Tampines 1

I just went to Tampines 1 on Saturday... And boy, was it CROWDED.

I didn't take photos and all, but trust me, it's like twice, three times, or maybe even four times as crowded as Orchard is.

The stores were all pretty cool. I found clothes with the kind of designs I was looking for Clar for quite a while (after not being able to find them for so long), but the prices were a bit steep... =/ It wasn't too comfortable for him too- Anyway, there are 2 places in particular I want to mention:

Uniqlo

Like oh. my. god. That was my exact reaction when I got to the shop. I really wanted to go check it out (though I hadn't really had much of an impression of it yet), but the queue was CRAZY.

Mind you, this queue wasn't for payment. This was the queue to ENTER the shop. I should have taken a photo of the queue, just to give you an idea.

I figured that the only time the queue will be short enough for me to even consider going, I would either have to wait for the fad to die down, or go during office hours on a weekday (not during the primary/secondary/JC school holidays either). The advantages of tetiary education in Singapore ;) You never have to clash with the school holidays of all the other schoolchildren.

I'll have to give another review when I actually get in.

Manpuku

We went to queue to go in 15 minutes before it opened for the dinner crowd, and it paid off =) Even though I spent a while walking around trying to figure out what to eat, Clar and I still managed to beat the huge crowd... (Thank goodness... Although, of course, thanks to my slow-ness we still had a queue in front of us...)

The concept is slightly similar to Marche. Everyone is given a card (with a limit of 100 SGD -- if you intend to spend more you have to pay the 100 off first before proceeding with your subsequent purchases) and you can go around the many different stalls there to buy your food. The bill will be charged to the card that they gave you, and you can then pay the bill on your way out.

There were stalls selling Japanese desserts, drinks (I tried those! The dango totally changed my perception of the food -- and the only time I ate it was in Japan), tarts, udon, curry, Japanese grill, Okonomiyaki etc... Click here to see the full list of stalls there.

A friend was recommending the ramen stall, so I bought from there. Boy, was it good. It's better than Ajisen and those local ramen stalls... =D Their soup and noodles were good. I went to google, and found out that the ramen stall I ate at (Aoba) is ranked within the top 10 ramen stalls in Japan, and top 3 within Hokkaido. =D Awesome.

Maybe next time I can try Okonomiyaki (if I manage to resist the temptation to get the ramen again)... It'll take me a lot of willpower to do that though, cause I don't like any of the okonomiyaki that you get from Singapore... (especially those at those 'pasar malam's)

Again, no photos =( Sorry about that.

Signing off... ...

I'll definitely be going back to Tampines 1 during the holidays =D

Fr3b.com

Warning: This post is for Singaporeans.

My friends Christine and Shiyuan have been using this site for a while now, but I have only just joined it not too long ago.

This site's called fr3b (pronounced freebie), and basically allows users to get sample-sized products to try out. You know how you always look at some new item out in the market yet don't get it cause you don't know if it will be good for you?

If the sample is on fr3b, you can always get the samples there. It's free, although you will have to pay just a minimal amount for the postage. I requested for 2 items from fr3b on Sunday, and they just arrived in my mail yesterday =) I absolutely love the way they're so extremely efficient. =D

My fr3b pack in the mail =D (Click to enlarge)

So how does the site work?

Of course, it's not as easy as requesting for all the samples you want, whenever you want.

The website works on a point system. When you first sign up, you will be given 6 points. Each sample you 'order' will be 2 points. Getting your points back is easy though. You basically do a very simple review of a product and you'll get another 2 points. If the product you sampled has a survey, however, the points will be divided in this way: 1 point for the review, 1 point for the survey.

Usually, they'll ask you to do a review for a product when you get that particular sample. So there'll always be a balance =) If you do (again, very simple) surveys for some other products that you don't actually ask for, you'll get an additional 1 point in your account ^-^

So what's so good about it?

Review System

I find the review system very good. Before I request a sample or decide to buy a product (if say I wanted to get it as a gift), I can take a look at the rating and what other people have to say about the item first. If it's bad, then I'll look to another item with a higher rating-

Unisex

The good thing about this site is that, although it focuses on 'beauty' products, it's not just for the girls. They have samples for the 'Nivea Men Face Wash', hair gel, blotters (which I know both sexes use), or stuff like contact lenses solutions, shampoo or oil control products.

Overall

I really reccomend this site to all my friends. It's always good to be able to try a bit of a product before deciding to buy it, and fr3b is the best place for it. After all, products always work differently for different people. What better way to find out whether it's for you than to try just a little bit on yourself?

If you're interested in checking the system out, you can register with the site here. Alternatively, you can click the banner on the left side of the page.

That's about it, basically. ^-^ A short and sweet introduction ;)

Signing off... ...

SilverJewelryClub

Hello again everyone!

I came across this page that shared places where you could get things for 'free' (You will have to pay for the shipping), so I thought that I would share one or two things with my readers =)

One of the places that you can get free stuff would be SilverJewelryClub. HOWEVER, there are always only 4 items you can get at a specific time. This is SilverJewelryClub's way of introducing their products to their consumers.

The downside is, if you found something you really like in their catalogue (from the retail shop), you might not be able to get the item at the time you go to the SilverJewelryClub site. Also, they won't tell you what time/day an item is coming up. You can only view the next 15 items that will be put up for grabs. Each item will only be available for a couple of minutes (approximately 15 minutes, perhaps?)

Like I said earlier, you will have to pay for the Shipping & Handling only. For U.S. residents, it will cost USD$6.99. For international buyers, the cost will be USD$8.99. Overall, it seems relatively alright, as the items are made of real gemstones and

 sterling silver. If you see something you really like, you might want to grab it as soon as possible. ;)

Item information
Get the item!

If you're deciding to get a necklace, though, do keep in mind that the chain is sold separately. Only the pendant is free.

Signing off... ...

For the girls, or the guys who want to get something for their girl

ThinkGeek

Attention to all the geeks, gamers, programming-interested people and people interested in technology! ^^

ccjx and I have been visiting a website selling tech-y clothing/toys etc. Introducing... THINKGEEK!

They sell a wide range of products, including T-shirts, toys, electronics, gadgets, books etc... All tech-y.

In this entry, let me give you a rough idea about ThinkGeek products-

T-Shirts

They have different categories of T-shirts, such as 'Gaming', 'Illuminated Tees', 'Science and Math', 'Generic Geek' etc... I'll be introducing a few kinds of shirts that caught my eye =) My categories do not necessarily correspond to that in the site, though.

Slogan Tees
They have Slogan t-shirts that are really quite funny... Though some you might not understand unless you pretty much know your IT stuff. The below is one of the shirts that I found quite funny: No Place Like Home ^^;

Another item I really liked is the 'No, I will not fix your computer' T-shirt =D Heh.

Animated Tees
They have a section called 'Illuminated Tees' as well, that basically animate while you're walking around =) The Wi-fi Detector Shirt really detects the wi-fi signal where you are, and displays the signal strength on your T-shirt by lighting up the corresponding number of bars.

There's also something like a couple T-shirt. If your idea of a couple T-shirt was just this boring same T-shirt that a boy and girl wears, this should change your mindset. This shirt has got 6 hearts on the front of the T-shirt. Normally, there will be only 2 or 3 hearts lit up, but when someone with another shirt comes within hugging distance (their approximate distance is about 5m), all the hearts will light up.

Gadgets, Toys and Gifts

Helpful Gadgets

Apart from MP3s, digital cameras, solar chargers, digital frames and what-nots, they also have something called a Ion USB Cassette Deck where you can convert your old cassette tapes into mp3 files =)

Sophisticated Gadgets
This is something you can have for your home if you envision your future home to be extremely hi-tech and automatic: The RFID Digital Door Lock. It comes with a few RFID smart keys, as well as an installation guide so that you can get it working as soon as possible.

Novelty Gifts
I thought this was good for someone who's crazy about novelty gifts: the Bi-Color LED Blow On-Off Candles. You know how the physical candles work right? They go off when you blow the flame out. This works similarly. When you blow the candle, it goes off. The trait that makes it different from a normal candle would be that it turns on when you blow it too ^^;; There are two different coloured lights that you can toggle on the candle, so that you can create a different atmosphere according to your wishes. ^^

I found that pretty cool, along with the Sun and Moon Jars. The Sun and Moon Jars don't run on batteries, but are solar-operated. So it's energy saving too ;) Works as a great night light for kids =D

Toys
Remember the 20Q toy I was talking about in my previous entry? It's on ThinkGeek as well =D

And no, this is not an advertisement post. I just honestly felt that this site was interesting, so I thought that I'd share it with everyone =D

I hope you find these interesting~


Signing off... ...

Blogshopping!

Warning: This post is more for girls!

Are you one of those who would walk into millions of shops a day looking for something but ended up getting nothing at all at the end of the day, feeling extremely exhausted and annoyed?

I am one of those.

During the period when it drove me up the wall (having searched for a pair of shoes for 2 weeks cause my current pair was dying), I found the joy of shopping online.

Almost anything can be shopped for online, especially for females. Clothing, Gadgets, Shoes, Caps/Hats, Accessories, Handphones... And the list can go on and on and on.

Anyway, after I caught on to the online shopping craze, I went a bit further to search for wholesale dealers... And ended up opening an online shop: ~* Blogshopperz *~ So now this blog has a new sister site =D

If any of you happen to be interested in anything there, do give me a buzz, yea? ;)



Signing off... ...
Shopping craze