Japan travel tips: Free breakfast with every drink purchase @ Komed'as coffee

Originating from Nagoya, Komeda’s coffee is a restaurant chain with outlets now in other cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. I have always passed by their Osaka Namba branch located at the first level of Namba City and has never thought about trying it, until this trip.

This trip we went to Nagoya and I found out that they have a local specialty called ogura toast (red bean paste with toast) and decided to try it. While researching the places that serve this toast, I came across Komeda’s coffee, which has a breakfast promotion - order
any drink and get a breakfast set free. Tempting right?

What’s even better is that Komeda’s coffee offers not one but three breakfast set which you can choose from. 1. Toast with hard boiled egg. 2. Toast with red bean paste 3. Toast with egg salad. Look at their menu here (in English). 

 I must say that after trying all three, the egg salad and the red bean paste are my fav. In addition, the toast that they serve are thicker than your usual toast and softer (what kind of sorcery is this, Japan?!), and are perfectly toasted and come with generous amount of melted butter.

Can't remember what this dish is but it's good too!



You can get breakfast for less than 500 yen which is about 6 sgd/ 4+ usd? (together with coffee!) which is great for all coffee lovers I guess? My friend who is a coffee lover likes Komeda’s coffee, while the rest of us who don’t drink coffee prefer their hot chocolate or milkshakes. Oh, Komeda's coffee also serve juice, milk and tea. 

Komeda’s coffee also serves other dishes such as beef stew and ebi Katsu sandwich (fried shrimp cutlet sandwich) which is a must try!

If you are a coffee lover, why not head down to Komeda’s coffee and have some free breakfast along with your daily coffee?

Find out more about Komeda's coffee here

Atsuta Horaiken : Best hitsumabushi in Japan

Hitsutmabushi is probably a Nagoya's local specialty. It is grilled unagi (eel) on rice and can be eaten in 3 different ways.

In my previous trip to Japan, I went to Nagoya and wanted to try their local specialty and hence I found this shop : Atsuta Horaiken which is said to be where this dish originated from? I went to their branch located near Atsuta Shrine.



We ordered their Umaki (unagi tamagoyaki, rolled omelette with eel) @ 950 yen to share. The umaki came with generous servings of unagi and the egg is well seasoned and delicious.

We ordered one regular histumabushi each @ 3,600 yen. There are 3 ways of eating it - eating it as it is, eating it with condiments, eating it with soup poured in the rice. The eel is grilled perfectly and well seasoned and the sauce is heavenly and the bowl is so deep we were so stuffed when we were done.

I highly recommend anyone visiting Nagoya to visit this shop or at least try their eel dishes at any eel-specialty shops in Nagoya. Some shops might be more affordable but I believe it is alright to splurge here and there and people with a smaller appetite can share one portion.

You can find their list of branches & access maps here.

Japanese Skincare Product Review : Ettusais Herbal UV Jelly sunblock

I am really in love with Ettusais products, they are just so good and worth the money. Their lip balms are so moisturizing and long lasting, really love it. Their blusher is really cute and i love the shade. Their peeling sheet is awesome as well, love how it removes dead skin cells and clear my pores.

Their UV jelly sunblock is pretty amazing too. While I was expecting a more jelly-like texture, the sunblock actually look pretty normal, very similar to Sekkisei & Sekkisui sunblock. The texture was somehow a little different. Ettusais is more viscous than the other two. However, I really like it as it doesn't feel sticky when applied and has pleasant grapefruit smell. It is not very moisturizing though but I guess make-up routine will include steps involving moisturizer therefore this is not a big issue. In fact, being like this works better as my skin won't feel overly sticky or heavy after I apply both my sunblock and my Shiseido Aqualabel Whitening jelly essence which works as a toner, serum and mositurizer.


Learn more about this product here.

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3D Latte Art in Seoul

Hi guys, I've just went to Seoul in end oct and I will be posting some posts about the restaurants/ cafes I have visited while I was there.

During my trip, I went to La Douce, a cafe located near Hapjeong station (one train station away from Hongik University - or Hongdae as people know it).

The cafe is actually pretty small but I wanted to go try this as I saw their cute 3D latte art online. I ordered a matcha latte & a mocha latte and they drew us a cat & a bear which were so adorable. While we think that the drinks were pretty normal, the latte art is really delightful.



We also ordered a cheese cake which looks like it just came out from Tom & Jerry. It is shaped like the cheese in Tom & Jerry, which I found adorable and hence ordered (I love cheesecake) and I thought the cheesecake here was light and you don't find yourself struggling to finish it (not that I have faced this problem before), but it was one where my mum liked as well. While it might not be the best cheesecake around, but I still think it is good enough and the design is really special and unique. Hence I would recommend this cafe for anyone who would like to chill.


*Note: Everyone is required to order a drink each. You can't order one drink & one cake for 2 people. You have to order 2 drinks minimum & one cake (if u want to eat the cake). Either this, or you can order 2 cakes and 1 drink for 2 pax (this is what a Korean couple did when I went).*

& Please note the opening hours. I went at 12:30pm and it was closed (it was my fault tho I forgot to check). It only opens at 1pm.

La Douce Official fb page 
Address: 399-14 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82 70-8274-5665
Hours: 1pm-10pm

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Japanese Skincare Product Review : Kanebo Suisai Tightening Lotion

I guess many people living in tropical Asian countries where it's summer all year round will probably face the problem of enlarged pores. If you don't, then you are so so so blessed.

I've been facing the problem of enlarged pores and hence I was looking for products that would minimize my pores, That was when I went to Japan a few years back and chanced upon the Kanebo Suisai Line.

According to their website (click for more info),  the suisai line targets women in their twenties and their main ingredients are enzymes which will allow users to have smoother, clear skin.

I got their suisai tightening lotion and suisai clear beauty powder cleanser powder (more about this in another post) since they claim to be able to tighten pores and so on. The lotion was priced at 2000 yen (~SGD26 bucks) at that time for 100ml. When I got this, my thoughts was 'this is some expensive toner'. After using this, I've been buying this ever since.



After using this, all I can say is that this is some good toner, it really tightens my pores (though I think it works better when used with their clear beauty powder). After using this for a few weeks, I find that my pores have reduced significantly and I am very pleased. Recently, I have started using another cleanser that helps to tighten my pores as well to boost the tightening effect.

Note that I find this a little drying on the skin, hence it might be better for people with oily or normal skin. People with dry skin who wants to minimize their pores can buy this too, but remember to put on moisturizer after.

Get the product on amazon below:

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Japan Skin care Product review: Ettusais peeling sheet

Okay, I'm sure this brand might not be as well known to people but this brand from Japan (a sub brand of shiseido), is one of my fav Japanese skin products brand. It is exiting Singapore though cos sales isn't that good (well many haven't heard about it).

I chanced upon this brand during one of my trip to Japan a few years back. It started with me using their uv jelly sunblock which is good and then on to their melty lip lipbalm that my friend recommended which is damn good wtf (shall have separate posts for them in future) Then I started trying other products by them and they have not disappointed me yet.

This time I shall review their peeling sheet which basically, is like wet tissues - style exfoliator which removes dead skin cells and impurities from your pores. All you have to do is wipe your face with it (ok I wiped my face quite a few times and then I used it to wipe my hands and legs too - please don't judge me) and the dead skin cells and impurities will be removed. I'm pleasantly surprised to realize that some of my black heads are actually removed (not all are removed but 80-90%). I actually kept rubbing my skin the first time I used cos the sheet shows no dead skin cells or black head or anything but when I look into the mirror I can see that blackheads are definitely removed and my skin was brighter.



It's easier to apply make up and skincare products after using this. I will recommend this to everyone simply cos it's gentle on the skin and it's so convenient.

More info here 

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Japanese Skincare product review: Sekkisui Perfect UV Gel

I guess Kose is a well-known brand, especially with their Sekkisei line.  However, do you guys know about their sub-brand sekkisui which is exclusively sold at 7-11 Japan?

Sekkisui is a cheaper version of sekkisei, using less ingredients in their products (but it still works quite well). I think the Sekkisui line only included sun block and cleansing foam when I visited a few years back but recently they have been releasing masks, toner and moisturiser as well.

I always see tourists from other Asia countries buying Sekkisui products by cartons in Japan 7-11. It is actually quite scary lol. I always buy 1 or 2 for personal use though.

On to the product: Sekkisui Perfect UV Gel
This is a SPF50+ sunblock by sekkisei which looks similar to sekkisei (packaging-wise), I thought it was a knock-off brand at first and then I saw Kose at the bottom then I realised it's from the same company.

Top: Sekkisui
Bottom: Sekkisei

Review: As you can see, there is really not much difference between the 2 brands. The gel is easily absorbed into my skin, leaving no sticky residue. I would even say that this is light and less sticky on my skin as compared to Sekkisei Sun Protect Essence Gel.  This is, however, less moisturizing as compared to Sekkisei. At about 700 or 800 yen, which is like 10 sgd or so and having the same SPF as sekkisei, I would say that this is a good investment. Just slap on some really light moisturiser together with this and you are ready to go. People with oily skin can just use this alone and it will be enough I guess.

More info (in eng): here

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