March Love 2013

Attending my fave J-pop, Namie Amuro’s 20th Anniversary Asia Tour, her first concert ever in Hong Kong. The night was filled with dancing, jumping, along with singing and screaming to her old 90’s classic songs such as “Can you celebrate?”, “Respect the power of love”, “Say the word”, and many more. Celebrating a dear friend’s birthday on a relaxing weekend over Italian food, and surprised her with a birthday dessert platter. Friday night drinks with friends in town from Canada, accidentally discovered this stylish and chic bar, Lily & Bloom, that serves exotic and extraordinary cocktails!

Getting my hearty and healthy breakie back on track at work, with raspberry yogurt mixed with blueberries, strawberries, and pumpkin flax granola. Trying out my new cosmetics, the Jill Stuart custard lip pot (#C4, chocolat custard) to welcome spring time! Gently I blend this in with a clear gloss to give that extra shine. Doing a bit of good deed and contributed to World Vision for charity.

Spotted this cute floral summer dress and knitted cardigan, and got it in a heart beat for my friend’s recent new born baby girl. Started picking up on reading again. My current read is “the kite runner” and the occasional “fifty shades of grey” for my lazy read days. Spring shopping in H&M and got myself this sleeveless burgundy top with gorgeous lace detailing on it.

I am blessed for each and every day that was filled with love, fun, laughters, and sharing special moments with people I love and care for. You are my March Love 2013.

Traveller’s Guide to Beijing: The Great Wall of China and the Hutong (finale)

It was only right to end our Beijing vacation with a trip to the infamous Great Wall of China and that was just what we did, a day prior to returning back home. It was a sunny day as it had been for the past few days and it was just the perfect day for us. It was literally as if Beijing was loving us as the weather tends to be quite chilly during early April.

So we jumped into our friend’s car and before i knew it, i was experiencing my very first road trip in China!!! It was such a fun journey where we were blasting out the old 90s music and the occasional more up to date Ne-Yo and Bruno Mars music, lol.

Upon arriving to the Great Wall of China, we were bombarded with tourists and locals everywhere we went. I remember passing by stalls amongst stalls loaded up with China souvenirs such as Chinese qipaos, Chinese fans, magnets with Beijing’s scenic view, and etc. Surprisingly, i did not buy anything.

I have to say, it is quite a walk if you are to hike the Great Wall of China but the good thing is that you can decide how far you want to go and when to stop, so the route is relatively flexible. We walked for around 2 hours and mind you, we stopped numerous times to take photos, non stop giggles for no reasons, or to admire the breath taking view. One thing for sure, the first slope up the Great Wall was the hardest where I had to stop a few times to catch my breath, and gosh, how i felt like an old granny.

There were many times where i just stood there and thought how impressive it was that the Chinese people built this Great Wall to protect their Chinese emperor and land back then. The Great Wall is soo long that you can’t even finish the entire hike in one day, not that i would want to anyway, lol.

The endless view of mountains, trees, and the sky above us, really took my breath away. I felt so connected to nature for a moment even though that quickly vanished by the laughter of my friends who were trying to attempt some jump shots with their cameras.

As the sun was setting, we decided to take the slide back down and lets just say, i was not too keen about that idea. The first thing i thought about was safety but all my friends were just busy getting excited about the slide ride, which was a 15-20mins ride! So you can imagine how long that Great Wall is, and it’s only one small area that we walked. Anyhow, I’m happy to report back that i came down in one piece to report this on my blog, haha.

For our last day in Beijing, we ironically had English Breakfast. English breakfast in China just sounds odd together, don’t you think? But I guess i’ve always enjoyed my western food as a kid, and that morning we were just craving that! So there i was sipping my fave Earl Grey tea out of my not so posh tea cup, whilst savoring the juicy bites of my bacon and sausages. I kinda felt like i got transported back into London for a split second.

With a full stomach and some calories in need of burning off, we decided to walk around the Hutong area, which are  these narrow streets or alleys formed by Chinese traditional courtyard residences. So much history was present where I would see the old Chinese style houses amongst the westernized cafes, restaurant, and shops. It was definitely a great cultural experience of East meets West.

We passed by many local food stands and despite having just finished off an entire English Breakfast, we still had room for more food. There was this old man who was frying some mini eggs and i’m guessing they were quail eggs and i really wanted to try them, but i was not risking of having a bad stomach just hours prior to boarding the plane. After a while we stopped by a local yogurt stand and I have to say, the yogurt drink was tasted really fresh and was very dairy-like.

Just as we were about to leave Hutong and head to the airport, we stumbled upon this really cute postal shop. There’s a really special concept behind this shop where you choose a postcard and write it there, and they will send it off for you. The twist to the concept is that you can choose when to send it off and the staffs will do so according to your date.

My BFFS and I went all crazy and  got three postcards, one for each of us, and have it send off to my home 5 years later. I can’t wait to receive the postcards and see what secrets awaits us in 2017!!! Oh the excitement!!! Not long after, we went to the airport and said our good byes and up to this day, i’m still waiting excitingly for our next reunion.

Have you ever had an unforgettable and fun short get away with your BFF? And where did you go?

Traveller’s Guide to Beijing – Capital M

It was my second day in Beijing where i was awoken by the sun shining brightly into the room and I could hear the distant small chit chats between my 2 BFFs as we all lazed around in her comfy king size bed.  It’s not everyday that i get to wake up to such a warm and loving morning with 2 of my closes friends in the world and though i was tempted to snooze for a bit longer,  i knew the big city was calling our names. And with that, we all got up and dressed up to go out and explore Beijing.

We had booked a table at the prestigious Capital M for lunch and i could barely hide my excitement after my friend told me that they served our home made Danish food, Smørrebrød. For those that are not familar, Smørrebrød is buttered rye bread, a very dark brown colored bread with different toppings added to give it flavor, such as meat, fish, egg, cheese, cucumbers, herbs, and etc.

We got seated by the window seats with a breathtaking view of the city center of Beijing, where it leads up to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  The western design influence of the black and white patterned floor and mirror ceilings against the Asian infused detailing of red cushioned chairs and flowers, was an excellent way to mix and match.

The restaurant was surrounded by vibrant paintings which reminded me of Van Gough’s art work,  and it bought all the pieces together in the restaurant just perfectly along with a relaxing ambiance.

As expected, i ordered my good old home town Danish Smørrebrød and it did not disappoint. My fave was the fish fillet (fiskefillet in Danish) with a squeeze of lemon juice on top, and the crispiness was just right. The salmon, shrimp, beef, and cheese were typically like what it would taste like so nothing too exciting there.  The egg was excellent along with the dill herbs and for some reason, the flavor of dill reminds me of Denmark. Strange, i know. I suppose the only disappointing thing was that the bread served was not the normal Danish dark brown rye bread you find for Smørrebrød.

What better way to end our meal then enjoying a cuppa latte whilst indulging the complimentary chocolates, biscuits, and jelly candy. The honey comb chocolate was my favorite and its sweetness blended in just right with my latte. The freshly made beetroot juice that my friend had was also delicious and it was beyond fresh, as if i was eating right out of a beetroot!

And if the weather permits, why not enjoy a lovely weekend lunch outside their terrace whilst admiring the scenic view that will not fail to amaze you.  I am sure i will be back to Capital M and just like that, it was time to say good bye and we made our way to the next destination on our “to go” list, Forbidden City.

What fun adventures would you love to try if you were in Beijing?

My birthday celebration, continued…

On the day of my birthday, September 7th, i celebrated it with a few of my friends singing karaoke at CEO (Neway) where dinner buffet was included. To be honest, the buffets there are not the greatest but the good thing about singing karaoke on weekdays is that you are most likely able to sit until closing (5:45am). But they do have a variety of food to choose from such as Chinese dim sum, stir fried noodles, fried rice, sushi and some  Asian and Western desserts. As always, i ordered my usual lemon tea with honey, it’s good for the throat as you gotta sing throughout the entire night!

It was a great night of singing and trust me, some were really good old classic songs. Just think, “Prince – Could you be the most beautiful girl in the world” or “Whitney Houston – I wanna dance with somebody”, hahaha.  I always feel that the old 80’s and 90’s were the best years in music.

One of my BFF was also really sweet and arrived one hour late to surprise me with a Haagen-Dazs ice cream birthday cake!!! It was cookies n’ cream flavor and she chose the cake because the girl on it reminded her of me! Not sure if it looks like me tho, lol. The rest of my friends had to leave early as they had work next morning and since i arranged to have the next day off work, BFF and i just started chatting instead of singing for the next 2 hours! We left at 3am so i would say we made pretty much use of our time there, hehe.

Over the weekend, i celebrated  with my ex colleagues who were real darlings and took me to a tea buffet at The Place in Langham Hotel. The food was quite yummy and a lot of varieties to choose from. But i always stress that it’s a ripe off for me to eat buffets as i can only eat 2 or 3 rounds, lol. I loved their desserts more than their savory dishes and i guess it’s because i’ve got a major sweet tooth!!!

That day was a proper eating marathon and not long after my tea buffet, i met up with another friend for Spanish dinner at 1/5 Nuevo. The restaurant was really cosy with dim lights and we got lucky and had the corner sofa seat all to ourselves. It was more quiet that way and we were able to have a proper chat amongst the busy crowd. We ordered Iberico ham, Chorizo sauteed – onions, and fresh oysters. Yummmm!!! The Chorizo sausages were a tad bit too spicy for me though. I think 2 of my fave dishes were the garlic prawns and the pan fried goose liver. I normally don’t like goose liver but this one was utterly tasty and it came along with a sweet grape sauce, which was just a right mixture between the savory and sweetness taste.

We ended the night by bar hopping at Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), which is this drinking area in the city center and i have to say, it’s changed a lot since i last went! So many bars have closed down and so many new restaurants, bars, and clubs have emerged. Yes, you can tell it’s been a while since i’ve been drinking there. We only went to 3 bars but i was proper knackered at 4am and decided to call it a night. That was such a long birthday celebration, i tell you! But i am very blessed for everything and i cherished every moment of it.

Iberico ham, Chorizo sauteed - onions, and fresh oysters

Prawns - sauteed garlic

Pan fried goose liver in grape sauce

Here are some birthday presents that i received and thought i’d share it with you guys. I really like the YSL nail polish and the color is so me!!! It’s a perfect darkish purple color for the Autumn/Fall as well. That doll thingie is actually a mirror and i think it’s so cute! I always need a mirror with me no matter what so it’s a practical gift for sure. I also got this really cute fluffy and girlie pen from my ex colleague and i think it will go great with my organizer.  Lastly, another one of my BFF from New York sent me these amazing beauty products from Bath & Body works and Victoria Secret, and a colorful scarf from Coach. She is really such a sweetie, i love her!!! All in all, i think that all the pressies were really thoughtful and cute! Thanks to everyone. Love you all!!!

Okay, so this is my final wrap up for my birthday celebrations and my normal postings will resume very soon! So stay tuned peeps!

By the way, it’s actually typhoon 8 in Hong Kong today and that means no work! Yeahhh baby, i love you Typhoon Nesat!!!

Foodie Fashion

As a young kid growing up in a household where everyone had a love for food, i remember mom always telling me to eat up all my veggies and meat and never ever play with food. I’m sure we’ve all been told this foodtale at one point in our lives, or so i hope! 

But with the recent Barneys Holiday catalogue, i got a slight feeling that they are begging to differ or maybe just up to a bit of fun in the name of fashion? lol. Either way, it sure looks like one heck of a lovely foodie holiday and i’m loving those super sized kitchenwares!!!

Have a Fab Foodie weekend peeps!!!

Photo Source

Pure sweetness!

I’ve come down with a cold and sore throat over the weekend and it’s just been a downer. I’m also finding myself a lack of blog inspiration tonight or maybe i’m getting drowsy from the meds. Either way, i thought it would be a perfect time to share with you all on some delish dessert buffet that i had with my family at the Intercontinental Hotel. This was taken back in November for my mother’s birthday and i’ve been meaning to post it, so here it is. This is what i call pure dessert paradise!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh……..

(All photos accredited to me)

Beautiful things in life

There are days when we are happy and there are days when we are sad. Since time will not stop for no one, why don’t we just make use of such precious seconds and minutes and be as happy as possible?! I reckon this will be one of my bestest theory in life to master.

By the way, thanks a million for all your sweet comments on my previous post. I’m feeling a lot better now. I went out for a friend’s birthday dinner and clubbing last night, and i had the best time of my life!!!  I can’t even remember the last time i went dancing and it was nice to go out and just live life:)

Here are some happy photos that defines beautiful to me. What is considered beautiful in your eyes?

 Photo source: Fashionising and Tumblr

A happy start to Jan 2011:)

I can’t believe that the first month of 2011 is already coming to an end and yet, i feel like it just started.  As with every ending, there will always come a new beginning and hence, i’m already looking forward to February. I simply cannot wait for February to arrive, which will be a celebration month filled with Valentines day, Chinese New Year, my best friend’s birthday, my other best friend’s returning home from Beijing, and this 30’s themed Shanghai costume party going on for my company’s annual dinner! Gosh, that seems like a pretty packed schedule!

To complete the end of my very first month in 2011, i’ve decided to share with you some fabulous, wonderful, and fun things that i’ve done over the last 31 days. Yes, i know it’s mostly all food related but who are we kidding? Food makes us happy and sane, and that is how i like to kick start it in 2011, yeahhhh baby!!!!

Baking and decorating cookies with my girls on NYE!!!

Happy start to 2011!!!

High tea'ing with my skats at the Four Seasons Hotel:)

All you can eat dessert buffet at the Four Seasons Hotel

A relaxing Saturday with BF over coffee

My fave Japanese Sashimi!!!

The Seasalt Caramel Cheesecake goes just right with my fave Chai Tea latte

My magazine purchases for the month

Bought these cute earring sets at Cotton On

Cosy booties i bought from a local shop

Chase my Saturday blues away…

I’ve come down with a cold over the week and now i’m left with all the suffer from coughing, sneezing, and feeling blah for the weekend! Booooooo, what a bummer for me man. But BF is coming over later to come chill with me so maybe we can just enjoy a light movie or something.

Since i’m feeling the blues on Saturday (just wonderin can blues apply to any day or Monday only?lol), i decided to share some happy moments with you all so i won’t feel as bad and grumpy, haha. You will notice that most of the photos are on food because food makes me happy whem i’m in a bad mood, hehe.  If you’re interested, i’ve also written past posts about food and enjoyments in my life with some mood up lifting photos here and here🙂 

What about you? What lovely things put you in a good mood when you are feeling those blah days???

Enjoy and hope you are all having a fabulous and healthy weekend!!!!

Bf took the trouble and ordered these lovely roses and lilies to be delivered to my work, while he was still living in Ireland at the time:)

My BFFs celebrating a fab bday for me in this Italian restaurant and gave me my first ever Tiffany necklace, awwww, love you girls!!!

I love strawberries – when they’re sweet and dipped in chocolate!!! lol

Sangria – one of my fave drinks whilst chilling with my girls:)

High tea at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and you can see all the fab food as mentioned here. 

Yummy Chocolate Mousse Dome dessert at the JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong

Chinese style dessert – Sesame flavored rolls with fresh mango and glutinous red rice

Easter decoration at my nearby shopping mall

Tiffany & Co. Christmas tree in Taipei, Taiwan – my 2009 new year trip! You can see more amazing photos of the trip here.

Strawberry cupcake from SIFT, the frosting is delish!

I saw this Sweet Potatoe Pie flavored ice cream from Haagen – dazs and knew i had to try it! It’s Japan edition too!!!:D

Fauchon – my fave places to go when i’m in Paris. As you can see from the date, this was way back in 2004!!! This defo calls for a trip back to Paris very soon:)

Max Brenner: Chocolat by the Bald Man – this is a must try place in NYC for choco lovers, its dessert paradise! The waffle was soft and warm and the banana in the toffee sauce was yummers!

Fire works at the Victoria Harbour on China National Day (Oct 1st, 2010)

Company Annual Dinner at the Disney Hotel, Hong Kong

BF took me to Powerscourt House & Gardens –  a beautiful country estate located in Wicklow, Ireland. You can read up on my Ireland trip here too. There are loads of photos and adventures explored so do check it out if you have time:)

My sister gave me these fab Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku ♥ Lovers perfumes (Baby and Music) for Christmas last year. I’m still thinking if i should buy the entire collection but it seems abit insane to do so! lol

First time to the Venetian Hotel/Casino in Macau with BF:)

Cute Tiffany & Co. Shop at the Heritage 1881 shopping area, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Coffee break with BF in Cafe Nero back in Aug for my Euro trip, gosh i miss London!!!

Lunch at the pub, Old Thameside Inn, London – my yummy boar sausage, pork sausage, and apple parsnips on mash potatoe with gravy sauce!

(All photos accredited to me)

The Danish exploration continues…

And so the great exploration of the Danish heritage continued for the next following 4 days, and that was clearly not enough time for us.  But we did make use of each and every minute where alot of walking was involved. We passed by the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen) quite a few times as it links to the beginning of Strøget, apparently one of Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping area, where we did some shopping and eating. On the top of my list to show BF was Amalienborg, which is where the Danish royal family resides during the winter season. If you’re lucky, you get to see the soldiers marching and we were just that lucky that day!!!

We made use of time that day and passed by the famous waterfront Nyhavn and took some photos. I wanted to go into one of the local cafes for food but we were just too short of time, sucha bummer considering i’ve never had a meal at Nyhavn before! It’s a place worth going if you are in Copenhagen during the summer and you’ll find the place buzzing with people and  cafes, where you can grab a bite or enjoy a cool beer.

Rådhuspladsen

Soldiers marching at Amalienborg

Nyhavn

As the day came to an end, we decided to go to the famous amusement park Tivoli to get it over and done with, lol. Don’t get me wrong, this place is absolutely worth going, where there are fun rides to try and where the night turns into a romantic fairytale with colorful lights illuminating up the place, and last but not least, they do an amazing show with the fireworks to end the  night.  With that said,  i would personally recommend couples to visit Tivoli during the evening.

Later on, BF got hungry and so we headed to a nearby steak house that i go visit everytime i’m back. It’s called Jensens Bøfhus and they’ve got loads of chains across the country so you’ll find one without a problem. I had my usual steak and baked potatoe with my all time fav Bernaise sauce! I think the sauce originated from France but as a kid, i always thought it was a Danish sauce, lol. BF tried the steak with whisky sauce and i wasn’t too fond of it. Oh, and i tried this really nice raspberry (hindbær in Danish) drink and i highly recommend you to try it. BF tried it and he said it was good too.

The next day we went to visit my brother in Næstved, the Southern part of Copenhagen, and it takes around one hour to get there by train. That day was a particularly special day as it was a joint birthday party for my nephew and nieces, and i haven’t seen them for 3 years!!! Gosh, i miss them heaps. They had a gigantic cake i tell ya, and you may think WOW! But all birthday cakes looks relatively like that to some extent, apart from the sizes, i guess. They also love sticking  all those Danish flags on the cake and i find that really sweet. It’s kinda like the nationalism for your country? hehe

Finally it was back to the big city the next day and our trip was pretty much coming to an end, as much as i didn’t want it to. We decided to stay at the Wake Up Copenhagen hotel on our last night so we could spend some quality time together. It was only 550  kroner so not too bad a deal. It’s also a very comfortable hotel to stay at and i just love it’s Scandinavian design with simplicity and style in mind.  It’s situated right in the city center and close to the airport too, so it’s a winner for sure:)

Lobby/Waiting Area

Bar Lounge

We ended our final night at Hard Rock Cafe for dinner with my family and it was a cosy and lovely night. We called it an early night as we had to catch a 8am flight the next day and with that, it was time for my next stop Dublin, Ireland. Yahooo, i finally get to see BF’s home town and what’s more is that i’ve never ever been to Ireland before!:)