Finally. I get to eat Ichiban Sushi. Wonder if it was because both wm & I were famished, the food was really really good. Hey, this is SUSHI ok? I think I cant step into Sakae ever again.

After about a century of watching the ordinary sushi-s (Egg, scallop, tuna mayo etc that u can get @ sushi deli for 60cents each) pass me by on the conveyor belt, I set eyes on this delectable looking half-cooked salmon nigiri. Before I can duck in to satisfy my screaming stomach, my yellowtail sashimi arrived. I figured sashimi needs immediate attention so here it is.

I'm no sashimi fan but don't know why, I actually crave for some tuna sashimi after I tasted the thick, fresh slice in Taiwan. I was so elated seeing lots of sashimi waiting for me at Sakura Intl buffet, but it turned out to be a big fat joke. So my craving lingered.

These, translucent pieces of raw fish u see up there, tastes exactly like what u'd expect. This is, Sashimi ok? Sakura can forget about serving raw food that's halfway through decomposition. I am, also not wasabi fan. But, the sashimi goes really well with wasabi & soy sauce. Highly recommended. And for $5+, it's great value for money.

For goodness sake, this pumpkin croquette recommended by wm is simply heavenly. Crispy on the outside, fluffy & slightly sweet inside. This is life. This is food.

And what's more, u can see smoke when u break it apart (cannot see in pic). It's not like those substandard fried food, left lying around for what seem like decade until it becomes soggy. And all of u out there know I dont fancy fried stuff, but this, I swear, is not oily. Just fresh, crispy, yummy.

Not to forget ah man's teriyaki salmon, which were, so far, the best i've had. A nice layer of fat beneath the skin, nice crisp on the outside, with tender salmon meat. But I find the sauce a bit too salty so dont dip in too much.

The plump sushi u see here is lobster salad, another wm recommendation. Generous servings of lobster meat, thick and velvety cream and crunchy roe...... yum! I'll never wana visit sakae for sushi again. haha.. But the sushi carries a hint of wasabi which i personally think is awkward.

Lastly, I forgot the name for this sushi. Anyway, it is a mixture of, as u can see clearly, tuna mayo, egg, cheese, ham, cucumber, fish roe. It is slightly sweet and rich and hey man, I didn't know these ingredients mix so well together. I'm going to make a sandwich out of this.

Yet to comment on the first sushi, which was good, except for chilli sauce which i find weird. Haha..

Overall, the experience was great. Maybe we were over-hungry, which made it seemed extremely good. But as we walked past sakae sushi, which were packed, we both decided that those people probably never had Ichiban Sushi. Because Ichiban Sushi has risen to be my number one choice when I have sushi cravings again. ^^

No matter where i go, how much i like it,

I always feel great when I return to Singapore.

I may b awed, impressed when i experience new things outside.

But I miss hometown the most.

There may b beautiful scenery, mountains & lakes,

Great shopping, shop till my legs turn jelly (until 2am)

But whenever I come back I'm most impressed.

I always think, "where is this beautiful place, man?!"

"Wow what a beautiful & efficient airport!"

"What clean & neat streets this place have?!"

The more I travel, the more I feel that I am lucky to be born & bred here.

I love Singapore!

i must share this pic.

isnt it amazing??

wah why this woman laugh until so happy ah?

Narcissism runs in my friends' bloodline.

Fun, silly times spent on the bus. That's wat life's about yea? LAUGH!

I've been wanting to try this since my sister's first visit & gave them recognition. Unfortunately she did not update me about her 2nd visit which turned out to be a disaster, much as I felt yesterday.

The menu displayed drool-inducing pictures of what to be expected, which differed greatly from what was brought to us, in terms of taste.

Let me introduce mine 1st. Grilled curry mix combo, choice of rice or spaghetti. I imagined it to be nice cheesy baked rice. As my sis said, curry & cheese is easily prepared & like by majority. Turned out this plate of stuff was served with another plate of HARD rice. Hard to swallow.

U have ham, cheese, pork chop, chicken chop, pineapples, hard-boiled egg, drumlet, potatoes (?) in the watery curry. For $11.90 it seemed a great deal. Not when all the ingredients except pineapple, ckn chop, cheese and ham were hard. Real hard, I mean. It was supposed to be a dish so easily enjoyed. Don't know how they managed to spoil it.

I also had almond tea (hot). Pretty ok, but it was almond paste with a bitter afternote.

Another combo mix. Hotplate version. Heard white sauce (campbells cream of corn..) & fries were ok. But similarly, too much of a 'good thing' almost always don't turn out good. After the meal, nobody feels like eating any more stuff for a very very long time...

Unagi Stone Pot set.

Umm... I dont know how the last 2 items taste, but i certainly wont go back altho the fries & baked veggies looked tempting. Looks are deceiving. Swallowing substandard food was indeed a big torture.

Conclusion? Looks nice only. The food had no quality. If u wish to have HK fare I would recommend the one opp Bugis Junction (red background). Or else, go to the market & buy your own ingredients, follow a recipe book. U are sure to get better stuff.  

So much to blog, reflect about. Artistic trip to special Kang Xi exhibition @ ACM, sistie approaching bday, shokudo meal, my new posted grades, blah...

Something i dont understand happened again.

When I expected Forensic Science module, based on common sense (which i lack), to pull down my grades, it did the opposite. Delightful surprises really make the day, and they come when u get more than expected. Disappointment fills the day if u get lesser than expected.

My grades are on the steady rise. Again. Finally.

That inspired me to want to do better for my current module, although this is the first yr 3 module, and its really tough & long (1 module = combi of 2 modules so twice amt of stuff to rem). It will be a long & tough battle but i will fight on!

Unexpectedly, my high distinction is nearer to 90. I forgot how i wrote the report. Shall take note nex time so I can maintain high standing. Sounds haolian but its not hard to score high. (altho I consider lucky for forensic) I have scores from Pass to HD. The diff is in the effort i make - consistent study, revision, planning, etc.

Most of my frenz have this in mind: "I have no control over my grades." Does that mean heaven bestow upon 'smart ppl' good grades while banish 'dumb ppl' who dont deserve it? So smart asses dont need to study? I dont think so.

Few days ago, I woke to a really heavy rain and i thought, "damn, how to go work?"  (bec my work place area hv really poor drainage system & i dun wish to soak my legs in mud water early in the morning)

Seemed impossible but i still wished "hope the rain will be over by the time my bus reach co". Miraculously, by the time i stepped out of house, the rain's over.

May be pure luck for this, but in conclusion, I think there is some extent to the truth of "Heaven gives what u ask for".

Why those @ the top are whr they were? Bec they wanted it. They asked for it, tried hard enough, so they would eventually reach there. Makes sense?

Aiyah juz now typed a load of stuff all gone. U all destined cannot read a long entry.

MYC finally went on ECP-Changi Beach-ECP cycling expedition!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!! Bouts of rain & slight sunny weather, slippery paths, tc sessions, wet outfits, great food........ woo-hoo!!!! One of the best ways to spend a weekend! ^^

Ytd lead me to a conclusion: Hazel is noisy if she is high. The worst thing is, only she has a good ringing bell on her bike. She was almost alwys the last la haha.. While we were happily riding, there was a sudden series of "ring ring ring" that startled me (if not the rest), and i turned my head to see hazel catching up... She v high ah, keep nagging. The other time she was so naggy was in a drunken state. Very noisy ah. Nag nag, ring ring, nag nag.......

East Coast hawker was filled with great smells & delicacies (to the eyes - didn eat). But I had to curb my appetite bec i thought there would be a real dinner. Anyways I tried a famous tang yuan stall. Not too bad! Shall have a great meal thr in future.

ECP cycling, erm, many times, means new victory marks for me. Although hz had a lot of tattoos from the bicycle black oil, mine was more destined for permanent kind. Black oil in dugged wounds. Cant wash off. Duno how to dig. Afterall, tattoos are about ink + bleeding. =.="

Marine parade. Ya Kun have ice cream toast. Toast + ice cream was great but i think i prefer thicker bread. Nex time i shall toast it @ home hee.. MP is an inconvenient place. Hz sent me an email v long time ago abt new MRT line - includes MP. Hope it become reality soon.

I think wm too tired so when the second bus 31 came along, we just board it. 36min to TPY. Not too bad. In abt an hr i was home.

When kayaking zai also can join expeditions muwahaha....... check SAC forums or go with new 2star 1star friends. Heard can cross over to msia. Woah hu! Look forward to it!!!!!

Not a single cent, nor even a receipt was missing.

^^V

The drama took place only 1 to 1&1/2 hr ago.

I was buying lunch @ a noodle stall. Absent-mindedly, I fished for my wallet in my bag. It's kind of messy, as always, so I was not bothered that I had looked for it for quite some time. Then, I realised something was amiss... I removed all the stuffs in my bag frantically & practically dug & scrap my empty bag.

It's missing.

My black wallet, debit cards, passioncard, library card, photo, money, student card...

The first thing that came to my mind was to trace back my route. I went to the hawker where I had breakfast, asked again & again. Went to the bread stalls again & again, walked my previous routes again & again... No sight of my black wallet.

Time was running out.

I had to rush for work.

Reluctantly, I walked out of Chong Pang, thinking of solutions. Suddenly, something came to my mind. The hawker is the most possible place where my wallet was lost. I can't just walk away like this. There is a possiblity that my wallet will be found. What if the people I enquired could not contact me if they found my wallet?

Immediately, I dart back to the hawker. I approached the indian cleaner who spoke the longest with me. I passed her a piece of paper with my contact & asked her to call me back if anybody found the wallet. Then I thought that was not enough. The auntie from whom I bought chee cheong fun witnessed the whole scenario, from my having breakfast to repeatedly returning to look for my wallet. She is a more possible person from whom I can retrieve my wallet.

I passed my contact to her also. She glanced at it, & commented that its very hard to find already, same as the indian lady. Both of them had the look that says "u are wasting your effort".

I did not give up. But while walking out of Chong Pang finally, to catch my last bus available to work, I began to think of the matters to handle.

What have I lost? With the remaining spaces on the piece of paper, I began to write down. I even walked to the nearby POSB to copy down it number, planning to call the moment I reach office.

It was early morning, shops that accept signatures as payment were not yet opened. I did not sign behind my card, so there could be no forgery. I would have to re-apply for my debit cards, atm cards... how about passioncard? Would I need to flash it somewhere or only need to be registered a member to use it? Library card.. can i use I/C? Lucky I topped up my EZ link, and there were only 2 or 3 ten dollar notes.........

Time was running out. I reached the bus stop, just in time to wait for the last bus. I bear the hope of seeing my wallet with the stuffs inside. But at the same time, I am thinking for a back up plan already. No amount of worries nor crying would solve the problem so I have no time for that.

A min before the bus came, my hp vibrated. I picked up at once, hopeful. It was an unknown number.

"Lin, they found your wallet already!"

It was the chee cheong fun auntie.

Thank god.

Lucky I thought of leaving my contact. Lucky I did not give up hope. Lucky I persisted although they say i have no chance of finding it back. Lucky Lucky.

I am going to pick up my wallet @ 6pm ltr, as i had to rush for work. Really felt like dashing back at once. Really thank the auntie for her honesty & help. I think I am going back tmr morning to give her a big hongbao. And also paiseh to the noodle stall uncle. He was cooking my lunch already then I walked away saying that my wallet was missing. Maybe I'll buy from him the day after tmr. ^^V

Never give up hope!!

Lucky Lucky!!