Category: Blogging AtoZ 2016

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O is for Orange Juice vending machine

So I’m running through one of the tunnels at a (metro) transfer station.  Then I see this vending machine.  Proof that China will eventually beat the US unless they get their act together.

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Yes, that’s a vending machine.  And it has oranges inside.  You pay 15RMB in cash or a bunch of Chinese e-currencies and it will squeeze you a fresh cuppa juice.  Healthy and entertaining.  Apparently, I was not the only one intrigued by this machine; three couples also checked it out while I was.  Maybe they were thinking I was going to buy a cup so they were hanging around for the show.  Problem is that the biggest bill the machine takes is a 20.  Didn’t have anything small like that on me.  So maybe next time i’m in the metro.

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L is for Lobster ramen

Ramen Keisuke is a small local ramen chain in Singapore. Each of the shops has a different speciality.  The newest location at Clarke Quay, Lobster King, makes lobster based ramen broth.  Yes, it’s awesome.

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It’s so goshdarn awesome that when I first visited here back in February, there was a 1 hour queue.  On a Sunday night.  Still that was better than the 3 hour queue on Saturday.  So this time around, we figured, “Thursday night, around 8”.  Figure everyone else would not come out cos it was a workday.  Ha.  Wound up waiting 40 minutes anyway.  Ramen was the awesome again.  Had the shio this time.  And when we left at 2200, no line!  So if you want a bowl without the queue, come for siu yeh on a weekday.

Ramen Keisuke Lobster King
3C River Valley Road, #01-07
The Cannery (Clarke Quay), Singapore

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M is for Mornin’ 

Morning Nespresso!


The hotels I’m staying at in Singapore all have these Nespresso machines.  Despite the cheesy commercials they’re running for these things in the US, the coffee that comes out of these machines is excellent. And they look cool too.  May have to look at getting one of these back home. Damn subliminal advertising!

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K is for kudos

I’m currently staying at the Singapore St. Regis. It’s on the very end of Tanglin Road, right before Orchard Towers and the Hilton. Ion Orchard is a 10 minute stroll (with humidity) where Orchard MRT is in the basement.

This is my first time here and I can say the place is plush. Breakfast is good too. Since I don’t know this area too well, I decided to take a walk down to Ion, just to see what’s around. I found a Hiroshima based ramen shop called Ramen Bari Uma in the basement of a mall. Their claim to fame is a very hearty broth and thick smoked chasiu. The egg was the standard soft boiled and the bowl was just the right size. If you’re American, you may think it’s on the small side. Thin noodles and the perfect temperature from the kitchen to table.


Another thing is that this place felt very Japanese. Besides the greetings, the cleanliness and the feeling inside the place felt like Japan. Except they speak English. Kudos!

Ramen Bari Uma
19 Tanglin Road, Tanglin Shopping Centre,
Singapore

 

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J is for Joan

This is Joan, posing with her pal Brown.  He’s bigger in real life. 

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Besides hanging out with bears, she’s the one who introduces me to new old sweets (see previous entry) and Peking duck places.  OTOH, I drag her to legendary won ton noodle places.  So it’s even, I suppose.

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I is for ice cream 

Early and light dinner means can have dessert! Visited an old Kyoto based dessert shop that recently opened in Hong Kong, Kyohayashia. Had some matcha ice cream. Yum!  Sweet but not that sweet. Looks great too.

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H is for hurried 

I’m currently in the process of getting myself to HKG and a bed that doesn’t move. It’s a multi flight process from SFO on AA. First is the change in terminals at LAX, from Terminal 4 to the Tom Bradley international terminal. They recently opened a connector between the two terminals that is after security. Nice. And since there’s a fair amount of walking, it’s clean and quiet. Definitely not hurried. Compare this to landing at Shanghai Pudong after 14 hours in a composite tube with wings. Everyone wants off at once and it seems like a long footrace to passport control.  Thankfully 80% of the plane were PRC nationals so I went to the shorter foreigner line. Of course, the time I saved there was negated at baggage claim. Priority tags mean “last” here.

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G is for gate

Last time I flew to Asia via LAX, all American Airlines flights were stuck in the claustrophobic Terminal 4.  That created a problem on the return leg. Since LAX is the port of entry, what AA had to do was park the plane at Terminal 4 and force the passengers to trudge to the (very nice and very new) Tom Bradley International Terminal, clearing passport control and collecting baggage. Then, if you had an onward connection, you had to trudge BACK to Terminal 4. A lot of walking after being stuck in a metal tube for 12+ hours.

Now, NO MORE! My AA flight to PVG now leaves and arrives at the TBIT. And as befitting an international terminal, there are awesome lounges. For AA you have the Oneworld Business Lounge and the Qantas First Lounge, where they whip up a good breakfast.


If you’re still one of those UA diehards, there’s a Star Alliance lounge here too.

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F is for Fish Oil

…which was part of a pharmacy heavy shopping list for a friend in Shanghai. Along with 5 tubes of Aveeno skin cream for babies. My friend seems to follow the Chinese shopping trends. A few years back it was prestige products. Now, it’s sundries and things for everyday life you can get at a drugstore. The news was full of stories over CNY of mainlander tour groups visiting Tokyo to clean out the drugstores.  Of course many of the items sought after in Tokyo or even in the states can be purchased in mainland China. However, Chinese consumers place more faith that they’ll have genuine products at a Matsumoto Kiyoshi or Walgreens or Costco than back home. Until that changes, guess I’ll be shopping for my friend.

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E is for hella early 

I’m doing another Asia run on American Airlines. Which means that I’ll have to take a connecting flight to LAX. Since the transpacific leg leaves at 1100, in order to make the two hour minimum connection time, the SFO-LAX flight I’m booked on leaves at 0700. Which means that I need to leave the house at 0500. Waking up at that hour is worse than staying up all night, which is what I guess I’ll have to do. Ugh.

At least you can get Sausage McMuffin with eggs at that awful hour…bright side!