A quick look at the new Nissan GT-R

After 6 long years of eager anticipation, the new 2008, 2009 Nissan GT-R had finally arrived. This part machine, part beast Godzilla had already gone on sale in Japan this December at around 7 million yen apiece. Here is a quick look at it to educate those ippan-jin who thinks that the GT-R is a rice car. May Haruhi strike down on their pathetic souls.


The stock GT-R comes in six official colors.

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A custom painted orange GT-R sported in the streets of Japan just 1 month after its release.

Motor Trend Preview on the R35



A test of the stock GT-R





Overall review of the car





Japanese review

Popular GT-R tuners like MINES, MCR, HKS and Top Secret are already working on the car and developed performance parts for it. The GT-R is also going to participate in the 2008 JGTC in the GT500 series. NISMO had already purchased 2 of them for the race.



NISMO GT500 GT-R

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I shall write a more in depth entry on my personal views with regards to this miracle car and how it compares to other cars together with video clips from Best Motoring, Top Gear and hopefully Fifth Gear once they are released.

First wrecked GT-R in Hong Kong. A black one. What a shame...

Sneaking for supper

Its 0030hrs Singapore time now. Just finished eating some spicy duck soup instant noodles cooked by my younger brother. I was already expecting some lost of freedom. But today seems to be the worst.

I used to stayed up all night till the next morning at nine before tucking into bed in Perth. Sometimes I even forgo sleep altogether. Today, after watching Anger Management on Channel 5, my dad insist on us getting into bed. The time was 0000hrs. Little brother was hungry and decides to cook some noodles.

Shortly after cooking them, my dad got out of bed and snapped at everyone asking us to "Go to Bed!" For Haruhi's sake, I am already 24. My younger siblings scrambled to bed. At this point, my dad was unaware of the noodles.

So in the end, each of us have to take turns sneaking to the balcony to eat our share of noodles on a small pathetic plastic table without lights.

Preposterous!

It was tasty though.

Why did I even bother coming back

Back in Australia, I tried to look on the bright side, thinking of all the little things which will make my return back to Singapore a slightly happier one. Now that I am back in Singapore, it just gets harder and harder.

Firstly, the crowd. They suffocate me. I feel so saturated. The weather here did not help much either. There are people everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! There must be no less than 5 person within my 10 meter radius at ANY one time! Either they block your path or you block theirs'.

Secondly, one which I knew would happen, is the 'noisiness' of my home. Every single day there are issues for debate and argument amongst the family. Not a moment of peace and privacy. Totally different from my life in Australia.

Thirdly, my siblings starts comparing themselves with me, expecting equal rights and freedom even though they are several years younger; even though they had already enjoyed all the advantages of being a younger sibling. Such comparisons of what's fair and what's not really pisses me off. If the world is fair, I wouldn't even need to listen to all these shit. This would not have happened if I just remained firm and choose to stay on in Australia to pursuit my future despite my parents' expressed reluctance. If I did not come back, they have none to compare with, which means no arguments, I get to have my peace and quiet.

However, sadly, I am not the kind of person who could say 'No' to my parents to pursuit my own selfish ambitions. They sacrificed a lot for me to have the opportunity to study overseas and I am very grateful for that. Coming back is a small thing I can do if that is what makes them happy.

Of course there were several other things which made me regret my weakness and lack of determination to stay on. But I don't want to sound too ranty. Hopefully all these dissatisfactions will end together with this blog entry.

I should be glad that at such times, I still have the support of my special someone. Hmmm... Perhaps thats the reason I choose to come back.

Shimizu Grand

It was nearing the date of my return to Singapore from Australia. My friends and I were cracking our heads in search for places to eat. Daniel came up with the suggestion of us dining in Shimizu Grand, Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which is located at Floreat.

Haruhi blessed us, we actually turned up before the shop opened. It opens at 1800 hrs Wednesdays to Sundays only. And it was already fully booked! It was fully booked every single day they say! We were given a corner table. A corner for those who didn't book but lucky enough to come early. Those who came late will probably regret cause people like us stayed all the way till the shop was about to close. The food is really good, the service is great, the environment is nice.

The $35 price is reasonable for a Japanese buffet. This is one of the best find in Perth I ever had. My friends were all thumbs up about it.

When I said the service was great, I wasn't joking. We actually chatted with all the owners of the restaurant during and even after the meal, for quite some time! Apparently the Chia family were Singaporeans moved to Perth for retirement. Throughout the meal, the owners came along to check that we were properly served. Did I mention that each of us got a pair of Shimizu chopsticks as a souvenir? They are going to add a new out-door concept to the restaurant next year with Korean-typed BBQ. Yummy! Too bad I probably won't get the chance to try it.

My only complain would be the lack of different ingredients for the Teppanyaki. There is only beef. I was hoping to have some Shisamo or maybe a variety of ingredients like those offered at Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Restaurant in Singapore. But I really should not be too fussy about this as Shimizu Grand is definitely the best place to get lots of good Nihon-ryori at an affordable price while enjoying great services. The lady owner told me that the first day of opening there was only 5 tables of customers and she was so afraid. But on the second day, through word of mouth, there was a lot more customers. I told her, if Shimizu Grand keeps this up, there will be nothing to worry about ;)

Without further ado, let me show some photos with captions.

The buffet counter. Everything is nicely placed and very delicious looking.


Some cold dishes before the meal. Japanese seaweed and calamari.


Can't help but to take some sashimi as appetizers. They have this glow in them. Fresh! Mr Chia said the restaurant slices 3 adult salmons on average every night.


Tempura complimentary with every table. There were other Tempuras besides prawns.


Small table filled up easily. Beggars can't be choosers, we were lucky to get a table without booking.


Even the tea, which is the only beverage provided, is not those cheap quality ones.


Chawanmushi anyone?


Teppanyaki beef nicely cooked. Medium done.


Fried rice is really good. Fragrant yet not oily.
Oranges are really sweet!
We were addicted to them and the owners asked the kitchen to cut a dozen more for us.


Some dessert cakes. The ichigo cake is my favorite :P

If I am ever going back to Perth for convocation this coming March 2008, I would definitely want to revisit this place again. YAY!

Last Flight Out

Upon reaching the airport after braving through the storm, traffic jams and road accidents, I was told that I was 5 minutes late. Great! Taking the next available flight back would mean I will have an extra 6 hours or so in Perth. Not to mention I can have another final dinner with my friends whom I will miss. Luckily there was no extra charge. Thank heavens I chose SIA.

This time round, I made sure I reach the airport 2 hours before the flight departs. Lo and behold, they told me that although I had a ticket which entitled me to carry 40 kg, the limit was 32 kg per luggage. Now, how am I suppose to get another luggage for that extra 8 kg? Lucky for me, a friend (Mel) of my friend (Dave) was also returning back to Singapore and she happened to have some space in her luggage. So I transfer most of the packs of Cashew & Macadamia nuts over to her. They weighed 400 g each, costing AUD$10. I bought 10 packs of them for present giving to relatives. They tasted good though. And some of my heavier stuffs, eg. DVD writer, also went over into her bags. Thank you again :)

After checking in, the three of us, me, Dave & Mel, stayed around and chatted for a good 1 hour before going in. I decided to shop for some duty free items in Perth Airport. Bought a Beyond Paradise from Estee Lauder for AUD$88.

Mel taught me some basic knowledge about buying perfume. She said perfumes have to be tested for a whole day before deciding on buying. Perfumes have 3 tones. Soft, Medium and Base tones. The Soft tone is the smell which one smells first upon spraying it onto one's skin. Medium tone lingers longer than Soft tone. The Base tone is the smell which stays the longest, mostly throughout the day. This is the tone which one can only smell after wearing the perfume for more than half a day. Having interacted with the natural smell of the body, the smell of the Base tone will be significantly different to the Soft tone which one smells when first testing out the perfume on one's skin. In addition to the 3 tones, she also taught me that the box of coffee beans by the side of the shelves are used for clearing away the lingering perfume smell in our nose before we start sampling other perfumes. Just give them a sniff in between the testing of different perfumes. And lastly, those paper strips used for sampling the perfumes can be placed in bags so that your bag will smell of your favorite perfume.

We proceed to board the plane after shopping. As the roar of the engine increased together with the speed of the plane, my heart got heavier by the seconds. Coincidentally, my MP3 player, which I was listening prior to take off, was playing Jay Chou's Yi Lu Xiang Bei (On Route Up North). I couldn't help myself from shedding some tears as the plane took off. The Australian terrain below, which I had grown to love, shrinking beneath. Beautiful memories of myself together with my close friends flashed across my mind like a kaleidoscope. Something which I will treasure. It took me awhile to regain my composure. I am returning home. For better or worst, only time will tell.