Okonomiyaki !! Why did I not find out about this earlier?

Okonomiyaki and Yamaimoyaki... If you are wondering what it is, you are probably like me a few days ago, living a mundane life, not knowing what's life after Okonomiyaki.

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き o-konomi-yaki?) is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" (cf. yakitori and yakisoba). Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the country. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region. Tokyo okonomiyaki is usually smaller than a Hiroshima or Kansai okonomiyaki.

Well, wondering what it tastes like?

Imagine Takoyaki, those balls that come 4 or 6 in a box with octopus inside.

Okonomiyaki taste very much like Takoyaki, but the fact that they can add more things, such as pork belly, and simply anything you like add the right amount of sauce while it is cooking in front of you, gives it a very much more interesting feel.

The restaurant is a Teppanyaki restaurant, and I simply love it and Yamaimoyaki, which tastes similar. The batter of Yamaimo-Yaki has no flour. Only Japanese yam.

Life is much better knowing that Okonomiyaki exists!

-- Robin Low

Food and Electronics Bazzar 2012 Review

The Food and Electronics Bazzar 2012 runs from 13 July - 15 July 2012 at Hall 5 Singapore Expo. (11am to 9pm)

I was at this Expo today on 14 July, and it was drizzling all day, and at times, the rain got heavy and I was surprised that Singapore Expo flooded on the outside. Luckily, the flood waters did not get into the halls.

Singapore Expo seems pretty disappointing. The toilets were not maintained, and the floor was wet and disgusting. The toilets also ran out of soap which makes me not want to eat there.

But most importantly, I went there for the Electronics expo. Like most bargains in Singapore, there are large crowds of people, all wanting to save a buck or two. A few things were apparent, there are many stupid people.

Audio House is having a BIG sale, and not all the door busters are sold out. In fact there are hourly sales which randomly sells things like Large Smart LCD TVs at good prices and giving away free WiFi and Tablets.

I've compared some prices of the items and there are indeed some good deals. Not all the items are "old stock" and in fact, there are some very new models of Samsung and Panasonic TV at deep discounts.

I bought a Blue Ray Player for S$179 (with RMVB playback on USB) full 1080p HDMI.

I also got a few Sandisk USB Thumb Drives 32 GB at S$29.80 and 16GB at S$13.80. There are Samsung 500GB Portable USB 2.0/3.0 Drives for S$99 which is an ok deal (Which I can find at Carrefour)

I am tempted to get a 46" Panasonic LED Smart TV for S$1,099 with 4 HDMI inputs and 2 USB ports and Built in WiFi and SD Card Readers and Flash Player to watch YouTube.

On the Electronics side, the Audio House booths are pretty ok, you can pay by Visa, Nets or Cash, and queue is not long, but for many other booths, only cash payment is allowed.

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Food Expo. Wow, how do I even begin. I've bought an ice cream which taste pretty good, but otherwise, there are so many Sharks' Fin Soup stalls, I think 30% of the stores sell Sharks' Fin.

With all the call for banning Sharks' Fin, I guess only the rich people who do not need to buy things at a bargain and eat organic stuff really cares about the cause. Many people bought the 2 for $5.90 Sharks' Fin.

The other food is relatively cheap, but not appetizing, and since the toilets are dirty, I did not try the food as I can't afford to be sick.

Its an interesting show, and pretty good for bargain hunting. Not too crowded because of rain (and floods)

-- Robin Low

Luminance 2012

Luminance is Singapore's First Youth Light Art Festival.

Held at Scape, Luminance features several interesting installations and performances. Many sponsors were also involved, and this year's theme was sustainability, and many of the works clearly displayed it.

Although some of the art works were not as good, they were still made by youths that may lack experience and confidence, and hopefully with more budget, the event would be back and better next year.

Following are some photos and videos of the event.

Hope it would be back, and better next year!

-- Robin Low