[Tokyo: Shinjuku] Menya Musashi, best Tsukemen in Shinjuku

Posted on by Jamie Liew

Tokyo is known for its variety of different ramens which embarrassingly, I’ve yet to try many. among the ones that I would love to try are the ice cream ramen, the Michelin one star ramen and the blue soup ramen. but other than ramen, I have a love for something else which is difficult to find outside of Japan. and that’s something called the Tsukemen. Tsukemen are noodles that are normally thick like udon but with a ramen texture, and is served separately with the soup so every bite will seem like the first bite. no more soggy ramen! (I guess because I eat pretty slowly too hahahaha. you’re really supposed to finish your ramen under 10 minutes until the taste changes.)

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so I was touring a friend around and he wanted to eat ramen. so I searched a little and stumbled across this place called Menya Musashi, which is apparently the best ramen shop in Shinjuku. Continue reading “[Tokyo: Shinjuku] Menya Musashi, best Tsukemen in Shinjuku” →

[Tokyo: Kichijoji] Autumn in Japan

Posted on by Jamie Liew

so apparently, Kichijoji is one of the best places to live in Tokyo. according to many of my Japanese friends at least! and I also heard that many celebrities live here! hence, although this is not down-town Tokyo, the rent here’s crazy I heard. well, I can kind of see how this place is so popular since.. it has a lot of good food, a lot of hipster cafe’s/shops, and a huge, beautiful park; Inokashira park.

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where you’d see many people jogging or strolling around. and the best of all? it looks absolutely beautiful during Autumn. hence there are loads of (old) people taking pictures of birds, autumn leaves and even animals since there’s a zoo there! I heard the zoo’s just meh. =X. and I think there’s a shrine at the back of the lake too! Continue reading “[Tokyo: Kichijoji] Autumn in Japan” →

[Shingawa: Fuji] Fuji Q Highlands

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I don’t know if it’s me but I’ve never heard of Fuji Q until friends here told me about it. at first I thought it’s just another small theme park found in every state but.. to my surprise it is a super famous theme park near Fuji Mountain (which means it’s near Tokyo) which is built literally mainly for adults and a fun fact? this theme park holds a few world records for having the fastest, tallest and even a roller coaster with the most spins!

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the weather plays a big role so be sure to pick a less windy day with absolutely no rain. because even when I went, some games were closed for a few hours due to strong wind despite the day being so clear! Continue reading “[Shingawa: Fuji] Fuji Q Highlands” →

Halloween and my awesome dorm, ISDAK.

Posted on by Jamie Liew

one thing I really love about my exchange here in Japan is actually the dorm. and why you ask? well.. fortunately I was placed in this dorm called the ISDAK. it’s basically like.. a “club” where you need to pay a membership fee. which is totally worth it because they have a lot of cool and fun events from time to time. so far I’ve been here for a month and there are 3 welcome parties, 1 Halloween party and a lot of private floor parties. again, I’ve only been here for ONE MONTH. maybe it’s common in Europe or USA but it is definitely not it in South Korea where we have to RENT a whole apartment/hall just for MT and probably a lot of drinking in bars.

okay so first let me talk about the Halloween party which happened.. yesterday.

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I dressed as a mummy, if you can’t tell. not a post-plastic surgery patient. I’d need a super swollen face for that xD.

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everyone dressed up so well! Continue reading “Halloween and my awesome dorm, ISDAK.” →

1st week of Uni in Hitotsubashi.

Posted on by Jamie Liew

notice: this post is only useful to foreign students who wish to go for an exchange in Japan. but if you’re bored you may read it to learn a little about the living expenses and MY EXPERIENCES! ^^.

okay, I have been.. quite 정신없어 (so hectic that I can’t concentrate..?) for the past one week because the first week of Uni’s just.. super tiring. more so for students traveling from Europe, Scandinavia or America because of the time difference. despite the jet lag, they had to wake up early in the morning AFTER dragging their heavy suitcases to the University that’s located pretty far away from the heart of Tokyo. but it’s still INSIDE Tokyo. never knew Tokyo was this huge T_T. Continue reading “1st week of Uni in Hitotsubashi.” →

[HK: Tai O] SEEING PINK DOLPHINS!

Posted on by Jamie Liew

SO! I was supposed to go “touch cockles” which means to collect cockles at the beach but the weather was crazy so at a last minute change of plan, we went to Tai O which is at Ngong Ping, where the big Buddha is! except you need a LONG bus ride to Tai O. one way costs around 20HKD but it is cheaper on the weekdays. haha.

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so the thing is, I wasn’t really there for there Pink Dolphin because according to the internet it costs over 400HKD but HERE, it costs only 25HKD (got mine for only 20HKD though!!). probably because it’s a small boat and they don’t stop for a long time to watch the dolphins but trust me, it’s long enough. Continue reading “[HK: Tai O] SEEING PINK DOLPHINS!” →

[Seoul: Noksapyeong] Kkaolli pochana

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I am pretty hipster myself and that is why I love the alleys of Noksapyeong because it makes me feel super very hipster. for those who is bored of eating Korean food every single day, there’s this place called Kkaolli Pochana where they serve Thai food in a very laid back Thai-looking environment.

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very Thai! I’ve actually wanted to try this place for a LONGGGG time but because the queue was always more than an hour long, I decided not to. but one day, I couldn’t stand it anymore and I queued up for it! but it only took me 30minutes! Continue reading “[Seoul: Noksapyeong] Kkaolli pochana” →

[Seoul: Hongdae] my favourite cake shop! Peony!

Posted on by Jamie Liew

OKAY. so there are a lot of nice places in Seoul but good cakes? well.. I’ve not had many good cakes in Seoul that doesn’t cost a bomb. I’m not saying that the cakes from Peony is very cheap but.. it’s average and yet it tastes sooooo heavenly! I love their cakes so much I queued for an hour to get their cake for my birthday last year. yes, their whole cakes requires queuing.

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SO! the bakery is named Peony. lovely name isn’t it? it moved from the old location to this new location still in Hongdae. near Hongik University! Continue reading “[Seoul: Hongdae] my favourite cake shop! Peony!” →