice the time. After the game ended at about 9.30pm, we went around looking for a place to eat, and most outlet - the food courts & our usual haunt - were already preparing to close. In the end, we decided to try our luck scouring for food at Jusco's supermarket area.

Lucky for us, there were some decent bentos still available and what more, they were all sold at half price. Quite a few people were jostling and grabbing all those half priced bentos.

Each of us grabbed a bento and after buying some groceries (just love when Jusco start putting those 50% stickers on chicken and meat), we were off home. Home for the time being is just 5 minutes away from Mid Valley.

I do miss the bentos (boxed lunch) sold in Japan. They are readily available and affordable too. I especially enjoyed trying out all those ekibens (train station boxed lunch), so much variety at each stop. Ekiben traditionally feature local specialties of the stations where they originated so if you ever go to Japan, don't forget to try the ekiben! Buying them are so easy, just point and pay!

Here are some old photos of our ekiben all of which we ate in the trains, but you are free to eat them anywhere you want if you buy one. :D

Now, it'll be great if I have the initiative to put together a nice bento for Raimie to bring to school each day.

Japan's green garbage

Space-starved Tokyo uses green technology to turn garbage into electricity while wooing locals with community-friendly incinerators.

On the local side, The Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act is expected to be enforced from this March after several postponements.

With the Act, these changes in our way to manage waste come in effect:

• A standard, integrated system in managing waste to promote a more efficient operating procedure.
• Cost-saving controls - Waste from different states will be transported to a nearby regional landfill instead of having to travel hundreds of kilometres to be dumped at areas within the state's boundary.
• Privatisation of waste management - A concessionaire applying for a licence to operate will be vetted based on its project's cost effectiveness, environmental friendliness and technological capability.
• Key Performance Indicators - When complaints pile up against the concessionaires, their licence can be revoked. Example of a serious offence is the soiling of road with leachate from garbage trucks.
• Complaints can be made at the state-level through the Solid Waste Management Corporation - The people could register their grouses with a tribunal in person or through a website if dissatisfied with the service or charges.
• Local authority to be part of decision-making process - A service committee at the state level will allow local councils to give suggestions to the concessionaire.
• Better service at the same cost - States to continue paying the amount they are now spending on waste management. The Federal Government will cover the additional expenses in the act, which is expected to be 30 per cent of the nation's waste expenditure.
• Proper closure or upgrading of landfills - Out of 261 landfills nationwide, only 10 are considered sanitary. The rest would have to be closed or upgraded in batches.
• Structured garbage collection - Households will receive a standard 120-litre bin, which can be flipped into collection lorries to prevent leachate spill. House owners would be charged for an overloaded bin.
• Separation at source - It will be compulsory for home owners to separate their waste into wet and dry waste two to three years after the act is implemented. Collection for kitchen or wet waste would be done twice a week, while recyclable or dry waste would be collected weekly. This will cut the amount of landfill waste by half, extending the lifespan of the sites.
• Encourage higher recycling rate - The take-back and deposit rebate schemes will encourage people to return recyclable waste like plastic containers for a token sum.
• Providing a hygienic environment for scavengers - Lorries will unload in sheds, where scavengers can carry out their work before the waste goes into the landfills.
• Plans to make compost out of kitchen waste will be carried out.