OISHI Green Tea Launch

Some pretty and dainty dark cherry red blossoms I saw in Botanic Gardens

Finally have some time to sit down and edit the photos I took of the OISHI Green Tea Launch on 12th March.

In a way, you could say it's a pretty last minute decision on my part to take up the task of featuring this tea launch because I was debating internally whether I should take leave from my day job or not. In the end, this opportunity to be at an official product launch as a media identity won because well one, I needed the experience because truth to be told, I had never been in a position of a media identity before, at least those with proper RSVP media invites that is. And two, hey, you know I can never say no to tea.

Botanic Gardens eh, how long since I've been there? 2004 or something like that? Or did I visit here again for a friend's wedding in 2008 or 2009? Memories are pretty fuzzy but you get the drift, it's been years since I've been to Botanic Gardens.

And hence, my first time alighting at Botanic Gardens station (CC19). Which, turned out to be a very wrong move because my face almost turned blue when I realised that I am all the way at the other end of the stated venue - Botany Centre (Tanglin entrance) for the shuttle to Villa Halia. 1.2km walk to Botany Centre and I almost got lost at the Jacob Ballas Visitor Centre (it's like the mid-point of Botanic Gardens). I must really thank the counter staff at Jacob Ballas Visitor Centre for pointing out the right direction to a geographically challenged person like myself.

Thank the stars I wasn't too late for the shuttle (5 minutes late actually, but thank goodness the shuttle was 10 minutes late too) and it was only until the shuttle dropped us off at Villa Halia which I realised how awfully blur I was.

In my state of panic then, I did not notice that Halia Restaurant/Villa Halia was right in front of me when I took the left fork of the road to Botany Centre. Which meant that, I could have jolly well reached the venue without having to rush my life for the shuttle.

But well, there's always a first for everything. At least now I know which are the landmarks to take note off in Botanic Gardens should there be other media launches or events held here in the future.

Received my media tag from the very helpful staffs at the reception!

Distinguished guests and media all gathered at the dining area

The calligraphy booth at the corner of the dining area

Sample choices of colours and three Japanese basic forms

Upon being ushered into the main event area, I was given an official media tag, whose customized lanyard I like very much because of how aptly designed it was to the event theme.

Being encouraged to explore by the very friendly staffs at the reception booth, the first thing I was looking for was the calligraphy booth, as it was one of the two featured fringe items for this event.

Both calligraphers were very pretty and friendly Japanese ladies. I particularly like the lady dressed in lavender as her sharp tapered outfit decked out with trad Japanese flowers reminds me of that worn by ninjas, which is pretty cool.

Visitors get to choose to have their names written in Hiiragana, Katakana or Kanji. I wrote mine down in Katakana and the lady in lavender was pretty surprised, as most of the visitors she attended to had to have their names translated into the Japanese language. Mine was already given to me by Kubo Sensei a long time ago while I was still back in our Japanese Cultural group in poly hehe. It was only until when I met Hibi Sensei that my Hiiragana translated name was translated into Katakana (because my name is considered as a "foreign name" and anything "foreign" is traditionally translated into Katakana in the Japanese language).

We had myriad colours to choose from for our names to be written in. Wanted to pick purple but red seems more striking for calligraphy (like the 朱砂 in traditional Chinese calligraphy and watercolours). Her other colleague who wrote my name in calligraphy style did it really skilfully and she was very happy when I complimented her for it. Although it came in a dainty red envelope to match, but I felt that keeping it in seems like a pity since it was written so well. Now, it's a permanent fixture in my room as a result hehe.

Graced by many acclaimed media!

An energetic and vibrant Taiko performance!

The emcee for the day!

Speech by GOH

An trad opening ceremony with sake barrel breaking!

All media and attendees were treated to a splendidly energetic Taiko performance next - as mentioned, the 2nd fringe event highlight for the day. Personally, I like the Taiko performance very much, or maybe that's the Japanophile in me speaking haha!

The opening ceremony after was the breaking of a sake barrel with trad wooden mallets for good luck and success. It was an interesting experience for me because this is my first time seeing a sake barrel being broken open in this way and the symbolism of doing so.

The spread outside the dining area!

Dainty spoonfuls of deviled eggs with salsa mix and dressing

Mussels in tart crust

Goma rice cakes, assorted sushi and maki rolls and salmon sashimi

Chawanmushi in salsa mix and dressing

My pick of the mains!

The dessert section in the dining area

Matcha Opera

Milk Pudding with Azuki Beans

Handmade Dark Choco dusted with Cocoa Powder

Lemon Meringue Tarts

The featured drinks of the day!

I believe everyone is pretty curious of the buffet spread prepared for the guests, so let's have a look shall we?

The mains are mostly laid outside - dainty spoonfuls of deviled eggs in salsa mix and dressing, which are pretty delish. The mussels in tart crust is something pretty new for me and I like it because well, mussels lover here hehe! The crispy Goma Ricecakes goes down surprisingly well with one of the two featured drinks - the Genmaicha version of the Jasmine Green Tea. Probably because of the Genmaicha that's why, that brown rice and rice combination.

For the chawanmushi, the presentation was interesting but I think could use more salt to bring out the taste better.

Being a person with a sweet tooth, the desserts were a delight. Amongst everything listed above, my personal faves includes the Matcha Opera, Milk Pudding with Azuki Beans (seriously can't get enough of those haha!) and the Lemon Meringue Tart (anything with lemon or yuzu, that sourish tang is addictive haha!).

The handmade dark choco has an interesting texture with the cocoa powder sprinkled on it and that slight bitterness offset with the light-tasting Jasmine Green Tea perfectly hehe!

Like her outfit!

The ladies attending to us for this event was decked out in matching emerald and forest green yukatas with subtle green tea leaves print. I found this lady here particularly striking and photogenic, which was why I requested for a photo of her (I was quite embarassed myself actually because I was wondering if my photo request would sound weird or something).

Thank you so much for being so sporting!

Goodie bags lined by the door!

Guess what's in this customized wooden box???

Which I cracked the side lid by accident, oh dear

Yummy tea and a ceramic fortune kitty!!! SO CUTE!!!

And a pop-up card too hehe

Free chopsticks set anyone???

The goodie bag I brought away from the event was a surprisingly heavy customized wooden box (probably of MDF wood make). Which, I had the misfortune of splitting the side lid because it flopped off the chair of my usual bread fix shop, where I went to for some tea and warm bread after the event.

Asked Hubs if it can be fix (because honestly I was quite sad of the box's predicament). He took a close look at it and told me that it should be as good as new once we patch it up with some white glue, and well, probably a good idea too to give it a wood colour makeover with some lacquer.

And thank goodness the cute ceramic Maneki Neko (aka "Fortune Cat or Fortune Kitty") didn't get smashed into smithreens because the outer layer of the box absorbed most of the impact (hence the split side lid ugh).

There's two bottles of the featured drinks inside the box! Good things must share so I'll probably drop them off in our office fridge hehe.

To add on to the box of goodies, there's a box of customized chopsticks too with the trad Japanese symbols the sakura, the crane, the iris (?), the dragonfly and the flounder imprinted on them.

I remembered seeing cups of neatly and delicately folded cranes on each table in the dining area. And of course, they are for the guests to bring away for good luck. I took one too and I look forward to the next launch haha!

The March Shipment

March has come and gone. And now, even April too. I mean hey, next week and woot! Labour Day long weekend!

"名前無いの花" and "Random: Test Subject Number 001"

'Tis been awhile since I made anything. Work had been hectic (as always) and the only thing which I want to do after work is sleep (not a good habit in my opinion).

And it didn't help when Hubs went on 2 weeks of re-service (he's back by the way, thank God). There are still some stuffs at work which I am not very good at (am trying my best, but doesn't help when I am not that much of a technical person by nature) and sometimes, that becomes quite a frustration that the only thing I want to do is sleep it off (again, I mentioned, not a good habit).

So when the man went off on a full day mobilisation exercise on Saturday two weeks back, I told myself that this can't go on and sat down to work.

2 pieces (by the way "名前無いの花" basically translates into "A Flower With No Name"), not much. But I am pleased because, new materials from my recent March shipment haha!

まるで宝箱見たいなハハ。

To an artist, perhaps paints, paintbrushes, fountain pens and paper are his greatest treasures. And to a surgeon, perhaps his well-trained hands, nimble and steady fingers, trusty scalpel and meticulously sterilised surgical tools. To a crafter, any new materials is like a miracle waiting to happen, a myriad of possibilities of creations yet unformed.

At least to me, everytime I receive a parcel of new materials, I'll be squeeing like some young highschool girl. No I'm serious, that's what happened when I receive the above - what I have so affectionately dubbed as "the crafter's treasure box".

Long ago, before I met my very good friend doubled over as an equally reliable and capable agent, I spent most of my days holed up in the material shops at Textile Centre, Arab Street, People's Park Centre (Mui Huay and Brighton) and those at North Bridge Road - namely KME and Lai Nguang. Granted there were numerous rare finds and hidden gems found in these shops, but most of the time, I don't dare to buy much because they are actually quite costly even for small purchases. Every material run always ends up in me blowing $50 and above.

Hubs was always commenting that some of my works looked kinda "cheap" because of the materials used. Although I firmly believe that it's not the cost of the materials which dictates a crafter's work quality, but the level of skills the crafter personally possess, but to a certain extent, I can't help but feel that in my attempt to scrimp on material costs, some of my works does look and feel a little under-whelming as a result.

I am not abashed to say that my excessive stinginess on material expenditure stemmed from the fact that my previous job, though enjoyable, had quite a low wage (owing to the fact that I only worked 2 days per week) and Hubs's previous job was, though tough, paid according to the wages of a temp. I'd rather spend the majority of my wages on food (doesn't help that I'm a foodie) and daily necessities and expenses than on materials which, though would look perfect on some of the works I've had in mind for a while, comes with a hefty price tag half the time.

Not to mention, some of the materials I require weren't readily available in Singapore, especially those Gothic and Victorian headdresses I had so often referenced and drew inspiration from.

Until I got on to my current job, though not a walk in the park (as it is for all other jobs out there I'm sure), is relatively better paid. And after some well guided tips from my agent, I started to get the hang of Taobao and gained access to the materials which I had been wanting to get my hands on for so long. The hats (the one which you see I used in my creation above) were quite a commodity on our local soils, where Sin Hin Chuan Kee (the HQ near Textile Centre and another branch within Textile Centre itself) sells them for $2 apiece. Not only colours were limited, half the time I can never find the colours I want - namely black, white, red, blue and maroon. Not to mention, once they get sold out, they will never bring them in again.

I saved alot more money through Taobao too (of course, you got to know your way through the shipping costs), especially through batch orders done together with Jade Sis and my agent.

I do get questions on how do I find time to craft while I am holding on to a day job. Yes, I admit I slowed down alot on crafting since starting on my current job just four months back, but I started to understand why it wasn't exactly possible to survive on my jewelry production alone. At least in my opinion, there must be at least a part-time job for sustenance while maintaining craft work. It's like, money has to be pumped in in order for a self-made production to work no, like a start-up fund or something.

Or to put it in a more conventional sense, at least something for one to fall back on as a safety net. Well, perhaps that it the more cautious and paranoid part of me speaking haha.

This batch is more of a hairband headdress materials batch (whose quantity of materials can easily cost more than $100 - $200 if bought locally, but no, whatever you see here are pretty much lower than that). I happened to chance upon those shiny aluminium hairbands and was totally sold at first sight. These hairbands are rare! Even more so are their black aluminium versions. The most common ones I can find locally are black acrylic ones.

Of course, the same shop which I found the aluminium hairbands in offer wrapped type of hairbands too. These are extremely expensive here, like $8 for 10 pieces of standard 4mm thickness in assorted colours? And as mentioned, "assorted colours" - which meant that you will end up buying colours which you don't want.

Those beautiful and delectable midnight blue, ebony and blood red satin and chiffon roses of 4cm size are a perfect fit for my hat and hairband headdresses. I used to be able to get similar roses (in a pack of 12 for $6, where the brooch backing could be easily pried off because it's adhered to the rose with a glue gun) until someone came up with the smart idea of sprinkling them with glitter in outrageous mis-matched colours and selling them separately as tacky-looking brooches for $2 apiece.

What pleases me most here are the clear rhinestones and plated old gold wreathed pearl and acrylic centrepieces. The affordability of these material parts expands the creative possibility and scope of my creations. Some of those oval pieces could be found on local soils in similar versions, but often come with a hefty price tag which makes me hesitate to even use them.

The skeleton lady cameos are the direct opposite of the commonly found Victorian lady bust cameos. An interesting twist, which is why I got them for my more macabre-themed creations hehe.

And I am pleasantly surprised by the extra (but equally as pretty-looking) piece mixed amongst the silver heart-filigreed pieces. Perhaps meant for a special bespoke piece? Haha!

As you can guess, the two headdresses you see featured here are made with my current batch of materials too! That exquisite-looking lace on the hairband headdress is from Hong Kong, bought by Jade Sis on her HK trip a few years back. And that bird-nest charm? It's from my very first Taobao batch and I believe some of you have seen some of the charms from that batch used on my ICDS headdress collection last year - Surgeon's Sirens: The Healer, The Dancer, The Scientist and The Seamstress.

Looking forward to my next batch of materials as always haha!

Gold Kili Matcha Latte

Boring title, but at least I got my main topic across.

But before that, I've been sun and wind drying mandarin oranges all week and I've friends asking, albeit with curiousity, why do I make dried mandarin orange peels.

And of all times of the year, now.

Let's see, the sweltering sun and the consistent sea and land breezes now make the perfect weather condition for making dried mandarin orange peels. Like I've mentioned, sun and wind drying, where the fragrance of the mandarin orange gets locked in effectively and yes, my my, they smell really lovely now with their own zesty scent immersed fully with the essence of the sun.

Orange or Mandarin Orange peels are a common sight at trad medicinal halls because they're believed to contain really useful and effective medicinal qualities ("橙皮" anyone?). Not only do they add a tangy dash of flavour to trad Chinese desserts like the red bean soup, they make a tasty snack on their own as well.

Before I left my house yesterday early afternoon, I had put out two more Mandarin Orange skin to dry (it's somewhat my own family's trait of peeling them into the shape of, ahem, "Patrick the Starfish" ha) and as you can see here, just merely one day had passed and they're dried almost to perfection. I feel a sense of accomplishment here, thanks to the weather conditions which we don't love as much, but is an absolute god-send to sun-dried natural ingredients.

We speak of fruits and that, makes me think of Miyazaki (宮崎県), famous for their signature tropical mangoes. At least that's what I heard from the representative of Miyazaki prefecture yesterday during our お喋り会 (to make a loose translation, "conversation/cultural exchange session"). I'm never exactly a hardcore fan of this juicy orangey fruit because it makes me feel really "heaty" even after having some of it, although admittedly, its goopy sweet goodness is very addictive.

I really appreciate this opportunity my school extended to me and my fellows, where so far we've had sessions with representatives from Sakai (Osaka City), Kagoshima Prefecture and Tokyo. If not for our school's first time partnership with CLAIR (The Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, Singapore), we wouldn't have been able to have such an enjoyable session with Usa-san - representative of Miyazaki Prefecture and Nori-san - representative of Niigata Prefecture (新潟県). I believe those two are somewhat good friends as Nori-san kept like jabbing Usa-san, in a way where he kept emphasizing that her name's U.S.A (stands for "United States of America" too, if you get my drift).

I really like the both of them, as they were not only very friendly and open, they showed genuine interest and inquisitiveness when the 9 of us were trying our best to relate our experiences in Japan and our hobbies and ourselves as a whole in as much as our Japanese language knowledge and training could allow. They were very patient to guide us and tried their best to satisfy our curiousity about the prefectures they represent. while at the same time trying to make sense of our English (because most of us ended up lapsing back into using English to converse as we weren't exactly very sure yet of expressions in the Japanese language).

I like the part where Nori-san was explaining to us the phenomenon of snow monkeys immersing themselves into the onsens in Niigata prefecture. The way he expressed the snow monkeys seeking the comfort of heat in the onsens due to the icy cold conditions was really animated and funny.

Nori-san and Usa-san are going back to their prefectures soon, as CLAIR is somewhat like, as Nori-san had tried his utmost best to explain to us, an extension of the Japan Tourism Board of sorts in Singapore, where representatives from all prefectures were sent by their respective governors to Singapore to promote their prefectures and their term in Singapore is quite a substantial long period before they have to go back to switch with another representative. It's kinda like shift work, if you ask me.

It's a pity that I didn't get to hear more from the representatives about themselves and the prefectures they are promoting (what we got to know from them was actually quite surface, in my opinion), mainly because I guess there's 9 of us this time and this 2 hour session is like not exactly enough, in a sense whereby everyone of us are very eager to share and express our thoughts and experiences, which kinda resulted in the representatives not having enough time to share and impart more.

Nori-san, Usa-san, please take care and have a safe journey home as we all really enjoyed your company! Usa-san, congratulations on your son and we hope to see him soon! ざひまたシンガポールへ来てください！

Jade Sis had to get some home essentials at Suntec Giant after that, where while I was just wandering around waiting for her, I happened to chance upon this suspicious-looking pack of Matcha Latte by Gold Kili.

"Suspicious" because it's instant. And all instant stuffs have the very high tendency of tasting horrible.

I have had the Matcha Latte at MOS Burgers once out of curiousity and to me, it tasted weird. Which eventually I concluded that it didn't suit my tastebuds.

Now, Gold Kili's Jasmine Green Tea was nothing to be sneezed at. My good friend Sam gave me a pack and up till now I'm still inhaling on it. So yes, it's good stuff, as I've mentioned above. And due to this good impression, I was a little hesitant on whether I should give this instant Matcha Latte a shot. I mean, this is not a tea bag after all but a kinda three-in-one mix like Milo.

And it's $6.50 for 15 long sachets, which somehow turned out to be $5.95. Giant is sure a supermarket of discount surprises ha.

To be honest, I got a little worried when I stared at the seemingly harmless green powder at the bottom of my Nescafe red ceramic cup this morning because I didn't smell any fragrance at all. I mean, there should be at least a bit of fragrance for tea ya as it's their signature trait?

I was prepared for the worst when lo and behold, the fragrance which assailed my nostrils was like a resounding, "Hello, I'm here!" greeting when I poured in hot water to the powder. 3 parts hot water and 1 part warm water later, I was ready to taste this light olivine green brew, whose colour looked pretty soothing and pleasant.

The first sip, the distinct taste of matcha danced along my tastebuds and soon after, permeated my entire being. The milk, which I had feared would be an over-powering factor, didn't turn out as scary as I've thought. It's creamy, no doubt about that, but turns out to be quite balanced and not cloying. There was no unpleasant after-taste or whatsoever afterwards, as the brew is as light as the matcha implied.

The only downside though, is it does make you feel abit dry after you finish it to the last drop. Might need to get a cup of preferably, warm water to wash it down afterwards.

I would say that this Gold Kili Matcha Latte suits individuals with the taste range of light to medium. And as Matcha could be quite an acquired taste to some, it can be quite adventurous to try this out I should say.

Speaking of adventurous, earlier in the week, I spotted a pack of instant Bundung in our office pantry stash. Had been contemplating to try it, if not for the fact that I'm not exactly a fan of that rose syrup and condensed milk concoction.

Teas and Cakes

Or at least these are the top two essentials on my personal list of "Favourites".

I had not heard of "Swee Heng" until I saw one of my friends from my FB list post up photos of their delectable looking rainbow cake (rainbow cake fan here so). That, and she first chanced upon the rainbow cake being featured on this article which basically lists out the cheap food in Singapore which you can get with just S$2.

Honestly, rainbow cake for just S$2? Are you kidding me? The one above which I got from Dean & DeLuca (Orchard Central and also through a friend's recommendation too) is about S$6 - S$7? Nicely layered and each layer have their own unique taste (the ocean blue layer was bleh though). The cake could do with less cream though, because I ended up scraping off all of the top layer (the table next to me, comprising of three very chic-looking girls, all followed suit to their order of rainbow cake, scraping off the scarily thick top layer of cream like I did with the butter knife we were all provided with).

And I think NOM cafe (also via ANOTHER friend's recommendation, yes, I know, I have quite a number of food connoisseurs on my list ha) also offers rainbow cake in chocolate and sea salt caramel coatings as well? I noticed that it's a common sight that most of their customers who post up on Instagram the rainbow cake variants with these two coatings, could hardly finish them in the end.

Personally, when I was there, I noticed they had another variant which was just plain rainbow cake with a chocolate sponge cake layer, asides from the other two formidable looking ones (the size of the plain variant was like, Goliath verses the Giants sorta comparison). I didn't order the plain one when I was there because I wanted to try out their main dishes on my first visit. Will give it a shot when I'm there the next time, but that what I should so affectionately term as, the "original flavoured" rainbow cake also cost around S$5 or so per slice?

According to Swee Heng's official site, they don't have any branches in Central yet, but I managed to sift out two areas (most of their branches are like situated in the West) which are relatively easier for me in terms of transportation - Boon Keng and Potong Pasir.

Amongst the two, I picked Boon Keng because I figured I might not get too lost for this location (considering the advised directions indicate that it's pretty near to Boon Keng MRT station). Yes, in case you're wondering, I'm speaking from the point of view of a person who is consistently geographically challenged (in other words, don't trust me with a map, if you get my drift).

I don't often go around exploring Boon Keng (although the other cafe which I want to try out - Bloomsbury Bakers is just around the area), however, as I remembered quite clearly that this Boon Keng branch is "along Bendemeer Road", I decided to just take a leap of faith and allowed my feet to lead me to the Bendemeer Road exit (Exit B).

Lo and behold, the first thing I caught sight of was the bakery. Hubs was like, "You didn't get lost did you?" when I called him afterwards.

Nope, I didn't. It was by pure luck that I got the direction right the first time (now I know how to get there, YAY!!!).

It's along a stretch of neighbourhood stalls, mini foodcourts (there's a stall selling handmade Nonya sweetmeats made on-the-spot) and I think there's a UOB branch there too?

Another thing I noted was that the shops here have all put on their Chinese New Year best. Whoever wanna get angbaos ("red packets" which are traditionally given by elders to the young ones for good luck in the new year) and decorations with the new sheep designs, you can pop over to pick them up when you're free. S$2 for 3 packets of angbaos and 80 cents for 1 packet anyone???

The first thing in the bakery which caught my attention was their cake display. Amongst the Tiramisu and what nots, they only had two small blocks of rainbow cake left. Like, really? It was only 1pm plus and there's only TWO left???

Apparently, the article wasn't kidding when they stated that the rainbow cake could be purchased at around S$2. Well, it was S$3, at least that's the price displayed when I saw it.

I had to be quick to grab one of the remaining two, in case anyone else comes along to snap both up. That and I snuck an equally quick shot of the bakery afterwards (was a bit "paiseh" aka "embarassed" when the three lady assistants were like looking suspiciously at my direction), so that whoever else here wanna grab some good cakes and breads, you know where to find the place.

The rainbow cake didn't come in anything remotely fancy, even Swee Heng's plastic bag looked rather humble and traditionally designed.

Open the unassuming plastic cover and one can't help but take a closer look at the even layers in the colours of a pastel rainbow, with thin layers of plain white cream sandwiched between each colour (the purple layer right at the bottom is the thinnest). Even the topmost chocolate layer imprinted with the subtle waves was comfortably thin as well.

Taste-wise? Let's just say I felt like running into the sunset with tears streaming out from my eyes...

I'm kidding.

However, that description might just be very close to how I felt about the taste.

It.is.AWESOME.

Traditional cake lovers, you will die for the taste of this seemingly big portion (the square ain't very small in the first place) of a rainbow cake. The sponge layers are soft and fluffy, buttery with the right amount, though each layer tastes the same. The thin layer of bittersweet chocolate balances out the whole cake, along with the white cream layers which are just mildly sweetened.

It tastes just like the trad cakes I like to buy from my old neighbourhood whenever I pop by there to "visit" my doctor (my family doc's clinic's just right next to it). I thought I would never find such taste anywhere again, until well, Swee Heng just nails it.

I think I might just pick one up for my friend (the one who recommended me NOM cafe) when I visit her at the airport (her workplace heh) the next time.

So while I was happily nomming on Swee Heng's deliciously awesome rainbow cake, I just had to make myself a cup of the new tea I had acquired just recently.

Remember I mentioned in one of my previous posts to guess the next tea I would be featuring?

Ta-da! Unveiling the "Azteca d-Oro" from Gryphon! I got to know of it through the small tiny brochure introducing their selected range of Rooibos which came with my first box of Gryphon tea - "Pearl of the Orient".

Speaking of which, I was never a lover of Gryphon's range of teas until a friend introduced me to her personal favourite - the delightfully sweet "Pearl of the Orient" (Jasmine Pearl Green Tea with Moroccan Rose Oil). Subsequently, I bought another Gryphon blend - the rather strange but pleasant tasting "Nymph of the Nile" (Organic White Peony Tea with Persian Rose and Egyptian Basil). My friend, on the other hand, didn't like this blend and calls it more to be an "acquired taste".

While both the "Pearl of the Orient" and "Nymph of the Nile" could be found at Cold Storage and selected Fairprice Finest branches, this "Azteca d-Oro" could only be found at Kovan's Fairprice Finest (just when I was tempted to get my friend to order it straight from Gryphon's official site).

"Azteca d-Oro" -  a mixture of Rooibos with Madagascan Cacao and Caramel, where this honey-gold elixir of a tea tastes just like the light but delicious Halpea brand of tea one of my friends gave to me (apparently, his colleague brought it back from his India trip and had it put in the office without anyone touching it for a long time after that), but with a strong and earthy spiced chocolate and caramel hint to it.

And if you're wondering about the cup, yes, I got it from my neighbourhood's Japan Home for S$5.90. There were two patterns for this tall off-white ceramic cup - sketched dark navy blue strips emblazoned with a ship's helm in the same colour and sketched salmon pink strips with the romanticism of Paris.

Needless to say, I picked the less gaudy dark navy blue one. That, and I like pirates. Arr-matey! HA!

I bought a new cup because the ceramic mugs at home are either dark navy blue or bright mandarin orange on their insides, which makes it difficult for me to illustrate properly the colours of the teas I'm reviewing.

This new tall ceramic cup is not only off-white on the inside (easier to see the tea colours), but also comes along with a dainty spoon and a wooden cup cover.

Aight, I guess I'll stop here for tonight. Event tomorrow! Need to rise and shine early!

Ciao peeps! Good night and next time! HA!