Tokyo with Zg Day 3, DISNEY SEA!!!

This was definitely one of the highlights of our Tokyo Trip. I LOVE DISNEY SEA! Like seriously, I loved every minute we spent in Disney Sea and it was such an awesome magical experience.

It was an overcast morning and we woke up exceptionally early in hopes of reaching Disney Sea when it opened. The train ride from Shinjuku to Maihama Station took awhile in an extremely crowded train carriage and we were so happy when we were finally going to board the Disney Resort Line! As with the usual Disney Resort Line, the train carriages were decorated in the iconic Mickey Mouse fashion.

Disney Sea was SO crowded. The queues were long everywhere so we dashed about quickly to grab our Fast Pass for the Journey to the Center of the Earth in the Mysterious Island. Remember Fast Pass are really important! I would recommend Journey to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones Fast Passes. If you are into roller coasters and thrilling rides, Raging Spirits and Tower of Terror are good options too!

After grabbing our Fast Pass for the Journey to the Center of the Earth, we sped away to 20,000 Leagues under the Sea which was a ride that mimicked a bronze submarine going deep under the waters. Very interesting with weird colorful creatures floating around. 

We waited for about an hour until we could use our Fast Pass for the Journey to the Center of the Earth. Interesting high speed ride with a mini roller coaster effect near the end. 

We came the week before Halloween so Disney Sea was covered with colorful Halloween decorations! The American Waterfront was beautiful and I love the quaint little shop houses housing lots of cafes and gift shops.

It started to rain in the late morning and I was getting cold and wet. Thankfully I brought a poncho along so I could save the trouble of having to open and close the umbrella. Zg was wearing a waterproof hoodie so he was warm and snug, save for his shoes which were soaked through. Ugh, rainy weather meant that my photos turned out looking dark, gloomy, and sad! Like this picture of the majestic Tower of Terror at the American Waterfront. 

We had lunch in a little cafe in the Lost River Delta. Taco rice with cheese, salsa, chorizo and salad. Keeping with the Halloween theme, our taco rice came in the shape of a skull! 

Zg spotted these babies in the display cabinet. The cupcake and custard came with a Disney Sea Halloween-themed plate and cup respectively! We decided to buy one each even though we were so full from our taco rice. I mean, there is always space for desserts right?

I realised we were pretty much in couple attire for the entire trip. Black jacket and jeans. I certainly could do with more make up and colourful clothes but seriously, I was just too lazy to pack more coats. Also, you cannot see it from this picture, but I made a huge effort to bring my colorful jeans!

Arabian Coast and the Caravan Carousel. Yes, I made my boyfriend sit on that carousel with me because we were kids for just that one day. We also rode Jasmine's Flying Carpet to the song "A Whole New World". Ahhhh I love Disney sound tracks!

The storm clouds cleared and the sun reared its beautiful head in the late afternoon and I managed to snap this picture of a setting sun behind the Port Discovery. We took the Storm Rider here and the storm effects were fantastic!

We missed all the performances and only managed to catch a glimpse of the mascots on the boat at the Mediterranean Harbor. The iconic buildings lit up under the rays of the setting sun and it was just a beautiful moment. 

When night fell, Disney Sea glowed. It truly felt like I was immersed in a magical land, some place far far away from reality, where everything was perfect, happy, and beautiful.

We had dinner at the New York Deli where we ate some simple sandwiches and Alien-shaped mochi! The mochi was served in an alien-shaped container and I brought the container home happily.

The larger Alien was a popcorn holder. Zg and I walked the entire Disney Sea compound a couple of times searching for the popcorn stand selling this particular holder. We found the Minnie Mouse holder and the Mr Potato Holder, but we just could not locate the Alien holder. Eventually, we were desperate and approached a young girl to ask where she bought hers. The young lady was so helpful and pointed out the place on a map (it was near the American Waterfront) so we headed there in a rush to secure the popcorn holder before the store closed!

We also had Mickey-shaped churros at a stand near the New York Deli. This churros was warm, crispy, not too sweet, and delicious!

Toy Story Mania was bright, sparkly and golden at night. It was incredibly beautiful! I felt like I was walking in a large Christmas Market with Toy Story Posters around me. Temperature was dropping steadily at night and a strong gust of wind swirled around as we explored Toy Story Mania.

We watched Fantasia, which was an amazing water show complete with fireworks and lots of Disney tunes, before leaving Disney Sea. Everybody would crowd around the Mediterranean Harbor and Amercian Waterfront to watch Fantasia so you might wish to secure a spot earlier. We found a spot when the show was about to start and it was so lucky that we managed to do so!

For posts on Day 1, Day 2, Day 4, Day 5 , Day 6 and Day 7!

New Ubin Seafood, Sin Ming

I heard loads of good stuff about New Ubin Seafood from many people at work and I decided that I just have to try this for myself. Located in the industrial estate along Sin Ming Road, this place was rather inaccessible and I was waiting for the opportune moment when I could hitch a ride to New Ubin. Eventually, I decided to create this opportunity when my brother's and dad's birthdays were around the corner and I suggested that we have dinner at New Ubin Seafood.

I called to make a reservation on Saturday morning and was told that they were fully booked on Sunday except for a slot at 8 pm. Might be a good idea to call earlier in advance so that you could have an earlier dinner. I made plans for a late lunch with my parents so that a late dinner would not make us too hungry. 

When we arrived at 8 pm, the place was crowded. All the tables were full and kids were running about while families were chatting exuberantly. We settled down at our table and flipped through the menu quickly.

For our daily dose of veggies, we ordered the Stir Fried Garlic Dou Miao ($10). This was ordinary, nothing spectacular. Crunchy dou miao fried with chopped garlic.

Har Cheong Kai ($14) was a recommended item on the menu so we went with it. This was good, crispy skin, juicy chicken meat, and the shrimp paste was so fragrant!

The Salted Egg Squid ($14) was another recommended item on the menu so yes we ordered it too! I really liked this dish. The squid was soft and not overcooked, the salted egg sauce was just so thick! I could taste chunks of real salted egg in the thick sauce which coated the squid evenly. I would recommend this dish if you are at New Ubin.

The Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle ($12) was highly recommended by my friend at work who could not stop raving about it. But I have to admit, this was solid and totally worthy of an incessant amount of praise. The broth tasted of fresh sweet prawns and it was just bliss swallowing mouthfuls of noodles coated with that delicious sauce. I was not paying too much attention on the assorted seafood since the main attraction in the Hokkien Mee was definitely the broth. 

Oyster Omelette with Sambal Blachan ($16). This was average, just normal fried egg with oysters and sambal tossed on top. I would give it a miss if I return. 

The Back Ribs were also highly recommended by my friend so we ordered half a rack ($38). Unfortunately, the Back Ribs left us sorely disappointed. The ribs were not well-marinated and tasted like the chef merely grilled them and smeared some sauce on top. It was also not tender enough, and required quite a bit of chewing to get the meat off the bone. Overall this was one sad dish.

Large Barbecued Tiger Prawns ($45). The prawns were overcooked and lacked the juicy texture I expected. They were generally quite fresh and easy to peel off from the shell. Unfortunately, the tough texture of the prawns meant that this dish was not really enjoyable. I would much prefer juicy crunchy prawns as compared to tough overcooked prawns.

Perhaps all the good stuff that I heard about New Ubin meant that my expectations were naturally very high. The food was generally ok, with some items exceeding my expectations while others falling short. It was overall a good hearty meal but I doubt I would be excitedly planning my next trip to New Ubin unless I have a craving for their Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle.

Block 27 Sin Ming Road, Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A
#01-174
64669558
Daily 11:30 to 14:30; 17:30 to 22:30

Plonk, Serangoon Gardens

My friend recommended the anchovies at Plonk and said that I have to try them. I have yet to try anchovies and thought this might be interesting so we headed over to Plonk. Plonk was situated in the Serangoon Gardens area on Maju Avenue. The place seemed empty on a weekday night but the waitress told us that the second floor was closed that day so we were led to a corner table on the first floor instead. 

The menu was extensive with an impressive selection of tapas. We picked the Marinated White Anchovies ($10) and the Bilbao chorizo, mushrooms, and champagne vinegar ($11).

The Bilbao chorizo, mushrooms, and champagne vinegar ($11) was incredibly salty. I liked the juicy mushrooms but the dish as a whole was really salty. My friend suggested that the dish was so salty because of the chorizo but I was not convinced. Anyway we did not finish this because it was rather meh. 

The Marinated White Anchovies ($10) was decent. This was one of those dishes which you would either love or hate. My friend noted that it was an acquired taste. I was all right with it but I would not jump up to order it anytime soon. 

I ordered the House made gnocchi, with smoked bacon passata ($16). It was rather normal. Thick tomato paste with smoked bacon slices. I am not exactly sure whether it was worth the buck and the calories. 

My friend's Tiger prawn risotto, lemon, basil, asparagus, crème fraiche ($19). This was rather bland, I have to say.

As a whole, my experience at Plonk was rather disappointing. I am sorry, friend. I have always adored your recommendations but this was really off the mark. Perhaps we ordered the wrong things that night or maybe I just don't have the acquired taste needed to enjoy the food at Plonk. To our next foodie adventure!

Serangoon Garden Estate, 7 Maju Avenue

62864688

Mon - Fri: 11:00 - 01:00

Sat & Sun: 09:00 - 02:00

Tokyo with Zg Day 2, Asakusa, Sensoji, Sumida River, Tokyo Skytree, Rokurinsha Tsukemen

After a good rest, we woke up bright and early to take the train to Asakusa to visit Sensoji Shrine. It was very early when we reached and the shops along Shin-Nakamise and Nakamise Shopping Street were not open yet so we took the time to start snapping some pictures.

We reached the Kaminarimon which marked the start of Nakamise Shopping Street. You would recognise the Kaminarimon with the huge red lanterns and bold black lettering stating 雷门. 

Nakamise Shopping Street started getting more crowded after 9 am and people were filling the street fast, with crowds gathering in the shops and strolling along outside. It was a nice bright morning and the little traditional shops looked beautiful under a clear blue sky.

We bought mini red bean pancakes from this shop and they were delicious. The pancakes were bite-sized and shaped like the pagoda or the Kaminarimon. There was a machine at the back producing the pancakes steadily and when we bought a packet, we were surprised to find that the small pan cakes were still warm!

We definitely could not resist a Matcha Soft-serve so we joined the queue outside this tiny little shop and waited patiently for our yummy soft-serve! We tried to walk away and eat while strolling along Nakamise but the shop assistant ran after us and informed us that we had to stand outside the shop and finish our soft-serve before we could move on. This was definitely a cultural shift for us since we were so used to grabbing food and chewing while we moved along. But it also forced us to stand in a corner and savor the delicious flavour of the soft-serve. 

Strolling to the end of the Nakamise Shopping Street would take you to the Hozomon and the main grounds of the Sensoji Temple. The Sensoji Temple was bustling with tourists and locals, many were praying, some were seeking fortune lots in a counter at the side, and others were simply walking around exploring. 

We left Sensoji Shrine and decided to check out the rows of small shops away from Nakamise Shopping Street. Zg found a little shop selling deep fried beef curry buns!  He was extremely happy and joined the queue immediately. I just had to snap a candid picture of him approaching me, clutching that precious deep fried beef curry bun with glee. According to him, it was delicious. 

Shin-Nakamise was a covered shopping arcade beside Nakamise. Nothing much there though it was interesting to just walk about and check things out.

I did some research and found that Kaminarimon Kisuke was highly recommended so I brought Zg here. It was difficult to locate Kisuke since it was away from the main Nakamise area and when we finally found it, we were disappointed to learn that they had only 2 items for lunch! Since we were already there, we decided to pick one item for lunch. The lucky item was Oyakodon (chicken stew with egg on rice).

2-3-12, Kaminarimon, Taitou-ku, Tokyo, 111-0034

Thankfully the Oyakodon was really delicious! Tender juicy chicken chunks with runny egg on top of fluffy white rice and a bowl of miso soup filled with vegetables.

We went to shop in the area and found Don Quijote. This large discount shop stocked all kinds of interesting stuff at great prices. I found an Omron massager for 4500 yen (including additional massage pads) which I bought for my parents. What a great buy! 

We took a nice long walk across the Sumida River to the Tokyo Skytree. The sky darkened considerably and it began to drizzle just as we were crossing the Sumida River. 

We joined the long queue waiting to buy tickets for the Tokyo Skytree. The wait was about 20 minutes and soon we were in a lift travelling at great speed up to the Tembo Deck (350m). You could pay an additional fee at the Tembo Deck to head up to the Tembo Galleria (450m) which was what we did but honestly the view did not differ much. 

The autumn design in the lift heading up to the Tembo Deck.

View from the Tokyo Skytree Tembo Deck and Tembo Galleria!

The Tokyo Skytree lit up at night and it was such a marvelous sight.

We decided to have Rokurinsha Tsukemen at Tokyo Solamanchi Level 6. Tokyo Solamanchi was the shopping mall at the bottom of the Tokyo Skytree and you could buy the famous Tokyo Banana from the shops here (they stock some limited edition flavours). We also checked out the shops which sold really beautiful stationery!

I  read that the queue at Rokurinsha Tsukemen was long and we came prepared to queue. Thankfully there were only 6 people in the queue when we reached at 730 pm so we only had to wait for about 15 minutes. 

Tsukemen! This was so awesome. The dipping broth was thick and robust with a distinct fishy-taste (in a good way). What a refreshing change from the usual pork bone broth! The noodles were slightly thicker than the usual ramen and they looked pretty similar to udon. These noodles soaked up the dipping sauce perfectly and when you slurp it up, everything was just fantastic.

Tokyo Solamachi, Level 6, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo Japan

After our meal, we lugged bags of Tokyo Banana to the train station and took a train back to Shinjuku!

Read about Day 1, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5,  Day 6 and Day 7.