Universal Studios Japan

Yes, am finally writing about my latest trip to Osaka where I got the chance to experience Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. Just for the record, it was my very first time to visit USJ and I had a really, really good time. Who am I kidding, I was extremely happy and it's beyond WORDS! Believe it or not, the feeling is still here as I’m writing this.

I remember that my sister and I arrived in Osaka (via transit in Tokyo) on Sunday afternoon and we were scheduled to visit the Universal Studios Japan on Monday, lunch time.

It was exactly 12PM that we arrived by the main gate and escorted inside to have a two hours of free time as per our request to eat and explore the theme park by ourselves.

By 2PM, we were fetched by USJ team so we can finally enjoy the rides and of course to take pictures at some of their iconic spots. 

First stop was the Minion Park! Even before we entered, we could already hear the theme song “Happy” welcoming us and that was it, the mood was automatically set to happy mode.

Anyway, our first ride was the 4D computer animated simulator ride, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem which is built inside Gru’s House. It was really interesting and what I love about it, is that we don’t need to wear 4D glasses to enjoy the ride and it felt like we were wearing one.

Not forgetting the souvenir shop so I could get some souvenirs for myself, such as the iconic hula dancer minion popcorn, toys and more little stuff to bring back home.

Up next was no doubt, my favorite, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Starting from The Weasley's broken flying car to Hogsmeade and finally to Hogwarts. Just like in the Minion Park, here at Harry Potter's, we were also welcomed by their theme song which brought me so much feelings. As a fan of the movie, I couldn't help but to miss their epic series while exploring Harry Potter's Area. 

Butterbeer is a must!

Universal Studios Japan's current favorite Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey ride is hiding inside Hogwarts Castle. It's a motion-based dark ride, aiming to bring Harry Potter to live on a phenomenal scale and guess what? The ride was surreal and I can see why it is everybody's favorite after the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride. Even though the queue was crazy long, it was all worth it.

Thanks to le sissy for accompanying me and being my photographer of the day, you're the best!

As for the highlight of the day, it was definitely the Night Parade! I was so lucky because the weather was extremely accommodating, there was no rain so we all could watch the magical Night Parade unveils before our own eyes. My favorite sequence has got to be the Harry Potter ones! The quality of the Parade was impeccable, the action, the visual, everything was just surreal, I swear. 

Got goosebumps throughout the Parade and I guess I still can't get over it.

Huge thank you to Universal Studios Japan for having us and for the awesome hospitality. Can't wait to plan my next trip to USJ again!

Resorts World Sentosa

So we got invited to explore Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore a few weeks ago and yes, this very entry is all about it. I hope you enjoy reading and scrolling!

First thing first, we were stayng at the colorful Festive Hotel which of course has a fun vibe and definitely one of families favorite. And how cute is our deluxe room? ;)

After we checked in and put our stuff inside the hotel's room, we were guided to have lunch at Forest Restaurant by Resorts World Sentosa and Celebrity Chef Sam Leong which serves tasty contemporary Chinese cuisine; very fine indeed.

Chilled Alaskan King Crab Salad

tossed with avocado, corn, salmon roe and mayonnaise

Duck Drumstick Salad

marinated with five spices and deep-fried served with green salad in sesame dressing

Norway Salmon Fillet

sous vide and served with green curry sauce

Australian Beef Tenderloin Cubes

wok-fried with onion, bell pepper and garlic in black pepper sauce, accompanied with pan-seared foie gras in yuzu soy sauce

Right after lunch, we went straight to Universal Studios to have some fun ;)

This was actually my 5th visit to Universal Studios (I used to live in Singapore, remember?) and I still couldn't get enough of it. Not to mention that they've just opened a new ride of "Puss in Boots Giant Journey" (a really slow coaster and safe for all ages) and finally reopened the scary ride of "Battlestar Galactica: Human VS Cyclon"!! I once tried the cyclon ride a few years back, it was super thrilling (and scary for me).

Last but not least, we also got the chance to take pictures with the kungfu panda and minions!!

Dinner was at Malaysian Food Street which is located just beside Universal Studios.

We had Penang Ah Mei hokkien prawn mee and KL Jalan Alor hokkien mee, both were awesomeeee.

The next day we went to visit my favorite place from the entire journey, S.E.A Aquarium, home to thousands and thousands of beautiful sea creatures (more than 100,000 marine animals from across 800 species) in habitats spanning 42.8 million liters of water. It is indeed one of the world's largest aquarium.

Move on to lunch, we had ours at the Ocean Restaurant which is still located inside the S.E.A Aquarium (yup, you can enjoy your food with the exquisite view of those beautiful creatures just like at the ocean gallery), opened by another celebrity chef Cat Cora, serving fresh sea food with Mediteranean and Californian accent, yummm!!

Crab Leg (crabstick) as an appetizer

Duck Leg Confit at its best

Beautifully cooked Sea Bass

I swear I can stay all day in here, it's just too beautiful to be true. My favorite part is of course this huge Main Ocean Gallery.

Next attraction that we experienced is the tricky Trick Eye Museum. "As the first overseas venture of the renowned South Korean gallery, the museum features about 100 paintings and optical illusion installations. More than 50 artworks were created specially and adapted for the Singapore gallery."

After all of those activities above, we went to have dinner at Palio Restaurant (Hotel Michael), trying out some Italian signature dishes.

Fresh Bruschetta Toscana

Delicious Shrimp and Calamari Pizza

Mouth watering Tiramisu

On the next (last) day, we had a little morning fun at the one and only Adventure Cove Waterpark; we enjoyed the float ride on their adventure river and also chillin' at the Bluwater Bay wave pool just before we had our snacks.

We ended our trip by having a tour around a new hotel by Resorts World Sentosa which is strategically located in the bustling town of Jurong East: Genting Hotel Jurong. Shuttle Bus is provided from Resorts World Sentosa and vice versa.

The cute feature in the hotel that caught my eyes: self service laundry machine.

To sum it all, we had so much fun during our short visit to Resorts World Sentosa and all the attractions, we'll be coming back for sure :)

Photos by yours truly and Citra Tjaja

For more informations, please visit www.rwsentosa.co.id