Color Club D128 Nail Lacquer review

after 3 coats

It's a snowy season! I'm so thankful I don't have to see snow... at least not right now! But, I really want to create this effect for my nails to match Winter... and since tomorrow is Christmas... what better than to have a falling snow effect on your nails? I found this nail lacquer/polish at Tokyo Hands for ¥1000... it was a bit expensive, but it looked so pretty... I just couldn't resist. I am a huge fan of Gold and White... So I like Marc Jacob's Daisy's design!

comparing my nail to the demo

impressions:

• hard to include all the white and gold sparkles (but not impossible)
• three coats and I got the effect
• takes a while to dry
• need to add a top coat
• should have reminded us to use a milky undertone

This is definitely much more easy to apply compared to other sparkly products but it still requires effort, to get the effect, it took me 3 coats and I had to purposely force the white and gold sparkles to position on my nails. The nail polish took a long time to dry... (1 hour to get all 3 coats). Remember to get a top coat... you will need it or the "snow" and gold will all fall off.

I was quite impressed with the effect.

Score: 8/10
Website: http://www.colorclub.com/ (company website, product is not listed on their website... strange)

伊藤園 (ITO EN) 麦のソーダ (Mugi Soda) review

product

While strolling around Harajuku, I came across a vending machine, this Mugi Soda caught my attention, how can Wheat Tea be a soda?

Wheat tea has been one of my favourite Japanese drinks... so I was very intrigued to how it would taste. This only cost ¥100

ingredients: 

糖類（果糖ぶどう糖液糖、果糖、砂糖）、大麦、酸味料、香料

(translation: Sugars (fructose glucose syrup, fructose, sugar), barley, acidulant, flavoring)

Impressions:

• a little too sweet (compared to Wheat Tea)
• tastes like carbonated soda (can you imagine?)
• tricked my brain into thinking it was beer
• very sparkling

This... is a very interesting drink. I can't say whether I like it or hate it... at first, I thought it tasted like carbonated Chocolate... by tastebuds were confused... and then I kept thinking I was drinking beer (probably the intent of this drink). It is also very sparkling... as they added a lot of cabonated water into the drink... nonetheless very interest.

Score: 7.5/10

Website: http://www.itoen.co.jp/news/detail/id=24418 (Japanese)

Hong Kong Pizza Hut Afternoon Tea review

inside dining area

Pizza Hut has come a long day from it's pizza restaurant days in Hong Kong. What used to look like a cafeteria has been transformed into a much presentable restaurant. It would not be exaggerated to call it a cafe... A pizza Cafe.

As I walked into Pizza Hut, I was immediately surrounded by the familiar aroma of Pizza Hut's pizza

After sitting and waiting for food I realized that soft commemorate jazz was being played.

Where ever you are, you can hear the noise of workers hard at work in the kitchen... I didn't mind but when they started talking loudly outside their work area (inside the dining area), that was when I started to mind.

Afternoon Tea Set

After carefully choosing (you can find their menu on their website) I opted for their Supreme Pizza Set. There were a lot of choices... but this appealed to me the most. You can either choose a specialty drink or a soup... I chose soup. The cost of this was $65 HKD.

Supreme Mini Pizza

Supreme Pizza

Pizza was delicious. The pineapples complimented the taste very well

Olives gave it that extra push of savory

Pizza crust, very crispy on the outside, very soft and moist on the inside.

I found the crust at the bottom to be slightly oily though.

Score: 8.5/10

Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup

I love this soup. It is one of my favourite items here and I'm glad they have kept it till now! 

The soup is not thick and can be considered thin by "cream soup" standards (but this is what I like about it). Although the Chicken and Mushroom taste is not very strong, you can still taste them and there are a lot of chicken and mushroom bits inside. I really like the soup brooth/base, it leaves your mouth feeling savoury.

Score: 9.5/10

Service

The service was fair but not very efficient. I find myself making an effort to capture the staff and servers' attention. And it took them a long time to clear out finished dishes. And the noise that I mentioned at the beginning... not very happy with that.

Website: http://www.pizzahut.com.hk/en/restaurant/tea.html

Sorento Wood Oven Stove review

For my Birthday (yes... sorry... I know this has been a while) my cousin decided to take me to this Mediterranean place which cooks their food on a Wood Oven Stove.

Escargot (Appetizer)

Escargot

Impressions:

• portion is small (only 6 escargot)
• small size of escargot
• loved the cheese and sauce

I found this quite expensive... for almost $10 CND... the portion is quite small...

Taste-wise, it was good... the cheese and spinach cream sauce was delicious. The Escargot didn't seem fresh though.

Score: 6.5/10

close up of Escargot 

Sorento Specialty Pizza

Sorento Pizza

Impressions:

• hot! lots of hot peppers
• thin crispy crust 
• very filling

I liked the pizza... it was definitely much more worth than the escargots, the pizza was around $12. Be careful though, there are quite a lot of salty hot peppers, they were quite a surprise when I ate them... I didn't expect there to be too many... but regardless, it was a well made thin crust pizza. 

AND... although it looks small... it is extremely filling.

Score: 9/10

Sorento Specialty Spaghetti

Sorento Spaghetti

Impressions:

• lots of sauce
• would be much better if they used a thicker pasta (e.g. fettuccine, Linguine)
• Portion looks small but extremely filling
• lots of chicken
• loved the sauce

I was obsessed with the sauce, it was very tasty. The blend of herbs with the cream was perfect, this was a Spinach, Mediterranean herb sauce, I also appreciated the amount of sauce contained... but wished it was a thicker pasta... the Spaghetti was having a hard time holding the sauce and it was too thin making it less tasty.

Score: 8.5/10

I was quite happy with this meal, the service was not too good though, they were not very tentative and we had to make an effort to grab their attention.

website: no website

PaTaPaTa Ya (ぱたぱた家) Chicken izakaya review

the izakaya is all the way at the end of the hallway

So, after I got home and googled this place (for the sake of this review) I discovered this was a chain, there are 6 shops in total. The one I went to is located in Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, you can find the address and info at the end of this review. 

Izakayas are one of my favourite places to dine in in Tokyo because they are so unique. Food you can find in one Izakaya would possibly not be available in another... and even if it is available the taste won't be the same.

menu

I got plum liquor... because I'm in Japan :P... It was for ¥420. My friend got a Cassis and Orange Cocktail.

Plum Liquor and lotus root appetizer

For the Plum liquor, you can choose to add warm water, tea or soda water. I chose Soda water because I wanted something cold. It was good but I felt that the plum taste was not very strong. It was also not very sweet. 

Like most Izakaya, they had complementary appetizer, for our appetizer they provided a mild spicy lotus root cold salad. It was quite good.

menu of chicken wings (those are not my fingers)

Since it was an Izakaya that specilized in chicken, we decided to get chicken wings. These definitely caught our attention! The people next to us also got these... and the smell was so tempting.

5 chicken wings

We were so glad when these chicken wings came. They were slightly fried and coated in honey. Then they used sesame and black pepper to coat over the honey. The black pepper's aroma was so mesmerizing. I highly recommend this dish... though it doesn't look like a lot, we were 1/3 full when we finished the wings (these wings were split between just 2 of us).

I thought they were going to be much more saltier, but turns out they were quite sweet... I didn't mind the sweetness... because it still tasted good... however, I would suggest that they try to add raw sea salt to intensify the taste.

Chicken organs

Since we had no idea what to get... we just opted for orders with pictures and determined the tastiness of them based on pictures. We ended up ordering this.

Chicken organs actual 

I think this is perhaps one of the very few times where the actual dish looks better than the image on the menu!

This turns out to be random pieces of Chicken organs. It might look small but it was things that I was able to identify were: chicken liver and chicken gizzard.

I found the organs to be slightly overcooked, so they were slightly "harder" than your normal organs dish. The sauce was slightly sweet with a bit of hot pepper taste (the green veggies you see in this picture are hot green peppers). 

we didn't know what it was but it looked good

Just like the previous dish, we just randomly chose this dish. It looked quite appetizing... so we just went with instinct.

chicken drumstick in some black pepper sauce

I really liked the black pepper sauce, but felt that the chicken was slightly overcooked... the skin was was falling off the meat and the meat was separated from the bone. It was delicious and quite salty.

The service was quite good... we met a girl from China who was very friendly. We also got to chat with her (mixture of Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese).

Our meal cost a total of ¥3060. We were FULL by the end. It is quite a reasonable price and I think I will be visiting again... when I'm around the area.

Score: 8/10

Website: http://www.g-taste.co.jp/patapataya/

Specific branch page: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g025031/

Address: 東京都港区芝5-34-6新田町ビル1F

ＪＲ田町駅 西口/地下鉄三田駅
A4出口 徒歩1分

Tel: 03-5730-3001

(Address Translation: Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 5-34-6 Nitta cho Building 1F

JR Tamachi Station West Exit / Mita Subway Station

A4 exit 1-minute walk)

デニーズ Denny's Japan review

how it looks (Gotanda)

I knew this place existed for quite a while but never had to chance to go. Like Denny's in America, this is opened 24 hours.

just right up the flight of stairs!

Good to have SOME exercise before eating :P...

lots of things on the table

Unlike American Danny's, Japan Danny's has different things on their tables:

• a bell (to ask for service)
• utensils (handed to you when they give you water) utensils include a fork, a spoon, a dull knife and chopsticks
• sugar (for coffee)
• coffee whitener
• toothpicks
• dessert pamphlet
• Danny's app download info sheet

menu... I opted for the Set which included a salad and bread/butter

It took me way too long to choose (the menu is also very different from the American menu), there were less items, and most were steaks/pasta sets. There were also options to choose drinks and salad sets. It took me a while to understand it (I'm slow... I guess ;P). Each set also gave a recommendation as what you should order with the "main". So after some careful consideration, I ordered the Porcini Mushroom Cream Hamburg Steak with salad set. I didn't order a drink as all they had were mainly coffees (coffees + dinner are a bad combo for me... they result in serious insomnia >___<).

 生ハムサラダ Raw Ham Salad

The first thing that arrived was the Raw Ham Salad. It looked like it was full size too!

impressions:

• the raw ham tasted like Parma Ham 
• loved the sauce (no vinegar at all!)
• needs more sauce
• veggies were fresh

I was obsessed with the sauce, it was so good!! It has been a while since I have had other salad sauces (other than Caesar and Ranch) that I could appreciate... and THIS was definitely the first. It was hard to pinpoint what the sauce was, but one thing was evident... there is no vinegar. According to the website, the main ingredients for the sauce was Olive Oil (I beg to differ... they must have used special olive oil). The salad was also topped in Parmigiano Reggiano making the salad very delicious.  The veggies (which included: carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage, sprouts, radish) were all very fresh and nicely prepared. Overall, I really liked this salad A LOT! I highly recommend it.

Score: 10/10

you can go to its website for more info: http://www.dennys.jp/menu/salad/rawhum-salad/

ポルチーニ香る きのこクリームハンバーグ

The translation should be something like: Porcini mushroom cream with Hamburg Steak. This is the first Hamburg steak I have ever had... so my impressions on it might be slightly biased. I found this Hamburg steak to be too soft... (not sure if they are all like that)

Impressions:

• love the mushroom sauce!
• too little sauce
• sauce was too oily (way too oily)
• veggies were fair... nothing special...
• spinach was too oily
• hamburg steak was too soft

I loved and hated the sauce. The flavour was beautiful, it consisted of lots mushrooms and cheeses to make it so tasty... BUT... I found that the sauce was drenched in oil (you can see in the picture how the borders of the brown sauce is surrounded by oil). 

The crispy Potato thins (resembling potato chips) added a nice texture and flavours making the too tender hamburg steak much more appealing. 

Score: 7/10

More info: http://www.dennys.jp/menu/autumnmenu/porcini/

bread and butter

This was definitely a surprise... I wasn't looking forward to it... since it was just... bread and butter. First though... I almost burnt my fingers trying to rip the bread in half (but I don't mind) because (you will see in my impressions).

impressions:

• very hot! be very careful
• very soft
• very delicious
• very soft

Honestly, have you ever seen me write so many "very"s in my impressions? probably not... I loved this bread... it is definitely one of the best breads I have ever had. The bread was rich in bread (taste)... It was served very hot... I just loved it! It's one of those breads you will be craving...

Score: 10/10

set bill

The service was great... although they didn't "serve" you, they were very courteous... every time they are leaving, they will give you a small bow (I think that is exception service... even in Japan standards). Unlike most diners and restaurants they hardly walked pass you... instead you always  have to ring a bell (by pressing a button) to get their attention.

Score: 8.5/10
Website: http://www.dennys.jp/

Hagiso Cafe review

Happy December!! I can't believe this year flew by just like that... it honestly feels like August... or something like that... how did we end up in December already?? (for those who are wondering... I went to this place all the way back in March... yeah... it took me THIS long to write the review... >___<) 

.

.

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We were so fortunate it was such a lovely day when we decided to eat at this place. It was actually recommended by a friend of a friend of mine's. 

One word of caution, since the only place you can smoke in this cafe is in the patio area (called terrace, in Japan), if you plan to eat at their patio, be prepared to be interrupted by people who want to smoke beside you. The smoking area is right at the Patio/Terrace area... -______-.

We both ordered the same food... It was a fried mackerel sandwich. It came with drinks and a grapefruit sorbet slush dessert (I forgot to take a picture of the dessert). Our meals costed a total of ¥2600.

The mackerel sandwich tastes really good... I was trying to figure out how they got the mackerel piece to stay like that... And my friend's mackerel kept falling out xD 

The mackerel and the bread were both crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Score: 8/10

restaurant hours: 

12:00 - 21:00
定休日：月曜日（祝日の場合火曜）
※イベントによって臨時休業あり
Our holiday is Monday
(If a Monday is a national holiday, then the next day)

Address: Nippori station 3 Chome-10-25 Yanaka, Taito, Tokyo, Japan

Contact number: +81 3-5832-9808

Website: http://hagiso.jp/

Essential CC Oil (for hair) review

actual product

My new hair cut has enabled me to constantly blow dry my hair, it just somehow ends up looking hideous if I don't, as a result, (you guessed it) my hair is terribly damaged. Split ends and dry ends (are they the same thing?) have developed and my hair looks dead.

While shopping at Watsons the other day, I saw a display promoting this hair oil from Essential, I was contemplating on getting it, I looked over and L'oreal (or some American brand) was selling their hair oil (in larger amounts) for $165 HKD... and while Essential's was only $65 HKD, so... you guessed it... I got this!...

product with Chinese translation

What it claims:

Non-greasy and invisibly light, the Essential CC Oil coats each strand of hair with a cuticle coat protection to fight the 5 most common forms of hair stresses. The cuticle coat protection leaves hair smooth and tangle-free all day!

• Unprotected hair is prone to friction damage caused by daily external stress factors 
• Essential CC Oil protects hair from the 5 hair stresses 
• Light, non-greasy oil is instantly absorbed by hair 
• Leaves hair smooth & manageable all day

more info

If you can't read Chinese or Japanese the 5 hair stresses include: 

tangling, broken pieces of hair, dried hair, split ends and static

I love Essential products, I have been using their Shampoo for a few months now and their hair mask for a few years... and so far, their products have not disappointed me. I had high hopes for this oil... but I knew that just like their hair mask, this oil won't produce immediate noticeable results.

actual product lasts about a month

impressions:

• a soft fruity scent
• very oily
• my hair absorbed every bit of it
• do not over use
• a little goes a long way 
• does what it says BUT not get rid of tangles
• after using it for 2 weeks, I noticed my hair to be more shinier and stronger

container was made out of strong plastic

How to use:

After you have washed your hair, let it be half dry (usually dry enough, after you towel dry your hair), then you apply the oil.

For long hair, they recommended 5 pumps. I tried that the first time but I did not feel that my whole head was properly coated so after trial and error, for my long hair, I do 3 pumps on each side. I would put 3 pumps onto one hand and smooth it out with my other hand than apply the oil to my hair. Concentrate on "greasing" your roots and for the leftovers gently massage to your scalp and roots.

this is all I needed for my long hair (5 pumps)

Score: 9/10

Website: no website

please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

KOSE Sekkisui Skin Care Set (trial) review

Sekkisui Skin Care Set

Hey everyone!!

I'm in Tokyo!! Konnichiwa!! :D

I'm in the land of great cosmetics and skincare products so the next thing I will review will be, of course, a skin care product!

I have heard of this brand so many times, I have seen them on tv ads, subway ads but I find that it is quite hard to buy... Most drug stores and department stores do not carry this brand... They either carry brands that are much cheaper/affordable (e.g. Naive, HadaLabo) or much more high end (e.g. Shiseido, SK-II).

info all in Japanese

To my surprise, I found this set at a 7-eleven right beside my house! It's a mystery how you can find almost anything you want at 7-eleven.

products and their consistency

random thoughts on these three products:

White Washing Cream

thick, but not as thick as other foam washes... compared to other foam washes, it is considered very watery, easy to foam up, cleans face well... but does not have that squeaky clean feeling.

Pure Whitening Lotion

very watery and barely visible (can you even see the product in the image?), it looks like water with a drop of milk, it is easily absorbed, it feels almost like water... ALMOST... I noticed there's a slight alcohol smell to it when I first apply this to my face (don't overuse!)... I didn't really like this because it did dry out my skin during the second week of using it.

in Asia countries, they call their toners lotions (quite confusing... huh?)

Pure Emulsion

this acts like a moisturizer (for those who are not familiar with Asian skin care products)
the consistency is similar to the Lotion (above) but it is thicker and stickier.
this is fully absorbed into the skin, my skin drinks this up like it is milk... literally :P (Don't overuse!)

impressions:

• my skin loves this set
• results are visible after 3 days of using this product
• my skin feels so soft and smooth (sometimes I can't help but touch it and touch it... *awkward)
• a little goes a long way (they claim you can use it for 15 times (1 week), I managed to use it for 30 times (almost 2 weeks))
• don't use too much product, not only will it not get absorbed, it will also give you pimples/acne
• I didn't like the "PURE WHITENING LOTION" it wasn't doing any good to my skin... 
• for short term use... it somehow starts drying out your skin slightly after 3 weeks (of using)

So now my next question is... after I have finished this trial... where do I find the full sized product? I went on their website, but they did not have these exact products... they were all a variation of it but not these exact ones...

However, that being said, please use this set with caution... after using this set for 3 weeks... I noticed that certain areas of my skin were getting dry... I'm not sure if it was a climate or other factors... but I suggest not using this product consecutively... one kit is good for once... when it's done... let your skin use other products before going back to this kit again.

Score: 7/10
Website: http://www.kose.co.jp/jp/ja/product/brand/38

also... if you are interested, please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

a quick note and heads up

flight

Hey my sweetie dear readers,

so, if you have been following my personal blog, you will know that I have been and will continue to spend time in Tokyo... I just need to get away from certain things occurring (ok... this sounds bad... I am not running away! I'm not! lol)... so I am spending some time and finding stuff to review...

As some reviews are harder to write than others... (as I have to do research and such) the upcoming posting will be weird... as I will be combining my Hong Kong reviews with my Tokyo ones (there will also be some Toronto as well)...

anywayz...

xoxo
Steph

Glico Avocadooza (ゲリコ アボカドーザ) review

Avocadooza (¥195 JPY)

As some of you are aware, I was in Japan! I am in Japan as I write this review but will probably have left Tokyo by the time this post gets published... Anyways, hi from Tokyo! :D (but in this case... back in Tokyo :P)

One of my first stops was none other than the convenient 7-11!

I am surprised, I though Hong Kong 7- elevens were superior... Then I find myself in a japanese one and am amazed!

Unlike the 7-eleven's in Hong Kong, there are a lot more foods and snacks available... you can get all kinds of food there... anything from snacks like chips/candy to meals like bento, udon... etc. The prices are also very reasonable.

¥195 JPY (taxes included)

ゲリコ アボカドーザ

info... in Japanese

As an Avocado addict, I couldn't resist buying these when I came across them while walking down one of their snack aisles.

Translation of this image will be posted here... as soon as I can find someone to translate it... or I learn enough Japanese to... whichever occurs first! ;)

inside of container

Impressions:

• Coated in a light wasabi sauce
• Similar to cheesy crackers but in avocado taste
• Very rich flavour
• Crunchy
• quite filling

piece of Avocadooza

So, I love this stuff!! One of the best finds/snacks I have had in Tokyo! I highly recommend you to find it as it tastes really good... I love how crispy it is and the Wasabi coating really made it so tasty! I love how it slightly melts in your mouth letting you indulge the rich taste fully.

These are quite filling... I get full (from snacking) after 5 pieces!

I noticed that most convenient stores do not have this... so far, I have found it at a 7-Eleven in Shinagawa and the Tokyu Grocery store in Gotanda... not sure which other places carry it.

Score: 10/10 (these are really good!)
Website: https://www.glico.com/jp/product/snack/cheeza2

Japan McDonald' s (エッグチーズバーガー) Egg Cheese Burger review

Egg Burger and Iced Lemon Tea

For those living in Japan, like me, you will notice how heavily advertised this ¥200 エッグチーズバーガー(Egg Cheese Burger) was being promoted. I see its ads on subways, subway station, TV CMs, etc. I gave into the advertisement and decided to try it. At first, because of my poor Japanese skills, I thought it was just an ordinary Egg Cheese Sausage McMuffin in burger form... oh how wrong I was.  Instead, it is simply a hamburger (including the ketchup and pickles) with a melted slice of cheese and egg.

Egg Cheese Burger

impressions:

• this is hot! (temperature-wise)
• lots of ketchup... too much ketchup
• none other than a hamburger
• cheese taste is hardly noticeable
• egg is "too" well cooked

close up

Like most Japanese places... no... like ALL food places in Tokyo, the burger was served HOT... I nearly burned my fingers when I first picked it up. I need to start getting use to food being served here.

That aside. I honestly didn't find anything very special with this Egg Cheese Burger. I could hardly taste the Cheese. Egg didn't enhance the taste of this burger (besides added nutrition value). It was a well made burger, but I don't see (besides the added nutrition value) why I would need to spend an extra ¥100 to add an egg into the burger.

Suggestion! If their egg portion was less "well cooked"and a bit runny, the taste might be a lot better. Or maybe they can replace the ketchup with an egg mayonnaise, it would make more sense to be added. (just adding my two cents!)

Score: 8.5/10
Website: http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/otegoro/index.html (Japanese)

吉列豚肉專門店銀座梅林 Ginza Bairin @ K11 review

logo

First, I would like to apologize in advance. The restaurant had dim lighting so it was hard to take better quality pictures. >___<

different dressings

I got to try each of the dressings. The Sesame dressing was great with the salad. The Wasabi dressing and Tonkotsu Dressing were great for the Tonkotsu.

chopsticks and wet napkins.. I like their calligraphy font and colour

sashimi

Sashimi

Oooh, this was definitely one of the best sashimi I had in Hong Kong... Although I couldn't exactly tell the fish apart... how shameful of me.

This was their biggest Sashimi dish... I think they want to focus on their Tonkatsu instead of Sashimi. But if you are getting a Tonkatsu dinner (which you should!) this plate of Sashimi is more than enough (we shared it among 3 people)

Tonkotsu set

Tonkotsu!

Even with the bad lighting and blurry picture quality, you can see just how crispy these were.

Impressions

• Super crispy on the outside
• Tender on the inside
• Not oily 
• pork was so tasty

There is a reason why people like Black Pork (?) the most... I have never tasted such great tasting pork... not only was the flavour but there was just the right amount of fat to make it so tender, and it was perfectly moist making it super juicy!

The Tonkotsu was so crispy on the outside and the inside was so tender... although it didn't exactly "melt" in your mouth, it was very juicy. The right amount of fat made it perfect, not oily at all.

another view

The set included miso soup, rice and salad. The Sesame sauce (found on the table) was perfect for this salad (the other sauces didn't work so well... though they did produce an interesting taste).

one of the best Plum wines I have ever had

Plum Wine
They made their own Plum Wine, so unless you visit this place, you can't try it. I loved it... the plum taste was just right! This was the best tasting plum wine I have ever had... I see myself going on a journey to look for good tasting plum wine now :D

Score: 9/10
official website: http://www.ginzabairin.com/en/index.php
Hong Kong website: http://www.ginzabairin.com.hk/