Sophilicity

So there's been many conventions such as MCM Comic Con Expo as well as Hyper Japan which have featured the LoveJojo store, but now it is LoveJojo's time to shine with the upcoming launch party!

So what is LoveJojo? Well, LoveJojo is an authentic gift store featuring various cute toys and gift. The store was founded by Jojo Hua, who is currently also the managing director. LoveJojo by definition has to be one of the most "kawaii" stores that I've know, particularly for its exhibits of plush toys at various conventions. If you're looking for cute plush toys e,g, alpacas and more, LoveJojo is the store for you!

So why exactly is LoveJojo hosting a launch party?

Well, the launch party is the celebrate the launch of LoveJojo's kawaii subscription box, which is currently being sold from £15! The way it works is, that longer the monthly subscription i.e, the more boxes you purchase the cheaper it is for you! 

1 month subscription = £19.99

3 month subscription = £18.33 per month

6 month subscription = £16.66 per month

12 month subscription = £15 per month

Question: Is the subscription box worth it?

Answer: Definitely! Considering the variety of items included in the box e.g. snacks, plush toys, accessories, stationery, makeup and more, you'd regret not making a single purchase! Best of all, if you purchase the 6 month or 12 month subscription you can get additional gifts along with your subscription! 

6 month subscription - free extra exclusive mystery gift(s) up to £5

12 month subscription - free extra exclusive mystery gift(s) up to £15, a signed postcard from Jojo (the founder and managing director of LoveJojo) as well as a personal thank you from Jojo herself on the stage of the launch party!

Plus, the packaging has been created so that it is sturdy meaning you can keep the boxes and reuse them for other things too! Check out the video below from the LoveJojo instagram, to prove it!

So purchase your subscription box now! By purchasing from the link down below:
http://lovejojo.com/shop/lovejojo-kawaii-subscription-box/

You can also pick up your subscription box on the night of the launch party and be one of the first in the world to receive the subscription box! Now that's definitely an achievement worthwhile aha!

 But why should you attend the LoveJojo launch party?


Well, think about all the cute things you can think of and put them all together in one place, this event is basically a glimpse of your imagination! From what I've known, there definitely isn't enough kawaii events around London, and the founder, Jojo agrees! Here is your chance to showcase your love for the Japanese culture by strutting your stuff in the cutest outfits with others who can relate aha! If you're voted as the best outfit, you will be awarded with a minute of fame on stage, sharing the stage with many awesome performers!

The current line up involves:

Kelsey Ellison - A world famous artist from the UK who is known for her many performances relating to Japanese pop culture. With over 70,000 subscribers on YouTube, her videos vary from covers to clothing hauls to vlogs and more. She has also had the opportunity to perform in Japan as well as releasing her own songs inspired by the Japanese Pop culture.

Check out her YouTube below:
https://www.youtube.com/user/KimonoTime

Leader Looi  - Known for her feisty and dangerous style, she will be taking the stage with some lively dance sets accompanied by back up dancers. She is most known for her K-Pop renditions, and was also one of the finalists at the K-Pop World Festival: UK.

Check out her YouTube below:
https://www.youtube.com/user/GoldenrodGirlVAA/

Aisha Anime - A renowned journalist known for her reports of Japanese culture around the UK. An enthusiastic kawaii cosplayer, interviewing people such as the likes of directors of animes, games and movies, as well as voice actors and more!

Check out her website below:
http://www.aishaanime.co.uk/

Ich Loc - Some of you may recognise him as the MC of this year's Chinese New Year Festival in London! He is an inspirational speaker who believes "living life with no limits". Also, he is the co-founder of the Limit Break Lifestyle Academy.

Check out the Limit Break Lifestyle Academy website below:
http://www.limitbreaklifestyleacademy.com/

Manifest Nation - Presented by B-Better, a bunch of talented individuals joined together to form the energetic dance group, Manifest Nation.

Check out the B-Better website below:
http://www.b-better.org.uk/

Strange Chocolate - A diverse indie live band, prepared to take us on a fantastical journey with their performance. Their name was inspired by none other than, Domo-kun!

Check out their SoundCloud below:
https://soundcloud.com/strangechocolate

Last but not least, there will be a performance from the dancing female duo, Elle and Lei!

---

So if you're into Japanese culture, cute things including free food and drink, mystery prizes as well as awesome performances with your ticket, what are you waiting for?!

Tickets are available to purchase down below:
http://lovejojo.com/shop/lovejojo-launch-party-tickets/

Early bird promotional ticket - £12 (until the 30th April ONLY)
General online ticket - £15 (from the 30th April onwards)
On the door tickets - £20 (WARNING! There is a high chance that tickets will be SOLD OUT early before the night. If there is a full capacity at the venue reached before the day, on the doors will not be available for purchase.)

UPDATE: USE MY SPECIAL CODE "LOVESOPH" FOR £5 OFF YOUR TICKET NOW!

Date: Saturday 7th May

Doors open at 5PM
Show starts at 6PM
Event ends at 10PM

Nearest station: Finsbury Park (Located on the Piccadilly and Victoria Line, the station is within 10 minutes walk of the venue.)

Venue: Platform Islington, Hornsey Road Baths, 2 Tiltman Place, London N7 7EE

Don't forget to click attending on the Facebook event below, if you have purchased a ticket!
LoveJojo Launch Party Facebook Page

Thank you for reading my post, and I hope to see you guys there!
I'll be accompanying a friend, and working as the photographer at the event, so don't forget to say hi if you see me!

We've actually been very fortunate this year in the UK. There's been lots of groups coming to the UK from HISTORY in February, Rock Bottom this month, B.A.P in May and now we have MYNAME coming the UK this September!

---

So if you know me, you'll know I'm the kind of person who enjoys trying out new food at new places. So being me, I decided to venture off around London and try out some food that I hadn't eaten before. I've always been a massive food fanatic - Sometimes I wonder how I even manage to eat so much and how I even manage to have the money to do so... But anyways... I'd been looking up food places to eat out for sometime, from online reviews to Instagram updates and I finally found a great place to try out. Have you heard of Bao? There have been many great reviews about the place so I wanted to give it a shot!

So a couple of months back, I went to try out the Bao located in Soho. Fortunately I was accompanied by my friend, Viet-Anh. Personally I think it is a really cute and comfortable place to eat out. Not to mention, there is also another Bao located in Hackney. The place serves the traditional Taiwanese bao in various styles as well as other Taiwanese dishes. With 6 different varieties of bao, I'm sure at least one would suit your liking! The servers recommended that you have at least 2 baos per person and possibly order some extra dishes.


I got the Classic bao and Fried Horlicks Ice Cream bao which I found were really interesting. Whilst  I found the Classic bao was really nice (especially as the flavouring was good and I particular believe the classic had a great combination - I even wish I had ordered more) I found that the Fried Horlicks Ice Cream bao was just fried bao with ice cream inside (it was nice either way). One thing which was a downer for me was the fact the ice cream made it really difficult to eat. This was due to the ice cream continuously sliding everywhere and dripping down rather quickly. In result, I found my hands were really sticky afterwards because of the ice cream. I would consider the Fried Horlicks Ice Cream bao to be more of a dessert bao than something you would eat as a main. In the future, I hope to try the Fried Chicken Bao if I get a chance to go again (I'm not going to lie, the queues for this place is really long). Although, I'm not a massive fan of kimchi, I find that the rest of the content of the bao is suited to my liking and hopefully the overall taste will even out.

The cost of each bao was around £4 each. I found this to be quite expensive considering the size of the bao, but this may also be because of the content included in the bao. I usually buy char siu bao from a bakery in Chinatown, called Golden Gate Bakery. Char siu bao is barbecued flavoured char siu pork inside a bun. These usually only cost about £1-£2 in comparison.

---

Later during the day, we decided to have a change of taste. Rather than our typical Asian cuisine we decided to have a taste of Italian in Soho, thus deciding to eat at Vapiano. We had both been to Vapiano beforehand, and if I'm honest, I always get carbonara with linguine pasta. I've gotta love Vapiano because they even personally cut you some bread as a side if you ask them to. So many carbs though omg...

The great thing about Vapiano is probably the fact that they make your dish right before your eyes. I personally find it really intriguing to watch people cook especially if they have some awesome cooking skills - I definitely need to go to Benihana (where the chef prepares your dinner in front of you) when I actually have the funds to do so aha... Another great thing about Vapiano is the vibe is really calm and the low-lit location makes it very relaxing.

They've also got live music nights downstairs at Vapiano from 7:30PM on selected nights. They usually do 2 music nights per month, varying from Vapiano Soho and Vapiano Bankside.
For upcoming #pastawithsoul nights, check out the dates below:

• April 7th - Vapiano Soho
• April 8th - Vapiano Bankside
• May 5th - Vapiano Soho
• May 6th - Vapiano Bankside
• June 2nd - Vapiano Soho
• June 3rd - Vapiano Bankside