Headcount

The new year is coming soon and I was busy with tidying up my room starting last weekend. Of course, since I tidying up my room, might as well do a headcount of the number of dolls I have so far:-

1) 24 x momoko dolls!!! 

With the number of new releases from PetWorks, I think my army of momoko dolls has increased the most compare to other dolls. I am now having a tought time selecting who to sell off.

2) 2 x Neo Blythes

A small sensible size considering that I sold most of my collection.

3) 2 x Petite Blythe 

If not for the price hike in the recent new releases, I think I may end up getting a few more to my collection. 

The retail price of a CWC exclusive Petite Blythe used to be around 3,675yen (like the "Secret Midnight Tea Party" and "Mademoiselle Chocolat de Q-pot."), now it is going to retail around  5,250 yen (recent release of "red apple" and "baby buttercup" are retailing at 5,250 yen). With a 42% price hike, I guessing that the collection is just going to be stay at 2.

4) 1 x Little Dal

Bought this little Dal few years back from a Hong Kong seller on ebay. I always find Dal interesting with its angry and piss off expression, so I bought one to add to my doll collection.

Merry Christmas and a happy holiday ,Everyone

2011 Happy Box from Petworks

==Yes, finally PetWorks is releasing Happy Box again.  I started collecting Momoko dolls in year 2008 and PetWorks has not released a Happy Box since. This is going to be my first time and of course, I hope to be able to purchase at least one Happy Box.  In case you do not know what is a Happy Box, it is actually a 福袋concept in Japan where company sells a combination of their products in a package and the contents of each package is unknown.

For this year Happy Box, it will consist of 10 items: - 2 x momoko doll (1 “CCS-momoko for HAPPY BOX” & 1 momoko ) - 1x Mame-momoko - some outfits and pairs of shoes
Unlike the past years where the Momoko dolls in the happy box is randomly packed and the buyer is not made aware of the doll that he/she purchased, this year the collectors have a choice to choose the CCS-Momoko that they want in their happy box. 

The CCS-Momoko that we can choose from are: 

I am still deciding on which one to buy. Considering that the old release of momoko dolls are very hard to find and even you find one, it will be at a very expensive price and it will be a good time to get them through the Happy Box now. 
However, I do not have the money to afford to get all the 27 of them... what a headache!!

CWC Exclusive Neo Blythe "Vinter Arden"

I have not look at Blythe official website for the past one month. Went in to take a peek at the latest news and update and of course to also check out the new dolls that are coming out.

Hooray, they releasing another Middie soon, but  yet again, another CWC exclusive  doll in collaboration with a Japanese Fashion brand - MILK with a price tag of 13,440 yen. Pre-order starting on 15th Dec 2010.

I wonder when will they release a regular Middie that would be more affordable.

They also have new CWC exclusive Neo Blythe - Vinter Arden. Simply love her, hair colour, the green eye shadow and her boots. So tempted to get her. But I promise myself not to buy new dolls due to over-crowding and lack of space for display. Dilema!!!

A regular release Neo Blythe - Prairie Posi. Her hair reminds me of one of the housewive from one of my favorite drama series - Desperate Housewive. 

Mad about Rilakkuma

Saw a lot of rilakkuma things when shopping for chirstmas gifts over the past weeks. He is getting popular here in Singapore. =D

My friend in Taiwan told me that the 7-11 stores in Taiwan is having a promotion where you can get a cute rilakkuma or korilakkuma charm.

Found the 7-11 advertisement on youtube. Almost want to cheong (rush) to Taiwan now and buy them back.  

Heard about someone who travel to Japan and won a Rilakkuma plushie (see picture below) from eating Mister Donuts, yes a lot of donuts   -__-'ll

I also find a site that give free template to make paper 3D Rilakkuma and I am so tempted to try it out during the Dec holiday period. Will update photos of it on my blog with my end products

CWC Exclusive Middie Blythe - Macaron Q-Tea party

Pictures of CWC Exclusive Middie Blythe - Macaron Q-Tea party. She is not mine. 
This little cutie belongs to one of my friends and it is so kind of him to let me have her photo for posting here.

A teacup as a hat

Macaron Earrings and necklace

Close up of her Macaron earrings. One side is green, the other side is pink.

Her head can be move from left to right

Reflection

Disclaimer: This post may be out of topic with my other blog posts. It is just that I feel very emotional over something that happened and I want to find a channel to release all those emotions. 

A lot of things happened the two weeks. It all started from an unexpected call from "MP" that I first contacted more than one year ago. It came at a time when I am making a decision to leave the place which I may feel that I have overstay. It is like destiny calling. Yes, I still enjoy the feeling of being able to help my "customers". I also like my bosses and the working environment. However being on the same job for the past few years is making me losing the passion in my work and I no longer feel excited over things happening. This coupled with  the disappointment over certain management decision resulted me to go for the job interview arranged by "MP".

Before "MP" get back to me on the status of my job application, I know of something else (Little Ms Giggle is leaving in Dec and my coming transfer) that make me want to re-consider the decision again. I asked "GYM", who advised me to take up the offer and she said as long as I leave, everything would be good for me and I should not worry too much.

Having lady luck by my side as always, I got the offer from "MP" with a 25% increment (maybe even up to 30% increment, if I want to push for it). I must say that it is an attractive offer both in term of salary package and career development. I do not know whether I would be able to find another similar offer anytime soon. 

I rejected the offer after much consideration. The main reason is that I know I would feel guilty toward my bosses if I choose to leave at this time as I would be the 3rd person leaving within the short span of 1 month. Plus I am suppose to cover Little Ms Giggle's work when she is gone and with me gone, I wonder whether my bosses could cope or not. 

After making the decision, I cannot help to wonder whether am I being too kind to my bosses? Would they appreciate the effort at all? They could be nice to you because they need you now especially when Little Ms Giggle is leaving and when they do not need you, maybe they would kick you aside like a ball. They promoted Little Ms Giggle and planned to let her do the project, yet she decided to go off just like that. And here I am picking up the pieces and without any chance of a promotion in sight because they think that I'm lacking that quality (I am not able to "3 leg" the Big Boss on the top) to move up.

 I hope I would not regret my decision to stay on in the organization and not to take the job offer.

More pictures of a line momoko

Simply love her hair and her outfit. 

New Momoko! Her name is 小贤。

Finally she arrived. More pics to come! :)

Pho Hoa - Vietnamese dining at Suntec City

Pho Hoa is actually a franchise restaurant from the United States. I remember seeing an outlet in Holland Village, but I don't know if it is still there as I have not been there in a long time. We dined at Suntec City, and we had eaten here a few times before.

We ordered two dishes. First up was the spring roll. The skin is like one big piece of kuay tiao, wrapping up various vegetables. You can dip it in peanut sauce for more flavour, the peanut sauce is creamy and its texture is like peanut butter. Or if you are adventurous you can try their very spicy chilli O_o. 

Second dish was the chicken pho (pronounced "fur"). Z has been to Vietnam before so he learnt how to pronounce the name of this very basic noodle dish in Vietnamese. If not,  I may end up calling it "Po" or "Ho". The soup is light and clear, but still flavourful. Very sweet. The noodle is actually very thin strips of kuay tiao, and there are chicken shreds and onion in the soup too. It comes with a side dish of raw bean sprouts, but I would prefer not to add it.

Like their website mentioned, Pho Hoa is indeed a health conscious choice. There is a large variety of light food that you can order here. Skipping those fried food can go a long way in living a healthy lifestyle :)

Edible chocolate deco

Really admire Japanese and their ability to create such cuteness. Saw these on Meiji website. 

So cute and they are made of chocolate and are edible. It is quite creative of the Japanese. It is just like an edible greeting card for you to put whatever message you like. 

I have a hard time trying to read the instruction on the Meiji website on how to make the "glue" to be use to "stick" the wordings and deco onto the chocolate bar despite spending few months learning Japanese Language.  How I wish they have a English site. 

M.O.F. - Japanese Sweets & Coffee

いらっしゃいませ！

Today, Z and I decided to have dinner out instead of at home, as we were both pretty depressed  over things that cope up at work and needed some sweet stuff to cheer us up lol. So we decided to have dinner at MOF at Raffles City. Though we reached there around 6pm, the place was already packed with customers. 

We ordered two dessert items and a bento. The first dessert served up was this red bean sauce and mochi. It tasted a bit too chewy for the both of us, and you had to really dip the sauce because the mochi itself was tasteless.

Next up is my favourite, the azuki beans with mochi.

This is the second time I am eating this because I love the taste!

Anyway I already told Z not to expect much from MOF's food menu as food is not their strength. But he still went ahead and order a curry chicken ball bento. He says the chicken tastes a bit "off". Next time he will try the salmon instead. For me, I will still prefer to stick to their desserts for my next visit.

Z's curry chicken ball bento

Close-up on the curry chicken ball

My conquest for the past 2 weeks

A lot of new dolls to buy these few weeks, just an update on what I have bought:

No new addition to the Blythe population to my collection. I did not get myself new dolls from the autumn sales at Junie Moon online site though there is a 20% discount on some dolls. I also did not buy CWC Exclusive Middie Blythe - Macaron  Q-Tea party mainly due to her price. I hope I would not regret this decision cause I really like her a lot.

For momoko, I managed to order the PetWORKs A Line momoko on the online store on my second attempt on 26 Oct 2010. Yeah!!!! I made payment for her yesterday and she should be on her way to Singapore soon.

After getting her, PetWorks annouced that they are going to have her on order to production, i.e. you can pre-order her while they produce based on your order. But the materials they use for the clothes may be different from the photo as they may not be able to get the original materials for production. A bit disappointed that she will be a limited quantity doll to a mass production one.

I also get myself a usaggie from PetWorks. I do not really like an animal head with a human body other than slyvanian families, but there is something about it that appeal to me.

Usaggi

Due to the amount of stuff I buying this year. I would be canceling my second Japan trip this year in Nov 2010. 

Dinner at Fish & Co.

We had tried lunch at Fish & Co. So it was time to try dinner. If you have a citibank credit card, you can choose either two drinks or a garden salad. We chose the garden since they do provide iced water.

First to arrive was the garden salad. It comes with a sprinkling of deep fried anchovies aka ikan bilis and garlic, with a splash of mayonnaise. The crunchiness of the anchovies work well with the crunchiness of the vegetables. Z ate all the anchovies while I concentrated on the leaves. Lol

 Next up is my dish. I ordered stingray. The fish is soft and not overly cooked. This is important, as this kind of fish will be very flakey and dry if overcooked. The sides are the usual, rice and mashed potato.

This is what Z ordered. It's fish fillet with chilli sauce. Z thinks the chilli is quite ok, not too spicy but still not palatable for those who cannot take chilli. Sides are sauteed vegetables and mashed potato. The mashed potato comes with cheese sauce. If you add a bit of pepper to it, the mashed potato will taste even better!

Overall, this was a very satisfying meal. The bill came up to about $40. Quite ok considering how full we were after that.

New PW momoko again - CCS-momoko 10AW Home

PetWorks announcing new momokos - CCS-momoko 10AW Home. I wonder how my wallet is coping with the news. 

My visit to Moomin Bakery & Cafe at Tokyo Dome City

If you are looking for interesting places to visit in Tokyo, you can try the Moomin Bakery Cafe located in Tokyo Dome area.

Moomin: "Welcome to my bakery and cafe"

It is a Moomin theme cafe, serving bread and western meals. The interesting part about the cafe is that some of their foods that they are Moomin theme, i.e. Curry rice in shape of the character of Moomin Valley:-

Nothing attract me than sweet cakes and yummy pudding

In addition, there is a life size moomin plushie sitting at each table in the cafe to accompany you for your meal at the cafe. As I went there around the Christmas period, the moomins are all dressed in Christmas Theme. 

I ordered their pumpkin pudding and chocolate cake. For the pumpkin pudding, you can take away the cup after you finished eating. It is very common in Japan for food to come with "take-away" plate or cup, etc after you are done with the meal. 

At the other side of the cafe you can also pick moomin items like forks, spoons and even mugs as souvenir for your friends or family members.

Their website - http://www.benelic.com/moomin_cafe/tokyo_dome

Address of the cafe:

Tokyo Dome City LaQua, 1-1-1 Kasuga, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo 112-0003 Japan

CCS11SS "ETERNAL SWEET HONEY"

In 2011, Momoko will celebrate her 10th anniversary. In celebration of this, they are launching 2 new dolls - CCS11SS Eternal Sweet Honey - Ugly Duckling and Princess on the Pea.

Princess on the Pea reminds me of Escort Me Momoko. As for Ugly Duckling, I think she has a sad looking face. Cannot wait for more photos of them. 

Long time no see, Sushi Don

It have been ages since me and Z have our dinner at Sushi Don at Funan Digitallife Mall. Since we are going to visit a friend who just moved his shop to Funan Digitallife Mall, we decided to settle our dinner there before visiting our friend's shop.

This is the first time I tried their Cha Soba. Do not really like the taste of their soba sauce and their soba is a bit soggy. That's one less item for me to choose from the menu next time. 

My Cha Soba

Z always order this don when he was there. I always find the smell of the onion overwhelming. But he loves this dish. The portion is generous, the serving of chicken is adequate and they seemed to have stripped the skin from the chicken, which is a big plus for Z as he does not eat chicken skin and avoid it like the plague.

Z's Don, consisting of chicken, onion and egg. 

After dinner, we are on our way to our friend's store. 

Okonomiyaki

Went to try the Okonomiyaki at Ajisan at Jurong Point. It is nothing compared to the authentic one, as it tastes like it is full and thick with batter. I did taste some bacon and vegetables but the overall feeling was eating mostly batter.

I know that in Osaka and Hiroshima, their styles of Okonomiyaki are different. Those that we have in Singapore are mostly the Osaka Style.

In Hiroshima, their ingredients are layered rather than mixed together. The layers are typically batter, cabbage, pork, and optional items such as squid, octopus, and cheese. Noodles are also used as a topping with fried egg and a generous amount of Okonomiyaki sauce. Their batter is the base, but it is not as overwhelming as the Singapore version, as it is not as thick.

I have tried Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki when visiting in Hiroshima last year. There is a place called Okonomi Mura (御好み村) located at Shintenchi Plaza新天地, where you can found dozen of stalls selling Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-Style:- 

Okonomiyaki tried in Hiroshima

Their ingredients are layered, you can see the veg at the bottom follow by the noodle, then the fried egg and lastly and most importantly, the sauce.

Okonomiyaki with pork and egg topping

This one is veg with pork and egg as topping,. Without noodle as one of the toppings., it is less filling, but equally nice.

We are given this to eat our Okonomiyaki.

Fat juicy scallop side dish

I hope I can try out the Osaka-Style Oknonmiyaki in Osaka someday. 

I sinned today

I sinned. I cannot help it as the weather today just unbearable. So bought myself a ice blended bubble tea from 'each a cup' after lunch to cool down.

Lunch with a headache

I have been having headache since Tue. It got worse today, but having so much work in the in-tray, I did not take medical leave today.  I decided not to stick to original plan to eat fish soup for lunch today cos it is not appetizing for a sick person like me. My lunch buddy suggested going to lunch at Sakae Sushi at Square Two instead. 

There were not much people lunching at Sakae Sushi outlet at Square Two today (maybe I am there early), which is great for me as the place will be rather quiet with smaller lunch crowd. Too much noise is going to make my headache worse. 


We ordered a don each from the Don Menu. Mine is the unagi don, while my lunch buddy ordered the teriyaki chicken don. While waiting for our main course, our starters:-

Tamago. 卵　It tastes fantastic when you dip it in soy sauce.


Taiyou Oshizushi.太陽押しずし This is something Sakae designed right? Well, it combined two perennial favourites: tamago and salmon. Genius is an understatement. At least Z would think so :-)


Here comes our main course - the DON!!

Teriyaki Chicken Don. The chicken seems to be lightly fried and marinated with teriyaki sauce, which emits faint sweetness that makes the dish that much more delectable.


Eel Don

Feel that the piece of unagi today is much bigger than the one that I normally get. Maybe my headache is making me hallucinate. Every bite of the eel just reminds me of the time I visited the beach near Kamakura in Japan. It tastes like it just swam out of the ocean :-D