I’ll be heading to Japan (yes, again!!) for business for a week or so. Will be back with more updates soon!
Updates on shoppingqueenshaven will have to be shelved till I’m back, so please be patient with me.
Meanwhile, enjoy your weekend! 🙂
I have been attending so many weddings lately. A sign of age, I know, but weddings are such joyful affairs they bring a smile to everyone’s face.
Here are pics from YH’s wedding in Jan at Halia Restaurant. We were so happy for her because she and her hubby have been maintaining a long-distance relationship for some time.
What I wore to a colleague’s wedding at Grand Shanghai. Vintage grecian dress from Dustbunny Vintage. 😉
Make-up:
Weddings mark the beginning of a couple’s journey into the next phase of their relationship. Before they embark on that journey, the wedding ceremony serves as a platform for the couple to profess their unwavering love and admiration for their significant other as well as thank their friends and family for their support.
Haven’t you heard of friends complaining about what a hassle it is to plan the perfect wedding and somehow things never seem to go your way?
Well, perhaps you’ll lighten up if you change your view of what a wedding means to you. While I don’t deny that there were times when I had to crack my brains to come to a decision on which photographer to hire, or even silly things like what earrings go best with my gown, I thoroughly enjoyed the planning process.
To me, a wedding is but a means to an end and not an end in itself. After that fateful wedding day, you will have to wake up to the same person every morning for the rest of your life. Interestingly for me, the wedding preparations further affirmed that I chose the right person to spend my life with.
A marriage is a union, not just of two souls, but two families and their respective traditions. That was exactly what I witnessed during my wedding preparation. Thankfully, JW and I have an identical outlook to life. We generally share similar tastes, values and principles, hence everything worked out beautifully, but not without any conflicts too. There were definitely times when our views differed, but we talked things through and reached a compromise eventually.
What’s most important than your wedding day is what happens after that, especially so in this day and age, where the media constantly reminds us that the sanctity of marriage has been violated, time and again. First, it was Tiger Woods. Now, Jack Neo has followed suit as well.
The success of a marriage is a factor of love, trust, forgiveness and more importantly, the ability to put yourself in your partner’s shoes.
It also depends very much on the couple’s will and perseverance to keep the romance alive in their relationship. 😉 So go on and spring a little surprise on your partner today!
Here’re some long over-due CNY photos taken with my in-laws:
CNY Dinner at Shangri-La Hotel
I’ve updated Shopping Queen’s Haven with 3 lovely dresses! 😉
Once again, thank you babes for your support!
Here we were, back in Tokyo for our last meal before returning to Singapore. While waiting for the concierge to confirm our reservation, we took the opportunity to camwhore at the hotel lobby!
Our last meal in the country was at Gonpachi @ Nishi-Azabu, a popular restaurant because 1) Quentin Tarantino was inspired by the decor of this restaurant for the set of Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2) Koizumi brought George Bush to dine her!
Yuzu Mojito, the yummiest cocktail I’ve ever had in my life! I loved it so much I ordered two glasses!
Yude-Buta – Boiled pork with szechuan garlic sauce. It melts in your mouth. Need I say more?
Gonpachi House Salad – Mizuna, buckwheat sprout & clam tossed with sesame dressing. It looks inconspicuous but trust me, it leaves you wanting more!
Tempura Seiro Soba
Seasonal special – mouth-watering Kobe beef!
These skewes were some of the best I’ve ever tried!
The only dish that didn’t impress us much was the fried chicken. It looked great in pictures, but in reality, it was pretty average.
Grilled potatoes with butter. I have a penchant for potatoes, so I’ll definitely place an order whenever I see them on the menu!
My other favourite dish has got to be Gindara. The smooth texture of the well-marinated fish was to die for!
We also had free ice-cream, courtesy of our attentive and polite server, Tomohiro!
And here’s our parting shot with Tomohiro. Thanks for giving us such a pleasant experience at Gonpachi! This is one restaurant that I will definitely go back to when I next embark on a trip to Tokyo!
If you haven’t already realized, I have updated Shopping Queen’s Haven with more apparel!
Happy Shopping! 🙂
It was great being in Kyoto in October as the autumn colours were nothing short of spectacular. Check out the glorious blooms! I was bowled over.
We also visited a few renowned temples, the first of which was Kiyomizu-dera (http://reginachow.blogspot.com/2009/12/kyoto-part-1.html).
Next up was Kinkakuji, otherwise known as the Golden Pavillion. Kinkakuji is a Zen Buddhist Temple that houses Buddhist relics. The top two storeys of the pavillion are lined with pure gold. The pavillion, as its name suggests as well, is extravagance exemplified.
We also caught up with Grace’s friend, Tomomi, who travelled all the way to Kyoto to meet us. The kind and friendly babe treated us to a delicious meal at Hilton Hotel.
Ravenous, we gobbled up our appetizer and pasta before it struck us that we hadn’t taken any photos! Here’re the only food photos that we took for that particular meal.
After the satisfying meal, we ventured into the departmental stores and shopping malls that paved the streets near our hotel. What I love about Japan is that the departmental stores carry more affordable second lines of reputable designer labels. One of my favourites has got to be Lavin en Bleu, the second line of Lanvin that was apparently created solely for the Japanese market. Of course, there are also coveted Japanese designer labels such as Comme des Garcons, started by Rei Kawakubo in 1973.
The next day marked the end of our Kyoto tour. We had our last meal at Sukiya, a fast food chain similar to Yoshinoya, but much nicer! I particularly liked the yummy curry rice and salad. Besides the normal-sized portions, they also serve mini portions for patrons who have smaller appetites!
On the way back to our hotel to retrieve our luggages, we bumped into two of the cutest, most fashionable Japanese children! Don’t they look like they were wearing clothes that came right off the runway? Check out the hair too!
I just LOVE them to bits!
And there you have it, our final destination in Kyoto, the Shinkansen (bullet train) station!
More on Tokyo’s delicacies up next!
A plethora of blinding neon lights and shop signs line the narrow streets of Gion, fighting to attract the attention of passers-by. Believe me, Gion’s vast selection of restaurants and pubs will leave you spoiled for choice.
This is also where the Geishas typically hang out at night! Grace and I must really thank our lucky stars that day, for we saw not just one, but two Geishas!!
Geishas, simply put, are women of the arts. This geisha above is a senior Geiko with with more than 20 years of experience.
Here’s a guide to identifying Geikos (courtesy of Grace):
Hair:- A Geiko wears a few pins and a kushi which is generally plain in style and not covered in silk in her hair.
Make-up:- They wear white make-up that leave no bare hair line with minimal amount of red outlining the eyes and eyebrows. They will also paint her lips almost in full.
Kimono & Collar:-Geiko’s kimono has shorter sleeves and is usually of a solid colour with a subtle pattern towards the bottom. Geikos also wear a wide, yet simple white collar.
Obi:-Geikos wear a narrower obi of a subtle pattern and generally tie it in the style of the refined Taiko box bow.
Lady Luck was shining on us that day as we we caught sight of another Geisha after our sumptuous dinner, which I will talk about later. On our way back as we walked through the brightly-lit alley, I saw a beautiful figure clad in colourful finery. I immediately grabbed Grace’s hands and shouted “Geisha!”, before gesturing to her excitedly that she should get her camera ready to snap, snap, snap!! What an eventful night it was!
Here’s a guide to identifying Maikos (again thanks to Grace):
Hair:- Maikos wear a wide variety of hair ornaments called kanzashi. They are often more elaborated & colourful than those wore by the geiko. This maiko is wearing a “hana kanzashi” created from squares of silk by a technique known as tsumami. Maikos wear different hana kanzashi according to the season and this one is wearing the winter theme where tortoiseshell and coral kanzashi are are worn.
Make-up:- Maikos paint their faces white & leave a W shaped line of bare skin around their natural hairline. Their eyes and eyebrows have a noticeable amount of red. With both her lips painted, I think this maiko is a senior maiko as junior maiko can only paint their lower half lips.
Kimono & Collar:- Maikos’ kimonos are more colourful with long sleeves that hang down near their ankles. They also wear a thick heavy embroidered collar which is predominately red, with a smattering of white and silver patterns on it.
Obi:- A Maiko’s obi is long and wide and covers a good proportion of her torso from her hip bone to her breast. The back of the obi bow dangles down to her ankles.
So now, back to dinner. We had no idea which restaurant to go to, but we eventually stumbled upon a gem.
We ordered the set menu, called “Kyo-zanmai”, which translates to the “Taste of Kyoto”. It was a steal at 3,800 yen (approximately SGD60).
For starters, we had 3 seasonal dishes, namely radish, dou miao and tofu. Unlike the Chinese tofu, this one had a very dense yet smooth texture.
Next up was pot-steamed hotchpotch – clear soup with tofu and minced crab meat.
The sashimi was very sweet and fresh. We had toro, tai, ika and bean curd skin served on a bamboo dish.
Yakimono – Chargrilled Tajima beef and Kyoto vegetables
Tofu
Tempura
Seasonal rice with Japanese herbs, shiso and fried anchovies. This was a unique dish and absolutely tantalizing to the taste buds.
And finally, we had green tea ice-cream from Gion’s famous cafe, Tsujiri, which specializes in green tea.
From now on, my apparel updates will be posted on Shopping Queen’s Haven – A Shopper’s Paradise instead.
For your ease of convenience, I have also included two image links in my blog. Just click on the polka dot header on top or the polka dot image at the sidebar to enter!
I have also consolidated all my previous apparel posts there, so you’ll be able to find out what’s still available for sale.
I have just posted a new cardigan, English Rose, for sale, so do check it out at the new blog!
If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please e-mail your name and mailing address to shoppingqueenshaven@gmail.com.
Once again, thank you babes for all your support! Happy shopping and have a great week ahead!
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