Finally here's the last day at Macau. Actually there's nothing to blog about
Day 5 because we left early for morning flight but there's something important I would like to share with you.
Egg tart is not the main topic here but it's still an important item to bring home before you leave Macau. Trust me you will never find Portuguese egg tarts as creamy and compact as Lord Stow's. I wish someone would bring the franchise to Malaysia.
It's literally the 3rd full day in Macau but the title is Day 4 because Day 1 was flying day.We decided to skip Coloane and just explore Taipa and shopping at Venetian and City of Dreams for the rest of the day. Phew! Yesterday was way too tiring. We walked from Senado Square all the way to Macau Tower but there's so much to see. So be sure to check out Day 3 as I have worked hard to write all information and personal experience in a long but compact post.
This mall replicates exactly like the original Venetian in Las Vegas. Kinda remind me of the fancy mall at Genting too.
Today is gonna be a culture and heritage day where we will walk through the heritage trail of Macau from Ruins of St. Paul to Senado Square right through Mandarin House till Macau Tower. We had an enjoyable "field trip" and hotel hopping yesterday. Hotel lobbies and casinos in Macau indeed had us mindblown. If you are interested, you can read on my winning entry here that contributed to this all expenses paid trip. Be warned that this is a very photo heavy post but you will discover that most tourists don't take such comprehensive path like ours. Hence I would advise you to divide this heritage tour into 2 days.
A quiet spot with an amazing view of the ruins away from overcrowded tourists.
We finally landed on Macau (I noticed some hotels and tourist sites spell it as Macao) after 4 hours on air. Refer to the previous post on our experience flying with Air Asia and first time in KLIA2. If you are keen to know, you can check out my winning entry Dream Trip to Macau. I
did not specifically follow my itinerary coz I was too tired and lazy on the
last day therefore I focused on shopping. However you will find my Macau trip posts useful as I stated the timings, what bus to take and many other important details for you to plan easily. Be warned this post is gonna be a long one.
It's time to finally blog about my Dream Trip to Macau. No more procrastination. This trip is made possible by Nuffnang and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO). Huge thank you to Veron Ng from MGTO for all the arrangements in making this trip a success. If you have time you can read on my winning entry. It takes a lot of hard work and research for a great achievement. Macau in February has temperature around 18-20°C and can be a little chilly at night so long sleeves apparel, jacket or cardigan will come in handy.
Located 2km away from the Main Terminal Building (MTB), KLIA2 started operations on 2 May 2014 as a replacement of former Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). The terminal has a built-up area of 257,845 square meters with 68 departure gates and retail space to accommodate a total of 220 outlets.
Referring to my previous entry, yes I am one of the 3 lucky winners for the Dream Trip to Macau Blogging with Nuffnang contest. Woohoo! Thank you again and again to Nuffnang and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO). I decided to go public with my plans coz I'm super duper excited to share with you. We received a 3 days 2 nights all expenses paid trip for one person but the details below will be for two person coz I wanted to bring my husband along. It will be our wedding anniversary trip as well as experiencing Chinese New Year ambiance. We also planned to extend one night coz we just can't get enough of Macau.
At the fort surrounding the museum will give you a gorgeous view of Grand Lisboa.
Bacon and Sausage
1. Start with a cold pan and lay the bacon strips.
2. Fry each side for about 5-8 minutes depending on how crispy you want them to be.
3. Make shallow slices along the sausages to cook faster.
4. Fry the sausages for about 10 minutes or until brown. Egg Nest
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Separate egg white and yolk.
2. Beat egg white till fluffy with stiff peaks.
3. Make a nest shape with the beaten egg white with a shallow hole in the middle on baking tray.
4. Bake for 3 minutes.
5. Place the yolk on he center and bake again for another 3 minutes.
Sauteed Mushrooms
1. Heat olive oil on pan.
2. Fry garlic till fragrant.
3. Add sliced mushrooms and halved cherry tomatoes.
4. Pour half a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and some pepper then stir fry for 5 mins.
5. I served them on potato skin which I have used the inside for something else like soup or mashed potato.
Holandaise sauce
1. Fill the bottom of a double boiler halfway with
water. 2. Bring water to a
gentle simmer and on top of the double boiler, whisk together 1 egg
yolk, lemon juice, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon
water. 3. Add
the melted butter to egg yolk mixture
while whisking yolks constantly. 4. Whisk in salt then remove from heat.
Poach egg 1. Break egg into a small bowl. 2. Fill a large saucepan with 3
inches of water. 3. Bring water to a gentle simmer then add few drops of vinegar. 4. Stir water in circular motion then place egg gently into simmering water and allow to cook for 3 minutes. 5. Yolks should still be soft in center. 6. Remove eggs from
water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate. 7. You can spread
toasted muffins with softened butter followed by one poached egg and
drizzle with hollandaise sauce.
Ingredients
1/2 cup cooked Japanese short grain rice
2 eggs
50g ground chicken/ beef
1 piece cheddar cheese
2 sliced onion rings
2 tablespoon chopped onion
1 piece lettuce
2 sliced tomato
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sesame seeds
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Worcestershire sauce
Soy sauce
Any sauce you like (mayo/ketchup/chilli/black pepper etc)
Preparation
Patty
1. Mix ground meat with chopped
onions, egg, cornstarch, salt, pepper and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.
2. Pound the blended meat to reduce air.
Rice bun
1. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of
starch into the cooked rice and this will act as the binder.
2. Next add a pinch of
salt for taste and sprinkle in sesame as well.
3. Shape into bun patties.
Cooking
1. Heat the pan with a tablespoon of oil.
2. Scoop out the meat mixture from the bowl and place it on the pan.
3. Cook each side for about five minutes.
4. After both sides are fully cooked, glaze both sides of patties with water and cover lid for about 5 minutes.
5. Fry your egg sunny side up or make a small circle omelet.
Serving
Layer your burger: 1st rice bun, 2nd lettuce, 3rd meat patty, 4th cheese, 5th egg, 6th tomato, 7th onion rings and finally top with another rice bun. You may add your choice of sauce in between layers.
Additional Video
Video is not the exact recipe because did not have rice patty but it is somehow similar.
Preparation
1. Fry diced onions, garlic and mushroom. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the fried onions, garlic and mushroom into the ground meat.
3. Mix 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 2-3 drops of Worcestershire sauce, 1 drop of mustard and a dash of mixed herbs and cheese into the meat mixture.
4. Mix in a tablespoon of cornstarch.
5. Heat a tablespoon of butter on pan.
6. Shape into two or more patties and fry both sides for 5 minutes.
7. Pour a bit of water and cover for 5 more minutes then serve.
Gravy
1. Do not wash the pan after you fry the patties. Add a bit of butter if necessary.
2. Fry some mushroom slices.
3. Sprinkle some flour to make rue about 1:1 ratio with the butter.
4. Add broth then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce has
thickened and the steaks are cooked through about 10 minutes.
Additional video
Video is not the exact recipe because did not have cheese in the meat patty but it is somehow similar.
Sorry for the long awaiting update. Anyway here's what I received from Clarins for the 2nd time. You can read about the samples I reviewed few months ago here. This time I got the complete set in larger size. Damn happy!
Does my dress match Clarins? Maybe a little darker should do.
While most of us girls prefer wearing dresses, it ain't a secret that a lot of women do not own much skirts in their closet. Hey ladies, don't underestimate the power of skirts! Skirts are a versatile piece to own especially when it comes to matching your top or shoes and you can flaunt it at casual or formal settings. The trick is to always know how to style your skirts and you can definitely create a new fashion look. To me, the function of a skirt is to cover the shape of my thighs and my wide hips which I'm not confident of. Pants can't do the job. Skirts can also accentuate your waistline giving you a slimmer figure. There are three skirts style for women to own and might find in handy.
I have finally received all of my free Photobooks. Yes, they are free! All you have to do is just look out for deals in Groupon. Usually Groupon will have offers on 6" x 6" 40page Mini Square Softcover Photobook worth RM79. So be sure to subscribe to Photobook Malaysia and Groupon for great deals.
6" x 6" Mini Square Softcover
I have a total of 7 mini Photobooks. All travel except one specially for my Bruno.
Ingredients
200g risotto rice
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
150g porcini mushrooms
500ml chicken stock
1/2 chopped onion
40g parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Preparation
1. Heat olive oil on medium heat and stir fry chopped mushrooms.
2. Add butter and saute onions.
3. Add rice and stir until fully coated about 2 minutes.
4. Add a ladle of chicken stock stiring constantly until becomes almost dry.
5. Continue adding stock one ladle at a time for about 10 - 15 minutes until risotto is al dente. The texture should be thick and not too soupy or dry.
6. Stir in grated parmesan.
7. Season with salt and pepper. If it's already salty to your taste, omit the salt.
8. Best served immediately.
Scallops and balsamic vinegar in the picture are optional.
Ingredients Wild mushrooms:
20g shiitake mushrooms
20g portobello mushrooms
20g oyster mushrooms
20g porcini mushrooms or any kind of mixed wild mushrooms you like
25g butter
1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped garlic clove
400ml vegetable stock
100ml heavy cream
2 tabespoon all purpose flour
thyme
chives
truffle oil
salt & pepper
Preparation
1. Heat butter in saucepan.
2. Stir fry onions, garlic and thyme for 5 minutes.
3. Add all the sliced mushrooms.
4. Add equal ratio of flour as the butter to create rue.
5. Stir for a minute then add vegetable stock.
6. Stir in heavy cream for about 5 minutes then add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Blend the soup in a blender.
8. Serve with croûtons and chives and drizzle
with truffle oil.
It's a great pleasure to share with you my views on Nestle's Cerelac infant cereal. Cerelac is promoted for infants 6 months and older as supplement to breast milk. The soft and smooth texture also acts as introduction to semi-solid food.
Whoa...that's a lot! Thank you so much Nestle! If you want a giveaway do let me know. I was given rice and brown rice cereal.
Thank you so much Pedigree Malaysia for sending some samples of Dentastix for Benji. Dentastix is a unique "X" shaped treat clinically proven to reduce plaque and tartar build up.
Last week I went to Logos Hope Book Fair at Swetteham Pier Cruise Terminal. The special feature about this book fair is it is the world’s largest floating book fair and probably one of its kind. My husband and I went for a short visit on the weekends and it was a fun one. Love the ice-cream.
Logos Hope is back in Penang from 3rd to 28th September 2015
for the second time before heading to Africa.
I ain't really a food blogger but I have my personal reasons to share with you about the buffet I had in a long time. What's so special about the buffet in Olive Tree Hotel, Penang is the Alaskan snow crab. I've had many buffets in Penang but never encounter any that serve snow crab legs however recently it seems like a lot of prominent hotels here serves them. I don't want to mention names of other hotels so you Google yourself.
You can serve it on top of noodles or simply eat by itself.
Type: Sides
Servings:4
Category: Halal, Non-vegan
Ingredients
4 room temperature eggs
1 liter tap water for boiling
200ml room temperature tap water
Preparation
1. Pour 1 liter of water into a pot and bring to boil until bubbly.
2. Turn off the stove.
3. Pour 200ml of room temperature water into the pot to bring the temperature down. Onsen means hot spring so ideally it should be 68 - 71°C.
4. Laddle in the eggs one by one and close the lid of the pot.
5. Set timer for 12 minutes.
6. After 12 minutes, take out the eggs from the pot and set aside for 5 minutes.
7. After 5 minutes you can put them into cold water if too hot to hold or you can immediately crack them.
8. The yolks are meant to be soft but not runny. If still runny try 13 or 14 minutes. I have trial and error many times.
Dulce de leche is caramel made out of milk and sugar unlike the
traditional caramel. The taste is mind-blowing.
Type: Dessert sauce
Servings:as much as you like
Storage: A month in the fridge
Category: Halal
Ingredients
1 can of condensed milk
(I used Gold Coin Kopi & Teh Tarik coz mamak stalls use them so I thought it's more fragrant)
As much water as needed
Preparations
1. Remove label from can.
2. Place can in a large pot.
3. Fill pot with water until covers the entire can or risk explosion.
4. Simmer for 2 hours on high heat.
5. Always check water level and pour more water if it no longer covers the can.
6. To achieve the toffee colour like mine 2 hours is enough but if you want darker colour can boil for 2.5hours.
7. Do not attempt to open can while it is still hot due to pressure. I wanted to let the can cool for at least 3 hours but in the end I set it overnight in fridge and still came out awesome.
7. For my dessert, I just layered a scoop of hazelnut ice cream with slices of bananas topped with cocoa powder and drizzled some dulce de leche. Enjoy!
Second attempt came out more perfectly caramelized. Optical illusion test: is my jar fully circular or squarish with rounded edges? I was asking myself since when did I have a square jar?
Oh and you really gotto make dulce de leche lava cake. Its heavenly. Get recipe from Tasty's YouTube.https://youtu.be/4S7mWOkpLDE
Phew! Finally this is the last post of my European winter trip. I have put a lot of effort into finding history, recall the timeline, getting info on places of attractions, flights, hotels and many more in order to write my entries as accurate as possible. Thank you for supporting me. Luv ya'll. In this post I will be showing you a bit on Schiphol Airport, my flight from Amsterdam to KLIA with Etihad Airways and back to my sweet little island via MAS.
Technically this is still Day 9 but will become Day 10 in a few hours.
We had such a great time in Belgium yesterday. The Grand Place is indeed very grand. Best to go during spring or Christmas or you will find the square empty. Anyway, today is the last day on the ground. We had a cruise ride through Amsterdam canals, learning how diamonds were cut in Gassan, fighting the freezing cold sea breeze at Volendam and learning how to make cheese and clogs in the factory.
Like the scene in The Fault in Our Stars. Goal achieved!
We are at our final city, Brussels before heading back to Amsterdam. Yesterday was a hectic but awe-inspiring day in Paris. We would definitely visit Paris again for Disneyland and Château de Versailles. Belgium is one of the most ignored country when one travels in Europe. Before this I only know Belgium is famed for chocolates ad waffles. Let's see what it has to offer...
And yes you can climb up to each "ball" of the Atomium.
We are finally at the city of lights also known as city of love too. Unfortunately some of us call it scam city and we have a fair share of experience. Our time in Paris is short but we would certainly come again to visit more places. Today we will be visiting of course the magnificent Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, The Louvre, exterior of Palais Garnier, Notre Dame and finally shopping at Galeries Lafayette. Lots of history for you in this article but if you wanna skip boring words there are always stunning photos. You might wanna check out what we did the day before but its not as exciting as Switzerland. Also click here to see how I spent a budget of RM8000 across 5 countries without staying at hostels.
Just to inform you, the night before this I checked my email and was shocked to find a huge CONGRATULATIONS! Then whatever feelings I had for Paris just faded away.Read all about my excitement here. Thank you MGTO and Nuffnang for sponsoring and I will blog on my next trip soon. Macau here I come!
Some say its the most romantic place on earth. You never know until you stand in front of Eiffel for the first time. Its like love at the first sight. You will be amazed how grand it hovers before you. Fields are empty during this winter time but Parisians will crowd for picnic here once its summer.
Just for recap, we visited Mt. Titlis and Lucerne yesterday. Our 6th day will be a very long day but short entry as we travel from Zurich to Paris by bus. The agency should have booked a cheap flight like Ryanair just like when we traveled from Seoul to Jeju via Eastarjet. On the bright side we get to see the countryside and vineyards along the way.
Despite looking chill I was freezing as hell while faking a smile outside of a rest stop.
Another exciting day to look forward. Just for recap we went to Titisee and Rhinefall yesterday. Today we will be touring around Switzerland visiting Mt. Titlis and Lucerne. Honestly I love Switzerland the most among all of the European countries coz it's such a laid back and relaxing country. Everyday feels like Christmas here. One tip for u is to use Swiss Franc even though Euro is accepted here due to slightly lower rate for Swiss Franc. If you are interested in other posts like budget, planning, summary and more you can check out all posts labeled "Europe" here.
A very tall real Christmas tree at Lucerne. I always emphasize on "real" coz we only display fake trees during Christmas here in Malaysia.
I was so excited for today coz I heard the location is as enchanting as a fairytale.We all know Germany has magical woods, villages that come out from storybooks and Disney-like castles. Best of all we get to see this in real life how awesome was that! Check out the previous post on Cologne Cathedral, Karl Theodor bridge and the gorgeous medieval Heidelberg castle.
Lol me being so ss! But you really have to visit this place. Titisee is a very peaceful village that one might consider to retire at. The lake will be frozen in mid-winter but the weather is just nice for now. Surprisingly its warmer up here than on lower ground.
Rise and shine! We were so excited to start a new day in Europe. Today's itinerary will be Cologne Cathedral and Heidelberg. I know it's only two major attractions coz the journey was very long and the sky became dark after 5pm. Not much can be done when it's winter. You can read about the day before in Amsterdam here.
The magnificent Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) being the largest Gothic church in northern Europe and used to be tallest in the world was constructed in 1248.
Let's continue from Day 1 shall we? Just for a recap, Day 1 is all about my journey with Etihad Airways and technically it's a 2 day journey coz it took like 24 hours including layovers. Now I'm gonna share with you the beginning of our trip from Schiphol Airport to Zaanse Schans to Dam Square and red light district.
All the windmills at Zaanse Schans are still working.
Finally I'm gonna blog about our Europe 2nd honeymoon. Our 1st honeymoon was during springtime in Korea. This time we wanted to experience winter wonderland and Christmas season. You can read about our budget and planning and a short summary of what I think about each city. There's also a video at the bottom of this post to let you experience a bit of my trip.
Beautiful ceiling of Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Note: This was updated again on 2015 after I return. Due to exchange rate and inflation, the figure might be slightly different so just treat this as a guideline.
Dear fellow travelers,
Here's a simple draft of my Europe budget. This is not a budget backpacker's trip coz it is a birthday trip for hubby and also our second honeymoon after our first one in Korea. Moreover hubby wants good food, hassle free transport and no hostels. So we booked a tour however not everything is included like entrance feesand meals.Total damage was set to be within a budget of less than RM7000 per person.
You might be asking why I did not enter famous attractions like The Louvre (we did hang around outside), Palace of Versailles, Sacre Coeur, Palais Garnier, Disneyland etc. That's coz time is a budget too and it's not up to you to decide where to go when taking a tour. How I wish I could visit more countries like UK and Italy but my wallet...no my whole bank is already burning!
Click "Travel" on top of this page for more details on each country.
I can't wait to share with you about Clarins Total V Contouring Serum. I will update again in next Clarins post because the result is said to be visible in 4 weeks. However I think the sample amount given to me will only last for 2 weeks or less.
Thanks to the Clarins branch assistant for teaching me on how to apply.
We visited Kyoto again. If you wanna know where we went on the first day click here. We are truly in love with Kyoto that we think 2 days isn't enough. We have not visited Nara, Ginkaku-ji, Philosopher's Path, Ryoan-ji and many more. We hope to visit again when hubby is not on a working trip and we can spend more days in the city.
The red torii gates of Fushimi Inari is a prominent landmark in Kyoto. It is a must to visit such a beauty.
Finally here's my first day trip to my most favourite city in Japan, Kyoto. You can read another day trip to Kyoto here coz we went again. So much to see that one day wasn't enough. So glad that we made a decision to visit this wonderful down to earth city. It's a huge city hat maintains its traditions. There are lots of places ending with "ji" meaning temple or shrine.
Here's a golden pavillion. It's one of a famous landmark in Kyoto.
As you know we spent 2 nights in Osaka at Hotel Taiyo at the end of my long long so called business trip. For more info on the places I went in this article and what passes I used, do refer to my Japan guide. You can also read about my whole day spent at Universal Studios on the day before this one.
So let's continue from my previous post on Kobe. If you read my past entries on my Japan trip you would know I stayed at Itami temporarily and only went out when my husband comes back from work and during weekends. So in this post, I will share with you some evenings I spent at Osaka. It was a vibrant and lively city full of night activities. For full plan and details, read Where to go in Japan. I listed maps, budget, hotel etc.
Here's an evening scene at Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori as we hunt for dinner.
Anyway, on the second week of my stay in Japan hubby accompanied me to Kobe after work. If you have read the earliest entry in my Japan series I explained why I stayed in Japan for a few weeks but barely have time to go out. Itami is where I stayed temporarily so I don't overnight at the cities I visit except Osaka but my husband and I just travel to and fro on day trips. So glad that Itami is strategically located in the middle of everywhere. I would suggest visitors to spend about 3 days 2 nights at Kobe. You'll love it. Here are some of the photos to guide you through coz I'm lazy to do the typing...
Sorry for the very belated update coz i was busy organizing and packing for other trips. Anyway, here's how my life was at Itami during late summer 2013. I stayed in this outskirt area due to hubby's business trip. That's a great thing being a wanderlust wife haha...
This entry will be about my experience at Kansai International Airport from arrival to departure. As for flight experience you might wanna check out Japan: Fly with Cathay Pacific or simply click on the Japan label on the right side.
After about 10 hours of traveling including transit hours we finally arrived.
I have always loved flying. I love the experience and hospitality provided by the airline and crew and the thrill during take off. So here's a little bit about my experience with Cathay Pacific as it was my first time flying with this airline. Our destination was Kansai Airport, Osaka, Japan and the purpose was for business trip. We transited at Hong Kong International Airport then a short layover at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan which was not expected. You can read about my Taiwan blog here. News has it that Cathay Pacific no longer operates flights to Penang from March 2014 onwards but will still maintain flights to and from Kuala Lumpur.
My simple ootd at Penang International Airport. Blazer was bought in Taipei, laced blouse from a local mall and skinny jeans from Bukit Kayu Hitam. Call me cheapo but I don't fancy designer stuffs.
I'm so excited to share with you that I've been contacted by BBM Live, a travel guide magazine based in Australia. Big thanks to Hannah Shakir, BBM Live editor and Charlotte Mellor, BBM Live sub editor for getting in touch with me. It's my first time to be featured and I never felt so honored as a travel blogger.
Egg tart is not the main topic here but it's still an important item to bring home before you leave Macau. Trust me you will never find Portuguese egg tarts as creamy and compact as Lord Stow's. I wish someone would bring the franchise to Malaysia.
