There's going to be a Car Audio Carnival this weekend!

Influenced by my dad since a little girl, he and I are particularly disturbed whenever the music playing in his car wasn't tuned to perfection. Back then, we would blast mandarin 'bong cha cha' as well as popular Hokkien classics, grooving and singing along at the top of our voices as we roam.

He invested pretty much on speakers, woofers & the CD player itself: the pretty colours, the 'booms' & 'bangs' which he termed as 'shiok' & 'high level life enjoyment'. I'm not the expert though. I wish I know all the terms & equipments but he didn't tell me much except to appreciate the awesome music & pretty lights while we're on the road.

He knew I love dolphins, and once he bought a CD player with a screen which had dolphins swimming in the open sea(equalizer display), bobbing up & down according to the beats of his favourite songs.

When it comes to car audio, don't assume it's just about the music & beats. It's about aesthetic makeovers too!

For those who never knew about car audios, you won't know what I'm talking about until you feel the sound waves literally punching you in your face. Experience that kind of thrill and SHIOKNESS yourself.

Wanna know more about car audios?

On 24 July, 9am-8pm, join 9tro Magazine at SCAPE Orchard for the booming IASCA-SASCA Car Audio Carnival 2011 Sound Off Competition!

Expect to see:

Mean Machines on displays(I'm referring to pretty cars)

Race Queens

Attractive Prizes to be won!

Me. (LOLx)

Go on down and start clubbing people!

Follow 9tro on twitter today for latest automotive news & trends.

From Japan for the 1st time; Drum TAO

Hosted by Establish Events, the performance group, Drum TAO, will be in town all the way from Japan! Established in 1993, Drum Tao will finally be showcasing their internationally applauded performance in Singapore for the very first time!

You're expecting a two-hour extravaganza which features 14-strong highly disciplined crew of Japanese Taiko drummers, who spend eight months of the year touring the world, giving it their all in the 500 shows they perform a year.

After playing to audiences of more than 4 million, in 400 cities in 17 countries that include

Switzerland, Denmark, Israel, USA, Australia, Spain, Belgium, UK and Germany, critically acclaimed Drum Tao, will explode onto the Singapore stage with its eclectic mix of dance and martial arts as the dynamic and innovative Japanese performers beat their Wadaiko Drums.

You heard it, Not only are they going to beat on traditional japanese drums known as Wadaiko Drums, they are also going to dance & do martial arts, with momentum & team spirit!

photo: Each Wadaiko Drum used in the performance weighs a massive 400kg with a 1.7metre

circumference.

The performers will then switch to creating complex rhythms on smaller drums, complemented

by the delicacy of bamboo flutes and a horizontal harp.

While their skilful drumming is exhilarating, Drum Tao also leap around the stage performing

intricate choreography with their split-second timing, dressed in flowing red and black robes.

The end result is mind-blowing martial arts married with mesmerising music, coupled with

the musicians’ physical fitness, dynamism and extraordinary synchronicity, make them

human rarities.

If you want to experience the combination of:

World-renowned Japan martial arts

Ancient traditions of the Taiko Drumming

Japanese drum’s intense and powerful beat

innovative and flawlessly dance choreography

This is the showcase you definitely won't want to miss!

Found this on Youtube which make my jaws drop.

They are awesome!

Drum Tao’s Art of Drum 2011

========================

Date: September 1st -3rd

Venue: Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre.

Visit www.drum-tao.com, or for bookings sistic.com.sg.

Price: $68-$128

*Photo courtesy of Establish Events.

5 Historical Figures Who Died The Weirdest Death

I'm brainstorming for what to wear to Singapore Blog Awards 2011.

Dresscode: Historical Characters

I chanced upon this really interesting website about 5 historical figures who died the weirdest way: http://www.cracked.com/article_16133_the-5-historical-figures-who-died-weirdest-deaths.html.

This cracked me up, seriously!

1. President Félix Faure: Sexed to Death. He died of a fatal stroke right in the middle of orgasm.
2. Chrysippus: Died while playing with his donkey. Apparently he started laughing so hard he keeled over and died. (wtf?!)
3. Arius: Shat out his internal organs. (Tragic)
4. Herod the Great, who was a king of Judaea, had a dickrot, and died from it.
5. Aeschylus, someone widely regarded to be the founder of Greek tragedy. He died due to bludgeoning. With a turtle.

Absurd; yet amusing at the same time!

I didn't know history subject can be so, intriguing. Found myself googling & reading non-stop from website to website. Maybe I should head down to the library tomorrow to borrow some books too!

Striking a balance in the blogosphere.

I feel very strongly about this.

Having lunch with Phobe & Winnie from RE&S Entreprise is always so enjoyable for me. These two ladies are so real, so genuine. It was never anything like PR, never anything like a stressful blogger event nor obligations. We'll gossip about everything over lunch, share knowledge, talk about the food, our pets, our family....

It has become something very personal to me. I really like it, and I can't wait to blog about it and share my awesome experience with you.

Blogging has always been enjoyable for me. Blogging is SOMETIMES enjoyable for me now.

You notice a massive change overnight in the blogosphere.

Just last year, blogging is something where you like it, you blog, you don't like it, don't. If it is really something which you don't like, and you know everyone else won't, you say the truth.

This lunch at Kuishin-bo woke me up, making me realize that this kind of personal touch to blogging will be soon be, in fact it already is, walking done the memory lane.

Invitation Emails I receive now are mostly inviting me to TAKE PART in blog contests. No doubt the prizes are getting bigger & better, but the content of the email itself is draining me out just by reading them. In exchange for these prizes, there are strict criteria for my posts, media mentions, garnering for facebook votes, long hours of participation... Not only am I obliged to write, there are specifically things I CAN and CANNOT write about.

I'd love to write for you. But what about my job & family?

Then, there are those who are not even inviting me to anywhere. It comes with an attachment, a press release, 'inviting' me to share their product information with readers.

How convenient.

My blog is not just a space for you to throw in information like that for people to read. Friends do not come to my blog to read these. They are here to read information of the newest products, latest movies, fun places to be with THAT personal touch; THAT real experience.

My question is, how can I help you if I don't even know how awesome your product/activity is?

These invitations are no longer sincere where they see you as a credible blogger, capable of giving the most genuine reviews. Moreover, 99% of these companies are not paying anything. In fact, I strongly think that this is a really sad fact. Don't they think they should put in more confidence in their products?

And a sadder fact is, new bloggers who've just joined the blogosphere are extremely willing to write about them for coverage. First of all, they think that this is how things work. Then it's the fact that they need to start somewhere, they have to.

But bloggers are NOT free labours.

Companies who want bloggers to help them publicise their products, but how many of them out there really know the way to do it? And how many are really sincere in our genuine reviews rather than to rah-rah how good their products are even when it's sometimes, not really true?

I derive with a conclusion:

I am an 'in-between'. STUCK.

I am not as famous as some bloggers who can reach up to 4000 readers a day(that's only like about my 1 month readership). Sidenote: Though there are some out there who thinks that 100 readers per day = famous blog (like wtf).

I am NOT famous. Yet I am thankful I have made many friends who visits my blog at times to check out what activities I'm doing in life. (HELLO TO YOU READING THIS NOW! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU AND REALLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!).

I had not blogged long enough with hundreds of supporters who come just to read my blog everyday(maybe not enough bitching). Hence, I don't get those ATAS treatment & enough media coverage for my blog.

I can't go up, neither can I go against myself to accept such T&Cs.

I am an 'in-between'.

I dislike companies approaching me, stating that they are going to give me TESTERS WORTH $8.90 & 20% off their products and EXPECT me to write a FULL review + company introduction + whatever facebook and twitter mentions I can do for them.

I WILL NOT do anything like this for you, yah?

First of all, you are giving me T.E.S.T.E.R.S. Don't you know how much it reflects on your company. What about that trust in me as a blogger when all i'm worth is $8.90? You make me wonder if you even read my blog or just googled me randomly?

Read and understand my blog.

Analyse my credibility.

Invite me only when you think I can really help you and trust me that I will.

Make sure the objective of your event/product launch is clear even when you don't have to tell us about it. Share it from your event and have a press release to back you up.

I don't know if you, who's reading this, agree with me. But don't you think we really need to strike a balance to this entire system?

Companies who would like to engage bloggers to cover events/product launches for you, do you want us to do an advertorial or review?

Advertorial: You PAY, we blog. Give us your expectations.

Review: We blog, you listen to our opinions; subjected to the awesomeness of your products. Period.

Seriously, if your products are really worth the mention, and your event is so much fun, I'll be more than a million times happy to pen it down. Although my command of english is not that excellent. At least friends come to read what's real; my experience, my enjoyment & something they'll really like to try after knowing it's interesting.

Bloggers out there, find your worth. Don't just accept anything that comes your way just to get the coverage. We can always buy what we want, all we have to do is save up. We DO help one another all the time. *grins*

If companies and bloggers work out something together, something like this, I believe we can strike a balance soon. That I hope...

[Sponsored] Healthier Corner at Kuishin-Bo (Great World City)

Trust me, if you want to have a sumptuous, premium, eat-all-you-can Japanese Buffet, go for Kuishin-bo @GREAT WORLD CITY!

Lunch: 11.30am-3.00pm, (Last round at 2.30pm)

Dinner: 5.30pm - 10.00pm (Last round at 9.30pm)

Kuishin-bo is certainly a food *sing: para-paradise ah ah ah* for me! The squealing & repeatedly 'omg-ing' me was walking around the restaurant premise, wondering where to start eating from. Their food selections are simply out of this world!

I've always wanted to go for Kuishin-bo when my poly friends, Ivv & Yuan Feng, were telling me how much they had enjoyed themselves at the Jurong Point branch. But the queue was always long with the restaurant packed with diners, especially during the weekends.

This time round, all thanks to RE&S Enterprises Pte Ltd, I finally got my chance to eat to my hearts' content with Brother Leong!

Greeting me at the doorstep was this cocoa-rich chocolate fondue! The smell of my favourite cocoa seductively lured me closer & closer. Yes, I was drooling with hunger. But that was only the beginning.

My vision soon focus on the entire dessert section... I stood there, speechless. 2 tiers full of pastries & chocolates welcoming me, was I dreaming or what?

Kuishin-bo has made awesome effort with the food displays. Every dish looks extremely appetizing, be it their salads, choice of seafood, teppanyaki dishes, fried food, sushi & california rolls, even their soups!

Will you look at this!

Heard that these prawns were still swimming in the tank just awhile ago!

The colour of the salmon sashimi is red, and I mean FRESH red. Newly imported from Tasmania, I couldn't help but took many more servings.

Even the pots & pans are aesthetically chosen. Here's my favourite: A ceramic pot which Kuishin-bo uses to keep Japanese curry warm.

I've come to realize that I fell in love with Japanese Oden, out of which the mochi wrapped in beancurd skin(first space on the left) is something I'll come back for a 2nd, wait, or was it a 3rd serving?

Teppanyaki series:

Of course, these fresh ingredients are only for displays, they'll serve ingredients stored hygienically in the fridge which they had prepared earlier to you.

Porridge & soup.

Chawanmushi

Teapot soup.

Whether it's colleagues, a gathering of friends, family or even out on a date, Kuishin-bo at Great World City is an ideal place to relax and enjoy good food at leisure. Check out their different seat designs: table for 2, round, squarish, long, extremely long etc.

Not only that, this outlet even has an outdoor open concept. An exciting feature out here is the Charcoal Grill. The open air barbeque pit will grilled skewers of meat like beef, chicken, pork, prawn, a variety of fish like ayu, sanma, saba and shishamo, as well as vegetables such as sweet corn, okra and mushroom, in the old-fashioned way. Served piping hot to diners however, the pit is only available during dinner.

I plan to come here again for dinner in a few weeks' time, sponsored or not!

Brother Leong, what do you think?

Here comes the highlight of this post:

Kushin-Bo at Great world city introduces Healthier Corner!

Newly launched on 1st July 2011, the Healthier corner is available during lunch between 11.30am - 3.00pm daily. Diners can expect over 20 varieties of low-calories Japanese delights ranging from salad to light bites. There's even going to be multi-grain rice!

Get benefits from healthier items like Nagaimo(Japanese Yam), Tomato Salad, Celery & Turkey Bacon, sweet potato etc. You won't feel the sin even after emptying the plates!

Not only that, look at this specially designed plate: The 9 segmented portions make sure that the gravies of the dishes do not get mixed up. Get the real taste of EACH dish. You can come back for more later.

I'd like to particularly mention this dish: Renkon Wine Jelly.

It's lotus cooked with wine jelly, utterly refreshing! Tastes sweet & citrus, it feels more like a dessert to me. Also, it acts as a superb appetizer!

Lotus & beans:

And I couldn't stop eating this( I think I finished at least half of this plate):

This jelly comes in two flavours, blackcurrent & citrus. The chefs made it themselves!

Look ladies, healthier corner serves grapefruits! I used to read about how grapefruits aids in slimming down. :)

If grapefruit isn't really your cup of tea, there is a whole table of fruits, waiting for you to feast on!

This is a random photo. I thought that this decoration is really cute. *bleah*

Now it's my turn to feast!

The table which i was given allows me to put plates & bowls of yummy food. Brother Leong and I didn't stop until the table was totally filled.

See, I told you I had ALOT of jelly! I took more than 3 plates!

Nagaimo(Japanese yam) is simply yummy. Its inside tastes something like stewed potato but with a crispy texture like radish.

With healthier choice, I chose to eat my veges with multi-grain rice.

The scallop ginseng porridge is a MUST-TRY!

Fish Maw Soup

Miso Soup

Teapot soup

The fillings of the teapot soup.

Other than soup, they have a series of drinks, including different types of tea & coffee for you to choose from!

Rows and rows of smooth Chawanmushi.

The mochi wrapped in beancurd I was talking about earlier:

Helped myself with Cha Soba as well.

The seafood was so F.R.E.S.H! Any fresher, you'll have to catch it yourself in the sea!

2nd- or 3rd or 4th- serving of Salmon Sashimi.

Desserts!!!

Go for the tiramisu. I liked that much better than the Green tea cake with red bean paste.

Thank you, Asai-san(next to me) for meticulously overlooking & preparing the entire buffet, day by day. Not only that, you have a great sense of humour! I hope to see your beagle some day!

I hope you didn't notice how tight my t-shirt was in the photo. LOL

Kuishin-Bo Healthier Corner is only available at Great World City for now.

Diners can enjoy this corner at NO extra charges should you opt for the regular buffet.

$18.90++ to opt for healthier corner SOLELY.

Promotion ends 31st August 2011.

THE PRICING IS HERE.

LUNCH

======

Mon- Fri: $35.90++(Adult)

Sat, Sun & PH: $40.90++(Adult)

DINNER

======

Mon- Thurs: $45.90++(Adult)

Fri, Sat, Sun & PH: $49.90++(Adult)

For ALL above: Less 10%(Senior Citizen), $18.90++(child)

PROMOTIONS

===========

Daily dinner promotions:

Mon: Senior Citizens' Night

Tue: Free Flow Beer

Wed: Ladies Night

(change every 3 months)

Every Mon to Fri: $22.90++

If you can check in and out within one hour.

Not valid on public holidays.

Family Affair

$76++ only(UP $88.70)- Weekend lunch 11.30pm-2.30pm for 2 adults + 1 child

Subsequent child at $12.00++

Not Valid on Public Holidays

Child rates are only for children height between 0.9m & 1.4m. Adult rates applies to child over 1.4m tall.

OUTLET CONTACT

1 Kim Seng ROad Promenade

Great world City

#02-41A/42

Singapore 237994

Tel: 6836 5877

Fax: 6836 5878

Email: kuishinbo_gw@kuishinbo.com.sg

=========================================

Next Stop: Kuishin-bo DINNER! Charcoal grill & Zuiwaikani snow crabs here I come!

Woot~