ALL for ¥600!!!! Samurai Soup Curry 5th Anniversary

Hello there.. I know it has been awhile since I last posted here. I was away traveling during that period of time but trust me when I say that I feel really sorry about neglecting this site for a little while. Sincerest apology on that.

I have a lot of happenings to share namely the snowboarding excursion at Niseko, the 63rd Sapporo Snow Festival and etc. So stay tuned for more updates from me! (:

Anyway, today is just gonna be a quick post cos this offer is just too amazing!! 

Samurai soup curry which I've blogged right (click HERE) before I disappeared couple of weeks ago has hit its 5th year in business. To show appreciation and have their loyal customers celebrate this wonderful affair with them, they decided to offer 4 of their popular soup curry mains at more than 50% off!! To be honest, I actually saw this promotion a little more than a month ago and had it noted down on my iPhone calendar with a reminder set 2 days in advanced so that I can make a date with my friends to go with me and enjoy it together. Good things are meant to share you know!! hahaha.. So with that, I am sharing this with you guys too. Offer is made for today (March 28th) and 

TOMORROW (March 29th)!!!

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT DEAL!!!

If you are a soup curry fanatic, this is one of the best gift ever.

If you have not tried soup curry or patronize Samurai Soup Curry before, good time to try cos normally their soup curry is priced slightly higher than other establishments. If you are not sure if you want to pay the higher price without knowing if it tastes as good (you don't trust my taste.. hmmpfff ):), you can take this opportunity to try this yummillicous at HALF the PRICE!!

So, pictures for your reference.

You can choose any of the 4 popular dishes as listed for ¥600!!!
(Translated roughly)
- Chicken and Vegetables (usual price: ¥1150)
-Pork (fatty) and Vegetables: (usual price: ¥1150
-1/2 Chicken with Pork (fatty) : (usual price: ¥1250)
- 23 types of seasonal vegetables: (usual price: ¥1250)

I took the opportunity to try out チキン１／２豚角煮
and with the savings made, I ordered coconut soup (¥100),
サクサクブロコリ(¥150)
hehehe.. smart or not?!! *tap temple*
even after adding all these additional toppings,
I still pay less than the usual price minus topping!! Yay!!
TOTAL: ¥850 vs. (n.p: ¥1500) 

Happy moi with my bowl of yummillicious (:

Tah (#1 avid soup curry lover I've known) came along with me (:
cos he knows good stuff when it comes to food!!  

He ordered his favorite チキン野菜 with regular soup (FOC),
but spiciness level of 6 (¥100)
サクサクブロコリ(¥150) and 揚げごぼ (¥150)
TOTAL: ¥1000 vs. (n.p.: ¥1550)

Anyway, while eating, I noticed that they serve dessert- Vanilla Ice Cream at a very cheap price. So, if you would like to try that, you can order it ¥180 only with any flavor topping of your choice. Just thought it's nice to share after a spicy meal. (: Who can say no to ICE CREAM right?!! hehe

Topping of choice:
Strawberry, Chocolate, melon and
 some berry (i can't tell cos image was not clear, sorry!)

The aftermath of a very happy lunch!!!
We both licked the bowl clean!! LOL

We'll definitely be back there tomorrow evening to grab hold of this great offer!! So please don't go there and fight with me for seats. You can go there for breakfast or lunch but not dinner cos I don't want to wait too long for my food!! Don't say I don't share this with you!! Good things are meant to share so go check this out tomorrow!! You won't regret it! (maybe except you gain a few extra calories from all the carbs). hehe..

"Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others." 

~Brian Tracy~

Soup Curry SAMURAI スープカリイ

I AM SUPER HUNGRY NOW I CAN EAT A HORSE!!!!!

Occasion: Dinner on a Weekday

When: Whenever the craving calls for it..

Venue: Soup Curry SAMURAI

Address: North 19 West 4 (there are a few more outlets available. Click HERE)

If you've read my previous post on Cocoro soup curry, you know that I'm a big fan of soup curry. Just thinking of these 2 wonderful words out loud also can make me salivate!! *wipe saliva off chin*

Not going into details to explain what is soup curry all over again, but if you want a brief intro, click and read my previous post HERE. Instructions on how to order is available as well.

Anyway, back to this heavenly new place that Tah intro-ed to me not too long ago. To be honest, I read about its Susukino outlet before, but never got around to trying it out. But finally, the man himself took me there. The soup was amazing and best of all................ it was the サクサク ブロッコリpronounced 'sakusaku broccoli'. In Hokkaido, the fresh vegetables here are to die for. True story! And coat this fresh green awesomeness with garlic and deep fry it.......... need I say more??!!!!! *salivate*

Enough text!!! Here comes the pictures!!!

Vintage looking chopstick box.. nice!

You can locate the nearest SAMURAI place to you

We went about almost 9.30pm and the place was no longer
packed which is very rare to be honest.

Floor sitting area for larger group of customers

Here comes the yummy!!!! Tah ordered some 'natto' thingy.
It was an excellent choice cos we both love natto anyway.
Try it if you are feeling adventurous. hehe

My order!!!! I usually go for:
Main: チキン野菜 (chicken veggie) ¥1150
Soup: Regular (FOC), you can choose other soup for an extra fee
Spicy: No. 4 (perfect level of spiciness)
Topping: サクサクブロッコリadditional ¥150

Look at that!!!! Need i say more??!1

サクサクブロッコリ is da bomb aitelyu!!!

Finally, ending it with a pic of moi. Thousand apologies on the
tired looking me. It was a long day.

Anyway, I am absolutely head over heels in love with soup curry. Drop me a note if you think there are more to-die-for soup curry restaurants that i should go check it out. Mean time, I shall try not to get fat from all these indulgences. DAMN!! It's hard being a woman.. #firstworldpains

"I eat merely to put food out of my mind."  

~by N.F. Simpson~

Hara Donuts 安心おやつ。。はらドーナッツ

Occasion: 食べ歩き on a Sunday afternoon

When: One lazy January weekend

Venue: Hara Donuts, PASEO WEST, 1F 

Address: Kita 6 Nishi 2 

(located right next door to Starbucks Coffee, PASEO Sapporo JR Station)

You would be surprise to know that i'm writing this blogpost at 5:05am. Why do I choose to write this topic at this very point of time? and why is this my first post for the year 2012?!  in which, btw, 

Happy New Year 2012 everybodehhhhhh.....

The answer is very simple. I crave it!

YES!! I AM CRAVING FOR A HARA DONUTS RIGHT NOW AT 5:07AM!! 

(yes, 2 minutes have passed....)

This craving caught me by surprise cause to be honest, it didn't blow my mind away on the first bite and it was pretty alright for me in regards to the taste. But i guess hara donuts are one of those stuff in life that grows onto me. Something good to have but not remembering it off for awhile then suddenly BAM!! one freaking morning when no form of life has awaken to embrace the world yet (okay.. maybe the roadside cleaner... or the drunk people dragging their feet home.. or 'whosoevernot'... but you get my point! And worst of all..... you can do nothing about your cravings cos the mall is not open for another 5 hours or so!! So what now?! ):

Back to this special donuts that is trolling me right now. What is Hara Donuts? (website: HERE)

The CNN calls it 'Japanese Boutique Donuts' (click HERE for article)

From some articles I've read, it is also called the friendly, healthy and HAPPY donuts. 

(Read more)

Some calls it 'Tofu Donuts".

Some DON'T EVEN call it a donut, cause it is made with 'tofu' 豆腐。Okay, more accurately it is made from 'okara', a by-product produced during the making of soy milk and tofu. Well known to be highly rich in fibre and very nutritious. 

It is really popular healthy snack take-out store that has branches all over Japan and one will always find a queue at its store front especially in Tokyo. Originally started from Kobe, its' latest addition smacked right at our door step at the newly renovated PASEO. If I am not mistaken, there is another outlet located somewhere between Odori and Susukino. 

If you are expecting Krispy Kreme and Mister Donut kind of donuts, boy, are you wrong?! It is definitely not and far fetched from tasting the same. In fact, on my first bite, it sort of reminded me one of the version of 'you tiao' or 'you zhao gui' 油炸鬼 back home in KL. If you can read Chinese/ Kanji, you would find that the characters I just typed is literrally translated to 'Oil Fried Ghost'. LOL. As for why it is call that, go wikipedia it or something k. BUT not today cos wikipedia shuts down today in protest for SOPA. If you do not know what SOPA is, go wikipedia that also on the following day! And by now, you would have made me very curious on what do you actually know?!!! Do you even read??!! *baffles* Anyway, back to the main topic, hara donuts reminded me of one of the doughy version of the 'you tiao' but not the same thing.

So, pictures of the day to tell the story as below:

Love the simplicity of the signboard and store concept.

There's a sitting area that fits probably 10 pax at most for those
that would like to order drinks to go with their hara donuts.

The famous Hara Donuts!! Yumms!! *salivate*

Little merchandises that is being offered for sale.
Think some proceeds go to the 'Dogs for the Blinds' Charity.

Friendly staffs and open- styled kitchen area possibly to promote
compliance and cleanliness. I like this kind of display. It makes
me feel as if they have nothing to hide. No dirty processes in
making my food that is to be consumed into my mouth! Silly much? hehe
And besides, it is always fun to watch how the food is created. (:

More hara donuts!!!!! Look at them so fresh and yummilicious looking!
They are quite a number of flavors to choose from!

Flavors you can find in Hara Donuts are such as listed on their website.

but I noticed that some of the offerings are new as one of the donuts we saw that day, tomato トマト flavored donuts, was not shown on the website. Apparently they have 日がわり (special offer of the day- ¥130~). Guess you need to go to the store to find out what is the special donut of the day. Some of the permanent flavors worth mentioning are such as コウチャ (black tea), ほうれん草 (spinach), にんじん (carrot), さくら (sakura). I find these flavors so different as compared to other donuts stores. Not only that, these flavors are so good too. Hara Donuts also offer the usual flavors of fruits (strawberries, lemon) as well as sweet flavors such as chocolates, white chocolates, coffee and etc. Prices range from ¥120- ¥160 per piece. 

'Food wikipedia' Tah with はらドーナッツ

My turn!! (:

By the time i took this pic, we've already started nomming. Hence
there's already 3 left in the bag.
Chose the original はらドーナッツ、丹波黒豆きなこ、コウチャ、チョコ
and i forgot what else. LOL.

As mentioned earlier, I didn't find it mind blowing at first. It wasn't love at first bite at all. I found it rather subtle and just a good snack at that time. BUT how the devil it crept up to me at this point of time!! At when I would have to sit around thinking about it non-stop while awaiting for the mall to open!!!! 

YOU SNEAKY DONUTS!!!!!!!!!! 

*waiving fist in the air*

Check out the queue formed. That happens regularly but it doesn't take too long.

Moi posing at the store front. what's new? hehe

Okay. That is all folks. I should continue sitting and waiting around like a mad woman until the time  can rush to the mall and get my fix of this little devils. Happy donuts... HAH!! They're right about it being called happy. I'm sure it has to do with being a healthy snack but as for my definition... I will feel happier once i get to sink my teeth onto these devils. Just as Homer would have said....

"DONUTS. Is there anything they can't do?" 

~Homer Simpson~

Aerosmith Live in Sapporo~ エアロスミス 札幌公演

Occasion: Aerosmith Concert Live in Sapporo 2011(For Official Band website: Click HERE)

When: 10th December 2011

Venue: Sapporo Dome 札幌 ドーム

Address: 1-3, Hitsukigaoka, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo (Access: Toho Line- 10 mins walk from Fukuzumi Station)

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la. 

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas (not too late since there is supposedly 12 days of Christmas.. hehe) and a Happy New Year to you all out there!!! (:

This is suppose to be the season of joy and I wish I share the same happy sentiment as you guys. Unfortunately, I couldn't say it is and shall not pretend it is anyway. Lots happening right now and I am just blessed that special holiday occasions like these make me feel more love and appreciative of things I have with me. I guess that's what Christmas spirit is all about. It has been a tough month for me and I just hope that the worst will be over soon enough. A new year hopefully will bring me a new start! Nothing wrong with wishful thinking right?! It's all about positivity!! (:

Right! Enough ranting over here.. anyway, I am glad to say that I've attended one of the most happening concert in Sapporo this month!! AEROSMITH was in town!! Ohmaikot!!! *screams like crazy girl and pulls hair* LOL

It was fantabulous to the max!! They are definitely a great live band. You know how some people say that some bands are just not up for it? They can't go live and only good on studio-recorded audio? Well, NOT THEM!! They were just great all the way through.. Their performance was awesome and got me high on adrenalin rush at all time. I was glad my heart didn't palpitate wildly and burst out at some point causing me to die unexpectedly!!

Anyway, as usual caused i'm nice liddat, and for those who doesn't know them... (ohmaikot!! are you for real??!! Seriously?! *face palm* ..

Below is a brief about them as taken off wikipedia,

Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine number-one Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and were included among both Rolling Stone's and VH1's lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

As usual, I'll let the photos from that day do the talking for me. Enjoy!

Check out the crowd man... Superb!

Steve Tyler, the man himself (:

Joe Perry, guitar. He was quite a big hit that nite, the crowd went
crazy for him.

Joey Kramer, drum. Performing solo at an interval. Great showmanship!
Have I ever mentioned before, besides the bass, my other fav
would always be the drummer (:

Tyler joining Kramer on the drums! Good job! (:

For someone at 63 year old, he can sure ROCK!! 

Looks like Tom Hamilton there playing Bass..

Getting the crowd to sing to his leopard printed scarfed mic!

Piano performance on 'Dream On'- my favorite!!

until he decided to get on top of it and ROCK IT!

That man sure got charisma aitelyu!!

The whole band has got it!

Joe Perry on the big screen!

Tyler looked as if he got sent down from above.
It was a great live concert!

Tribute to the Japanese for the 311 incident

They performed a lot of their greatest hits such as Angel, Crazy, Love in an Elevator, I Don't Want to Miss A Thing and many more!!

I didn't know some of the songs but yet that didn't stop me from bopping my arms and head along with the amazing live performance they've put on. It was incredible! The energy that channeled to the crowd made them unstoppable. 

Some of the concert goers of that day
(K, T, Gel, Moi and Big Guy)

The WHOLE group that gone for the concert that day!
Special mention to Dino and Li for the great photos!

Last but not least, found this video shared on YouTube (credit given to thelujinjbj). Here, you can see how amazingly strong Tyler's vocal is performing "Dream On" on top of a piano. Cool siut! It is definitely my favorite song from their greatest hits album. Too bad, there isn't an official music video made for this song. ):

Gonna end this post with something familiar and definitely one of everybody's favorite from their greatest hits, "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing", soundtrack of the movie 'Armageddon'.

"Every life has a measure of sorrow, and sometimes this is what awakens us."

~ Steven Tyler~

20th Anniversary Boyz II Men Japan Tour 2011 in Sapporo

Occasion: Boyz II Men awesome concert!! (Click HERE for official URL)

When: 18th November 2011

Venue: Nitori Bunka Hall 二トリ文化ホール

Address:  Sapporo Shi, Chuo-ku, Kita 1 Nishi 12

Oh yeah... you heard me right!! Just last month I got to check out Boyz II Men concert...  These lover boys actually came to Sapporo!! Woot woot!! (:

They made moi a very happy girl as they included Sapporo as one of their stops for their 20th Anniversary Japan Tour for 2011.

If you don't know who Boyz II Men are?
 Ohmaikot!! Are you for real?!!! *faint*

Pic credit to knowyourmeme.com

Surprise surprise... I used to listen and melt to their love ballads.. To be honest, I am not that familiar with each of the singers individually. I don't even know their names to start of with. I am more of a fan of their songs and their super cheesy to-the-top lyrics that we used to sing along to. Hehe :p 

Sitting through the concert as they serenaded us with their hits from all these years brought back so many good memories that took place during my younger days..

I clearly remember back in the days when me and my crazy gfs in school would belt out tunes like 'I'll Make Love to You' and 'End of the Road' and did role playing as 'guys' and girls in love.. Sigh~~ Funny and silly things we used to do in school.. LOL.. Some of us need to act out as 'guys' since I attended an all-girl school and hence the absence of the male species back in those days.. hehehe.. 

'A Song for Mama' was also aired extensively across TV channels during Mother's Day in one of the years. It was definitely the right choice of song to be served as a dedication to the special woman in our hearts. 

'On Bended Knee' reminded me as one of those favorite break up songs chose in karaoke when you need to 'sob-cry' while howling like a banshee into the microphone.. wailing lyrics like..

 "Can we go back *sob sob* to the days *sniffles* our love was stronggggggg..... *hiccup*...

Can you tell me *blow nose* how a perfect love goes wrongggggggg...."*bawling eyes out*

Yeah yeah.. #truestory but wasn't me.. just a few broken hearted friends.. *cough cough*

We even used 'One Sweet Day' as our Teacher's Day song for one of the years... hehe.. and of course we tweaked the lyrics a little so that it suits our message better.. hehehe..

"and I know you're shining down on us from up there... 
(**teachers were on the upper foyer area)

Like so many friends we gained along the way...

and I know eventually we'll be together.. On Teacher's Day..."

hahahaha... it was so farnie.. the whole school gathered at the quadrangle arena and sang it to our teachers... I'm not even sure if i remembered the distorted lyrics correctly.. but it was something along those lines.. Aaaahhhhh.. sweet memories.. (:

Anyway.. yeah.. that was some time during my junior high school years.. Boyz II Men was around my adolescent period in transition between my early teenage years and yet still around at this point of life. Looking back at their video clips on YouTube.. one can't help but laugh at how cheesy boy bands' MVs were back then.. scenes like singing in the rain.. clutching their wet shirts in sorrow and everyone wearing the same shirts but in different colors??!! hahahaha... i'm still laughing with tears in my eyes as I typed this... BUT.. I can never say that I don't love them.. I love them max!! They were freaking awesome back then and still freaking awesome now! (:

Anyway, I am gonna let the pictures do the talking of that night for me..

Yosh and I in front of the Nitori Bunka Hall

Me posing with my tix! Why? dunno and dun care! HAH!

Happy us waiting for the concert hall to be filled up
(from L-R: Yosh, Lex, Moi and Tah)

Old joke... Which one's the Boy and which one is the Man? LOL
From Right to Left: Boyz II Men
Tah and Coolguy

the 'sing-alongers' (:

the 'too- cool-to-groove-along' peeps.. Meh!

And the Boyz came out!! Woot woot!! *pheeeeeee-whitttttt*

Only the trios on stage ):

Before going for the concert, I didn't realised that they will only be 3 of them performing. Since back in the days, Boyz II Men has always been a quartet. I lost touch of their news for so long that I didn't know the fact that back in 2003, one of their members, Michael McCary left the group due to health reasons. So sad and I actually feel sorry for them. Hope he gets well soon. 

So now, there are only Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman left in the group. Nonetheless, they still sound amazing!!

Oh Yeah!! Motown Philly's back again!!

It was SOLD-OUT concert!

Still grooving like nobody's business.. hell yeah~

another crowd favorite- 4 Seasons of Loneliness

Making the ladies melt when singing 'I'll Make Love to You'

Even giving out roses to the ladies..
Sweet charmers~~

Posing with the giant poster after the show!
I think we're like the Asian version of 'Black-Eyed Peas' here and of course
me naturally being Asian-version of 'Fergie'.. hehe *no shame*

Asian 'Fergie' posing with her Grammys.. (:

Concert goers of that night!
L-R: Yosh, Lex, Moi, Tah and Coolguy

And here I'll end my post with a vain pic of me possibly being the new 4th member of the famous R & B vocal group. But then, that just means the Boyz II Men need to change their group name to something else... Fret not! I've already thought of it!! What do you guys think of the below:

• Boyz II Men and Hot Babe!
• Boyz II Woman
• PINKPheng and her Men

HAHAHahahaha... just kidding alrite.. dun bite my head off just yet!! :p

Please kindly ignore my security guard standing at the far left..
he was just protecting me from being mobbed by my fans..

    

Hahahaha... ignore my silliness.. was just being silly and random.. anyway.. I promise to write more soon once my busy period is over.. till then.. here's one of my favorites from both Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men performing 'One Sweet Day'. Enjoy!! (:

"It will color your soul, like a rainbow, and the color of love, is in you."

~Boyz II Men- The Color of Love~