Akashi at Vivocity

Oh my goodness! The queue at Sushi Tei is so long. Haizzz.. Craving for Japanese food at Vivo and there isn't any options? Fear not! Here comes the newly revamped Akashi.

I have always notice Akashi whenever I walk past it into Watsons. However, it has never occurred to me that I should give it a try. Maybe it is due to its expensive looking 'Japanese concept' entrance last time. Akashi has now revamped and  moved opposite to smaller compound. It looks a lot friendlier and  I decided to pop in.

An ipad greeted us at the table. This high technology way of ordering is a lot easier and more efficient.

After taking a bite on the salmon sushi, I felt so dreadful that I didn't come to this place earlier. It was so good! Large piece of salmon with the tiny scoop of rice. This reminds me of what I had in Tokyo recently.

Soft shell crab roll is coated with flavorful seaweed powder! Awesome!

Prices here are a little steep as compared to other Japanese food chains such as Sushi Tei and Ichiban Boshi. However, quality of food served is mostly above average.

One important news is that Ichiban Boshi took over the old Akashi compound! Another option for food at Vivo! Yeah! 

Bour Bon chocolate potato chips

This is awesome! A cheaper alternative to Royce chocolate potato chips.

Choco Express! Newly opened at Tiong Bahru Plaza

This shop is a must go for chocolate and candy lovers. Their prices are one of the cheapest in Singapore. For example, Haribo gummy bears costs $2.10 for a 100g at Watsons but it only costs $2 for 160g here. Eclipse mints are only $2.50 as compared to $3.40 at Watsons. Do drop by if you happened to be in the area. It is located outside the taxi stand at tiong bahru plaza. From now till 28th April, they are having fantastic opening promotions!

Hitachi Hada Crie Cool N1000 - How to get it cheap in Japan?

Finally got my hands on this beauty gadget that has been top on my wish list for 2 years! Hitachi has brought in its range of beauty gadgets into Isetan last year but they are quite costly if you compared to their prices in Japan. I will not go on and on about how good and effective it is as there are many detailed reviews about it online. See cutiefishball's review for detailed reviews about the difference between n810 and n1000.

Now comes the more important factor! How to get it cheaper? If anyone is going to Japan, this is one of the cheapest way to get it. AMAZON! It is more expensive in stores and ordering online is a lot cheaper. You could compare the prices of different Japanese products at Kakaku. This website will tell you the cheapest place that sells the items.
1.Register online on Amazon.jp
2. Search for Hitachi Hada Crie
3. Click on the items and add to cart.
4. Proceed to checkout and select pickup at convenience stores (Lawsons and Familymart).
5. Enter the zipcode of your hotel and Amazon will give you a map of the nearby convenience stores. Select your desired store and proceed to pay via credit cards.
6. Look out for the mail containing the transaction and confirmation numbers. Once you reached Japan, collect the orders at the convemience store that you have selected. You would need to key in the transaction and confirmation numbers into the machine (see picture below) at convenience store. A receipt would be generated and just bring over to counter to collect your items.

Word of Caution: The machine is in Japanese! If you do not understand Japanese, remember to bring out the emails in Japanese and bring it over to the staff at the counter. Japanese are usually friendly and they would help you with the collection via the machine.








*Important points to note
~ For in stock items, it normally takes around 2 to 3 days for the items to be delivered to the convenience stores. For the whole buying process, Amazon would send you 4 emails, after orders had been confirmed, after orders had been shipped out, after orders had reached the convenience store and after you had collected your orders. The most important email is the one that states that the orders had reached the convenience stores as it contained the transaction and confirmation numbers that you would need in order to redeem your orders.
~ You would need to collect your items within 10 days once it has arrived at the stores. If you do not collect the items within the 10 days, they would be shipped back to Amazon. Don't worry! If this happens, Amazon would refund you the full amount.

An portion of the email that states the transaction number and the confirmation number.

How much do you save?

Pricing of N810
Singapore vs Japan
SGD $249 vs 9090 yen(~SGD$125)

Pricing of N1000
Singapore vs Japan
SGD $450 vs 11500 yen(~SGD$158)

For usage in Singapore, N810 would be less troublesome as it is catered for usage in all countries. It works on a voltage from 100 to 240V. Hence, you will only need a universal adapter for its usage in Singapore.
N1000 only works on a voltage of 100 to 120V. Hence, you would need a 70W voltage step down transformer in order for it to work in Singapore. 70W voltage step down transformer can be bought at Sim Lim Tower for $9.

Tsujiri at 100am Shopping Mall

Located at a quite ulu 100am shopping mall, the O-maccha float with matcha icecream caught my attention. Priced at $6.50, it was really small but the green tea icecream was good. The green tea ice-blended drink at the bottom was a little lacking in flavour.