kroniq reviews

Banzai Sushi

Can you believe that I had never even tried sushi until a few months ago, now I can’t get enough of the stuff. I have eaten sushi from a few different places now, but the number of different places offering sushi in Auckland is unbelievable. This review is on Banzai Sushi located at 213 Symonds St, Newton, Auckland City.

They are located on the corner of Symonds street and Newton Rd. There are one or two parking spaces on the street if your lucky, but for me it’s walking distance, so don’t take the car when visiting this place. They have plenty of seating inside which is good, because it can get quite busy in there at lunchtimes.

Upon entering, you are greeted with a food display cabinet with dozens of different types of sushi. After grabbing your plate and personal serving tongs you move along selecting individual pieces of sushi which take your fancy. You have to be careful as there are so many different flavors which all look delicious. As you near the end with the counter you smell the final selection of sushi which has been deep fried and served hot. You must try one of these. All of the different sushi types are continuously being restocked by freshly made versions as they begin to sell out.

The sushi itself is well constructed. Other sushi I have tried can fall apart if you try to eat it in more than one mouthful, this stuff generally remains intact. The volume of ingredients is consistent as is the total portion. I have been here several times and have not once been disappointed. The sushi tastes excellent. Some flavors might not be for you, but as there is so much to choose from you will not be left out.

As they sell each item individually, the cost is slightly higher than other places. Each sushi can cost from just over a dollar to above two dollars per unit for the more fancy stuff. This however has not been a stopping factor for me. The quality of the sushi and the range is worth every cent. I am also a big fan of mixing and matching, I never get more then one type of the same sushi.

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Fourfontaine Heineken Amsterdam T-shirt

My partner was lucky enough to win a competition the other day. She collected a dozen Heineken beers and a limited edition t-shirt from Fourfontaine. Luckily for me she doesn’t drink beer and the t-shirts size is large and fits me perfectly.

The t-shirt’s design is one of 7 prints. Each print has a limited run of only 50, with the number printed inside the tee. The designs aren’t too bad with some better than others. The one I have is the black Amsterdam Tee.

It feels great to wear. It’s the right fit for me, but the best bit is what it’s made of. It is made from 180gm bamboo cotton. It’s light and feels exceptionally soft to touch. It definitely feels like a quality tee.

I am glad we won the t-shirt, as buying one would set you back a bit. They are retailing for $69 which I consider fairly steep for a t-shirt, regardless of the quality or how limited they are.

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A packet of Mi goreng Satay noodles

I can pretty much guarantee that everybody has eaten noodles before, it’s one of those foods which everybody can eat. They can be good for a snack or fleshed out to be a whole meal. Below I review Indomie Instant Noodles – Mi goring Satay and decide where they site in the noodle hierarchy.

Lets start with the main factor – taste. Most packets of instant noodles some with a single sachet of flavoring, these noodles set the bar a lot higher. Indomie include 5 – yes, five packets of flavoring! You mix these all in together and you end up with noodles which go beyond the standard boring flavor of regular instant noodles.

The texture of the noodles is good too. I have had some instant noodles in the past which had a slightly more rubbery feel, but these ones are fine. The thickness of them is slightly thinner than some other brands but only by a fraction.

The noodles come in an 80g packet. Once cooked it works out to be a good sized snack but falls short of a meal. The graphic on the packaging shows a possible serving suggestion which includes other foods, this would be required if you wanted to turn this into a proper meal sized portion.

A single packet will set you back $0.59 at your local supermarket, which is actually one of the cheapest brands of noodles available.

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SoundCloud

I spend a lot of my time on the internet and see all sorts of websites, one which has really stood out for me over the last few months is SoundCloud.

The main function of the website is to share and discover music and it does this really well. It might not have all genres of music for all people, but for those who enjoy electronic music you are in for a treat. You can search for specific artists / dj’s or just search for a style of music. The results are displayed and you can start listening straight away.

The site extends the user interactions by allowing you to comment on various tracks at specific time points. This can be funny seeing what people say as you are listening to a track. You can follow people’s activities on the site and add tracks to your favorites list. This can be extend through to your FaceBook profile if you want to.

I would classify myself as a listener rather than producer of music, so probably don’t benefit from the sites full potential. There are many tools available to the content producers to track, share and otherwise promote their music. Some choose to sell their music and provide links to iTunes, others allow you to download their work for free.

Technically this site is very well built. It uses the latest web technologies to provide a fluid user experience, from listening to a list of tunes to managing your profile – if you choose to set one up.

Get there now and discover some new music for free!

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The Losers

I usually don’t go to the movies unless it’s one I have really been looking forward to. Last night though we got cheap tickets to see a mystery movie, you don’t know what movie it is until you are actually watching it! I went there with low expectations as to what I was going to see but left feeling pleasantly satisfied.

The story line was fairly basic, it didn’t take much to understand what was going on and the biggest twist you could see almost a mile away. That didn’t worry me though. The story moved at a good pace with lots of action and a few funny bits. It wasn’t a long movie and I could have even watched another 30 minutes so they could build more into the ending, not that the ending was left short, just that they could have exploited it a bit further.

Character depth was also fairly shallow. This isn’t the sort of movie to induce much thought. What you see is what you get. None of the performances were outstanding but the story was never going to challenge the actors in any way. After getting past that you will enjoy the small moments where they do something amusing and execute it well.

Usually with an action film comes big explosions and a few impressive graphics. This movie had that without going over the top. I think they balanced this well. Some movies try too hard and lose focus on what makes a good movie. I especially liked the use of camera speed. At times they would use a slow frame rate to emphasize some action or skip frames in time to music to help get you in the mood.

As mentioned earlier, we got cheap tickets to see this movie. If we hadn’t I probably wouldn’t have gone to the cinema to see this film. It was fun but not worth paying full price to go and see. However, it is worthy of renting from your local DVD store.

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Rexona Men Anti-Perspirant Deodorant

One thing that most of us use every day is deodorant. We all usually stick with a specific brand but every now and then we might try something different for one reason or another. I have to admit that most of my life I had been set in using one particular brand but decided to try another to see if it was any better. I have since changed my shopping habits and now find myself buying Rexona Men and below is why.

It works. I can get up to a lot during the day, exercise, stress, exposed to hot environments and with this often comes perspiration. Some days are more intensive than others, but since using Rexona I have never experienced perspiration or undue smells which might have occurred with other brands.

Application-wise, it’s what I like in an antiperspirant deodorant. I can’t stand roll-on’s and I don’t like the sprays which feel like they blow dry powder under your arms. This spray has a slightly wetter feeling application so you know you have applied it.

Rexona comes in many different fragrances and some are better than others, they are all OK but not as good as another particular brand I used to use.

I don’t really consider the cost as deodorant for me is an essential item. What I do consider though is how often I have to buy the product. Rexona is packaged in 250ml cans but this should last you several weeks with normal use.

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Fruit Ninja

I find myself downloading and playing lots of games on my iPhone. I spend more time playing games on an iPhone than a computer, games console or even the old fashion take it out of a box and discover the dice are missing type of game. However with all this time spent playing, only the good games will hold me for any length of time and keep me coming back for more. Fruit Ninja by Halfbrick Studios almost had me.

We will start with the big one, gameplay. It’s a simple concept that anybody can understand, fruit gets thrown up into the air and you have to swipe it in half. They make it tricky by adding in a few bombs which kill you straight away, otherwise you are allowed to miss three pieces of fruit. That’s it – if you wanted more, you won’t find here. This makes for a quick game to play when you don’t have too much time. You might find yourself playing a couple of games but will tire after a few goes.

Replay value is also limited. Your primary objective is to beat your high score. There is a global leader board system using the OpenFeint platform, but nothing else. OK, there might be a few unlock-able achievements but don’t expect to be overwhelmed.

Quality-wise this game does have a bit of polish. The sounds are awesome – almost the best reason to buy the game. Both the effects and subtle background noise are enticing. Visually the game is good too. The fruit, splashes and swipes all look fine and not much improving can be done here.

The cost of the game is where you want it. At $1.29 you can justify the spend. It’s not worth much more because of the simplicity of the app and lack of replay value, but the developers definitely deserve something for putting together a fun polished application.

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Oakley GASCAN Sunglasses

I’m a big fan of sunglasses, I wear them every day. I make a point of not leaving home without them, as anybody in New Zealand knows, the weather can change in a heartbeat, so you don’t want to be caught out squinting in the sun… especially if you are driving!

I was in need of a new pair of sunglasses and was lucky enough to receive them as a gift.

My pair of GASCAN’s have a transparent crystal black frame with black iridium lenses. They look great on most people as they don’t have any outrageous features, just a sleek square straight look.

The are comfortable to wear, but occasionally slip forward if you are doing anything which involves a bit of extra movement, so can’t recommend wearing these if you are playing sports. They are suitable for wearing over a long periods of time without any discomfort.

The lenses are fine. I switched from yellow tinted lenses to these darker ones, so it was a bit different initially but it didn’t take long to adjust. They remove all the glare and keep everything nice and sharp. After several months I still don’t have any scratches but I do take care of them. They clean easily with a dry cloth.

The overall construction of them is solid. The hinges feel like they will last the life of the product and the arms are wide so have plenty of strength.

I can’t comment on the price as they were a gift, but most Oakley sunglasses will set you back a couple of hundred dollars. This is about average for a brand name pair of sunglasses.

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Red Bull Energy Shot

I drink my fair share of energy drinks and have to admit that Red Bull is not my first choice when faced with a purchasing decision. That decision however was taken out of my hands last night as I was given a free bottle of Red Bull Energy Shot.

The Energy Shot is a 60ml bottle of concentrated, non-carbonated Red Bull. You can put the entire contents of the bottle into your mouth in one quick gulp, hence it being a “shot” – good for a quick fix, not so much if you want to savor the flavor. It turned out that was a good thing, the drink tastes awful. I often hear the taste of Red Bull being compared with medicine, but on this occasion I would have preferred the medicine. I don’t know if it was because it’s concentrated or the lack of bubbles, but it didn’t leave any nice before, during or aftertaste. While I am not a huge fan of their original drink, it does taste better than this version.

Did it have an effect? Red Bull have all sorts of wild claims about what their drink will do for you, sadly I didn’t really feel any difference whatsoever.

As I mentioned earlier I got this drink free, but normally you would expect to pay $3.99 at your local supermarket which is slightly more expensive than their 355ml can.

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Indoor Cricket

Since moving to Auckland I have played a variety of indoor sports (football, netball, cricket etc..) and at various venues so I feel I have reasonable experience as to what a venue can offer. Action Indoor Sports has many locations but I will be reviewing the one on Dominion Rd.

First off, location. It’s located on a main road so is pretty easy to find. It’s tucked behind a Caltex petrol station, so if you know that you will have no troubles finding it. It shares a car park with an Asian supermarket which is both good and bad. If you have an early game, you might find yourself competing for parks, however anything after 7pm and you have more than enough car parks to choose from.

The facilities are excellent. The 4 available courts are well maintained. Since I have been playing there they have re-turfed the floor and replaced the nets. There is plenty of seating for spectators and players, plus they have extra seating in front of a large projector screen which always plays Sky Sports when a game is on. They sell beer as well as other refreshments and snacks.

The staff are always cheerful and seem genuinely happy to be working there. They provide umpires and referees for the games, and as with all officials at any level of the game they can make decisions which you might not feel are correct, but overall they are knowledgeable and usually consistent and fair.

The organisation of the sports are excellent. They provide a website which lists your game times and which court for the whole season. You are also able to view the ladder and past results. The games run on time every time. At the end of the season the top 4 teams play off for prizes. The winning teams then get to choose from trophies, bar tabs or t-shirts.

Most teams which play at this venue continue to return each season, and that speaks for itself.

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