Photoblog

Yeah, I think my photos deserved a space. 

Oh, and a page too! (:

23 days, RM13k, five countries & nine cities in Europe

Aha! Most of you must be curious about the amount I spent for my entire Europe trip. Can't tell you the exact amount but it's around RM13k plus, which is the amount I'd budgeted before I go (inclusive of international & local air tics, accommodations, transportation, museums entry tics and of course, shopping!). And no, I ain't a spoilt rich girl. I've been earning my own pocket money since I started my uni. So, I'm literally BROKE right now cuz I spent all my savings in ONE GO (毕业旅行就是要豁出去). lol. But, I think worth it all la, graduation trip mah, must have a memorable and unforgettable one right? *smirks* 

'Homework' we did for our trip. They looked like pile of assignments and one of my friends asked, ''你们是去考导游吗? You guys going for tour guide exams is it?'' tsk tsk. haha. To be frank, it's not an easy task to plan on a Europe trip, especially it's your first time and on your own. But, thankfully I've got two experienced cousins who gave me advises for this trip :D Just be sure that you are well-prepared and know the do's and don't's of the particular country beforehand. 我也觉得自己很不简单，可以乱跑到酱远 xD

Countries & cities I went :

France - Paris (4 days)

Spain - Barcelona (5 days)

Italy - Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice (One week)

Ireland - Delvin, Dublin (4 days)

UK- Belfast (3 days)

Well, I didn't overspent and managed my expenses quite well, I think*. Spain and Ireland are the countries that I would love to go back again. And maybe, Italy, for shopping, and the UK for London. I really really want to share about my travel experience, like the hidden gems/places I found, reasonable price and comfy accommodations I booked, good food in Spain (hehe Barcelona has got a lot of cheap and nice food!) etc. For me, traveling and exploring new places always inspires me! I'm pretty inspired right now and will try producing some entries during these holidays! Will be back again. xx

And I think I broke my own record 我到底拍了什么垃圾!? :O

20 facts about me

Helloo! Since I hardly blog about personal stuff, lemme share something personal today then (was tagged by Eileen:) )

1| Hate prickles (as I'm eating Subway right now)

2| My favorite dish is sambal petai. I can eat up three bowls of rice just with petai. No joke:p

3| I take photos using my 'feel' instead of skills. Lol

4| I can't stand people or myself being late. I don't like to be late.

5| Love traveling but hate packing.

6| One of my must-do list is to travel to Tibet. Any takers?

7| I've got height phobia. I'm afraid of taking ferris wheel and cable car but NOT roller coaster ride. Weird.

8| Instagram is like my bible before sleep. Lol 

9| My favourite pass time is to edit pictures. 

10| I love to eat anything with eggs. 

11| I'm a lazy person. I prefer to nua at home and be 宅女 during weekends.

12| I'm not an outgoing person. I got social-awkward disorder.

13| I use my hard-earned money to travel. So, don't judge. You just did, didn't you? :p

14| Sometimes I worry too much over lil thing.

15| I like to plan things ahead. Don't like last-minute work.

16| I've got 選擇困難症. Decision making is always hard for me. ie: will end up buying two different colors of clothes with same pattern. 

17| I hardly watch movies in the cinema.

18| I don't know how to cook. 

19| I love coffee art but not coffee.

20| My uni friends called me by ah me (sounds like calling mummy) or 愛美麗 cuz I'm very 愛美. wtf haha and it's also because Amelia pronounce as ai mei li in Mandarin lahh. 

Tag @camillesoo if you are reading this since your blog is so dead and you are so free now:p

Sep/Oct 2014 Buffet Promo @ Swez Brasserie, Eastin Hotel Penang

Thailand’s largest International Culinary Competition, the Pattaya City Culinary Cup 2014 was held from 13 to 17 August 2014, and Eastin Hotel Penang crews proudly won a gold medal for the Pattaya City Gourmet Seafood Challenge.   

According to Chef Daniel, it was very challenging as all ingredients are prepared by the organizer and teams can only use the ingredients provided to plan their menu.  

Award winning entries by the winning team.

Tapas 开胃薄菜

Crab Cake with Papaya Mango Dressing Served with Apple & Chili Salsa 蟹饼果香料烩酸与辣酱

Perfect combination of sweet-sour taste with a small bite-sized of crab cake.

Chilled Oysters with Dressing Vietnamese Style 冷冻生蚝烩越南芳香

Finally had my craving satisfied! teehee, long time never had oyster already!! To me, the topping is amazingly nice and the oyster is freshly served too :D

Soup 金牌汤羹

Roasted Pumpkin Ginger with Seafood Chowder 烤南瓜姜汁烩海鲜羹

Pumpkin taste is not strong enough but the added ginger and seafood made the soup appetizing!

Main Dishes 金盛主菜

Baked Fish with Spicy Pineapple Chutney & Fragrant Coconut Milk Rice 菠萝辣酱烤香鱼烩椰奶浆饭

I enjoyed this dish the most as the taste is very different from the ordinary nasi lemak. The baked fish is very well-cooked and the tasteful pineapple chutney topping is a plus point to the dish. 

Sambal Squid Malay Traditional Style  传统大马风味香辣三拜墨鱼

For spicy food lover, the sambal is pretty hot enough to stimulate your salivary glands :D Tasted kind of spicy but appetizing one.

Wok Fried Chicken with Salted Egg Yolk 黄金霸凤凰

Crispy skin and the texture of the chicken was fine.

Bailing Mushroom with Garden Green  园林绿化白灵菇

Gravy homogenized with the mushroom well.

Dessert 餐后甜点

Chocolate Brownies, Cream Brulee, Rasberry  Chilled Cheese 巧克力布朗尼,奶油布丁,树莓冻芝士

Who can resist the temptation of desserts!? A wonderful sweet course after a tummy-filled lunch. All tasted just right to my liking!

Signature Of The World International Cuisine is available during Lunch, Hi-Tea and Semi Buffet Dinner from  1 September 2014 – 31 October 2014:

Lunch: Monday – Friday

12.00 noon – 2.30 pm

RM 50++ (adult)               RM 25++ (child)

Hi-Tea: Saturday and Sunday

12.00 noon – 4.00 pm

RM 58++ (adult)               RM 29++ (Child)

Semi Buffet Dinner: Monday – Thursday

6.30 pm – 10.00 pm

From RM 50++ per person                                         

September & October Credit Card Promotions

American Express, CIMB Bank, Citibank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, MasterCard Worldwide, Maybank and UOB Bank card members, guests can enjoy 15% discount for Semi Buffet Dinner (Monday – Thursday from 1 September 2014 – 31 October 2014) .

For inquiries or reservations, please call Swez Brasserie, Eastin Hotel Penang at +04 612 1128

Mid-Autumn Celebration @ Gurney Paragon Mall

Mid-autumn festival is just around the corner. Gurney Paragon Mall is organizing a mooncakes fair which features an exquisite selection of mooncakes in baked skin and snow skin for a variety of brands! You can find them at St' Jo (level 1) and Penang on 6 (level 6) .

Their ongoing promotion will be held starting on 16 August 2014 until 8 September 2014. 

1. Purple Cane

They are selling HALAL & VEGETARIAN mooncakes. Besides, most of their mooncakes are less sugar, less oil and no preservatives. So this will be the best choice if you are a healthy-conscious person. 

White Lotus Paste RM9.80 (on the most right)

It has got refreshing light green tea crust. For green tea lover, you will definitely love this as the green tea taste is strong.

White Tea Purple Lotus Paste RM9.80

Purple potato crust mooncake stuffed with lotus paste, purple sweet potato and a touch of white tea. It's light and delicate. 

Puer Tea, Dang Gui, Chinese Wolfberry, Assorted Nuts Paste RM11.30/piece

It's traditional cantonese crusted. This is a must-try to those who are into healthy diet. 

2. Leong Yin

Starting from 5-7 September, shoppers can redeem a complimentary Leong Yin pastry’s mooncake with a minimum spending of RM 200 and above in a single receipt at any of Gurney Paragon Mall’s outlets.

Ballad of the Moon RM17.20/piece RM68.80/box

Custard paste with salted egg custard paste. Eating it is like eating butterscotch bread.

Lunar Delight RM17.50/piece RM70/box

White coffee paste with pure durian paste. To me, it tasted like durian kuih.

Intense Wheatgrass Juujube Splendor RM17.20/piece RM68.80/box

Red dates with wheatgrass paste. It's abit sticky but overall it still tasted fine.

3. Foh San

If you are a food hunter you will definitely know Foh San Dim Sum in Ipoh. They are famous for their dim sum and I think their mooncakes are worth trying too.

Cappucino Mooncake RM14.60/piece

The cappucino taste is not as strong as I imagined though.

4. Kam Lun Tai

Shanghai Yolk RM17.20/piece RM68.80/box

It's HALAL and the richness and saltiness of duck egg yolk didn't disappoint me.

5. The Baker's Cottage

Avocado Mango Tango RM16.80/piece

It has got fragrant coconut butter pastry skin, milk avocado lotus paste with mango mung bean filling and dried mango. So basically the taste is a mixture of avocado, coconut and also some mango bits.

6. Casahana

Taste of Crimson Opera RM18.90/piece

It has the content of beetroot, followed by a heart of cheese and creamy white chocolate.

One of their main highlights this year too.

7. Canton-I

I believe most of you are not a stranger to Dragon-i and Canton-i as they are well-known for their Chinese cuisine.

Frosty Durian Musang King RM28/per pack (2pieces)

For those durian lovers, this is a MUST TRY! Even Eileen, one of my bloggers friend who doesn't eat durian also complimented their musang king durian mooncake. No doubt, it tasted very rich and it's made of real durian musang king pulp.  

dayumm~

Organic Charcoal Skin with Coffee Paste RM20/piece

8. Hong Kong Mei-Xin

Egg Custard Mooncake RM50 4pc/box ; RM98 8pc/box

The only mooncakes which are imported from Hong Kong.

Their packaging is cute and mini in size that can be easily finished in one bite :D

9. Fai Fong

Bamboo Charcoal Lotus Paste RM14.50/piece (on the right)

Assorted Fruits, Nuts & Ham RM16/piece

One of their signature mooncakes.

Other than that, Gurney Paragon Mall will be having mid-autumn festival celebration too. Don't miss out this fun-filled day with your friends and family on 6 September 2014 at Penang On 6 (level 6) from 2pm-9.30pm. 

*Redeem a complimentary pot of tea from Jing-Si Books and Café when you spend RM 50 and above in a single receipt at Penang on 6 or Wei Shiang (Level 6) on 6 September 2014.

Do head over Gurney Paragon's facebook page for more :)

p/s: You may click on the title of each brand to direct you to their main website for your survey on their menu and price list.

Coffee on the Table

Went to Coffee on the Table just few days ago. It was an impromptu coffee hunting day since my sis was craving for coffee. And this cafe just *ting* on my mind. lol. 

Fyi, Coffee on the Table was original crew from Cafe55 and they are famous for their 3D coffee art. Wanted to try out their coffee for long time but never had a chance. So finally here I came with a passionate coffee hunter/coffee lover (my sis). Well honestly, I'm just a coffee art lover, never a coffee lover. mehh. haha!

Before I delete all these cute pictures from my phone. So cuteee okay! Too cute to be drinked up :3

Left was cafe latte RM12; Right was coffee mocha RM15.

Okay, so my sis and I were chatting about coffee all day. Finally my doubt was clarified cuz I never know how to differentiate the taste of latte, mocha and cappuccino :x To be more simplified, here goes,

Latte: coffee with more milk

Mocha: coffee with chocolate

Cappuccino: espresso and milk

Ok, I'd better go back to my favorite matcha latte. Not so complicated. lol

 My hideous no makeup face for my heaa holidays explains the bnw photo :p

With my sis who came back spontaneously for only two days.

Overall, the service here is good and the barista is very friendly too! He even explained to us how he make the foam and kind enough to let us take video. Video is on my instagram @ameliasoo

Till the next~! xx

Coffee on the Table

164, Lebuh Pantai, 10200 Georgetown, Malaysia 

04-262 2611

Opening hours: Mon-Sun 8:30am-11:00pm

Coffee Smith Penang

Holla all!! It's been a while since I blogged about cafe. I'm just pure lazy :D hehe

I went to this cafe during one of the weekdays and thought it would be probably less people. But, it turned out I was wrong. Very wrong. So, I guess the food is overall good explains the crowd. I just tried out their brunch set. 

Portion is big, I shared it with my friend. However, there's still room for improvement for their service. 

Coffee Smith

... ... ... ...

Pardon me for a very short & lazy post. teehee

All photos were taken by my iphone5.