Petrol cost less in Japan

To my pleasant surprise, I discovered (when I pumped petrol for my car) that the price is cheaper than in SG. Esso regular grade is S$1.67 per litre compared to $2 in SG. I filled my car with 33 liters of petrol and paid about $54.78c. In SG, the same amount of petrol would have cost $66 which is $11.22c more.

This fish head with some meat weighs about 700 gm and went for about S$3.50c. It is fresh and the body is used for sashimi.It is good for curry or miso cooking.

Eating beef rendang in Japan

Fancy having beef rendang in Japan? Yup, my wife cooked it this morning for our lunch. The beef was too lean. I prefer the beef with tendon then it would have been perfect. Nevertheless, the rendang tasted authentic. Kudos to my wife!

Getting cooler in Fukuoka, flowers blooming

After all the floods, landslides and heatwave, Southern Japan is now experiencing a much cooler summer. Today's highest temperature is 30c . This is the type of summer I am looking forward to.

With some rainfall last few days, the flowers are blooming again. These flowers are not human cultivated, I think. They are growing along the roadside.

Cooking fish head curry & eating pineapple tarts

Not satisfied with the quality of fish we had yesterday, today we bought really fresh fish head and cooked it in Indian curry.
The whole fish head with some extra meat cost only S$3. It's very cheap over here. Not many Japanese like fish head and that's why it is cheap.
Had pineapple tarts we brought from SG and ate it for dessert.

Cooking Indian fish curry in Japan

The topmost picture was our brunch. We had chicken liver, bamboo shoot, fried eggs, salad, miso soup and rice.The pot of fish curry was cooked by my wife. We brought the spices and seasonings and coconut milk from Singapore. The curry tasted superb although the taste of the fillet fish was flat.

In fact, this is our first time having Indian curry here. I don't quite like the Japanese curry as it is sweet.

Food are cheaper in Japan than in SG

Grocery shopping is a joy because most of the stuff are cheaper than in SG. Take for example the yogurt of 400 gm cost only 99 Yen or S$1.20c. It's cheap because the Japanese make their own and do not have to import it. But then the imported bananas are also sold cheaply here. 4 pieces cost S$1.25c. In SG these bananas cost $1.60 to $2 at NTUC FairPrice. There are other food stuffs that are also sold cheaply like beef, pork, chicken etc.

Hot dry summer, smaller tomatoes

The weather is very hot and dry that the cherry tomatoes are stunned in size. There is a heat wave going on with temperature soaring to over 40c in the Tokyo area. Over here, the average top temperature is 33c which is about the same as in SG.

Eating cup noodles

Frozen satay from FairPrice

Out of curiosity, we bought the frozen satay (20 sticks @ $6+) from FairPrice. We grilled the satay and had it for dinner. The meat (beef) was not as tender as expected but the peanut sauce was authentic. Overall, the satay was quite good considering the price we paid for.

Schick razor blade

The above Schick razor blade shaver (Hydro 3 or 5) is my favourite. It is extremely efficient and long lasting. I bought the shaver and it came with one blade 2 years ago (S$15) and I've replaced the blades only a few times. The above has 4 blades and each blade could last about 3 months even when I used it daily. The 4 blades are the refills and cost me about $16. Try it and you'll throw your razor blade or battery/electrical operated ones away.

Helping people ace the interviews

I did coaching work for a cabin crew wannabe yesterday for 3 hours. She is going for SIA cabin crew interview after getting her diploma in 2 years time. She is preparing early and want the best coach to help her ace the interview. This Friday, I will be coaching a young man who is interested to be a flight steward with SIA. He had previously failed a few times at the interview. I will do my best to help these young people who aspire to fly with SIA. Just for info, I was an executive, interviewer, trainer etc with SIA for 35 years before my retirement. 

Oden and Niku Jaga lunch

My wife cooked Oden and Nikujaga for our lunch. They are indeed tasty and we do not seem to get enough of Japanese food.

Sort of miss this Pontian Wanton Mee in Japan and so straightaway ordered a bowl when I saw it at Seletar Mall. Tasted better than usual and won't hesitate to eat another one when I next visit the stall.

Transistor radio versus phone

Nowadays,not many people listen to music, news etc via the good old transistor radio. As for me, I still listen to the news via the transistor. Occasionally when I am outside, I will listen to the news via my mobile phone (pic below). I find that the frequency on the phone is not as stable as the transistor. Therefore, as a matter of choice, I prefer using the transistor.

Nasi Padang & D24 Durian McFlurry in SG

This nasi padang is quite good. We had it for lunch at Serangoon Garden Way. All in all the bill came up to $15 for the two of us. We miss this type of spicy food in Japan.

If you are a durian lover I suggest you try the newly introduced Durian McFlurry at Mcdonald's. It is authentic just like the D24 and you will get addicted to it.
Costing only $3 (u.p. $4), I think one should give it a try.

Dinner with friends

I had dinner with my friends at Din Tai Fung last night. We were there from 6pm till 9.30pm eating and chatting. I did not take any pictures as I did feel it's impolite to do so. Anyway, the food was quite good especially the fried rice and beef noodle soup.