Another ideal afternoon in London

Went London, again. While the main purpose was to support my friends' Malaysian night event at Imperial College, it was also another weekend getaway to get some good gourmet coffee and breathe in some London air.

Truth is that there are too many things you can do in London and you can't possibly cover them in just one go.  Specifically, too many good cafes and shopping places. 

Wandering around London like a neko (cat)

After having a satisfying brunch at Foxcroft & Ginger, we went to St.Paul's Cathedral since we haven't really been to all tourist attractions in London.

   

         

Directly opposite to St. Paul's Cathedral, we found this newly opened shopping mall, 'One New Change' where they have a rooftop terrace that is open to public, free of charge.

Took the lift up to the rooftop and got to see panoramic views of the London skyline... It's gorgeous.

Brunch in London

Last Monday(no lectures during reading week!) together with Jan, I took the 10.02 morning off-peak train to London. Usually, from Guildford, the fastest train is about 38 minutes. That's what I love about Guildford- so near to London yet far enough to stay away from the hustle and bustle of a city life. Though I used to dream about living in the city- grabbing a take-away coffee, rushing through the undergrounds...well, you get the idea. 

Surprisingly, I am now actually feeling so grateful (genuinely speaking) to live in a peaceful small town which is just a stone-throw away from London. It's like whenever I feel like going to London, I can just hop on the next fastest train heading to London Waterloo (the trains are so frequent that you don't even need to worry about the timings) and at the end of the day I can just come back before midnight and sleep in my own bed. Of course, if only they would stop raising the ticket fares. Like seriously, stop increasing. The rate is getting ridiculous each year.

Anyway.. Back to last Monday.

Met up with Judith and Jia Huey at Foxcroft & Ginger in Soho after we took a detour to Her Majesty's Theatre to get our musical tickets for that night. Yes, it's Phantom of the Opera!! *gasps* (will talk about it in my next post)

A laid-back afternoon

Exams ended last week(finally!) and I'm proud to say that it went well. Perhaps not as excellent as what I expected it to be, I can still be sure that I definitely worked harder and did better than last term. After all it's all about improvements.

We're now in 'Reading Week' where I 'should' be preparing for the new term next week. But I just came back from the bloody battlefield and I absolutely deserve some quality rest.

Lunch/Afternoon tea with Ika after Malaysian Society's meeting. We went to Glutton & Glee near Tunsgate despite the gloomy weather (which started pouring soon after) and stayed for some time inside the warm, cosy cafe.  

I had Americano again. Not exactly sure since when this addiction started but I really enjoy the bittersweet aftertaste of this milkless drink; especially those with a tinge of sourness (due to the technique they used to roast their coffee beans.. according to Jia Huey). 

The cakes were good but I prefer the savoury ones- steak pie was amazing. 

Paris: Breakfast at Rue Mouffetard

We didn't do much on our first night in Paris. After meeting our host and passing over the keys, we went out to explore the neighbourhood (near Poissoniere metro station). At first we wanted to go for dinner at Chatier (along Rue du Faubourg Montmartre) which is famous for their cheap French cuisine. Unfortunately, we were a little late so by the time we wanted to queue for it the manager said they are done for the night. Oh well. We decided to save it on our list and come back to try our luck the following night. (alas we made it! talk about it next time)

I don't know why but every single time I go for vacation, the first dinner is always super simple and spontaneous. Guess what, we ended up tapao-ing Kebab and Falafel back to our apartment HAHA. The reason was that we saw Glacier Amorino nearby and I think all of us were like..

 

"Screw dinner. Let's just eat this" 

Throwback Macau trip Summer 2012

This is really way overdue. But I thought I should still post these up before the upcoming Europe trip's photos start flooding in my iPhoto.

So as you know I went to Hong Kong last August for summer vacation with two of my aunts. While trying to cover as many attractions as possible in such a short period, we still managed to allocate one whole day for Macau. Not that I was interested in gambling at the casinos but because I really wanted to try the famous Portuguese egg tart there.

The Tea Terrace, Guildford

We had been planning long ago to go for an afternoon high tea session. The last time we went shopping at House of Fraser, Guildford, Ika and me discovered this cute English tea house situated on the building's rooftop.

 

 

What intrigued us most was obviously, its beautiful, cosy interior tinged with a little rather posh ambiance. They have got a lot of colourful well-cushioned chairs, pastel colours painted wall with framed paintings and quotes on it. There are even some comfy sofas provided, which is perfect after a long day of shopping. (House of Fraser just downstairs)

Sunday afternoon

This was a month ago, on a perfect Sunday morning when me and Ika decided to have our 'tai-tai' shopping and afternoon tea session again.

Went to Woking, a nearby town which is just a stone throw away from Guildford. Apparently, there are larger shopping malls there. And we even discovered a five-storey Toys 'R' us! Lucky kids.

Was planning to shop some nice apparels at Dorothy Perkins (coz there isn't any in Guildford) but guess what, they closed down the branch already. hmmmm.

So we went for food at Muffin Break. 

Back in Penang, our so-called 'Sunday tea time' are always filled with trendy desserts like Hui Lau Shan, Tong Pak Fu, MooCow, Meet Fresh, Chatime etc. Oh or better still, our authentic Penang hawker food. *Sniffs* Man, you don't even want me to start listing down.

 Ika happily looking at her tickets to Warwick the following week to meet *coughs* her man. lol. and we did not take the cab haha.

Here in England however, people tend to have a thing for coffee and cakes. There are so many nice coffee house everywhere. Be it those large coffeehouse chains or some unique ones.. People can just order a cup and sit there for the whole afternoon.

They chillax like that.

And then I wondered why such 'sophisticated' & somehow romantic coffee culture can never flourish in Malaysia? You know, the culture of sitting outside of the shop, reading a good book, sipping a cup of mocha...you get what i mean.

We do have nice coffee houses but it's not THAT popular right. Do you know the reason?

Simple. Just think about it: Would you prefer a bowl of Ais Kacang (shaved ice with syrup) or a cup of hot chocolate under the scorching sun and weather in Malaysia?

Ah. Despite enjoying the so-called luxurious tea session here very much,  I miss going to some old Kopitiam and order my RM1.20 Kopi Peng.

Me and my 2.30 pounds Cappuccino 
#shallnotcomplainaboutexpensivefoodinmsiaanymore 

HK getaway: Night at Mong Kok

 Went for late dinner one night, after deciding to spontaneously drop off at Mong Kok MTR station.
We didn't even know what famous eatery should we head for. There were just too many choices, and we didn't actually research about Mong Kok district.

But one thing I like about randomness in a holiday trip is because, you discover surprises most of the time.

Walked into a random cafe/cha chaan teng that looked kind of promising, and then observed what other local customers had on their tables as we were led into the inner corner of the cafe for our seats. No more empty tables and we had to 'tap toi' or in English, share a table with the others.

Ordered this Cheong fun (with juicy beef & char siew inside).
You can add sesame and soy sauce on it according to you own preference.

 After my first bite, for a moment, it made all the things on my virtual list of favourite food move down a column. Man I am not even trying to exaggerate it.

It really was soooooooooooo good I felt like swearing.
(guess I did already haha)

One of the best soya bean milk I've ever tasted in my life.  

And also one of the best 'yau zha guai'/ 油条 ever. The best ones are probably still from my hometown. Heh.

It was an epic moment when both me and my aunt smiled and exclaimed at the same time "omg 很好吃!!! "  It was delicious, really.

Homemade. Good stuff!

Taxis, mini buses, and billboards. This is Hong Kong.
 

Street stall selling magazines and comics.

Uncle wearing white singlet, ah pek shorts and slippers, sitting by the roadside, enjoying the time of his life. haha

SHOPPING after DINNER.

the best combinations ever. (＾▽＾)

 

It's very crowded and happening..and boy there were so many Sasa! I think I saw at least 3 branches in the same area. and also other cosmetics shops like Angel and Aster as you can see from the pics above. It was like heaven! but heaven also no use.. you need money though. haha

Nevertheless I think I bought quite a lot of masks here.
They were cheap! Like RM2 per piece only. And they're not of some random brands but good quality ones. If you buy back in M'sia it's like double the price here.

So why not?

杀!  \(≧▽≦)/


Women's street. Nothing much but mostly all the not-that-cheap-also imitations.
Well you could buy some souvenirs here like key chains and magnets with the word 'Hong Kong' printed on it. Just remember to bargain. Speak Cantonese if you can.

Walked pass this crowded shop and I was like "ooohhhh isn't this the one they opened in KL that day"


lol very kampung for a moment.

but I'm glad that I had my first bowl of Hui Lau Shan's dessert in Hong Kong itself.

Award-winning signature dish: 多芒小丸子 (Mango sago with glutinous rice balls)

Slurps. Another moment of happiness. ( ˘ ³˘)♥

 

Me and my tourist shots.

 

Had to end the post with this pic..
just because someone's legs appeared to be (a little, at least) longer in there.

Ah well ╭(╯ε╰)╮

Yumcha VS English Afternoon Tea

Whenever being asked the 'Coffee or Tea' question, I would always choose the latter.

Delving into the topic of tea culture, as a Cantonese I have always been a big fan of 'yum zou cha', the Chinese style of morning tea which involves a few dim sum dishes and a pot of Chinese tea. To me, going to the old rusty restaurants for an authentic yum cha session on Sunday mornings is in fact, the most affordable and simplest pleasures in life.

However, as much as I adore the British tea culture, I haven't experienced English afternoon tea in my life before this. (yea I'm that pathetic huhu) Well what I actually meant is the tea session where you would also have fancy pastries and cakes served on delicate china and tiered stands. Tsk.

but but.. I finally tried out that day! Went to delicious at Straits Quay and ordered the Afternoon tea set.

 

 

Ordered a set of 6 colourful macarons for the sake of food photo shooting. *look away with guilt*

It doesn't taste THAT nice. Hmm I really need to try the ones made in France one day.

Me iz berry happy nao ( ˘ ³˘)♥



Strawberries with chocolate dip; Hand-rolled chocolate truffles; rosemary & cheese cookies.

 

My choice of cakes on display: Heated brownies topped with a scoop of ice cream. 

 

Warm scones served with preserves and pure cream.

 

Duck confit in filo pastry; assortment of finger sandwiches.

Frankly speaking, the finger food was just okay-okay and I doubt it's worth the price. For a moment, it somehow made me feel like a spoiled silver-spooned socialite when I looked at the bill.

Oh well. You don't eat these everyday what *smirks* I guess once in a while is still fine.
But if given a choice, I would prefer har gau siew mai over the fancy looking red velvet cake.