Muffins For Sale

I am very happy that my muffins made my friends happy. Thank you Leng for placing muffins orders with me and I do hope that you and your family will enjoy them on this beautiful Easter Holiday.

Cheers!

Great Lunch Date

It’s been a while since we last had lunch with Rie and Florence. We arranged a luncheon with our ex-colleagues from MC at Kith Millenia Walk today and we were really excited for this meet up.

To me, I tried to visit them at least once a month so that we can keep those close bonding and this time, we were happy to have both Rie & Florence to join us which brought us back so much memories of those days we used to lunch together. 

Luncheon was great both conversations and food. Though it was a short 1 hour of sharing, it certainly brought us back loads of memories and it was really sad to know that most of the colleagues in MC are not happy.

Well as far as I know, this company used to be a fun and warmth place to work in but now, it seemed like it has turned into a COLD PALACE where everyone is not happy and no smiles anymore. The management is not changing for the better but guess they are working towards the WORST! For that moment, I was so relieved that I am no longer in that place which I used to call my 2^nd home anymore.

I always believe that one good leader makes a good company but one bad management will brew the lava in a volcano and waiting for its time to burst.

Disney On Ice 2018

When I first knew about Disney On Ice, it appeared to me to be pretty expensive to watch and without kids, you will probably not watch it. After you have kids of your own, you will take time to check out more stuff for kids than for ourselves.

My sis-in-law Maggie introduced us to watch Disney On Ice and Lady Faith had a ball of a time with her cousins. She was pretty young then but she could remember the characters that stood out for her and till date, she is still telling me about it.

When I heard that the annual Disney On Ice will be back to Singapore again, I booked the tickets right away for us and the kids really tried their super best to behave themselves for that period of 2 months in order to be allowed to attend this event. Hahahahahaah

They made it of course and here we are today! When we arrived at the Singapore Indoor Stadium which it was held, it was super duper crowded but I was happy that I bought the front seats so that our little pumpkin was able to get a good view of the characters that she loves.

First up on stage was the Disney characters and they went wild cheering for them and then the rest of the characters appeared when their stories were told. I would say that all the performers were fantastic and it was really amazing how gracefully they danced and those difficult moves were done perfectly.

My favourite would be the Beauty And The Beast but Frozen will be the crowd’s favourite definitely. The whole stadium was singing along with the cast and I felt like a concert for a moment… hahahaahh..

Overall, it was great and I am pretty sure we will be back again next year.

Goodbye Okinawa

Our holiday is officially ended and today, we will be returning home. It was a morning flight and we arrived at the airport around 6:45am but to our surprise, the airport was not opened yet. We were really shocked to know that the airport in Okinawa is not 24 hours. Their operating time is from 7am to 10pm. Really strange isn’t it!

There was a huge crowd at the entrance of the airport waiting for the security guard to open its door for everyone. When the doors were finally opened, we were happy to see everyone walking in quickly but orderly. The departure hall is on the 2^nd floor and there were long queues at the check in counters. The airline staff noticed that we were travelling with children and told us to proceed to the family lane which was slightly faster and it was smooth check in for us.

The airport is not very big I supposed but the shops were not opened yet. Then we proceeded to the departure gate for immigration and we too had to wait for the opening hours. Everyone was really surprised but we just had to wait. As the clock ticked to 8am, the operation team started allowing people to enter for scanning. The procedure was really quick and immigration was very smooth too. 

After all the waiting and procedure, we had about 1 hour to board but many shops were not opened yet. We sat around and hubby went to get some food for the kids as he noticed one shop opened and was selling some cooked food.

When the clock struck at 8:30am, the DFS finally opened and I was really excited to do some final shopping. There were really loads of Japanese goodies to buy and yes… knowing me, I bought loads of it.

We were flying on JetStar and about half way through the flight, there was an announcement that we had a Japanese rock band onboard with us and they would like to do us a performance. It was simply amazing and they introduced themselves and it seemed like they were the popular rock band from Okinawa and they will be holding their first concert in Singapore.

They were a bunch of friendly guys and though I dun know their songs, I do find them catchy and the rhythm was nice. They were from the group HY which is made out of 5 good friends to form a band and became very popular in Okinawa. We were really star struck onboard the JetStar and it certainly brought some us some entertainment onboard. After their performance, they even allowed the passengers to have pictures taken with them. Thumps up!

With that, it completed our Okinawa trip beautifully.

Naha Adventure Continues

The breakfast at the JAL Hotel is not as good compared to Sheraton but hubby said that the food served in this hotel is pretty much more traditional so, that’s why we are not too used to it.

The kids are more excited about going out to explore then anything. We headed down straight to the Makishi Market and indeed, very very interesting. It wasn’t a huge wet market compared to those we have in Singapore or the one in Tokyo. It was air-conditioned with loads of different types of fresh fishes. You get to choose the fish and get the restaurant to cook them for you immediately. You can even buy the fresh salmon and eat it right away!

There were many other different types of fresh food like the pork, vegetables and other dry seafood. What caught our eyes were the puffer fish and the pig skin head which we don’t get to see it back home. 

As we continued to explore the market, we noticed a man holding a huge owl standing at the side of the pathway and realized that it’s like mini zoo for owls and other small sized animals. Lady Faith & little pumpkin visited the place and they were so brave when they met the real owl at the entrance while I was pretty much scared! 

The place is not too big but filled with many different types of owl. They were very quiet, still and staring back at you with their super big round eyes. Out of all the owls on displayed, my favourite would be the snow owl, it was big and very pretty.

Lady Faith’s ticket included holding the owl and having the picture taken with it. I was really surprised that she wasn’t nervous at all but me… I was no where near that bird! Both of them were really happy to pet the owl and they even wanted to bring the owl home!!!

After that little adventure, we headed to lunch at their Japanese restaurant which served eel rice coz’ Lady Faith requested. We were really lucky to be given a private room for our lunch and it was super comfortable. 

The food was pretty tasty and reasonable compared to the ones we had back home. We were happy to see our kiddos enjoyed their food as much as we enjoyed ours. After lunch, we continued our window shopping and we stopped by at our favourite ice-cream shop Blue Seal once again perhaps for the last time to enjoy their delicious ice-cream. We tried out the crepes and it was out of this world!! I LOVE IT sooooooooooooooooooo much that I can eat that everyday!

After our desserts, we went back to our hotel to do some packing and allowing the kids to take a short nap. I really wondered why there was so much to pack though we did not buy many stuff during this trip.

Since it was our last night in Okinawa, hubby suggested to try out their steamboat (shabu shabu) and we found a restaurant that fits the bill. The restaurant was really cozy and nice. We browsed through the menu and decided to order the set since it was the very economical and reasonable. 

We really enjoyed their food and the kids really love their garlic fried rice, it was so fragrant and tasty. Overall, I would say that the food in Okinawa is very tasty and nice. I am sure we will be back again very soon.

Moving On To Naha City

Today, we will be heading to Naha and which means our holiday in Okinawa is coming to end very soon. We enjoyed Ona thoroughly and we are sure we’ll be back! 

It was a 2 hours ride from Ona to Naha City and we stopped by at the Premium Outlet before heading to Naha City since it was on the way. When we arrived at the Ashibinaa Premium Outlet, we started our shopping spree as there were so many of our favourite shops. I simply went mad when I entered GAP and Adidas. 

We took our lunch on the 2^nd floor and we were happy that kiddos enjoyed the food very much. We ordered pasta while Lady Faith preferred pancakes instead and she finished up the whole plate on her own. 

When we arrived at Naha City, we quickly headed out to the street after checking in to our hotel. I got to say that our hotel is just right in the heart of Naha City. The street where they housed most of the shops and eateries. We took a slow walk and found out that the famous Makishi Market is just a street away.

The Makishi Market is pretty big and we decided to take a slow walk to check out part of it and yes, it was really interesting to see many different types of Okinawa local sweets and those super fresh fruits.  While we were keeping a lookout for our dinner venue, we chanced upon this ice-cream shop which has a long queue and decided to try it out. Managed to get a seat and man…. the ice-cream was really awesome! It was so creamy and so many flavours to choose from. I would love to try out every flavours but given the time and space of my stomach… I guess I would have to return to Okinawa soon.

As for our dinner, we decided to have teppanyaki instead of the usual Okinawa cuisine. This is somehow like the fusion teppanyaki where they served their meals with potato, salad and soup. The waiting time for this restaurant was about 15 minutes and the staff were really nice. Food wise, pretty good but you definitely smelt like one of the chefs after you leave the restaurant… hahahaahahahah…

I simply did not like what I smelt and we headed for a stroll after dinner instead. Managed to get some more souvenirs but the main reason for strolling is to get rid of the smell on us! 

Our Adventure Continues

After our hearty and tasty breakfast at our hotel, we headed down to the beautiful Yomitan Village. Our first stop was the Cape Zanpa where you will find the white lighthouse which is the symbol of Cape Zanpa.  

It was indeed a beautiful sight and it allowed you to be creative with your photographs. Really interesting and a great place to explore. We drove through the sugarcane field and landed at the Lazor Garden Alivila. Saw this super gorgeous white cathedral that appears as though it is floating o the ocean! So beautiful and yes… unfortunately, they are having a wedding ceremony at that moment and no visitors are allowed to enter the compound.

We continued our journey to check out the famous pottery works. Our driver Ando-san drove us to this popular shop where most people will buy her pottery. We checked out Yachimun and yes, the potteries were really beautiful but can’t buy them back as they were too delicate to fly back. We were lucky to see the master at work too and it was pretty much an eye-opening to our kiddos.

For lunch, we headed down to American Village where they housed the many good eateries and shops. American Village is one of the most popular attraction in Okinawa and you will definitely find crowds here. 

We toured around and it was simply endless shopping and nice places to stop for picture. They kids were really happy to stop and have a picture or two coz’ the street art were really cool and trendy. Even hubby and myself were a big fan!

We stumbled upon this humble restaurant and decided to have lunch there. We ordered their local popular dishes like the Taco Rice and braised pork rice while the kids got their kids meal. It was a super delicious and fulfilling luncheon! The Taco Rice and braised pork rice were superb! Honestly, I wanted to eat again and again… hahahahaahah

After our delicious lunch, we continued our shopping spree and managed to get some cool souvenirs for friends and family and we even stopped by to have their local sweet potato ice-cream which was so tasty! Mmmh… I might try to make that someday… 

For dinner, we went to Hama Noya restaurant. This restaurant was recommended by our driver since we asked him for recommendation for seafood. This restaurant is located about 15 mins drive from our hotel and somehow visited by many locals and tourist.

They served in set or a-la-carte menu and we decided to order their set menu. As for the quality, it was not too bad but the portion was kind of big for us and we ended up struggling to finish. It was a nice and cozy restaurant and certainly had a taste of Okinawa.

Let The Adventure Begins

I really got to give thumps up to the breakfast at Sheraton Hotel as it was considered one of THE BEST amongst all the hotels we had stayed. Their services, the food and their kids corner were amazingly fantastic! Me, not a breakfast person couldn’t resist their spread and found myself having second and third rounds…. Hahhahaahahah

As our first day of adventure began with the hired taxi, he was one super nice uncle whom spoke minimum English. Our first stop was to Cape Manzamo, one of the most recognizable tourist destinations on Okinawa with its most distinguishing feature is its elephant trunk-like coral snout. 

This place was really beautiful and though we weren’t able to stay for the sunset which the Uncle Ando-san told us that it is even more beautiful when we visit during sunset. We stayed for a short while to enjoy the fantastic view and cool wind before heading to the Aquarium. 

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium will be one of the best place to bring the kids apart from amusement parks. We enjoyed taking the kiddos to see a huge variety of underwater creatures including manta rays, whale sharks, seahorses and more as they will be able to learn about marine life creatures at the same time. 

We truly enjoyed sitting in front of the gigantic Kuroshio Sea Tank is where you can spot the largest fish in the world - the mighty whale shark, as well as the world's first successfully bred-in-captivity manta ray. It was indeed an amazing experience not only for the kids but for us too.

Our last stop before heading back to the hotel was the visit to Nakijin Castle Ruins: A UNESCO World Heritage Site. This would be my first time visiting a castle but a ruined one though. I was amazed by the 1^st sight of how beautiful the structure of the wall was built back in those days and how well they had maintained it. We did not tour the castle as we were pretty much overwhelmed by how huge the castle was and it will probably take us hours to finish touring the area.  

It was nice of the lady at the ticket counter to allow us to take some pictures just outside the main entrance of the castle and I was happy enough that we set foot there. 😊  

On our way back to the hotel, we took a ride on the famous Kouri Bridge. This bridge is known as the longest bridge in Okinawa and it was really enjoyable just to sit in the car and enjoy the beautiful. The sea water was clear turquoise and it was so beautiful!!! What a VIEW!

After taking rest at our hotel, we asked the hotel staff to book the restaurant for us with return transport for our dinner. We picked to dine at Awamori Bar Uraniwa which is nearby our hotel. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was only just my family and we were happy to be given the seat at the corner. 

We browsed through their menu and hubby was happy to call the shots for the night. We ordered their Okinawa special toufu, sashimi, grilled beef, fried garlic rice, Japanese pizza and their famous grilled pork.  

The food served pretty quickly and while we were enjoying our dishes, there came the entertainer for the night. This lady walked up to the little space which considered the stage and prepared herself to sing for the crowd. She was dressed in their traditional costume and began singing a familiar tune which we just heard last night at a different restaurant. We believed that’s their local hit song… hahaahah 

Anyway, the day ended with a fantastic dinner and we headed back to hotel and to get recharged for tomorrow. 

Hello Okinawa!

We safely arrived at Naha Airport early this morning and we headed to take the shuttle bus which was provided by the car rental company. When we arrived their little office about 20 minutes away from the airport, we realized that we were not allowed to rent the car as we did not apply for the International Driving License. Damn! At that moment, we were clueless and not sure what we can do and with little sleep onboard did not help us out much!!

Finally, we decided to give up the idea of renting a car and took a taxi to our resort instead. The journey took us about 1 hour 10 minutes from where we were and we dozed off in the cab along the way. When we finally arrived, our eyes welcomed the sight of a beautiful hotel.

At the lobby of Sheraton Sunmarine Resort, there was a pond filled with marine fishes and our kids got really excited and suddenly super energetic. As we were still about 2 hours to our check in, we decided to have our lunch at their restaurant and check out the hotel later.  

Luncheon at the hotel café was really good. There was even a section just for the kids. Thumps up for that really! Then we explored the hotel and they even had a playroom for kids while the parents can have a game of darts, pool or even a drink just next to it. Fantastic idea indeed!

Okay, as for our room, it was simply gorgeous! We had three beds in the room and there was still enough space for us to put our huge luggage. There was a big balcony where we can have our clothes hung after washing and the view from our room was amazing!

We went to the beach which is within the hotel premises and man…the view was great! There were indoor pools, sea sports facilities and the flying fox activities for hotel guest. For those who preferred to sit and soak in the sun, you can enjoy sleeping on the hammock. It was really comfortable to just laze on the hammock under the sun though the weather was really cold! I am loving the weather here as we were able to soak in the sun but enjoying the cold wind at the same time. How cool is that! 

As the evening approached, I managed to catch the beautiful sunset at our balcony while I was putting our clothes out for drying. It was such a lovely sight and I wished I could sit here and watch the sunset everyday! Awwww…..

The hotel was really nice to arrange a transport from the restaurant that we were planning to dine it. They came on time to fetch us to the restaurant which was about less than 10 minutes away. We understand from the hotel staff that there were a number of restaurants that provides free transportation once we made the booking. 

Tonight, we went to Paikaji Japanese Restaurant and this is one of their local restaurants. When we arrived, it was already filled with many patrons and there was even a singer on stage to entertain their guest. We browsed through their menu and ordered some of their local delights like the Okinawa toufu, goya champuru, Okinawa Soba etc…  

I got to say that we enjoyed all the dishes that we ordered as they were really tasty and the price was reasonable too. The only dish we did not really like was the tempura… it was different from the ones we had… it was too fried and oily compared to those we had in Tokyo and back home.

After a sumptuous dinner, we were sent back to the hotel by the restaurant driver and he was really nice and friendly. For the 1^st day adventure, I LOVED IT! Good night!