During our frequent trips to Taiwan, it is not surprising that we would stumble upon Sophisca; the Taiwanese candy store famed for their chocolate condoms, candy floss sanitary pads, and candy bras.
No matter what the occasion may be, Sophisca has many unique novelty gifts to offer and if you have been looking all over Singapore for some unique edible gifts; you will be pleased to know that Sophisca has a new outlet at Ion Orchard Basement 4.
What We Think of Sophisca?
Many of the products are well-packaged and they are suitable and presentable to be given away as gifts. However, we have to be upfront that they can be quite expensive too. Moreover, the chocolates aren’t that fantastic and we can only hope that Sophisca would work on improving the taste of their chocolate products.
If you were to ask us, our personal favourite products are the flavoured rock and gummy candies. They are highly addictive and we found it hard to stop at one or even two.
How long do we think this novelty trend will last?
We will never know but what we do know is that Sophisca originated in Taiwan and they have been around since 1997. For Sophisca to remain in the competitive confectionery market for such a long period of time, we believe it is only possible through constant product innovation and product development.
Planning a funny but harmless prank for your friend’s birthday?
We were recently invited to Just Like It!‘s latest outlet at Resorts World Sentosa and it was an interesting experience watching how NEW iCE cream are being made on the spot with 100% natural ingredients and liquid nitrogen.
Upon stepping into the Just Like It! outlet at Resorts World Sentosa, we felt as if we have just entered a science laboratory.
You probably might wonder what exactly is NEW iCE cream?
Well, NEW iCE cream is a term coined by Just Like It! to name their ice cream because their ice cream does not fall within the typical categories of traditional ice cream or gelato due to its unique texture and flavour.
With the use of liquid nitrogen as a cooling agent, Just Like It!’s technique of making NEW iCE cream hastens the regular ice cream making process, resulting in a final product that is made up of extremely fine and small ice crystals, promising an incredibly smooth texture to the ice cream.
At Just Like It!, there are a variety of NEW iCE cream flavours that are available and when we were there, we tried the Mocha Cookies, Chocolate Toffee, Vanilla Mint, New PopCorn, Tropical Mango, Jolly Shandy, and even Tiger Beer!
As a matter of fact, Just Like It! has a designated Research and Development team which uses a special technique that can churn out almost any flavour of NEW iCE cream, using only the freshest premium quality of natural ingredients with no additives, colouring, stabilizers, or emulsifiers.
These are the secret recipes/ingredients that are used in the making of NEW iCE cream.
Our personal favourites of NEW iCE cream flavours are the Tropical Mango and the New PopCorn and if you’re wondering how much a scoop of NEW iCE cream will cost, the price starts from SGD$5.90 onwards.
Apart from NEW iCE cream, the Just Like It! outlet at Resorts World Sentosa also has a whole range of other food and beverage products for you to indulge in.
While interacting with Mr Bak, Chief Executive Officer of Just Like It!, he explained to us how the NEW iCE cream is much more healthier than the traditional ice cream or gelato because of its lower fat content.
While there has never been a F&B outlet in Singapore that makes ice cream on the spot with liquid nitrogen, the use of liquid nitrogen in culinary is not something that is new in the market because the local bars here previously used liquid nitrogen to make cocktails that give off a cool white vapour, giving the drink a mysterious effect.
And if you’re skeptical about consuming food & beverage products made with liquid nitrogen, don’t worry as the liquid nitrogen must be fully evaporated from the NEW iCE cream before it is being served to you. Liquid nitrogen is not an ingredient that is added to the NEW iCE cream but it is a medium used for making the NEW iCE cream. However, do note that while liquid nitrogen can be safely used in food or drink preparation, it should not be directly ingested so please don’t go around having the idea that it is safe to consume liquid nitrogen.
If you have never witness the making of ice cream on the spot before, heading down to Just Like It! is a worthwhile learning experience as you can watch the staffs in lab coats conjure your favourite New iCE cream.
Here’s a 3-minutes video clip showing how NEW iCE cream is being made at Just Like It! @ Resorts World Sentosa.
To celebrate the 140th anniversary of Levi’s iconic 501 jeans, Levi’s introduced its first ever non-denim Levi’s 501 collection and to mark this really special occasion, Levi’s Singapore organised the Levi’s 501 Interpretation Fashion Event where 4 local celebrities, Felicia Chin, Tosh Zhang, Ya Hui & Ian Fang, showcased their Levi’s 501 interpretation in a fashion parade.
Before the event started, we were out and about shooting photographs and here’s me all decked-out in formal wear taking a picture at the Levi’s 501 Interpretation Photo Booth.
Before the event commenced, fans of the local celebrities were already gathered at the venue and here are Ya Hui‘s enthusiastic fans whom came prepared and dressed up in their custom-made “Ya Hui” tee-shirt.
The emcee for the day was Ivy Tan, a rather familiar Yes 933FM DJ and I was really privileged to have gotten a seat that had a vantage point for tons of photo opportunities.
Fans of the local celebrities were invited to the stage for a game where they will have to work with the celebrities in decoding the parts of a jeans and label them with the right stickers accordingly.
The next segment of the Levi’s 501 Interpretation Fashion Event was rather interesting because each celebrity had to style a 8 DAYS“Shirtless” Guy based on their personal style interpretation using Levi’s 501 jeans. As the 8 DAYS Shirtless Guys wore a tank top, they were not literally shirtless so don’t expect to see topless guys in this blog entry :P.
Here’s Felicia Chin’s 8 DAYS “Shirtless” Guy after being styled up.
After being styled up by the local celebrities, the audience were called upon by Ivy to vote for their favourite styled-up 8 DAYSShirtless Guys by sticking their voting slips onto them and voters whom have voted for the winning 8 DAYS Shirtless Guy could walk away with the Levi’s apparels that he was wearing.
Well, as we mentioned, we learnt some fashion and styling tips from the Levi’s 501 Interpretation Fashion Event and here you go:
1). Choose the colours of your outfits that complements your skin tone and hair colour.
2). Outfits that are dark and bold in colours makes you look more serious.
3). Outfits that are bright and lighter in colours makes you look more approachable.
4). When buying jeans, choose one that is comfy and one which matches your style of dressing.
5). Take your time to find the right type of jeans that suits you!
So, head down to the nearest Levi’s store near you and check out the many apparels that Levi’s has to offer! You will definitely be able to find something that matches your style and to top it off, simply upload a photo of yourself in a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans, include a short write-up explaining your style inspiration, and you might just find yourself walking away with $300 cash and a $200 Levi’s Voucher! What’s more, you get to score invites to an exclusive Levi’s 501 party that will be happening in May 2013.
This initiative calls for diversity in subjects and styling and the only consistent thread is the 501 jeans in the photo. Subjects can be both men and women and the 501 jeans can be cut-off, tie-dyed or heavily tailored. All interpretations are fair game. To upload your photo, simply log on to http://www.levis501.com.sg
