Nirai Kanai Okinawan Restaurant

Was first introduced to Nirai Kanai by my ex-boss-lady Pat Law. It's now so close to my office that I eat there pretty often but I really only order 2 things from there.

According to trusty ol' Wikipedia,

Okinawan cuisine is very different from mainland Japanese cuisine due to difference in culture, climate, vegetables and other ingredients between Okinawa and mainland Japan. Okinawan cuisine incorporated influence from Chinese cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine due to trade.

As you can see, the interior is pretty quaint and cute. Reminiscent of an old Japanese diner (I suppose, I wouldn't know any better.)



Chu-hi x Calpis drink - $9



One of the only dishes I order - bitter gourd with tofu and pork.



The other dish I always order - stewed pork.





Jo and I ordered 2 meals - the bittergourd one cost about $15 and the stewed pork set about $18? Each came with rice, miso soup, peanut tofu, pickles and this absolutely yummy salted miso something which went really well with the rice.



Peanut tofu in sweet soy sauce made for a very refreshing appetizer!



Beef carpaccio, about $18. SUPER GOODNESS. A little too much for 2 people.



Ended it off with a good ume on the rocks :)

The entire meal for 2 (2 sets, 1 beef carpaccio, 4 drinks) set us back by $86.50.

Nirai Kanai Okinawan Restaurant

2 locations:

177 River Valley Road
#B1-01/02 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6339 4811

Opening hours:
Mon - Fri: 12-3pm, 6-11pm
Sat - Sun: 12-11pm

19 Tanglin Road
#04-05 Tanglin Shopping Centre
Singapore 247909
Tel : +65 6737 5811

Opening hours:

Lunch : 12-3pm (Mon-Sat); no lunch on Sundays
Dinner : 6pm to midnight (Mon-Thu); 6pm - 2am (Fri-Sat); 5pm to midnight (Sun)

Hello, meet Ivan.

Hello, world. Meet Ivan. He takes photos. I like the variety of what I get on his site. Here are some awesome wedding ones - click on the images to view more from the same set!

Grapeseed Glossing Serum

Quick review:

The Body Shop Grapeseed Glossing Serum, S$26.90

Good shit! Tames my fly-aways, makes my hair look healthier.

Before pics on the left, after on the right.

On... living with Multiple Hereditary Exostoses

I have a condition, it's called Multiple Hereditary Exostoses. You won't be able to tell if you've just met me... in fact I don't think many of my friends know. We don't talk about it much.

I think, I'm blessed to be relatively okay. In severe conditions, some might have stunted growth (okay, maybe I'm stunted...), major deformities, loss of movement, or obstructions to the lungs, urinary tract, GI tract, and sometimes even the brains.

Exostoses are the bumps you draw at the end of each bone, assuming you draw a bone like a normal person would -



Till today (aged 24) (crap, am I already 24?) I haven't had a bone scan done. It scares me a little not knowing where my exostoses are, my family doesn't find it necessary. It scares me also, because these tumors have a chance of becoming cancerous, and I have no way of tracking their growth. From "feeling" (and masseuses...), I know I have one on my left wrist and shoulder, one on my right fibula (I think), one on my left tibial (also guessing), and one on my rib which I can't seem to feel anymore. Some feel like they have shrank.

Limitations in movement? Sitting on my butt hurts after a while, I can't sit cross legged or kneel down, my legs feel fatigued really quickly. In rare cases where I have to put my body in weird angles, exostoses can cause sharp pains to tendons or result in locked joints... and when that happens, thankfully only once or twice in my life, I have to keep moving around in pain to try to "unlock" them. It might surprise you that I dance so much - I learn to bear with the pain, and avoid positions I know will cause problems.

The only treatments available are surgery, pain management and therapy. My brother chose to go through multiple surgeries because his exostoses were causing him pain and impaired movement. What happens is that they make an incision and saw the extra bits of your bones off. This left him with unsightly scars and permanent nerve damage. Needles scare me and I've never even been admitted to a hospital, so surgery's out of the question for me. My condition's bearable, so I don't see a need for surgery either. Mum's the one we inherited the condition from. Within her family, the men seem to get it worse.

-

Writing this because I haven't seen much support for or awareness about MHE in Asia... if you're someone with this condition looking for answers, feel free to reach me. You're not alone!

Oriole Coffee

ok this was before I decided to lose weight okay.

Decided to visit Oriole after Mr ShamOng Instagrammed a photo of "probably the best coffee in Singapore"





Oriole Coffee has opened 3 outlets so far - one's at Raffles Place, one's at Somerset and this is their 3rd called "Roastworks" at Jiak Chuan Road, which has a little more old school, laid back feel to it. I'm guessing this is also where they roast their beans?

quirky interior decor

Was a litte hungry upon arrival, helped ourselves to the piahs from the jars on the table! Heads up, they don't offer a full menu like the other outlets. Instead it's very much more breakfast oriented - local snacks, half  boiled eggs and sandwiches.

Pong Piah, $1.50

Tao Sar Peah, $1.50

Deviled eggs & cucumber sandwich, $7.50

 

(L) "Taisho" White, $6.50 - Japanese beans brewed at room temperature for 30 hours, giving it a strong caffeine kick and a very bitter taste.

(R) Flat White, $5 - a little too flat for my liking, tasted a bit too hollow.

And this is what we came for - the Straits Seven that Sham recommended. $5.80

QY and I drank it thinking it would taste like any other coffee, but we were caught by surprise by its strong peppery taste. Apparently the Straits Seven was fashioned after the old-style coffee and had seven secret ingredients. It tastes really interesting. I still don't know what to think about having pepper in my coffee though...

All in all I think this branch of Oriole's a great place to chill, catch up with friends and chit chat. It only has 2 big tables and like, 4 smaller tables that sit 2-3 though so be prepared to share a space!

Oriole Coffee - Roastworks at Jiak Chuan Road
10/10A Jiak Chuan Road, Singapore 089264
Tel: 6224 8131

Operating Hours:

Mon - closed
Tues - Sat: 8.30 am to 6 pm; last order 5.45 pm
Sun: 8.30 am to 5 pm; last order 4.45 pm

Books Actually

A truly local bookstore with 2 meowmeows! Sells a great selection of books curated by the owners, which includes stuff from local authors. They also sell their own stationery and some cool vintage knick knacks! A gem :)

hello kitty

BooksActually
No. 9 Yong Siak Street
Tiong Bahru Estate
Singapore 168645
+65 6222 9195

Opening hours:
mon : 11am ~ 6 pm
tues - fri : 11am ~ 9 pm
sat : 10am ~ 9 pm
sun : 10am ~ 6 pm

Choupinette

cappuccino

beef lasagne

macarons

Choupinette
607 Bukit Timah Road, #01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6466 0613

Opening Hours
Tue–Fri: 9am – 10pm
Sat: 8am – 10pm
Sun: 8am – 6pm

faith in Singaporeans restored.

ok after that random rant about my fellow countrymen I would like to share 2 independent (i hope) movements that have been sparked by the young 'uns here.

1. While You Were Sleeping
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/40284749 w=400&h=225]

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING from Josiah Ng on Vimeo.

2. Hello Stranger

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td7-xkI5n4c]

This was their first project - and I suppose there are many more to come!

So yeah! The older generation likes to gripe about how sheltered our generation is, and how we never had the chance to go through what they went through - grueling hard work and all, or how the future of Singapore is screwed because some of us have started supporting the opposition.

WELL.

Here's a bunch of people, that lead their own routines too - as students, or white collared workers. I like that they're giving people a reason to smile, and it doesn't matter who those people are. They're not out for fame, they're not being paid by a company... they're just doing it for fun and goodwill.

I think that's the difference in our generation - we may not be struggling to make ends meet, and we may not be aiming to earn shitloads of money, so I guess that leaves us with some free time to try to make a difference in others' lives. and social media makes it even easier for people like them to band together, to spread smiles beyond those they directly met, and to inspire others to do some good as well.

Doesn't it add some meaning to our otherwise rather rat-racey Singaporean lives?

So yeah. These might be small gestures; lending a stranger a high five or giving another an encouraging note and a drink that costs a few cents, but they do make a difference in someone else's day. I hope to see more of these things happening!!! GO FORTH, AND MAKE A STRANGER'S DAY (or someone you know lah).

St Pat's day cupcakes

Guess where I went for my cupcake fix again?

Plain Vanilla lah. Heard that they had 2 new flavors to usher in St Patty's Day and they sounded so yummy I had to try them -

"We're not big fans of Guinness - but Dumbledore-worthy magic happens when you mix copious amounts of stout with large portions of cocoa powder in cake batter. We struggle to put it in words, but if we had to try - the result is a cake that is intensely chocolatey yet fluffy and light; plain in appearance but interestingly flavourful.

We pair it with our signature cream cheese frosting so the chocolate stout cake (deservedly) takes the limelight, then gently dust some cocoa powder over to finish."

"To do just that, we made a cupcake that we think is quintessentially Irish - a boozy one. A vanilla-Irish cream cake with a centre of dark chocolate fudge spiked with Irish cream, topped with an Irish cream frosting and a rich Irish cream-infused truffle (homemade, no less)."

Descriptions taken from their Facebook page

I liked the Irish cream one a lot! The alcohol isn't too overpowering but it's enough to lend a kick to the cupcake. The cake is also light enough to complement the heavier toppings. The chocolate stout one tasted just like it sounds - like a hearty mixture of chocolate and beer.

Two thumbs up for both cupcakes! Only available till 1 April so head down soon to try them!

34A Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, Singapore 277691
64655942
website / @pvbakery
Open Tues-Sat 12pm-8pm and Sun 12pm-6pm.