Saturday, November 26, 2011

A Visit To Atelier Royale...

It's been close to 2 wks since [AFA11] concluded, and last wk, I blogged abt the event in general - what was happening around the exhibition halls, the cosplay competition and the random cosplayers posing for pics...

Well, this post is dedicated solely to my visit to [Atelier Royale], the butler's cafe... It'll probably be quite a short post since the cafe has a no pictures allowed policy, unlike the maid's cafe next door... Nonetheless, the personal experience itself is mind-blowing and yes, I was drooling and foaming a lot... It's a miracle tt I'm still alive and didn't spastically convulsed happily to my death... ROFLMAO...

As mentioned in the previous post, I visited [AR] after I was done with the [Regional Cosplay Competition 2011] and by then, I was kinda hungry... It kinda took quite a while to enter the cafe cause by around tt time of 1600 hrs, [AFA11] was in full swing and there was a line of mainly young gals waiting patiently for their turn into [AR]... Yep, when I joined the queue, I was the only dude in line... LOL... Looks kinda weird, isn't it??? But I heck it la... *Grins* =P

1 thing good abt a table for 1 is tt it's relatively easier to get a seat compared to a larger crowd and tt was what happened to me... The group of 4 gals in front of me had to wait a little longer while a table was prepared for me... Haha... I was glad tt happened cause by the time it was my turn, I was totally starved and I need some kind of food in my stomach, any food... X_X

As I placed my order for my set meal, the lady manager (@ least I think she is) kinda recognised tt I patronized [AR] last yr as well... @ this pt in time, I got a little awkward cause it's not everyday tt ppl noticed me, much less someone who has only seen me like once, a yr ago...

It seems like the cost of taking pics with the butlers have increased as well... Last yr, it was an additional $2 if you want an extra butler to join you in the phototaking... This yr, any additional butler will cost a whopping $5... The same cost for the 1st butler tt you take the pic with... @ this pt in time, I told the lady manager tt I'll think abt it, but in actual fact, I've already made up my mind to take a pic with 2 butlers... I just haven't decided who...

'Maybe I should ask for Yutaki again, should I???'

I could only think tt much cause when the lady manager introduced me to [Yutaki] and said tt he'll be my butler for the 45 mins tt I'll be in the cafe, well, I lost all higher level brain processes...

'OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG... Yutaki is my butler!!!'

Yep, tt's all I could think abt now...

I was still in shock when he served my green tea cheesecake set meal tt comes with well, the green tea cheescake, a kit kat bar and a cup of normal coffee... I totally forgot to snap a pic of the meal to illustrate how it's absolutely not worth the $18.90 tt I paid for it due to the lack of brain functionality... However, when I finally recovered enough brain power to get my hand to add the sugar to the coffee, but my hand was trembling and I could hardly open the pack of sugar properly... Yes, I was uber excited and all my molecules are buzzing rapidly... I'm trying my best not to jump and squeal like some 12 yr old sch girl... LOL...

[Hiroshi] came to greet me later and subsequently proceeded to help me to add the creamer to my coffee... Tt's when my brain stopped working again and my entire body just froze... I just stared @ his hand adding the creamer... Now tt I thought abt it, I should've commended my head to turn to the 2'o clock position to stare @ his side profile... Gah, dammit... -_-

Anyway, it was kinda troublesome as the butlers took quite some time to add the creamer and sugar into the coffee and stir it... But like [Steph] mentioned, it's to allow the customers to stare @ the butlers longer and yes, I'm not gonna bitch abt it any more... =D

Okay, now for a short critique of the food... Despite the cake being called a green tea cheesecake, I couldn't taste any cheesecake in it and there was like 2 other layers of sponge cake in it... In other words, it's more like just green tea sponge cake... Nonetheless, it's still cake and I like it... Yep, end of review...

Now this is section is probably the most exciting part in my entire visit to [AR]... 3 other butlers came to talk to me and I was reduced to some shy, high sch sch girl... Making hasty eye contact and crappy replies just came out of my mouth when they asked me some questions... My brains totally exploded and I totally lost my act...

[Hiroshi] came over and tried to talk to me and asked me what kinda animes I like... I couldn't even list out a single anime tt I like and all I said was tt I watch whatever tt my friends recommended... This is fail no 1...

[Haru] then tried chatting with me and he recognises me from last yr, which freaks me out a little cause he's my butler last yr... He thanked me for my continual support to [AR]... Okay, I thought this is quite fail, but it's not really la...

Fail no. 2, and most likely the worst fail ever is when [Ren] came over to chat with me... He asked me whether if I did checked out the maid's cafe and why didn't I check it out and visit the butler's cafe only... My awesome reply was...

'Cause I just like the butler's cafe...'

O.M.G... I mean, what kinda crappy answer is tt?! It sounds damn gay no matter from which angle you look @ it from... Like, what is wrong with me??? Okay, my forever alone r/s status and being man-crazy with cute, guys around my age or younger is wrong with me... URGH... Gawd... Like even a 'Oh, I like the butler's cafe cause I'm a huge fan of [Kuroshitsuji]' sounded wayyyyyyy so much better than what I uttered out to [Ren]...

After I finished my cheesecake, I proceeded to utilize my awesome ability to take forever to drink my coffee just so tt I can let my eyes drink up the sight of all the butlers in action... Truth be told, the butlers this yr are all damn bloody cute and good looking... Wah lao... I AM SO GONNA DIE ALONEEEEE... ='(

After I had my coffee, I proceeded to take a pic with the butlers... And @ tt pt in time, the degree of brain dmg tt I suffered was so severe tt I could only recall [Ren]'s name... So I decided to take a pic with him & [Yutaki]...

Me (286) This cost a whooping $10...

After tt pic was taken though and in the absence of any cute guys tt always screws up my brain functions, I realised tt [Ren] is not as hot as [Shou]... Like, I should've taken a pic with [Shou] instead... Haha... I actually stalked [Shou] a little on [FB] and I found out tt he's actually younger than me, studies in [NYP] and is a model somewhat... ALL THE MORE REASON FOR ME TO VISIT [NYP] AGAIN... *Pedobear look*

This last part is my final confession... I saw the [AR] merchandise and they were selling badges of the butlers in chibi form and pics of the butlers... I can't remember the badges cause I wasn't interested in their cartoon forms... I was more interested in their pics and they're being sold like in packages of 5 pics or $10... Plus if you're lucky enough, you might even get a pic tt's autographed by the butlers themselves...

I got sold and bought the pics which frankly speaking, could be DL-ed like from [FB] or the [AR] webby...

Atelier Royale I love the group shot!!! All the cute dudes!!! *Drools*

Ren Hiroshi Haru Yuu

Yes, by now, anyone reading this post would know for sure what my Achilles' Heel is already... ROFLMAO... =P

Thursday, November 17, 2011

AFA11...

O-k-a-y... I know I haven't been blogging for uber long already... I actually did try to blog a couple of days ago, but I ended up deleting the draft which I've done cause it started getting really crappy...

Apparently, I'm totally confused and conflicted to be able to actually pen down my thoughts and feelings coherently... Actually, the other reason was tt whatever I wrote didn't sound very sophisticated, so I've decided to not publish them... Hey, I need to maintain some form of atas-ness okay... HAHA...

Anyway, [AFA11] happened over the weekend and according to the papers, this yr's event is more boomz, attracting a larger crowd compared to the previous yr and I can totally attest to tt lor... Whenever there's a cosplayer posing for pics, oh my gawd... All the photographers flocked towards the cosplayer like bees to honey and formed a human barricade around the cosplayer, rendering it virtually impossible for me to actually get a good shot...

This is compounded by those DSLR-wielders who have to scrutinize the pic tt they take on the spot, think for 20 secs before deciding whether they're happy with tt shot or not... I'll be happy if they're happy cause I can replace their spot and take the pics... Everyone should get their turn, kthxbye...

I shall leave those [iPad2]-wielders alone for now and not rant abt how their pad is more din teh than the darn DSLR, which totally blocks off more of my view if those ppl are standing in front of me...

Yep, enough ranting for now... I'm kinda on schedule and would like to complete blogging within an hr... LOL... =D

AFA11 (2) Card game competitions... Not very interested though, so NEXT!!! HAHA... =P

Initially, when I made the tour of the exhibition hall, I was like a wee bit disappointed... It's like, where are all the cosplayers/! Okay, so my eyesight fails me @ times, but still, I keep seeing figurines...

AFA11 (19) AFA11 (18) AFA11 (12) AFA11 (11) AFA11 (10) AFA11 (9) AFA11 (4)

I also saw this small section tt screens the 1st ep of [Fate/Zero] and when I saw tt, I was going: 'OMG, I HAVE TO CATCH TT ANIME CAUSE I WATCHED [FATE/STAY NIGHT]!!!' So when I saw these, I went a little gaga...

AFA11 (24) AFA11 (23) AFA11 (22)

It totally brings back memories of how I totally dig tt anime... Okay, I wasn't a huge fan of [Saber]... I was more interested in the other minor [Servants] and I guess it can be attributed to my preference for non-meelee fighting characters... HAHA...

More shots of the figurines!!!

AFA11 (109) AFA11 (108) AFA11 (107) AFA11 (106) AFA11 (105) AFA11 (104)

Nostalgic moment no. 2:

AFA11 (15) [D. GreyMan]...

AFA11 (14) [Shakugan no Shana]!!! I totally can't wait for my finals to be over so I can catch up on the 3rd season... *Minor foams*

Okay, if these were cosplayers, it would be so much better... Heh... =D

AFA11 (8) And I took this purely because of the initials 'C.D.S'... The 1st thing tt actually came to my mind was [CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS]... Can you believe this?! Gawd, I totally studied wayyyyyyy too much [Finance] le... -_-"'

AFA11 (17) Impressive...

And wait... It's... Real?!

AFA11 (16) LOL... JK!!! This is a cosplayer while the previous one is just a model...

Okay, did spot some cosplayers, BUT THESE ISN'T ENOUGH!!! *INSERT RAGE FACE*

AFA11 (21) AFA11 (13) AFA11 (7) AFA11 (5)

So I decided to make my way out of the exhibition hall to check out the situation outside...

AFA11 (29) Saw crowd, must kaypoh... HAHA...

AFA11 (46) Oh yeah... [D. GreyMan]!!!

AFA11 (33) Hmmm... [Tsuna] in 10 yrs' time??? o_O

AFA11 (56) I'm very sure he's supposed to be [Lambo]'s adult form...

And some other shots of cosplayers here and there...

AFA11 (58) AFA11 (57) AFA11 (54) AFA11 (53) AFA11 (51) AFA11 (50) AFA11 (49) AFA11 (48) AFA11 (47) AFA11 (45) AFA11 (44) AFA11 (43) AFA11 (42) AFA11 (41) AFA11 (38) AFA11 (37) AFA11 (36) AFA11 (32) AFA11 (31) AFA11 (30)

By then it was like around 1400 hrs and I've decided to head to the stage area to secure a good spot for the [Regional Cosplay Competition]... I mean, I paid the additional $10 for the stage access and I sure as hell, die die must go see the competition lor... Otherwise, it's a complete waste of my money what... -_-"'

AFA11 (59) More crowd... Not surprising...

The [Malaysia] team participating in the competition deserves special mention lor... The performances actually involved fake blood and 1 of the cosplayer is actually a guy!!!

AFA11 (73)

AFA11 (72) Yep, this is the guy... I don't think it's THAT obvious lor...

Other selected shots of the competition...

AFA11 (68) AFA11 (95) AFA11 (94) AFA11 (91) AFA11 (90) AFA11 (87) AFA11 (85) AFA11 (84) AFA11 (83) AFA11 (80) AFA11 (76) AFA11 (75) AFA11 (67) AFA11 (61)

Once the competition ended and everyone began to leave the stage area, I followed suit, but I chionged back to the festival area because I wanted to visit the [Atelier Royale]... HAHA... Yep, I so didn't forgot abt it and apart from checking out the cosplay competition, waiting to head to the butler's cafe was next on my priority list and I can finally ogle @ hot butlers while having my late lunch cum early partial dinner...

AFA11 (100) I'm so in love with this logo...

AFA11 (96) The menu...

Haha... I shall stop talking abt [Atelier Royale] here... Shall talk abt my exciting 45 mins experience in another post after I've scanned in the pics obtained from the cafe... The bottom-line however, was tt it's a place where I totally lost all forms of reasoning and be willing to spend as much as $39.80... Man-crazy TTM... ~_~

A [Hard Gay] cospalyer... LOL... *Amazed*

AFA11 (99) AFA11 (98) AFA11 (97)

And if I thought tt was awesome, I obviously ain't see nth yet...

AFA11 (103) [9gag] has been spotted!!! OMG, the soul-stealers are here!!!

AFA11 (110) And here's my buddy Mr. [PedoBear]... =D

Final round of cosplayer hunting before I call it a day...

AFA11 (122) AFA11 (121) AFA11 (120) AFA11 (119) AFA11 (118) AFA11 (117) AFA11 (116) AFA11 (114) AFA11 (113) AFA11 (112) AFA11 (111) AFA11 (102) AFA11 (101)

This was the last cosplayer tt I actually saw before I decided to really call it a day and head back home...

AFA11 (123) [Emma Ai]...

Haha... Before I end off this post, the following few pics are taken as I thought of [MJ]... I would've liked some company, but oh well...

AFA11 AFA11 (25) AFA11 (93)