Two 2s

I think I've been good at sticking to my long term shopping ban but I couldn't resist these two guilty indulgences. I justified to myself that I need to help the Malaysian retail economy plus I needed a little pick me up after yet again another hectic work week ;)

Hubs is not impressed with these and asked dryly I got them from the curtain section. Hmmmph. Warehouse was having a 50% sale and I thought they were a bargain, they look so much better. The blue green jacquard on the left has a psychedelic, almost Scooby Doo feel to it and the grey floral on the right has the cutest peplum plus a asymmetrical hem.

I've been waiting forever for Sophie Kinsella's I've Got Your Number to be released in paperback and was excited to see it as a part of Borders buy 1 get the 2nd at 50% promotion. Philippa Gregory books can be a bit hit or miss with me but since it was on special, I got the King Maker's Daughter too.

It's going to be a long, leisurely weekend :)

Happy Birthday to Meeeeee

So it was a run of the mill weekday and since I don't have that many colleagues added onto my Facebook, I was anticipating a nice, quiet day at work and hoping to sneak off early for dinner with Hubs and Bubs.

Wrong.

My team mates came bearing the cutest cheesecake (doesn't it resemble a dumpling?) and singing Happy Birthday at my cube. It was sooo sweet and embarrassing at the same time, haha! Everyone was looking at me and I felt so awkward being the centre of attention, I think my face was red the entire time. 

Hubs then whisked Bubs and me away for dinner at Rasa Sayang. We went for a little walk at the beach side garden before the buffet started and Bubs had fun playing with the sand. Don't ask me how I managed to end up with mosquito bites on my calves even before the sun went down.

Come dinner time, we were all ravenous. I'm iffy about eating cold seafood or sashimi at a lot of places because I get food poisoning very easily but I've no doubts over the freshness of these at Rasa Sayang. Let's just say I spent most of the night at the seafood and Japanese section.

The cheese selection was pretty decent too with servings of goat's cheese, blue cheese, brie, etc ... not to mention walnuts, hazelnuts, dried apricots, crackers, oh boy ... I'm salivating just at looking at these photos again.

I may or may not have had at least 40 scallops *shifty eyes* The prawns and mussels were yummy too but the scallops and chilli aioli were like a match made in heaven.

Who in their right minds could ever say no to dessert? Bubs's eyes widened with sheer happiness when he took a bite of the Paris Brest and said "Mummy, I want chocolateeee". It tasted almost like a Nutella cream puff but so much better.

And if I thought Hubs would let me get away without squirming in my seat in embarrassment, I guessed wrong again. He requested the staff to bring out a slice of birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday (again!) in the restaurant full of people *oh noesssss*

Thanks for all the phone calls, messages and pressies that I'd received. I feel so blessed :) And a year older and wiser, haha!

Watermelon Bowls

All images from Decor8blog

I'm craving fat, juicy wedges of watermelon after spotting the incredibly talented Samantha Robinson's watermelon bowls. I love how fresh her designs are, the vivid red hues against the rind green intricate exterior. These hand crafted porcelain works of art will be such a beautiful statement piece to keep.

Weekend in Peek-tures

We went on little trips around Penang over the weekend and it was fun, mingling with tourists and visiting the tourist-y parts here.

Since Bubs had such a fun time feeding fish and tortoises at Sam Poh Tong, Ipoh and repeatedly asks us "can we go to Ipoh, please?", we thought Kek Lok Si would have the same appeal for him. It wasn't that crowded because of the heavy drizzle so we wandered around the temple grounds.

Rows of wishing ribbons dangling from potted plants. Donations are welcomed and you could opt to have your name printed on a roof tile of the temple.

The garden was full of puddles because of the rain and Hubs and Bubs were smart enough to wear sandals. My ballet flats were soaked and made squishy sounds. You get a really nice view of Penang from this part of the temple.Bubs was getting antsy at this point, calling at the top of his voice "Tortoise, where are youuuu?"

It took us some hunting around to find the tortoise pen or "liberation pond" as it was titled. When we finally found it ... I was a little disappointed to be honest. It seemed crowded with all the tortoises in it, swimming in the murky water, the viewing area was also tiny and cramped. That didn't stop Bubs from waving frantically at them, spotting which ones he liked, looking for the baby tortoises.

We went to La Boheme, one of my favourite cafes for dessert. I'm fascinated with the charming little nooks inside the spacious cafe where everything looks so whimsical yet put together.

Hubs and Bubs were more interesting in polishing off the creme brulee.

Dinner with my Dad, I'm such a Daddy's girl :) My Dad's always been very camera shy, when we were younger, he'd say "aiyah, don't waste film lah", now that everything's gone digital, he'd say "aiyah, don't waste your phone battery lah"

Ipoh Part 2

After a deliciously heavy lunch at Burps & Giggles and Buku Tiga Lima, we decided to explore the tiny little back alley behind both cafes charmingly titled Lazy Lane.

When you first open the back door to Lazy Lane, you'll spot interesting murals such as these three voluptuous ladies.

Take a stroll down a little, watch out for the cobbled pathways and trees with exposed, hanging roots that add to the overall character of the area. You'll soon find yourself at Sekeping Kong Heng, a luxurious stay despite its grungy looking exterior.

It also doubles up as an art gallery, I love the contrast between the watercolour paintings of heritage buildings, like St Micheal's Institution, amidst the old, brick exposed walls.

Before we headed back to Penang, we dropped by Sam Poh Tong because I knew Bubs would have a ball of a time feeding the fish and tortoises. We bought kangkung and dried bread from the vendors at the entrance of the temple for RM5. Bubs was ecstatic when he found out he was allowed to throw bread crusts into the pond and thoroughly enjoyed watching the fish bob to the surface to nibble at the bread. He tried to throw them as far and as high as his little arms could stretch, it was sooo cute :)

At the tortoise pen, he was warming up the the whole feed the animal idea and squealed with joy when he saw them clambering over each other to jostle for the kangkung.

Conversation with Bubs on the way to Ipoh:
Me: Do you want to go to Ipoh?
Bubs: Yes, I want to go to Ipoh's house (he thought Ipoh was some great aunt's name)
Me: No, no, Ipoh is a place. Do you want to go to Ipoh?
Bubs: Yes, I want to go to Ipoh's place.

Truly a Bubs worthy moment ;)

Burps & Giggles, Buku Tiga Lima at Ipoh

Our little family are huge fans of Indulgence in Ipoh so when we heard that there are not one, but two cafes side by side opened by legendary chef extraordinaire, Julie Song, we made a day trip there.

It took a while to find Burps & Giggles and Buku Tiga Lima - for those not familiar with Ipoh, I'll give you a tip, it's close by a row of Indian clothing and jewelry shops. The front entrance facing the main road is nondescript and still maintains its old store signboard "specialists in ladies dress making". Look out for the curtain of trailing leaves which I thought was a nice touch.

 

I was torn between sitting at Burps & Giggles or Buku Tiga Lima since both offered unique sitting spots. We settled at a small table close to the counter at Burps & Giggles. The decor was whimsical and cheerful. We loved how the kitschy touches such as the fabric wrapped lamps, coloured wooden boards made the place feel cosy and inviting. The menus are literally all over the place, on wooden chalkboards all over the walls, stretching from Burps & Giggles to Buku Tiga Lima. Burps & Giggles serve a variety of burgers; Buku Tiga Lima focuses on bagels and crepes. You can order food from either cafe to be served wherever you are seated.

Bubs and I had a sticky beak around the place while Hubs enjoyed the free wifi. Every corner you turned, there was bound to be something interesting to go ooooh and ahhhh over. There's a beautiful space that we're confused if it's an open air courtyard or not. They tore off the first floor and installed transparent covers over the roof to give an airy, breezy feel. Umbrellas, yes, you read that right, and ceiling fans tumble from the rafters and trees dot the area.

Once you walk past the faux courtyard, you're now inside Buku Tiga Lima. Now do you see what I mean by it's so hard to pick where to sit? They have the coolest art installation made from coloured bangku (wooden seats) and a window seat from rolled up tilam (fabric matress)!

Bubs confirmed that the window seats were indeed as comfy as they looked. In case you were wondering why the cafe is called Buku Tiga Lima, remember those days of yore where there were no mobile phones or laptops and everyone carried a little 555 notebook in their pocket to jot down important notes? Over here, you'll find a window covered with 555 notebooks and you're welcome to write or sketch anything you want inside them.

On to the food! Bubs had the brioche with egg, mushrooms & a drizzle of truffle oil (RM14). We sneaked a few bites off his plate and fell in love with brioche, comfort food at its best with the creaminess of the egg and strong flavour of the mushrooms.

For the burgers, we choose the Greeko - lamb pattie with cheese, red peppers, onions and mint yoghurt (RM18) and the Bam Bam - wagyu pattie with egg, cheese and beetroot (RM28). The Greeko was absolutely out of this world with its robust flavour and went nicely with the yoghurt. The wagyu burger was supremely tender and the chef did a really nice job grilling that it was succulent and juicy.

It would be sacrilegious to skip dessert here and the moment I spotted churros (RM12) on the menu, I had to have it *guilty look* A friend shared with me the most apt description for churros - ang moh yau zha gwei, LOL. It was our first time trying churros and we were surprised at how light it was inside, almost like eating fried puffy wisps of clouds dusted with icing sugar and dipped into Belgium chocolate - these were polished off very quickly by the three of us :D

Since we couldn't leave without trying at least one dish from Buku Tiga Lima, we had crepes with hazelnuts, chocolate and a dollop of cream brulee. It was sinfully rich and we finished it with happy smiles on our faces.

The only complaint that we have is ... well, how could we possibly have so much tummy space to fit in all the good food? I really wished that we could have had room for the bagels ... or the portabello burger ... or the pear and Mars bar chunk crepes ...

Burps & Giggles / Buku Tiga Lima
93 & 95, Jalan Sultan Yussuf,
30000 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel: 05-242 6188
Business Hours: 8am – 8pm, closed on Tuesdays.

Fashion Friday: The Little Black Dress

There's just something so chic and classic about a little black dress. I like how it looks so simple and put together and how easily it can be transformed to something dressy by just layering on more accessories.

I think the key to making the little black dress look amazing on is the fit and a little twist to it in the details, such as side ruching or an interesting texture. Plus of course, a sunny attitude to lift up what might be an otherwise dark dress ;)

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Do you have a favourite little black dress?

Easter a Week Overdue

We were supposed to have painted Easter eggs last week but were so tied up with stuff that we only just had time to do it recently. Hubs made the tiniest little holes at the bottom of the egg - still in awe over how he managed to do that plus get the egg so clean *mind boggling* I'm surprised Bubs didn't break the egg at all and he was really gentle while handling it. I wanted to put it on a chopstick in a tin can (that was how my parents taught me to paint eggs, lol) but the hole Hubs made at the bottom of the egg shell was too tiny for me to even stick it over a chopstick.

Bubs's giant grimace-smile combo that he puts on each time you ask him to smile :D Still using the Ikea smock though it's getting a bit too tight for him. Again, can I tell you how much I love Crayola paints, pricey as they are there?

I asked him to pick 2 colours and his choices were red and orange. You can see him fully concentrating as he's holding the egg and painting it.

Really getting the hang of it by thoroughly mixing the colours.

My egg, ma-meee! Hubs was less than complimentary about the colours and asked if the egg came from a bleeding hen :P